SMOKED CHICKEN SALAD

This is an Alstonville (a nearby town) chicken smoked by a mate of our butcher, Paul. Other ingredients in this salad are avocado (from the local markets), sun-dried tomatoes, sheep's milk fetta, rocket, 2011 Joseph extra virgin olive oil and a caramelised tomato balsamic dressing.

SMOKED CHICKEN SALAD

SPAGHETTI WITH PORCINI RAGU

An experiment. Not on the monumental scale of atom splitting or the sheer 'please explain' silliness of 3-wheeled cars. This is a far more modest experiment. No chicken livers to make my usual sauce, so I substituted porcini - and they worked just fine.

SPAGHETTI WITH PORCINI RAGU

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SALAD OF WATERMELON AND FETTA

Another salad by my sister for the family Christmas lunch. So refreshing. A mix of watermelon, fetta, red onion, soya beans and mint.

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SALAD OF WATERMELON AND FETTA

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SALAD OF LENTILS, QUINOA AND FRIED ONION

A France meets North Africa meets South America salad - Puy lentils poached in chicken stock, quinoa, onions (fried until deep brown and caramelised), roasted slivered almonds and pumpkin with an orange vinaigrette.

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SALAD OF LENTILS, QUINOA AND FRIED ONION

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SALAD OF ROCKET, MOZZARELLA, CHERRY TOMATOES AND BREAD

A fabulous and rustic salad by my sister for Christmas lunch - chunks of turn bread roasted until crisp, torn mozzarella, sweet cherry tomatoes, rocket and a balsamic vinaigrette.

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SALAD OF ROCKET, MOZZARELLA, CHERRY TOMATOES AND BREAD

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SALMON WITH TAHINA AND HERBS

For Christmas this year, my sister cooked a side of salmon, then coated it with a delicious middle eastern sauce based on yoghurt, sumac and tahina, with chopped parsley and coriander and roasted pine nuts on top. Absolutely delicious.

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SALMON WITH TAHINA AND HERBS

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | BLUE SWIMMER CRAB

Which crab species has the sweetest flesh? There are those who swear by a mud crab, but for my money there's nothing to compare to blue swimmer (or sand) crab. Okay, they are fiddly things to work with and you'll never get big juicy chunks of flesh as you do from the claw of a mud crab and other bigger varieties, but what you get is sublimely sweet.

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | BLUE SWIMMER CRAB

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SYDNEY ROCK OYSTERS

A confession: I'm not an oyster lover. As a kid, I found their texture revolting. I'm better now and can eat them - but I don't crave them as some do. Anyway, for the oyster lovers in my family, my folks put a platter of them on the table as part of this quintessential Australian Christmas lunch. (For those in the northern hemisphere, remember it's around 28C here at Christmas.)

AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS | SYDNEY ROCK OYSTERS

GRILLED CHICKEN THIGH WITH QUINOA, BEANS AND HAZELNUTS

The fourth of four poultry dishes - chicken thighs (with bone in and skin ON!) with poached quinoa, blanched green beans and roasted hazelnuts. It somehow feels Christmassy without being traditional.

GRILLED CHICKEN THIGH WITH QUINOA, BEANS AND HAZELNUTS

GRILLED QUAIL WITH PUY LENTILS

The third of four poultry dishes. Quail for a change. Simply grilled and served on a bed of Puy lentils poached in chicken stock. Served with a green salad ... because brown, black or turquoise salads just don't do it for me.

GRILLED QUAIL WITH PUY LENTILS

ROAST CHICKEN WITH BLACK BEANS AND KUMERA MASH

The second of four poultry dishes. This one cooked in Sydney whilst on a Christmas trip to visit friends and family. A roasted free range chicken with three veg - whole black beans, sweet potato mash and roasted asparagus

ROAST CHICKEN WITH BLACK BEANS AND KUMERA MASH

BARBECUED CHICKEN SALAD

The first of four poultry dishes. This one a simple salad of barbecued chicken (from Allstonville, down the road from home) and very fresh lettuces (from the Tweed Valley over the hill). A dollop of roast garlic aïoli on top and a decent dressing (Joseph 2011 First Run EVOO and 25 year old sherry vinegar). Done.

BARBECUED CHICKEN SALAD

THE PERFECT GREEN SALAD

I am reluctant to call anything perfect - but after many, many variations on the basic salad, I think this one has come closest to being the ideal. It started with a mix of really fresh lettuces. Not home grown, but from a family farm here in the Tweed Valley. Mignonette, red lamb's tongue, butter lettuce, baby cos, local Sharwill avocado (the last of the season), roasted pine nuts and a classic vinaigrette of 2011 Joseph First Run extra virgin olive oil, 25 year old Spanish sherry vinegar, Pommery Dijon mustard, Murray River salt and pepper.

