I have never read Dr Seuss, but I don’t need to have grown up with it to know the term “green eggs and ham”. In Sydney today it is currently 18 degrees C and a time to grab the jumpers, pull out the heaters and eat comfort food. I have been working away at home all day looking outside at a gloomy scene. No sun glistens off the river, no birds are chirping and I could not be further from wanting to be out there. I would much prefer to stay inside, in my pajamas and have breakfast for lunch as you would on the weekend.

I have been craving baked eggs for a while now but it wasn’t until last weekend when I purchased my first packet of gluten free puff pastry from Harris Farm Market that I decided, this week is the week I will do it. I cannot remember the last time I enjoyed a plate of pastry without worrying that my stomach will hurt afterwards. Of course I have the occasional nibble but to sit down and know this will not make me sick is something I am looking forward to tremendously!

So this is a chance I decided to pay my dues to Dr Suess and make my own “green eggs and ham”. My green was the salsa verde I made last week as a topping on some steak and my ham will be some Calabrian nduja which is hard to come by in Australia. I got this one from Pino’s* in Kogarah. Pino is the king of curing in Sydney and his nduja will not let those die hard fans down. It is spicy, smoked in house and available in a sausage or in a paste.

The one thing I hate when I used to bake eggs in pastry is that the pastry on the bottom was always soggy, not matter if I baked it for a little first or in a water bath it never crisped up so I was not going to be disappointed by this GF pastry even before I started. The base of my ramekin would be juicy, sweet vibrant red capsicum topped with my salsa verde then some nduja. The pastry will go around the inside of the ramekin and then the eggs will sit inside. Finally it will be topped with some marinated feta and more salsa verde.

The result? Only a little sogginess on the base of the pastry but the rest was absolutely delicious. The capsicum had softened but still had some crunch to it and the feta had softened all over the top. What about the pastry you ask? Look I will not sugar coat it for you, gluten free tastes nowhere near the real thing, EVER. I don’t care who says they can make a product that you would not know as you will. The flavour of rice flour is so strong in every combination you can think of and the texture was thick and more like a shortcrust than a puff, but did I enjoy it? I enjoyed it enough to satisfy my curiosity and add some diverse textures to my green eggs and ham.

Green eggs and ham

(1 serving)

1/2 sheet gluten free puff pastry, thawed

2 eggs

1/4 cup salsa verde

3 slices nduja, broken up

1 capsicum cheek

2 tbsp marinated feta

1.Preheat oven at 180 degrees C.

2. Spray the ramekin with EVOO.

3. Break the pastry into thirds and fit around the inside of the ramekin. Slice the capsicum in the shape of a circle to fit on the base of the ramekin inside the pastry.

4. Top the capsicum with some salsa verde and the nduja. Crack the eggs inside then top with the feta.

5. Bake for 17 minutes or until the egg just sets.

6. Remove from oven and put a few dollops of salsa verde on top. Serve.

7. Use the pastry to scoop up the filling!

* Pino’s Fine Foods

45 President Ave

Kogarah  NSW  2217

(02) 9587 4818

I always get excited when I find something my Mum really enjoys and asks me to make again, believe me there have not been many! So when I got to use yogurt (tick) in some muffins (tick) and some coconut (tick) I was very positive as each of these things she enjoys. I must admit though my Mum is obsessed with yogurt, and in these muffins it gives them quite a sour flavour which is beautiful with the fruit and coconut, but can I just set a scene? My Mum puts yogurt on nearly everything she eats, any rice dish, salads, even once she put it with Osso Bucco despite my pleads to tell her not to ruin my rich 4 hour slow cooked meal. She continued with happiness. I have accepted it now, but if it floats your boat then why not enjoy it with as much as you can. No that does not mean pouring nutella over everything to make it taste better, but it probably would!

It is an easy one bowl recipe which is quite foolproof, once you cream the butter you just throw it all in and mix. It is not restricted to strawberries either, I have used blueberries which are also a great mix with the coconut but any seasonal fruit would work well. Apart from the complete easiness of this recipe is the texture. They turn out so soft and fluffy, I was surprised to see how well they keep after couple of days, they are still extremely moist.

