Herb baked fish on saffron and tomato potatoes

Hello everyone, well, my annual Sydney Film Festival immersion finished on Saturday with three films. The absolute highlight of the Festival for me was the first one I saw that day, a documentary called Bill Cunningham New York http://billcunninghamnewyork.com/, which was an absolutely charming and fascinating film about this man who cycles around the city, documenting New York fashion, both on the street and at charity galas. It was funny and moving and visually captivating. If you saw the Valentino film last year, or The September Issue, it's a film in the vein of those ones. If it gets a general release, it's another one I highly recommend. The snippets with some obscure diplomat who has a wardrobe full of custom made suits in the most bizarre designs and fabrics is one of the most hilarious things I have ever seen.

This week's recipe is another dish combining two of my favourite things - fish and potato. It is from the June 2010 edition of delicious magazine. In it they use blue-eye. I substituted salmon as I am not huge on blue-eye, but I'm sure you could use whatever fish takes your fancy. I'm not convinced that the inclusion of the tomatoes adds anything so if you can't be bothered with the peeling and seeding, you won't lose anything by leaving them out. The potatoes work really well done this way - they are luscious!

Have a great week.

Love from Jane xx

Herb baked fish on saffron and tomato potatoes

Serves four

What you need:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 250g vine ripened tomatoes, peeled, quartered and seeds removed
• 900g floury potatoes (such as coliban), peeled and cut into 1cm slices
• 300ml vegetable stock
• A good pinch of saffron threads
• 50g unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon chopped flat leaf parsley leaves
• 4 x 200g thick fish fillets

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 220C.
2. Heat the oil in a deep frypan over a medium heat.
3. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for one minute, then add tomato if using, and cook for two minutes until the tomato starts to soften.
4. Reduce the heat to low and add the potato slices, stock, saffron and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
5. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the potato is almost tender.
6. Transfer the potatoes and tomatoes to a baking dish, with the liquid, and season.
7. Stir together the melted butter and chopped herbs, then coat the fish with the herb butter.
8. Place the fish on top of the potatoes and pour over any remaining herb butter.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the fish is cooked to your liking and the potatoes are tender.
10. Spoon the potatoes into warmed bowls and carefully arrange the fish on top and serve.

Spaghetti with ocean trout and capers

Hello everyone, yesterday I went to one of the first events at this year's Sydney Writers' Festival http://www.swf.org.au/ which was a talk by the founders of the famous Bourke Street Bakery. It was held at the Surry Hills Library and the two speakers, Paul Allam and David McGuinness, shared some of the "secrets" of the bakery. It was fascinating, and a lovely addition was on that arrival they had a generous selection of their famous tarts set out on a big table, so that everyone could have one on the way in! It was a really good start for this year's Festival for me.

This week's recipe comes from Pete Evan's book Fish, from which I have had mixed results, but this one was a real winner, particularly as I had left work late that day, so was anticipating a late dinner, but despite the lengthy list of ingredients, found that it cooked up pretty quickly and was delicious.

Have a lovely week. Love from Jane xx

Spaghetti with ocean trout and capers

Serves four

(If you don't like capers by all means leave them out, I don't think their deletion will impact too markedly on the dish).

What you need:

• 500g spaghetti
• 1/2 cup light olive oil
• 4 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped banana chilli
• 6 anchovies, roughly torn
• 60g choppped green olives
• 2 tablespoons baby capers
• A large handful of chopped flat leaf parsley
• Juice of 2 lemons
• 400g ocean trout, skin and bones removed and cubed (it's really important that the skin is removed, I forgot this detail when I purchased my fish and consequently had some difficulty with the cubing)
• 3 handfuls of rocket
• 4 tablespoons salmon roe (optional)

What you do:

1. Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling water until al dente.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil, garlic and chilli in a large pan until the garlic starts to turn golden.
3. Add the anchovies, olives, capers and parsley.
4. Drain the pasta, add to the pan with the garlic mix and toss well.
5. Add the lemon juice and ocean trout and season with salt and pepper.
6. Stir through for 30 seconds. The idea is for the fish to be served rare, so you are just warming it slightly around the edges and then allowing it to cook a little more when served from the heat of the pasta.
7. Add the rocket and mix through until slightly wilted.
8. Transfer the spaghetti and fish to a serving bowl and garnish with salmon roe, if using, before serving.

