The Best Lemon Butter

4 egg yolks
1 cup of sugar
100 grams butter or marg
juice of 3 lemons
rind of 2 lemons



Beat eggs with sugar and put in a saucepan with butter and lemon juice.

Stir over low heat until the mixture is the consistency of honey , add the lemon rind.

Store in jars in the fridge.

Grublover comment
I have always been a big big fan of lemon butter. It is similar to the tart curd you find in lemon meringue pie. It is a really great way to get rid of the 1000s of lemons popping up on trees all over perth. I love it spreaded thickly on a piece of toast. It is also delicious and very handy to spread on tarts, or as a filling for cakes, or serve with a meringue and some cream..Yum!

Gordon Ramsay’s Shepherd’s Pie

Serves 6



80ml olive oil
2 large onions, grated
4 garlic cloves, garted
3 carrots, peeled and grated
1kg minced lamb
100g mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 Tb tomato puree
250mL chicken stock
100mL red wine
large dash worcestershire sauce
1 Tb thyme, chopped
1 sprig rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped

For the mashed potato topping:
1.2kg Maris Piper potatoes, peeled
150g butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 egg yolks
50g parmesan cheese, grated
olive oil

Pre- heat the oven to 200°C.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the onions, garlic carrots until golden. Season then add the rosemary, cook for approx 5 minutes. In a separate pan cook the minced meat until browned, add the thyme leaves, stirring constantly to break up the meat and ensure it cooks evenly. When the mince is browned, remove from the pan and place on a lined plate to remove excess fat, add the mushrooms to this pan and sauté for approx 5 minutes or until lightly golden.

Add the tomato puree and the cooked mince to the carrots and onions pour over the red wine and reduce by approx half. Season with a little salt and pepper then add the stock and a good dash of Worcestershire sauce. Gently simmer for 20 minutes or so, until the meat is cooked and the mixture has thickened. Spoon the mixture into an ovenproof serving dish.

Boil the potatoes and cook for about 20 minutes until softened. Drain and cover with a lid to steam ‘dry’ and reduce any excess moisture. Add the butter and egg yolks and mash thoroughly, grate half the parmesan into the potato and mix well. Don’t allow the potato to become too wet or they won’t crisp up nicely in the oven. Season.

Spoon the potato mixture over the meat, sprinkle with the remaining parmesan and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden.

Grublover comment
Last night I got into Gordon Ramsay’s show ‘the F Word’ and he made a few really quick, simple recipes that looked delicious. I love cooking where quantities and time doesn’t matter so much so I can quickly knock something up without thinking and measuring.

Three-Cheese Pumpkin Pie

Serves 4-6

1 Tbspn olive oil
25g unsalted butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
½ butternut pumpkin (450g) peeled, cut into 1.5cm cubes
1 Tbspn brown sugar
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
2 eggs, lightly beaten, plus 2 lightly beaten egg to brush
100ml pure (thin) cream
120g gruyere, grated
2 Tbsn grated parmesan
Fried sage leaves to serve

Pastry
2 cups (300g) plain flour
30 g cheddar grated
150g chilled unsalted butter, chopped

Pastry: place flour, cheddar and butter in a food processor with a pinch of salt. Process until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add 1/3 cup (80ml) chilled water and process until mixture comes together to form a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Heat the oil and butter in a large frypan over low heat and cook the onion for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the pumpkin and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Add ½ cup (125ml) water and bring to a simmer. Cover, return to low heat and cook for 20 minutes or until pumpkin is soft. Stir in the sugar and balsamic vinegar, then allow to cool. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured board to a 30cm disc and place on prepared tray. Place the cooled pumpkin mixture in a large bowl. Add the eggs and cream, and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in half the gruyere, then sprinkle the remaining gruyere over the pastry, leaving a 2cm border. Fill the centre of the pastry with the pumpkin mixture, then fold over the 2cm border and roughly pleat. Brush the pastry edge with the beaten egg and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

Serve the pie warm, garnished with fried sage leaves.

