This fresh and vibrantly coloured salad is a great accompaniment to barbecued meats or Tex Mex style dishes.  I like it as a healthy alternative to rice as a side for my chilli con carne.

Ingredients

1 cob corn

1 small red capsicum

1/2 cup red quinoa

baby cos leaves – about half a lettuce depending on how big they are.

1/4 cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped

For the dressing

juice of half a lime

2 small red chillies, seeds removed & finely diced.

2 tbslp extra virgin olive oil

Method

Cook the quinoa in 1 cup of water in a small saucepan with the lid on.  All the liquid should evaporate. Separate the grains with a fork and spread out to cool/dry whilst you get on with the rest of the preparation.

Slice the sides off the capsicum and cook on a hot grill pan or bbq for 2 minutes then turn and cook for a further 2 minutes.  You want the capsicum softened but still quite firm.  Remove and once cool, roughly chop into 1cm dice.

Remove the outer husk and silk from the corn.  You have a couple of option for cooking it.  If your bbq is on, cook it over the grill, turning regularly for about 10 minutes.  If you are cooking inside I tend to put it in the microwave on high for 3 minutes.  Don’t overcook it.  Overcooked corn loses it beautiful sweetness and takes on a less than fabulous texture.  Remove the kernels from the cob with a knife.

Roughly chop the cos leaves and place in a large bowl with the quinoa, corn, capsicum and coriander leaves.  Gently toss through to combine then pile on a flat plate.  Combine dressing ingredients and drizzle over the top.

This should be enough for a side dish for 4-6.

When the days get colder, wetter and darker the answer is soup.  This takes no time at all which makes it perfect for after work and days when you don’t have the time or inclination to slave away in the kitchen.

Ingredients

1kg butternut pumpkin, cut into smallish pieces

500ml vegetable stock

200ml coconut milk (2 tblsp reserved for garnish)

2 tblsp green curry paste (homemade is best, use the bought stuff for the quick option)

1 small brown onion

1 tblsp olive oil

small red chilli

handful coriander leaves

Method

Finely dice the onion and fry it off in a large saucepan over a medium heat along with the curry paste.  When the onion is soft add the pumpkin and stir it around so it is well coated in the onion and curry paste.  Add the stock, bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft.  Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool down a bit.  Using a blender or food processor, puree until the soup is an even consistency.  Return to saucepan, pour in coconut milk stir through and re-heat.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with extra coconut milk, coriander leaves and finely sliced red chillies.

This will make two hearty meals or four entree sized serves.

It’s more than a little bit retro, but I love this dish.  Since it is my take on this classic hailing from 19th Russia, I cannot claim that it is authentic or traditional.  I can promise that it will taste wonderful.  According to that font of all information, Wikipedia, the traditional side is actually crispy matchstick potatoes, not the pasta or rice that we see more frequently these days.  I may have to try it with them next time.  Since I loathe having a meal with no vegetables, I tend to have a green vegetable as a side.  As pictured here, the much maligned Brussels sprouts are a favourite choice of mine.

Ingredients

500 gm rump steak

1 medium onion

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tsp hot paprika – steer clear of Spanish paprika for this as it doesn’t impart the flavour you are after

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tblsp plain flour

150 gm mushrooms

1 tblsp lemon juice

2 tblsp red wine

2 tblsp tomato paste

300 ml lite sour cream

olive oil

pasta and parsley to serve

Method

There is very little preparation for this dish, just a bit of chopping, so I like to be cheffy about it and get it out of the way first – mise en place!  Thinly slice the rump, much as you might for a stir fry.  Cut the onion in half and finely slice so that you have little moons.  Slice your mushrooms about 3mm thick – if they are too thin they will get lost in the sauce.

Put the strips of meat into a freezer bag with the flour and spices.   Tie the bag and shake vigorously until meat is evenly coated.

