Corn Fritters have long featured on my breakfast (lunch and dinner) menus!

Not only are they SO easy to whip up, but they can be customised to suit the occasion, the weather, the consumer, the time of day and so on!

I love serving them with eggs and smoked salmon (or bacon) at breakfast, a rocket, avocado and parmesan salad for lunch, and then as a starter before a BBQ dinner, with a dollop of tzatziki on top!

My recipe makes a large batch (22 fritters!) so feel free to halve it…. or on the opposing end of the scale, if you’re a hungry lass or fella, double it, to suit you :)

Make sure to share your snaps with me on Insta (click here) and Facebook (click here) if you do decide to make them! And may I suggest that you definitely do!

Kali Orexi,

Phoodie

Ingredients (Makes 22)

2 cups self raising flour

4 eggs

2/3 cup full cream milk

750g corn (I used frozen kernels but you can also use tinned)

1/2 bunch chives, finely chopped

1/2 bunch coriander, finely chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped

butter and extra virgin olive oil (to coat base of pan when frying)

2 tsp Salt and 1 tsp pepper

Method

1) Sift the self raising flour (alternatively you can use plain flour and baking powder) into your mixing bowl.

2) Whisk eggs and milk in a smaller bowl and pour gradually into the centre of the bowl that is holding the flour. Stir to combine.

3) Gently mix in corn, chives, coriander, shallots and salt and pepper.

4) Turn stove on to medium heat, use just enough butter and EVOO to generously coat the bottom of your pan.

5) Place large heaped tablespoons of mixture into your pan, (noting that about 6 fritters can cook in a large pan at a time.) Cook for approximately 2 mins on each side or until golden colour (as per photos) is achieved.

6) Cook in batches making sure to add butter and EVOO to the pan before each round.

Serve with your choice of accompaniments – bacon, smoked salmon, avocado, rocket, eggs and tzatziki all make great combinations!

I love this.

For several reasons.

1) It involves Hummous. And whether you spell it Hummus, Humous, Hommos, or any other way, I bloody love the stuff.

2) Kids can make it.

3) Kids love to eat it.

4) It’s healthy AND super simple to whack together!

There kinda is no traditional list of ingredients or method but rather a description of how to put it together, so here goes….

Chop the tops off as many capsicums as you like. making sure to buy a variety of colours. Generously spoon either homemade or store bought hummous into each one. Stand them nose to tip (as per my photos.) Chop cucumber ‘wheels’ and pin them into place with toothpicks or a dollop of hummous. Chop celery, cucumber, capsicum and carrot sticks and wedge as many as you can fit into each capsicum ‘carriage’… ENJOY!

This delightful recipe comes from one of my fave cooks ever, Donna Hay.

What I love about DH is that her recipes are always simple, accessible and DELICIOUS. I’d like to think that mine are too!

On another note, Onions for President, I say.

And if you agree, then you will weep and howl into the moonlight from pure joy when you try these!

Serve as a side at a BBQ or with a roast dinner. And tuck into the leftovers (like I did!) the next day!

INGREDIENTS

• 6 brown onions, peeled and halved
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt and cracked black pepper
• 1 cup (250ml) single (pouring) cream
• 1 tablespoon thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup (50g) finely grated mozzarella
• 1/2 cup (60g) finely grated Gruyère

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 180°C.

• Place the onions, cut-side up, in a greased baking dish. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

• Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours.

• Uncover and bake for a further 15 minutes or until just starting to brown.

• Combine the cream, thyme, mustard and cheeses and spoon over the onions. Bake for a further 15–20 minutes or until the onions are golden.

My friend Elizabeth hates cheese.

Read that line again.

And again, if you didn’t process it properly the first or second time.

HOWWWWW????

WHY????????

WHAT?!

I know.

Insane.

Anyway, I certainly don’t hate it and I don’t know ANYONE, apart from her, that does. Love you Elizabeth!

So for the rest of us cheese-obsessed freaks, this recipe, as simple and easy as it is, will KNOCK. YOUR. SOCKS. OFF.

It’s the perfect combination of flavours and textures and takes just minutes to put together.

It works well as a starter to serve your guests with a drink at a dinner or BBQ, or it makes a great entree for EVERY TIME YOU SIT DOWN TO EAT, REALLY!

