Last night I was invited by friends to help them out and cook for the homeless of less fortunate. Of course I said yes in an instant, excited  to help people more needy than I, but as I found out more details the night seemed to be somewhat like an event which I was psyching myself up for and could look forward to. Not only where we to be cooking two amazing dishes – Chicken Paella & Vegetable Thai Red Curry – but we were also allowed to use space in a community run commercial kitchen.

The last time I was in a commercial kitchen, cooking, was for our range of GFG Secret Dinners which were October last year, but I have to say this kitchen is quadruple the size of the one at Fix St James (which is not to say the latter was small, but this one was huge). The kitchen is a community initiative which supports the local community and is trying to promote and teach others about food and nutrition and the joys of cooking. The kitchen is very strict on cleanliness so these meals can go to anyone, including those with ill health or in hospital.

I arrive on time and are told to scrub up and then jump into the latest kitchen fashion – a hair net and apron – lucky I brought my own large, butcher’s apron complete with light blue stripes, so I got away from the simple white plastic ones.

Where do I start, I asked Adam, the host for this evenings event, and a serious foodie friend of mine. His wife, Zoe, and him are absolutely amazing cooks and have devised the recipes we will be cooking up tonight, so I know it will taste great. Adam listed out the things that needed to be done……..

* chop the capsicums * pick and chop the parsley * chop the onions * chop the chorizo * zest and juice the lemons * season the chickens * grate the tomatoes

and that was only for the paella, there was still a whole other list for the curry. I decided to jump straight into paella mode with Adam and address the capsicum situation chop chop chop. Zoe was busy on the other table managing the curry prep.

Adam and Zoe have befriended a local butcher who makes for them beef chorizo

With 9 people working hard, most of the prep was done within 2 hours and then it was time to start cooking the first dish…..the PAELLA!

First thing was first though, those birds needed to go into the oven to roast……….and let me tell you, they looked good when they went into the oven, coming out, we had to stop ourselves from cutting bits off and “taste testing” ourselves. It smelt divine! I was then in charge once they cooled down of portioning them….so with a large knife, in 4 large and strong chops, I quickly  quartered these birds, must have been beginners luck, but I tell you, I could give those people at your local charcoal chicken a run for their money, and I didn’t even have the special scissors!

Little Daniel, Zoe’s younger cousin was in charge of the Paella cooking, and he did a fabulous job. I thought it was fantastic to get the youth helping out on such programmes as well as they get the same great feeling as we do and feel as though we are really brightening someone’s day, but it also gives them the opportunity to learn about ingredients and how to cook a meal from scratch, free of preservatives and additives, so they can go on to cook healthy, tasty meals too.

Dish 1 was practically done, now it was just time to add a little more lemon juice and then we would get stuck into the portioning.

The production line assembled, Chantelle scooped rice into the boxes, Rick put a piece of chicken in the box, Natalie put a lid on each box and lastly a few of us put the stickers on the lid. DONE

I was very proud to see our creations all packaged up as I knew many people would have a lovely dinner tomorrow and it was because of us that they will smile.

Now that everything had been portioned there was one thing left to do, and a part of the night I was looking forward to the most, eating the crust on the bottom of the paella. I don’t think the people we are giving the food to would mind us taking a nibble, as I honestly think they would just think we were bad cooks and had burnt their food. On the contrary actually, the crust is the most prized part of the paella and is generally fought over. It is like the skin of a lamb on the spit, the first pour of coffee out of a plunger, I am sure many family arguments have spawned off people wanting this prized bit of a dish…….well since we had a huge frypan, we also had a huge amount of crust to go around so there was plenty for everyone.

RIGHT……..so that was dish 1, now for dish 2 – Vegetarian Thai Red Curry

We started, of course, by making a curry paste from scratch, I mean, who would consider using a packet mix, when we have such amazingly fresh and vibrant ingredients available to us. Yes it does take longer to make, but I can tell you the flavour is so much better than anything you can buy from a supermarket, and you know exactly what has gone into it.

The only hard part of this is finding a machine which is powerful enough to mince up all those vegetables into a paste……the people in charge of doing the paste did a wonderful job went through thick and thin to get there. Apart from inhaling a lot of onion fumes, Natalie (on the right) did get onion juice squirt up into her eyes. Now think about when you cut onions, they are very far away from your eyes, so I can’t even imagine how much her eyes began to water and I am sure it stung, but she washed herself off an soldiered on like a real trooper.

This is the final result (the paste in the background), in the foreground is the stage in between raw ingredients and a smooth paste. It took a few different machines to get to that consistency, but we got there in the end.