THE PERFECT GREEN SALAD

HERBED YELLOWFIN TUNA WITH CANNELLINI COMPOTE

Back when you didn't need a game console to have fun, I remember the pleasure of rolling down a softly grassed hill. If the grass had been recently mowed, blades of grass would adhere to your clothes and there was that wonderful smell of freshly cut grass. I thought of that experience while I was rolling this tuna in finely chopped fresh herbs (parsley and basil). It was quickly seared in a little grapeseed oil and served on a bed of cannellini & eschallots poached in chicken stock.

HERBED YELLOWFIN TUNA WITH CANNELLINI COMPOTE

SNAPPER WITH BLACK BEANS AND MANGO SALSA

This is the tail section - well half of it - of a big knobby snapper. Those of you unfamiliar with snapper mightn't know that a fish that starts out reasonably handsome becomes deformed in maturity by this bulbous growth on its forehead. Never mind. There are no mirrors underwater. The flesh is delicious.

SNAPPER WITH BLACK BEANS AND MANGO SALSA

RICE NOODLES WITH KING PRAWNS

This is the kind of dish they might do at a street stall in Singapore - if Singapore still has street stalls. It's the kind of dish they might do at a Malay street stall - and I'm pretty sure they still exist there ... but possibly not in the shadow of the pointless Petronas Towers. A hot wok, peanut oil, chilli paste, soy sauce and rice noodles, king prawns, laksa leaves, a little lime juice and some crisp prawn skin to serve.

RICE NOODLES WITH KING PRAWNS

STIR-FRIED CHICKEN WITH THAI BASIL

Are cuisines like children? I have been wondering this because I feel I've been neglectful of a couple of cuisines lately and I feel guilty the way a parent might for neglecting one child whilst spending time with others. It's not that cuisines go through difficult phases as kids do. It's not that they become deeply and permanently scarred from this neglect. Maybe the neglected cuisines don't feel anything at all. Maybe it's just me. Anyway, I have been neglecting Thai food and I'm just relieved that it welcomed me back with open arms when I pulled out the wok and whipped up this stir fry of  crispy prawn chilli, lemongrass, fish sauce, lime juice, kaffir lime leaves, palm sugar, coconut cream and basil. Maybe something Singaporean tonight.

STIR-FRIED CHICKEN WITH THAI BASIL

RED EMPEROR WITH DUTCH CREAM MASH

I've written enough about red emperor in previous blogs. From what I can see nothing's changed since the last red emperor post. They're still red and they're still emperors. The Dutch cream potatoes are still Dutch and still creamy ... in case you're wondering.

RED EMPEROR WITH DUTCH CREAM MASH

POLLO CON MOLE NEGRO DE OAXACA

Had a hankering for some Mexican food. Don't know why I haven't been cooking so much of it lately. One meal won't make amends - but hey, it's a start. Rome has seven hills. Oaxaca has seven moles. This is probably the best know - and maybe my favourite, although I do have a soft spot for pipian verde (a sauce of pumpkin seeds, green chilles, coriander and other goodness for those of you unfamiliar with it).

POLLO CON MOLE NEGRO DE OAXACA

SALMON SALAD WITH CRISPY PRAWN CHILLI

Not a whole lot to explain here. A Eurasian fusion thing going on. Wonderfully plump salmon from the fishmonger, sautéed and flaked and added to a salad of mesclun, watercress and coriander with an olive oil, lemon juice and crispy prawn chilli paste vinaigrette. There. Told you there wasn't much to explain.

SALMON SALAD WITH CRISPY PRAWN CHILLI

RED EMPEROR WITH CARAMELISED CAPSICUM

I've written about red emperor on previous posts - one of the great species of reef caught off the Queensland coast. Given that the ocean is as salty off the Qld coast as it is further away from the tropics, it's surprising how sweet most reef fish is. This is on a bed of something sweeter - red capsicum sweated in olive oil with balsamic vinegar, smoked paprika and sugar. Not shown here: a green salad

RED EMPEROR WITH CARAMELISED CAPSICUM

FISHCAKES WITH TWO SALADS

My mum used to be a pretty good baker of cheesecake. She'd make regular cheesecake and chocolate cheesecake - often for birthdays. Sometimes she'd bake sponge cake. For some birthdays we kids would ask her to make tri-coloured sponge cake - a layer of strawberry, one of vanilla and one chocolate. I have become pretty good at making banana cake, made with lady finger bananas from our neighbours' farm. I don't think my mum ever made fish cakes for birthdays. I can't imagine ANY kid being happy to be served fish cakes for a birthday cake. It's a good thing it's nobody's birthday today, because I have cooked fish cakes. No candles. Just a squeeze of lemon juice, a dollop of aïoli, some cherry tomatoes and Lebanese cucumber.

