Ingredients (6 serves)

• 200 grams dried bean minestrone soup mix
• one thick (10 mm) slice of smoked ham, diced
• half a cabbage, finely sliced
• 1 leek, sliced into 10mm rounds
• 1 large brown onion, finely chopped
• 2 zucchinis, sliced (10 mm rounds)
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 liter of chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon of chopped rosemary
• 1 teaspoon of chopped thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• salt and pepper to season
• fresh Italian parsley and grated parmesan cheese for garnish

Method

1. Soak beans overnight (eight hours), drain and set aside.
2. Bring two liters of water to the boil in a large pot.
3. Add beans and a little olive oil and boil over a moderate heat for 1 hour.
4. Remove half of the beans, puree (crush to a paste) and return the puree to the pot.
5. Add the meat, parsley, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, crushed garlic and tomato paste and boil over a medium heat for another 20 minutes (note: if you using soup bones you will want to keep things on the heat for longer – possibly up to an hour by which time the any meat left on the bones is falling away from the bone).
6. Add the chicken stock and remaining vegetables and simmer for another 1 to 1.5 hours.

Ingredients (2 serves)

• The Salad
  • 50g rocket leaves
  • a handful of Italian parsley
  • a handful of fresh basil leaves
  • 250g cherry tomatoes
  • 50g parmesan cheese (shaved)
  • vinaigrette or salad dressing
• Mozzarella Veal
  • 250g veal schnitzel steaks (4)
  • 6-8 slices of prosciutto
  • 100g mozzarella cheese (6-8 slices)
  • 50g butter and a couple tablespoons of olive oil
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • a sprinkling of sage
  • 4 fresh basil leaves

Method

1. tenderize the veal
2. season with salt and pepper
3. place slices of mozzarella cheese at one end (see above illustration)
4. sprinkle a little sage over the mozarella
5. place a fresh basil leaf on top
6. fold the other end of the veal over on top of the other
7. roll the folded veal into a cylinder and wrap with one or two slices of prosciutto
8. set aside and repeat the process for each veal streak
9. preheat oven to 180 degrees, place tomatoes into a baking dish lined with baking paper
10. bake tomatoes in oven for 20-25 min.
11. prepare salad by mixing the rocket and basil dressed with the vinaigrette
12. place salad in the center of the plates in preparation
13. heat oil and butter in a hot frying pan, add the veal rolls and cook for 4-6 minutes turning frequently, remove and arrange two rolls per plate over the salad
14. serve roasted tomatoes around the salad and veal rolls
15. garnish with sprigs of Italian parsley and shaved parmesan

Ingredients (1 serves)

• 10-12 cos lettuce leaves from the heart of the lettuce
• a few walnuts
• 4 small rounds of bread (preferably a slices of a French Baguette if the real thing is available)
• Goat’s cheese (the traditional style comes in the form of a roll about 120mm long and 35mm round)
• salad dressing of your choice

Method

1. Cut cos lettuce in pieces about 30-40mm wide, mix with walnuts and dressing, and place in serving bowl
2. Gently toast the bread rounds until they just start to brown ever so slightly.
3. Cut 4 slices of the goat’s cheese about 10-15 mm thick (if your goat’s cheese is not in the form of a roll, just spread it on to the bread to make an equivalent round cheese layer
4. Return the bread with cheese to the griller and gently grill until golden
5. Place rounds on top of the prepared cos lettuce

Ingredients (3 serves)

• The Roast
  • 600-900 gram beef fillet
  • 60 mills olive oil
  • 30 grams ground black pepper
• Horseradish Sauce
  • 100 grams fresh cream
  • 1 heaped teaspoon horseradish
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• Eschalot and Garlic Braise
  • 50 mills olive oil
  • 10-15 eschalots, peeled
  • 6-8 garlic cloves
  • 1 heaped teaspoon horseradish
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 2-3 sprigs of thyme
  • 1/4 cup chicken stock

Method

1. Coat the beef with the olive oil and rub in pepper over all of the beef.
2. Leave beef covered in a refrigerator for at least a couple of hours (preferably overnight).
3. Preheat over to 200 C.
4. Heat about 40 mil. oil in a hot pan and quickly sear the beef on all sides.
5. Place beef in oven for 20 mins.
6. Reduce oven to 180C and cook for a further 40 mins (for medium rare).
7. In a large pot of boiling water, blanch the eschalots and garlic cloves for about 5 min., then remove from the water and set aside
8. Remove beef from oven, cover with foil and let it rest for about 20 mins while we take care of the eschalots and sauce.
9. In a medium hot frying pan with about 40 mills of olive oil, add the thyme, garlic cloves and eschalots turning frequently until golden brown (about 10-15 mins.).
10. Add the chicken broth to the mixture stirring constantly until broth boils away.
11. Combine the cream, horseradish and mustard by stirring the ingredients together until smooth.
12. Serve slices of beef with accompanied by a serving of the Eschalot and Garlic Braise, a health dollop of the horseradish sauce, and garnish with a sprig of parsley.

