SOUND BITES

out clean. Cool in the tray for 5 minutes, then transfer the cakes to a cooling rack. 5 For the Chocolate Olive Oil Ganache, place the chocolate and olive oil in a heatproof bowl and set over a saucepan of gently simmering water, making sure that the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Once the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat, stir and cool for 5 minutes. 6 Sit the rack of cakes over a plate or tray and slowly pour a tablespoon of ganache over each cake. Leave to set, then use a small knife to loosen the chocolate drips and place these on top of the cakes to decorate. 7 Store in an airtight container and consume within 3 days.

Spring greens & feta filo pie (or parcels)

SERVES 4

A simple spanakopita-inspired pie (or filo parcels) to use all those spring greens, with a heavy dose of fresh herbs and complemented with salty feta. I generally use silver beet as the main green component in this pie because it grows abundantly in the garden and goes much further than spinach when cooked.

INGREDIENTS

4 Tbsp olive oil 1 leek, washed and finely sliced 500g leafy greens – silver beet, beetroot greens, spinach Pinch of salt Handful of fresh herbs – oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley, dill – chopped 200g feta, crumbled 1 free-range egg, beaten Generous twist of cracked pepper 60g butter 12 sheets filo pastry

1 Preheat the oven to 190°C. 2 Heat a large frying pan over a moderate heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and the leek and saute for 5 minutes to soften. 3 Wash and roughly chop the greens, stalks included. Add to the pan with the salt. Cover, and cook for 5–6 minutes until the greens have wilted – the water remaining on the leaves from washing will be enough to steam the greens. Remove the lid and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until any excess cooking liquid has evaporated (turn up the heat if needed). Tip onto a plate to cool a little. 4 In a bowl combine the chopped herbs, feta, egg and cracked pepper. Fold through the warm greens mixture. 5 In a small saucepan, melt together the butter and remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Use a pastry brush to grease a shallow roasting dish with the butter mixture. Unroll the filo pastry and arrange 2 sheets in the dish, brush with the butter mixture, then repeat this layer twice more – with 6 sheets of filo used. 6 Spread the greens mixture evenly over the filo, leaving a 4cm border. Arrange another 2 sheets of filo on top, brushing with the melted butter mixture, and repeat this filo layer twice more. A total of 12 sheets of filo have now been used. Fold over the edges to encase the mixture and drizzle any remaining butter mixture over the pie. 7 Bake for 30–35 minutes until the pastry is golden. Cut into wedges and serve hot or cold.

Filo parcels

The filling above can be used to make filo parcels as follows. 1 Lay 2 sheets of filo on the bench, with a short side closest to you. Brush generously with the butter mixture. 2 Spoon a heaped tablespoon of the greens mixture onto the bottom left corner of the pastry. Fold over the long edge in half from right to left to cover the mixture. Brush the pastry again with butter. 3 Fold the bottom left corner over at an angle to meet the folded edge, making a triangle shape. Continue to fold left to right in this triangle shape until the pastry is all used up. 4 Place onto a baking tray, brush again, and scatter with sesame seeds. Repeat with the remaining filo sheets and filling. Bake for 20–25 minutes until golden.

Leftover filo pastry

This recipe uses about half a packet of filo pastry. Unused filo pastry can be returned to the packet, well-sealed and stored in the fridge for up to a week, or frozen for a month.

Chilled cucumber & avocado soup

SERVES 4

This soup is inspired by a chilled cucumber soup my nana Ngaire used to make. She was the soup-making queen, but it was her cucumber soup that was my all-time favourite. The original recipe didn’t contain avocado but my nana, being quite radical for her time (back in the ’80s), would sometimes add a scoop of avocado to give the soup an extra-creamy texture. I have been known to take the chilled soup in a thermos to the beach as a cooling snack.