Salmon, cabbage and potato

Hello everyone, I had dinner during the week with my friend Jan who lives in Potts Point and therefore is never short of a new fabulous place to entice me. We went to the Sardine Room, and really just the name was enough to get me there, conjuring up images of a glamorous, 1940s style bar. It's actually a little restaurant in Challis Street in Potts Point, specialising, of course, in seafood. I was intrigued when the owner made a point of telling us that several of the dishes were cooked in stock NOT cream, which could be a selling point to some, but not me. Bring on the cream I thought to myself. In any case, we both plumped for a risotto which had fennel and something else, I've actually forgotten already but it was some sort of seafood, and really very nice. But as I was quite stressed that evening, the highlights for me were the lovely glass of red and the luscious slice of chocolate and hazelnut tort with frangelico mascarpone - I definitely needed that combination to make me feel more settled!

Now this week's recipe comes from Jill Dupleix's book Take Three. As she doesn't actually title the recipes in the book I have just named it according to the three chief ingredients, which may not sound that exciting, but it's a very nice dish. It has caraway seeds, which I always think impart a magic touch.

Have a happy week. Love from Jane xxx

Salmon, cabbage and potato

Serves four

What you need:

• 4 x 200g fillets of fresh salmon
• 1/2 medium white cabbage, cored and finely shredded
• 10 small potatoes (baby kipflers are around at the moment and very good)
• Sea salt
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 200ml white wine (or you can substitute verjuice)
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons caraway seeds

What you do:

1. Cook the potatoes, (either peeled or unpeeled, whatever you prefer) in simmering, salted water for about 15 minutes or until tender.
2. Cook the cabbage in simmering, salted water for about 10 minutes - you want it to remain fairly crunchy - then drain well.
3. Melt the butter in a large frying pan, add the wine and bring to the boil.
4. Add the drained cabbage and toss well.
5. Place the salmon fillets on top, cover tightly, and cook over a gentle heat for about 10 minutes until the cabbage is tender and the salmon is cooked but still pink and moist in the middle.
6. Gently remove the salmon fillets and keep warm.
7. Add the vinegar and half the caraway seeds to the cabbage and toss well for a minute.
8. Arrange a heap of cabbage on four serving plates and top each with a salmon fillet.
9. Drain the potatoes, cut in half and tuck them around the salmon.
10. Sprinkle with the remaining caraway seeds and serve.

Roasted walnut and preserved lemon salsa

Hello everyone, last week I reported on my broken down fridge from the previous weekend. The new one is working beautifully, but my goodness, even though I think I don't have a lot in my fridge usually, I am very conscious of how much rebuilding I have to do. There are so many basic things that I reach for and then remember having to throw out whatever the item is. Slowly, slowly I am restoring things.

I tell you what, the fridge wasn't my only disaster. Last Saturday the clutch in my car went! It was terrible at the time (particularly as I was so flustered that I couldn't find the hazard lights!) This morning I was out and about in the car and so thankful that if the clutch had to go, thank goodness it wasn't today in the pelting rain. It could have been a lot worse!

On Sunday my friend Cathy and I went and tried a fairly recently opened restaurant called Cavallino http://www.cavallino.com.au/ in Terrey Hills of all places! Trust me, if you like authentic Italian food, it's worth the trip. I had really delicious hand made pasta (although the sauce was rather salty), and we indulged in profiteroles with a wicked chocolate sauce for dessert. Definitely worth a return visit, that one.

Today's recipe is another one that I snipped from the pages of Good Living, so I don't know whose creation it is. But I can assure you that it is luscious. And a bit unusual which is always good when you want to impress family and friends. The key is using fresh walnuts, which you can easily get at Harris Farm or nut shops, rather than packet walnuts, and rubbing them with a teatowel to remove as much skin as possible. Trust me, it doesn't take too long and once you have tried it you will see the difference it makes to the flavour of the nuts. The original recipe is made with coriander, but as I loathe that herb I used mint instead and it was lovely. The salsa is sensational served over barbecued fish, but of course you could do it with fish cooked any way you like, or serve the salsa with other meats or vegetables. It is very summery and refreshing.

