EPAZOTE-CRUSTED FLATHEAD WITH BLACK BEANS

Flathead is the fish I most closely associate with my childhood. It was what we most frequently caught during our May school holidays at Port Macquarie. They are one of those fish species with eyes on top of their heads rather than on the sides. They partly bury themselves in sand and wait for unsuspecting fish to swim by, then lunge up and swallow them in their gaping mouths. Of course, sometimes the hunted becomes the hunter and flathead find themselves being dragged out of the water by fish that seem to have superhuman powers. Next things they know, they are in a boat and a couple of hours later they are dinner. Thank you, Charles Darwin.

EPAZOTE-CRUSTED FLATHEAD WITH BLACK BEANS

SALMON CAKES WITH PRESERVED LEMON & CAPSICUM JAM

A second use for leftover salmon. This time the flaked salmon was mixed with preserved lemon, parsley, panko crumbs and egg and fried in ghee. Tangy capsicum jam was a nice foil. But foil does not make a nice jam.

SALMON CAKES WITH PRESERVED LEMON & CAPSICUM JAM

GAI XAO XA OT

According to Luke Nguyen of Sydney restaurant The Red Lantern, this is a classic of southern Vietnam. I can understand why. Easy to make, nice fresh flavours - what more could you want? Other than to be Hugh Heffner. Or an English cricketer right now. The chicken is marinated in sugar, lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce and pickled chilli, then flash cooked in a wok with onion, a little peanut oil, fresh chilli and finished with a little chicken stock. It would normally be decorated with coriander. However, I did not feel like battling local floods, so I made do with Vietnamese mint from the garden. Jasmine rice and a cabbage & ginger salad kept the gai xao xa ot company.

GAI XAO XA OT

SALMON, COCONUT & HOLY BASIL CAKES

Christmas lunch for twelve yesterday. One of the things I cooked was a whole salmon - baked with a pouch of jasmine tea leaves and sugar to give it a light smokiness. I had plenty left over, so decided to use some in these Thai-inspired salmon cakes. Salmon, fresh coconut flesh and coconut milk, chilli paste with holy basil, crispy prawn chilli, fish sauce, soy sauce and an egg. Shallow fried in peanut oil. Baby spinach & chicharron salad dressed with lime juice, sugar & fish sauce. On a base of kumera, caramelised eschallot & coriander salad.

SALMON, COCONUT & HOLY BASIL CAKES

RED EMPEROR WITH SLOW-ROASTED TOMATOES

Red emperor is a sweet-fleshed reef fish caught off the Queensland coast. Not as sweet as blue swimmer or mud crab. Not as sweet as chocolate. Not as sweet as Shirley Temple. But sweet enough. Ditto these small tomatoes bought at the weekly market. Drizzled with a little olive oil, a light sprinkle of sugar and salt and a few sprigs of thyme, then 6 hours in an 80C oven - which really concentrates the flavour. And intensifies the sweetness. Green beans with garlic to complete the dish.

RED EMPEROR WITH SLOW-ROASTED TOMATOES

SALMON ADOBADO, BLACK BEANS AND SALSA CRUDA

A summery 31C here today, so something cool and fresh seemed in order. Johnny Depp is about as cool as they come. But he was not available. So I settled for fresh. Great vibrant glistening deep orange salmon marinated in a classic Mexican adobo and orange juice, then seared in a hot skillet. Really wholesome black beans and a fresh tomato salsa. Served with a mesclun salad and a dressing of macadamia oil, agave syrup, and white wine vinegar.

SALMON ADOBADO, BLACK BEANS AND SALSA CRUDA

SEARED YELLOWFIN TUNA WITH A COMPOTE OF MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLES

When I was a kid we stayed once or twice in guesthouses in rural New South Wales. I remember one in the southern highland where a maid stood in the hall outside the dining room in the evening and hammered a small xylophone to announce that dinner was served. I recall another on the southern headland at Mollymook on the south coast. I mention these guesthouses because something I recall at breakfast in both establishments was a compote of fruit served for breakfast. These mixtures of sweet and gently stewed fruits usually included apricots, peaches and prunes - which my parents told me kept me regular. I thought of this when I decided to poach baby eggplants, yellow zucchini, spring onions and tomato in olive oil with some fresh thyme. I stuck with a southern French influence with a spoon of olive tapenade.

