November 2005 - Chive & Beetroot Couscous

Oops, I just realised how close to the end of the month it is and I still have a bunch of posts to get done. I seem to keep putting them off. I guess because I had made a recipe from each issue, except 2010, within the first 10 days of the month and I was making sure that I didn't post them all really quickly and now here I am having to stuff them all into the end of the month again...doh. 

The first recipe that really caught my eye was Rick Stein's Calamari & Chorizo salad with garlic & chickpeas. Now I have admitted several times on here that I am not the biggest seafood fan but this recipe really appealed. I have eaten and enjoyed calamari in the past, and not just the crumbed and deep-fried stuff from the fish & chip shop, lovely fresh stuff cooked properly. I always seem to forget when the seafood truck comes to town and I really didn't want to make this with calamari from the supermarket so I decided I would leave this one until I was able to pick up some nice stuff. I am sure that it will be very good when I do eventually make it. 

I then looked at making either of Valli's Stir-fry Chicken with Pesto or Chef's Salad which were part of the Tuesday Night Cooking section of this issue. Both are quick easy recipes. The stir-fry being full of flavour with the pesto and vegetables, although I wasn't too keen on the cream in it. The chef's salad would have been a good light meal for a hot, lazy night. However, those hot, lazy, don't-want-to-cook nights have been few and far between so far which is very unusual for this time of year and when making the final decision on what to make from this issue I was actually looking for a side dish, which neither of these recipes are so I moved on to something else. 

I was actually looking for a side dish to go along side a recipe from another issue and I chose Jill Dupleix's Chive & Beetroot couscous. This is a fantastic side dish which I will make over and over again. I could also be changed up using a variety of different herbs, I think that dill would work well in it with the chives and perhaps some parsley. I just love beetroot and the couscous just soaked up the fabulous colour of the beetroot. I had planned on making this to go with a lamb dish, but lamb was way too expensive when I went to buy it so I served it with curried honey chicken. It went together okay but it would have been better paired with the lamb. 

Chive & Beetroot Couscous

Serves 4 as a salad

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups (300g) couscous
• 300 ml boiling vegetable stock (or boiling water) 
• 1 large (250g) cooked beetroot, finely diced 
• 1 tomato, finely diced
• 3 bunches chives, snipped
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 100g soft goat's cheese

Method: 

• Combine couscous & boiling stock in a bowl and cover and let cool. 
• Whisk together oil and lemon juice and season to taste. 
• Combine couscous, beetroot, tomato, chives and pour over dressing and toss to combine. 
• Let sit for at least 30 minutes so that the couscous will take on the colour. 
• Serve topped with goat's cheese & chives.

November 2004 - Chorizo, quince paste & manchego salad

Well, today wasn't nearly as busy as I thought that it was going to be. There was still quite a bit to do but at least the phone wasn't ringing off the hook as well. I hope that doesn't mean that everyone will right next week when my boss is away. Murphy's Law says that they will. I have also been busy tonight cake decorating, but that is for another post. I also have to get up early in the morning to take one of my cats to the vet for her annual check up but I just had to get another post done before heading off to bed. 

Bill Granger's Schnitzel roll with fennel coleslaw on the front over looks really nice. Made with some lovely Parmesan veal schnitzel including finely chopped parsley and thyme in with the breadcrumbs. The fennel coleslaw sounds like a nice alternative to regular coleslaw and would go nicely with the schnitzel. However I had looked for fennel not long ago only the week before and all I could  find  was gigantic fennel bulbs, which I tend to find can be a bit woody when they are big. So I decided to make something else.

Ben O'Donoghue's Vietnamese prawn salad was another recipe that I considered even though I am not overly keen on seafood, I am trying to get myself to eat more of it as I know that it is very good for you. Serving the prawns with the strong Vietnamese flavours in this lovely salad would be one way to start introducing them. I prefer to buy peeled prawn as I am not keen on the whole peeling thing. The only peeled prawns that I could get on shopping day were imported and I will not buy imported prawns. I will wait until the seafood man is in town and will get some nice ones off him and make this lovely salad. 