Now these limes not only have a great colour but the juice flavour was so strong and vibrant. Colour does hint at the quality of the flavour, and as you can see……we have a lot of flavour here!

The peeling of the pumpkin was done by a woman named Chantelle. Chantelle is very petite, but don’t let that fool you, she knows her stuff. Adam had assumed that the pumpkin would be peeled using a knife and a lot of fiddly work, but this is where she stepped in and told him he should do it the was she was taught from her Mother-in-law…….using a very good vegetable peeler. Adam was not convinced and it wasn’t until she insisted and showed him how it’s done. He was amazed…..and then left her to do the rest, since she was so good at it. MEN!

The curry was cooked in a large pot and did not take long to finish at all, so by this stage I had already portioned the rice and we were ready to finish it all off in style. We got the production line happening again. Chantelle passed a rice container to Zoe who held it there for me to spoon curry on top of. It was a funny sight though – me tackling this huge pot…. I needed to stand on a crate to get to the depths of it. There was plenty to go around so after we had finished all the rice containers, we did a few portions with only curry and instructed *please give to people who know how to cook rice*

We then labelled them all and we were done…..time to clean up and skip on out.

This is not the end of the process though, Rebecca, the General Manager of “Our Big Kitchen” had to collect all the portions, put them in the fridge and on Friday they are distributed out before dinner. So although what I though we did was a huge achievement, there is so much more to the picture and many other people who help out. All together we make a difference though. So no task is too big that you think you can not contribute or make a difference because you can, because if the many people who think just like that come together then mountains can be moved!

Overall it was a fantastic experience and I would love one day to host my own cooking night for the needy. It is a great time to get together with friends and family and have some fun.

“Our Big Kitchen” is always looking for extra funding to help them realise new projects or even buy basic equipment they need for everyday cooking. So if you would like to donate, please contact OUR BIG KITCHEN on

Phone: (02) 9387 3822 extension 211
Address: 36 Flood St, Bondi, 2026  (down left hand drive way, look out for our signs)

or you can visit their website  here.

I have been learning about Peruvian cuisine for a couple of months now, so I can cook for my Partner who is of Peruvian heritage, and Alejandro Saravia has been a blessing to me and my attempts to fast track my progress. Alejandro runs “A Taste of Peru” which is an organisation aiming to promote and educate us Australians to the lovely flavours of the Peruvian cuisine through cooking classes, degustation nights and culinary tours. The craze of South American cuisine is really starting to hit us here in Sydney with Churrasco BBQ, Argentinean grill’s, and many more Mexican restaurants opening up……..so really where would be next to go but the culinary centre of South America, Peru.

The degustation was being held at The Lincoln Hotel in Kings Cross and on the Thursday night that I went, it was transformed into a beautiful, intimate and classy dining room. As we sat down we were presented with the iconic Peruvian cocktail, a Pisco Sour. It was the perfect beverage, sweet and citrusy, to prepare us for the night of eating ahead while we looked at our menus.

We had chosen to take the matching wines offered, which are all Argentinean and by a company called Jed’s. I have had these many times, and a few cafes and restaurants which I know they are stocked include Bodega, Cafe Giulia and Single Origin.

Even though we had the menu in front of us we were surprised to receive firstly the Amuse Bouche which was a Crab chowder with aji and rich tomato flavours. The crab was soft and fibrous, not overcooked at all but extremely delicious to eat. (sorry about the photography, the flash killed this shot, but I was too eager to eat it as I did not want it to get cold).

Secondly we were sent out a little canape of  a Cassava & Manchego croquette, which is a fusion of Peruvian and Spanish cuisines. Cassava is a Peruvian vegetable root, also known as yuca which during its cooking process also produces tapioca. Manchego, on the otherhand, is a Spanish sheep’s milk cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain, and is quite mild when young, but as it ages becomes hard, crumbly and strong in flavour  (personally, one of my favourite cheeses).  The little ball of goodness took two bites to eat and was a tasty start to the dinner.

The third surprise we were given was delicious and so smart, Quinoa Sushi with Spicy Salmon. The salmon was marinated in aji amarillo paste and lemon juice and served atop an avocado/wasabi paste and wakame (seaweed) salad. This is a very healthy way to have sushi that is gluten free and won’t bloat you like sticky sushi rice does, yet tastes great and has a beautiful texture from the slight crunch of the quinoa.

