So sad that Margaret Fulton has left our world. Her feisty and confident approach to cooking inspired our culinary world. Her wicked humour made me laugh out loud. Her Butter Cake was perfectly divine.

I was fortunate enough to meet her on numerous occasions through the Food Media Club of which she was Patron. In 2008, she presented me with ‘The Margaret Fulton Award Recognising Potential in an Emerging Recipe Author’ and I have been writing ever since. Her advice to me still remains in my ear: ‘Continue what you are doing, continue having fun, enjoying it, inspiring others – and things will naturally flow.’ And wear good shoes!

I made lunch for her one day and we had it together in her home. What to make for such a kitchen hero?! In a dramatic voice on the phone, she told me to not make huge mounds, so I decided on something true to my heart. Latvian open sandwiches. The whole plate was devoured (phew) and she asked if she could keep the remainder of my Citrus Butter Cake. Now that was the ‘icing on the cake’ – so to speak.

​ I feel sad for her passing, but happy that she achieved so much and was able to spread that passion and humour to me and so many others.

Freekeh is  young green durum wheat which has been toasted to give its unique smoky nutty taste. It is often cracked to shorten cooking times, but I recently held a Whole Foods class so I opted for the uncracked freekeh. It was as simple as placing one cup of freekeh into a saucepan with 2 cups of water, bringing it to the boil and simmering for 45 minutes. I then stirred, turned off the heat and alllowed it to sit for 10 minutes to absorb the final moisture. When cool, it can be refrigerated for many days making it a quick and easy source of protein and fibre (in fact, twice the amount than quinoa).

Here are one of the recipes that I used in the Whole Foods Vegetarian class:

Roasted Cauliflower with Freekeh, Almonds & Pomegranate     Serves 3-4
 
1 small head of cauliflower, broken into approx. 2cm florets
1 tspn cumin seeds
3-4 tblspns olive oil
½ cup cooked Freekeh (follow packet instructions)
½ cup finely chopped parsley and chives (or a mix of your favourite green herbs)
2 large green shallots, finely sliced white and green sections
½ cup almonds, roasted in 180C oven for 10 minutes
Pomegranate (You will need approx. ½ cup of arils. See note below)
Extra 2 tblspns olive oil
1 tblspn lemon juice
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
 
Heat oven to 180C
 
To Roast the Cauliflower: In a bowl, mix together cauliflower florets, olive oil, cumin seeds, salt and pepper. Place on a lined baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked to desired texture. (Toss halfway)
 
To Make the Dressing: Mix together 2 tblspns olive oil, 1 tblspn lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper.
 
To Compile the dish:    Roughly chop the almonds in half diagonally.
 
In a large mixing bowl, place cauliflower, cooked freekeh, herbs, shallot and pomegranate arils. Mix together with dressing and just before serving, fold through half of the almonds, reserving some for a crunchy topping.

Tomato and Goats Curd Tartlets   - Makes 16
 
Deliciously light and fresh and so simple to make for larger numbers
 
1 sheet frozen short crust pastry
250g fresh goats curd
2-3 Roma tomatoes, ripe but firm
1 small brown eschallot, peeled and finely diced
1 tspn finely chopped chives
Pinch of sea salt and freshly ground pepper
16 small basil leaves
 
Heat the oven to 180 deg C.
 
Cut rounds of pastry and lay them in a greased tartlet tray (for 5cm tarts). Prick the bases with a fork and bake for 10 mins until golden brown. Cool on a rack. (When cool, these can be kept in an airtight container for a couple of days or frozen).
 
Slice off the base of the tomato and cut the tomato in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the inner membrane, seeds and excess juice.  Now thinly dice the remaining flesh and place into a mixing bowl.
 
Add the diced eschallot, chives and seasoning and mix together. (Can be prepared a couple of hours in advance).
 
Place a teaspoon of goats curd into each pastry shell, top with tomato salsa and garnish with a basil leaf.

Saddened to hear the loss of Anthony Bourdain. He was such an inspiration to me with food, wine, travel, people and the quirky little bits of other cultures. He has made me smile, frown, look away in disgust and laugh out loud. My favourite episodes of his shows were definitely Romania, Rome and uncannily, Paris, where his life ended. Who would've thought that someone who loved life so much could end it?!

I always said that the 'Deconstructed Dish' phase was ridiculous! Just an excuse for a cheesecake that didn't turn out. Well, Have a look at these ridiculous Decontructed Dishes:

​Plums are so delicious in Sydney at the moment! Low in calories, fat and proteins yet provides Vit C and A, dietary fibre and antioxidants. I personally love the black ones. Here is my recipe from a Kitchen Jazz cooking class back in Autumn 2005. An oldie but a goodie! The chocolate yoghurt is a great alternative to cream.

This larger than life man was such an inspiration to me and it was sad news to hear of his passing. I met him a few times both in the UK and Australia and was in awe of his passion and charisma. As a tribute, I share one of my favourite pasta sauces which is my version from one of his earlier books.
Long live passion!


Carluccio’s Pasta Sauce     Serves 4-6

This recipe is based on a pasta sauce created by Antonio Carluccio, an Italian chef living in London and has been modified by Kitchen Jazz. It was originally designed to be eaten with a short and textured pasta such as farfalle or spirals, but I think that it is just as good with spaghetti.


1 tablespoon olive oil
6 rashers of bacon, rind removed and bacon cut into strips
680/700 ml bottle tomato puree (with no added flavours)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup frozen peas
½ cup basil leaves, loosely packed, no stalks
½ cup mascarpone (Italian cream cheese) / or ½ cup cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese


Heat the oil in a saucepan or a deepish fry-pan which has a lid. When hot, add bacon and fry until browned and lightly crisped.

Add the tomato puree and stir.  Then add garlic and peas and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer with the lid on for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Rip the basil leaves in half by hand and add to the sauce together with mascarpone. Stir until combined and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add drained hot pasta to the sauce and stir together, adding parmesan cheese.


Buon Appetito!



• Note: You will need approx 400-500g of pasta to this quantity of sauce. 

Pasta cooking tips:
• Have plenty of boiling water to avoid overcrowding of pasta (this will avoid sticky pasta)
• Stir every now and then to separate the pasta.
• There is no need to rinse the pasta after draining if you use a good quality pasta.
• Cook until al dente (slightly crunchy) as the pasta will continue to become softer as it absorbs the sauce.

​Caviar spoons:  Oh I do love a good debate. And here I have a debate with myself…..
 
It is said that caviar should be served with a spoon made of mother-of-pearl, horn (absolutely no-no everyone!!) or wood (a bit pedestrian). It should not be served with a metal spoon as this could react with the caviar and taint the flavour. But then again, the tins are made of metal, aren’t they? (Or a glass jar with a metal lid). Hmmm… could it be that caviar just reacts with silver?  So stainless steel would be ok? Yes. But why mother-of-pearl? Well, probably because it is expensive – just like caviar!  And it looks pretty. (haha, pretty expensive!) And there is less chance of breaking the delicate little orbs of caviar.
I noted that professional caviar tasters place a dollop of caviar on the side of their hands and eat straight from the hand. This avoids using a spoon and hence tainting the caviar, but how do you get the caviar from the tin to your hand. Hmmmm so many questions.  And this last method requires a lot of lipstick top-up.
 

This dish is being served in a hotel restaurant in Delhi. Open the stairwell cupboard for sauce!