Recipes

Best-ever banana bread

The best way to warm up your house and make you feel like cosying up to the fire this winter is this delightful banana bread.

METHOD

• Heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced).
• Grease and line the base of a loaf pan.
• In a medium bowl, mash bananas then add golden syryp. Add sugar and stir in.
• Add egg, sifted flour and salt and lightly mix until combined.
• Pour into loaf pan and cook for 30 minutes or until a skewer is inserted into the middle comes out clean.
• Allow to cool in tin for 10 minutes, then turn onto wire rack to cool.
• Enjoy it warm straight from the oven or lightly grill it and then enjoy with butter melting on top.

Tip: you can also make variations to this by throwing in a handful of chopped dates just before pouring into tin to bake or adding choc chips to make a choc banana bread.

Parmigiana alle melanzane – eggplant bake

A delight for vegetarians, eggplant lovers and food fans alike.

METHOD

• Preheat oven to180C.
• Cut eggplant into 1cm thick slices and place into a colander. Sprinkle with salt and allow to stand for 30 minutes with a bowl used to weigh the eggplant down.
• Rinse under cold running water and pat dry well with kitchen paper towel.
• Lightly brush eggplant slices with olive oil and char-grill or pan fry in batches until lightly golden on both sides.
• In a large ovenproof dish make a layer with half the eggplant, season with pepper then add half the tomato sauce, half the mozzarella and Parmesan.
• Repeat with a second layer, finishing with cheese.
• Bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Serve.

Tip: For variety add some fresh herbs such as thyme and sweet basil to the tomato sauce.

Baked tomato meatballs

A quick hearty and tasty dinner that\’s sure to be family favourite.

METHOD

• Place beef mince, breadcrumbs, green onion, oregano and garlic in a large bowl and season to taste. Mix well to combine. Roll mixture into 16 balls.
• Spray a non-stick frying pan with cooking oil spray and heat on medium-high. Cook meatballs for 10 minutes, until browned and cooked through. Meanwhile, heat passata in a saucepan for 5 minutes, until warm. Transfer meatballs to a greased baking dish. Pour over passata and scatter with cheese.
• Place under a hot grill for 5 minutes, until cheese melts. Top with extra oregano and serve with mashed potato.

Tip: Tomato passata is a pure tomato sauce available in bottles or large jars from the supermarket.

Calamari with baby pak choy

A super quick seafood stir-fry, from pan to plate in less than 10 minutes.

METHOD

• Use a sharp knife to score shallow diagonal slashes on inside of calamari tubes. Cut into bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl with sesame oil. Season lightly and refrigerate until needed.
• Heat rice bran oil in a wok on high. Stir-fry calamari and ginger in batches for 1-2 minutes, until opaque. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
• Add pak choy, green onion, oyster and soy sauces and chopped coriander to wok and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, until pak choy is tender but still crisp. Return calamari to wok and toss to combine. Serve with coriander sprigs.