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Green olives (quick pickling) recipe from Fran Gasperini

Use large green olives – pick before they start to colour
Using the bottom of a stubby, crack each olive, remove seeds and put olive straight into a bucket of water into which you’ve added lemon slices.

rinse broken olives several times in clean water then cover with water, add more lemon slices.

keep olives submerged by placing a plate or something similar on top.
leave for 24 hours
Drain, pat dry, put in a shallow container and pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and stir
let stand for 24 hours
Rinse brine off, drain, pat dry and put back in tray
Cover with vinegar and leave 24 hours

Drain. In a large bowl marinate olives with olive oil, and herbs of your choice eg thyme, garlic,
pack tightly in jars and cover with olive oil
Enjoy on good Italian bread

Pickled green beans

125ml vinegar
60ml white wine
125ml water
2 fresh bay leaves
12 peppercorns
1kg beans, topped & tailed
olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, halved
1 red chilli

Bring vinegar, water & wine to boil. Add bay leaf, peppercorns & beans. Simmer 3 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid. Put beans in a sterilised jar, add garlic & chilli. Cover with hot liquid to cover the beans. Top with a layer of olive oil. Refrigerate about 6 weeks before using.

garlic flatbread

Ingredients

1⅔ cups plain flour

1 cup Greek yoghurt

1 tsp sea salt

¼ cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic crushed

Method

Stir flour, yoghurt and sea salt in
a large bowl until combined. Knead into a smooth dough. Stand, covered, for 20 minutes.

Divide dough into six portions. Roll out each into 22cm rounds. Combine oil and garlic, then brush both sides of the dough with the oil mixture.

Cook breads, one at a time, in a medium frying pan over a high heat for about 1 to 2 minutes each side, or until golden brown. Cover to keep warm.

Seed Crackers

175 ml milk

2tsp vinegar or lemon juice

2 cups plain flour (or buckwheat or wholemeal)

2 tsp castor sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

2 tsp chopped rosemary leraves

75g cold butter cubed

2 tblsp of each or any of these seeds:-black sesame, white sesame, pumpkin seeds, sunflowers seeds, nigella seeds, fennel seeds, flax seeds, ANY seeds

combine vinegar or lemon with milk and set aside
mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt , pepper & rosemary
rub in butter
add milk vinegar mixture
mix, knead until smooth
refrigerate for at least an hour
divide dough into 3 balls
scatter seed mix on sheet of baking paper and cover with another sheet and rolluntil thin
roll the seeds into the dough as you flatten
bake in approx 180 degree oven until light brown – about 15 – 20 mins
when cool, break up into whatever size you want – perfect for dips!

Olive Oil Crackers (a much simpler version of the above recipe)

Taralli with fennel seeds

I saw these on an SBS cooking show recently so thought I’d give them a try.

560g plain flour
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup olive oil
25g fennel seeds
2 sachets of yeast
1/2 tablespoon salt

Mix liquid ingredients, yeast & salt in a mixer. Add flour & fennel seeds & combine well. Take a piece of dough & roll till about 1/2″ thick. Form a bow shape & press the join together. Rest taralli about 15minutes, covered with a cloth.

Drop a few at a time in a pot of boiling water. As they rise to the top, put them on a clean cloth to dry. When all are done, bake in 180 degrees oven about 35 minutes.

Frankie’s vegetarian lasagne

Electra’s cheese & leek pie

Healthy cacao, coconut and date balls

INGREDIENTS

12 Medjool dates
1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup shredded coconut, plus 1/3 cup extra for rolling
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup cacao powder
1 tablespoon chia seeds

METHOD

Place dates in a medium bowl and cover with water. Stand for 1 hour. Drain and discard seeds.
Process dates, almond meal, shredded coconut, coconut oil, cacao powder and chia seeds until mixture comes together. Transfer to a bowl and stand for 20 minutes for chia seeds to soften.
Place remaining coconut in a shallow dish.
Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls. Roll in coconut to coat.

Chana Dahl

3 tsp each cumin & coriander seeds

1 tsp yellow mustard seeds

3 tsp garam masala

1 tsp tumeric

2 tbsp ghee

1 onion finely chopped

small amount grated ginger

garlic clove

3 tomatos pureed

600ml coconut milk

2 cups split chick peas or yellow split peas

4 small green chillies chopped

4 fresh curry leaves

lime juice to taste

dry roast whole spices, cool, grind then mix with other spices
heat ghee and add onion, then ginger and garlic
add spices, tomato, coconut milk, chickpeas, chillies and curry leaves
simmer for between 1 – 2 hours, adding water when needed to keep soupy consistency
serve with rice or garlic flatbread (see recipe above)