FISHCAKES WITH TWO SALADS

SALMON PIZZA

There's something therapeutic about making pizza. A good pizza dough won't be rushed. You make the starter. You stop. You leave it to rise. You make the dough. You kneed it for 15 minutes. You stop. You leave it to rise. You punch it down. You leave it to rise again. You cut it, roll it and then, finally, you're ready to start making a pizza. Worth the effort? You bet.

SALMON PIZZA

CHORIZO WITH TOMATO & CANNELLINI SALAD

Billinudgel is a small town just south of here that used to be best known for its pub. The Billinudgel Pub opened in 1906 and was run by Ma Ring until her death at the age of 101. The pub is still an excellent reason to visit Billinudgel. Now there's another one - the Salumi Australia artisan smallgoods manufacturer established here a short while back. Salumi products are made using fabulous Bangalow and Kurobuta pork and traditional techniques. They make fresh pork sausages, dry Sardinian-style sausages, guanciale (cured pork jowl), salame, pancetta, cotechino and some rarities like strolghino, n'duja and sobrasada. I have used their great chorizos here. Nothing flash. Simply grilled over charcoal and served with a tomato and cannellini salad - and a mesclun salad on the side.

CHORIZO WITH TOMATO & CANNELLINI SALAD

DUCK CONFIT WITH PUY LENTILS AND BROAD BEAN PUREE

There's something decadent about confit. It's probably just all that saturated fat. The uncontrollable love of things that are bad for us. But there's no denying the soft lusciousness that the long low cooking in duck fat adds to the flesh. I cooked the Puy lentils in duck stock (naturally) with a little garlic and olive oil. And if you haven't tried broad bean purée, you're missing something special.

DUCK CONFIT WITH PUY LENTILS AND BROAD BEAN PUREE

LEG OF CHICKEN WITH PLANTAIN AND HABANERO MANGO SALSA

If you don't know plantains, let me describe them for you. They're bananas on steroids. Usually sold green, they're inedible when unripe - and impossible to skin. As they ripen, they remain a challenge. In the early stages of ripeness they are often sliced finely, fried and salted - and sold as chips. When the skin starts to go deep brown with black patches (so basically at the stage when you'd toss regular bananas), they are perfect. I cut of the ends, slice them lengthwise and sauté them in ghee. Once cooked, I peel them. they taste like banana - but with an extra citrusy tang. They're popular in Mexico and also on some Pacific islands. I have bought them from a fruit shop in Coolangatta and also from Fijian stall holders at the Homebush markets in Sydney.

LEG OF CHICKEN WITH PLANTAIN AND HABANERO MANGO SALSA

POTATO AND FETTA FRITTATA

How good are mandolines? I don't mean the musical kind - although these have their place. I had a teacher, Moose Morris, in primary school who played the mandolin. I recall he was always breaking strings. But that's not the instrument I'm talking about here. I mean the slicing kind. In sixty seconds I reduced a sebago potato to 100 translucent slices that formed the basis of this frittata. I arranged the slices in a sauté pan with a little butter and cooked until golden. Then I added 5 beaten eggs, salt, papper and slices of goat's milk fetta. Dead simple. A tomato salad on the side.

POTATO AND FETTA FRITTATA

CHICKEN WITH PEAS AND BEANS

OK, so the peas aren't your regular green peas, but chickpeas. And the beans aren't your regular green beans ... well, they ARE green, but not the green beans that you expect to see when someone says green beans. They're broad beans - which are broad and green. Except when they're mature. Then they go a pale yellow/green. Fiddly buggers, but definitely worth the effort of shelling, steaming, skinning and then heating again. That's a dollop of garlic jam on top of the thigh fillet.

CHICKEN WITH PEAS AND BEANS

BRAISED OXTAIL WITH DUTCH CREAM MASH

You'd think oxtail would be easy to get hold of. But no. Like so many other unglamorous cuts of meat, oxtail seems to be something that either gets exported or bought by restaurants. Our excellent butcher Paul had promised to get some oxtail for several months. He hadn't until now because he'd have to order a whole box of tails - and there just isn't the demand for them. Lucky for us, he now has a Japanese restaurant as a client - and they have oxtail on the menu. I bought a single tail - a perfect amount for 4 people. I cook it over two days. The first day it's dusted in four and browned, then slowly braised for 2 hours in oxtail stock (reserved from a previous cooking), red wine, a star anise, bay leaves and salt. It's refrigerated overnight. The next day I remove the crust of fat formed on top and then braise it slowly again for another couple of hours. Dutch cream potatoes make one of the best mashes - this with lots of Lurpak butter and milk.

BRAISED OXTAIL WITH DUTCH CREAM MASH

ROASTED VEGETABLES WITH HERB VINAIGRETTE AND AIOLI

I am an omnivore. There's nothing like a good plate of omnis. Don't get me wrong. I am often a piscivore. And carnivore. And sometimes an out and out herbi. I think this dish qualifies as omni, not herbi, because there are eggs in the aïoli. Am I also an aïolivore? And as an egg eater I guess that makes me an ovivore? I never was very good at Latin. Better at cooking. I don't recall if the recent census asked me to nominate my food preferences. But if it did, I'd have ticked the omnivore box. I've met a few people who are ambivalent to food - agnostivores. And others who seem to be anti food (well good food) - atheistivores.

ROASTED VEGETABLES WITH HERB VINAIGRETTE AND AIOLI

CHICKEN THIGH ON SOFT POLENTA WITH TOMATO SALSA AND MESCLUN

I have a soft spot for polenta. Especially soft polenta. I like firm polenta too. But I don't have a firm spot for it. I made this polenta with homemade chicken stock - and then served it with chicken thighs crusted in polenta and sautéed in corn oil. You get the sense there's a chicken & corn thing going on here? Well it's spoilt by the salsa. No chicken in this. No corn either. And no chicken in the mesclun. There is lamb's tongue lettuce. But no chicken.

CHICKEN THIGH ON SOFT POLENTA WITH TOMATO SALSA AND MESCLUN

STEAMED SPRING VEGETABLES WITH BROAD BEAN PUREE

There are two kinds of people in the world. This is for the other kind. As you can see, there's asparagus. Not everyone loves asparagus. There are Brussels sprouts. And a LOT of people have an issue with sprouts. And then there are broad beans. Again, not on many 'best vegetables ever' lists. Maybe it's because some people have only had them when they're too old and floury. Maybe because they've been served with the skin on - and the skin does them no favours. I did them two ways here - served steamed and then also puréed with extra virgin olive oil. A chef mate from Sydney, Steve Manfredi, introduced me to this method many years ago. If you've never had broad beans prepared this way, you're in for a treat ... unless you're one of the other kind of people in this world.

STEAMED SPRING VEGETABLES WITH BROAD BEAN PUREE

SWEETLIP WITH MANGO & HABANERO CHILLI SALSA

There's a TV fisherman in Australia by the name of Rex Hunt. Rex is best know for his quaint habit. Before releasing every fish he catches, Rex gives it a kiss on the lips. Actually, that's not totally accurate. I'm pretty sure he doesn't extend the lip kiss to sharks. Now this is a custom I'm happy to leave to Rex. I like eating fish. I have no desire to kiss them. If I did, I might be able to tell you if this species really does have sweet lips. I doubt it. I expect they're no less salty and fishy as other species, so I have to wonder how they came to be called sweetlip. It's early in the mango season here, when they still have a bit of an acidic tang to them - prefect for this salsa of mango, chilli, eschallots, coriander and lime juice.

SWEETLIP WITH MANGO & HABANERO CHILLI SALSA

KING PRAWNS WITH ASPARAGUS, BROAD BEANS AND SALSA VERDE

I bought a kilo of sensational big fat asparagus spears at Sydney's Flemington markets on Saturday. It's getting toward the end of the season, but these guys from Victoria are absolutely brilliant. So too the box of broad beans I also bought. I sautéed some local king prawns in ghee and finished the dish with salsa verde.

KING PRAWNS WITH ASPARAGUS, BROAD BEANS AND SALSA VERDE

ROASTED PORK BELLY WITH RED CABBAGE SALAD

Yes, it was only a week back that I did pork belly. It was so good, I had to do it again before it gets too warm for deeply satisfying roasts. This time it gets a bed of red cabbage macerated in a little olive oil and sherry vinegar with mashed anchovy, garlic and salt. Very simple.

ROASTED PORK BELLY WITH RED CABBAGE SALAD

COCONUT CRUSTED RED EMPEROR WITH CHIMICHURRI

A pan-Pacific thing going on here. Queensland reef fish with a mix of panko crumbs and coconut, served with an Argentine chimichurri. Doing my bit for international entente ... or is it just a simple muddle of flavours?

COCONUT CRUSTED RED EMPEROR WITH CHIMICHURRI

PENNE WITH BROCCOLI

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This is my idea of fast food. A couple of heads of broccoli, a few roma tomatoes, garlic, an anchovy fillet, olive oil, roasted chilli and salt. A decent pasta and aged parmesan. Fifteen minutes start to finish. I challenge Dominoes to get dinner on the table any faster.

PENNE WITH BROCCOLI

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