Already on a high, we were served our first wine of the night, the Jed’s 09 Savignon Blanc. It was fresh and fruity which was chosen to balance the spices of our first dish. This dish is called CHALA which represents the sea and the fisherman. A lot of Peruvian cuisine, especially the  traditional cuisine, before Creole cuisine emerged, was very simple and from sources that were readily available i.e. the sea and land, but Creole brought something else with it, new ingredients which produced variations on traditional dishes. This CHALA dish showcased both styles.

The first on the plate was a Ceviche (on the right) of Japanese scallops which is marinated in aji, lemon and lime juice then topped with a coriander yoghurt. The second was a Crystal Bay Prawn Teradito. Teradito is Ceviche’s much younger cousin and is also a raw fish dish, but instead of dicing the seafood into cubes, it is sliced into thin trips, more like sashimi (this is where the more recent Japanese influence came in), and commonly it has a spicy cheese sauce drizzled on top which has rocoto, another South American chilli. Here the dish is served with choclo, the Peruvian white corn. Finally there was a Swordfish Antichuco which is a slight variation on the traditional, which is made with beef hearts lined up on a skewer and marinated in garlic and spices including panca, which is a very smoky flavoured dried chilli paste, and anotto seed paste.

All three were beautiful and I loved the smokiness of the swordfish, it was nice to have fish prepared in a different was, but I must say, the ceviche just blew me away, the sweetness of the juicy, soft scallops with the marinade which was so well balanced, made it such a pleasure to eat. The yoghurt however I did not enjoy with the dish, by itself it was lovely, but when I have raw seafood of such good quality, I prefer to not mix this flavour with something creamy as I find it takes away from the freshness.

The second plate of the evening was called PACHA, which is from the earth and was paired with the Jed’s 09 Pinot Grigio (unfortunately I do not have a photo of this dish). The first of the assiette  was a Huancaína mille-feuille  which is a play on Papa a la Huancaína, potato salad with a spicy creamy cheesy sauce, although this time instead of the rocoto, aji paste was used.  Second was  anAndean Corn Tamale with fried Haloumi. The tamale was fantastic and something I was very excited to eat as I had planned to make a whole batch next week with friends, so now I would be able to compare ours to Alejandro’s correct versiom. I loved the texture of the corn dough as it is so full of flavour yet such a different texture to what I am used to as it is moist yet firm but not a pastry and not bready, something new to me. Haloumi is something I am very familiar with though as I am half Cypriot so it is one of those things that I have a constant supply of in my fridge. Finally we enjoy Lima Bean Causa with Choclo & Olive salsa. Causa is a dish of layered mashed potato with a variety of ingredients scattered on top, in this case, confit tomatoes, choclo and olive salsa. This dish can also be made into a terrine style with layer upon layer upon layer and is especially effective when coloured potatoes and bright ‘other ingredients’ are used.

Now to the mains and first up we were served Steamed Blue Eyed Cod with Sudado based organic Quinoa and wild Mushrooms. The stand out on this dish was the quinoa as the ’sudado’ or fish sew it was cooked in had flavours bursting in my mouth. The combination of fish stock, tomato and aji along with garlic, onions and white wine, just gave a new dimension to the quinoa. Even my Partner ate the whole portion but does not usually like quinoa. The texture was slightly softened and it was less ‘grainy’ in a way and really absorbed the flavours of stew. The rest of the dish was very tasty too with the wild mushrooms of different sizes and flavours showing us how terrible and boring store bought button mushrooms are, but the Blue Eyed Cod had a very subtle and mild flavour as it was steamed. I think it could have done with something extra or maybe added to the stew right at the end to just take on some its flavours.

The pairing for this course was the Pulenta 2009 Pinot Gris which was a heavier wine to the Pinot Grigio and was less acidic and better suited to this fuller flavoured dish.

Now we are up to my favourite dish, so I had high expectations for this Seco de Cordero. This is usually a slow cooked beef served with a coriander and beer sauce, but here Alejandro has chosen to sear the beef which was juicy, soft and full of flavour.  The sauce hit the spot and I was very satisfied, but it was the Carapulcra (Andean style Dried Potato) which I was most eager to try. It is an ingredient I have read about and wondered how could you dry a potato, cook it and result in a different textured potato? Would it not still be soft once cooked? No! It was definitely cooked but had a much firmer texture and tastes less floury to normal potatoes.  The Celariac puree gave the palate a small rest from the overload of beautiful flavours on this plate and a smooth creamy texture. In addition, the flavours were only complimented by the wine of the course, Jed’s 08 Malbec. Spicy, medium bodied and with a slight tannin.

