The great British summer has many qualities, but unfortunately guaranteed warm weather is not one of them. With this in mind, an ice-cold soup isn’t always the perfect seasonal starter, but this delicious umami-packed broth is. it’s a versatile, lighter option that can be served cold, but also warmed up when the evenings turn a bit chilly.

Roasted tomato and tamarind broth with poached fish

Serves 2

Ingredients

750g cherry tomatoes, halved 2 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt
50g tamarind pulp
250ml dashi (available at Waitrose)
350g white fish, such as monkfish, cod or pollock

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the tomatoes on a baking tray, drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with a generous pinch of sea salt. Cook for 45 minutes or until soft and the tomatoes have released lots of juice.

In the meantime, place the tamarind pulp in a small bowl and pour 100ml boiling water over the top. Leave to infuse and disintegrate, leaving behind the seeds.

Once the tomatoes are done, remove from the oven. Set a third aside and push the remainder through a sieve, catching the juice in a large saucepan. Press as much out as you can and discard the skin and pips. Do the same with the tamarind pulp, discarding the bits.

Add the dashi to the pan and bring to a low simmer over a medium heat. Gently add the fish and cook for 12-15 minutes (depending on the thickness) at barely a simmer. The flesh should start to flake delicately. Remove the fish and break into flakes. Divide the broth between two bowls, add the remaining tomatoes, top with the fish and serve.

This recipe originally appeared in my Evening Standard column.

The post Recipe: Roasted tomato and tamarind broth with poached fish appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

Photograph by David Loftus

This recipe is extracted from my new book, Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook, you can order your copy here. 

My interest in roasting quails stemmed from the limitations of my tiny kitchen oven when I lived in Paris.

Chickens and turkeys are tricky to cook even in large kitchens – ideally, they’re brined the day before, roasted while all the vegetables are also in the oven, and presented on an impressive plate at the table.

My little kitchen was no place for such endeavours. So I adapted a traditional roast for pocket-sized feasts. Quails are dinky and delicious, and fit snugly on a small roasting tray – the only kind that would fit in my shoebox-sized oven.

One-tray roast quail

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 medium-sized oven-ready quails, about 600g (1lb 5oz) each
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 unwaxed lemon
1 x 330ml bottle of light-coloured beer
100g (3½oz) runny honey
20g (¾oz) fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 pork sausages, about 280g (10oz)
8 carrots, peeled and halved lengthways
350g (12oz) new potatoes, halved
1 heaped tbsp wholegrain mustard
100ml (3½fl oz) single cream

Top tip

The pork sausage can be substituted with other minced meat.

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas 7. Season the quails, then zest the lemon and rub into the skin with the seasoning. Juice the lemon, keeping the skins. Mix the beer with the honey and lemon juice, and set aside.

Finely chop the parsley and the lemon skins, removing the pips. Remove the casing from the sausages, mix the sausage meat with the parsley, lemon skins and some salt and pepper, and stuff the quail cavities with the mix, pushing it in to fit. Take 4 long pieces of string and truss each quail around the legs to enclose the filled cavity.

Place the quail, breast-side down, in a roasting tin with the carrots and potatoes. Pour over the beer marinade and cover with foil. Roast for 1 hour before removing the foil and turning each quail over, so they’re breast-side up.

Roast uncovered for 25 minutes, or until golden and the juices run clear when the meat is poked with a sharp knife. Drain all the roasting tin juices into a large frying pan. Cover the quail and vegetables with foil and set aside.

Bring the cooking juices to the boil and cook for 7-8 minutes, or until reduced by half. Stir in the mustard and cream, and taste for seasoning. Pour the creamy sauce over the quail, carrots and potatoes and serve immediately.

The post Recipe: Parisian one-tray roast appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

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My Gazpacho Granita is a really easy recipe, perfect for your summer tomatoes. Makes a great starter or in between course.

Gazpacho granita – serves 4

Preparation time 15 minutes
Freezing time 2 hours plus (depending on your freezer)

Ingredients

900g of large plum tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 a large English cucumber
Sea salt
Ground black pepper
2 tbsp of sherry vinegar
5 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
10 pitted black olives, roughly chopped
1 tsp dried mint, oregano or basil
Extra virgin olive oil to drizzle

Method

Roughly chop the tomatoes and half the cucumber, and place in a food processor. Add the garlic cloves, sea salt, sherry vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Check the seasoning and add more salt if required, along with the black pepper.

Freeze for a couple of hours – forking every half an hour or so to create a rough texture. Serve in chilled bowls with a drizzle of olive oil and some black olives on top.

Tips

- If you’re short on time, simply serve the gazpacho well chilled.
- Over season the gazpacho slightly as freezing it will dull the flavour.

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The post Recipe: Gazpacho granita {video} appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

Wimbledon heralds the unofficial start of summer. So to celebrate London’s great sporting event, here’s a savoury spin on a tennis classic. Strawberries, tomatoes and radishes make a great threesome here — a mix of sweet, sour and peppery bite — a perfect match for the goat’s cheese mousse. You can leave out the praline, but it adds a brilliant crunch.

Strawberry salad with goat’s cheese mousse and hazelnut praline

Serves 4, as a starter

 Ingredients

50g hazelnuts, skinless
75g sugar
150g goat’s cheese
6 tbsp milk
175ml whipping cream
300g strawberries, hulled and quartered
15 radishes, thinly sliced
15 cocktail tomatoes (yellow and red)
1 Lebanese cucumber
½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
A few squeezes of lemon juice
4 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed
1 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar

Method

Line a baking tray with paper. Toast the hazelnuts in a dry saucepan until golden. Remove from the pan and set aside. Place the sugar and 2 tbsp water in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Heat gently until the sugar dissolves (don’t stir). Increase the heat to high. When the caramel begins to turn a dark golden brown, add a pinch of sea salt, remove from the heat and quickly stir in the hazelnuts. Pour immediately into the baking tray and leave to cool.

Beat the cheese with the milk until soft and lump-free. Whip the cream to stiff peaks. Add one third of the whipped cream to the cheese and mix together, then fold in the rest of the cream and a few twists of black pepper. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1cm nozzle and leave in the fridge until needed. Prepare the fruit and vegetables in a bowl.

This recipe originally appeared in my Evening Standard column.

The post RECIPE: Strawberry salad with goat’s cheese mousse and hazelnut praline appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

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No bake berry cheesecake

My No bake berry cheesecake is a great, gluten-free way to celebrate all those fab summer berries – and a perfect accompaniment to a lunch or dinner.

Ingredients

Base:
150g of buckwheat groats
100g of mixed seeds (a mix of sunflower, pumpkin, golden linseed, hemp and sesame seeds).
50g of butter
2 tbsp of maple syrup

For the filling:
280g of cream cheese, at room temperature
1 vanilla pod, seeds removed
4 tbsp of maple syrup, or two taste
250g of mascarpone, at room temperature

Topping:
A punnet each of blueberies, strawberries and raspberries

Method

Toast the buckwheat and the mixed seeds in a large dry non-stick frying pan for 4-5 minutes. Toss the pan regularly to toast them evenly. Place the seeds in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and maple syrup. Blend for 2 minutes, scrape down the sides and blend for a further minute.

Line the base of a 20cm spring form tin with baking parchment. Place the buckwheat and seed mix in the bottom, and press it down firmly and evenly across the base. Chill in the fridge while you make the filling.

Beat the cream cheese with the vanilla and the icing sugar to smooth. Add the mascarpone, followed by the yoghurt. Whisk to a smooth consistency and to remove any lumps. Add more sugar if you want it sweeter. Pour into the time evenly. Add a couple of large dollops of coulis to the top and stir into the cream cheese (you’ll get a pale purple top). Smooth the top. Leave to set in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Before serving decorate with the berries. Run a knife around the edge before moving the spring form to serve.

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The herb and Gruyère cobbler on top will make ratatouille purists blanch, but some rules are made for breaking. It may not be one for your French granny, but my little twist on the medley of Mediterranean veg makes a great one-pot supper for friends.