I instead decided to make Jill Dupleix's Chorizo, Quince Paste and Manchego salad. I was surprised not long ago when I was looking in the special cheeses section of on of the local supermarkets to find manchego cheese, which is a sheep's milk hard cheese. They also have Maggie Beer's lovely quince paste. I couldn't get any radicchio so I used a handful of wild salad leaves. I really don't like green olives, although I did have some really nice ones at a lovely restaurant in Sydney (I wish I could buy those ones), so I put in some small marinated kalamatas. I also couldn't get Spanish almonds so used some blanched almond. It was very good and I would make it again as a lovely lunch meal. 

Chorizo, quince paste & manchego  salad 

Serves 4 

Ingredients

• 2 mild or hot chorizo sausages, sliced on the diagonal
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil 
• 2 head radicchio, trimmed (I used wild salad leaves) 
• 100 - 150 g quince paste, cut into small cubes 
• 100 - 150 g manchego cheese shaved 
• 12 Spanish green olives
• 2 tbsp Spanish almonds, toasted

Dressing 

• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Method: 

• Heat oil in pan and fry chorizo until starting to crisp up. Serve 1 tbsp of chorizo juices for dressing. 
• Mix, vinegar, oil & chorizo juices for dressing.
• Toss all ingredients together with the dressing, except for the cheese.
• Divide mixture between plates and top with shaved cheese. 

October 2010 - Harissa chicken wings with preserved lemon marmalade

It is hard to believe that it is the end of October already. This year seems to be just flying by. I will admit to being really tired tonight and my foot is hurting so I just want to get this final post for the month done and head off to bed. 

The cover recipe, Asparagus and goat's cheese tarts look fantastic but I was more taken with Jill Dupleix's Harissa Chicken wings with preserved lemon marmalade. I do have a jar of preserved lemon that I haven't gotten around to using and thought that this would be a good recipe to use it in. I also have a jar of beautiful harissa paste that I have been using as much as possible because it is just so good. I ended up making the chicken wings as it was so easy but I didn't make the marmalade to go with it. This was mainly because I was avoiding doing too much early on with my injury. The wings were really good and I will do them again and next time to the marmalade sauce. I served with spicy potato & sweet potato and steamed zucchini. 

Harissa chicken wings with preserved lemon marmalade

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp harissa (Tunisian chilli paste)
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 
• 12 chicken wings, tips removed (I used wings that had been jointed)
• 6 preserved lemon quarters, flesh and pith discarded, rind cut into thin strips
• 2 tbsp caster sugar 
• 2 tbsp orange marmalade 
• 1/2 cup each coriander, basil and flat-leaf parsley leaves 
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped dill 
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Method: 

• Mix oil, juice, harissa, garlic and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl. Add chicken wings and turn to coat, then marinate in the fridge for 10 - 15 minutes (I left mine overnight). 
• Place lemon rind, sugar, marmalade and 100 ml water in a pan and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until a jam-like consistence. Cool. 
• Pre-heat oven to 180 C, spread wings out on a baking tray and bake in oven for 20 minutes. (Jill used a char-grill pan on the stove but I prefer to bake chicken wings.) 
• Meanwhile, to make a herb salad, toss the herbs and olive oil together in a bowl. 
• Place chicken on a platter and scatter with salad. Serve with the marmalade. 

June 2009 - Greek Rice Pudding

Well, we are getting close to the end of my vegetarian month and I have to admit that I have been a bit disappointed with the recipes on offer in these issues. Perhaps June wasn't the best time of year to attempt it. Maybe in the summer months there would be more vegetarian recipes with more people eating salads and lighter foods during that time. However part of doing this was to find some different vegetarian meals to have during the winter.

In issue #83 I was first drawn towards making Jamie Oliver's Spicy Kumara Soup with Goat's Cheese Crostini. However when I took some time to have a better look at the recipe it was only some curry paste, kumara and stock. There was pieces of roasted capsicum put into the soup after it was cooked and the goat's cheese smeared on bits of toasted bread. There just wasn't enough to it for me. I think that if there was also onion, a regular potato, carrot and perhaps celery in it I might have been more interested but in the end it just didn't interest me enough to make it.

Ben O'Donoghue's Cambodian Beef Soup was something that I was interested in making but it didn't fit my vegetarian menu plan. The Spinach & Feta Filo Pie did fit the menu plan but it wasn't that long ago that I made something similar.