Ingredients (1 serves)

• 1 handful of green beans
• 1 or 2 bacon rashers
• 1 egg
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1/2 teaspoon butter

Method

1. cut bacon into small bits and fry until golden
2. steam beans for about 4-6 min.
3. poach the egg for about 3 min
4. mix a dob of butter with a small crushed garlic clove and stir through beans after they are cooked
5. mix bacon bits and beans and serve onto a warm plate and top with the poached egg

Ingredients (2 serves)

• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• tsp of butter or margarine
• a dribble of olive oil
• a sprinkle of chopped chives
• 180-240 grams pasta
• 100 grams baby broccoli
• Ricotta, Spinach and Pecorino stir-through sauce (Kraft Foods)
• 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Method

1. put on the pasta
2. prepare broccoli dressing by mixing together the butter, crushed garlic cloves, chives and olive oil – set aside
3. about 7 or 8 minutes before the pasta is done, start steaming the broccoli and preheat two of three tablespoons of the stir-though source
4. when the pasta and broccoli are done, drain the pasta and mix though the preheated sauce, and pour the prepared dressing over the broccoli
5. serve the pasta into the individual plates and garnish with the dressed broccoli
6. serve with grated parmesan cheese in a side dish

Ingredients (3 serves)

• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 300g minced beef
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 packet of lasagna sheets
• 1 jar of a tomato based spaghetti sauce (for example I used a 375g jar of Bolognese Sauce)
• 450g Carbonara sauce
• 1 cups of grated cheese for the layers
• 1/2 cups of grated cheese for the top

Method

1. start preheating the oven for 180 C
2. heat oil in frying pan
3. add onion and garlic and cook for about 5 min.
4. add mince meat and oregino, mix together and cook for a further 15 min. or so until the mince meat has browned
5. add the tomato-based sauce to the mix and stir though
6. let the mixture simmer for a further 10 or 15 minutes stirring occasionally (note: the mixture should be semi-liquid but if your combination looks too dry just add a little water or tomato juice
7. prepare the lasagna dish by coating the sides and base with butter or margarine
8. spread about 1/4 of the Carbonara sauce over the bottom of the dish
9. cover with the first layer of Lasagna sheets
10. spread 1/4 of the meat sauce mixture over the Lasagna sheets then sprinkle 1/4 of the cheese over the top, then layer over more Lasagna sheets
11. repeat the previous step another three times (bringing the total number of layers to 4)
12. pour the remaining Carbonara sauce over the top, spreading the mixture evenly
13. sprinkle the 1/2 cup of grated cheese over the top
14. place in the oven and cook for 40 min. at 180 C

Ingredients (2 serves)

• The Pasta
  • 180-200 grams of linguine
• The Sauce
  • 4 medium sized fine ripened tomatoes
  • 150-200 mills of Balsamic Vinegar
  • 2 heaped teaspoons of brown sugar
  • 1 red chili seeds removed and finely chopped
• The Garnish
  • one cup of fresh basil leaves
  • 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Method

1. preheat oven to 180C
2. line a small baking dish with baking paper and place tomatoes in the dish
3. mix together the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar and pour over tomatoes
4. cook tomatoes in oven until soft (60-90 minutes)
5. prepare linguine (following directions, probably about 10 min.)
6. remove baked tomatoes from oven and quarter the tomatoes in the dish
7. place cooked linguine into a serving dish, add the tomatoes and juice from the baking dish and the fresh basil leaves
8. serve with the grated parmesan cheese

Ingredients (4 serves)

• The Salad
  • 2 small zucchinis, thickly sliced
  • 500 grams of yellow squash – trimmed and quartered
  • 1 large red capsicum, chopped
  • 100 grams baby rocket leaves
  • 1 cup of fresh basil leaves
  • 150 gram tub of chunky basil with cashew and parmesan dip
  • 1/4 cup of shaved parmesan cheese
• The Meatballs
  • 1 onion finely chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 2 or 3 bacon rashers, finely chopped
  • 500 grams of minced veal (or lean beef)
  • 1/2 Cup of grated parmesan cheese
  • salt and pepper (about half a teaspoon of each for me)

Method

1. heat the onion, garlic and bacon in a large frying pan over a high heat until the onion is soft then set aside in a bowl and allow to cool for about 10 min.
2. combine the onion, garlic and bacon mixture with the veal and grated parmesan, season with salt and pepper and mix thoroughly
3. roll heaped teaspoons of the mixture into balls (about the size of a ping-pong ball)
4. brown meatballs over a medium heat using a couple of teaspoons of vegetable oil, turn occasionally (should be cooked though in about 8-12 min.) then remove the meatballs
5. after cleaning the frying pan, add another couple of teaspoons of oil and over a high heat cook the zucchini, squash and capsicum until just tender (about 5 or 6 min.)
6. combine the meatballs, vegetables, rocket and basil in a large serving bowl
7. garnish with the combined dip and water and the shaved parmesan cheese

Ingredients (2 serves)

• 10-12 crackers
• 10 or more slices of mature cheese
• 1/4 green capsicum sliced into thin rings
• a dozen slices of your favourite salami and/or pepperoni
• a dozen olives, green or black, thinly sliced
• small fresh lettuce salad with cherry tomatoes, chopped spring onions and French dressing
• a couple of heads of fresh picked basil

Method

1. Locate a really beautiful serving plate.
2. Arrange ingredients as takes your fancy.
3. Garnish with basil leaves.
4. Enjoy!