Saute the onion and garlic in a little oil over a medium high heat.  Before the onion browns start adding the meat in batches to brown.  Remove each bath as its done – be careful not to overdo the browning as you will be cooking the meat further and don’t want it to become tough .  Add mushrooms and cook until soft.

Add all the lemon juice, red wine and sour cream and simmer for a couple of minutes on a low heat.

Return meat and cook for a further minute.  It truly will not need any longer than this.

Serve with hot buttered pasta.  I make my own parsley and black pepper fettuccine and roll it really thin so that it is light and the meal as a whole does not become too heavy.   Store bought fettuccine is of course fine, you may want to mix chopped parsley through it with the butter.

Wash it all down with a gutsy red.

Serves 4

Kohlrabi.  Strange name, strange shape but fantastically tasty vegetable.

I fell in love with kohlrabi after the first time I bought one from a farmer’s market.  I had no idea what to do with it at the time, but it has since become a favourite vege during the cooler months.

Despite looking a lot like a turnip, kohlrabi actually belongs in the brassica family.  It’s flavour is somewhere between broccoli and cabbage but milder and sweeter and the texture is akin to that of broccoli stems (which I have been known to chew on whilst making dinner).  The name comes from the German and roughly means cabbage turnip  kohl – cabbage, rabi – turnip.  It’s equally tasty raw or cooked.  I am particularly fond of it as a gratin.  In this recipe I double the brassica goodness with the addition of tuscan kale.  Its great for vitamins K, A & C and is really easy to grow.

Ingredients

1 large kohlrabi – any colour will do, I used a green one this time

4 medium potatoes – I like Dutch Cream for their creamy buttery flesh

1 tightly packed cup tuscan kale leaves

12 slices hot sopressa salami

1 small red shallot

1 clove garlic

few sprigs thyme

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup grated mature cheddar

1/2 cup rough fresh breadcrumbs

salt and pepper

olive oil

Method

Preheat your oven to 200 celsius.

Peel and thinly slice the kohlrabi and the potatoes.  I use a mandolin (v slicer) as it makes the task so much easier.  If you don’t have one, I highly recommend getting one, you will wonder how you lived without.  The Beloved bought me mine for Valentine’s Day one year.  What a sweetheart!

Keep the sliced potato in a bowl of water whilst you get the rest ready so that it doesn’t discolour.

Pile all the salami slices together and cut into strips about 3mm wide, then finely dice the garlic and shallot.  Put a frying pan on medium heat and sauté the salami, shallot and garlic.  As it is cooking slice the kale leaves in 1 cm strips.  i find it easiest to do this the same way as the salami.  Make a pile of the leaves then slice from the top of the leaf down towards the stem.  Add the kale to the pan and stir through.  Cook until the kale is just soft.  You don’t want it completely wilted.

Lightly grease a 20cm x 30cm rectangular ovenproof dish and start layering your ingredients.  I did a layer of potato, then a layer of kohlrabi, then scattered half the kale mixture, then repeated it, ending with a layer of mixed potato and kohlrabi.

Pour the milk and stock over the sliced vegetables, then scatter the top with the cheese and the breadcrumbs.  For my breadcrumb, I hand tore/crumbled the end of a sourdough loaf I had.  It meant I got nice big rustic crumbs which add a good textural element once it is cooked.  Sprinkle with some thyme leaves and a crack of pepper and salt.  Many gratins call for knobs of butter to make the top go crispy.  I have opted for a healthier version and simply gave the top a light spray of olive oil.

Cover with foil and cook for 30 minutes.  Remove the foil and cook for a further 30 minutes or until the top is golden and crisp.

This dish is easily turned into a vegetarian option by omitting the salami and substituting the chicken stock with vegetable stock.  If you make it this way you will need to check the seasoning of the kale.  I didn’t season mine, letting the salami do that  for me.