Any excuse!

KALI OREXI!

INGREDIENTS

180g Kefalograviera (or similar) at least 2.5 cm thick – Note: Kefalograviera is a hard, pale-yellow Greek cheese that works perfectly in this dish. It should be available at all large supermarkets and good grocers. Alternatively you can use Halloumi, or another hard, yellow cheese of your choice.

3 tablespoons fine semolina

olive oil for frying

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons honey

juice of 1 lemon

METHOD

1) Dust the cheese with the fine semolina, patting it in to make sure it is fully coated. You might need to run the block of cheese under water, *then* dust it with the semolina to make sure that it sticks.

2) In a small fry pan, add enough oil so that the cheese will sit half way underneath it. Heat the oil for a minute or two by itself, before adding the cheese.

3) Fry each side of the block of cheese for a few minutes, making sure that you use an egg flip or spatula to carefully turn it over. Do not turn it over more than once.

4) Take the cheese out of the oil and place on a paper towel for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a small serving plate.

5) Sprinkle the oregano over the top of the block. Drizzle the honey over the block and finally squeeze the lemon.

6) Serve immediately, either by itself (with a sharp knife so that guests can cut pieces) or with crusty bread.

ENJOY!

So last weekend, I rocked up to Yaya Marie’s place to cook a special pie for this series that features pumpkin, cheese and filo pastry. It is one of my FAVOURITE recipes that she makes and I was super excited to share it with you. Don’t get me wrong, I still WILL be sharing it with you, and I still AM excited, but back to what I was saying….

I turned up ready to cook pita, but Yaya Marie had other plans. The sink was filled with water and bobbing artichokes, there were lemons everywhere and she’d set up two lunch plates, each with 3 pieces of deliciously crusty bread and 3 serviettes. WHAT WAS GOING ON?!

Well, Yaya Marie figured that because we were cooking, and because we would need lunch at some point, it was a good idea for her to show me how to make the incredibly tasty dish that is Aginares (Artichokes) with Garlic, Lemon and Olive Oil.

If you are not familiar with this dish, it is important to note (to quote Yaya Marie) “that you eat it only with close friends and family, those who won’t judge you with food all over your fingers and plate, and a napkin tucked into your shirt!”

The way to eat this dish is to peel the leaves / petals, one by one, from the outside moving in, and one leaf at a time, remove the delicious flesh from the base of each leaf, using your teeth. You don’t eat these outer leaves as they are too tough, but as you move closer to the heart, you will feel the leaves becoming more tender so you can eat those in their entirety and of course, you can completely devour the heart, when you get to it!

KALI OREXI!

INGREDIENTS

Makes 4

4 Artichokes

3-4 lemons

3/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 large cloves garlic; chopped into pieces

METHOD

1) Fill the sink (or a large bowl) with cold tap water.

2) To prepare the artichokes, first cut the stems off. Peel them as you would a carrot. This can be done with a vegetable peeler or better still, with a small sharp knife. You want to make sure you are removing all the stringy, rough outer layers. Once peeled, chop stalks into 4 pieces each, rub with cut lemon and place in cold water.

3) Now we move on to the body of the artichoke. On each artichoke, with a small sharp knife, peel away a few of the tough, bottom layers of leaves. You want to take away any torn, dark, super hard leaves to reveal the base of the heart. Once you have done this, still using your small, sharp knife, tidy the area where the stalk used to connect and then horizontally chop off the TOP half of the artichoke so that you are left with the base of all leaves, as per the 6th image below, with the lemon.

4) One at a time, as you prep the artichokes and stems, make sure to rub everything with a lemon wedge before placing it in the water to prevent discolouration.

5) When all of the artichokes and stems have been prepped, fill a large saucepan with fresh water and transfer everything from the sink into the pot. Boil until artichokes are tender. This typically takes about 30 minutes but you will know they are ready when they fall easily off a wooden skewer when it is inserted.

6) Drain (and cool) artichokes and stems on the side of the sink and prepare the dressing.

7) In a jar, combine the oil, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic and the rind of one lemon. Shake jar to mix dressing.

