Ingredients:

• 125 g butter
• 250 g flour
• 100 g gorgonzola, grated
• 1 egg yolk
• water or port to bind
• ¼ tsp salt

Ingredients: Onion Marmalade:

• 3 large onions, thinly sliced
• 60 ml balsamic vinegar
• 60 ml olive oil
• 100 ml water
• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

• To prepare the onion marmalade place all ingredients in a sauté pan and season well. Allow to simmer until caramelized – will take quite a long time, at least 20-30 minutes.Rub butter into flour, add cheese, and mix well together.
• Add egg yolk and sufficient liquid to make a stiff dough. Cover and rest for at least 30 minutes.
• Roll our fairly thick, and line 12 patty pan tins or 6 muffin tins.
• Rest in refrigerator for about 15 minutes, then bake ‘blind’ for 20-25 minutes at 180 C until crisp and golden. Remove weighted foil for last 10 minutes of cooking.
• Serve, garnished with red lettuce, filled with onion marmalade.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, separated
• 20 g finely grated Parmesan
• 60 ml cream
• ½ – 1 tsp mustard powder
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• salt to taste

Ingredients: Filling:

• 350 g smoked fish (haddock is good)
• 85 g mascarpone
• ½ – 1 tsp mustard powder
• ¼ cup chopped chives
• 2 tsp lime juice

Preparation:

• Line base and sides of 25 – 30 cm Swiss roll tin with ‘Gladbake’.
• Whisk egg yolks with remaining ingredients until combined.
• Beat egg whites to soft peak stage, and fold into yolk mixture in two batches.
• Spread into prepared pan. Bake at about 180° C for 8 – 10 minutes, until puffed and goldn.
• Turn onto wire rack, covered with a tea towel, and carefully remove paper in strips.
• Cut omelette in half lengthways. Using tea towels carefully roll up each half from the long side. Cool.
• Simmer fish till tender, drain and cool.
• Remove any skin and bones and flake finely with a fork. Stir in the reamining ingredients and taste for seasoning.
• Unwrap omelettes, spread with cold filling and re-roll again from the long side. Wrap in clingwrap and refrigcrate until cold. Slice diagonally into 2 em slices.

Makes about 30 mini-rolls.

Ingredients:

• 1 – 2 kg pickled vine leaves
• 500 g minced beef
• 500 g minced pork
• ½ cup raw rice
• 1 large onion, very finely chopped
• 1 tbl oil
• 2 ripe largish tomatoes., skinned, grated
• 2 tsp chopped dill
• 2 tsp chopped mint
• chopped parsley to taste
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbl butter
• boiling chicken/beef/vegetable stock and/or water

Preparation:

• Combine meat, rice, onion, tomato, parsley, dill, mint, oil, salt and pepper. Mix well together and check the seasoning.
• Rinse the vine leaves to remove the pickling brine.
• Lay a vine leaf, glossy side down (veined side up), and place a heaped teaspoonful of filling in the middle of the leaf, more or less where the veins join.
• Fold first one side then the other over the filling, then roll the leaf up tightly, making sure that the filling is completely enclosed. The filled vine leaves should be little parcels about 2 – 3 cm long Trim the sides of any vine leaves that are too large.
• Lay them on a tray, seam side down, awaiting cooking.
• Take a large saute pan and brush the bottom with a little oil. Using torn leaves, place a layer of leaves, glossy side down, over the oil.
• Pack the filled dolmades tightly over the leaves, but do no make more than 2 – 3 layers. Place another layer ofleaves overtbe top, if you have sufficient torn ones.
• Pour in the boiling water and/or stock (chicken stock is best) and place a large plate over the dolmades to stop them moving around and getting unwrapped during cooking.
• Dot in the butter, bring to the boil, then allow the dolmades to simmer gently, covered, for 1 – 2 hours, or until the vine leaves are tender. The length of time the dolmades need to cook will to a great extent be determined by the number of layers you have made.

Makes about 100 dolmades.

Ingredients:

• 300 g courgettes, topped, tailed
• 4 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 200 g halloumi cheese, coarsely grated
• 30 g flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbl chopped fresh dill
• 6o ml oil
• 1 small lemon, very thinly sliced, for garnish
• dill sprigs for garnish
• 1/3 cup very thick Greek yoghurt

Preparation:

• Coarsely grate the courgettes and squeeze out as much liquid from them as possible – the best way to do this is to wrap them in a clean dishcloth and wring them out.
• Combine the courgettes with the spring onions, cheese, eggs and chopped dill.
• Season with salt and freshly ground or cracked black pepper – be careful with the salt as the halloumi as pretty salty.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Form fritters, using heaped teaspoons of the batter, and cook for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
• Serve with a small dollop of yoghurt on each fritter, garnished with a quarter of a lemon slice and a small sprig of dill.

Notes:

• Make the fritter batter and cook it immediately – it cannot be held as it gets very watery. Thte fritter may be cooked and served a few hours later.

Makes about 45 tiny fritters – or fewer larger ones: depends how you are servmg them : the choice is yours.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 kg chicken fillets
• 1½ cups buttermilk or yoghurt
• 2 tbl lemon juice
• 1 tbl Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbl light soy sauce
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 – 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• breadcrumbs

Preparation:

• Pound the fillets to make them a little thinner, then cut them crosswise into 1 cm strips, more or less – accuracy in cutting is not important.
• Combine the remaining ingredients, add the fillet strips and stir to ensure that the strips are all well coated in the marinade.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight, or, at room temperature, for a couple of hours.
• Combine fine dry breadcrumbs and sesame seeds in the proportion of approximately 6 to 1.
• Drain the fillets, toss them in the crumb mixture, and place them on a plastic-lined tray. Refrigerate, or not, as necessary.
• Deep fry them as close to serving time as possible. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle lightly with salt.
• Can also be baked in a hot oven: 200 – 210° C for about 20 minutes, or until golden. Drizzle first with a little melted butter. This is certainly the healthier alternative, but, like many other things in life, isn’t as good as the unhealthier option!

Makes a biggish bowlful.

Ingredients:

• 10 ml grated ginger
• 500 g lamb mince
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 small-medium onion, grated
• 2 tbl chopped dhania
• 1 medium carrot, finely grated
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup stale breadcrumbs, (not dried)
• salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
• dried breadcrumbs
• oil for deep frying

Ingredients: Sauce:

• ½ cup plum sauce
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp chopped dhania

Preparation:

• Prepare the sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients together.
• Combine all the ingredients, except dried breadcrumbs and oil, and mix well together.
• Shape level tablespoonfuls into croquettes and roll in dried bread crumbs.
• Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Deep fry until browned and cooked through. Allow to cool and serve with sauce.

Ingredients: Kofta:

• 500 g minced lean lamb
• 200 g sausage mince
• 150 g onion finely grated
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tbl chopped dhania
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbl tomato paste
• 35 g stale breadcrumbs (not dried)
• salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
• oil for deep frying

Ingredients: Hummus:

• 2 x 310 gr tins chickpeas (or equivalent fresh-cooked)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 60 ml tahini
• 60 ml lemon juice
• 125 ml buttermilk
• 60 ml water

Preparation:

• Combine all ingredients for the koftas, seasoning to taste.
• Shape tablespoons of the mixture into ovals. Place on tray and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• As close as possible to serving time, deep fry the koftas until browned and cooked through.
• Alternatively, and as a healthier alternative, the koftas may be baked in a very hot oven or grilled. Serve with the hummus dip.
• To make the Hummus Dip, blitz all the ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth.

Makes about 40 koftas.

Ingredients:

• 750 g sirloin steak in one piece
• 30 g tamarind pulp
• 250 ml hot water
• 10 ml chilli powder
• 5 ml ground black pepper
• 5 ml salt
• 70 ml grated palm sugar
• 120 ml peanut oil
• 1 large onion, grated
• 10 ml Ceylon curry powder
• skewers

Preparation:

• Soak tamarind in water, and drain, sieving out the pulp.
• Mix the tamarind water with the chilli powder, pepper, salt and sugar. Stir to dissolve.
• Cut the steak into cubes and thread onto skewers. Fry the steak in the oil to brown – do not cook through.
• Remove from the pan and place in an oven dish large enough to take them in one layer.
• Add the onion to the oil in the pan, and sizzle for a couple of minutes. Add the curry powder, and sizzle again, being careful not to burn the spices.
• Add the tamarind mixture, stir through and bring to the boil. Pour over the satays, cover and bake in a moderate oven until tender.
• Check the seasoning and serve hot if possible, though they are also excellent eaten cold. The satays may be prepared a day ahead and held ready for baking in the refrigerator.

Notes:

• Make your own Ceylon curry powder.

Serves 6 – 10.

Ingredients: Meat:

• 750 g lean minced lamb
• 1 medium onion, grated
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp chilli powder
• 2 tbl chopped fresh mint
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbl dry red wine
• salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
• skewers for serving

Ingredients: Sauce:

• 500 g plain yoghurt
• 1 tbl chopped parsley
• 1 tbl chopped chives
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tbl chopped mint

Preparation:

• Combine all ingredients thoroughly, seasoning to taste.
• Shape a level tablespoonful of the mixture into an oval onto the end of each skewer.
• As close as possible to serving time, grill the koftas until browned and cooked through.
• Combine all the sauce ingredients, mixing well together.
• Serve hot with dip.

Makes about 35 – 40 koftas.

Ingredients:

• 1 jointed chicken (or equivalent portions)
• 4 tbl mild mustard (Dijon is best)
• 2 tbl lemon juice
• 3 tbl poppy seeds
• 20 – 60 g butter, melted
• 4 tbl runny honey (or palm sugar, or a mixture)
• 1 tsp paprika
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, freshly ground, to taste

Preparation:

• Season the chicken portions and place, skin side down, on a large baking sheet.
• Whisk the other ingredients together, and brush half the mixture over the chicken pieces.
• Bake in centre of the oven at 200° C for 15 to 18 minutes.
• Carefully turn the portions over, and coat the skin side of the chicken with the remaining mixture. Sprinkle over the poppy seeds.
• Bake for a further 15 to 18 minutes.
• Check for doneness, and, if necessary, bake for a minute or two longer.
• Arrange on a serving dish. Skin off the fat from the baking tray and then pour the cooking juices over the chicken.

Serves 4 – 6.