They may be a support act, but great side dishes can transform a meal. Breads, salads, rice, potatoes and veggies, some can even be transformed into the main attraction with a little inspiration. Here are my favourite side dish recipes.
Beetroot Leaf Boorani Fresh crisp beetroot leaves make a great addition to a salad or a Persian herb platter (sabzi khordan), but they tend not to be valued in Australia. They’re generally chopped off the beets and thrown out, so they’re usually not in great condition; but it’s surprising what a good soak in a […]
Kashke Bademjan (Persian Eggplant Dip) Bademjan is Farsi for eggplant, kashk is fermented whey, and kashke bademjan (roasted eggplant dip) is one of my favourite Persian dishes. My friend Parya-joon made a huge bowl of it for my last birthday party which was a great hit! It uses the same garnishes as the classic Iranian […]
Patatas Bravas Named for the ‘bold’ sauce that coats them, these deep-fried potato cubes in a spicy, tangy tomato sauce are one of my favourite tapas dishes when done well – that means freshly fried, not done ahead of time, refrigerated and reheated as happens in too many Spanish restaurants! As the sauce softens the […]
Salade Verte – How To Dress A Green Salad A simple green salad is the perfect accompaniment to so many dishes, whether it’s made from just one type of leaf or a mixture of several. It may be simple, but it deserves the same respect as the rest of the meal. Vinegar is more common […]
Hush Puppies I’ve been intrigued by hush puppies ever since a friend who grew up in the South told me about them. He said that when the good old boys were sitting around the campfire at night after a day’s hunting, they’d drop bits of corn bread dough into hot oil to fry and throw […]
Crisp Potato Skins This recipe is inspired by one in a 1980s Gourmet Traveller magazine and I make it with potato skins leftover from preparing gnocchi. Roasting the potatoes on a bed of rock salt then passing them through a ricer ensures the driest potato and therefore the lightest gnocchi. It also leaves you with […]
Duck fat potatoes are quite a delicacy in France – so when I had some rendered duck fat left over from frying duck breasts for duck a l’orange, I thought I’d make some. The verdict: easy and utterly delicious! The trick is to fry them for about 10 minutes without disturbing them so they crisp […]
Chestnuts are a favourite autumn food in Japan in both savoury and sweet dishes. At their simplest, yakiguri (roasted chestnuts) are sold to passers-by from mobile street stands – just as they are in Europe. For something slightly more filling they’re combined with rice in this simple and delicious classic dish of kuri gohan. If […]
Pickled vegetables are always present on a Middle Eastern table. Olives, green chillies and turnips are most common but small eggplants, cucumbers and cauliflower are also popular. Turnips, traditionally stained bright pink with beetroot juice, are the most distinctive, though commercial ones are usually artificially coloured these days. The good news is they’re easy to […]
Once you discover how easy it is to segment an orange, you’ll be making this simple dessert regularly. Use vivid Persian pistachio slivers instead of almonds if you like (no need to toast them) or add some pitted olives, chopped parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper for a delicious savoury version. This orange salad is […]