In the end I decided on another dessert, Jill Dupleix's Greek Rice Pudding. Which by a strange co-incidence I discovered is also in one of the July back issues as well. It really is just a creamed rice made on the stove top with the addition of some rose water. I have to admit that I really loved the addition of the rose water and the warmed, home made, strawberry jam on top. It just adds some thing different. Next time I think that I would use a little be less milk and leave out the cornflour. It made for a really nice and reasonably healthy dessert. I had some more of it for breakfast this morning. :)

Greek Rice Pudding

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1L (4 cups) milk + 1 tbsp extra
• 1/2 cup 110g arborio rice
  
• 2 tbs caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp rosewater
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1/2 cup low-joule strawberry jam, warmed
  

Method:

• Gently heat milk and rice in a heavy based saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until milk comes to a simmer.
  
• Turn heat to low just before milk boils, and cook uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until rice is tender.
  
• Add sugar, vanilla and rosewater, and stir until sugar dissolves.
  
• Mix cornflour to a paste with extra milk. Add paste to rice, raise heat slightly to medium, and stir well for 2-3 minutes until mixture thickens to a creamy texture.
• Serve top with warmed jam.
  

June 2006 - Greek Egg & Feta Pies

Okay, so I really want to get another post done but I am not feeling too well tonight so I will keep it reasonably short. Although I must say that it really will not be hard to keep it short on this one. I certainly wasn't overwhelmed for choice of vegetarian meals from issue #50. There are only 7 vegetarian recipes from the 48 recipes listed in the index, excluding desserts and side dishes. That really is a disappointing number.

I was going to make Valli Little's Spiced Haloumi Pasta. An intriguing mixture of pasta, haloumi and Indian spices served with naan and mango chutney. I was unable to find any fresh curry leaves (or dried for that matter) so I decided to leave this one for a time when I am able to get some. I have bought fresh curry leaves locally in the past so I am assuming that it is a seasonal product and this just isn't the right season.

I ended up making Jill Dupleix's Greek Egg & Feta Pies. These were incredibly simple and very tasty. I only did two things differently. I used puff pastry instead of phaffing around with filo and I chopped up the black olives and sprinkled them on top before baking. I would definitely make these again. Jill suggested serving with salad but it was cold so I cooked some beans and reheated the last of the Airport Potatoes to go with them.

Greek Egg & Feta Pies (my way, LOL)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet puff pastry (thawed)
  
• 4 large eggs
  
• 30 g feta, crumbled (I am not sure how much I used, I think I could have used more)
  
• 1 green onion, green part only finely sliced
• 4 black olives finely chopped

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 C.
  
• Divide puff pastry into four. Roll each piece slightly and then use to line a well greased texas muffin pan.
  
• Crack egg into each of the pastry cases being careful not to break the yolk.
  
• Sprinkle with feta, green onions and olives. Season with pepper.
  
• Bake in oven for 15 minute or until pastry is golden and eggs are set.
  

June 2005 - Airport Potatoes

I seem to be quickly getting through the recipes now, although not getting them posted quite as quickly. I had made the recipe from this issue on the weekend, the same day that I made the Florentine Pears from my last post. The cover recipe from issue #39, Bill Granger's Beef & Noodle Stir Fry with Chinese Broccoli looks just amazing. I think that just the colour of the background helps in it too. It didn't fit with my vegetarian month.

It is another month that is low on vegetarian recipes. I have noticed while looking through the issues that the first couple of years seemed to have a lot, then the next 3 or so years are a little bit bleak and the last 2 years there have been a decent range of recipes again. There is even the odd vegan recipe in there these days.

After looking through the recipes the only one that I wanted to make, besides Ben O'Donoghue's Cheesy Garlic Bread, was Jill Dupleix's Airport Potatoes. Jill describes the inspiration behind these as trays of potatoes in the airport at Rome. The recipe sounded really good and the taste was just sensational. I think that this could be a true rival of the traditional potato bake/gratin at an Aussie bbq. It has the added advantage of being a lot lower in fat too without all that cream. The only change that I will make when I make it next time is to added onion slices in layers with the potatoes. It was just superb. The potatoes were beautifully cooked and lovely and creamy. I used some baby Lady Cristel potatoes that were just perfect in the dish. A waxy potato is needed so that the do not break up while being cooked and mine held together perfectly. Jill suggests that this can be used for a side dish or an entire meal on its own. Now I will confess here that while this is a vegetarian/vegan friendly recipe I served it with a Herb & Mustard roast lamb and veg. I am not sure that I could just have a whole meal of the potatoes.

Airport Potatoes

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1kg potatoes, peeled(I didn't peel mine)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• sea salt and pepper
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano (I used Italian Mixed Herbs)
• 1tb salted capers rinsed well
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped parsley
• 200g punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
  

Method

• Heat the oven to 190 C.
  
• Slice the potatoes about 1/2 cm thick and roughly layer over the base of an oiled roasting dish seasoning with salt and pepper between the layers.
  
• Add 1 cup (250 ml) water to the dish and cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile combine the canned tomatoes, oil, garlic, oregano, capers and half the chopped parsley.
• Remove dish from the oven, remove the foil and pour over the tomato mixture. Top with cherry tomatoes and return to the oven, uncovered, for 30 - 40 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.
  
• Serve with remain parsley scattered on top.
  

May 2006 - Calf's Liver with Balsamic Onions

Issue #49 of delicious. is packed with so many wonderful recipes. I had a bit of a hard time choosing, although at the same time I think that I had in the back of my mind what would ultimately make from this issue the whole time.

The first recipe that I really wanted to make was Armando Percuoco's Casatiello. It is a yeast dough that is rolled out and then filled with salami, cheese and boiled eggs. It is then rolled up and placed in a ring pan and cook. I just love salami and cheese. I adore pizza with salami and cheese on it and have been known to eat left over salami and cheese for days after making a pizza.

Another recipe that I considered was Valli Little's Pork Cutlets with Strawberry Balsamic Sauce. The name of the recipe really speaks for itself. I was very impressed with strawberries as part of a savoury meal when I had them in a salad with lamb cutlets. That was one of the reasons I didn't make this recipe as it was fairly similar to that one even though this one is pork and the other lamb. Another reason is that strawberries are ridiculously expensive at this time of year. I suppose that I could have used frozen ones but it wouldn't have been the same and there were plenty of other recipes to choose from.

I decided to make Jill Dupleix's Calf's Liver with Balsamic Onions. I know that there would be a lot of people out there that would say yuck to liver but I quite like it. I have however been eating it since I was a young child. My gramma used to cook it and therefore my mum did too. My dad always said that he hated liver when he was a child but loved the way that my mum cooked it. It is also part of a whole animal approach to eating too and there is nothing wrong with these cuts. I will admit that I am not a fan of kidney or tongue and I do not think that I have ever had heart, I may have to give it a try.

One good thing about liver is that it is very inexpensive. From my local butcher I got 1 kg of liver for $4.00. I had my butcher slice it into thin slices and once I trimmed it up a bit I got enough for six meals for me and one for my cats. I think that is pretty good for $4.00! If you can get calf's liver like Jill's recipe calls for it is better, I could only get bullock's liver and it has a stronger flavour. Not a bad flavour but it is stronger. The calf's liver is quite mild in taste. Pork liver is also very nice but butchers don't generally get it in, I have always had to order it from my butcher if I want it.

I only made one change to Jill's recipe. My gramma and my mum always used to soak the sliced liver in tomato juice. I don't know exactly why however I believe that the acidity of the tomato juice acted as a tenderiser. I have always believed that it was also done to remove bitterness but I do not know if that is true or not. Jill's recipe did not soak the liver but I just felt that I had to do it. In fact the only difference in Jill's recipe to my mothers is the balsamic onions. Mum always did onions with liver but the balsamic added an extra dimension to it. It was a wonderful meal. In some ways it was a perfect example of comfort food for me. I served it with the Polenta Senza Bastone from the May 2005 issue and steamed broccoli and the onions. I just loved it and am very pleased that I have more liver in the freezer.

Calf's Liver with Balsamic Onions

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 750 g calf's liver, cut into 5 mm thick slices
• Enough tomato juice to cover (1 -2 cups)
  
• 2 tbsp plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
• 20 g butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  

Balsamic Onions

• 20 g unsalted butter
  
• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
• 3 large onions, thinly sliced (I used tuscan red onions and sliced in the food processor)
  
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp caster sugar

Method:

• Place liver in a large dish and cover with tomato juice and leave to soak for at least 30 minutes but not too much longer.
  