Dessert, who wouldn’t be excited, and time to bring out the ’second stomach’ reserve for dessert alone. This dish was more of a palate cleaner as it was very light and a nice way to sooth our palates into a whole new field of flavours. Quinoa, which has featured in many of the dishes above is a grain which is more like a superfood, not only is it gluten free but it is also very very high in vegetable protein and a great way for vegetarians to get their hit, not to mention low GI. When quinoa is boiled it stains the water which takes some of that protein, so post cooking your quinoa it is a great idea to actually drink the water you boiled it in.

Here Alejandro has prepared a consume of quinoa which has been infused with cinnamon, star anise and fruit peels. It is then served with stewed and caramelized pineapple, apple and honeydew and a chocolate quinoa cookie. It was an interesting choice to pair this with the Jed’s Blanc de Blanc NV, as was such a soothing transitional dish, yet the sparkling wine was bubbly and disrupted the serenity. I did however love the theatre of this dish, adding all the little pieces of fruit into my consume, then drinking the consume with all these different flavour combinations and textures was so much fun and delicious. The quinoa cookie was clever too but in a way I was very surprised that the quinoa softened slightly, as when cooked it usually has quite a bite to it. I suppose when I think of a cookie I really crave that crunch and dry crumble it has to offer.

The second dessert however was the absolutely perfect way to finish such a splendid dinner. “Alfajore de Lucuma”. Alfajores are a very very popular biscuit in South America. Every person I have asked who is from there tells me how much they love Alfajores and wish they were more common in Sydney as they miss them. The Alfajore was filled with Dulce de Leche, which is a caramel made from condensed milk which is much thicker than regular caramel and perfect to glue two cookies together with. The biscuit Alejandro prepared uses Lucuma powder. Lucuma is a fruit that looks similar to an avocado but has a sweet flavour similar to creamy maple syrup. This was a nice balance to the heavy caramel and so much fun to eat. Each bite I made I felt like a kid, trying hard to not let the caramel squirt out of the biscuit, but still wanted to just let it be and enjoy the flavours. On the other side of the plate was the lightest fluffiest parfait I have every eaten, and I never would have thought Carob could taste so good, but it was one of those things you wish you could have a whole plate of as  you just can’t seem to get enough! But….we must not forget the Custard Apple puree which was smooth refreshing and well, gone very quickly.

This dish was paired with a fabulous wine, a La Zonna 2009 Moscato. IT is a sweet style of wine, which I generally do not enjoy, but this particular one had a very short finish and no lingering sweetness, instead it seemed more like a refresher than a dessert wine and something even I could enjoy a whole glass of.

What a fabulous dinner this was, enjoyable, relaxing and unique. Thank you Alejandro very much!

Alejandro will be hosing another set of dinners to coincide with the Latin American Film Festival which will be on the 8/9 of September, so keep an eye out on the “A Taste of Peru” website.

But how does one find the perfect recipe? Where does one look? I figured first thing is first, if I was going to find a recipe, it would have to come from a born and bread French(wo)man. I knew that many of the top blogs are French based, and so I read read read, finally narrowing my search down to two types of recipes. The first which some might argue is the ‘proper’ was to make brioche required starting the day ahead and making your own started and letting it ferment overnight. Although I do like making things completely from scratch, I have tried this once before and my house is always so cold, it never works, so I decided the second style would have to do, even though I would use dried packet yeast. The recipe is from a blog called “Tartlette“.

That was the first thing I did, made my yeast mixture with milk (which the original recipe has) however, I started it three different times and none of them fermented. I first warmed the milk in the microwave, WHICH YOU SHOULD NOT DO, as the microwave kills some of the amino acids which are required for the fermentation. So I then tried to warm the milk in a pot and then add the yeast. FAIL. It still did not work. I was so upset, and by this stage I had already mixed all the other ingredients and was just waiting for the final bit, the yeast. I then ditched the milk and used lukewarm water and a little sugar, and presto, within 5 minutes I could already see the frothing start. To compensate no milk, I added more butter to my recipe than originally stated, and once the yeast was ready I added it in a thin stream, mixed, and let the dough rise and rise and rise.

first rise

second rise

egg wash

When making any bread, you must be patient at this point and I find even allow more time than stated to let the dough rise. After it was chilled, kneaded and then left to rise again it was into the oven for 25 minutes and out it came with a gorgeous golden brown crust, but was so soft and fluffy on the inside it was the type of thing which you could eat and eat and eat without realising how much you are consuming as it is just so light.

The test now was to recreate this for Kelly for the final tick of approval, but at least I am confident now that mine has a chance to please her high standards.

To be continued…..

