TABLE FOR TWO

Weeknight dinners

TEST KITCHEN

TIPS Sage leaves fried in a little olive oil are a delicious garnish for serving with the quiches. Defrost frozen quiches in refrigerator overnight before reheating in a moderate oven.

Cook and freeze pumpkin quiches MAKES 4 PREP AND COOK TIME 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES

4 sheets shortcrust pastry 900g butternut pumpkin, chopped 1.5cm 2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh sage, plus extra to serve 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil ½ cup (125ml) milk 4 eggs, beaten lightly ½ cup (60g) frozen peas 100g fetta, coarsely crumbled 1 ½ tablespoons pine nuts 30g mixed baby salad leaves beetroot relish, for serving

1 Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fanforced). Oil four 9cm x 12cm oval pie tins 1 ½ cups capacity. 2 Combine the pumpkin, garlic, sage and oil on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Season. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove, cool. 3 Meanwhile, line pie tins with pastry, leaving about 1.5cm overhang; press into side. Freeze for 5 minutes. 4 Reduce heat to 200°C (180°C fanforced). Place tins on an oven tray. To blind bake, cover pastry with foil or

baking paper and fi ll with dried beans or rice. Bake on lower shelf for 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans; bake for a further 5 minutes or until pastry base has dried out. 5 Combine milk and eggs, whisk lightly. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. 6 Divide pumpkin mixture among pastry cases. Pour over egg mixture. Sprinkle with peas, fetta and pine nuts. Bake for 35 minutes or until set and browned. Cover edges with foil if pastry is overbrowning. 7 Serve two quiches with salad leaves and relish. Freeze the remaining quiches for another meal. Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave.

Baked  sh ‘n’ chips with yoghurt tartare SERVES 2 PREP AND COOK TIME 30 MINUTES

1 large (500g) orange sweet potato, unpeeled, cut into thin wedges 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 400g skinless, boneless fi rm white fi sh fi llets (see Test Kitchen tips, page 145) 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground coriander ½ teaspoon ground turmeric 1 teaspoon coarse cooking salt 1 ½ tablespoons white sesame seeds ⅓ cup (25g) panko (Japanese) breadcrumbs 1 egg 2 tablespoons plain fl our 30g rocket lime wedges, to serve YOGHURT TARTARE ½ cup (140g) Greek-style yoghurt 2 teaspoons lime juice 1 tablespoon fi nely chopped baby gherkin (or cornichon) 1 green onion, chopped fi nely 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill

1 Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). Line an oven tray with baking paper. 2 Combine sweet potato and half the oil in a medium bowl; season. 3 Place sweet potato, in a single layer, on lined tray; bake for 15 minutes or until browned lightly, cooked through and crisp. 4 Meanwhile, cut fi sh into large pieces. Combine spices, salt, seeds and breadcrumbs in a wide shallow bowl. Place fl our in another shallow bowl. Lightly beat egg in another shallow bowl. Coat fi sh in fl our, shake off any excess. Dip fi sh in egg, then in breadcrumb mixture, turning until fi sh is completely covered. 5 Heat remaining oil in a non-stick ovenproof frying pan over high heat; cook fi sh for 30 seconds each side or until browned all over. Transfer frying pan to oven; bake fi sh for 3 minutes or until just cooked through and browned. 6 YOGHURT TARTARE Combine ingredients in a small bowl; season to taste. 7 Serve fi sh with chips, rocket and Yoghurt tartare and lime wedges. Not suitable to freeze or microwave.

TEST KITCHEN

TIP Have everything prepared before you start to cook. Use brown rice instead of jasmine, if you like.

Honey-lemon prawn stir-fry SERVES 2 PREP AND COOK TIME 25 MINUTES

1 teaspoon sesame seeds 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 500g medium uncooked king prawns, shelled, deveined, tails intact 1 small (80g) onion, cut into thin wedges 1 medium (120g) carrot, cut into matchsticks 1 tablespoon fi nely shredded fresh ginger ¼ medium (250g) wombok (Chinese cabbage) chopped coarsely ⅓ cup (115g) honey 2 tablespoons lemon juice 250g packaged microwave jasmine rice 2 green onions, sliced thinly ¼ cup loosely packed fresh coriander leaves 1 Toast the sesame seeds in a heated wok or frying pan until browned lightly; remove from wok. 2 Heat half the oil in wok or frying pan over high heat; stir-fry prawns for 2 minutes or until prawns just change colour and are almost cooked. Remove from wok. 3 Heat remaining oil in wok over medium-high heat; stir-fry onion, carrot and ginger for 3 minutes or softened. Return prawns to wok with wombok and honey stir-fry until hot. Sprinkle over lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground white pepper. 4 Meanwhile, heat rice according to packet directions. 5 Serve stir-fry with rice, sesame seeds, green onions and coriander. Not suitable to freeze or microwave.