Ratatouille with herb and gruyère cobbler

Serves 4

Ingredients

6 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced
1 aubergine, cut into rough chunks
2 medium courgettes, cut into 2cm rounds
1 red pepper, deseeded and finely sliced
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and finely sliced
2 tins whole cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
250g self-raising flour
85g cold butter, cubed
60g Gruyère, grated
10g fresh herbs (such as sage, marjoram, chives), finely chopped
1 egg
3 tbsp milk
1 beaten egg, for brushing
10 basil leaves, to garnish

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a medium ovenproof casserole dish. Add the onion and garlic, plus a pinch of sea salt, and sweat for 10 minutes over a low heat. Put a large sauté pan or wok on a high heat with 2 tbsp olive oil and add the aubergine, tossing every so often.

After around 5 minutes, remove from the pan and set aside. Add the remaining oil and the courgettes and peppers and cook for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside with the aubergine.

Add the tomatoes to the casserole, then stir in the aubergine, courgettes and peppers. Season with black pepper and add the vinegar.

Leave to simmer on a low heat while you make the cobbler. Mix the flour, butter and Gruyère in a food processor. Add the herbs, egg and enough milk to bring it together to a smooth dough. Season well with sea salt and black pepper. Roll out to a 1.5cm thickness and use a 7cm cookie cutter to cut out 7-8 rounds. Take the ratatouille off the heat.

Arrange the dough rounds across the top and brush with the beaten egg. Place in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Scatter with the basil leaves and serve immediately.

This recipe originally appeared in my Evening Standard column.

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A wonderfully light, quick fix for summer. Mussels, wine, chilli and kale are combined to create these steaming bowls of deliciousness. Yum!

Speedy mussels – serves 2

Preparation time 15 minutes
Cooking time 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 red onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tbsp of olive oil
1kg of mussels, scrubbed clean
1 romano pepper, finely chopped
Several handfuls of finely chopped kales
1 lemon

Method

Gently fry the onion, chilli and garlic in the olive oil. Once soft, add the white wine. Turn up the heat and add the mussels. Cover for a couple of minutes. Shake the pot a few times to help the mussels open up. Place the mussels in the plates. Put the cooking liquid back on the hob on a high heat. Add the kale and stir through for a minute. Place the kale on top of the mussels and sprinkle with the chopped romano pepper. Serve with a wedge of lemon.

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The post Recipe: Speedy mussels with crunchy kale and romano peppers {Video} appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

I always prefer to pack a picnic for a weekend festival rather than risk on-site catering; even if you can get something more than a limp burger in a soggy bun, the queues are never worth it. Fill a hamper with these delicious, hearty pasties — they’re guaranteed to keep you going into the early hours.

Festival-goer chorizo and potato pasties

Makes 4

Ingredients

400g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
200g cold salted butter, cubed
1 egg yolk
1 large Maris Piper potato (approx 350g)
120g chorizo, cubed
1 tsp olive oil
2 onions, peeled and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
100g baby spinach
200g manchego cheese, cut into 1cm chunks
1 egg
1 tbsp milk

Method

Place the flour, baking powder and ½ tsp salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse to make a crumbly texture. Add the egg yolk and 130ml cold water and pulse until it comes together to form a smooth ball. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Peel and cut the potato into 1cm cubes. Parboil for 10 minutes in a large saucepan of salted water.

In the meantime, fry the chorizo in the olive oil over a medium heat for 2 minutes until it colours slightly. Add the onions and garlic and fry over a lower heat for a further 10 minutes, seasoning heavily with black pepper. Stir in the spinach at the end and let it wilt. Decant the chorizo mixture into a bowl with the manchego and potato and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan). Sprinkle a work surface with a light dusting of flour. Divide the dough into 4 balls and roll out each into a circle about 21cm in diameter.

Beat the egg with the milk in a small bowl. Place a quarter of the filling in the middle of each dough round and lightly brush the edges with the egg wash. Fold over to make a half-moon shape and squeeze the edges together to seal. Place on a large baking tray. Brush the tops with egg wash and make a few slits in each. Cook in the oven for 45-50 minutes until golden and crisp.

This recipe originally appeared in my Evening Standard column.

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Butternut squash can be the star of any summer dish – perfect for roasting on the barbecue and tastes beautiful in a salad. They are also a great source of fibre, potassium and vitamin C, which are essential for bolstering the immune system.

I’ve used Chinese chives, which are slightly stronger in taste than regular chives, but both will work nicely in this dish.

Chargrilled Butternut Squash Salad

Serves 4 – 6 as a starter/side
Preparation time – 15 minutes
Cooking time – 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 butternut squash, cut into 4-6 wedges depending on size with seeds removed
Salt
1 red onion
3 tablespoon white wine vinegar
chinese chives
cloves of garlic, papery skin removed
1 handful of toasted nuts
olive oil

Method

Light the barbecue. Alternatively, you can roast the butternut squash. Simply toss in olive oil and roast at 200°c fan or 400°F for about 30 minutes or until tender.

Finely chop the red onion and place in the vinegar.  Brush the flesh of the squash with the oil.

Once the barbecue is at the red glowing stage (no naked flame) add the squash and barbecue on each side for 10 minutes.

Place in a blender the toasted nuts, clove of garlic, pinch of salt, chinese chives and several tablespoons of olive oil. Blend until you have the desired consistency.

Place the butternut squash wedges on individual plates, drizzle with the pesto-like sauce and pickled red onions. 

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Photo by Lara Messer

The post Recipe: Chargrilled Butternut Squash Salad {Video} appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

This deliciously crumbly shortbread is given a nutty edge thanks to the combination of flours used. I like to serve it after dinner with a strong black coffee or keep some handy for afternoon tea. Either way, the sea-salt crunch on the top will keep you going back for one nibble after another.

Buckwheat and brown sugar shortbread

Serves 8

Ingredients

70g buckwheat flour
150g white spelt flour
1 tbsp semolina flour
60g soft dark brown sugar, plus 3 extra pinches for sprinkling
150g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg yolk
2 pinches freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp Maldon sea salt
Line the base of a 23cm springform cake tin with baking paper and grease the sides with butter.

Method

Measure out the flours and sugar and cube the butter. Place in the large bowl of a food processor. Add the egg yolk, nutmeg and a good pinch of salt and pulse until you have a ball of smoothish dough. (You can also do this by hand in a large bowl. Cream the butter with the flours, sugar, egg yolk, nutmeg and salt and lightly knead into a ball.)

Dust a clean surface with flour and use a rolling pin to flatten out the dough evenly to the size of the base of the tin. (If your tin has removable sides, you can place the dough on the base and roll it out directly on top, then clip the sides back on.) Place in the fridge for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 170C (150C fan-assisted). Sprinkle the shortbread with a pinch of salt and a couple of pinches of brown sugar. Use a sharp knife to mark 8 portions, as you would a cake, running your knife almost to the base of the tin.

Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until crisp and crumbly but not coloured. About 30 minutes into the cooking time, run your knife down the marked lines again. Remove the shortbread from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

This recipe originally appeared in my Evening Standard column.

The post Recipe: Deliciously Crumbly Shortbread appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Houmous doesn’t just need to be made with chickpeas – using roasted butternut squash is lighter, tastier and brings a hint of summer!

Barbecued Butternut Squash Houmous 

Preparation time –  15 minutes
Cooking time – 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 butternut squash, barbecued or roasted
olive oil
salt
2 tbsp of tahini
juice of one lemon
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp smoked paprika

Method 

Prepare the barbecue. You could also roast the butternut squash, simply toss in olive oil and roast at 200°c fan or 400°F for about 30 minutes or until tender.

Once the barbecue is at the red glowing stage (no naked flame) add the squash.

Barbecue on each side for 10 minutes.

Leave to cool for a minute before scooping out the flesh and adding it to a blender with the garlic, tahini, lemon juice, cumin and pinch of salt.

Blend until smooth.

Taste to check if it needs more seasoning.

Add to a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.

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Photo credit:  Lara Messer

The post Recipe: Barbecued Butternut Squash Houmous {video} appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

Photo by Kelly Gardner, for Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook Melbourne on SBS.

The first episode of my Australian adventures kicked off with a tour of the largest Chinatown in the southern hemisphere, with the fantastic Tony Tan. 

