The Best Meatballs Ever

These meatballs have been evolving for as long as I've been cooking. Originally they were basic meat-garlic-egg-breadcrumb meatballs but they've slowly morphed into Italian pork meatballs that are packed with flavour.



The Best Meatballs Ever
Serves 4

1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
80g pine nuts
4 large garlic cloves, crushed
500g pork mince
1 egg
65g breadcrumbs
5g basil leaves, roughly chopped
30g parsley, roughly chopped
1 1/2 tspn fennel seeds, ground
200g ricotta
1 lemon, zested
1 quantity of fairly plain pasta sauce (either from a jar or homemade)
350g pasta

In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil and gently fry the onion and pine nuts until the onion has turned translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Combine the pork mince, egg, breadcrumbs, basil, parsley, fennel, ricotta and zest in a large bowl with the onion mixture and a decent amount of salt and pepper.

Roll two tablespoons of the mixture into a ball and flatten it slightly (to make it easier to cook!) Do this for the rest of the mixture.

Heat some olive oil in a large non-stick fry pan and fry the meatballs until they are golden on the outside and cooked all the way through.

Cook the pasta until al dente and tip the pasta sauce over the meatballs to warm up.

Serve the pasta with the saucey meatballs on top and enjoy the best meatballs ever.

Almond and Vanilla Cupcakes

I've made these cupcakes once. That was today when I felt like trying out a new baking recipe. And they are AWESOME! They have instantly become my favourite cupcake ever and I HAD to share the recipe instantly.



Almond and Vanilla Cupcakes
Makes 12

135g butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
2 tspn vanilla extract
3/4 cup plain flour
1 1/2 cups almond meal
3 tbsp natural yoghurt
1 1/2 tspn baking powder

Pre-heat your oven to 170C (160C if fan-forced) and line a 12-hole cupcake pan with papers.

In a medium-sized bowl, cream the butter for 2 minutes. Add the sugar in thirds and beat for 2 minutes after each addition. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute per egg. Add the vanilla and beat the mixture one last time until it looks pale and fluffy.

Add half of the flour and half of the almond meal and gently stir it into the butter mixture. Add the yoghurt and stir then add the remaining dry ingredients and stir the mixture until everything has combined.

Spoon the mixture into the cupcake papers and bake for 20-25 minutes (or until a skewer inserted comes out cleanly). Remove the cupcakes from the pan and leave them to cool completely on a wire rack.

Make a simple icing (using icing sugar and a splash of water). For something a little different, add 1/8 tspn of violet water, orange blossom water or rose water to the icing. Or, if you'd prefer, ice them with a white chocolate ganache.

Then try not to eat them all at once. ;p

Pizza Dough

I've had a request for my pizza dough recipe from fellow Twitterer @Davsimp. So here it is David. :)



Basic Pizza Dough
Makes 4 thin bases

200mL lukewarm water
8g fresh yeast
5g sugar
350g strong bread flour
A decent pinch of salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp milk
4 pieces of baking paper, the same size as your pizza stone (or baking tray)

Add the yeast and sugar to the warm water then leave it to sit for 10 minutes so the yeast activates.

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl then add the yeast mixture, olive oil and milk and combine the mixture. Tip onto a surface and knead. If the mixture is too wet, add some more flour. If it's too dry then add a splash more olive oil.

Knead the dough for 10 minutes then pop it into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave it to prove for 20 minutes.

Cut the dough into quarters then knead them all seperately for 5-10 minutes each. (It's always good to have a bit of help at this point!) Leave for a further 30 minutes to prove. (At this point, I just dust the kitchen bench with a bit of flour and leave them there, covered with a tea towel.)

Preheat the oven to as hot as it will go and put a pizza stone (or your baking tray) in to heat up. Roll out the pizza dough portions onto a piece of baking paper. Prick the dough all over with a fork (this stops it rising unevenly and looking "bubbled") then add your toppings to the pizza.

Working quickly, take the stone out of the oven, slide your piece of baking paper (with the pizza on it) onto the stone, then put it back into the oven for 6-8 minutes.