This tart was actually a birthday present for a friend of mine, a chef of my local restaurant, which is absolutely fantastic…..sorry about the plug, BUT you must must try it. I strongly suggest the “Trust the Chef” which is a tasting menu for $60, and when you can BYO some amazing wine, it turns out to be a fantastic night of good food that won’t leave you broke.

Peacock Trattoria
25 Kyle Parade, Kyle Bay
9546 6900

So it was Drew’s birthday and he was stuck at the restaurant for the lunch service, and I felt bad for him, not being able to celebrate on such a lovely sunny day, so I really wanted to take him something. The idea of the Prune and Armagnac actually came from their menu where they have a Bitter Chocolate tart wit Prune and Armagnac ice cream (which is absolutely delectable!) and this sparked my interest to make the actual tart. I researched and finally found a recipe I was happy with, which is by Skye Gyngell.

I bought the prunes, which I now have fallen in love with and did not realise that I actually got ones still with their seeds inside, so it took me a good 30 minutes to pip them, but the tart was reasonably easy to make. It is a simple shortcrust tart shell, then the filing is predominantly cream, egg and sugar. I was actually expecting to put the cognac in the filling, but if you think about it, it will be cooked off.

The filling was cooked to perfection then the time had come to pour the cognac over the hot tart fresh out of the oven so it is absorbed right through. One tip……don’t be conservative, pour it over so it gets in every section of the tart, I was convinced the little piece I had did not have any cognac in it.

Once done I took it over to the restaurant and Drew had a huge smile on his face…..my job was nearly done but the ultimate result was from the taste test. He cut it up into slices and tasted……….and LOVED it!

I was so happy that I can even please a chef who is able to make the most amazing dishes.

Greeks have been doing their version of churros for ever, but in the form of a round donut called loukoumathes, and although I have made them numerous times, I am no professional, but having said that, with this experience, surely churros cannot be too hard, and if I make them at home they will not be undercooked, let me asure you.

I sourced my recipe from Canelle et Vanille as the pastry that is made is a choux and I was told that this is much more suitable for churros, which after making them, I completely agree. Choux pastry, made by meltin butter into water, then adding flour and then egg results in a pastry that is light and airy. This is due to the large water content in the pastry and during the cooking process it evapourates and instantly lightens the finished pastry.

It is a very simple process actually, but you do require a piping bag…..I am thinking now how much easier this would make cooking locomathes, as I have traditionally done it with my hands and a single spoon to achieve the ‘not so perfect’ balls of dough.

There are many alterations when it coems to serving. You can simply sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top – simple, yet affective; dip into some lovely dulce de leche – something I did not have 4 hous to make today; and finally a lovely rich chocolate sauce which can be spicy (with cinnamon, cloves, vanilla bean etc) or with orange zest – but considering I did not have any zest, or vanilla bean, I just stuck with the former and went for the most basic type.

The result…….the lightest churros I have every eaten. They seemed so light I think I ended up eating 6 over the course of 2 hours. They are not oily and greasy like other styles I have tried, and the simple sugar sprinkle over the top didn’t weigh them down with additional richness…..which, apparently, made me tell myself they aren’t so bad for me.

I’ll let you be the judge though…

Well I was on a mission to prove them wrong. I was perfectly able to make such a simple little pastry….simple? Well apparently not. There are so many rules with empanadas. Factors to do with the pastry, amount of filling, how much olive and egg, size and their shape. Ok that is fine, I can research, I can youtube it to watch and learn particular techniques such as the repulgue (the plating on the rim).

The name comes from the word EMPANAR which means to wrap or coat in bread. They can be baked or fried, and this determines the type of pastry (tapas) that is required. Traditional tapas are made with flour, water and lard, so not really for the vegetarian, who would have to prepare their own tapas.

There are many types of Empanadas including the traditional Carne, made of beef which is then chopped very finely, like mince but with much more flavour; queso and jamon (ham an cheese); chicken; spinach and cheese…..the list goes on now and really anything and everything can be put inside. They can be made as a sweet with fruits inside. In Uruguay actually they are famous for their sweet Empanada which is filled with quince, dulce de leche and chocolate and is then covered in sugar or the pastry is brushed with apple jam.

But today I needed to start from the beginning. Carne con huevo y aceituna (meat with egg and olive). I had to perfect the most common style before moving onto interesting filling. There are many things that need to focus on. 1) Getting the pastry right. It needs to be thick, not soggy and similar to a shortcrust;
2) The filling needs to be balances, and this means the correct amount of spices, then portion of egg and olive for the amount of meat filling; and
3) The repulgue needs to be neat, tight and make the empanadas look pretty.