“The authentic cut for this dish is belly pork with the skin on. Traditionally, the recipe calls for tender Chinese leeks, but I also enjoy the dish with green and red capsicums. The dish should look bright red, thanks to the chillies blended in the chilli bean paste, but it’s more a matter of aesthetics. Just make sure your pork is packed with hot, pungent flavours!” Tony Tan

Sichuan twice cooked pork (hui guo rou)

Serves 6 

Preparation time – 25 mins
Cooking time – 35 mins

Ingredients

500 g piece boneless pork belly, with skin on
50 ml vegetable oil
150 g firm tofu, thinly sliced
¼ white cabbage, cut into large cubes and leaves separated
½ cup small dried red chillies (see note)
4 garlic cloves, minced
60 ml (¼ cup) chilli bean paste (douban jiang)
½ small green capsicum, seeds and membrane removed, cut into large cubes
½ small red capsicum, seeds and membrane removed, cut into large cubes
½ large leek, halved lengthways, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tsp sweet bean paste (tian mian jiang) or hoisin sauce, optional
1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
steamed rice, to serve

Method

Chilling time 10 minutes

Place the pork in a medium saucepan, cover with boiling water and simmer over medium heat for 20-25 minutes. Drain the pork, then place in a bowl of iced water for 10 minutes or until cool. Cut the pork lengthways into 4-5 cm thick strips, then widthwise into 2 mm-thick slices.

Heat a wok over high heat until very hot, then add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the tofu and cabbage and stir-fry for 1 minute, then remove from the wok and set aside. Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok and fry half the pork slices for 1–2 minutes until smoky and lightly coloured. Set aside and repeat with the remaining pork.

Add the remaining vegetable oil, dried chillies, garlic and chilli bean paste to the hot wok and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the capsicum and leek, then return the tofu, cabbage and pork to the wok and toss to combine. Add the sugar, soy sauce and sweet bean paste and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the vinegar and sesame oil and cook for another minute. Taste and season as required, then serve with steamed rice.

Note
*Don’t be alarmed by the large amount of dried chillies in this recipe. They are not meant to be eaten – they are added to impart subtle heat, flavour and colour to the dish.
*The method given here is slightly different to the video footage as it is impossible to re-create the intense heat generated by the restaurant wok burner in a home kitchen.

This recipe originally appeared on Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook Melbourne. If you like the look of this recipe tune into the show on SBS to see more of my Melbourne adventures, Thursdays at 8pm.

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Flavouring your water is a fantastic way to brighten up tap or sparkling water. The combinations are endless for flavoured water, so just get creative! I’d love to hear your favourites in the comments below.

Here are some ideas:

-       Lemongrass*

-       Cucumber

-       Mint

-       Crushed raspberries

-       Chilli

-       Ginger

-       Cherries

-       Strawberries

-       Orange slices

-       Lemon slices

Simply chop and add to your water.  *best to bash the lemongrass with your knife, to release the flavours.

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Photo credit:  Lara Messer

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This is my twist on the classic Aussie Anzac biscuit, complete with a quick banana ice-cream – that doesn’t even need churning! You can make the biscuits well ahead of time and keep them in an airtight container, but the ice-cream is best made on the day so it retains its soft serve texture.

Anzac Taco with Banana Ice-Cream

Serves 6 – 8

Preparation time – 30 mins
Cooking time – 25 mins
Freezing time – 2 hours

Ingredients

Banana Ice-Cream 

6 ripe bananas (About 330g banana flesh)
330g thick greek-style yoghurt
1-2 tbsp maple syrup, or to taste
1-2 tbsp lemon juice, or to taste
good pinch of flaky sea salt

Anzac Biscuits

30g unsalted butter
30g golden syrup
60g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
60g (1/2 cup) fine (pinhead) oats
40g (1/2 cup) desiccated coconut
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 egg whites

To serve 

chopped toasted hazelnuts, salted cashews or dark chocolate, for sprinkling

To make the ice-cream, thickly slice the bananas, then place in a zip lock bag and freeze for 1 hour or until firm. 

Place the frozen banana and all the remaining ingredients in a food processor and blitz until all the ingredients come together. Taste and add a little extra maple syrup or lemon juice if needed. Process until smooth, then transfer to an airtight container and freeze while you make the biscuits.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Line a baking tray with a silicone mat or baking paper.

To make the biscuits, place the butter, golden syrup and sugar in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves and the butter has melted.