Don’t let the long list of ingredients put you off this chilli recipe.  It is easy – just needs a bit of chopping and a lot of time.  I always think it is best a day or two after its been made when the flavours have really had some time to do their thing.  This will feed 8 – 10 or keep your freezer very well stocked for the cooler months!

Ingredients

1 kg minced beef

500gm pork shoulder (or similar cut – I have also used rump steaks) cut into 1/2 cm dice

2 hot chorizo cut into 1/2 cm dice

1 large  brown onion, finely diced

2 stalks celery, finely diced

1 medium green capsicum, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, finely diced or grated

2 cups beef stock

400gm tin chopped tomatoes

400gm tin red kidney beans

50gm dark chocolate (70% cocoa) chopped

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1-2 hot chillies finely sliced – jalapeno if you can get them.  You could also soak some chipotle and slice them up.

2 tblsp dried oregano

1 tblsp coriander seeds toasted and ground

1 tblsp cumin seeds toasted and ground

1 tblsp hot chilli powder

1 stick cassia bark

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves

salt and pepper

olive oil

I have made this chilli with great success both on the stove top and in a slow cooker so I will explain the two methods.  The recipe is inspired by one on Gourmet Traveller.

Stovetop method.

In a large casserole dish, brown the chorizo, pork, onions, celery and capsicum one at a time in a little oil, removing each as it is done and putting on a plate to the side.  Then brown the mince.  Doing the mince last allows the liquid from the mince to get all the lovely caramelised flavours off the bottom of the dish.  The chorizo, pork and onions are now returned to the casserole and the garlic added.  To the dish add the stock, tin tomatoes, chillies, chocolate, vinegar and spices.  Cover, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to the barest of simmers and leave on the stove to cook for about two and a half hours.  With half an hour to go, add the kidney beans and season to taste.  This is a good time to check the heat of the chilli and see if you wish to add more.  Stir through the coriander leaves right before serving.

Slow cooker method.

In a frying pan, brown the chorizo, pork, onions, celery, capsicum and mince one at a time with the mince going last, placing each in the slow cooker when done.  Add the garlic, tin tomatoes, stock, chocolate, vinegar and spices and chillies and give it a thorough stir through.  Pop the lid on and cook for four hours on high, or overnight (8 hours) on low.  Half an hour before you want it, add the drained and rinsed kidney beans and check your seasoning.  Add the coriander leaves and stor through just before you serve

To serve.

I usually have this with soft flour tortillas, sour cream and home made guacamole and have a quinoa and corn salad on the side.  I will add a link for the salad recipe, once I have written it up.

What is it about slow cooked meals that is so synonymous with comfort?  I love a dish that simmers away, slowly releasing its layers of flavours whilst wafting amazing aromas throughout the house to remind you what is in store later.  This veal and porcini sauce recipe calls for not one but two bottles of wine to be opened.  So, if you feel compelled to undertake some quality control whilst you are cooking, it would be perfectly understandable.

Ingredients

Extra virgin olive oil

1 small brown onion finely diced

1 clove garlic crushed

20 gr dried porcini mushrooms

1/3 cup tomato paste

1 cup dry red wine

1 cup dry white wine

1 kg osso bucco veal pieces

2 stalks basil (leaves removed – you can use these later for garnish)

2 stalks sage (leaves removed)

2 star anise

¼ tsp freshly ground mace

Really good Italian pasta – I like penne or large maccheroni

Fresh parmesan

Method

The very first thing to do is soak your porcini mushrooms.  Put them in a small bowl with just under a cup of boiling water.  You want them well covered but not swimming in water.  They need to soak until they are soft – the longer the better.  If you can leave them for an hour that is ideal.  Next, pre-heat your oven to 160 C

Lightly dust the osso bucco pieces with seasoned flour and brown in a large heavy casserole dish.  Remove the veal and set aside.  Sauté the onion and garlic over a medium heat for five minutes or until the onions begin to soften and turn translucent.  Remove the porcini mushrooms from the soaking liquid, but keep it for later.  Add them to the dish along with the tomato paste and cook, stirring the mixture constantly, until the tomato paste begins to caramelise (about 3 minutes).  Add both the red and white wine and mix well bringing the mixture to a simmer.  Return the veal pieces to the dish then add the herbs, the star anise and grate the mace directly into the pot.  I find it easier and less messy this way but it means you have to guess the quantity.  Add some of the reserved porcini liquid – this is now a very tasty aromatic stock and cook covered in the oven for 3 hours.

