The colourful world of fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses and funghi provides a wealth of possibilities for delicious dishes. While some dishes listed here are vegetarian containing animal products, they’re easily adapted to a vegan diet by omitting or replacing eggs or dairy with a vegan-friendly alternative. Likewise dishes containing anchovies or non-vegan seasoning can be adapted.
Salmoriglio Salmoriglio is a simple southern Italian sauce based on olive oil, lemon, garlic and herbs, traditionally oregano. Parsley is often included and sometimes a little finely chopped rosemary or thyme, some recipes add a little anchovy too. Most cooks simply whisk all the ingredients together but, in The River Café Cookbook, Rose Gray and […]
Melanzane Grigliate Eggplant is like a sponge and soaks up an incredible amount of oil, so I prefer to brush it with oil and bake or grill it rather than fry it. If you have the barbecue fired up, you can cook the eggplant on it, otherwise bake it in the oven as I’m doing […]
Peperoni in Padella I was taught to make this braised capsicum dish by a boyfriend’s Neapolitan mother many years ago, and it’s still one of my favourites. Peperoni in padella simply means ‘peppers in the pan’ and the result is quite different to roasting a capsicum in the oven as the juices blend with the […]
Romesco Sauce Originating in the region of Catalonia, romesco sauce is one of Spain’s most popular sauces with as many variations as there are cooks. It’s very versatile, especially popular with seafood but also delicious with poultry and red meat. The essential ingredients are nuts, tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, olive oil and red peppers. Traditionally, dried […]
Stir-fried Bean Sprouts & Garlic Chives I love the crunch of bean sprouts scattered over many dishes, from char kway teow to laksa, but I find that whenever I buy a bag I always waste more than half of them as I’m using just a small handful as a garnish. Then I came across tumis […]
Sambal Goreng (Fried Chilli Paste) https://youtu.be/IHdQF4za4nw I love having good condiments on hand to add flavour to quick and easy meals. In Southeast Asia that’s often a sambal, and sambal goreng is one of the easiest and tastiest. Sambal means ‘chilli’ and goreng means ‘fried’ and I use this fried chilli paste in mee goreng […]
Apom Berkuah with Pengat Pisang Apom berkuah with pengat pisang is a popular Singaporean dessert. Apom comes from the word ‘appam’, a southern Indian fermented rice pancake popular in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and berkuah (also written bokwa or bengkua) means to accompany a thick sauce or gravy, in this case the delicious banana-studded coconut […]
Advieh (Persian Spice Blend) Advieh, Persian cuisine’s all-purpose spice mix, is a blend of equal quantities of earthy warm spices, with the aromatic lift of dried rose petals. Cooks usually grind up a batch from whole spices and store it in an airtight jar to have on hand for seasoning dishes from soups to stews. […]
Coriander & Mint Sauce This slightly spicy coriander & mint sauce is a riff on hari chutney, the traditional accompaniment to that colourful crunchy Indian street-side snack, chaat. My recipe is inspired by a sauce Ajoy Joshi serves at Nilgiri’s Indian Restaurant in Cremorne. I was tempted to call it a chutney, until I remembered […]
Prickly Ash Sichuan peppercorns, those wonderfully numbing little nuggets that are essential to Sichuanese food, aren’t a true pepper but a similar-shaped dried fruit from the prickly ash tree (Zanthoxylum piperitum). This spice has a great aroma, which is amplified by roasting and grinding it. Salt is often considered the foundation of Sichuanese cooking as […]
