A Pretend Chef

Serves 4-5 This is a variation on a recipe published by food writer Katrina Meynink that I found here;  www.dailylife.com.au/dl-food/food-blogs/blogs/the-kitchen-coquette/the-ultimate-comfort-food-20120508-1yaah.html It's a beautifully rich dish that is perfect for cold winter nights, however not too bad on a chilly spring evening either. I have tweaked it to my own taste and that of my family by using lamb in place of chicken as well as changes to some of the ingredients and the cooking times / method. Ingredients 2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion finely chopped 2 cloves garlic finely chopped 2 x 400g tins chopped / crushed tomatoes 1 tsp brown sugar 1/2 punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved 4 eggs 100gm goat's feta a small handful of parsley leaves chopped a small handful of coriander leaves chopped For the Meatballs 1Kg minced lamb 1 red onion finely chopped 2 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp sumac 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp ground chilli powder (optional) 1...

Serves 4 This is a great BBQ combination. Everything works well together and the toasted bread in the fattoush salad is a very effective way to get my kids to enjoy a healthy salad.  I've experimented with various ways to make Hummus. It's dead easy and the below recipe will leave you with enough for other meals. It will last for a week in the fridge. Usually Hummus is made with raw garlic. I make mine with roasted garlic which imparts a subtle nutty sweetness to the paste and doesn't leave you with garlic breath. Ingredients 1kg lamb fillet cut into 2 cm cubes 1 tspn. each of cumin seeds, fennel seeds and coriander seeds 1/2 tspn. sea salt 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil For Hummus 1 whole head of garlic 2 x 400gm tins of chick peas (rinsed thoroughly and drained) 1/2 cup tahini 3/4 cup water Juice of 1 lemon 1 tspn. sea salt Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling  A pinch of smokey paprika or cumin for topping For Fattoush Salad 100gm Turkish or...

Both the lamb and haloumi recipes are from Pete Evans' cookbook, Grill http://www.peterevanschef.com.au . This is one of the best BBQ cookbooks I've come across and it includes a range of cocktail recipes that make this book a unique addition to the cookbook library. The cocktail is truly undervalued as a great partner to any Aussie barbie! The original Spiced Lamb recipe from the Grill cookbook has these as skewers, however I've made them as small skinless sausages in this instance. Either way works. I just avoided using skewers for this recipe so it's a little more 'child friendly'. My youngest daughter, Emma, in particular can get very animated at the dinner table and skewers mixed with wild flourishing hand movements don't mix. The original lamb recipe includes hot paprika which I've not included, again aiming to make the meal more child friendly. I've also slightly changed the haloumi/chorizo salad recipe, again to better suit the palate of the ...