Allow to cool slightly and remove the veal pieces from the casserole dish.  The meat should be falling off the bone and very tender.  If it isn’t, pop it back in the oven.  When ready, using two forks, roughly shred the meat and return to mixture.

Heat through on stovetop over low heat, season to taste with salt and pepper and combine with al dente penne scattered with fresh parmesan.  Garnish with basil leaves.

This dish can also be adapted a couple of ways.  For a less intense flavour add some tomato passata (this can also be done to stretch the dish if you end up with more mouths to feed than anticipated).  I have also used the sauce to make a filling for tortellini.  After shredding the meat put it and the porcini mushrooms in a food processor and blend adding a small amount of the left over liquid at a time until you get a paste like consistency.  The remainder of the cooking liquid can be reserved and used as the sauce for the tortellini.

A dish such as this needs a gutsy, spicy Italian red.

There may be only a few days left,  but it still feels very much like summer at the moment.  Some of the things I like most about the seasons are the scents and aromas I associate with each of them.  In summer a favourite smell of mine is basil.  Basil is truly an incredible herb.  Enjoyed for its rich and spicy,  mildly peppery flavor with a trace of mint and clove,  basil is an annual herb belonging to the mint family.  There are over 40 known varieties of basil of which Ocimum basilicum or Sweet Basil is the most commonly known and grown.

Ocimum is from a Greek verb that means  “to be fragrant”.  The delicate foliage is easily bruised and just brushing against its foliage releases its wonderfully spicy fragrance.  Foliage colors range from pale to deep green,  vivid purple and even purple laced with goldish yellow foliage.  Basil is native to India and Asia having been cultivated there for more than 5,000 years.  It is grown there as a perennial in those warm,  tropical climates.

It is grown at my place in pots on the deck.  I love being able to walk out and snip some off for use in whatever I am cooking.  This year has produced a bumper crop so I decided to make pesto.  It is not hard to make,  but it is important to get the balance right with the few ingredients you need.

Pesto

Ingredients

2 cups tightly packed basil leaves

60 gm pine nuts

4 cloves garlic

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

120 gm freshly grated parmesan (use the best you can get – it does make a difference)

pinch salt

Method

Put everything except the parmesan into a food processor and blend until smooth,  then stir through the cheese.  A mortar and pestle will also do the job,  but its hard to go past the ease of the processor.

If you don’t use it all straight away,  store it in a screw top jar with a thin layer of olive oil on top.  This layer of protection will help stop it spoil.  It can also be frozen for up to six months.

One of the most common ways to use this culinary classic is with pasta.  The traditional pasta used is normally trofie.  Trofie is a Ligurian pasta made with flour and water,  no eggs.  It is from a place called Recco – and is rolled by hand into little squiggly shapes.  I am yet to try making it,  but after recently reading a story about it being called the  “sexy pasta”  because it used to be rolled on the side of the knee by fishermen’s wives waiting for their husbands to return from their fishing trips,  think I might have to give it a try.  Until then I will stick with what I have in the cupboard,  so for the first dish I had using my just made pesto,  I used tortiglioni which are a little larger than rigatoni and good with chunky sauces.  This recipe serves two for dinner and provides lunch for one the next day!