Pantry Paella

I have only recently discovered the delights on paella (yeah, I know, it took me awhile!) and I've been playing about with a few different variations. This is one I've dubbed "pantry paella". Mainly because I keep most of these ingredients in my pantry or fridge (or freezer - thank you frozen beans!) and it's dead easy to make.



Pantry Paella
Serves 4

3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion (or 2 little ones), diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
6 large chicken thighs, cut into large chunks
1 capsicum (red or green), diced
100g green beans
2 tomatoes, diced
Large pinch of saffron threads
1 tspn dried rosemary
1 tspn smoked paprika (use normal paprika if you can't get smoked)
1L chicken stock
1 cup long-grain white rice (or use paella rice if you have it)

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium-low heat and gently cook the onion until it's transparent. Add the garlic and cook for a minute then add the chicken thighs and turn the heat up to medium. Let the chicken thighs brown all over.

Add the capsicum and green beans and cook for about 5 minutes - until the capscium has begun to soften a little. Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes until the juice has leaked out of the tomatoes and looks like it's beginning to thicken.

Stir in the saffron, rosemary, paprika and stock. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let the whole lot simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occassionally so nothing sticks on the bottom of the pan.

Tip in the rice, bring the mixture to a boil, stir well then lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the rice has cooked. If it looks like it's drying out before the rice has cooked, then just add some more hot water. Season the paella well with salt and pepper, then serve. Don't forget to save the slightly burnt, crusty bit at the bottom of the pan for yourself (or share if you're a nicer person than me!)

Kitchen Basics - Basil Pesto

Basil pesto is easy. Really, really easy. You don't have to cook it, just throw everything into a small food processor and blitz it - it's easy to increase the amount (if you're having a dinner party) or make a very small amount of you're cooking for just yourself.



Basil Pesto
Serves 2

1 garlic clove
40g pine nuts
50g basil leaves
3 tbsp parmesan, grated
1/4 cup olive oil
1-2 tbsp lemon juice

Literally just put all these ingredients in a food processor and turn it on. You can blitz it until it's completely smooth, or leave it slightly chunky - it's entirely up to you.

Spoon the pesto over 200g of cooked pasta and mix it in well then serve with a big glass of chilled white wine (or a ginger ale if wine isn't your thing. ;p )

Childhood Birthday Cakes

I recently heard the news that the Australian Women's Weekly is reprinting their Children's Birthday Cake Book - this book was a staple in our house and every year I would eagerly flick through the book and choose the birthday cake I wanted Mum to make for me.

This post is a nostalgic trip down memory lane for me and I wanted to share the cakes the Mum made for her children during the 1980s.

Did your Mum use the AWW Childrens Birthday Cake Book?

Carrot Cake

Apologies for the prolonged break in recipe blogging - we were busy moving house but we've now settled into our new place and regular programming shall now continue.

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I've always been a big fan of carrot cake ever since I was a kid (although Mum was more into making melting moments and jam tarts) and I've finally found the ultimate recipe. It's moist, packed with flavour and contains a vegetable (always a bonus, it helps to cancel out all the sugar. ;p )



Carrot Cake

1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cups soft brown sugar
3 eggs
3 cups grated carrot
1 cup chopped walnuts
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
2 1/4 cups self-raising flour
1 1/2 tspn bi-carb soda
1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin.

In a large bowl beat together the vegetable oil, brown sugar and eggs for 5 minutes or until the mixture looks creamy.

With a wooden spoon stir in the grated carrot, walnuts and fruit zest then stir in flour, bi-carb and cinnamon.

Tip the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 30 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes in the tin then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely before icing it.

Cream Cheese Icing

40g butter
120g soft cream cheese
1/2 tspn vanilla extract
2 cups icing sugar

Cream the butter for a minute then add the cream cheese, vanilla and 1 cup of icing sugar. Beat the icing with an electric mixer for 4 minutes then add the second cup of icing sugar and beat for a further 4 minutes. Spread the icing over the cake then sprinkle with some brown sugar or a little more cinnamon.

