Spicy omelette sandwiches with tomato salsa

Hello everyone, this week's recipe is one of those things about which I wasn't all that excited. It comes from I think Bill Granger's third book, Bill's Open Kitchen, and if I had seen it anywhere else I probably wouldn't have bothered even trying it. To my surprise, it was really, really good! I think the secret is using really fresh, soft rolls and good tomatoes. It is also quick and easy.

Have a great week. Love from Jane xx

Spicy omelette sandwiches with tomato salsa

Serves two

What you need:

• 4 eggs
• A large pinch of cumin
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground pepper

Tomato salsa:

• 3 tomatoes, seeded and cut into strips
• 1/2 red onion, finely sliced (if you don't mind raw onion; I left it out)
• 1/4 cup coriander or mint leaves
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 long chilli, finely sliced

To serve:

• 2 soft bap rolls

What you do:

1. Mix all of the salsa ingredients together and set aside.
2. Break the eggs into a bowl.
3. Add a tablespoon of water and the cumin to the eggs and beat lightly until just combined.
4. Heat a non stick frying pan over a medium to high heat, add the oil and swirl to coat the base of the pan.
5. Pour in the eggs, and as they begin to cook, use a wooden spoon to carefully drag the cooked egg to the centre of the pan, allowing the uncooked mix to flow towards the edges.
6. Sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper.
7. When the omelette is nearly all cooked, fold in half and slide out onto a board before cutting in half, lengthways.
8. Split the rolls in half and butter if you wish, then fill with the omelette and salsa.

Lemon and parmesan spaghetti

Hello everyone, I've had a very quiet week due to a very bad cold, so that has meant more time to cook and eat at home! (And read cook books and drool over various sweet delights). One night this week I made this delicious pasta dish from my Marie-Claire Comfort book. It was quite perfect - I could have eaten double the quantity it was so good! It really is best with a thin pasta like spaghetti or spaghettini, and if you can get your hands on a good quality fresh pasta even better. I usually use Pasta Vera products which I buy from Harris Farm Markets, their pasta is better than any other brand I have tried.

Have a lovely week. Love from Jane xx

Lemon and parmesan spaghetti

Serves four

What you need:

• Grated and finely chopped zest and juice of 2 lemons (do the zesting before you juice, it will be a LOT easier)
• 400g spaghetti
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 2 rinsed and finely sliced leeks
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons rinsed and drained small salted capers (optional - I left them out but you might like them)
• 1 handful flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 bunch chives, finely snipped
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

What you do:

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and add half the lemon juice.
2. Cook the pasta until al dente, then drain and keep warm.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat.
4. Add the garlic and the leeks and saute until the leeks are transparent.
5. Season with the black pepper.
6. Stir the cooked spaghetti into the leeks and add the lemon zest, remaining juice, capers, parsley and chives, stirring everything together gently.
7. Divide among four warmed pasta bowls and sprinkle with the cheese.

Red wine and sausage risotto

Hello everyone, I have just returned from three days in Mount Gambier, South Australia, and have two completely different food experiences to relate. (I was very thankful that the second was so different to the first).

On the first night I was there, with the around 60 or so other conference delegates I went to dinner at a local Italian place. My alarm bells had started to ring early as we were informed we were starting with tapas, to be followed by pizza and pasta. Quite a cultural mix, but I guess at least it was all European. For dinner we were presented with quite a wide choice of pizzas and pastas. Frankly none of them really appealed but I picked one and put in my order with everyone else. We then waited, and waited, and waited for our food. No garlic bread or salads to sustain us. Eventually the food started to arrive. I think my neighbour on my right was just finishing hers when my neighbour on my left received her dinner. And lucky me, I just continued to wait! Finally, when everyone else was ordering coffee my pizza arrived. I looked at it, politely thanked the waiter who had brought it to me, then pointed out that in fact it wasn't the pizza I had ordered. Hands on hips she declared "Sweetheart, that's all there is. I suggest you eat it. It will fill you up." Which is just hilarious to be told that in a restaurant! I have laughed my head off every time I have told someone the story. And not only was it the wrong pizza, the base was only half cooked! So, it will be one of my memorable meals but not for the usual reasons!