Once the pastry was made, which is arguably the most important part of the process, I think, then the filling is prepared and then each item is laid out as if in a production line for the filing to be completed. The pastry should be rolled out to about 2mm, this will give it enough thickness to cover the filling and keep it in without breaking, but also is not so thick that you end up with bites of only pastry.

A spoonful of meat, but not too much, there needs to be ample pastry for the repulgue. Only one small slice of egg, and half a GREEN olive. Many countries also add currants, but I prefer to not mix sweetness with my meat.

The repulgue is the twisting on the edge of the pastry. It is not easy, let me tell you. I watched many youtube videos to learn how to do it and then even after that it still took a bit of practice. Overall though, I think I did well. (My Latino-ness is increasing by the minute!)

Before baking they are glazed over with eggwash and then baked for 20-25 minutes, depending on your oven. They should be golden brown when they come out.

Eating them is the fun part FINALLY. It is not a quick afternoon task, it does require a good couple of hours to prepare, fold and cook them all. I made around 50 or so, many of which I gave away, cause there are only so many you can eat, however everyone who received them was very thankful and said they tasted good.

BUT the test is what a Latino thinks…..unfortunately, my friend who said ‘I could never make them’ was not around to try them, so ‘the Peruvian boyfriend’ was quizzed on how good they are. Some might argue this is a bit subjective, as he would say they are good either way. WRONG. The first time I attempted them, I followed a silly recipe I was given which required me to boil the meat and ended in disaster. He sweetly told me how much I had failed. This time though, he gave them the thumbs up and even took left overs home.

Mission accomplished.

Alejandro greets me warmly though and told me to forget about everything that happened that day as the night would be relaxing and enjoyable, as he hands me my ‘manual’ consisting of the history of Peruvian cuisine and the dishes we would be making tonight. My eyes light up at the sight of the first recipe……Pisco Sour, and boy did I need one. The rest of the participants slowly trickle in and as they do Alejandro starts to educate us on the background of the cuisine, how it has evolved from the Incas and were influences by many other cultures including the Spanish, Japanese and Chinese.

Typical ingredients of Peru, which are not known here is Australia are shown. Alejandro explains how he has had to import them all to be able to introduce Peruvian cuisine to Australians. The most important is the Aji, a special type of pepper which comes dried or in a paste. Of course some would think that he should just grow them here, but due to the climate, it does not work as we have a very different altitude to that of Peru and this changes its characteristics. We are then given spoons to try some yellow aji paste. The first person to jump up scoops up a large spoonful, but then Alejandro warns her that might not be the best idea straight off! When the spoons get around to me I put the smooth yellow paste onto my tongue. Instantly I taste the yellow pepper. Sweet. Mild, with a slightly spicy finish, but very pleasant. I am quite surprised that it was not strong, but then I notice the label says “mild”….Oh how eager I am to try the “spicy” version, but I will just have to buy some off Alejandro.

Stop! Before any more food is talked about or shown, there is one thing we need to do firstly….prepare ourselves a drink, naturalmente! Many of us are in desperate need coming from work in the pouring rain, on such a freezing night.

“I need some volunteers to help me prepare the Pisco Sour” Alejandro announced. I jump up at the opportunity to get my hands dirty, and I did exactly that, slicing and juicing a whole bowl full of lemons and limes, the backbone of this dish and the next, so we have to yield as much juice as possible. The lemons are fine to juice as they are not too hard to squeeze but the limes are tricky and get very slippery. That is where I discover a fork comes in very handy and if you stick the fork in you have better hold on the lime and can juice it for all its worth.

Into a large bowl the juices go, as did the pisco, thin sugar syrup and egg whites (to the shock of one participant who had never heard of using raw egg whites like this). Once it is all mixed, shaken and nice and frothy it is served in our glasses and garnish with bitters. They are taken around to everyone and are gulped down very very quickly, let me tell you!

Now quite warm and much more relaxed we are educated about the origins of Ceviche. There are many myths but the one I like the best, is a story of English sailors who arrived in on the cast of Peru and saw the natives eating this dish of small chucks of raw fish and hence called it “sea beach” which the natives pronounced “seviche” and from there on in the name has morphed depending on who says it and where. It can be ceviche, cebiche, seviche, but they are all the same thing.

Alejandro says he has seen many restaurants in Australia label dishes with the term ‘Ceviche’ but are actually not correct. A lot of them are instead using thin slices of raw fish as they think that is what it means, but this has another term….Tiradito. This has come from the Japanese influence of sashimi and even in Peru this is also a common dish altough it is generally topped with a creamy sauce.