SEARED YELLOWFIN TUNA WITH A COMPOTE OF MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLES

BARBECUED MACKEREL WITH CABBAGE SALAD

Mackerel is not one of the most popular fish species. It sure is tasty. I marinated these steaks in roasted chilli oil, olive oil and lime juice and then barbecued them. A great cabbage salad recipe from Stephanie Alexander.

BARBECUED MACKEREL WITH CABBAGE SALAD

PENNE WITH ASPARAGUS

When a dish has just four ingredients, the difference between mundane and great really comes down to the quality of those ingredients. Apart from salt and pepper (and I will return to these in a moment), the ingredients here are the pasta, the asparagus, the parmesan and the oil used.

The pasta is a lovely organic penne from Gioie di Fattoria. The asparagus is from the local markets. The parmesan is a 2007 Reggiano. The oil is the sensational Colonna Granverde, made from olives and lemons crushed together. The salt is coarse grey sea salt hand harvested from Guerande. The pepper is Tellicherry from India - larger, fruitier and hotter than regular black pepper. You can make this dish with supermarket penne and asparagus, with grana padana in place of the Reggiano and with a pedestrian olive oil, salt and pepper. You will have a nice dish, but not a great one.

PENNE WITH ASPARAGUS

SNAPPER WITH LEMONGRASS AND GINGER

A quick and simple stir-fry. Peanut oil, light soy sauce and crispy prawn chilli paste heated to sizzling in a hot wok. Add finely sliced baby ginger, garlic, sliced lemongrass, chillies and eschallots. Mix through, then add fish cut into 3cm chunks and cook until opaque. Add some fried eschallot and serve. Really nice contrast of textures and no one flavour dominant.

SNAPPER WITH LEMONGRASS AND GINGER

2003 CASA FRESCHI LA SIGNORA

I had a delightful dinner with winemakers David Freschi and Tom Adams in Adelaide a couple of years ago. Apart from both being great human beings, they are both terrifically talented winemakers. I have had several bottles of wines produced by each of them over the years. This 2003 La Signora is an interesting blend of nebbiolo, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and malbec. I am not sure if it is his Italian heritage, but David has produced an Australian wine that has a lot of what I admire in the best Italian (and French, for that matter) reds - a savoury character that works in perfect harmony with food. Whilst I admire the rich fruitiness of some iconic Australia shirazes, I reckon they shine in wine shows, but not at the table. It is like trying to eat a steak and a bowl of Christmas pudding simultaneously. I am not sure what is the current vintage of this wine. If you can find some, buy some.

2003 CASA FRESCHI LA SIGNORA

SNAPPER WITH RED QUINOA, KUMERA AND PUMPKIN SEEDS

Here is a nice way to use sweet potato (which we know here in Oz by its Kiwi name, kumera) -

Dice a kumera and boil in salted water for about 5 minutes (until tender). Drain. Make a dressing of pecan oil, a small amount of pomegranate molasses and an equally small amount of a really good vinegar - I used a 50 year old Spanish sherry vinegar. Toss the drained kumera and the dressing together. Toast some hulled pumpkin seeds in a dry pan, then coarsely grind with mortar and pestle. Sprinkle over the kumera after plating up.

I used this with the red quinoa cooked in chicken stock and snapper cooked in ghee. A dollop of salsa verde on top.