INGREDIENTS

1 perfectly ripe avocado (see Note) 2 Lebanese cucumbers or 1 telegraph cucumber (about 300g) ½ cup unsweetened natural yoghurt 1–2 garlic cloves, peeled Large handful of fresh mint, plus a few leaves to garnish Juice of ½ lemon or 1 lime (1–2 Tbsp) 6 ice cubes or 1⁄3 cup chilled water Generous pinch of salt Cracked pepper, to taste Olive oil, to garnish

1 Scoop the flesh from the avocado into a blender or food processor. 2 Add the remaining ingredients (except the oil) and blitz, scraping down the sides as needed, until smooth. Check the taste, adding extra lemon juice, salt and/or cracked pepper to find the perfect balance of flavours. 3 Add a splash of chilled water or 1–2 more ice cubes if the mix is too thick – it should be pourable like a smoothie. 4 Serve the soup icy cold in small bowls with a drizzle of olive oil and mint leaves to garnish. Or pour into a thermos to take to the beach.

Note: Use a perfectly ripe, creamy avocado for best results. A balance of salty, sour and pungent is the key to this flavoursome soup, which I hope will also become a family favourite for you. I am looking forward to the day when our backyard avocado trees are fruiting prolifically to use in this soup.

Recipes extracted from The Homemade Table: Seasonal Recipes, Preserves and Sourdough by Nicola Galloway (Potton & Burton, $59.99). Photography by Nicola Galloway.

GRAZE FOR DAYS

The Grazing Club is an Auckland-based catering company that produces all manner of platters for everything from a baby shower to birthday parties. But if you ’d rather DIY your own platter, the Graze kit features an acacia board, gold platter utensils and Claybird Ceramics dip bowls. $169, from thegrazingclub.com

F O O D & D R I N K N E W S

sound bites

All the ingredients for kitchen and entertaining success

Kitchen smells

AFTER A CURRY NIGHT, INSTEAD OF THE SMELL OF GARLIC AND GINGER LINGERING, ASHLEY & CO HAS CREATED A LIMITED -EDITION KITCHEN CANDLE. LIGHTING THE LOTUS LEAF & LUSTRE PERFUMED CANDLE WILL UNLEASH THE ZESTY FRAGRANCE OF YUZU CITRUS, CLOVES, CEDARWOOD, NUTMEG AND CORIANDER. IT WILL FRESHEN THE KITCHEN BECAUSE CITRUS IS ALWAYS PREFERABLE TO GARLIC. $60, FROM ASHLEYANDCO.CO

EXTRA, EXTRA

Everyone’s favourite cookbook writer Yotam Ottolenghi has teamed up with Noor Murad for his latest instalment Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things ($55, Ebury Press). Flavour central, this is all about using homemade ingredients to add oomph to everything you eat, such as slathering harissa butter on a roasted mushroom, steamed veggies or stuffed into a baked potato. Versatile or what.

SMUNCHY – IT’S A THING

PIC ’S PEANUT BUTTER COMES IN SMOOTH OR CRUNCHY – UNTIL NOW. SMUNCHY IS A COMBINATION OF SMOOTH AND CRUNCHY. IT ’S THE BRAINCHILD OF 10 -YEAROLD MAGGIE MELLORS, WITH 50 CENTS FROM EVERY JAR SOLD GOING TO KIDSCAN. $6.99, FROM PICSPEANUTBUTTER.COM

IRON CHEFS

Buy a Lodge Cast Iron skillet or other pre-seasoned cookware and you ’ll also get a copy of a cookbook from local cooks using Lodge pans. We appreciate Sam Mannering of Homestead’s Adobo Prawns with Blue Corn Tacos, which involves frying the ingredients on the stove, then whipping the skillet in the oven to finish it off, saving time swapping over and avoiding an extra dish to clean. The offer is available until the end of October. lodgecastiron.co.nz

STACKS UP

Ibride’s Faux-Semblants Ming Rouge set of melamine stacking bowls and salad bowls is the culinary equivalent of the Dance of the Seven Veils. The bowls and cups unstack from the Ming vase-inspired shape into a series of bowls. Inside each bowl are beautiful photographs of 20thcentury Asia. $285, from biancalorenne.co.nz