Combine the chick peas, red onion, chilli, tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic in a bowl. Season to taste. Dress the salad with mint, basic and crumbled feta.
CARAMEL ORANGES WITH CHOCOLATE
4 oranges, peeled and sliced
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup water
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon Cointreau or Grand Marnier
1 large handful of flaked almonds
Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla pod
100g of good quality chocolate, shaved
Place sugar, water and vanilla seeds in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Then bring to the boil and leave until golden. Remove from heat and stand for 30 seconds before carefully pouring in the orange juice. Stir gently til smooth, then stir in Cointreau. Drizzle the syrup over sliced oranges and top with shaved chocolate. Serve with vanilla icecream.
ROAST PUMPKIN GNOCCHI WITH BURNT BUTTER AND SAGE SAUCE
500g pumpkin, skin on
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt and black pepper
200g plain flour
For sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons sage leaves
1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts
Shaved parmesan, salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to serve
Remove pumpkin seeds and cut pumpkin into large pieces. Roast pumpkin at 180°C for one hour until soft. Set aside to cool slightly then push through a sieve. Stir the eggs, zest, parmesan, salt and pepper and nutmeg through, in a large bowl. Add the flour and knead gently to form a smooth but slightly sticky dough. Roll the dough into a sausage shape and cut into 2cm ‘pillows’. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook gnocchi in batches until they float to the surface. For the sauce, heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the butter and lemon juice, and heat until the butter starts to colour. Then add the sage leaves and cook briefly. Remove from heat and toss in the gnocchi. Divide the gnocchi between serving plates and top with pine nuts, salt, cracked black pepper and parmesan.
Watermelon, feta & olive salad
700g watermelon, flesh cut into small wedges
200g firm feta, cut into fingers
1 telegraph cucumber, cut in half lengthways and sliced
½ cup flat leaf parsley leaves
1 small red onion, sliced
12 kalamata olives
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
Combine the watermelon, cucumber, feta, onion, olives and parsley. Drizzle the salad with the oil and vinegar and season with pepper.
Coconut macaroons
2 egg whites
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
100g caster sugar
30g ground almonds
pinch of salt
1 tsp coconut essence
250g shredded coconut
Preheat the oven to 1700C. Beat the egg whites, then add the cream of tartar and continue beating until soft peaks are formed. Gradually add the sugar and beat until mixture is stiff. Fold in the almonds, salt, essence and coconut. Press large tablespoons of the mixture into balls and place on a lined baking tray. Flatten the balls slightly and bake for 20 minutes or until just golden. Makes 8.
Gnocchi with rocket and blue cheese sauce
• 600g fresh potato gnocchi
• 80gm butter
• Juice of 1/2lemon
• 1/2 cup walnuts chopped
• 3 tbls chopped chives
• 125g blue cheese, broken into small pieces
• 150g baby rocket leaves
• Freshly cracked pepper
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil,
cook gnocchi until they float to the surface.
Remove with a slotted spoon and drain. Heat
butter in a frying pan, add the walnuts and
cook until slightly toasted. Add lemon juice
to the pan, then remove from heat. Add the
gnocchi to the pan, then toss with the chives,
blue cheese, rocket and pepper. Serves 4.