Thankfully the next nightwas much better. We were treated to a wine tasting at Balnaves of Coonawarra Winery http://www.balnaves.com.au/. It was lovely. We were welcomed into a beautiful room at the winery which felt like being in someone's very tasteful home, and feasted on delicious cheeses and fruit pastes while tasting various wines. We then moved on to dinner at a wonderful place, Pipers of Penola http://www.pipersofpenola.com.au/ which was outstanding. The restaurant was beautiful, the service was very charming and the food was excellent. Perhaps best of all was the luscious chocolate pudding for dessert. Mmmmm, it was good.

This week's recipe is one I remembered because I did a very similar thing during the week with pork sausages and red wine. In that case I made a delicious pasta sauce, but this recipe is for a very easy risotto. It comes from the very reliable Take Three by Jill Dupleix.

Have a happy week. Love from Jane xx

Red wine and sausage risotto

Serves four

What you need:

• 3 Italian pork and fennel sausages
• 300g Arborio rice
• 115ml good red wine
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 750ml chicken stock, heated
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving

What you do:

1. Heat a non stick frying pan.
2. Squeeze the meat out of the sausages and add the meat in small lumps to the frying pan, frying until lightly crusty and golden. Set aside.
3. Melt the butter in the same pan and add the onion, cooking over a moderate heat until translucent.
4. Add the rice and stir until well mixed with the onion.
5. Add the red wine and allow to bubble for a couple of minutes, until absorbed.
6. Add the sausage and stir thoroughly.
7. Add all of the chicken stock and bring the mix back to the boil.
8. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for about 15 minutes, until the rice has absorbed the stock and is tender. If the rice starts to dry out and isn't yet cooked, add some water.
9. Stir in the Parmesan and serve with additional Parmesan served at the table.

Orange semolina cake

Hello everyone, I missed posting a recipe last week as I was in Melbourne for the weekend. I travelled there with my sisters and we spent most of the time packing up the house of my aunt, who is sadly nearing the end of her life. As you can imagine, despite the circumstances, it was interesting going through all her things, as we found lots of familiar items but also things that were a surprise. Perhaps best for me was going through my aunt's collection of cook books. I have souvenired a number of them, so my collection continues to grow!

While we were there I had the opportunity to visit the famous Richmond Hill Larder and Cafe, a place I have been yearning to visit for years. I couldn't believe it, it's a cafe (albeit a very good one) and I had to put my name down at the door and wait for twenty minutes for a table to become vacant! My sisters were smart enough to use the time shopping elsewhere, but I hovered, fearful that a table would come up and go again just as quickly if we weren't there to snap it up immediately. Finally we were seated and with great anticipation I commented to the waiter that I thought I'd try the freshly baked scones that were advertised on their chalkboard at the door. Too late - they only make one batch and they all went while I was hovering for my table!

By this time I was quite cross and thinking I didn't like this place at all, however my humour was restored with a quite good hot chocolate and a very delicious chocolate pudding. I even bought some of their goods to bring home with me.

This week's recipe is for a very moist and tasty cake that takes little time to throw together. The syrup seems like a huge quantity to pour over one cake, but do it slowly and gradually and the cake will take it. I think I may have cut out this recipe from The Sydney Magazine, from one of those "What I Cook When..." columns. I wonder whose it was originally?

Have a lovely week. Love from Jane xx

Orange semolina cake

What you need:

• 200g butter
• 300g caster sugar
• Finely grated zest of 3 oranges (I zested then chopped in the bamix)
• 6 eggs
• 260g fine semolina
• 150g almond meal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

Syrup

• 200g caster sugar
• 500ml orange juice

What you do:

1. Beat the butter, sugar and orange zest until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in all of the eggs.
3. Add the sifted semolina, almond meal and baking powder and mix well.
4. Pour into a 20cm cake tin lined with baking paper.
5. Bake at 180C for 40 to 50 minutes or maybe longer, depending on your oven. Remember that it is a very moist cake but when you insert a toothpick it should be cooked all the way through.
6. While the cake is baking, combine the sugar and orange juice in a saucepan and simmer for 3 minutes.
7. Cool the syrup and pour over the warm cake.
8. Serve with cream, strawberries and raspberries.