SNAPPER WITH RED QUINOA, KUMERA AND PUMPKIN SEEDS

SNAPPER WITH BABY TOMATOES & CARAMELISED TOMATO VINAIGRETTE

I love the name for snapper in Mexico - huachinango. There is something musical about that word. It sounds like a dance. I thought of this when chatting with Shane, our local fishmonger. He had bought this monster snapper at the fish markets this morning. I did not ask him, but the fish must have weighed 6 or 7 kilos because I bought one whole filleted side of it and that was pushing 2 kilos. I left the skin on and cooked it in butter, mostly skin-side down so it developed a crisp texture and turned this deep brown colour. The flesh was only just cooked through, so it remained flaky, sweet and moist. I had bought a great caramelised tomato balsamic vinegar (Robinvale, for Aussie readers) at the weekly markets and this seemed a natural for a vinaigrette with the baby tomatoes. A simple mesclun and avocado salad on the side. Summer bliss.

SNAPPER WITH BABY TOMATOES & CARAMELISED TOMATO VINAIGRETTE

COCONUT CRUSTED BARRAMUNDI WITH MANGO SALSA

Next time you buy a nice white fish fillet, try this. Mix equal amounts of panko crumbs and grated coconut in a bag. Add the fish fillets, twist the top to form a balloon and rotate the page several times until the fish is well coated. Sear the filets in a medium hot skillet or sautee pan with ghee or butter and cook both sides. The panko crumbs give texture. The coconut imparts its unique flavour. Serve with this mix of mango, eschallots, chilli (serrano or jalapeño) and lime juice

COCONUT CRUSTED BARRAMUNDI WITH MANGO SALSA

ROASTED PORK BELLY WITH RED DATE CHUTNEY & ROYAL BLUE POTATOES

I try to eat local produce whenever possible. Three of the main ingredients come from reasonably close to home. The pork from Bangalow. The asparagus from the Ipswich. Royal Blue potatoes from the Lockyer Valley. The red dates had to travel a long way. They are not really dates. They are jujubes. In Mandarin I think they are called da zao. They are brilliant in a slow braised dish with pork - the kind of of dish cooked by the Hakka people, but also popular in Beijing. In this case, I used a Chinese staple in an Indian-style chutney. Royal Blue potatoes have purple skin and a thin layer of purple flesh wrapped around a creamy white core. To get the benefit of this colour, they really have to be cooked whole and unpeeled. Once done, I simply mash them with a good butter (such as Lurpak) and a little milk and salt.

ROASTED PORK BELLY WITH RED DATE CHUTNEY & ROYAL BLUE POTATOES

DRY AGED RIB OF BEEF WITH CARAMELISED ONION

I am a simple man. Not ignorant. Just simple. Uncomplicated. I get pleasure from simple things. Like a simply grilled slab of beef. If it is of good quality. One of the sacrifices I have made lately is to cook meals devoid of meat in order to help Sharon reduce the acidity of her body. No beef, no lamb. I have occasionally been able to do pork. And chicken has put in frequent appearances. But it has mostly been a diet of fish. And vegetables. Or vegetables and fish. Sometimes just vegetables. Fish is great. But it is not meat. Tonight I made up for weeks of sacrifice with this rib of fine grass-fed beef from up near Gympie. It has been dry-aged for about 5 weeks by our butcher. The benefit of dry-aging is that the flavour intensifies and the meat becomes softer and less fibrous. It might be another 3 or 4 months before my next beef hit. I  will have to live on the memory of this meal until then.

DRY AGED RIB OF BEEF WITH CARAMELISED ONION

PAPRIKA CHICKEN WITH CAPSICUM JAM

Nothing much needs explaining here. Proper chicken-flavoured chicken from Alstonville WITH skin and bone intact, rubbed with smoked paprika and roasted. A jam of red capsicum and chilli. A salad of watercress, avocado and asparagus (all from the local markets) with a dressing of great olive oil (Novello di Macina from Primagoccia, bought at Ranieri Deli in Fivedock, Sydney) and brilliant vinegar (from cider, seaweed, shallots and fleur de sel by Domaine des Terres Rouges from Simon Johnson in Sydney). See if you can find this vinegar in your neighbourhood. There is nothing like it.

PAPRIKA CHICKEN WITH CAPSICUM JAM

OCEAN TROUT, PUY LENTILS AND WATERCRESS PUREE

Some times flavours just work. Not always, but occasionally. I bought some great ocean trout at the markets. Also some watercress. i had made some chicken stock with the frame of a bird bought 2 days ago. So ... I cooked Puy pentils in stock. I pureed some watercress with extra virgin olive oil and a little salt. I seared the ocean trout skin side only until the skin crisped up. A really nice combination of flavours and textures.