8) You can either serve these already dressed on individual plates or all together on a platter. Choose which way you are going to serve them and then squeeze a decent amount of lemon juice over each one, before spooning generous amounts of garlic dressing over each artichokes and the stems.

9) Serve (warm, room temperature or cold) with lots of crusty bread and plenty of serviettes, and most importantly – ENJOY!

IMAGE SIX:

This post is sponsored by Minerva 

Greeks like to share.

What’s mine is yours.

What is pleasure and happiness if it cannot be enjoyed by all?

And the best example of this can be seen at meal time.

Food.

Cooking.

Eating.

SHARING.

Food is love and love is to be shared.

As summer is upon us, so too are sunset BBQ’s, end of year parties, Christmas and of course New Years celebrations.

‘Entertaining platters’ and in particular Greek-style ones, are the perfect thing to serve to your guests either as a light lunch / dinner with drinks, or as the starter to a fabulous long meal.

Check out my top tips below for creating the perfect Greek Mediterranean Entertaining Platter:

• Make sure you have a ‘VEHICLE’ for the feta and for the dips. Traditionally this is bread, but if you prefer, it can be crackers or a mix of bread and crackers. Whilst only a limited amount can fit on the plate, make sure you have plenty in the kitchen ready to top up as needed.
• TEXTURE! TEXTURE! TEXTURE! Ensure that a range of textures appear on the plate. For example, dips, dolmades, and octopus all have very different textures so work well together.
• VARIETY is key. Both in terms of texture (as discussed above) but also in terms of a mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian options (Greek meatballs or ‘keftethes’ also work well on an entertaining platter!)
• The PLATTER that the mezze are served on needs to shout ‘COMMUNAL!’ The bigger it is the better. Wooden boards give a rustic, traditional feel to the meal so they definitely work best. If you are after a more modern twist, large tiles and marble slabs can also be effective. Whilst smaller dishes will be used on the main platter, placing all of those small dishes on the ONE main board reinforces the share element.
• Create VISUAL INTEREST. We all know that we eat with our eyes, so not only do you want a variety of colours when selecting the actual foods that you will serve, you also want to use a mix and match of small plates, making sure that the overall look coordinates.
• ALTERNATIVES to what I have shown on my platter are fine! There are many things that work well on a Greek Mediterranean Entertaining Platter. Other suggestions, not shown on my board that also work really well are; Spinach Pie (‘Spanakopita’), Greek meat balls (‘Keftethes’), any variety of olives, prawn saganaki (click for recipe), chargrilled zucchini and eggplant, feta stuffed mini capsicums, hummus, mini grilled lamb or chicken skewers and more!
• Use AUTHENTIC products where possible such as Minerva Kalamata PDO Extra Virgin Olive Oil and the authentic Minerva Feta PDO cheese from Greece, which are available to buy in Australia at Coles Supermarkets.
  • Minerva Greek Feta PDO Cheese and Olive Oils are produced by a company with a 110 year history. They are synonymous with the absolute essence of what is a healthy Greek / Mediterranean diet and they can be enjoyed every single day.
  • Minerva Kalamata PDO Extra Virgin Olive Oil, used in this recipe, is renowned for its full-bodied flavour, it’s particularly fruity and peppery aroma, as well as it’s distinctive green colour. It is ideal for salad dressings, grilled meat, pasta sauces, and dipping with crusty fresh bread. Minerva is the only Greek brand to be a member of the Australian Olive Association.
  • Minerva Greek Feta PDO cheese is made following the authentic feta recipe of 100% fresh pasteurised sheep and goat’s milk (not cow’s milk.) The cheese is left to patiently mature for at least 3 months in order to reach it’s full bodied texture and it’s rich unique flavour.

Kali Orexi!

ELEMENTS

• Kalamata Olives
• Green Olives stuffed with Minerva Greek Feta {P.D.O} cheese
• Bread – Greeks typically serve their meze with fresh bread but you can replace with crackers if you wish.
• Chargrilled Capsicum
• Trio of dips:
  • Eggplant Dip (Melitzana)
  • Taramasalata (Fish Roe dip)
  • Tzatziki (Yoghurt and Cucumber dip)
• Dolmades (Vine leaves with rice)
• Minerva Greek Feta {P.D.O} cheese with Oregano and Minerva Kalamata PDO Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Octopus Meze with Chilli, Oregano and Minerva Kalamata P.D.O Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For more information Minerva Products click here 

THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY BESTRECIPES.COM.AU

Ding dong! Ding dong!

