Vegetable Filo for One…recipe by Margaret McVey

Chopped Mixed vegetables - spinach, mushrooms, olives, dried tomatoes, dried capsicum (enough for 1 person)
125 g feta - cubed
5 sheets of filo (phyllo) pastry

1. Mix vegetables and feta cheese together in a bowl
2. Grease the sheets of pastry with olive oil and layer together
3. Put the vegetable and cheese mixture at the end of the pastry and roll up. You may need to oil the join. Spread some more oil on top if it is dry.
4. Bake in a moderate oven for 30 mins

I usually cook some potatoes in the oven at the same time and serve with tomato chutney.

Grublover comment
Margaret says: This is a variation on spinach and feta pie and just about any vegetable can be used -

Christmas Cake Recipe…recipe by Eve Clarkson

500g brown sugar
500g butter
2 kg mixed fruit
125g walnuts
125g SR flour
375g Plain flour
10 eggs
2 flat teaspoons mixed spice
1/2 cup sherry
1 teaspoon almond or vanilla essence
Blanched almonds and red cherries for garnish

Soak mixed fruit in sherry while rest of ingredients prepared.

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celcius

Cream butter and brown sugar until light in colour.
Add the eggs one at a time. Stir in the mixed fruit, sherry and essences.
Stir in the flours and spice and fold into the mixture with the walnuts.

Line cake tines , base and sides with brown paper then glad bake (this enables the cake to cook slowly and evenly). Leave extra extending above the top of the tin.

This makes 10 cakes the size of large tuna tins, or 2 smaller cakes.

Decorate with cherry and blanched almonds.

Cook small cakes for 1 hour and larger for 2 hours ­ test with skewer and remove from overn when skewer clean.

Cool in the tins. When cool pour over 1-2 tablespoons of brandy (or you could try Ouzo for a different effect)

Wrap in glad wrap to keep if made in advance to Christmas.

Aubergine à la Simon…recipe by Simon Clarkson

1 large Aubergine (or a few smaller ones)
Olive Oil; Sesame Oil for frying
3 medium ripe tomatoes
1 large clove garlic
I small eschalot (or a very small Spanish onion)
2cm finely sliced fresh ginger
1 tsp garam masala




In mortar and pestle or appliance of choice process garlic, ginger and eschalot to a paste.
Separately blend tomatoes to a pulp.
Fry garlic/ginger/eschalot paste in some olive oil until oil starts separating and add Garam Masala then add tomato pulp and cook for 3 to 5 minutes – then set aside….

Prepare aubergine by slicing into 1.5 cm slices and brush with sesame and olive oil and fry in non-stick frypan to colour slightly.

Place Aubergine slices in shallow casserole and pour over reserved marinade.

Bake in medium-hot oven for 15 minutes…

Serve with Bok Choy stir fried with chilli marinated Tofu.

Tim’s Lentil Soup…recipe by Tim Hollingsworth

2 Cans of Whole Tomatoes
1 Can Lentils (or 1/2 cup dry lentils)
1 Large Onion (peeled)
5 Cloves Garlic (peeled
1 Cup Water
Salt + Pepper
Olive Oil
Parmesan



1. Combine in a Large Pot: Tomatoes, Lentils, Whole Onion, Whole Garlic Cloves, Water.
2. Let simmer for about 45 min. When the middle of the Onion “pops” out or is very soft, the soup is ready.
3. Serve in Bowls, then… Drizzle Olive Oil and Sprinkle Parmesan Cheese on each serving.
4. Enjoy!

Grublover comment
This is the perfect meal for a night that you are tired and just want a hearty meal without doing much work! You don’t even have to chop anything. Tim learned this from an Italian chef while staying in a hostel in France. We always double the recipe and have enough for 4. We like to use a high quality olive oil and parmesan as they can really add to the soup.

Thai Chicken and Basil from Terry Durack’s ‘Yum’…Recipe provided by Fiona T Nichols

Serves 4










500g chicken thighs, cut into strips
3-4 red or green chillies
2 tablespoon flat leaf parsley
bunch of fresh basil leaves
4 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoon fish sauce (nam pla)

Slice chillies into thin slivers and finely chop parsley. Pluck basil leaves and reserve them.
Heat oil in wok, cook chicken over moderate heat for 3-4 minutes.
Add the chillies, most of the basil and the chopped parsely.
Cook, stirring as you go, for another 3-4 mins. Splash in fish sauce and stir through.
Add remaining basil and serve with plenty of jasmine rice.

Grublover comment
Thai Chicken and Basil (from Terry Durack’s ‘Yum’, in which he says that this recipe taught him that you could toss things in the wok while half-drunk and without a care in the world, and still be able to feed people without killing them)

Sylvia’s Baklava

½ kg blanched almonds
1 packet of filo (not Pampas)
250g unsalted butter, melted

Roast the almonds until light golden.
Whiz in the food processor until reasonably fine.

First you need to assemble the filo.
Use three sheets if the filo is very thin, if not use two sheets.
Lay out a sheet of filo with the long edge towards you. Brush melted butter over it liberally. Lay a second sheet over this and butter liberally (repeat with a 3rd sheet if using).

Sprinkle the half the pastry closest to you with the almonds. Roll away from you, starting along the long edge. Roll it up completely.
Lay a separate sheet of filo on the bench and butter liberally.
Place the already rolled baklava on top of this sheet, flap side down.
Roll up tightly.

Cut the roll at an angle to form approximately 4cm long diamonds.

These can now be frozen stored separately in an airtight container. Take out of the freezer and defrost in the fridge the night before cooking, or they can be cooked from frozen.

Place separately on a baking tray and baste with butter. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 200 degrees celsius (or maybe a little less, keep an eye on them). Lower the oven to 170 degrees and bake for a further 10 minutes until pale golden. They may not need as long as this.

Remove from the tray, place onto a serving dish or into a storage container and then pour over the cool syrup to approximately half a centimetre deep. They may require more or less syrup.

ALTERNATIVELY the baklava can be cooked in sheets (like a lasagne).
Layer two sheets of filo with butter in between, then sprinkle with the almonds.
Repeat until there are 7 to 8 sheets of filo in total. Finish with with 1 or 2 sheets of filo.
Cut into diamonds before cooking.
Baste with butter, and then cook at 200 degrees Celsius until golden.
Pour cold syrup over hot baklava.

Syrup
3 ½ cups sugar
3 cups water
½ lemon juiced

Place ingredients in a saucepan.
Cook for about 20 minutes (or to 220 degrees celsius on a sugar thermometer)
Pour cooled syrup over the hot baklavas.

Grublover comment
Sylvia is a lovely greek chef that mum met while on holiday in the mother land (kazi). She won a baklava competition on the island, beating all the Greeks and Turks. Mum made some when she got back and it is truly delicious and moreish.