“Get ahead and make a double batch. Freeze the pies unbaked.”

Chicken and mushroom pot pies SERVES 2 PREP AND COOK TIME 40 MINUTES

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 small (200g) leek, sliced thinly 1 small (200g) fennel bulb, sliced thinly, reserve fronds 200g Swiss brown or button mushrooms, quartered ¼ cup (80ml) dry white wine 1 tablespoon plain fl our 450g chicken breast fi llets, chopped coarsely 1 cup (250ml) pouring cream 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

¼ cup chopped fresh fl at-leaf parsley 2 sheets butter puff pastry 1 egg, beaten lightly 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, optional ½ teaspoon sea salt fl akes rocket leaves, for serving

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). 2 Heat oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat; cook garlic, leek, fennel and mushrooms, stirring, for 5 minutes or until vegetables soften. Season. 3 Stir in wine; cook, stirring until wine has evaporated. Add fl our, cook, stirring 1 minute. Add chicken and cream; bring to the boil. Reduce heat; simmer 8 minutes

or until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from heat, stir in mustard and parsley. 4 Spoon fi lling into 2 x 2 cup (500ml) ovenproof bowls or dishes. Cut 2 x 1cm strips from pastry. Place around the rim of the dishes to form a ‘collar’. Cut 2 x rounds from pastry sheets to fi t dishes; top pies with pastry. Crimp edges to seal; brush with egg. Using a small knife, make a slit in pastry. Sprinkle with fennel seeds and salt. 5 Bake pies for 25 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden. 6 Serve with rocket leaves. Suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave.

Paprika and cuminspiced chicken SERVES 2 PREP AND COOK TIME 45 MINUTES

1 clove garlic, crushed 2 teaspoons smoked paprika ½ teaspoon cumin seeds ¼ cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil ¼ cup (70g) Greek-style yoghurt 2 x 200g chicken breast supremes (see Test Kitchen tip) 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, extra ½ x 400g canned chickpeas, drained, rinsed 200g cherry truss tomatoes 100g fi rm ricotta, broken into large chunks coriander sprigs, for serving

Weeknight dinners

1 Preheat oven to 240°C (220°C fanforced). 2 Combine garlic, paprika, cumin and half the oil in a small bowl. 3 Combine yoghurt and 1 teaspoon of the spice oil mixture in another small bowl; season. Cover yoghurt mixture; refrigerate until required. 4 Rub 2 tablespoons of the remaining spice oil mixture over chicken; season. Heat the extra olive oil in a medium fl ameproof non-stick frying pan over high heat; cook chicken for 2 minutes each side or until browned. Transfer chicken to a baking dish. Roast chicken for 6 minutes. 5 Reduce heat to 180°C (160°C fanforced). Combine chickpeas, tomatoes, ricotta and remaining spice oil mixture in a large bowl. Spoon chickpea mixture around chicken in pan; season. Roast for a further 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. 6 Serve chicken and chickpea mixture with yoghurt sauce, sprinkled with coriander. Not suitable to freeze or microwave.

TEST KITCHEN

TIP Chicken supremes are chicken breasts with the skin on and wing bone still attached. Use the remaining chickpeas in a salad or freeze in a snap-lock bag or container.

The sisterhood

Monday morning

From left: Lisa Goldberg, Jacqui Israel, Natanya Eskin and Merelyn Frank Chalmers.

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PHOTOGRAPHY by

ALAN BENSON STYLING by DAVID MORGAN

Who is Monday Morning C king Club?

Lisa Goldberg, Merelyn Frank Chalmers, Natanya Eskin and Jacqui Israel from Sydney’s Jewish community came together almost 15 years ago as friends with a shared desire to uncover their food-obsessed community’s heirloom recipes. The sisterhood has been meeting every Monday morning (and now many other days) for almost 15 years with an unwavering mission to preserve recipes from past generations for us, and from our generation for the future.

Custard chiffon

RECIPE PAGE 152