You’re on the couch in your PJ’s watching re-runs of Vanderpump Rules (or maybe I am the only human that watches that!?) and all of a sudden the door bell rings. You look at your husband / girlfriend / Kids / Dog / Pet Guinea pig with confusion? Were we expecting someone? I didn’t think we were expecting anyone? If you are talking to a human, they respond. If you are talking to an animal, they may or may not…..

Point is, sometimes people turn up to your home without an invite. And whether you like it or not the right thing to do is to offer them a drink and (depending on the time, or no matter what the time if you’re Greek!!!) something to eat!

These Spring Rolls are life savers. They’re simple to make, they freeze really well and they’re bloody delicious.

Summer Entertaining food at it’s finest!

INGREDIENTS

(Makes about 40)

4 carrots – diced

8 medium sized mushrooms – diced

1 eggplant – diced

1 leek – chopped finely

1/2 cauliflower – chopped into small pieces

1/2 pumpkin – chopped into small pieces

1 brown onion  – diced

2 cloves garlic – crushed

1 packet filo pastry

320g goats cheese (I use Meredith Dairy in EVOO blend, garlic and thyme)

METHOD

1) Dice all vegetables.

2) Place everything (except brown onion, leek and garlic) in a food processor and blitz to a pulp.

3) In a pan on medium heat fry off the leek, onion and garlic until translucent.

4) Add the vegetables to the translucent onion mix and cook until all vegetables soft (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and strain over a sink to get rid of water.

5) In a bowl, add goats cheese to the mix and stir until well combined. I use 3/4 of the oil from the Meredith Dairy container as part of the mix as it is so, so flavoursome. If you don’t buy this goats cheese make sure to add a splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and some herbs to your mix.

6) OK – NOW PAY ATTENTION – I AM GOING TO TELL YOU TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT (Compared to my snaps below!) WHEN IT COMES TO ROLLING THEM! If you look at my photos below you will see how I rolled the mixture in the filo pastry. I think that if you do it this way that you end up with too much pastry in your final spring rolls and it doesn’t cook right through. So I would advise you to make TWO spring rolls per one sheet of filo as opposed to one spring roll per sheet. Does that make sense?! Cut the film sheet in half length ways and roll one sprain roll down one side and another on the other side. Please email me or leave a comment below if you want me to “walk” you through it! If you don’t use the whole packet of filo, fear not as it lasts in the fridge for quite some time (check dates on the packet!)

7) Place spring rolls onto baking paper lined tray and brush with EVOO.

8) Cook in a pre-heated 180 deg cel. oven until  golden and crispy – approx 15/20 minutes.

Delicious with drinks before a BBQ! ENJOY!

Note: To freeze, separate rows of spring rolls with a sheet of baking paper and place into tupperware container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Can go straight from freezer to oven.

This month’s theme for BESTRECIPES.COM.AU’s “Home Cook Hero” is SUMMER ENTERTAINING – How perfect are these Spring Rolls as an entry?! For more information on the campaign, read below:

Do you love cooking and sharing new recipes? At Best Recipes we love to share Australia’s best recipe creations and so we’re looking for Best Recipes Home Cook Hero. Each month we’ll be setting a new recipe theme to find the best home cooks and all you have to do is share your favourite original recipe with us. You’ll have the chance to win great prizes and be announced as Australia’s Home Cook Hero!

This month, we’re looking for the Home Cook Hero with the best Summer Entertaining recipe! To be in the running to be the Home Cook Hero for December, SUBMIT your best original Christmas gift RECIPE. Enter between December 1 – 31, 2014 to WIN $1,000 and have your recipe published in Super Food Ideas magazine. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE!

“The simple things in life are often the best.”

                                                                                  – Someone

I don’t know who said this originally.

Can’t be bothered to google it.

All I DO know is that it’s true.

This recipe calls for only a few ingredients. All you need to do is buy them and whack them on top of each other.

DONE.