OCEAN TROUT, PUY LENTILS AND WATERCRESS PUREE

CHICKEN WITH ROASTED CHILLI OIL AND CORN PUDDING

I bought some really fresh ears of corn at the markets and so I then started thinking of something different to do with them. I remembered this classic Mexican dish and thought it would be a good thing to serve with this chicken. For each person, you will need to remove the kernels from an ear of corn. Put these kernels in a food processor with 20 gms per person of queso panela, ricotta salata or fetta and process until smooth. Stir in 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder and 20 gms of whipped lard (per person). You can bake this in a single buttered dish or in individual ramekins as I used here. Bake at 180C for about 45 minutes.

CHICKEN WITH ROASTED CHILLI OIL AND CORN PUDDING

SALMON WITH SALSA VERDE

Green sauce. A lot of cuisines have their version. This one is mostly Italian in influence - finely chopped parsley and celery leaves, along with a couple of basil leaves, capers, anchovy, garlic, salt, extra virgin olive oil and a little white wine vinegar. A great and simple accompaniment for grilled beef, fish or chicken.

SALMON WITH SALSA VERDE

FAJITAS DE POLLO CON ELOTE

Mexican home cooking. Corn season here at the moment. And avocado season. A bed of corn & yellow capsicum, strips of chicken breast cooked in lard (and no healthy substitute will do here), guacamole, cebollas en escabeche & jalapenos en escabeche.

FAJITAS DE POLLO CON ELOTE

SEARED TUNA SALAD

Dead simple (and that is a moniker that could be applied to a number of deceased people I can think of). Yellow capsicum, jalapeno, baby spinach, chickpeas and seared tuna. A basic dressing of extra virgin olive oil and lime juice.

SEARED TUNA SALAD

CLASSIC ROAST CHICKEN WITH ROAST VEGETABLES

I based this on a recipe from the great Stephanie Alexander. The one thing I did differently was to brine the chicken before cooking it. Have you ever brined meat? Try it. I soaked the whole chicken in a bath of very salty water for a couple of hours. I then drained it thoroughly and wiped it dry inside and out before rubbing it with lemon and stuffing it with 3 cloves of crushed garlic, two halves of lemon, a sprig of rosemary and salt. The brining helps the skin crisp and keeps the flesh moist. The bird cooked for 60 minutes  - 20 on each side and 20 breast up. I added parsnips, zucchini and flat beans (all tossed in olive oil and garlic) for the last 20 minutes.

CLASSIC ROAST CHICKEN WITH ROAST VEGETABLES

ADOBO TUNA WITH GRAPE TOMATOES

In Australia, we love diminutives. Mosquitoes become mozzies and presents becomes prezzies. In Mexico, they also seem to like diminutives. Instead of Gregory, my colleagues called me Goyo. But then they changed that to Goyito, which means little Goyo. Funny that it is longer than Goyo. I thought of this whilst contemplating these tomatoes. Grape tomatoes are baby tomatoes. But then I am not sure what to make of these baby grape tomatoes purchased at Fratelli Fresh in Sydney. Baby baby tomatoes? They look bigger than life size in this photo because they are nestled up against smaller than usual chickpeas. Small, but not baby. From the size of the tuna fillet, I would say that the fish was not a baby. The wine we drank with it was.

ADOBO TUNA WITH GRAPE TOMATOES

COCHINITA PIBIL WITH RADISH & AVOCADO SALSA

Do radishes get a bad rap? I think so. They seem to be one of those forgotten vegetables, like turnips and Swedes. You see them often, but you just do not think about buying them. And then when you do buy some, there is a good chance they will sit in the vegetable crisper where they go soft (perverse, huh?). I have to confess I had neglected them until we lived in Mexico. There they seem to turn up often as a condiment to all sorts of classic dishes. So, here they are in a simple salsa of san marzano tomatoes from the garden, jalapenos and Sharwill avocados  from the markets. If you have never tasted cochinita pibil, do yourself a favour. There are recipes online - or look in a classic Mexican cookbook, like one of those by Diana Kennedy.

