Arancini with Fontina

Serves: Makes 20 balls


Preparation Time: 15 minutes (or prepare the rice a day ahead and refrigerate first step)
Cooking time: 5-8 minutes 

1 cup of white wine (i use  sweet white for mine)
1/4 of an onion chopped finely
1 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves chopped
1 large pinch of saffron threads
50g parmesan cheese finely grated
1 garlic clove crushed 
100g butter
3 cups of chicken stock
1 cup aborio rice or equivalent type


100g fontina diced into cube sizes to fit balls
1 cup breadcrumbs
olive oil for frying








Place the saffron into the white wine in a jug to soak.  Melt butter in fry pan and add onion, garlic and soften but do not brown.  Heat stock in another saucepan until simmering.

Place thyme and rice to the onion mix and cook for one minute to blend with the rice.  Add wine and saffron and stir until wine is absorbed completely.  This will take a little while to happen and heat will need to be slightly up while this is happening. Once the wine is leveled down and the rice absorbs you need to ladle some stock into rice so it keeps moist and this is to be repeated in this manner until the rice is ready (approx 15 minutes if aborio).  Rice should appear creamy when done. Add more stock or water if rice is not ready and cook until done.  Make sure all liquid at the end is all absorbed.  Remove from heat and stir through the parmesan cheese.  Spread this mix onto a tray which is covered in plastic wrap. Remove the garlic and dispose. Leave to cool and then place into the fridge to cool down.  You can even prepare this part if you like a day before.

To prepare the arancini roll a walnut sized amount  of rice into ball.  Press a hole into the middle with your thumb and add a piece of the fontina squares to fit.  Repeat this method until all done.  Roll the balls at the end into some breadcrumbs pressing to coat well.

Heat oil in a small saucepan and fill with olive oil to cover the top of each ball.  Heat a couple at a time so not to overcrowd.  Test the oil with a small piece first and it should sizzle into the oil and turn golden brown.  Cook each ball quickly approx 3-4 minutes until brown and dry on paper towels.  Serve hot or room temperature.

Vegetable Stirfry with Mushrooms, snowpeas, baby buk choy and leek

Serves: 4

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 5 minutes with a hot fry pan

Olive oil for the fry pan

250g mushrooms

1 baby buk choy leaves

100g snow peas ends cut off

4 finely cut rounds of the white end of a leek

salt and pepper to taste

Very easy to make as a meal or side dish.  This has amazing flavour.  The freshness of ingredients is what makes this dish special.

Place the leek in some oil in a fry pan big enough to fit all ingredients.  Then add as leek cooks the rest of the ingredients and cook with a reasonable amount of heat until mushrooms start to slightly brown.

If you like this with meat serve with chicken tenderloins crumbed or even some lamb cutlets.

Enjoy.

Potato beetles with bacon and cheese

Potato beetles with bacon and Cheese

Serves: 6

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour

6 medium size potatoes

3 rashers of bacon or 1 cup of diced bacon

Salt and pepper

Chicken Stock (enough to go halfway up the baker you use)

Mozzarella cheese 2/3 cup for topping the potatoes

Preheat oven to around 170 degrees celcius.  Place a large baker dish on your benchtop and butter its base slightly.  Add some crushed garlic or you can chop up a clove finely and spread on buttered base.

Peel the potatoes and using a knife slice the base off the potato to steady it.  Then make deep parallel cuts across it reaching almost to the bottom.  The potato should hold together like a book.

Place a few small pieces of bacon between each potato slice.  Salt and pepper them slightly. 

Pour the chicken stock around the potatoes so it is only halfway (no more than halfway).

Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes .  Open oven after this time and place the cheese over them and bake for another 30 minutes or until the potatoes are golden and soft when a knife is placed into one.

Serve with coleslaw or spring onions chopped.



Easy Roasted Vegetables

Easy Roasted Vegetables

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 5 min (approx) microwave, 25 minutes in oven at 180 degrees celsius

Use vegetables you prefer but i have used the following:

1 zucchini

1 large potato

2 brussell sprouts

two twigs of fresh rosemary

a shake of good quality olive oil

salt and pepper to your preferred taste

This is great for fussy eaters if they do not normally eat their vegetables. Its very tasty with the fresh garden herb rosemary and a splash of a good quality olive oil.  I prefer to use Cobram Estate extra virgin olive oil (Australian made).

Peel potato and cut up the various vegetables into pieces.  Place in a microwave pyrex with a tablespoon of water then place lid on and cook as per your microwave instructions for fresh vegetables.   

When ready take the vegetables out of pyrex and place into a cast iron oven baker.  Then sprinkle your olive oil and fresh rosemary over the vegetables.  Cook in oven for approx 25 minutes at 180 degrees celsius.

The vegetables can be served with other side dish ideas in my listing.  This meal the kids wanted to eat little ravioli (Latina), little pies and home style chips (side dish listing see for more).