My kitchen diary My Christmas present to myself this year was Nigel Slater’s cookbook, The Kitchen Diaries. I love Slater’s approach - simple, fresh ingredients, regular local shopping, and where possible, growing your own.  Tonight I made basil and bocconcini stuffed beef tomatoes, with toasted bread and olive tapenade. I would have photographed it but I forgot and ate it up so quickly there was nothing left to snap! New Year’s Eve I made a delicious herb and barley broth, threw in the last of the dark meat leftovers from Christmas and served it with some really simple soft turkish bread. There’s lots of leftovers so lunch is sorted, and with the insides of the tomato I made up some Spanish rice, which is a great accompaniment for mains this week. Every now and then I’ll post my own kitchen diary posts here, reflecting my journey towards buying more local, cooking from fresh, feeding the family more healthily, and who knows, maybe even growing my own!
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My kitchen diary

My Christmas present to myself this year was Nigel Slater’s cookbook, The Kitchen Diaries. I love Slater’s approach - simple, fresh ingredients, regular local shopping, and where possible, growing your own. 

Tonight I made basil and bocconcini stuffed beef tomatoes, with toasted bread and olive tapenade. I would have photographed it but I forgot and ate it up so quickly there was nothing left to snap!

New Year’s Eve I made a delicious herb and barley broth, threw in the last of the dark meat leftovers from Christmas and served it with some really simple soft turkish bread.

There’s lots of leftovers so lunch is sorted, and with the insides of the tomato I made up some Spanish rice, which is a great accompaniment for mains this week.

Every now and then I’ll post my own kitchen diary posts here, reflecting my journey towards buying more local, cooking from fresh, feeding the family more healthily, and who knows, maybe even growing my own!

As delicious as they are, there are only so many turkey, cranberry and stuffing sandwiches you can stomach after Christmas before you’re looking for something else to dress up the leftovers. So I whipped up this quick pasta, which tasted great and had bags of flavour. Pea, prosciutto & turkey pasta Preparation and cooking time: 20 minutes What you’ll need to feed 2 6 strips thinly sliced prosciutto 1 turkey breast (leftovers) 2/3 cup frozen peas 2 spring onions 4 cloves garlic Splash red win vinegar Pasta (I used bowties) How to make it Get some water boiling away in a medium-sized pot on the stove. Thinly slice the garlic and spring onions and cut the prosciutto into thin ribbons. Get a tablespoon of olive oil heated in a pan and throw in the chopped garlic, onions and prosciutto. Check how long your pasta takes to cook and get it into the water. Back to the pan, toss the onions, garlic and prosciutto around until things are getting brown and crispy, then pour in the splash of red win vinegar. It’ll deglaze the pan and add some zing to proceedings. Put the peas into the pan frozen and toss them around with everything else until they’re softened but not mushy. Drain your pasta, and stir through everything in the pan. Lastly, throw in a pinch of Italian spices (basil, oregano, marjoram - you can buy these pre-mixed at many supermarkets), tear up the turkey and add that. Was a welcome change to turkey sandwiches. If you decide to cook it let me know in the comments and we can work out how to improve it together :)
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As delicious as they are, there are only so many turkey, cranberry and stuffing sandwiches you can stomach after Christmas before you’re looking for something else to dress up the leftovers.

So I whipped up this quick pasta, which tasted great and had bags of flavour.

Pea, prosciutto & turkey pasta

Preparation and cooking time: 20 minutes

What you’ll need to feed 2

  • 6 strips thinly sliced prosciutto
  • 1 turkey breast (leftovers)
  • 2/3 cup frozen peas
  • 2 spring onions
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • Splash red win vinegar
  • Pasta (I used bowties)

How to make it

Get some water boiling away in a medium-sized pot on the stove. Thinly slice the garlic and spring onions and cut the prosciutto into thin ribbons. Get a tablespoon of olive oil heated in a pan and throw in the chopped garlic, onions and prosciutto. Check how long your pasta takes to cook and get it into the water. Back to the pan, toss the onions, garlic and prosciutto around until things are getting brown and crispy, then pour in the splash of red win vinegar. It’ll deglaze the pan and add some zing to proceedings. Put the peas into the pan frozen and toss them around with everything else until they’re softened but not mushy. Drain your pasta, and stir through everything in the pan. Lastly, throw in a pinch of Italian spices (basil, oregano, marjoram - you can buy these pre-mixed at many supermarkets), tear up the turkey and add that.

Was a welcome change to turkey sandwiches. If you decide to cook it let me know in the comments and we can work out how to improve it together :)

I was looking for something light and tasty for dinner when I came across this great little recipe for a Lebanese fattoush salad in the Guardian: Angela Hartnett’s fattoush salad recipe I couldn’t find sumac at my local Coles*, so I just upped the amount of lemon juice and peel that I included, as sumac has a tart lemony flavour. I was worried the salad wouldn’t be filling enough so I pan seared some silverside beef steak strips and added them in. As it turns out, I shouldn’t have worried as the salad is a healthy meal in its own right, but if you want to add some beef, I would recommend slicing the beef as thin as the pita bread so that it mixes well. *I got a helpful heads up from a friend, Memi, that you can pick up sumac at the Lebanese grocer St Mina on Crown Street in Surry Hills, so next time I make this I’ll grab some sumac powder from there.
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I was looking for something light and tasty for dinner when I came across this great little recipe for a Lebanese fattoush salad in the Guardian:

Angela Hartnett’s fattoush salad recipe

I couldn’t find sumac at my local Coles*, so I just upped the amount of lemon juice and peel that I included, as sumac has a tart lemony flavour.

I was worried the salad wouldn’t be filling enough so I pan seared some silverside beef steak strips and added them in.

As it turns out, I shouldn’t have worried as the salad is a healthy meal in its own right, but if you want to add some beef, I would recommend slicing the beef as thin as the pita bread so that it mixes well.

*I got a helpful heads up from a friend, Memi, that you can pick up sumac at the Lebanese grocer St Mina on Crown Street in Surry Hills, so next time I make this I’ll grab some sumac powder from there.