Have a happy week! Love from Jane xxx

Roasted walnut and preserved lemon salsa

Serves about four

What you need:

• 80g walnuts (shelled)
• 3/4 of a preserved lemon
• About 1 cup coriander or mint leaves, chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or less, use your judgement)
• Sea salt

What you do:

1. Roast the walnuts in a hot oven (200C) until golden brown (probably about ten minutes - stay close to the kitchen so you can judge the timing by the aroma).
2. When the nuts have cooled, wrap them in a clean teatowel and rub vigorously to remove as much skin as possible.
3. Roughly chop the walnuts and place in a bowl.
4. Rinse the preserved lemon (does anyone actually do this? I don't), discard the pith and finely chop the skin.
5. Add the lemon to the nuts.
6. Add the chopped coriander/mint, lemon juice, olive oil and sea salt to taste.
7. Spoon over whatever you have cooked to go with the salsa.

• Note that the dressing is best when made just before serving.

Prawn skewers with rice salad

Hello everyone, gosh it's a hot summer's day in Sydney today! Mum used to say on days like this she wished she could put a zipper into the cat's coat, and I'm thinking that today. Bellatrix doesn't look too uncomfortable, but it would be lovely to unzip that fur coat and help her out of it.

My freezer is acting in a very suspicious way too...I reached in for some ice cubes this morning and there seemed to be some significant thawing going on. I do hope it's just because of the very hot temperature outside but I am starting to wonder if I'm going to be taking a trip to the new fridge shop this week....

I'll ignore it for the minute. This week's recipe is another of Bill Granger's (from Bill's Open Kitchen) and is one of those dishes that just tastes like summer. When I made it I did the full quantity of the rice salad so that I had some for lunches during the week. I know it looks like a long list of ingredients, but many of the ingredients for the salad are the same as for the prawns and once you have done all the chopping of the ingredients you are nearly there.

Have a wonderful week! Love from Jane xx

Prawn skewers with rice salad

Serves four

What you need:

• 3 thick slices of sourdough bread
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 24 medium green prawns, peeled and deveined
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Lemon wedges to serve

Rice salad

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups COOKED white rice (boil up two cups of uncooked rice)
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup roughly chopped flat leaf parsley
• 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup green olives, pitted and sliced

What you do:

1. Soak eight wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes to stop them from burning during cooking.
2. Preheat the oven to 200C.
3. Place the bread on a baking tray and toast for 20 minutes or until lightly golden.
4. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, then turn into breadcrumbs in a food processor.
5. Toss the prawns in the olive oil.
6. Add the remaining ingredients, including the breadcrumbs, and mix well so that each prawn is evenly coated in breadcrumbs.
7. Cover with gladwrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
8. To make the rice salad, combine the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
9. Add all of the remaining salad ingredients and toss until well combined.
10. Preheat a grill or a BBQ to high.
11. Thread 3 prawns onto each skewer, curling and skewering the tails to maintain a round shape.
12. Cook for 2 minutes on each side, or until golden, and serve with the lemon wedges and rice salad.

Roast salmon salad with marie rose dressing

Hello everyone, for about eighteen months I have been trying to book a table at the Tea Room Gunners Barracks https://www.thetearoom.com.au/ for high tea. Every time I called to make a booking I was put off - they were fully booked for the next six Saturdays; they had stoppped taking bookings; there was a new reason every time for why I couldn't book a table. Every time I hung up the phone I would be so cross and think "Well I'm just not going to go there, clearly they don't want my business." But in fact it just made me more and more keen to go there. The last time I called I was told that they no longer do high tea on weekends as they have so many weddings, so I would have to come during the week. Well, being on holidays this week it was my top priority. On a gorgeous sunny day during the week my very appropriately dressed friend Aviva (teacup adorned skirt and all) descended on the place and enjoyed a splendid high tea. Perhaps not quite the best I have had in terms of the food, although it was very good and plentiful, but the fit out of the place and the breathtaking views made the whole experience worth waiting for all that time. And best of all? The cheeky kookaburras who suddenly swoop in to snaffle a sandwich from the tiered stands. We were warned it could happen so ate quickly, but saw it happen to another table.

This week's recipe is a fantastic summery salad, a Jamie Oliver recipe which comes from the November edition of delicious magazine. I loved it when I made it and last night I had word that my brother in law and nieces were road testing it on my recommendation. The verdict? Possibly the best salmon they have ever had. See what you think.