Chicken pesto pasta

Ingredients

1/2 cup freshly made pesto

1 chicken breast fillet

1 small zucchini, sliced into circles

2 slices prosciutto

few small basil leaves

tortiglioni

Method

Put a big pot of water on.  Whilst you are waiting for it to come to the boil,  cook the chicken breast fillet in a frying pan with the tiniest drizzle of olive oil.  Depending on the size of the fillet it should take around 8-10 minutes.  Don’t overcook the chicken as it keeps cooking for a while after you remove it from the heat.  When you think it is done,  remove and put to the side so it can cool down.  In the same pan place the pieces of prosciutto and cook until they are just getting crunchy.  This will take no more than a minute.  When the chicken is cool,  use your fingers to shred it roughly so that you have thin strips.  Then do the same to the prosciutto.  At some point during all of this the water will have come to the boil and if you are clever,  you will have noticed and put on the pasta!  Cook it according to the instructions on the pack and when there is only a minute to go,  add the zucchini.  Drain the pasta and the zucchini.

Put the same pot on a low heat and add about two tablespoons of olive oil.  Return the drained pasta and zucchini,  the pesto,  chicken and prosciutto to the pot and toss through until well combined.  Serve into bowls and garnish with the baby basil leaves and a bit of freshly ground black pepper.  Pour yourself a Margaret River Semillon Sauvignon Blanc and you have a wonderful summer dinner.

 ddd

This simple but tasty salad has become a regular weeknight dinner option in my house.  It uses two ingredients that are a little unusual – merguez sausages and moghrabieh.   Merguez is a heavily spiced mutton- or beef-based fresh sausage in North African cuisine.   It is also popular in the Middle East,  and Europe.   Its flavor and colour come from chilli pepper,  harissa,  sumac,  fennel and garlic.  Moghrabieh is a giant couscous originating from Lebanon.    They are cooked and used in a similar way to pasta,  maintain a chewy consistency and absorb a lot of flavour from the ingredients they are cooked with.   With a little bit of hunting,  both of these ingredients are available in Melbourne.

Here’s what you need:

4 merguez sausages,  removed from casing and broken into small pieces

½ small head caulifliower cut into even small florets

1 cup moghrabieh

½ cup chopped mint

1 cup chopped parsley

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground white pepper

1 tsp hot paprika

1 long red chilli de-seeded and julienned

Cook the moghrabieh in boiling water for about 25 minutes.   You want them soft but not mushy.   Once you have them underway you can move onto the rest of the salad.

Over a medium heat in a large,  deep frying pan saute the cauliflower in a little olive oil for about 5-7 minutes.   I go very easy on the oil so that the florets get a little bit of charring.   To the pan,  add the dry spices and stir through.   Once thoroughly combined,  add the merguez sausage meat and the chilli.   Continue to stir the mixture occasionally until the sausage is cooked through and the cauliflower is tender.

Add the moghrabieh and turn up the heat for about a minute while you mix it through.   Turn off the heat and toss through the chopped herbs.

Place mixture on individual plates or a large flat platter and drizzle with a little olive oil.   On this occasion,  I dressed some rocket with olive oil and put it under the salad as I was in the mood for some extra greens.

v

One of the things I like most about food is the way it brings people together.  Food’s ability to be shared and form part of the social fabric of life is central to my ongoing passion for it.   Countless occasions and important events are marked and defined by what people eat and drink at them.    I am at my happiest when I cook.  It’s one of the ways I tell people they mean something to me.  Whether it’s a simple omelet for The Beloved on a Sunday morning,  a fresh and fast weeknight meal for a few friends or a carefully planned and balanced dinner party,  I am in my element in the kitchen;  chopping,  prepping,  cooking,  stirring,  tasting,  plating.  Give me a special occasion to cook for and,  well,  it just doesn’t get any better!

