Summer Strawberry Risotto

1 tablespoon olive oil
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
200g Arborio rice
5 shallots diced
200g fresh strawberries
½ cup of white (or strawberry) wine
2 ½ cups vegetable stock
Pinch of salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1 handful fresh basil- torn
3 tbs Parmesan

For Topping
100g fresh strawberries- chopped into small pieces
1 tbs strawberry vinegar

> In a small bowl, mix together strawberries for topping and strawberry vinegar.  Leave for 30 minutes.  Place the rest of the strawberries in a bowl for later use.
> Heat olive oil and butter in a pan.
> Add shallots, sauté until softened.
> Mix in rice and fry until it is translucent at the edges.
> Add wine ad let the alcohol boil away and all the liquid is absorbed.
> Pour in vegetable stock (1/2 cup at a time). Stir every now and then. Add more stock when liquid is completely absorbed.
> When rice is almost cooked (for me, that’s after the addition of about 2 cups of stock), stir in the 200g strawberries and the last 1/2 cup of vegetable stock.
> Mix in basil when rice is cooked. It will be a little runny, but it will thicken up as it cools down.
> Mix in 3 tbs parmesan cheese.
> Season with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper.
> Garnish with fresh basil and serve with some strawberries and balsamic vinegar topping, more parmesan.

1.  Boil eggs and potatoes until cooked.

2.  In a bowl combine the potatoes, mayonaise, mustard, horseradish, lemon juice, salmon, caper berries, dill, pepper and spring onions.

3.  Peel and cut the eggs in half and stir through gently.

4.  Serve.

1. De-beard the mussels and scrub off any barnicles. Then in a large pot Soften leeks, garlic, saffron and pepper in oil and butter over a low heat.

2. Turn up the heat and add the wine, then fish stock and cream and simmer for 15 mins.

3. Add the mussels and cook until just opened stirring a couple of times to coat all the mussels in the sauce.

4. Remove from heat when the mussels have opened – stir in the parsely and serve with barbequed crusty bread and olive oil.

Here is a recipe that was made up on Christmas day.  It would work well with pretty much any fish.

400g of White Fish
1 Brown Onion chopped roughly
3 Cloves of garlic peeled and smashed
1 tbs Black Pepper Corns
1 Cup of chicken stock
6 Anchovies
1 Cloves
1 tbs butter
3 Cups of Milk
1 tbs Dried Dill or 1/2 cup of fresh Dill
salt to taste

Serve with whole roasted potatoes and sauted brussel sprouts with pancetta.

1. Melt butter in a pot over a low heat.  Add onions, pepper, dill, cloves, anchovies, garlic and soften until the onions are cook.

2. Add the milk and stock and simmer for 20 mins.

3. Add the fish fillets and turn the heat right down.

4. Reduce the creamy sauce to serve.

> Roll Shanks in flour and season with pepper and salt.

> Brown shanks in deep pot on stovetop in butter and olive oil – the oil stops the butter burning. Then set aside.

> Place chilli, garlic, onion, bacon, carrots, mushrooms, rosemary and bay leaves in same pot and soften gently for about 5-10 mins.

> Then add shanks, tomatoes, stock, wine, pepper corns, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. Season to taste. Bring to the boil and place in oven at 130C.

> Stir every hour, should take about 4 hours. You can cook on a lower heat for longer it you like.

> Skim the fat off the top and serve with mash or polenta.

> In a large pot, soften over a low heat in oil and butter – Onions, Garlic, Chillies, Carrots, Celery, Lemon Zest, Fennel, Bay Leaves, Rosemary and Salami. Add salt and pepper to taste.

> Then add Capsicum, Zucchini, Beans, Kidney Beans, Tomato Paste. Stir so Tomato Paste coats everything and cooks to release its flavour a little.

> Now add Diced Tomatoes, Stock, Lemon Juice, Sugar and stir through. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 30mins.

> When vegetables are cooked, add the pasta (Risoni) and cook until the pasta is cooked.

> Chop the Parsley roughly and stir though at end after the Minestrone has been removed from the heat.

> Serve with fresh crusty bread.

3 cups of Plain Flour
1 ½ cups of White Sugar
2 tsp Baking Soda
1tsp Vanilla Essence
1 egg
1 ¼ cups of Milk
75g of Unsalted Butter
150g White Chocolate (chopped coarsely)
200g Berries

> Pre-heat oven to approx 160-170 degrees Celsius

> Mix all dry ingredients together.

> Mix egg milk and vanilla essence together. Melt butter and leave to cool a bit and add to milk and egg.

> Mix the wet and dry ingredients together to form a batter. Don’t over mix – a few lumps are fine.

> Mix in the white chocolate and berries, just so they are mixed through.

> Pour mixture into a greased and floured 20-22cm cake tin – make sure in is not too deep (approx 3-4cm).

> Bake for about 1-1:20hr checking regularly so the outside doesn’t burn due to the high sugar content.

> Let stand and turn out.

1 x Large Fillet of Stripey Trumpeter
1 x Bulb of Fennel
2 x Handfuls of Oyster Mushroom
1 x Lemon, Flesh and Zest
8 x Sprigs of Rosemary
8 x Cloves of Garlic, Peeled and Whole
10 x Truss Tomatoes on Vine
Olive Oil
Cracked Black Pepper
Sea Salt

Green Salad

1 x Bunch of Asparagus
1 x Cucumber
1 x Bunch of Italian Parsley
1 x Packet of Rocket
1 x Lemon Juice only
Olive Oil
Pepper & Salt
Serve with Crusty Bread

Serves 5-6

>  Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius.

>  In a large baking dish line bottom with sliced fennel (5mm thick), then slice the lemon and spread over top. Scatter garlic in the bottom of the tray. Then drizzle with oil.

>  Lay the fillet of fish skin down over the fennel. Add mushrooms around the edges. Add lemon zest to fish flesh. Season with plenty of pepper and salt, and drizzle with oil. Add rosemary on top of fish and place the tomatoes on top of this.

>  Bake in the oven for about 20-25 mins.

Green Salad

>  Blanch asparagus for 30 secs.

>  Use a vegetable peeler to make ribbons from the cucumber.

>  Chop parsley roughly.

>  Combine all with rocket in a salad bowl and dress with oil, lemon and pepper and salt.

>  Serve with crusty bread.