Have a happy week. Love from Jane xx

Roast salmon salad with marie rose dressing

Serves four

What you need:
· 600g salmon fillets
· Light olive oil
· 4 tablespoons good quality mayonnaise
· 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
· 2 lemons
· Tabasco sauce
· 2 baby cos lettuces, broken into pieces
· 2 handfuls watercress
· 300g cooked prawns, peeled (keep on the tails)
· Extra virgin olive oil

What you do:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Place salmon on a baking tray, sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil.
3. Place in the hot oven for about ten minutes.
4. Meanwhile, mix the mayonnaise and tomato sauce in a small bowl.
5. Add the zest and juice of one lemon.
6. Season well with salt and pepper and a dash of Tabasco sauce. The sauce should be a loose dressing you can drizzle over the salad.
7. Check the salmon and when it’s done to your liking, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
8. Mix the lettuce and watercress in a large bowl or on a platter and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil.
9. Break the salmon into nice large chunks and place them in and around the salad.
10. Scatter with prawns.
11. Spoon the dressing over the top.
12. Serve with the remaining lemon cut into wedges.

Salmon and potato al forno

Hello everyone, I am shortly moving into the city for work, which has its pluses and minuses. The choices for lunch are definitely going to be an improvement on where I am now. Yesterday I was in town and went looking for a sandwich cafe of which I have heard many good things but never stumbled across before. It turned out to be down one of those dingy alleys which you would never explore unless you were on the hunt for something, and there was no signage to indicate the name of the place. Close questioning, and my lunch, proved I had found the right place. It is called Via Abercrombie and they do outstanding sandwiches! So this is one place I'll be visiting regularly.

This week's recipe comes from the August 2009 edition of delicious magazine. Funnily enough there were very few recipes in that issue that excited me, but this one caught my eye as its key ingredients are all favourites, and I was very, very happy with the result.

Have a great week. Love from Jane xx

Salmon and potato al forno

Serves four

What you need:

• 1 kg chat potatoes
• 1 large fennel bulb
• 1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 25g cold butter, cut into small pieces
• Light olive oil
• 4 salmon fillets, with skin
• A few mint leaves, finely chopped
• A small handful of grated parmesan
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 220C.
2. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
3. Halve the potatoes lengthways and trim the fennel bulb, reserving the leafy fronds for garnishing later.
4. Cut the fennel bulb into 8 wedges, add these to the salted water with the potatoes and parboil for about 6 minutes.
5. Drain the vegetables in a colander and leave to steam dry for a minute.
6. Transfer to a large roasting pan and season well with salt and pepper.
7. Sprinkle over half the parsley and all of the garlic, dot with the butter and drizzle well with the olive oil.
8. Toss everything together in the pan so it is all mixed well and then shake out so that the vegetables sit in one layer.
9. Cook the vegetables in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until golden.
10. While the vegetables are roasting, score the skin on the fish.
11. Season the fish with salt and pepper and push the remaining parsley and the mint into the scores.
12. When the vegetables are golden, sprinkle the parmesan over the potatoes.
13. Lay the salmon, skin side up, on top of the vegetables.
14. Sprinkle over the lemon zest and drizzle with some olive oil.
15. Cook for a further 15 minutes in the oven.
16. Just before the dish comes out of the oven, chop the reserved fennel fronds.
17. Take the fish and vegetables out of the oven, sprinkle with the chopped fennel fronds and serve with wedges of lemon.

Chilli salmon noodle salad with lime and herbs

Hello everyone, I had a fantastic day yesterday doing a Spanish Gourmet Safari http://www.gourmetsafaris.com.au/page/sydney_safaris.html. We went all over Sydney and tasted all sorts of beautiful Spanish foods and drinks including jamon, olives, cheese, chorizo, sherry (which I had never tasted before but once I tried the Pedro Ximinez...I was hooked). I knew the day was off to a good start when we began in a tiny cafe in Kings Cross with beautiful thick Spanish hot chocolate and churros. From there we went to Yagoona, then back to McMahons Point, then Glebe and finally into the Spanish quarter in Liverpool street in the city. Who knew there were so many sources of fabulous Spanish things? We finished mid afternoon with some tapas and sangria. I have to say the potatoes in alioli were the best I have ever eaten. All in all an outstanding day, so if you like your Spanish I highly recommend you do this tour, it is excellent.

