Red Snapper with carrot and spring onion and a hint of chilli

 Red Snapper is delicious!

Serves 6

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

I used a large cast iron baker which can be used on the stove top on the fish burner which is long (or you can use any good quality stove top fry pan which is flat based)

Lemon Olive oil

Virgin Olive oil 

6 pieces of fresh Red Snapper boned and scaled (best quality fish monger)

1 cup of rice flour

1 cup of corn flower

shake of peppercorn

shake of chilli flakes (alter to your liking or omit)

freshly grounded pink rock salt

2 Spring onions sliced thinly white end only up to light green area

1 carrot peeled then curl into large slithers

Prepare your fish by placing in a large mixing bowl the rice flour, corn flower, peppercorn, chilli flakes and a little rock salt.  Blend through and coat each piece of fish in the flour rolling on both sides thoroughly. Place each piece on a large plate and set aside.

In a large cast iron baker or stove top fry pan place around 1 cm deep of a mixture of the olive oils 50/50 and a handful of the carrot and spring onion.  Turn the heat up to medium heat and when it starts to sizzle place the fish into the baker skin side down first.  Turn heat up a little more as fish in cast iron cooks beautifully and fairly quickly.  Around 6 minutes turn over and cook other side. 

 Place the carrot and spring onion pieces on top of the fish so not to burn and the flavors of the onion and carrot melts into the fish.  Cook for around 6 minutes til perfection white and firmness and then add to your serving plates with a side salad of your choice.  

Shake some freshly ground pink salt onto the fish and enjoy!

Red lentil, celery and taleggio soup

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Serves 4 - 6

1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 onion chopped fine
1 cup of red lentils
2 litres boiled water
1 vegetable stock cube
2 stalks of celery cut finely
3 carrots peeled and chopped
60g taleggio cheese cut into small squares (approx 6 squares per bowl)
1/3 cup of fresh chives chopped fine

Heat oil in saucepan and place onion into pan.  Cook slightly but do not brown.  Then add lentils with boiled water and vegetable stock cube.   Add the celery and carrot and bring to the boil.  Simmer for around an hour.

Turn heat off and use a hand blender or any mixer to blend soup to a puree.

Then heat up again but not until boiling point.  Place a large soup ladle into the soup and place into individual bowls.  Then add the cheese and chives into the centre of each bowl.

Thanks to my local deli cleos  for great advice on the type of cheese to use. Normally a blue cheese is used with lentil soups but this was a great choice as it was not stringy it was smooth and a little salty but perfect!

Serve hot with crusty bread.

Amazing!

Note:  as an alternative for kids i made pasta chicken noodle soup with fresh chicken stock and ladled one ladle of this lentil soup into their chicken soup so they could at least get a little extra flavour!

Sesame seed barbecued prawns

serves 4 (2 skewers each)

8 skewers ( soak skewers in cold water for half hour before preparing)
large stainless steel bowl
24 prawns (3 per skewer)
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of sherry wine
1/2 lemon squeezed
2 garlic cloves crushed
2 sprigs of parsley chopped finely
Sesame seeds for coating after marinate part
Chopped square mango flesh
Limes quartered (3)
Lemons quartered (2)




Place prawns into sink and take off head and body shell leaving tail end shell. Try to de-vein as much as possible.

Place prawns into a large bowl set aside.

In large stainless steel bowl place the soy sauce, sherry wine, lemon juice, garlic clove, parsley and sugar then the prawns.  Stir through and place in fridge for 30 minutes only.

Take out of fridge after the 30 minutes and skewer 3 on each skewer with a piece of lime, mango and  lemon in between.  Roll them in the sesame seeds.  Barbeque for around 3 minutes on hot.

Delicious with extra lemon and lime quarters or mango slices.

Spicy lamb salad with mango lime dressing

Serves 4 small side plates
Preparation Time: 20 minutes


150g thin sliced lamb shoulder meat
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of cumin powder
1-2  shakes of dried garlic powder
1 small butter lettuce or similar leaves separated and washed
5 diced in half cherry tomatoes
1/4 red onion slices thinly
1 avocado sliced in lengths with no skin
salt and pepper

Mango Lime Dressing:
1/2 mango pureed
1 lime juiced


Combine the spices in a bowl and roll the meat into the spice mix.  Pan fry the meat on low heat with some olive oil.  Turn heat off when cooked and set aside.

Place your lettuce, cherry tomatoes, onion, avocado and salt and pepper together arranged on a small plate.  Place the cooked meat into each and then pour over the mango lime dressing.

Fantastic!!