Vegetable Samosas

2 large potatoes, diced finely
1/2 Cup peas or beans
2 Tablespoons oil or ghee
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 medium onion cut into small dice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 teaspoons garam masala
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 - 3 sheets shortcrust pastry

Heat the oil in large fry pan. Add cumin and mustard seeds and fry until they splutter, about 2 minutes. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic, ginger paste and garam masala. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add potato and peas and about 1/2 Cup water. Cook gently over medium heat until the vegetables are cooked, about 12 minutes. Season to taste. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Cut each sheet of pastry into 4. Place a Tablespoon on the filling in the middle of each pastry square. Fold over diagonally and seal edges by pressing together. Repeat for the rest of the mixture. Gently brush with ghee or melted butter.

Cook at 220 C for 15 - 18 minutes or until the pastry is golden.

Serve hot or cold as part of a meal, or as a snack.

Char Sui Pork Stir-Fry

Serves 6

2 x 400 g packets hokkien noodles
2 Tablespoons olive oil
500 g pork fillet, thinly sliced
2 brown onion, halved, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 heads broccoli, cut into small pieces
2 red capsicums, cut into 5 mm strips
1 green capsicum, cut into 5 mm strips
2/3 Cup water
1 large jar Char Sui Sauce

Place the noodles in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and set aside for 3 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a wok over high heat. Add a third of the pork and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat until all the pork is cooked.

Heat the remaining oil in the wok over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until the onion softens. Add vegetables and stir-fry for 3 - 4 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and cook for 2 - 3 minutes or until the vegetables are tender crisp.

Use a fork to separate the noodles. Add the noodles and char sui sauce to the wok, and toss to coat. Add the remaining water to the sauce bottle and seal. Shake until well combined. Pour into the wok. Add the pork and toss to combine.

Vegetable Stir-Fry

Serves 6

2 red onion, cut into thin wedges
3 teaspoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
3 carrots, sliced thinly
2 heads broccoli, cut into small pieces
2 red capsicum, cut into 4 mm strips
1 green capsicum, cut into 4 mm strips
2 ½ Cups finely chopped green cabbage
2 handfuls snow peas
3 Tablespoons soy sauce

Heat the oil in the wok over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger, and stir-fry for 3 minute or until aromatic. Add the carrots and broccoli and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until tender crisp.

Add the soy sauce and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until well combined and warmed through.

Spring Rolls

100 g dried rice vermicelli noodles
3 tsp peanut oil
¾ Cup finely chopped green cabbage
3 carrots, peeled, coarsely grated
1 ½ celery stick, ends trimmed, finely chopped
3 spring onions, ends trimmed, thinly sliced
3 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons minced ginger
3 teaspoons soy sauce
30 frozen spring roll wrappers, thawed
Olive oil spray
Sweet chilli sauce, to serve

Preheat oven to 200°C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Place noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 5 minutes. Rinse under cold running water. Drain. Squeeze out excess liquid. Cut into short lengths.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add cabbage, carrot, celery and shallot. Cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in the soy sauce.

Transfer vegetable mixture to a large heatproof bowl. Stir in the noodles. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool.

Place 1 spring roll wrapper on a clean work surface. Place 1 tablespoon of the mixture diagonally along the centre. Brush edges with water.

Fold in the ends. Roll up firmly to enclose filling. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.

Place on the lined trays. Spray with olive oil spray. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden. Set aside to cool slightly.

Serve with sweet chilli sauce.

Beef and Black Bean Noodle Stir Fry

Serves 8

2 x 400g packets hokkien noodles
2 Tablespoons olive oil
800 g beef steak, cut into strips
2 brown onion, halved, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 heads broccoli, cut into small pieces
2 red capsicums, cut into 5 mm strips
1 green capsicum, cut into 5 mm strips
2/3 Cup water
2 jars Black Bean Stir Fry Sauce

Place the noodles in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and set aside for 3 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a wok over high heat. Add a quarter of the beef and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat until all the beef is cooked.

Heat the remaining oil in the wok over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until the onion softens. Add vegetables and stir-fry for 4 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and cook for 2 - 3 minutes or until the vegetables are tender crisp.

Use a fork to separate the noodles. Add the noodles and black bean sauce to the wok, and toss to coat. Add the remaining water to the sauce bottle and seal. Shake until well combined. Pour into the wok. Add the beef and toss to combine.