Now for a completely different taste I'm giving you a recipe for a Thai style salad which truly stands the test of something delicious and easy at the end of a long, hard day. I left work on Friday night at 7.00 and was determined that I was going to make this salad. Only problem was that I had left my shopping list at home and didn't know what I needed for it, and by that time of night my shopping options were limited. I took a punt that delicious magazine, from which the recipe comes (in fact it's this month's cover recipe so you can see it), is sold in Woolies and happily found it there. I bought a copy and then whipped around the shop and managed to obtain all the ingredients that I didn't already have at home. (Including buying the salmon at Woolies which I have never done before but I was surprised at how good and fresh it was, just like buying from a real fishmonger!)

So you can imagine, by the time I got home it was around 8.00. Well, I had dinner made within 15 minutes and it was beautiful. So hopefully a good one for you too when you're in the same situation - just remember to take your shopping list with you!

Have a happy week. Love from Jane xx

Chilli salmon noodle salad with lime and herbs

Serves four

What you need:

• 500g salmon fillet
• 1-2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil, or a light olive oil
• 200g rice vermicelli noodles
• 1/2 punnet cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 avocado, roughly chopped
• 1 small red chilli, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1/3 cup each mint, coriander and Thai or regular basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons salted peanuts, roughly chopped

Dressing (I found the given quantities perfect but you can adjust to suit your taste)

• 2 tablespoons lime juice, plus lime wedges to serve
• 2 tablespoons each fish sauce and sweet chilli sauce
• 1 tablespoon light olive oil
• 2 teaspoons caster sugar

What you do:

1. Coat the salmon fillet in the sweet chilli sauce.
2. Heat the oil in a frypan over a medium-high heat.
3. Sear the salmon for 2-3 minutes each side, leaving it a little pink in the middle.
4. Place the salmon on a plate, cover loosely with foil and leave to rest while you make the salad.
5. Prepare the noodles by pouring boiling water over them, then drain and set aside.
6. Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients in a large bowl until the sugar dissolves.
7. Add the cherry tomatoes, avocado and sliced red chilli to the dressing and toss gently to combine.
8. Add the noodles and herbs to the salad and gently toss again.
9. Divide the noodle salad among four plates.
10. Break the salmon into chunks with your fingers and gently tuck the pieces into the salad.
11. Scatter with the peanuts and serve the salad with the lime wedges.

Prawn cocktail

Hello everyone, isn't it great that we are finally getting some good hot summer days? I went down to the beach one night during the week for a walk around 8.00 pm and the place was packed - I had to wait ten minutes for a park! This kind of weather puts me in mind of prawn cocktails. When I was little we used to have family holidays with friends at their house at Lake Macquarie, and Patsy, the hostess, initiated me into the delights of the prawn cocktail. We would buy fresh prawns at the co-op during the afternoon, then go back to the house and peel a big mountain of them. I returned to this dish during the week as it's such a quick and easy one for mid week dinners. I experimented with the quantities for the sauce and think I have it just right, but of course, you should adjust the quantities to your taste.

Have a fabulous week, love from Jane xx

Prawn cocktail
Quantity for one - multiply as needed

What you need:

• Whatever type of lettuce leaves you like, watercress would be nice
• 10 king prawns, peeled
• 2 teaspoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon tomato sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• Lemon or lime quarter

What you do:

1. Shred the lettuce and arrange in your serving bowl/glass.
2. Arrange the prawns on the lettuce.
3. Mix together the remaining ingredients and drizzle over the prawns.
4. Serve with a wedge of lemon or lime.

Prawn and mango salad with maple creme fraiche

Hello everyone, every Saturday morning I listen to Simon Marnie's program on ABC radio while I'm doing my weekend chores. My favourite segment is when he has three providores talking about the best meat, seafood and fruit and vegetables that are in season. Then a chef comes up with a three course meal using the ingredients suggested. They are all great recipes that are given, but as dessert is always based on the fruit that is listed, there is never a chocolate dessert, and in my view if there's no chocolate then it's not a proper dessert. So in desperation this morning I sent Simon a text pointing out this omission and guess what? Today's chef came up with a gorgeous sounding Black Forest confection using cherries AND chocolate. Now, that's a real dessert!

This week's recipe is not dessert, but a sensational prawn and mango salad that is perfect for hot Summer nights (I am pretending that we are experiencing fabulous Summer weather and hoping that eventually it will come good). It takes no time to whip up this one. It is the November recipe from the 2006 delicious calendar which had some really good recipes.