COCHINITA PIBIL WITH RADISH & AVOCADO SALSA

GLAZED CHICKEN WITH BABY TATSOI

This dish started when I saw these great bunches of baby tatsoi at the local shop. I made a marinade for the chicken that worked really well - sesame oil, light soy sauce, red vinegar, ground chilli, ground ginger and Asian caramel sauce (you could also use kechup manis). This mixture produces a glaze when grilled or barbecued that is reminiscent of Chinese barbecued duck or char siew.

GLAZED CHICKEN WITH BABY TATSOI

AMARANTH WITH PEANUTS

AMARANTH WITH PEANUTS

CHICKEN WITH BEANS & CORIANDER

Not quite Thai, not quite Chinese, not quite Indian. A pan Asian dish in the style of Gingerboy in Melbourne. Chicken, beans, green masala and green curry paste with lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and masses of coriander. Very cleansing.

CHICKEN WITH BEANS & CORIANDER

THE PERFECT SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE

What is the perfect ragu alla bolognese? According to Wikipedia, the traditional recipe was registered in 1982 by the Bolognese delegation of Accademia Italiana della Cucina - and you have to embrace any country that establishes an academy to celebrate food. The registered recipe lists the ingredients as beef, pancetta, onions, carrot, celery, tomato paste, meat broth (or stock), white wine and milk or cream. That is the official line. The unofficial line is that even in Bologna, there is often chopped pork or pork sausage, sometimes chicken or rabbit. And you are also likely to find chicken or goose liver. Prosciutto and mushrooms are included in some recipes. Some people whip up a bolognese sauce in half an hour, but according to Marcella Hazan in "The Classic Italian Cookbook", the longer ragù alla bolognese cooks the better. A 5- or 6-hour simmer is not unusual. What is a cook to make of all this? Basically, the only things that the meat sauces in the Bologna style have in common is chopped (or minced) meats, white wine, onions and carrots. So, the question remains - what to include and what to leave out? For what it is worth, here is my recipe for a bolognese sauce. Is it perfect? You be the judge.

BOLOGNESE SAUCE

50 mls olive oil
350 gms finely diced brown onion
115 gms finely diced carrot
115 gms finely diced celery
1 teaspoon ground pepper
2 teaspoons salt
500gms coarsely minced (or finely chopped) pork
500gms coarsely minced (or finely chopped) veal
250gms coarsely chopped chicken livers
450 mls tomato sauce
400 mls beef or veal stock
225 mls white wine

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. When rippling, add onions and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until light gold - about 15 to 20 minutes. Uncover and allow the onions to caramelise, which should take another 15 minutes. Add the other vegetables, pepper and salt and cook another 5 minutes. Add pork and veal. Break up with a fork or spoon and cook until it has changed colour. Add the livers and cook another 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce, about half the stock and the white wine. Stir it a few times and turn down to a gentle simmer. Cook it, uncovered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add the rest of the stock and cook another 1 1/2 hours at least. The sauce should be reasonably thick and dry by this stage. If you like, you could add a little grated nutmeg at the end - but not essential. This will make enough sauce for 8 or 10 servings. It can be divided into 300-325 gm portions and frozen.

THE PERFECT SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE

RED EMPEROR WITH MOGHRABIEH, KALE & HARISSA TOMATOES

I love how a single dish can be interpreted in different ways as it moves from country to country. The small grains of couscous so loved in Morocco and elsewhere in north Africa grow in size when produced in Israel and are called ptitim - or Israeli couscous in the western world. A short distance away in Lebanon, the same staple grows further in size and is known as moghrabieh. I quite like these big balls of wheat. Curly-leafed kale hales from the northern Mediterranean, having been recorded in Greece in the 4th century BC. Tomatoes of course are Mexican in origin, but are now most commonly associated with Italy. Red emperor is one of the great reef fish species of Australia. So the Pacific meets the Med and has a child.