Last weekend I went to a birthday soiree for a friend.    It was one of those birthdays that end in a zero.   Quite the milestone.    An accomplished and adventurous cook,  she will be spending her actual birthday weekend dining in some rather fabulous restaurants in Sydney.    But her clever husband decided a milestone doesn’t really feel like a milestone unless the celebration is shared,  so he put the word out to her nearest and dearest and told her she was having a little party!   To help her acclimatise to the idea and stop her from doing too much at her own party,  I was asked if I would mind doing some finger food.  “Mind??!!”  I replied,   “I would love to”.    Here is what I made.

Smashed broadbean tartlets with ricotta and chorizo

Cook young broad beans and baby peas until just tender.   Roughly mash with a for,  season with lemon juice and pepper and stir through some ricotta.   Served in my rather rustic looking shortcrust tart shells and garnished with red garnet amaranth.  Doesn’t get much easier.

Mini papadums with tandoori chicken and mango

These use potato papad.  Still crispy and crunchy and wafer thin like pappadums made from rice or lentils or chickpeas,  but made from potato.  No messy deep frying,  the microwave works a treat to cook them and is obviously more health conscious.  Topped with some grilled chicken that I marinaded in tandoori paste and yoghurt and a mango,  coriander and chilli salsa and you have a mouthful of yum.

Goat’s cheese crostini with beetroot and blood orange marmalade

Lightly toasted sourdough,  a brush of extra virgin olive oil,  a smear of ashed goat’s chevre and a spoonful of beetroot marmalade.  It tasted surprisingly good for my maiden effort.  In a saucepan mix two medium beetroot finely diced,  one pink lady apple finely also finely diced,  a cup of fresh blood orange juice,  a generous tablespoon of honey,  about half a teaspoon of cinnamon,  some grated ginger and a few cloves.  Bring to a gentle boil then turn back down to a simmer and forget about it for an hour.  The liquid should almost be gone and the beetroot getting a slightly sticky consistency.   Not at all a fan of the tinned beets of my childhood,  when beetroot can taste as good as this,  I am an easy convert.

Red curry fish cakes with pineapple relish

I love these fish cakes.  A bung it all in the food processor recipe that is yet to fail me.  You can check it out here.   It evolves every so often,  this time with the accompaniment of a simple pineapple relish.  Quarter of a pineapple,  cored and chopped,  two red chillies,  1/4 cup each of rice wine vinegar,  water and white sugar.   Fifteen minutes on medium heat,  let cool, then pulse in the food processor until its chunky.   I served them with thick slices of cucumber.

Asparagus “cigars” with white anchovy cream and jamon

Fold a sheet of filo in half and brush one end with anchovy cream (made by combining 4 good quality anchovies,  1/4 cup cream, pepper and a good squeeze of lemon juice in a mortar and pestle),  layer a piece of jamon or prosciutto – I halved my slices lengthwise,  place a blanched spear of asparagus on and wrap up.   I got two “cigars” from each sheet of filo and sealed the ends with a little brush of olive oil.  In a 200 degree oven for 8-10 minutes and you are done.

All in all,  not a bad offering.    The birthday girl followed my little starters up with a mouth watering pork curry.   The meat melted in your mouth,  there was just the right amount of heat and spice and the addition of Vietnamese and pea eggplants gave an extra burst of flavour.    I’m going to want to eat that one again.   To finish,  she recreated the mango meringue birthday cake from the cover of the 10th Birthday edition of Delicious Magazine.  She more than did it justice – it was delicious.   Happy Birthday Lan!

NN

Welcome to another International Incident Party!  This time we head to Mexico and celebrate with with what is usually most people’s introduction to Mexican food – the taco.

But what exactly is a taco?  When a tortilla is filled and folded in two, it is a called a taco.  The corn tortilla has been around since before the conquest of Mexico. It formed an important part of the daily diet of both kings and workers in pre-hispanic Mexico.  Today wheat tortillas are nearly as common as corn ones and the taco is a well known and loved street food.

