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…
Silverbeet with lentils, tahini and sumac
It’s time to give silverbeet some love. It’s such a healthy veg but the flavour can be quite full-on without something else to mellow it and if you just boil it (eww), it’s really not that interesting. Or nice. Well we don’t think it is and are always keen for new takes on it. As major fans of Middle Eastern cooking…
Korean army noodles
If you’ve been itching to break out the frankfurters, Spam, processed cheese slices and generally All The Good Things, then – yay. Here’s your golden opportunity. Called budae jjigae in Korea, this unlikely dish first surfaced after the Korean War when many foods were scarce and people made do with what they could find…
Not your mum’s leeks
If your Mum, like many Mums, committed culinary crimes against leeks, you might be scarred for life. We’re talking boiled, suffocated in white sauce and… oh, shudder. We just can’t with the leek memories. Happily there are entire cuisines who cook this skinny green veg with…
Borlotti bean and pasta soup
This type of rustic soup, often topped with shreds of the region’s famous radicchio, is popular in the Veneto region of Italy in winter. An example of cucina povera, literally the ‘cooking of the poor’, it speaks to a frugal approach and using what you’ve damned well got on hand…
Muhammara
This Syrian-Turkish dip-spread is so full of intense flavour, it’s ridiculous. It’s not hard to make but, lest you think charring and peeling capsicums is tedious, it’s their exact sweet, smoky flavours that make this so amazing. So don't be tempted to skip this step. If you have a gas cook-top, just hurl your capsicums straight on the flame whole, then turn them regularly so they char all over…