RED EMPEROR WITH MOGHRABIEH, KALE & HARISSA TOMATOES

BARRAMUNDI WITH CABBAGE SALAD, TOMATO RELISH & LIME MAYONNAISE

Five days in Sydney. A very nice meal with friends Clare and Steve at District Dining - which just happens to be on the first floor of a pub owned by another friend, Stan - and Stan, I hope the back operation went OK. So, not up for preparing anything flash tonight. I guess we all have days like this, even the best chefs in the world. A simple piece of really fresh fish, a couple of simple salads (Stephanie Alexander inspired cabbage salad) and some mayo.

BARRAMUNDI WITH CABBAGE SALAD, TOMATO RELISH & LIME MAYONNAISE

VERDURE IN BRODO

Vegetables in broth somehow sounds better in a foreign language, so here it is in Italian. Prefer it in Spanish? Verduras en caldo. Mandarin? 在湯的菜 (and I have to confess I am at the mercy of Babel Fish with this one). Whatever you call it, this is a basic stew. Or a lumpy soup. Just green and yellow vegetables - asparagus, butter beans, yellow zucchini and silverbeet with chicken stock, garlic, olive oil and puréed basil.

VERDURE IN BRODO

ADOBO CHICKEN WITH ROASTED CORN SALSA AND MORA CHILLI AIOLI

Some of you have seen our pantry. You will know how it is crammed with ingredients. You will also know that quite a few of the jars on the shelves contain chillies. I am not sure how many different chillies there are in there, but I would guess 30. Some of my favourites are the smoked chillies. There is the pasilla de Oaxaca which is thin-fleshed and has an intense smokiness from being smoked over fern fronds. There are the chipotles, which are thick-fleshed jalapenos smoked over mesquite wood. And there are the moras and moritas, which are serrano chillies given the same treatment. I made an adobo, a thick paste, based on some moras. I then blended some of this paste with a roast garlic aioli. The chook was marinated in the same adobo, but this time blended with coconut vinegar.

ADOBO CHICKEN WITH ROASTED CORN SALSA AND MORA CHILLI AIOLI

CHICKEN WITH EGGPLANT AND CRISPY PRAWN CHILLI PASTE

I like Thai food. I like a Thai condiment called Crispy Prawn Chilli in English. This is a brilliantly simple stir fry - peanut oil, eggplants and eschallot or onion fried for about 7-8 minutes. Light soy, strips of chicken thigh or breast, a teaspoon of crispy prawn chilli and a teaspoon of red curry paste, palm sugar, lime juice and fish sauce, Thai basil, mint and coriander. Fifteen minutes max.

CHICKEN WITH EGGPLANT AND CRISPY PRAWN CHILLI PASTE

COCONUT CRUMBED FLATHEAD WITH LIME AIOLI AND CHICKPEA SALAD

This was going to be a dish of flathead in panko crumbs. Then I thought of adding coconut to the crumbs. The coconut then gave me ideas of an aïoli made with lime juice. And both of these made me think of coastal Mexico (and come to think of it, a lot of Mexico is coastal - 9330 kms to be exact), so I made a salad of chickpeas (which were probably introduced to Mexico by the Spanish, who were introduced to them by the Moors), tomatoes (which originated in Mexico), chillies (also Mexican) and basil (which seems to have come from Persia). I think the same coconut coating would have also worked well with a mango salsa. Maybe next time.

COCONUT CRUMBED FLATHEAD WITH LIME AIOLI AND CHICKPEA SALAD

RED EMPEROR WITH PINTO BEANS AND YELOW CAPSICUM SALSA

If fish species were rated on a scale of 1 to 10 for good looks, red emperor would rate a 7 or 8. It is quite a handsome fish with pink skin and red bands up its head, on its flank, down its back and with crimson-tipped fins. Fish of 5 to 8 kg are fairly common in deeper channels around the Great Barrier Reef off the Queensland coast. The flesh is soft, snow white and mild in flavour. This got a bit of a Mexican treatment with a yellow capsicum salsa. A salad of mesclun and avocado with macadamia oil and lime juice. Very simple and healthy.