Moroccan Tagine

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 Cups chopped onion
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 Cup carrots, sliced crosswise ½ cm thick
1 large green capsicum, cut into ½ cm strips
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon each: ground allspice, ground ginger, and turmeric
¼ teaspoon each: cinnamon, salt and cayenne pepper
1 Cup water
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into ¼ inch cubes
400 g can chopped tomatoes
400 g can chick peas, rinsed and drained

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Add carrots, capsicum, spices and ½ Cup water. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.

Add all remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat, 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir several times during cooking. Serve over couscous.

Spicy Couscous

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
4 spring onions, chopped finely
2 red capsicums, finely diced
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
4 tomatoes, diced
2 zucchini, diced
2 C chickpeas
2 Cups boiling water
¼ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 Tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 Cups couscous

In a medium-size frypan; heat the oil. Add green onions, capsicum, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and zucchini. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring periodically. Remove from heat and keep warm.

In a medium-size saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients .

Mix, cover and let stand 5 minutes, until liquid is absorbed. Add the first mixture and fluff with a fork.

Zucchini e Pomodori

6 zucchini
1 red onion, sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoons butter
6 tomatoes, sliced
¼ Cup fresh parsley, chopped
½ Cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat the oven to 180 C.

Cut the zucchini into thin slices lengthwise.

In a frypant, sauté the onions and garlic in the oil and butter for 2 minutes.

In a greased backing dish, cover the bottom with the zucchini slices. Add a layer of tomatoes. Sprinkle half the parmesan cheese, parsley, oregano, salt pepper and red pepper over the top. Add half of the onions. Add another layer and bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

Serves 6 to 8 people.

Eggplant Parmagiana

2 -3 large eggplants

Olive oil

1 bottle passata

500 g shredded mozzarella

Dried breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Slice eggplants 1 cm thick. Heat a heavy pan, add 1 - 2 Tablespoons olive oil and begin lightly frying eggplant slices on both sides and remove and drain as you go.

Take a cassarole dish and spread some passata on base. Sprinkle some crumbs and layer eggplant slices, sauce and cheese until the last layer is sauce with mozzerella on top. Sprinkle liberally with crumbs and bake in centre of oven for at least 30 mins. It is cooked with a skewer or knife can be inserted using no pressure. Allow to cool a little before cutting and serving.Experiment with quantity of sauce you like, it may be too wet or not wet enough.

Greek Salad

6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
Pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
400 g feta, crumbled
8 tomatoes, quartered
1 cucumber, sliced
24 black olives
4 Tablespoons chopped fresh herbs such as oregano, parsley, mint or basil

Make the dressing by whisking together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, sugar and seasonings in a small bowl. Set aside.

Put the tomatoes and cucumber in a bowl. Sprinkle over feta and toss to combine.

Just before serving, whisk the dressing again, pour over the salad leaves and toss together. Scatter over the olives and chopped herbs and serve.

Spanakopita (Spinch Pie)

16 sheets filo pastry
1 kg spinach, defrosted
1 kg féta cheese
250g butter
2 teaspoons minced garlic

Preheat oven to 200 C.

Mix the féta cheese with the spinach to make a mixture, adding the chopped garlic.

Spread some butter on an oven tray. Place each thin pastry on the tray, buttering each one using a brush. After you have done 8 fílo slices, place the spinach/féta mixture and spread over the entire oven tray, covering the 8 pastry slices. On top of this, place the remaining pastry slices, buttering each one of them as well. Place in oven and cook till brown.

Patates Fournou (Garlic Potatoes in the Oven)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Dried oregano
5 garlic cloves
Olive oil
4 large potatoes
3 lemons (juiced)
Dried thyme

Preheat oven to 180 C.

Wash, peel and cut the potatoes into pieces (pieces should be slightly larger than a mouthful).

Arrange the chopped potatoes in a large baking pan.

Pour olive oil over them and 3 tablespoons of oregano, salt, pepper, squashed garlic cloves and a pinch of dried thyme. Pour the lemon juice over the potatoes and mix well.

Bake the potatoes for 18 minutes or until cooked.

Mee Goreng

500 g dried egg noodles
6 Tablespoons oil
8 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt & freshly ground pepper
4 teaspoons minced garlic
4 teaspoons minced ginger
4 carrots, peeled, halved lengthways, sliced diagonally
300 g cabbage, hard core removed, shredded
2 Tablespoons kecap manis
4 teaspoons chilli sauce
4 Tablespoons fried onions, to serve
Snow peas, cut very finely on the diagonal, to serve

Place the noodles in a heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 5 minutes or until just soft. Drain.

