Leeks, lentils and mussels
Are leeks underrated? We think so. They don’t have the sexy wow-factor of, say, asparagus or sugar snaps or watermelon radish. But they can be incredible, especially when you braise them and make them the hero of a dish – as we have here. Braising really brings out their gentler, sweeter side, and their texture becomes meltingly tender too. The key to these leeks is in the preparation...
Smoked salmon cobb salad
The Cobb salad is the ultimate American summer classic – a hearty, throw-it-together kind of dish that’s become an icon. Legend has it that this salad was first whipped up back in the 1930’s at the famed Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood by owner Bob Cobb. And can we just take a moment to appreciate the poetic rhythm of this dude's name? Fabulous. The story goes...
Caramel ginger salmon
Vietnam, bless it, has some unique ingredients and techniques that we go nuts for. Having been lucky enough to visit the country numerous times over the last 20 years, we can say, hand on heart, it has one of our all time favourite cuisines on the planet. The food is next level; it’s fresh, zingy and so incredibly varied, we never get sick of eating it...
Everything bagel tattie scones
Take a Scottish classic, sprinkle over a popular American seasoning, then serve with eggs and smoked salmon and let the deliciousness flow! Tattie (for ‘potato’) scones are more like flatbread or griddle bread than an actual scone and they don’t rise too much. But they’re wonderfully potato-y and easy, and are the perfect foil for everything else going on here....
Orange-harissa salmon
This isn’t our first slow-baked salmon rodeo, as you’ll know if you saw our recipe for Roasted Salmon with Dried Tomato and Walnuts a month or so back. Delicious. Because we loved the results so much, we’ve riffed off the same theme again, this time using harissa and some orange as complimentary flavours. (Our orange was a blood one but use whatever you have. We like the slightly spiky flavour of…
Cheesy filo spirals with honey
Did you know that when chefs in NZ discovered filo pastry, sometime in the 1980s, they kind of lost their minds? It was the newest shiny thing in town and they used it in all kinds of ways, many of them completely strange. For example, there was a dish involving…
Salmon with lentils and hot bacon dressing
Some ingredients just have a natural affinity which shouldn’t be monkeyed with. Lentils. Bacon. Vinegar. Spinach. No amount of yuzu/tahini/maple syrup/pickle juice/smoked paprika/bee pollen/hot honey/Reece’s cups or whatever other flavours are currently smashing it on Reels, can possible be an improvement. Full stop, end of story, no arguing…
Hot smoked salmon platter with potatoes and olive brine dressing
When you want to bring those plattered-up, generous, help-yourself vibes to the table, think smoked salmon and potatoes. It may not be a revolutionary combo but honestly. You can not go wrong with a dish like this when you need to…
Double salmon chowder
Allegedly there are people who don’t consider soup a meal, but we are not those people. We love soup. And here’s a particularly hearty, meal-in-a-bowl soup, chockers with veggies, salmon and big, boofy flavour. We’ve used smoked and fresh salmon for the fish part, but you could use fresh, white fish fillets (tarakihi, snapper, ling, for example) if you’d prefer…
Salmon skewers with edamame, toasted nori and furikake
Here’s the kind of yum salmon dinner everyone will love; it’s got lovely sweet-sticky glaze, lashings of Japanese rice, some avo, a salad with rich miso dressing and, the star of the piece, salmon. Little umami touches of toasted nori and the Japanese furikake seasoning add pops of savoury goodness, but…
Smoked salmon and blood orange salad
We were looking for a way to not just feature delicious hot smoked salmon, but blood oranges too, so a salad seemed logical. Throwing in a few beetroot, roasted to fully accentuate their sweet earthy notes, made sense, as did using some some avo because well, why not…
Roasted salmon with dried tomato and walnuts
When you’re committed to serving a whole side of salmon (which looks spectacular), the process can be nerve wracking. Overcooked salmon? No-one likes that. And if you’re going the traditional hot-baked route there’s very little margin for error…
Smoked salmon, cabbage fritter and sour cream
It had to happen sooner or later; cabbage has officially entered the zeitgeist. Remember when cauliflower was suddenly a thing? Then Brussel’s sprouts? No? Well they were and now it’s cabbage’s turn to have a little moment. Cabbage is suddenly all the rage..
Double pumpkin pasta
We bought you double-crumbed chicken, now we’re bringing you double-trouble pumpkin pasta! There’s nothing tricksy about this recipe; a smooth pumpkin sauce coats the pasta, with golden roasty bits of pumpkin for scattering over the top before you serve…
Thai beef and tomato salad
Ah, Thailand. We l-o-v-e it. The bustle. The full-throttled craziness of its cities, especially Bangkok. The charm of the people and the allure of the culture; we’re big into those. And SHOPPING!! We love the retail action; those markets are unreal (how good is Chatuchak?)…
Fragrant lentils with caramelised onion and eggs
Oh. Don’t like lentils? You’re missing out. They’re seriously delicious and are an easy, healthy and cheap way to get filled up. Until you start pairing them with eggs of course, and then everything goes to heck in the budgeting department…
Date molasses and spice cake
Like having a Little Black Dress in your wardrobe, every baking repertoire needs an easy, gingery, spicy cake recipe in the mix. (Well, we think it does anyway, and what we say generally goes. We’re not running a benevolent dictatorship here)…
Roast capsicum, feta, olives and oregano
We’re doing our best to slip in as many vibrant veggie-based dishes as we can before the dark days of winter set in. Not that we have anything against braises, pies, soups, root veggies and all that comfort food you generally hoover through in winter. (Did someone say ‘roasted kūmara’?)…
Salmon fish cakes
Loads of cuisines have their take on a fish cake; in Thailand they're called tod mun pla and are infused with red curry paste; in Malaysia they’re called otak otak and involve grinding fish to a paste with coconut milk and spices, wrapping in banana leaves, then grilling. Delish…
Spinach and lemon orzo with lamb snags
There’s a certain kind of tyranny baked into a recipe. “Cut that this big. Weigh those precisely. Use this sized pot. Cook for exactly this amount of time. No, DON’T stir yet. OK, stir NOW. And put a lid on that, would you?” …