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

by Alison Drover

I bought some venison osso bucco from Eveleigh Market and had it with some preserved lemons, to give it some bite.  It’s a great autumn dish and keeps well in the fridge over a couple of days - I had it with some left-over green lentils one night and another night with some turnip and potato mashed with oregano.  Terrific!

Osso Bucco

90g Butter

2 medium carrots, chopped finely

2 large brown onions, chopped finely

3 trimmed celery sticks, chopped finely3 trimmed fennel sticks chopped finely

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2kg Venison Osso Bucco

1/3 cup flour, for dusting

2 tblsp olive oil

2×400g chopped tomatoes

½ cup dry red wine

1 ¾ cups beef stock

1 tblsp finely chopped fresh basil

1 tsp finely shopped fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

2.5cm strip lemon rind
Heat a third of the butter in a large saucepan; Cook carrot, onion, celery and half of the garlic until onion is golden brown. Remove from heat; transfer vegetables to a large ovenproof dish.

Coat venison with flour; shake away excess. Heat the remaining butter and oil in same pan. Add venison; brown well on all sides. Carefully pack venison on top of vegetables.

Preheat oven to 180C

Drain fat from pan. Add undrained tomatoes, wine, stock, basil, thyme, bay leaf and strip of lemon rind; bring sauce to the boil

Pour sauce over venison. Cover dish; bake in oven about 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally.

Preserved Lemons

Preserving is a great way of using an abundance of lemons so they do not go to waste

Lemons
Salt, 1 dessert spoon of salt per lemon, plus one for the jar
Freshly squeezed lemon juice - 2-3 if you have them
Juniper berries
Preserving jars

Cut lemons into quarters. Place the lemons, flesh side down, in the jar, sprinkling each quarter with salt as you add it to the jar.

For every lemon use a good dessert spoon of salt, and one for the jar.

When the jar is full, press right down on the lemons to squeeze as much juice out, filling the jar with more slices, again squeezing right down. Cut out a disc of plastic to hold the lemon quarters under the lemon juice. Put a lid on the jar and 6-8 weeks later they will be ready to use.

by Syd Pemberton

Here’s the recipe we used for the Crown Street Edible Schoolyard launch on February 10.

600g zucchini
100g parmesan cheese
¼ cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley leaves
1 tbs chopped fresh dill leaves
1 tbs chopped fresh mint leaves
4 large organic eggs
Salt and ground black pepper to season
50g dried breadcrumbs (toasted fresh ones)
100g self-raising flour
6-8 cherry tomatoes

Pre-heat the oven to 180degC

Line the base and sides of a 27 x 17 x 3 deep baking dish with non-stick baking paper

Coarsely grate the zucchini into a large mixing bowl.  Finely grate the parmesan cheese and stir into the zucchini with the chopped herbs and mix well. Break the eggs into a bowl and gently whisk, season with salt and pepper.  Stir into the zucchini mixture.  Carefully fold in the flour and bread crumbs to mix until combined.  Pour into the baking dish. Smooth over the top.

Cut the tomatoes in half and press into the top to decorate.

Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until firm.

Remove from the oven and cool in the tin.  Refrigerate until just before serving.

Cut into squares and serve at room temperature.