KUROBUTA PORK BELLY, ROASTED KUMERA MASH AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS

I don't know what pork is like where you live, but here in Australia, cross-breeding produced pigs with an average 18% body fat. Now, we humans would be delighted to have just 18% body fat. For a pig, however, that simply means meat with no flavour that goes incredibly dry and tough if overcooked. Thank god a few breeders are resurrecting traditional breeds with proper fat - and flavour.

Here's a trick I tried with kumera (sweet potato). I cut it into large chunks and roasted it slowly until tender, then puréed it with butter and milk to produce a really rich, smooth dollop to sit under the pork.

KUROBUTA PORK BELLY, ROASTED KUMERA MASH AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS

BEETROOT RISOTTO WITH GOATS CHEESE

I've posted beetroot risotto before. This is slightly different. I made an oriental duck stock from the frame of the Chinese duck used in two previous dishes - and used that stock in place of chicken stock for this risotto. Since duck and beetroot are an ideal combination, it worked. Just take my word for it.

BEETROOT RISOTTO WITH GOATS CHEESE

DUCK AND SWEET POTATO CURRY

The observant amongst you might have noticed I did a Chinese duck stir-fry last night. this is the other half of the duck. It's the left side - if you're standing behind the duck. The right if you're in front of it. Not that it matters. Each side more or less matches the other. Unlike we humans who favour one hand over another, I don't believe ducks favour one wing over another. If they did, they'd fly in circles. Same goes for their feet. But if the did favour one side over the other, you could expect to find that the favoured side was bigger than the other. This doesn't matter either - but it's a nice way to pad out these notes about what is a simple Thai curry. if you have a good Chinese BBQ place near you, buying a cooked duck makes a dish like the stir-fry and this curry a breeze. AND after you've removed the flesh, you have the frame from which you can make a great Asian duck stock (which I used to make the beetroot risotto that follows in the next post.

DUCK AND SWEET POTATO CURRY

DUCK WITH ASPARAGUS AND TIANJIN PRESERVED VEGETABLES

A simple stir-fry. Barbecued duck, asparagus, Tianjin vegetables, light soy sauce, caramel sauce, ginger and garlic. That's it.

DUCK WITH ASPARAGUS AND TIANJIN PRESERVED VEGETABLES

COBIA WITH SMASHED POTATO, CARAMELISED CAPSICUM, BABY ROMAS AND TACHOGOBI

Tachogobi sounds Japanese. It's Mexican. Specifically, it's from the Yucatán. I don't know that state as well as neighbouring Oaxaca, but I imagine there are similarities in some of the local languages. If true, then the languages they speak in the Yucatán might sound Asian - as do Zapotec and some of the other languages in Oaxaca. That's enough of an ethno-linguistic lesson for now - and especially for a food blog. So what we have here is a decidedly red and white meal. A bit early for Christmas, perhaps the best known red and white event of the year. But red and white all the same. Some cooks would want to see a bit of green - just because they like to see green. They might sprinkle some chiffonade of basil or finely chopped parsley over the top. I prefer my meals unadorned. There's enough tarting up already with the placement of the baby roma tomatoes.

COBIA WITH SMASHED POTATO, CARAMELISED CAPSICUM, BABY ROMAS AND TACHOGOBI

SPAGHETTI WITH YELLOWFIN TUNA, LEMON, CHILLI AND FRIED CAPERS

This could be Sicilian, but it probably isn't. I doubt if it's Sardinian, but it might be. It's unlikely to be Bhutanese, and I'm confident about that. Or maybe it's just something I made up and it doesn't belong to any recognised cuisine. It's definitely food. And quite tasty. And very easy.

SPAGHETTI WITH YELLOWFIN TUNA, LEMON, CHILLI AND FRIED CAPERS

PONZU MAHI MAHI WITH MISO SAUCE AND SNOWPEA TENDRILS

An encore performance from the mahi mahi. This time it gets a Japanese treatment. Marinated in home-made ponzu sauce then sautéed in grapeseed oil. A simple miso sauce and snowpea tendrils dressed on soy sauce, sesame oil, grapeseed oil, and chilli.

PONZU MAHI MAHI WITH MISO SAUCE AND SNOWPEA TENDRILS

MAHI-MAHI WITH LAKSA REDUCTION AND HERB SALAD

I don't know what you keep in your fridge, but I'm hoping there are some great science projects in there - growing bacteria on neglected sauces, seeing how long it takes to turn a white cheese blue ... that sort of stuff. I think these make fridges much more interesting than just using them to keep beer and milk. Something I have in my fridge most of the time are various containers of pastes - tapenade, laksa paste, Thai curry paste. I'd made some laksa paste a short time ago, so used a couple of tablespoons and some coconut cream to make the sauce that went under this mahi-mahi caught off Mooloolaba.

MAHI-MAHI WITH LAKSA REDUCTION AND HERB SALAD

PORCINI RISOTTO

Porcini risotto was one of the first risottos I cooked. I think I was 2. Risottos are dead easy to cook. They just need extended love - like about 30 minutes of gentle stirring. I like to think of it as foreplay. They also need quality ingredients - decent rice like the vialone nano I used here, a good aged parmesan, rich home-made chicken stock, good butter (I used a hand-churned butter bought at Everleigh Markets last weekend).

PORCINI RISOTTO

CUMIN CRUSTED TUNA, CAULIFLOWER CAKE AND GARLIC JAM

The observant amongst you will notice that the cauliflower has made a comeback from the other night. I had some purée left over, so I used it to make these panko-crusted patties. These same observant ones amongst you will notice that the garlic jam has also made a comeback. I am pretty sure that it's first time around for the tuna - although if you believe in reincarnation, then it might have been here before - as a librarian, perhaps. The yellowfin tuna got a dusting of roasted organic cumin seeds, which make regular (that is, non roasted and non organic) cumin seeds seem wishy-washy.

CUMIN CRUSTED TUNA, CAULIFLOWER CAKE AND GARLIC JAM

CARAMEL CHICKEN WITH BASIL. BRAISED CABBAGE

There's a thick, black sweet sauce available from Asian grocery stores that's called caramel sauce. Combined with light soy sauce, garlic, ginger and a little peanut oil, it makes for a great and simple stir-fry. The Chinese cabbage was also stir-fried - with red vinegar and shaoxing (which I have also seen Anglicised as shao hsing). Ten minutes start to finish. Fast food with ordering take-away.

CARAMEL CHICKEN WITH BASIL. BRAISED CABBAGE

RED EMPEROR WITH ROASTED CAULIFLOWER PUREE, SILVERBEET & GARLIC JAM

Fish and two veg ... well, three if you count garlic as a veg. Red emperor, for those of you outside Oz, is a reef fish, and a damn tasty one. Everyone knows (and many hate) silverbeet. I reckon slowly braised with olive oil and garlic is the only way to have it. If you haven't tried roasting cauliflower before puréeing, give it a go. The flavour becomes richer and nuttier. Not much else to explain here - so I won't.

RED EMPEROR WITH ROASTED CAULIFLOWER PUREE, SILVERBEET & GARLIC JAM

OCEAN TROUT WITH SPRING VEGETABLES

This is a dish you can only do for 3 months of the year. I'm not awarding prizes for those of you who guess which 3. A fun few days spent in Sydney for an extended birthday celebration. This was day 2. Dinner at the home of dear friends Clare and Steve. Fat spears of asparagus, tiny zucchini and crisp butter beans.

OCEAN TROUT WITH SPRING VEGETABLES

BARBECUED CHORIZO WITH CHICKPEAS AND BROCCOLI

This is proper family food ... which is great if you have a proper family. These chorizos are made just down the road using Bangalow pork (also from just down the road). They are serious chorizos - big fat buggers full of smoky sweet porky goodness. A bed of chickpeas cooked with tomato, chilli, garlic and olive oil and some steamed broccoli.

BARBECUED CHORIZO WITH CHICKPEAS AND BROCCOLI

SEARED SALMON, BABY VEGETABLES AND CHILLI JAM

What constitutes a baby vegetable? Is it a regular vegetable not yet fully grown? Or is it an undersized mutant?Here we have baby Dutch cream potatoes, broccolini (Italian for baby broccoli) and baby roma tomatoes. The salmon is fill size. Maybe I need to add a pencil or slide rule  to the photo. That used to be a popular trick amongst geologists and archeologists so you had a point of reference against which to judge the scale of the rock sample or artefact shown.

SEARED SALMON, BABY VEGETABLES AND CHILLI JAM

VERDURE IN BRODO

Verdure in brodo in Italian. Verduras en brodo in Spanish. Vegetables in broth in English. Take your pick. I used the Italian because the artichokes dominate this plate (if only because of their size relative to the other vegetables here) and I associate artichokes with Italy. Hold on. Come to think of it, I recall seeing an awful lot of artichokes in Spain. AND a lot of chickpeas. So maybe the Spanish would be better. Or maybe Bhutanese. Or Swahili ... okay, here's what I'll do. I'll tell you how I prepared the vegetables and YOU decide what language I should use - the artichokes were poached in chicken stock, lemon juice and olive oil. The chickpeas were boiled. The asparagus was steamed. Maybe that's more Spanish than Italian. But hold on. I grated parmesan over the finished dish. And that's definitely Italian ... I give up. Vegetables in broth - and off to sip another glass of red.

VERDURE IN BRODO

STIR-FRIED CHICKEN OMELETTE

I usually do this Chinese-influenced omelette with crab. However, I'd barbecued some chicken and thought I'd use the leftovers in this omelette. The omelette has ginger, coriander, sesame oil, rice wine and other goodies in it ... I think this dish deserves a more enthusiastic description than this. But after 2 1/2 hours sleep (the result of falling into the wrong hands in Melbourne last night), this is the pathetic best I can muster right now. "Must try harder" - as most of my school reports used to remind me.

STIR-FRIED CHICKEN OMELETTE

COBIA WITH THAI HERB SALAD

I hadn't cooked cobia until tonight. The fish is sometimes called black kingfish - possibly because it's shaped like a kingfish but is black up top. Fish names aren't very creative, are they? Apparently cobia is genetically closest to suckerfish, those guys with suction pads on their foreheads that attach themselves to sharks, whales and sometimes stingrays. Anyway this cobia was caught off the Queensland coast. And now here it is with a salad of herbs, crushed peanuts, eschallots, ginger, grated galangal, chilli, palm sugar, fish sauce and lime juice.

COBIA WITH THAI HERB SALAD

CHAR-GRILLED SALMON WITH CHICKPEAS AND CHILLI JAM

Some people have an issue with salmon. They find it too oily. Telling them that the oil is good for them won't sway them. They just don't like. And they especially don't like it when it isn't cooked until all trace orange rawness has gone. Bears don't seem to have that problem. Nor me. I usually only cook one side of the fillet - in a very hot pan so the flesh goes crisp. The other side is raw - but warm. Some people have issues with chickpeas. Usually these people have issues with other legumes as well - black beans, pinto beans, black-eyed peas and so on. Telling them that these are good for them won't sway them. They just don't like them ... now, just in case you thought that this was going to be an exact copy of what I wrote about salmon, you'd be wrong. Unlike salmon, which tastes best when raw or slightly cooked, all of these dried beans are are a little tough on the teeth if served raw. Actually, that's not true ... chickpeas are ground into powder, which is edible, but a whole lot better if cooked ... do you get the feeling there's no real point to this? I do. So I'll stop.

CHAR-GRILLED SALMON WITH CHICKPEAS AND CHILLI JAM

BARBECUED CHICKEN, WEDGES AND SALAD

One thing I have learnt (and I haven't learnt all that much) is that there's nothing fickler than a fickle fourteen-year-old and there's no amount of fancy food that is ever going to impress them the way a hamburger does or a plate of chips. So here's a dish that's about as simple as I can do. Okay, it's not completely plain, but close. The chicken was marinated in olive oil, chilli, fennel seeds and lemon juice. The wedges of sebago potato were boiled about 3 minutes, drained and then roasted with melted butter. Just describing it has taken more effort than actually went into cooking it ... so I'll stop.

BARBECUED CHICKEN, WEDGES AND SALAD

SPECK WITH BRAISED RED CABBAGE

Cooking this made me feel like an Alsatian ... and I don't mean the dog, I mean the fine folks of Alsace. Which is pretty much the same things as saying Germany - because Alsace is about as German as you can get outside of Germany (okay maybe not as German as Austria ... and parts of Argentina straight after WW2 ... but close. And in any case, I'm pretty sure Alsace WAS Germany at one stage). This speck had polka dots on its skin. I thought it might have come from a rare spotted breed of pig, but no. It seems the speck was smoked on a rack with holes in it and so the dark circles are simply where the smoke rose through the holes. Anyway, the smoky richness of the speck and the sweet earthiness of the cabbage were a marriage made in ... um Alsace.

SPECK WITH BRAISED RED CABBAGE

DRY-AGED RIB OF BEEF WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES

As a species, I think I am right in saying that it is only we humans that like to dress up our food. Other critters find it, dig it, pick it or kill it and then eat it. We, on the other hand, like to trim it. stick little doily things on it (I'm thinking lamb cutlets and standing rib roasts), scatter pretty microherbs over it and generally embellish it in some way. Presented with a magnificent slab of dry-aged beef, I was sorely tempted to tamper with it. I resisted. Nothing more than a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper and then over the coals. To accompany it? Unadorned roasted baby Dutch cream potatoes, cauliflower and asparagus. Okay, there's a dollop of Dijon mustard lurking just out of picture, but otherwise, tonight's meal is presented naked.

DRY-AGED RIB OF BEEF WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES