A great easy recipe that is bursting with freshness. Pesto is perfect for smearing on crusty bread, dolloping on pizza just as it comes out of the oven, or stirring through fresh pasta.

Or thin the pesto with extra olive oil and use it as a dressing for a salad of ripe juicy tomatoes and fresh buffalo mozzarella.

Pesto is best used immediately, but can be stored in the fridge in an airtight jar with a thin layer of olive oil drizzled on top to stop the pesto from oxidising.

Basil Pesto – “Pesto Alla Genovese” Recipe Ingredients

• 1 large bunch fresh basil, leaves removed from storks (equals approximately 2 cups packed basil leaves)
• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped, or pressed through a garlic press
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted*
• 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 50 ml olive oil

Basil Pesto – “Pesto Alla Genovese” Recipe Method

Wash and dry the basil leaves in a salad spinner. Roughly chop the leaves and place in a food processor with the garlic, pine nuts and cheese. Pulse for a few seconds to roughly combine.

Add the lemon juice and half of the olive oil and pulse again for a few seconds. If the pesto doesn’t look wet enough, add the remaining olive oil and pulse to combine. You may wish to add a bit more oil than the recipe states, if you prefer a slightly more liquid pesto.

Try not to over process the pesto in the food processor, it is better to leave some chunky bits in for texture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

*NB, you can toast pine nuts in a small frypan over low heat (dry fry), stirring constantly, or place on a tray and toast in a moderate oven (approximately 160ºC) for 5-10 minutes. Make sure you keep an eye on them no matter what method you use, as they have a habit of turning from golden brown to burnt in no time!

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1. Ricotta, Pesto and Roasted Vegetable Tart Recipe
2. Quick & Easy Dinner Ideas Series: Crumbing Mix (an alternative to traditional bread crumbs for Schnitzel & Fish) Recipe
3. Bircher Muesli

She cooks

We both love cooking, and love fresh food, so we decided about a year ago to grow some of our own food, to try and save money, and also have fresh herbs on hand.

Pity that neither of us really have a clue on gardening, or much of a green thumb! The other problem we had was living in an apartment, with only a balcony to grow things on. After a bit of research, we came across a site that delivers prepared half wine barrels (http://winebarrelgardens.com.au). They delivered us a half wine barrel fitted with caster wheels and all we had to do was visit the nursery and choose some plants!

We started small with herbs and agreed that if they worked, we would try something a bit more adventurous.

We planted out basil, parsley, coriander, thyme and rosemary (will leave he cooks to tell the story about finding ‘broad leaf’ basil!) in our new barrel, watered them every day (well HC did anyway!), and surprisingly we were successful in growing plants!

The biggest success of the experiment was definitely the basil. Whilst everything else did well, we had so much basil we didn’t know what to do with it all, and every time we cut some for a recipe it grew back even stronger!

So, we made basil pesto, put basil into pasta sauces, pizza sauce, and even sprinkled finely chopped basil into salads.

The experiment has gone so well that we have had another barrel delivered and are trying out lettuce and mini tomatoes.

He cooks

SC loves to get me to tell the story of the ‘broad leaf’ basil, because she thinks it is hilarious. It’s not really… I didn’t know any better!

HC junior and I leave SC at home and go hunting and gathering to find some herbs to plant in our new wine barrel. When we get to the nursery, we manage to find the parsley, coriander, thyme and rosemary, but can only see these ‘mini leaf’ varieties of basil.

I’ve seen basil before, so I know that it doesn’t look like that and try and find someone to help out. I show her the ‘mini leaf’ basil plants I have found, and ask if they stock any broad leaf basil. She looks at me strangely, and says, that no, these are the only basil plants they have. They are… seedlings. Of course! Seedlings… that grow into ‘broad leaf’ basil!

Junior HC rolls his eyes, slinks off and is very embarrassed to be seen with me! Anyway we take home the ‘mini leaf’ basil, and Junior HC very excitedly tells SC of my ‘problems‘ trying to find the ‘broad leaf’ basil!

Needless to say, I give all of the plants plenty of TLC and we end up with huge amounts of ‘broad leaf’ basil!

Click here to try our basil pesto recipe!

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A fabulous dish to share with the one you love, or make double and feed a crowd! Serve with plenty of toasted crusty bread (with butter!) and a large leafy green salad.

Quick & Easy Mayonnaise Mussel Recipe Ingredients

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp dijon or French mustard
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 150ml olive oil
• 50ml vegetable oil
• 4 green shallots, finely sliced
• 1 kg black mussels, cleaned and debearded (you can now buy ready prepared live mussels in 1kg packs)
• 1/2 glass dry white wine
• 1/2 bunch parsley, finely chopped

Quick & Easy Mayonnaise Mussel Recipe Method

Place the egg yolk, mustard, lemon juice and vinegar in a bowl and give it a whisk to incorporate and slightly thicken.

Then, whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the oils until you end up with a thick mayonnaise (definitely don’t add all of the oil at once as this will cause the mayonnaise to split). You can also do this step in a food processor, but whisking is better for you!

In a large saucepan with a fitted lid (we use our 10 litre stockpot for this recipe), gently saute the shallots in a bit of extra olive oil until golden. Turn the heat up high and toss in the wine, it should bubble up quickly. Add the mussels, give the pan a shake and then stick on the lid to steam them for around 5-7 minutes.

While the mussels are steaming, toast the bread on both sides under the grill.

Take the lid off the mussels, then pour in the mayonnaise and parsley. Give the mussels a quick stir to combine the juices and mayonnaise and serve with the bread and salad. Enjoy!

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Bircher Muesli is a very delicious, healthy and nutritious way to start your day! Try out this quick and easy bircher muesli recipe and see what you think (any left overs can be kept in the fridge for a few days).

NB. This bircher muesli recipe needs to stand overnight to soften the oats, so you will need to make this in advance.

Bircher Muesli Recipe Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup natural yoghurt
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 granny smith apple, grated

Bircher Muesli Recipe Method

Mix the oats, water and lemon juice together, cover and pop in the fridge to stand overnight. The next morning, stir through the yoghurt, honey and grated apple until well combined. Serve with thick, sweet greek yoghurt and any fruit that is in season (we have used stewed plums). You may also like to sprinkle with some toasted almonds or other nuts for crunch.

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2. Quick Stewed Rhubarb and Apple Recipe
3. Top 5 Deserts in 5 Minutes: Number 3: Stewed Rhubarb and Apple with Yoghurt and Pistachio Recipe

He cooks

As a child growing up in the country, seafood was a bit on the scarce side.

Every country town has the local fish and chip shop, but it could hardly be considered ‘gourmet’. Some are better than others of course; but I’ve been to some where you honestly don’t know what had been deep fried in batter and whether or not it actually came from the sea.

After being in the city (Sydney) for just under 20 years I have become a bit of a seafood-a-holic, I love the stuff. At first it was in restaurants; trying all the (to me) weird and wonderful things was a lot of fun and very tasty.

However, even after a number of years of eating it out, I still didn’t let it venture much into my domestic diet. Sure there was the odd pan fried fish but nothing with antennae, shells or claws.

Then I met she cooks (SC), and we started doing the mussels. They are amazing and you really do feel a bit special turning out these kinds of things at home.

Suffice to say SC does most of the hard work (read: peeling the prawns & debearding the mussels) so I am usually on the chopping board or similar.

We turn the mussels out really quickly and enjoy them with a glass of crisp sauvignon blanc. I know SC is going to enlighten you on the ‘where are the eggs’ incident, whereas I am going to stick to encouraging you to try this yourself. How was I supposed to know that you need eggs to make mayonnaise!?!

She cooks

‘I thought the eggs were optional’, he cooks (HC) says with a dejected look on his face.

HC was so proud that he had done all of the food shopping and had done it under budget, even if it meant not getting the ‘essentials’, like eggs. Eggs, of course, that are one of the main ingredients in mayonnaise mussels!

‘Can’t we just use the jar stuff?’ HC asks.

No HC, we can’t use the ‘jar stuff’ because it just doesn’t taste the same as making your own, and as mayonnaise is the main ingredient in this recipe, it is important to get the base right.

We’re not really off to a great start with our mayonnaise mussel dinner but at least HC knows (now anyway) that eggs are definitely not optional when making mayonnaise!

So off to the shops we go and pick up the eggs, with a hungry growling tummy and a stroppy HC. Good thing these mayonnaise mussels are quick to make and can be eaten out of the pot, in front of the telly, perfect for a decadent night in.

HC chops the spring onions and parsley, then the bread. I make the mayonnaise that forms the base of the sauce, whilst he dips his finger in it and declares it delicious!

We whip up the mussels in 15 minutes and then feel quite proud sitting on the lounge eating the delicious mussels straight from the pan whilst dipping our bread in the sauce.

And, it only cost us $10 for the mussels, and a few dollars for the other ingredients (less if you already have the shallots, parsley and other staples on hand).

Click here to try out our mayonnaise mussels recipe!

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Here at TheCookBook.com.au we have lots of plans for 2010 to improve the site to make it even better for our readers.

We had an amazing Christmas period, visitors to the site went through the roof, with our fabulous Rum Balls Recipe the absolute clear favourite. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, literally thousands of users a day were googling rum balls and coming to our recipe. So hopefully loads of people made some great Christmas food using our recipes.

Which brings us to the point “Show us your cooking successes”! We  had many readers commenting on our site, asking questions etc, which was terrific, and we’d like to encourage readers to share some of their cooking successes with us.

So if you’ve got a photo of something you’ve cooked, either from our recipes or others on flickr, photobucket, your own web site etc.. it’s time to share!

Please send a comment on this post, linking to your photo or video and show off We would love to hear from you.

Happy New Year!

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This pineapple and passionfruit tart recipe reminds me so much of my childhood. It is a little retro (think prawn cocktail era), and mum used to make it quite often when she had a dinner party, and was quite proud of it too! If we behaved ourselves whilst the guests were there, we were allowed to have a little piece, so it was a definite treat for us!

There is no baking involved, the only thing that you need to factor in is the time to let it set in the fridge (best left overnight before serving).

Pineapple and Passionfruit (Fridge Set) Tart Recipe Ingredients

• 2/3 packet (150g) plain sweet biscuits (Nice, Arrowroot, Marie or Wheatmeal Biscuits), crushed finely
• 90g butter, melted
• 1 tin sweetened condensed milk (I use Nestle brand, tin size 395g)
• 1 tin crushed pineapple (I use Golden Circle brand, tin size 450g)
• 4 passionfruit pulp
• 3/4 cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 2 tbsp warm/hot water
• 1 tsp  powdered gelatine

Pineapple and Passionfruit (Fridge Set) Tart Recipe Method

Mix together the biscuit crumbs and melted butter and press into the base and sides of a 25cm diametre (3cm high rim) round pie plate or loose bottomed flan tin.

Add the gelatine to the hot water and stir briskly to dissolve. In a bowl mix remaining ingredients, then pour in dissolved gelatine and liquid and stir.

Pour mixture into prepared base and allow to set in the fridge overnight. Serve with fresh berries and cream (although it is perfectly good on its own!).

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A quick and nutritious recipe that makes for a great vegetarian dinner for when you fancy a night off from meat. The quantities in this recipe will serve approximately 4 as a main course and 6 as an entree or light lunch with salad and bread.

Ricotta, Pesto and Roasted Vegetable Tart Recipe Ingredients

• 2 sheets short crust pastry (either good quality shop bought, or use our Short Crust Pastry recipe to make your own)
• 100g fresh ricotta cheese
• 2 heaped tbsp basil pesto (either good quality shop bought, or make your own)
• Vegetables suitable for roasting, chopped into bite sized pieces*
• Olive oil for roasting
• Rocket to garnish
• Salt and pepper to taste

*You can use any vegetables you have on hand, I generally make this with a mixture of 1/2 a butternut pumpkin, 1 black zucchini, 4-6 button mushrooms, handful cherry tomatoes, 6-8 florets broccoli, 1 carrot, 1/2 bunch asparagus all cut into bite sized pieces.

Ricotta, Pesto and Roasted Vegetable Tart Recipe Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Add a good glug of olive oil to a large roasting tray, place hard vegetables (the vegetables that take the longest time to cook, for example pumpkin, carrot etc) on the tray, toss in the oil and roast for 15-20 minutes, turning frequently. When the vegetables start to soften and brown, add the remaining soft vegetables (for example broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms etc), toss to coat with the oil and place back in the oven for a further 5-10 minutes until all vegetables are golden brown.

You don’t want to over cook the vegetables at this stage, as they will get another cooking when the tart goes in.

Mix the pesto through the ricotta and season with salt and pepper to taste (you might like to also add a little bit of lemon juice if the mixture isn’t sharp enough). Line a shallow (24 cm) greased pie dish with the pastry and blind bake for 10-15 minutes (you can do this while the vegetables are roasting) until the pastry is golden brown.

Top the pastry with the ricotta and pesto mixture and smooth down slightly. Top with the roasted vegetables and place back in the oven for a further 5-10 minutes until the pastry is crisp and the tart is warmed through.

Serve topped with rocket, and if you feel you need some meat, some finely sliced prosciutto.

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1. Basil Pesto – “Pesto Alla Genovese”
2. Caramelised Onion, Goats Cheese and Thyme Tart
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Over the weekend, we held our annual Christmas drinks, with over 40 of our friends and family, and we had a ball. This year catering for all of these people was much, much easier than in years before, and I have to say that it is all due to my lovely PS and Z both pitching in.

One thing that I have learnt this year (after 15 years cooking, doesn’t take me long to work things out!!) is that by getting other people involved, you halve your workload, and stress! In previous years, I would have shouldered the burden of catering for everyone, and become some kind of cooking matyr, and would inevitably be so stressed out that I couldn’t really relax and socialise with everyone, which kind of defeats the purpose of having friends and family around.

This year PS said that he was going to help organise the food, and to his credit he did, and he did an amazing job (as did Z). The best part of it is that we all worked as a team and had a great time preparing all of the food for the party. By involving everyone and giving them little job to do, we were well prepared (and dare I say it, even relaxed) by the time everyone arrived on Sunday afternoon.

So, the key to holding stress free Christmas parties and drinks is to get everyone involved to give you a hand, so it becomes a group effort!

If you are interested, I have listed our simple, stress free Christmas party menu below (full of food that can be prepared well in advance and then simply reheated on the day). In addition to the below some friends brought a hot olive & tomato dish, a fruit platter and another dip, so get friends to bring along a plate if you don’t want to do it all yourself.

Stress Free Christmas Party Menu

• Smoked Trout & Avocado Salad
  Double the recipe and serve on a big platter with small disposable noodle boxes & forks next to the platter so everyone can serve themselves. You can order disposable noodle boxes online from The Party People (delivery anywhere in Australia).
• Homemade Mini Pizzas
  Double the dough recipe. Roll out the dough to 1/2 cm thick, then cut out small circles (approximately 2 inch diametre) using a biscuit cutter or glass. Re-roll the scraps until you have used all dough. Place the mini pizzas on baking trays lined with baking paper, then top with whatever toppings you like. We used tomato paste, red wine & fresh garlic for the pizza sauce, then topped with fresh basil, mozzarella, thin slices of fresh tomato and freshly grated parmesan cheese. Bake for 5-10 minutes in a hot oven (approximately 200ºC) until just cooked. Allow to cool then refrigerate (lasts 2-3 days) or freeze until needed, then reheat in a 180ºC oven for 5 minutes.
• Marinated Chicken Pieces
  We used 4 single chicken breasts, chopped into bite sized pieces, then marinated in a mixture of 1/3 cup olive oil, 3 tbsp lemon juice, 3 cloves garlic and 3 tbsp honey overnight. Bake at 180ºC on a baking tray lined with baking paper for 5-10 minutes until just cooked (these can go in at the same time as the pizzas). Serve with toothpicks for everyone to spear.
• Meatballs
  We made meatballs using 2kg pork mince, 2kg veal mince, 1 large bunch fresh parsley very finely chopped, 6 eggs, 6 cloves of garlic (pressed or finely chopped), 6 tbsp soy sauce, 6 tsp sesame oil and 2 large handfuls fresh breadcrumbs all mixed together thoroughly (use your hands as it is much easier). Roll into small balls, then refrigerate (lasts 2-3 days) or freeze until needed. When ready to serve, bake at 180ºC on a baking tray lined with baking paper for 10-15 minutes until brown and just cooked through (these can go in the same time as the pizzas and the chicken). Serve with toothpicks for everyone to spear alongside sweet chilli sauce for dipping.
• Mini Christmas Cakes
  Using my grandmothers recipe, we made 24 mini Christmas cakes in standard sized muffin tins. Can be made the day before you need them and then stored in an airtight container.
• Rum Balls
  Everyone loves rum balls, and as these can be frozen, you can make them a couple of weeks in advance.
• Cheese Plate
  This is a very easy way to feed a quite a number of people, simply take your favourite hard and soft cheese (one of each) and serve on a cheese board with some grapes. Provide a basket of bread and crackers, along with some dips and carrot and celery sticks on a platter and you have instant party food.

There is a bit of preparation work involved in the above menu, however all of it can be done in advance, making it a bit easier for you and your family on the day.

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Easy Traditional Christmas Pudding Recipe Ingredients

• 135g plain flour
• 135g brown sugar
• 135g fresh breadcrumbs
• 270g raisins
• 270g currants
• 135g sultanas
• 100g candied peel (also marketed as mixed peel)
• 250g butter, grated
• Grated zest 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• Large pinch salt
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup brandy
• 450ml milk
• 1 granny smith apple, peeled and grated
• 1/3 cup slivered almonds (or roughly chopped macadamias)

Easy Traditional Christmas Pudding Recipe Method

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and brown sugar together. Add breadcrumbs, raisins, currants, sultanas and candied peel. Stir thoroughly to coat fruit in flour mixture (this will help stop it sinking to the bottom of the pudding).

Add all remaining ingredients and stir thoroughly to distribute evenly. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and stand overnight in the fridge to allow the fruit to absorb the liquid and plump up.

Taste the pudding mixture and adjust the flavourings if necessary; if you prefer a ‘spicier’ pudding, add more cinnamon/nutmeg etc.

Trace the top rim of each pudding basin onto baking/greaseproof paper, and cut out the circles (slightly smaller than your tracing). Grease the pudding basins well with butter, then pack the Christmas pudding mixture into the pudding basins and fill almost to the top. Top the puddings with the circles of baking/greaseproof paper, ensuring the paper fits quite snuggly on top of the pudding mixture.

Cover the tops of the pudding basins with foil, then trim the excess foil using scissors (don’t use your best kitchen scissors for this, as cutting foil will blunt the scissor edge). Tie the foil securely around the rim of the pudding basins with kitchen twine/string/wool.

Place the pudding basins in a large saucepan/stockpot (with a lid) and fill with enough water to come 2/3 of the way up the sides of the pudding basins. Place on the heat and bring to the boil with the lid on. Allow to simmer for 4-6 hours, topping up the water level every hour or so. You might like to place an old small tea towel or something similar under the pudding basins while they are cooking in the saucepan/stockpot, as they can make a rattling sound.

Once cooked, remove from the saucepan/stockpot and allow to cool. Refrigerate until Christmas. These puddings keep very well, I usually make the 4-8 weeks in advance, but I have even had one after about 8 months in the fridge and it was fine!

One Christmas day (or whenever you serve it), boil again, following the steps above, for about 1 hour or so until hot. Turn out onto a serving plate and flame with brandy. To ensure that the brandy flames, warm it gently first, pour quickly onto the pudding, then light.

Serve with brandy butter, icecream or (my personal favourite) white sauce spiked with brandy.

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