Recipe by Genni Wilson

Jill’s Caramelised Onion and Goats Cheese Tart

Shortcrust pastry (you can make this yourself of use the frozen stuff)
5-6 brown onions
2 Tb balsamic vinegar
thyme
1 packet goats cheese
3 eggs
small packet whipping cream

Press shortcrust pastry into tart tin and blind bake.
Fry onions in 1 Tb olive oil until they start sticking. Add balsamic vinegar and thyme and cook a little more.
Pour onions over tart base.
Crumble goats cheese over the top (ok to have big clumps).
Whisk up eggs and cream until combined and pour over the top.
Season and bake until ready (around 10-15 minutes).

Grublover comment
Jill made this for us while celebrating Jessie’s graduation in gtown. It is a really simple recipe that always works and always tastes delicious. Serve with a fresh, crisp salad of rocket and balsamic. Great for entertaining because it is equally nice cold.

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.

Mini Quiches

Makes 144

3 packets of shortcrust pastry
1 dozen eggs
600 mL whipping cream
1 bunch spring onion, finely sliced
1 packet of ham, finely sliced
Grated cheese

Whisk together eggs, cream, salt and pepper.
Cut pastry into circles and place in well-greased muffin tins.
Sprinkle ham, cheese and spring onions into pastry.
Fill with egg mixture.
Cook at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.

Grublover comment
These are great because they are quick, easy and impressive. They are nice served hot or cold so you can make them on the day of a party and not worry about serving them hot.
Mix it up - other fillings include:
- smoked salmon and dill
- sun-dried tomatoes and basil

Jamie’s Chicken and Sweet Leek Pie with Flaky Pastry

Serves 4

olive oil
2 knobs of butter
1kg boned and skinned chicken legs, cut into pieces (I like to use thighs because it’s easier)
2 medium leeks, trimmed, washed and sliced into 1cm (1/2 inch) pieces
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
3 sticks of celery, finely sliced
a small handful of thyme, leaves picked
2 Tb flour
1 wineglass of white wine
285ml milk
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
255g good pork sausages
1 x 500g pack of puff pastry
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 220 (425 F).
Take a large casserole pot and add a lug of olive oil and your butter. Add the chicken, leeks, carrots, celery and thyme and cook slowly on the hob for 15 minutes.
Turn the heat right up, add the flour, and keep stirring for a couple of minutes before adding the wine, wineglass of water, and the milk.

Season with a little s+p and then cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer very slowly for 30-40 minutes or until the chicken is tender.

Stir it every so often so it doesn’t catch on the bottom of the pot. The sauce should be loose but quite thick. If it’s a little too liquid, just continue to simmer it with the lid off until it thickens slightly (At this point you can let it cool and keep it in the fridge for a couple of days if you want to - it can also be eaten as a stew).

Pour the chicken mixture into an appropriately sized pie dish. Squeeze the meat out of the sausage skins, roll it into little balls, brown them in a little oil and sprinkle them over the stew.

Roll out your pastry to about 0.5cm thick. Egg-wash the rim of the dish and drape over the pastry, using a knife to trim the edge of the dish.

Egg-wash the top of the pastry to make it go golden while cooking, then pinch it to crimp it round the edges (there’s no need to do this, but I like to as it looks pretty). I use the back of a knife to lightly criss cross over the top - this allows the pastry to go crisp and flaky.

Cook the pie in the centre of the oven for about 30-40 minutes, until golden on top. Serve with sweetcorn and mash.

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

2 cups plain flour
3 Tb caster sugar
155 g (5 oz) butter, chopped
iced water

Place flour, sugar and butter in a food processor and process until mixture has formed fine crumbs.

Add enough iced water to form a soft dough. Remove dough from food processor and knead lightly.

Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes before rolling to prevent dough shrinking when baked. Makes 1 quantity.