And like MOST PHOODIE recipes, the best part about this is that it tastes SO delicious and looks SO impressive despite having taken you minus 3 and a half seconds to smash together.

You are most welcome! :)

INGREDIENTS

1 loaf / round /batard etc of bread – WHATEVER you fancy! I LOVEEEEEE Sonoma bread so I used a Sonoma White Olive Sourdough but you can use ANYTHING!

Cheese – again,  whatever type (or types) you like – I used a tasty and a parmesan. Keep in mind you want to use at least one cheese that melts well because that’s the whole point!

Herbs – AGAIN, whatever you fancy! I used chives and parsley but oregano, rosemary, thyme would all work well…

Butter

Olive oil

METHOD 

1) Cut the bread both length and breadth ways to create a cross hatch pattern. Cut about an inch apart each way.

2) Use a long knife to lightly butter the inside parts of the bread and then place as much or as little chives / parsley etc as you wish on top of this butter, deep into the bread.

3) Scatter a generous amount of whatever cheese you are using in the crevices of the loaf of bread.

4) Drizzle the whole thing with olive oil and bake in the oven at 180 deg cel until cheese is melted (about 5-10 mins) WATCH IT LIKE A HAWK OR IT WILL BURN.

5) Serve IMMEDIATELY! (Note: this can be prepped ahead of time but must only be cooked JUST prior to service – melted cheese is the whole point!)

Kali Orexi!

ENJOY!

Aussie readers will be familiar with the range of store bought biscuit snacks known as “Shapes.”

Pizza.

BBQ.

Cheese.

I think they even come in “Chicken” flavour!?

Anyway, out of nowhere I had a strong craving for the cheese flavour ones so I decided to make some. As usual, time was limited and the kids wanted to help. This needed to be SIMPLE.

And it is.

I won’t list quantities below as you basically use “as much as you need” depending on how many biscuits you want to make and what size you want them to be.

Also, feel free to change the toppings to suit your tastes!

INGREDIENTS

Store bought puff pastry

Parmesan cheese, grated

Grana Padano cheese, grated

Oregano, dried

METHOD

1) Pre-heat the oven to 180 deg. cel.

2) Sprinkle a generous amount of both cheese and a good whack of oregano over the puff pastry sheets.

3) Use a rolling pin to press toppings into the pastry.

4) Cut your shapes out with a cookie cutter. I used a 1 inch heart cutter (HAPPY VALENTINE’ DAY!!!)

5) Transfer shapes to baking paper lined tray and bake in oven until golden and puffy. This should take about 10 minutes.

6) For extra crunch, (i.e. to dry them out more) leave them in the oven (making sure you’ve turned it off!) for about an extra 20 minutes. In fact, JUST before they become too golden, you can turn the oven off to make sure that this additional “oven off cooking” doesn’t burn them!

7) Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

I find canned Tuna to be the WEIRDEST thing ever.

Let me explain.

The IDEA of it makes me want to hurl non-stop for the rest of my life, but the REALITY is that I eat it at LEAST once a week.

I’ve been making this dip for a while now and depending on how you want to eat it i.e with crackers as a dip OR on a crusty bread roll as a sambo filling, you can play around with the quantity of tuna used. More tuna makes it chunkier, thicker, better for a sandwich filling and less will make it better for a dip.

Coming up to Christmas, I find that dip recipes are super useful, especially ones like this that can be smashed together with a moment’s notice when 1000 people are coming over for Summer Drinks!

ENJOY!

Any questions, you know where to find me! INSTAGRAM (click here) FACEBOOK (click here) TWITTER (click here)

INGREDIENTS

(Makes a large bowl for a party!)

4 x 185g Canned Tuna in oil, drained

6 x Spring Onion lengths, chopped

5 x Cornichons, chopped

3 tablespoons of Capers

2 small Garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons Mayonaise

1/2 cup creamy plain Yoghurt

Juice of 2 lemons

1 tablespoon salt

METHOD

1) Add all of the ingredients into a food processor and BLITZ. Well, actually PULSE, as you want to make sure you get the consistency right. You DO NOT want to liquidity this. It should be chunky enough to enjoy the texture of it on bread BUT not chunky enough to recognise any ingredients!