Have a great week. Love from Jane xxx

Prawn and mango salad with maple creme fraiche

Serves four

What you need:

• 50ml olive oil
• Grated rind and juice of 2 limes
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/2 long red chilli, seeded, finely chopped
• 100ml creme fraiche (you can buy this most places now) or sour cream
• 4 cups baby salad leaves
• 1 mango, peeled and thinly sliced
• 500g cooked prawns, peeled and with tails intact

What you do:

1. For the dressing, whisk together the oil with 2 tablespoons lime juice, then season with salt and pepper.
2. For the maple creme fraiche, in a small bowl whisk together the remaining lime juice and rind, maple syrup, chopped chilli and creme fraiche/sour cream.
3. Toss the salad leaves with the dressing and divide among four bowls.
4. Top with mango slices and prawns and serve with a dollop of the maple creme fraiche.

Mixed cress, zucchini and raw salmon salad

Hello everyone, last night I made this divine salad for dinner. I adore sashimi, so when I saw this recipe that uses it I just had to try it. It is from my Spring/Summer SOS book. It is light and summery, and best of all, you can whip it up in just a few minutes. Mind you, I was making some rocky road at the same time as I was making the salad, so made sure I was really concentrating when it came time to tip the sliced salmon into one of the bowls I was using! It shouldn't be difficult to find the sashimi - I bought mine from a suburban fish shop - but make sure you use sashimi quality salmon that is ultra-fresh. The fishmonger cut it fresh for me and it was beautiful.

Have a lovely week, love from Jane xxx

Mixed cress, zucchini and raw salmon salad
(Serves four as an entree or two as a main)

What you need:

• Four handfuls of mixed leaves, preferably a mix of watercress, curly cress and lamb's lettuce (you can usually buy these sorts of leaves at farmers markets; if you are relying on your local greengrocer then just use a mix of what you can find)
• 2 trimmed zucchini
• 500g sashimi quality salmon
• 1 1/2 tablespoons mirin
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon of any light oil you have to hand
• Juice of a quarter of a lime
• 2 tablespoons chopped chives

What you do:

1. Place the leaves in a serving bowl.
2. Using a vegetable peeler, slice thin strips from the zucchini and add to the leaves.
3. Thinly slice the salmon and add to the leaves.
4. Combine the remaining ingredients and mix well.
5. Pour the dressing over the salad, toss gently and serve immediately.

Warm salmon and green leaf salad

Hello everyone, I don't know where the last week went. It feels as if the end of the year is racing towards us. Not a bad thing, as we move closer to Melbourne Cup day you just know that party season is right around the corner....All the blue sky and sunshine we are experiencing in Sydney makes me think of weekends at the beach, BBQs and hanging out with friends.

This week's recipe is a great one for Spring, combining salad and fish. It comes from my Spring/Summer copy of SOS, which is always one of the first books to which I turn at this lovely time of year. If you can get some watercess and keep it looking sprightly it makes the salad look so pretty. This makes a nice lunch if you are having friends around, and is also quick and easy for dinner after work.

Have a great week. Love from Jane xxx

Warm salmon and green leaf salad

Serves four

What you need:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons almond oil (or you can use all olive oil)
• 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses or juice
• Sea salt flakes
• Freshly ground pepper
• Juice of 1-2 limes (or 1 lemon, limes are very expensive right now)
• 4 x salmon fillets
• 300g mix of rocket, baby spinach and watercress
• 2 Lebanese cucumbers, sliced crosswise
• 1/3 cup blanched almonds, toasted in the oven for about 6 minutes

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 200.
2. Combine the oils, pomegranate molasses, salt, pepper and a teaspoon of the lime/lemon juice. Taste the dressing to make sure it balances as the pomegranate molasses can sometimes be a little tart.
3. Season the salmon and drizzle with the remaining lime/lemon juice.
4. Roast the salmon, skin side down, on a lightly oiled baking tray (I would line the tray with baking paper as well) for 8-10 minutes or until the salmon is moist and just cooked.
5. Break the salmon into chunks, discarding the skin.
6. Place the mixed leaves in to a serving dish, place the salmon chunks on top, scatter with cucumber and the toasted almonds and add the dressing.
7. Toss gently to combine and serve.

