Before we say goodbye to the berry season, we have two fabulous recipes (by Syd Pemberton)

Macerated Berry & Yoghurt Parfait

Serves 6

600gms fresh berries such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries,                                                                              

3 tbls balsamic vinegar

2 tbls brown sugar

8 Amaretti biscuits

225m. plain yoghurt

200ml pouring cream, whipped

Combine berries in a medium bowl, pour over the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar.  Let sit, stirring occasionally until berries soften and start to release their juices (30 minutes).

Smash Amaretti biscuits with a rolling pin in plastic bag until roughly crushed.  Whip the cream and fold through yoghurt.

Layer berries with yoghurt cream in parfait glasses and sprinkle with crushed biscuits.

Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.

Fresh Fig Gratin

Serves 4

8-12 fresh figs cut in half

3/4 cup pouring cream

2 organic egg yolks

1 tbls dark rum

pinch of nutmeg

4 tbls soft brown sugar

Pre-heat grill plate

Place the figs cut side up into a gratin dish. Mix the cream, egg yolks, rum and nutmeg together.  Pour over the figs and sprinkle half (2 tbls) of brown sugar over the top.

Place under hot grill and cook for 15 -20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Serve with vanilla ice-cream

by Syd Pemberton

12 whole sardines, gutted and cleaned

1/4 cup plain flour mixed with 1/4 cup coarse semolina

Salt & Pepper

Olive oil for cooking

Lemon wedges to serve

Caponata

Extra virgin olive oil

1 large eggplant (500g) cut into 2cm pieces

1 Spanish onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 red and 1 yellow capsicum, chopped into 2cm pieces

2 sticks celery, chopped

400gms can of tomatoes

2 tbls red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives, chopped

1 tbls rinsed salt packed capers

2 tbls currants

1/2 cup chopped flat leafed parsley

Heat about 1/4 cup of oil in a large fry pan, add eggplant and cook over high heat until browned. Remove from pan.

Add another 2 tablespoons olive oil to pan and cook onion, capsicum and celery over medium heat until onion is soft.

Add garlic, tomatoes, vinegar and sugar.  Season to taste and cook over medium heat about 10 minutes until tomatoes are reduced and pulpy.  Stir in eggplant, olives, capers and currants and simmer another 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat, check for seasoning and cool. Stir in the parsley.

Too cook sardines, mix flour and semolina together and season.  Coat sardines on both sides with the four mixture.

Oil the barbecue plate or griddle and cook sardines in batches on both sides until cooked through – about 2 or 3 minutes each side.

Serve caponata topped with a few rocket leaves with sardines and lemon wedges.

by Syd Pemberton

Potato gnocchi are perfect to serve with rich stews, or make a delicious entree served with burnt butter sauce.

Potato Gnocchi

600g even sized waxy potatoes, such as desiree

150g plain flour, approximately

Cook unpeeled potatoes in simmering salted water until tender. Drain and when cool enough to handle, peel and pass through a mouli or a ricer.

Place potato on bench, season to taste, add 2/3 of the flour and mix to form a soft dough, adding more flour if necessary.

Divide dough in two, roll each piece into a sausage shape about 2 cm in diameter, and then cut into pieces 3cm long.

Cook gnocchi in batches in simmering salted water until they rise to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in an oiled dish.

Burnt Sage Butter sauce

100g unsalted butter

1 cup sage leaves

Heat the butter in a shallow frying pan over a medium heat, until golden.  Add the sages leaves, and cook until the butter foams and the leaves are crisp.  Spoon the golden brown butter over the gnocchi.

by Syd Pemberton

Cumquats, like Seville oranges, are in season for only a short time, and make one of the most flavoursome marmalades. This recipe makes about 5 x 375g jars.

Ingredients:

1 kgs cumquats

1 litre of water

Sugar (see below for quantity)

Directions

Wash the fruit and thinly slice on a plate to catch any juice and pips.  Tie pips in muslin bag and place into a bowl with the juice, cumquats and water.

Leave overnight in a cool place.

Pour into a preserving pan and gently bring to the boil.  Cook for about 1 hour, then remove from the heat, cool and leave overnight.

Measure liquid and cumquat pulp in a measuring jug.  Add approximately the same amount of sugar to the fruit.  Place in a preserving pan, and slowly bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Cook at a rapid boil until setting point* is reached.  Remove from the heat and pour into warm, sterilised jars and seal.

* 105°C on a sugar thermometer.  If you don’t have one, drop a teaspoon of the marmalade onto a chilled saucer, put it in the fridge to cool enough to touch, then push a finger across it. If the surface wrinkles, it has reached setting point. If not, return to the boil for a further 5 minutes, then test again.

by Alison Drover

Winter has arrived and I always feel better when it’s really cold as it’s more of a reason to stay home and cook up a storm.

Parsnips are delicious and very affordable, reminding us that good food is about simplicity – taking time to do something well, using a few special ingredients. Parsnips go well with roasted apples and potatoes, drizzled with olive oil and lemon zest – a meal by itself!

Cooking in season, with unprocessed ingredients, reduces our environmental footprint, and provides the foundation for more energy-intensive ingredients such as cheese.  That way, we can have a little of everything, and appreciate the quality of each ingredient.

I’ve borrowed this recipe from www.fratellifresh.com.au. Also check out this great information on parsnips.

Parsnip soup with walnuts, pear & gorgonzola

Ingredients

500g parsnips, chopped and washed
2 onions, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
300mls water
200mls milk
100g gorgonzola
100g shelled walnuts, roughly chopped
2 pears, quartered and diced
1 bunch continental parsley, chopped
300g butter
salt and pepper
250ml cream

Method

1. Sweat onion and garlic in butter

2. Add parsnips and sweat down.

3. Add the water and cook until the water has evaporated.

4. Add the 250ml of cream and bring to the boil.

5. Blend in a food processor.

6. Put back in pan, add the milk and bring back to the boil.

7. Serve into bowls and top with gorgonzola , pear and walnuts