Herb meatballs

Everyone loves a good meatball. You know you love it when they come round on the platter, with a delicious bowl of tomato salsa to dip into. This recipe is great, but what’s even better is that you can use pretty much anything to flavour the basic recipe. I have chosen to use a few simple herbs  here, but just about anything will be good. Try out a few different herbs and spices and you’ll be having them all the time!

750g mince beef

1 onion, finely diced

1 egg

2 garlic cloves

1 tbspn worchestershire sauce

1 tbspn tomato paste

Good seasoning of salt and pepper

½ tspn chilli power/Moroccan seasoning

½ cup breadcrumbs (or enough so that it makes a solid meatball, not too sticky.

Roll into bite-sized meatballs, and then cook in batches in a lightly greased non-stick pan. If you have the time prior to cooking, it’s good to whack these in the fridge when they’re rolled before cooking, it helps them to set and makes them a bit more solid while cooking.

Stuffed mushrooms

This works for just about any type of mushroom, you just want to pick ones that are pretty flat and easier to sit on their top, so they don’t tip over while grilling.

12 mushrooms

1 small onion, diced

½ red capsicum, diced

1 garlic clove, crushed

¼ cup breadcrumbs

2 tbspn parsley

2 tbspn basil

80g feta, crumbled

Mix all the ingredients (not the mushrooms!) into a bowl until you get a nice consistency.
Chop up the mushroom stems as well, and put them in there. Season well with salt and pepper. Grill the mushrooms  on a medium heat (stems down) and then fill the caps of the mushrooms with the mixture. Grill for a few minutes until it’s nice and browned. Add some parmesan if this is what you fancy. (I just personally hate parmesan!)

Tzatziki

Ahh tzatziki. I love this dip. It’s fresh and delicious, and you can dip pretty much anything in there and it tastes good. It tastes better with fresh herbs, but if you have to use the dried ones then it’s ok as well.

1 lebanese cucumber  - grate it finely and squeeze out the excess moisture

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 cup plain yoghurt

1 tspn white vinegar

1 tspn chopped fresh dill

1 tspn chopped fresh mint

Mix it all in a bowl, season well with salt and pepper and serve!

Tandoori prawns

A long list of ingredients – but it’s worth it! Tastes a lot better than the sauce you buy in a jar, so it’s worth trying. And these ingredients are all so versatile in stirfries and curries, you’ll love having them around.

24 large green prawns

½ cup plain yoghurt

1/3 cup chopped coriander leaves

2 tbspn mint leaves chopped

1 tbspn chopped ginger

1 garlic cloves crushed

1 tspn chilli powder

1 tspn turmeric

1 tspn ground coriander

1 tspn garam masala

2 lemon wedges, to serve

Shell, devein, clean and pat dry the prawns.

Combine yoghurt, coriander, mint and salt to taste. Pour over the prawns, leave for five minutes.

Mix together the remaining ingredients and marinate the prawns for 10 minutes.

Thread the prawns onto skewers and grill for about five minutes.

Tahini and herb dip

A good alternative to the generic vegetarian dip.

½ cup tahini

200g plain yoghurt

1 garlic clove, crushed

½ cup ground almonds

2 tbspn fresh parsley, chopped

2 tbspn fresh chives, chopped

2 tbspn fresh basil, chopped

Combine it all in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and serve!

Guacamole

This is just my basic recipe – spice it up with some more chilli if you like it hotter, or add more yoghurt/sour cream if you like it creamier. 

2 avocadoes, mashed in a bowl

1 tomato, finely diced

1 red onion, finely diced

1 red chilli, finely chopped (or equivalent in chilli powder or Mexican seasoning)

1 tablespoon lemon juice (or 1 tspn vinegar)

Good crack of fresh black pepper

½ tspn salt

4 tbspn plain natural yoghurt, or sour cream

Mix it all in a bowl, and taste for good measure

Caramel mud cake

This cake is amazing. It's rich but not sickly sweet, and it's not too dense either. But if you're trying to be healthy, I would stay away from it.

Cake ingredients:

180g white eating chocolate

185g butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup golden syrup

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1/2 self raising flour

2 eggs

White chocolate ganache ingredients:

1/2 cup cream

260g white eating chocolate

Method: 

Preheat oven to 160C/140C fan-forced. Grease 22cm round cake tin, line with baking paper

Stir first five ingredients in a large saucepan over low heat until smooth. Cool 15 minutes. 

Whisk remaining three ingredients into the saucepan mixture and then pour into the prepared tin. 

Bake cake about 1 1/2 hours. Cool cake in pan. 

Meanwhile, make the ganache by bringing the cream to the boil in a small saucepan and then removing from the heat. stir in the white chocolate and stir until smooth. refridgerate, stirring occasionally for about half an hour until smooth. 

When cake is cold, spread on the ganache.