RED EMPEROR WITH PINTO BEANS AND YELOW CAPSICUM SALSA

EDIBLE ART

I sent my parents to Quay for their 60th wedding anniversary. They had a great night, remarking on the extraordinary food and the wonderful attention of the staff. I bought this book yesterday and I spent some time today flipping through its pages. What struck me is how Peter Gilmore has remained faithful to the ingredients and created plates of food that look like perfect expressions of nature - and yet there is artistry evident here that nature could not match. Each component of each dish is perfection in itself. And each of these perfect ingredients is assembled into sublime works of culinary art that I can study for minutes at a time. If you can get to Sydney and can get a table at the restaurant, go. If not, buy this book and dream. This is now the 3rd cookbook bought this year that has had a profound effect on me. The others are The Fat Duck Cookbook and NOMA. Can food get any better?

EDIBLE ART

SPAGHETTI WITH ZUCCHINI AND CHILLI OIL

I do not know about you, but there are times when I crave a simple bowl of pasta. I reckon this qualifies as simple. Onion and garlic sweated in chilli oil, sliced zucchini stirred through until starting to soften, then slices of San Marzano tomatoes (you could use other small tomatoes) and cooked another 2 minutes. Introduce this to your pasta and that is it. A grating of parmesan over the top, a rustic Italian red, some nice music in the background and good company in the foreground and I am happy.

SPAGHETTI WITH ZUCCHINI AND CHILLI OIL

TEA SMOKED SALMON ON GRILLED BRIOCHE WITH SMOKED TOMATO JAM & SILVERBEET

Have I mentioned I like smoky flavours? I have now. Some big fat shoulder fillets of salmon were given ten minutes over a mix of rice, sugar and jasmine tea. I also smoked some San Marzano tomatoes from the garden and made a jam with roasted garlic, ginger, chilli and other goodies. A slice of brioche grilled on a ribbed cast iron pan and some silverbeet cooked gently with olive oil and garlic.

TEA SMOKED SALMON ON GRILLED BRIOCHE WITH SMOKED TOMATO JAM & SILVERBEET

SALMON BELLY SASHIMI

I love how a single fillet of salmon can so readily yield two or more dishes. In this case, I bought fillets from the shoulder of a large fish. I used the choicest, fattest section for a main course of tea-smoked salmon on grilled brioche (which will be the next post). I cut off the belly flap and the fatty piece at the top of the fillet and then sliced these to serve as sashimi with champagne. These parts of the fish contain the most fat, much of which is visible as striations in the slices here. Apart from giving each slice drama, the fat is what makes salmon so good for us.

SALMON BELLY SASHIMI

PORK AND GREEN MANGO SALAD

I do like Thai style salads. Also Vietnamese, French, Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Lithuanian, Congolese, Peruvian, Icelandic, Lichtensteiner and Butanese. On second thoughts, scratch the Butanese. I have never eaten Butanese food, but a doco seen years ago put me off it for life. The staple seems to be a wheat gruel washed down with fermented tea with rancid yak butter stirred through it - for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Thanks but no thanks. Give me these combinations of soft, hard, sweet, salty, spicy, cooling, sharp and gentle any day.

PORK AND GREEN MANGO SALAD

BARBECUED TAMARIND CHICKEN. GAI LAN WITH OYSTER SAUCE

My life is not controlled by my taste buds. My life is not controlled by my taste buds. My life is not controlled by my taste buds. My life is not controlled by my taste buds ... it is no use. These mind exercises are not working. My life IS controlled by my taste buds. Tonight they felt like a trip to China. I marinated some chicken thighs in a mix of coriander seeds, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, tamarind, sugar, salt and rice vinegar. The gai lan was blanched, drained and then ordained with a mix of light soy, oyster sauce, sesame oil and sugar.

BARBECUED TAMARIND CHICKEN. GAI LAN WITH OYSTER SAUCE