To many people, a taco is a corn tortilla bent in half to form a deep U shape, then fried crisp and stuffed to overflowing with minced beef, shredded iceberg lettuce, sliced tomato, and grated cheese.   You’ve seen them in Tex-Mex fast food franchises like Taco Bell and in the pre-packaged kits in the supermarket.  Throughout Mexico, however the simple taco consumed by millions of people daily is a fresh, hot, often soft tortilla rolled or folded around some slow cooked shredded meat or mashed beans or seafood and liberally doused with any one of the endless variety of sauces for which Mexico is justly famed, but which are sadly misrepresented in favour of the Tex-Mex variety.  Tacos are usually eaten as a snack between meals, in the evening with a bowl of soup for supper, or as an entrée before the main meal of the day.  I have steered away from the Tex-Mex style and gone for two fillings that have a Baja California influence.

Prawn tacos with jicama slaw

Tacos

32  green medium king prawns, peeled and cleaned
1 tsp  each ground cumin, ground allspice and chilli powder
2 tbsp  vegetable oil
1  small red onion, finely chopped
2  cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2  vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
1  lime, juiced
¼ cup  coarsely chopped coriander
To serve: tortillas (I used wheat but corn would be fine), avocado sliced into wedges, limes and sour cream

Jicama slaw

1 (285gm)  jicama, peeled and cut into julienne
1  baby cos, finely shredded
1  fresh green serrano or other long green chilli, seeded and thinly sliced
1/3 cup  finely chopped coriander
1  lime, juiced
¼ cup  vegetable oil
¼ tsp  chilli powder

Place prawns, cumin, allspice, ½ tsp chilli powder and 2 tbsp oil in a glass bowl, season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

For jicama slaw, place jicama, cos, green chilli and coriander in a bowl, season to taste and stir to combine. Add dressing to jicama mixture and toss gently.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan, add onion, garlic, tomatoes, lime juice and remaining chilli powder and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until soft, then season to taste.

Barbecue or char-grill prawns for 4-5 minutes or until cooked through, then transfer to tomato mixture, add coriander and stir to combine. Barbecue or char-grill tortillas, for 30 seconds on each side or until just warm and lightly golden, then transfer to a plate and cover with a tea towel to keep warm.

Serve warm tortillas, prawn and tomato mixture, jicama slaw, avocado, lime halves and sour cream separately for everyone to assemble their own tacos.

Shredded Beef Tacos

800 gm  beef brisket or chuck, cut into 5cm pieces
1  onion, thinly sliced
3  cloves of garlic
¼ cup  lard or vegetable oil
480 gm (about 3)  vine-ripened tomatoes, roasted, peeled and chopped
2  green onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp  chilli powder
1  long green chilli, thinly sliced

Place beef in a large saucepan, add enought water to cover, add 1 tsp sea salt and bring to the boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes, skimming scum from surface. Add half the onion and half a clove of garlic to pan, partially cover and simmer for 3 hours or until meat is tender. Remove meat from broth, reserving broth, and finely shred using two forks.

Finely chop remaining garlic and set aside. Heat lard over medium heat in a large heavy-based frying pan, add beef and remaining onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until onion is soft and beef browns slightly. Add garlic, tomato, green onion, chilli powder and green chilli and cook for 2 minutes or until tomato softens. Add 180ml of reserved broth and cook for 10-15 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve spooned into warm tortillas.

Wheat Tortillas

Makes 20
3 cups bread flour
120 gm  lard

Place flour in a large bowl, add lard and, using fingertips, rub until combined, then make a well in the centre.  Combine 1 tsp sea salt with 1 cup water, pour into well and mix until combined.  Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, cover with plastic wrap and stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Heat a hotplate or large heavy-based frying pan over low heat. Roll tablespoons of dough into 1mm-2mm-thick, 15cm-diameter circles and cook, in batches, for 1-2 minutes each side or until just coloured.  Cover with a tea towel to keep warm.

Don’t forget to check out what the rest of the crew has made: