MEDITERRANEAN PIE

This dish is so easily prepared and it is often on my menu . Preheat your oven to 200 deg C . Grease and line a pizza tray with baking paper . Cut the corners of a sheet of frozen puff pastry that has been defrosted , to form a round. Place the pastry on the prepared tray . In a bowl combine 80 gm of crumbled feta cheese , 10 cherry tomatoes sliced in half , 1 small zucchini thinly sliced , 1/2 cup of pitted black olives , 6 slices of shaved salami quarterd , mix well . Topple the filling mixture onto the pastry round and sprinkle with sumac . Leave a 4 cm border . Gather the pastry border making a raised edge . Leaving the cntre open . Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden and crisp . Serve topped with rocket leaves and a drizzle of honey .

FENNEL MEATBALLS AND CANNELLINI BEAN SALAD

In a large bowl mix 500 gm of sausage mince , 1 small fennel bulb finely chopped , 50 gm of pancetta finely chopped , 1/2 cup of chopped fresh mint , 2 tbs of breadcrumb , 1 brown onion finely chopped and finally 2 tbs of minced garlic . Season to taste with cracked black pepper . Shape into oval styled meatballs and toss in a cup of breadcrumbs to lightly coat . Place on a tray and chill for 20 minutes . Heat 2 tbs of rice bran oil in a pan over a medium heat . Cook the meatballs for 8 - 10 minutes , turning occasionally , until browned and cooked through . Drain on paper towel . For the cannellini bean salad , mix together 1 x can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans, 10 cherry tomatoes , (halved )1 small red onion thinly sliced , 2 tbs of red wine vinegar,2 tbs of sesame oil . This is simply delicious .

THE MANOR DIM SUM

I had some won ton wrappers in the freezer , To make the filling it was just mixing 250 gm of chicken mince with rice wine vinegar , oyster sauce and a drop or 2 of fish sauce and mixed to combine . I placed a tsp of the mince mixture in the middle of each won ton round and sealed the wrapper with egg white and then pinched the halves together . Place in the refrigerator for the egg white join to set . Once the dim sim were prepared , I put together the liquid for them to be served in . It was a mixture of chicken and vegetable stock , a little minced ginger , chinese rice wine along with a little minced ginger, a few drops of sriracha ( optional ) and a good handful of shredded carrot . I bought the liquid base for the dim sum to a simmer and carefully placed the dim sims in the liquid and allowed them to gently simmer , cook and heat through . I turned the heat off and left the dim sims to soak up all the flavours . These are so delicious served in a bowl with the liquid . The longer they stand , the more intense the flavour . This dish also freezes well .

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MANOR ..EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA ROLLS

Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. In a small bowl , combine 1/2 cup of ricotta and 1/2 cup of grated parmesan and season with 1 tbs of minced garlic and a sprinkle of dried chili ( optional ) along with cracked black pepper . You now need to slice a large eggplant into 8 thin lengthways slices . Top each slice with a slice of pancetta , divid the ricotta mixture between each and roll up firmly to enclose . Spread 1 cup and 1/2 cups of pasatta over the base of a deep oven proof dish and arrange the eggplant rolls in a single layer ( join down ). Then top the rolls with an extra cup of pasatta and a sprinkle of grated mozarella over top. Bake for 25 or until golden minutes and the egg plant is tender . Serve with a rocket salad .

AN OLD FAVOURITE , MACARONI WITH CABANOSSI AND TOMATO

Melt a tbs of butter / marg in a pan , sprinkle in 2 tbs of plain flour and stir in for 1 minute . Remove the pan from heat and blend / stir in 2 cups of milk, until smooth . rerturn the pan to the heat and bring to a simmer , stirring until the sauce thickens . Stir in 1/2 cup of grated tasty cheese along with sriracha hot chili sauce ( optional)and 1 tbs of minced garlic . Season to taste . Cook 375 gm of macaroni pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water , drain well and return to pan . Stir the sauce through . Heat 1 tbs of peanut oil in a fry pan , saute 2 sliced sticks of cabanossi for 3 minutes and then add 250 gm of quartered cherry tomatoes , cook stirring for 1 minute . toss through the macaroni . Top with fresh chives sliced . Serve with crusty bread .

A GOOD START TO SATURDAY (no bake cheesecake )

For the pie crust you can use biscuit crumbs (306 gm ), butter/ marg (155gm ) and sugar (67 gm) , mixed together to line the base of your pan .( 20 cm spring form ) Refrigerate while you are preparing the filling . Alternatively you can use store bought sweet pastry shells . For the filling you will need 900 gm of cream cheese at room temp and beat with an electric mixer until smooth . Add 1 x 375 ml of sweetened condensed milk( regular , not low fat ), 60 ml of lemon juice and 1 tsp of vanilla extract . Continue to mix until no lumps remain and the filling is smooth . Spoon the filling into the pan or the pastry cases . Chill for 4-6 hours before serving . This cheesecake can be frozen .

HONEY - CHAI SPICE CAKE .

The cake pan you need is a 22 cm round pan , I used a 10 - 12 cup bundt pan . Preheat your oven to 180 deg C . Ingredients.....4 spiced chai teabags steeped in 120 ml of boiling water, 140ml of canned evaporated milk, 3 cups of plain flour, 1 tsp of baking powder, 1 tsp of bi carb of soda, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of ground cinnamon, 1 tsp of ground cardamon, 1 tsp of ground cloves, 1 tsp of ground ginger, 180gm of room temp butter/ marg, 220gm of soft brown sugar, 3 lightly beaten eggs, 255gm of runny honey. Now let's get started... Grease your pan liberally and lightly sprinkle with flour or fine polenta. Measure out 120 ml of boiling water and steep 4 spiced chai tea bags for 3 minutes . Remove the tea bags and add 140 ml of canned evaporated milk .Set aside . In a medium bowl mix together 3 cups of plain flour , 1 tsp of baking powder ,1 tsp of bi carb of soda , 1 tsp of salt ,1 tsp of ground cinnamon ,1 tsp of ground cardamon ,1 tsp of ground cloves , 1 tsp of ground ginger . Set aside . Now you are ready to put the cake batter together . In your electric mixer cream 180 gm of softened butter / marg with 220 gm of soft brown sugar until light and fluffy . Add 3 lightly beaten eggs one at a time alternating with 255gm of runny honey , continuing to mix well. So now it is time to add the flour and the tea mixture . Mix until you have a smooth batter . Pour the batter in the prepared pan ( it is really aromatic ) . Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean . Cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then invert onto a wire rack to cool ompletely . For the glaze...... In a small saucepan heat 1/4 cup of cream to a simmer . Remove from heat and add 180 gm of white cooking chocolate , whisk till smooth , let cool a little and drizzle over your honey chai spice cake . It is your choice to top with white choc buds or a sprinkle of sugar ... whether you decorate the cake or not is your choice . This cake is delicious !!!