Strawberry Yogurt Muffins

85g butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup natural Greek yogurt
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup milk
2 cups SR flour
1 punnet strawberries chopped (or 1 1/2 cup blueberries)

1) Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

2) Cream sugar and butter. Remove from mix master and stir in the yogurt, milk and eggs until well combined.

3) Add coconut and fruit and mix well then add the flour and mix until just combined. It should be quite a wet mixture so if it is too dry add some more yogurt.

4) Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

I have never been the hugest fan of Creme Brulee. I like it but there are things I would order over it…….this was until 3 weeks ago when a friend had prepared some at his house for a dinner party. I remember I was completely absorbed by the creamy, thick, smooth texture which was so enjoyable. For that minute I completely forgot I was lactose intolerant and what lovely stomach cramps I had to look forward to. It did not matter, life it too short to not enjoy simple things like this lovely dessert.

So the opportunity came for me to devise two desserts for a dinner party I was attending yesterday. Firstly chocolate fondant popped into my head but then I decided to give this one a go too. I did however need a blowtorch for the event which I mentioned to my Mum and she said I should ask my Dad, who of course in his large workshop downstairs had a more than appropriate piece of equipment for me. (I appologize for the ugly photo, but it is not something I wished to style, but just take note of the size of Moccona in the background – not mine by the way)

When it was ready to torch I got a little excited and turned it up quite high and slightly burnt my brulee. The second ramekin was much more successful, but this did not deter us from completely devouring them. And again for that moment I was completely oblivious to what was going on around me, only concentrating of flavours, textures which left me with a very large smile.

(Yes this camera shake is the result of a kiwifruit cocktail, beautiful gamay and Napa Valley Cab)

Creme Brulee

2 cups cream
5 eggs yolks
100g caster sugar + extra for toffee
2 tsp vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 120°C.

2) Put the cream and vanilla into a pot and bring to the boil. Take off heat immediately.

3) Cream yolks and 100g sugar until thick and very pale. Pour cream into the yolk mixture and mix until well combined. Pour into 3 large ramekins.

4) Boil water in the kettle and prepare a waterbath to cook the creme brulee. Place the ramekins in the waterbath and cook for 45 minutes or until the top is set (do not let the brulee start to bubble)

5) Cool for at least 4 hours then when ready to serve sprinkle a generous amount of sugar on top of the brulee and using a blow torch evenly caramelize the sugar so that toffee is produced. Serve and enjoy!

This dessert has travelled all over the word, passed by so many of my friends and brightened up dinner parties. It all started back in 2008 when I had a dinner party with uni friends and prepared the gooey chocolatey dish. I was surprised it was so easy to make and realised it is perfect for such instances as you can prepare them ahead of time.

I then went to France and made this for my friends Laura and Elwyn, in both dark and white chocolate, and after that requests from friends for the recipe poured in. Last weekend I decided it was revisit this decadent pot of goodness for a dinner party with my partner’s bestfriend and his girlfriend. It was actually quite fitting as Laura is the biggest chocoholic I know and since her birthday was only two days ago it dessert for the dinner had to be spot on.

I had forgotten how easy this is to make, the only part that is slightly hard is the whisking eggs and sugar over a double boiler for 8 minutes. I don’t like to use electric mixers so my arm got a huge workout, let me tell you, but once they are done they can last chilling in the fridge for weeks, and since they only take 12 minutes to cook, what really could be easier for a dinner party?

Nothing else needs to be said. Laura enjoyed it. So did I.

Dark Chocolate Fondant

70g dark chocolate

60g unsalted butter

20ml espresso coffee

2 eggs

100g caster sugar

50g fine almond meal

1) Over a double boiler melt the butter and chocolate until mixed together. Take off heat and then stir in espresso.

2) In a seperate bowl over the double boiler combine the eggs and sugar then whisk for 8 minutes or until thick and pale. Remove from heat.

3) Fold chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and once combined sift the almond meal in and stir lightly until just combined. Pour into 2 large ramekins. Refrigerate for minimum 2 hours.

4) When ready to cook, preheat oven to 180 degrees and cook for 12 minutes or until the top has just set. (The longer you cook it, the more like a pudding it will become) Serve immediately with come ice cream on the side.