Meanwhile, place the oats, coconut, cinnamon, salt and egg whites into a bowl and stir to combine. Add the hot butter mixture and stir to combine well. While the mixture is still warm, place a 10 cm-round biscuit cutter on the prepared tray and spread 1 tablespoon of the mixture into the cutter until you have an even thin layer with no gaps or empty spaces. Repeat another 3 times, then bake for 12 minutes or until crisp, golden and well caramelised around the edges.  Remove from the oven and, working quickly while the biscuits are still hot, carefully lift up each biscuit with a palette knife and place over a rolling pin or a bottle and leave to cool for 5 minutes so it sets into a curl shape. Repeat with the remaining mixture, then stand the biscuits until completely cooled.

To assemble, place a large scoop of the ice-cream into each Anzac biscuit and sprinkle with chopped nuts or chocolate, if using, and eat immediately.

This recipe originally appeared on Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook Melbourne on SBS Food.  The show will be airing world wide later in the year.

Photo by Kelly Gardener

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Picnics don’t have to be a complicated affair, the simpler the better I say! Here are a few of my picnic tips:

- Make and freeze flavoured water. I shared my flavoured water ideas on my Youtube channel, so you can check that video out if you like.

- Of course, a blanket. I like to have a plastic lined blanket

- Linen napkins are a special touch

- Essentials like wet wipes and a rubbish bag

- Keep food simple! Bread, cheese, houmous, fruit and veg

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Photo credit:  Lara Messer

The post My Picnic Tips {video} appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

This recipe was inspired by the steamed dumplings of my childhood and experiences from my travels, so it’s a Khoo original. Pickled chillies are a great way to pep up any recipe, and while they’re really easy to make, they’re also readily available from delicatessens too. I like my food with a bit of a kick so I leave the seeds in the chillies, but you can take them out if you prefer it milder.

Baked chicken dumplings with pickled chilli

Serves 4

Preparation time – 35 mins
Cooking time – 25 mins

Ingredients

For the dough

125 g plain flour, plus a little extra for rolling
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
½ tsp fast action yeast
1 small handful chopped flat-leaf parsley
½ small red chilli, finely chopped
80 ml (⅓ cup) warm milk
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten  

For the filling
200 g skinless chicken breast, coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely minced
½ tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp salt
1 egg
50 g cornichons, drained
20 g capers in brine, drained

For the yoghurt sauce
200 g Greek yoghurt
½ lemon, zested
1 handful dill sprigs, finely chopped
3 tsp lemon juice Sea salt, to taste

For the pickled chilli salad
1 small leek, white part only, finely sliced
5 radishes
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 pickled chilli, finely chopped
Sea salt, to taste
2 tsp pickled chilli liquor

Method

To make the dough, place all the ingredients except the milk, oil and egg in bowl and stir to combine well. Make a well in the middle, then pour in the milk, oil and half the beaten egg (reserve the remaining egg for brushing). Stir to combine well, then turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 10-15 minutes or smooth and elastic (the dough will be very sticky but the more you knead the less sticky it will become). Once the dough springs back when pressed, place in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, then cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until you have a smooth paste. Use a spatula to scrape it into a piping bag fitted with a 2 cm nozzle and refrigerate until needed.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface into an A4 sized rectangle. Cut in half lengthways so you have two long strips. Pipe a long fat sausage of filling along the centre of each strip of pastry, making sure you go right to the ends. Brush the sides of the pastry with the remaining beaten egg, then fold one side of the dough over the sausage and roll up tightly. Cut each roll into 9 equal pieces and place, filling side-up on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Brush around the sides with beaten egg, then stand in a warm place for 30 minutes or until slightly risen.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 220ºC.

To make the yoghurt sauce, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until needed. Bake the dumplings for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on the bottom.

To make the pickled chilli salad, place all the ingredients in a bowl and toss to combine.

To serve, spread a big blob of yoghurt sauce in the middle of each plate. Top with the dumplings, then the salad and serve immediately.

Note
* Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C.
* We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml.
* All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed.
* All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified.
*All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

This recipe originally appeared on Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook Melbourne.

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I always prefer to pack a picnic for a weekend festival rather than risk on-site catering; even if you can get something more than a limp burger in a soggy bun, the queues are never worth it. Fill a hamper with these delicious, hearty pasties — they’re guaranteed to keep you going into the early hours.