Heat 1 tbs of the oil in a wok over a medium-high heat. Add one-quarter of the egg and swirl around the hot wok to form a thin omelette. Cook for 1 minute or until just set, season with salt and pepper. Transfer the omelette to a chopping board. Roll up and thinly slice. Repeat with the remaining egg to make 4 omelettes.

Heat the remaining oil in the wok over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, carrots and cabbage and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes or until just tender. Add the noodles, kecap manis and chilli sauce and stir-fry for 5 minutes.
Divide the mee goreng among serving plates. Sprinkle with the fried shallots. Serve topped with the omelette and snow pea sprouts

Fresh Spring Rolls

50 g bean vermicelli

2 Cups hot water

8 dried rice paper wrappers

16 medium cooked prawns, peeled

16 fresh mint leaves

1 medium carrot, cut into thin strips

1 Cup fresh coriander leaves

1 Tablespoon grated lime rind

2 Tablespoons chilli sauce

Dip a rice paper wrapper into luke-warm water, allow to soften and place on a work surface. Place 2 prawns side-by-side in the centre of the wrapper and top with 2 mint leaves, 1 Tablespoon coriander, a few carrot sticks, a little lime rind and a small amount of rice noodles. Spoon a little chilli sauce over the top.

Press the filling down to flat it a little, bring in two sides; bring in two sides and roll up the parcel. Lay seam-side down on a serving plate and sprinkle with a little water; cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Note: For a vegetarian alternative, swap the prawns for cucumber strips.

Guacamole

4 avocados, peeled, stones removed, roughly chopped
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
2 - 3 tomatoes, finely diced
½ C sour cream
2 limes, juiced
5 drops Tabasco
Salt and pepper, to taste

Place avocado in a shallow dish and mash with a fork until smooth. Add onions, tomato, sour cream, 2 tablespoons lime juice, Tabasco and salt and pepper. Stir until well combined. Cover surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Fresh Salsa

5 tomatoes, finely diced
1 can corn, drained
1 avocado, finely diced
1 red capsicum, finely diced
3 spring onions, very finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
4 Tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.

Chunky Salsa

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 long red chilli, finely chopped
1 small green capsicum, finely diced
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
500g tomatoes, diced

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes or until soft. Add chilli and capsicum. Cook for 2 minutes or until tender. Stir in tomato paste and tomatoes. Bring mixture to the boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat. Cool completely.

Stuffed Mushrooms

8 large field mushrooms, stems removed
Cooking spray
1 ½ Cups cooked white rice
2 teaspoon mild curry powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
8 green onions, finely chopped
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
4 Tablespoons flat-leaf parsley leaves
5 tomatoes, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 200°C. Place mushrooms, stem-side up, in a single layer in roasting pan.

Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Spray with oil. Add rice, curry powder, turmeric, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until heated through.

Chop half the parsley. Add to frying pan with tomato. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes.

Spoon rice mixture into mushrooms. Spray tops with oil. Roast for 25 minutes or until mushrooms are tender.

Transfer mushrooms to a serving plate. Sprinkle with remaining parsley leaves.

Haloumi Kebabs

24 cherry tomatoes
2 large brown onion, cut into thin wedges
500 g haloumi cheese, cut into 24 pieces
2 red capsicum, cut into 24 pieces
4 zucchini, cut into twelve 2cm-thick rounds
24 button mushrooms
2 large lemon, juiced
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon thyme leaves, chopped
2 small red chilli, deseeded, finely chopped

Thread tomatoes, onion, haloumi, capsicum, zucchini and mushrooms alternately onto skewers. Place kebabs, in a single layer, on a large plate.

Whisk 1/4 cup lemon juice, oil, thyme, chilli and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Brush kebabs with marinade. Cover and refrigerate for up to 30 minutes, if time permits.

Cook kebabs on high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, turning often, or until vegetables are tender and cheese starts to melt. Serve kebabs warm.

Stuffed Baked Potatoes

7 large potatoes, halved horizontally
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1 Cup sour cream
1 Cup peas, cooked
1 can creamed corn
6 slices bacon, diced
1 ½ Cup grated cheese

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Wash the potatoes well, then dry. Wrap each potato in foil, place on a baking tray and roast for 1 hour, or until cooked.

When cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and place in a bowl with the butter, cream, peas, corn, bacon and 1 Cup grated cheese.

Season with salt and pepper and mix together. Pile back into potatoes, top with remaining cheese and return to the oven for 20 minutes or until golden.