Enjoy a really big slice of this cake with a cup of tea or coffee. :)

Chicken, Olive and Lemon Tagine

I recently bought my partner, Pete, Jamie Oliver's book "Jamie Does" for Christmas after he'd seen Jamie's TV program of the same name (which was released in conjunction with the book) and really enjoyed it, especially the Moroccan and Italian parts of the program.



So over the Christmas break, he made one of the recipes from the book: a chicken, olive and preserved lemon tagine. He made one alteration to the recipe though - he couldn't get hold of preserved lemons so just used a little lemon zest instead. The meal is also supposed to be served over cous cous but we served it over white rice instead.

Overall, it was a beautiful meal! The chicken was succulent, the olives added saltiness, the lemon was fresh and tangy and the coriander (or cilantro to some) gave the dish colour and that beautiful flavour which is so distinctive (to me at least!)



The recipe is in the book "Jamie Does" by Jamie Oliver, published by Penguin Books, and is available from www.bookdepository.co.uk for AUD$37.73. It contains recipes from Morocco, Greece, Italy, Sweden, France and Spain. In my opinion, it's a great book with easy to follow recipes and ingredients which are generally already in my pantry (or easy enough to buy).

Spiced Chocolate Cupcakes

{Recipe by Stacey}

These are cupcakes that I've been eating my whole life. I've changed the method a little to include more mixing which helps to create a lighter, fluffier cupcake - so as tedious as it seems to keep the Kenwood or Mixmaster going, it seriously pays off!



Spiced Chocolate Cupcakes
(Makes 12)

100g butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 tspn vanilla extract
150g dark chocolate buttons
2 tbsp instant coffee
1/2 cup boiling water
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn bi-carb soda
1 tspn mixed spice
1/8 tspn salt
1/3 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a 12-hole cupcake pan with papers.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and the brown sugar for 5 minutes on a high speed. Add the eggs a little at a time (over the space of 2-3 minutes), then add the vanilla and beat it gently into the mixture.

Put the chocolate in a saucepan and put it over low heat on the stove and stir until it has melted. Combine the coffee and boiling water together and stir to dissolve the coffee.

Add the dry ingredients, the buttermilk, the chocolate and the coffee to the butter mixture and gently fold the whole lot.

Fill the cupcake cases about 3/4 full then bake the cakes for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Be careful not to over-cook the cupcakes. Put the cakes on a wire rack to cool completely then ice very simply with an icing sugar glaze.

Calamari Paella

Paella is the dish Spain is probably most famous for. Whilst this one uses calamari, the original paella is from Valencia and contains fresh vegetables and local proteins such as chicken, rabbit or snails.



Calamari Paella
(Serves 4)

1/4 cup olive oil
1 red onion, finely diced
2 chorizo sausages, sliced
1 red capsicum, diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 tspn smoked paprika
2 roma tomatoes, diced
2/3 cup dry white wine
1 cup medium grain rice
1L hot chicken or vegetable stock
Pinch of saffron threads
4 squid tubes, sliced into rings
2/3 cup frozen peas
1 small handful of parsley, chopped roughly
Lemon wedges, to serve

Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat and saute the onion, chorizo, red capsicum and garlic for 5 minutes. Add the cayenne pepper, paprika and tomato and stir for 1 minute. Season well with cracked black pepper. Add the white wine and bring to the boil.

Add the rice, the stock and the saffron, stir briefly then turn the heat down to a very gentle simmer and leave to cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Most importantly, don't stir the rice - a crust will form on the bottom of the pan and this is considered a delicacy!

Place the calamari rings onto the bed of rice and press them down slightly so they are submerged. Sprinkle over the peas, cover the pan and leave it to cook for a further 10 minutes.

If the rice looks like it's drying out, add a little more stock. If it looks too wet, let the paella simmer for a while with the lid off.

When the rice and calamari are cooked and tender, sprinkle over the parsley and serve with fresh lemon wedges.