Pasta with fresh salmon and peas

Hello everyone, what a relief for those of us in Sydney that the rain has gone away and we can finally see blue sky! I am particularly pleased for my cat, whose twenty year old bones really like having the sun on them. I used to think she was old when I was under the impression she was four years younger than she actually is, but now that I know her real age I realise she is very old and needs all the comfort she can get. Such as sharing the salmon I cooked last night for this week's dish.

The recipe I'm giving you is based on one in my Heart Of The Home book. They used smoked salmon, of which I'm not a fan, so I substituted fresh salmon. And although the thought of the cream in it was VERY appealing, given my ever present quest to lose just a few kilos, I used evaporated milk instead, which worked well, surprisingly. You can use cream if you prefer!

Have a great week and enjoy the long weekend. I'm planning to do lots of long, slow baking and hope to test another crumble recipe to share with you.

Love from Jane xxx

Pasta with fresh salmon and peas

Serves four

What you need:

• 500g fresh salmon
• 3/4 cup frozen peas
• 3/4 cup dry white wine or verjuice
• 4 tablespoons shallots, finely sliced
• 1 1/4 cups thickened cream or evaporated milk, depending on the state of your waistline and whether you care!
• 400-600g pasta, fresh or dried
• 4 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

What you do:

1. Cook the salmon, either in a pan on the stove or baked in the oven.
2. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.
3. Drop the peas into a pan of boiling water until thawed; drain and set aside.
4. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook the pasta while preparing the sauce.
5. Put the wine/verjuice and the shallots in a pan on the stove and bring to the boil.
6. Allow the wine/verjuice to reduce by about a tablespoon.
7. Lower the heat and add the cream/evaporated milk; simmer for about five minutes. (Keep an eye on it as it can separate if overheated).
8. Gently break up the cooked salmon into chunks and add, with the peas, to the sauce. Warm through.
9. When the pasta is cooked, place it in a serving bowl and pour the sauce with the salmon over it.
10. Sprinkle with the pine nuts and toss gently before serving.

Ocean trout winter salad

Hello everyone, I was so excited this week as I had cleverly arranged to eat at my two favourite pizza restaurants in Sydney in one week! I can never decide which one I prefer, as I adore the pizza at both of them. They are both run by Italians and have slightly different styles of pizza. In the end I was saved from making a choice as I only went to one of them. The pizza was as sensational as ever, although I suspect that the wine and the company may also have enhanced the experience, making it the clear winner!

This week's recipe, which was written by Lynne Mullins in Good Living a few weeks ago, is a great example of one of my favourite food concepts, the winter salad. It is also proof that it is possible to get home late from work and (as long as you have had time to pick up the ingredients on the way home) still whip up a fabulous dinner for yourself that tastes a lot better than take away. It combines many of my favourite salad components, except potato, although now that I re-examine it I think potato would go very well in it. I made this while I was also cooking up some sweet onions and some chocolate truffles to give to my Mum, it is that easy.

Have a lovely week, lots of love, Jane xx

Ocean trout winter salad

Serves four

What you need:

• 500g cooked ocean trout fillets, skinned, boned and flaked (just throw in a 180 oven for about 15 minutes or until cooked to your liking; allow to cool a little as you don't want the fish to be hot in the salad)
• 1 red grapefruit, peeled and segmented
• 1 bulb fennel, halved, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 avocado, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 bunch watercress, leaves picked
• 1/3 cup light tasting oil
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• A pinch of sugar
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
  

What you do:

1. Gently combine the trout, grapefruit, fennel, avocado and watercress in a large bowl.
2. To make the dressing, whisk together the oil, juices, sugar, salt and pepper. I usually find the quantity of dressing given in a recipe is way too much and so it was with this one, so I actually halved the quantities and it was just fine. Up to you.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently.
4. You can top the salad with some salmon roe if you wish.

Cold salmon with watercress aioli

Hello everyone, it's been a very eventful week. On Tuesday night I attended the launch of the first book by my friend, Virginia Lloyd. It's called The Young Widow's Book Of Home Improvement - A True Story Of Love And Renovation. Virginia is a fantastic writer and I highly recommend this book.