Festival-goer chorizo and potato pasties

Makes 4

Ingredients

400g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
200g cold salted butter, cubed
1 egg yolk
1 large Maris Piper potato (approx 350g)
120g chorizo, cubed
1 tsp olive oil
2 onions, peeled and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
100g baby spinach
200g manchego cheese, cut into 1cm chunks
1 egg
1 tbsp milk

Method

Place the flour, baking powder and ½ tsp salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse to make a crumbly texture. Add the egg yolk and 130ml cold water and pulse until it comes together to form a smooth ball. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Peel and cut the potato into 1cm cubes. Parboil for 10 minutes in a large saucepan of salted water.

In the meantime, fry the chorizo in the olive oil over a medium heat for 2 minutes until it colours slightly. Add the onions and garlic and fry over a lower heat for a further 10 minutes, seasoning heavily with black pepper. Stir in the spinach at the end and let it wilt. Decant the chorizo mixture into a bowl with the manchego and potato and leave to cool.

Preheat the oven to 200C (180C fan). Sprinkle a work surface with a light dusting of flour. Divide the dough into 4 balls and roll out each into a circle about 21cm in diameter.

Beat the egg with the milk in a small bowl. Place a quarter of the filling in the middle of each dough round and lightly brush the edges with the egg wash. Fold over to make a half-moon shape and squeeze the edges together to seal. Place on a large baking tray. Brush the tops with egg wash and make a few slits in each. Cook in the oven for 45-50 minutes until golden and crisp.

This recipe originally appeared in my Evening Standard column.

The post Recipe: Chorizo and Potato Pasties appeared first on Rachel Khoo.

Another recipe from my latest show, Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook Melbourne on SBS. This is a really easy dish to put together with a few simple ingredients. It’s perfect for any time of day – breakfast, lunch, dinner or even a midnight snack. You don’t have to used sliced white bread for this – just use whatever you have hanging around at home and even better if it’s a few days old. And it wouldn’t be a Khoo recipe if there wasn’t some cheese involved! You can easily make this dish vegetarian by just leaving out the bacon and using a vegetarian–friendly cheese.

Egg and bacon bread bake

Serves 6

Preparation time – 20 minutes
Cooking time – 45 minutes

Ingredients

250 g smoked streaky bacon, cut into 1 cm slices
1 loaf white sliced bread, crusts on
125 g cream cheese, softened
200 g frozen spinach, defrosted
100 g cheddar cheese, grated
250 ml (1 cup) double cream or crème fraiche
5 large eggs
50 ml milk
½ tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground pepper

To serve

6 large eggs
2 tbsp olive oil

Method

Place the bacon in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes or until lightly coloured. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, spread the cream cheese on one side of each slice of bread, then cut in half diagonally.

Squeeze out the excess liquid from the spinach, then scatter most of it over the base of a baking dish about 20 cm x 30 cm. Scatter a handful of the cheddar over the top. Arrange the slices of bread in the baking dish overlapping at an angle (like dominoes) with the crusts pointed upwards. The slices should be nice and snug and they don’t have to be perfectly arranged.

Place the cream, eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Stir in half the remaining grated cheese, then pour over the top of the bread, lifting up some of the slices to let the egg mixture seep in. Tuck the bacon between the bread slices and scatter the remainder over the top. Tuck the remaining spinach in between some of the slices, then scatter with the remaining cheese. Stand at room temperature for 15-20 minutes to allow the custard to seep into the bread.

While the bread bake is soaking, pre-heat the oven to 200ºC. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden and crispy. Set aside to cool slightly – this will make it easier to cut.

To serve, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and fry half the eggs for 3 minutes or until cooked to your liking. Place a lid on top if you want to white very set. Remove from the pan and set aside, then repeat with the remaining oil and eggs. Cut the eggy bake into 6 even rectangles and place one on each plate. Pop an egg on top of each slice and serve immediately.

Note
*Covering the egg with a lid when you are frying the eggs is a great way to set the whites without over-cooking the yolks and needing to flip them over. The bread bake can be made up to 2 days ahead and reheated in a 160ºC oven for 20 minutes.

This recipe originally appeared on Rachel Khoo’s Kitchen Notebook Melbourne. The show will be airing world wide later in the year.

The post Recipe: Egg and Bacon Bread Bake appeared first on Rachel Khoo.