The origin of this dish makes a lot of sense as a fisherman would not have had kitchens or boxes full of ingredients, they just use what they have around them…..fresh fish, salt and aji. Sometimes they would use the juice of local oranges to cook the fish and when the Spaniards arrived they brought along lemons which is one of the most common ways it is prepared today.

Tonight though we are using snapper and scallops for our ceviche. First, the sweet potato and the corn must be prepared. Sweet potato is cooked in sugary water with cinnamon and dried aji so it slightly caramelizes. This is how they had been doing it traditionally for centuries, so there is extra sweetness to balance the acidity of the lemon and lime juices. Choclo, a white corn also imported on Peru is larger than any type I have ever seen, and so very different to what we have here. Once boiled it is so soft and moist and without the sweetness of our yellow corn, it is more subtle and ‘meaty’ a great element which acts as a nice base to balance all of these flavours together.

The Japanese scallops which are the second type of seafood for our ceviche are huge! Double the size of normal scallops. Due to this, Alejandro butterflies them to let them cook through thoroughly and make them easier to eat. You also don’t want too many different types of seafood where one will take much longer than the others as either some will be overcooked or some too raw.

The Ceviche tastes so fresh and wonderful, especially washed down with some vino blanco. All the flavours balance each other. The sweetness of the potato and scallops, spiciness of the aji, and the sourness of the citrus which is then levelled with the corn which is like the neutral ingredient to bring it all together. No one flavour is overpowering, even the aji, like some might have expected. Even the cilantro on top to garnish has a place in this recipe, adding a freshness to the dish. In Pervian cuisine we are told that fresh herbs are used a lot more than spices, so fresh parsley, cilantro, tarragon etc. Spices are less used, and the ones that are are the influence of European cultures coming into Peru.

The plates are cleared and Alejandro wastes no time setting up for our next dish….Causa. Causa comes from the word ‘causay’ meaning life or ’sustenance for living’, and it resembles the origins of this dish. It comes from the villages where people could only use what they had, and what is there a lot of in Peru? Potato (papas), and there are over 3000 varieties in Peru, more that anywhere else in the world, aji and lime juice. Off course we would be preparing the dish just as it is done in peru, with our hands. Rubber gloves are handed out and people start what almost seemed like a production line. Some peel and others crush. It just shows how efficient it is to work together!

Now that the potato is lovely and mashed, aji is added, lime juice, sal sal sal (salt), and then all of the other ‘layers’ are prepared. Depending on which town, inland or by the sea, can be used with many tyes of meats, there is no one rule, but today we are using Lake Titicaca organic trout fillets….and although Alejandro would normally ward you off canned products, he does highly praise this, because of the flavour, where it is from (of course) and the fact it is organic.

All the different parts of the dish are out and then we serve ourselves in a production line style.

So many different parts, so many combinations to eat together. The potato with the hint of aji really adds a nice dimension on a boring ol’ mash. It is such a light and fresh dish which is so healthy for you, which is one thing Alejandro has been boasting about Peruvian cuisine, that using all the fresh ingredients that they do, the cuisine is based around recipes which are only going to make you live longer. Like so many other cuisines around the world which are based on fresh produce, although they use a lot of olive oil, salt, the dreaded ‘carb’, they are not processed, they are not loaded with extra sugars and are overall cover many vitamins and minerals our bodies need….when eaten in moderation.

Now it is the part of the evening I have been looking forward to, the main course, but this one in particular as it is one of my favourite Peruvian dishes, Seco de Cordero (braised lamb with a cilantro sauce). Well….today we are using lamb, but it also made using goat. Once the sauce is made, the meat is cooked all day so that it is soft and tender.

I wait patiently to serve my plate but this meat just looks so amazing and the smell is so strong, by now I am drooling at the sight of the sauce which had reduced by half, wishing I had a piece of bread to soak up the flavours (that is the Greek in me, as a Peruvian would probably wish for a bowl of rice to absorb the liquidy goodness).

However, after seeing the finished salad, I must admit I am a sucker for colour and texture and this salad has it all and surpasses the meat in the looks category.

The wait is worth it. My quinoa has soaked up the lovely sauce, none of it can go to waste, that is just blasphamy.

By this stage my stomach is getting very very full but of course I must have some dessert, there is always room for dessert. Alejandro wants to push our boundaries and make us try quinoa in another way, with a sweet twist. He took a world wide dish which has been interpreted by so many cultures and transformed it again. The rice pudding or arroz con leche.

His version used nice stewed apple, currants soaked in pisco, shredded coconut and spices such as cinnamon, star anise, cloves all mixed together with some nice and warm evaporated and condensed milk.

I must say usually I do not finish dessert, especially after so much delicious food, but this quinoa sweet was truly indulgent. Creamy, full of all the spices I love and the fruit and coconut just gave it a beautiful texture. I have been converted to a quinoa fan. It is so versatile and I can see how it is easily substituted for most grains…..maybe I should experiment with quinoa muesli…

Finally we finish off with a tea made from the water the quinoa was cooked in. Alejandro tells us this tea is better for us tan normal black tea as it has all the nutrients of the quinoa that are lost in the water, including vegetable protein, but also does not contain any caffeine. The flavours of the various peels and spices make it relaxing and soothing on the cold cold night.

And I was lucky enough to get a shot with the man himself….Finally I have forgotten all those things that were worrying me before I arrived, and I leave satisfied, warm and with curiosity bursting out of me, to learn about this cuisine but also to go experiment with the new ingredients we were shown.

A very simple biscuit but utterly delectable. Thick dulce de leche just oozes out of the sides as you bight into these simple sugar cookies.The smoothness contrasts the hard crumbly cookie as you enjoy the sweet sweet flavours of the caramel. Who wouldn’t want more, or even just a bowl of dulce de leche and a spoon.

After making the dulce de leche a few friends and I experiemneted with possible combinations that go with it and we discovered that when paired with nutella it is irresistable! The nutty chocolatey flavour just went so well with the sweet and slightly thicker dulce de leche. Now I ask, where are my churros???

I will be taking these cooking to my Spanish class tomorrow night, and they will be eaten up in an instant, I am sure……mind you, this is a South American Spanish class so maybe the bias is taught into me…..

I wanted to create something decedant and not something that you can just find in any bakery. Yes a lot of good bakeries, such as Bourke St Bakery sell their own flourless chocolate cakes, but that Sunday afternoon I was going to a child’s 1st birthday party/demolition party and I wanted to provide something that would not overpower all the fine wine that would be there, but could be enjoyed in conjunction with…..

It must be dark chocolate I though, and if you are that interested in chocolate varietals, to pair this cake with wine I would try to go for a nice fruity and slightly spicy chocolate. Recently I have tried a single origin from Trinidad & Tobago and the berry scent was so strong on the palate, I was quite astounded. A lot of experimenting should be done with chocolate varieties, as like coffee, or wine, there is a lot of difference between different parts of the world, due to different climates, cocao plants and the soil.

Whilst making this cake I was praying that it would turn out light and moist, so that it would practically dissolve in your mouth and leave the nice rich taste of dark chocolate. I did not want it to be a heavy overpowering chocolate cake. I must admit actually I am not a fan of regular chocolate cakes or chocolate sponge cakes as I hate that flaky cakey texture and lack or intense chocolate flavour (and no amount of icing can compensate, I do not want sugar loaded chocolate, I want the real thing)…….so this cake IS my solution. A dangerous discovery possibly, but one that will be enjoyed time and time again, and will ALWAYS impress.

Needless to say that this cake will be making future appearances at family do’s and other birthdays or demolition parties I am invited to…..and with that wine, it is not so bad, but by that stage of the night, a nice glass of aged port hits my spot!

I was dying to cook this morning as it feels like it has been an eternity. Muffins, what could be easier I thought, but when I looked at the fruit bowl my hopes sunk as there was not much there, 2 not quite ripe bananas, one lemon and a whole bag of apples……hmmmm I had never really used apples in my baking as I generally use softer fruits that can be mushed into the mixture. But we give what we are taken.

I do remember my mother making a German Apple cake when I was a kid, and I did love it, well I think I loved the sugary goodness surrounding the slices of apple. So I tried to create something similar using brown sugar and cinnamon, but I also wanted to get a nice nuttiness to them so I browned the butter till a deep golden brown colour and used this in the mixture….and then again once half cooked I spooned a teaspoon over the top to seap through the fluffy muffin.

I love everything about browned or “burnt” butter. It’s smell, texture, clarity and of course taste. It is so versitile and just adds that bit extra to so many things…..pumpkin ricotta and burnt butter; burnt butter and sage; burnt butter biscuits (another childhood favourite)…..and it is not hard to do at all, the aim is to work towards burning it, but over a medium heat you will have ample time to notice when it is ready.

It will take a good 6 or so minutes to get to this stage, and if need be can stay here for another couple of minutes until it is past its prime.

The result would have made my mum proud, although not as tea cakey as her’s mine had similar characteristics with that nice nutty richness from the butter.