• For onions: Heat butter and oil over a low heat.
  
• Add onions and cover with lid and cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  
• Add balsamic, sugar and season with salt and pepper and cook over a high heat stirring for a few minutes. Set aside until ready to serve.
  
• For liver: Heat butter and olive oil over a high heat.
  
• Drain each slice of liver, I do this by running it over the edge of the dish, and one at a time, dust in flour.
  
• When butter and oil are hot fry slices of liver quickly, they really only need a minute or so on each side. It is easier to cook in batches. When you remove from the pan place on a plate in a warm oven while cooking the rest.
  
• Serve with polenta and onions.
  

March 2010 - Paprika Chicken with Quinoa Tabouleh

On to the last issue for March. I changed my mind a lot on what to make from this issue. On my menu plan for the month I was going to make Jill Dupleix's Larb Gai with mint & basil, which is a Thai-inspired dish that looked to be light and tasty. However come the end of the month there were some bills that needed paying so there wasn't a lot left for groceries and I had to be a bit frugal.

Jamie Oliver's Kumara Pyramid Salad was another possibility. I had most of the ingredients, or things that could be substituted. However I had made a salad using kumara from the last issue so I decided that, as nice as it sounds, something different would be better this time around.

There is a feature on Noosa in this issue with recipes from executive chef at Berardo's, Shane Bailey. His Spatchcock with Corn & Herb Couscous, using Israeli (or pearl) couscous looked so good. However I didn't manage to get to the butcher on Saturday before they closed so I wasn't able to get a spatchcock and the chickens at the supermarket were all quite big. I think that it would have been very nice though.

In the end I chose another recipe from Jill Dupleix's Lighten Up feature, Paprika Chicken with Quinoa Tabbouleh. I had all the ingredients on hand so it made for a cheap and very tasty stores meal. The recipe did not state what type of paprika to use. I have smoked and sweet in my cupboard so I used smoked on the chicken breast and sweet for the quinoa dressing. The smoked paprika was nice on the chicken however I think that I need to get something with a bit more spice to it. I think it would have been better with a bit of a kick to it, perhaps I didn't add enough cayenne pepper. I enjoyed the meal and it was a good way to use some of the quinoa that I seem to have built up in the cupboard.

Paprika Chicken with Quinoa Tabouleh

Ingredients

• 1 c quinoa
• 600 ml water or vegetable stock
  
• 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp mint, finely chopped
• 8 cherry tomatoes, quartered (I used extra)
  
• 3 spring (green) onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 c (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
  
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika
  
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 100 g greek yoghurt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• 4 x 180 g chicken breast fillets

Method

• Combine 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp paprika and chicken breasts in a bowl and marinade for at least 20 minutes.
  
• Simmer quinoa in water for 10 minutes or until cooked and then drain. Cool and then add herbs, tomatoes and onions.
  
• Mix 1/4c oil, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp paprika, cumin, cayenne and sugar. Reserve 2 tsps and then mix the rest through the quinoa.
  
• Cook chicken under the a medium-high grill for 7-8 minutes each side or until cooked.
  
• Slice chicken breast and serve on a bed of quinoa then top with yoghurt and a drizzle of the reserved dressing.
  

March 2005 - Vineyard Sausages with grapes

This time of year it is difficult to know what to make from one day to the next as the weather is so changeable. One day it is cool and it is hot meals all-round and then the next it blistering hot again and salads are the order of the day. This can be quite frustrating when planning a menu ahead of time.

There are some wonderful features and recipes in this issue. Jamie Oliver's New York diner food recipes looked pretty good, the Reuben-ish sandwich in particular. I wasn't quite as taken with the Corned beef hash with fried egg that called for canned corned beef. I just cannot bring myself to purchase that stuff, shudder. Valli Little's Last of the Summer Wine feature had some great options, watercress & potato salad, fillet of beef with horseradish cream and roast capsicum. I considered making these as part of a meal however the fillet of beef is very simmer to one that I have already done and I was unable to find any watercress so that ruled out the salad.

I ended up making a recipe from Jill Dupleix's feature Tutti Fruitti where all the recipes used fruit. On first looking through this issue I marked this recipe, Vineyard Sausages with Grapes, as a possible one to make. I had never used grapes in a savoury dish and I was intrigued as to what it would be like. I was impressed with it. The sausages were nice and spicy and the grapes were sweet not too sickly sweet. I served it with some char-grilled parmesan polenta and steamed spinach. It was a good meal and filled me nicely.

Vineyard Sausages with grapes

Ingredients:

• 750g firm, ripe green grapes
• 8 Italian-style coarse pork sausages
• 1tbsp olive oil
• sea salt
• pepper
• 2tbsp flat parsley leaves

Method:

• Prick the sausages.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the sausages. Pan-fry slowly, turning every couple of minutes, until firm and golden-brown.
  
• Add the grapes, sea salt and pepper. Cook gently for a few minutes.
• Pile the sausages on to a warm serving platter and top with the warmed grapes. Drizzle with any pan juices and scatter with parsley leaves.

March 2004 - Steak Teriyaki

There is much to like in issue #25 and a lot of different recipes to choose from. The cover recipe a warm sweet potato, bean & blue cheese salad with crispy prosciutto looked so very good, the only problem is that I am not keen on blue cheese. I will eat small amounts of it and have made a nice blue cheese dressing in the past but chunks of it in a salad are just not to my liking.

I came close to making Geoff Lindsay's Steamed silken bean curd with chinese black vinegar and chilli. It looked really good in the picture in the magazine and some thing that would be nice, light and easy to make for dinner one night. I have not really done a lot with tofu and I am interested in using it some more. I decided though that I would leave my experimentations with tofu for a dish with more flavourings.

Interesting diversion, there was some rather large explosions happening outside which scared my cats and intrigued me. When I went out the front door there was a bunch of fireworks going off somewhere very nearby my house. I am still intrigued as I was under the impression that fireworks were illegal to possess and use in Australia for the average person. I will have to chat with the neighbours tomorrow and find out if they know anything further. There was a number of other people out in the street watching.

Back to the issue at hand. There is a great article on Sophie Grigson accompanied by some terrific recipes, a number of which I want to make. I am having visitors next week so I am thinking of making the pot-roast pork with star anise, ginger, tamarind and port. It sounds so luscious, although I am not exactly sure what ruby port is, I will have to do some googling on that. There are two different desserts one of which I am champing at the bit to try, raspberry & earl grey jellies. It just sounds so good. I would have made them for this post but there is a dessert recipe in a later issue that just had to be made this month.

The regular feature, simple food, is Easy Asian by Jill Dupleix in this issue. The Steak Teriyaki recipe sounded so easy. I love the teriyaki flavours, I have used the pre-made supermarket sauces but decided that it would be great to make this one. I decided not to serve it with the bean sprouts that Jill did as I can only buy bean sprouts in pre-packed bags that usually look wet and slimy to me. I had a beautiful thick cut piece of scotch fillet steak. I managed not to overcook this one, instead I undercooked it. It was fine to eat but was just more rare than I would have liked. I am starting to get frustrated with cooking steaks at the moment. I just cannot seem to get them cooked just to my liking lately. I used to have no problems. My trouble started when I moved and changed from a gas hob to a very old electric hob. I just cannot seem to get the hang of cooking steak on it. I ended up serving it with jasmine rice and greens sautéed with chilli and oyster sauce. I really enjoyed the whole meal and I am sure that I will make this one again.

Steak Teriyaki

• 4 x 150 g scotch fillet or eye fillet steaks
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil (I used rice bran oil)
  

Teriyaki Sauce

• 2 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbps sake or dry sherry
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (I used light soy sauce)
• 1 tsp caster sugar

Method:

• Combine ingredients for sauce and stir to dissolve sugar. Set aside.
  
• Heat oil in fry pan over a medium to high heat.
  
• Brown steaks on all sides quickly and then cook to your liking then remove from pan to rest.
  
• Remove pan from heat and add ingredients for sauce.
  
• Return to the heat and bring to a boil and cook for stirring until sauce thickens a bit, about 2 or 3 minutes.
  
• Slice steak and arrange on bed of rice. Drizzle sauce over and serve.