As many of you know, I have been hosting a colleague from an American community foundation at the SCF for the last four weeks. Sadly and all too soon we are at the end of his visit, so to mark the occasion, he very generously took me to dinner at Rockpool (fish) last night. It was sensational! We had a really beautiful meal, the service was excellent, and it's such a lovely restaurant. I felt very lucky to have this treat and now I can't wait to return!

So, inspired by the gorgeous seafood at Rockpool (fish), this week I have a cold salmon recipe to share with you. It's maybe a little unseasonal now that the weather is cooling down, although the watercress is good right now. I found the aioli was just beautiful, really pairing well with the flavour of the salmon. I hope you enjoy it too. It's from a very sweet American cookbook I have had for years called Heart Of The Home. I'm suggesting a particular way to cook the salmon that I find works perfectly every time.

Lots of love, Jane xx

Cold salmon with watercress aioli

Serves six

What you need:

• 1 egg
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup good quality olive oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable/sunflower/nut oil (macadamia oil works nicely)
• 1/2 cup picked watercress leaves
• 1/4 cup fresh dill (I substitute mint as I prefer it to dill)
• Freshly ground pepper and sea salt, to taste
• 6 fresh salmon fillets

What you do:

1. Place the egg, yolks, lemon juice, mustard and garlic into the bowl of a food processor and blend for one minute.
2. Combine the two oils, then, with the machine running, pour the oil in a slow but steady stream into the egg mix.
3. Add the watercress and dill/mint and whiz one final time to blend well to a pretty light green shade.
4. Add the salt and pepper to taste and chill the sauce.
5. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees (yes, I know that is very high but this works brilliantly, trust me).
6. Brush the salmon fillets with a little olive oil and place in a baking dish, skin side down. Season with a little salt and pepper.
7. When the oven comes to 250 degrees, place the salmon in it and turn off the heat.
8. Leave the salmon in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes and they will cook perfectly.
9. Remove the salmon from the oven and leave to cool, then chill until you are ready to serve.
10. Serve the salmon with the aioli spooned over each fillet.

Yellow prawn tortillas

Hello everyone, did you notice how relieved everyone was to reach Friday this week? We had a shorter week because of the Australia Day holiday, but everyone was still very worn out by the end of the week. It must be the shock of life resuming its normal pace, with everyone back at school and work and other activities starting up again.

Yesterday I took my nieces to see the Diana exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum, which was excellent, but more importantly, on our way we had lunch at a great little Malaysian restaurant right near the Museum called Kopitiam. The girls loved the roti bread which soaked up the sauce from the chicken curry. Best of all we had leftovers to take home with us, although I had to hand our foodbag in with my umbrella when we reached the Museum entry. Fortunately all our goodies were still intact when we collected them on the way out!

This week's recipe is really delicious and another great one for children, or for adults if you are entertaining, as the diners can put the dish together themselves after you have prepared the prawns. It was featured in the Summer Living section of the SMH during January, and I have just modified it slightly. I found mini and jumbo sized tortillas at the supermarket when I was shopping for these, so depending on the size of those for whom you are cooking you can provide the size of the food to match!

Yellow prawn tortillas

Serves four

What you need:

• 1 packet soft corn tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable/sunflower oil (sounds a ridiculous amount, I know, but when I first made this in a small amount it seemed right proportionately so use your judgement)
• 1 onion, sliced
• 120g (or to taste) fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons ground coriander
• 3 tablespoons turmeric
• 1 1/2 tablespoons (or to taste) chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup tap water
• 24 green medium tiger prawns, peeled
• Put out on the table small bowls containing chopped tomato, finely diced shallots, chopped chillies, chopped mint, brown sugar, salt and quarters of limes

What you do:

1. Heat one cup of oil in a pan on the stove over a medium heat and cook the onion until it is translucent. Cool slightly.
2. Place the cooked onion and its cooking oil into a blender with the ginger, garlic, spices, salt, 1/2 cup water and pulse until smooth. I did this in my bamix which is now bright yellow from the turmeric!
3. Combine the mix with the remaining water and cook over a low heat for five minutes or until thickened. Allow to cool.
4. Add the peeled prawns to the mix, toss to combine and refrigerate for two hours.
5. Heat the remaining 1/2 cup of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat.
6. Add the prawns and marinade and cook until the prawns turn bright orange.
7. Serve the prawns with the tortillas and your diners can mix and match the ingredients you have placed in bowls before wrapping up the tortillas and eating.