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Crispy Pasta with Spinach and Pumpkin sauce

Recipe by Chef Dale Sniffen

• Preparation time:               20 minutes
• Cooking time:                    20 minutes

Prep List

• 500gm steaming cooked pasta
• 3 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 sliced brown onion
• 1/2 chopped red chili
• 1 clove garlic
• 400gm finely grated  Jap Pumpkin  
• 150gm Pecorino Parmesan cheese
• 150gm cream
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• Salt & White pepper
• 2 hand full s of baby spinach leaves
•  

Method

Pre heat a wok to medium heat, add olive oil and butter to slowly caramelize onions until fragrant, add chili, garlic and saute until fragrant.  Add grated pumpkin and again saute for 5 minutes or until the pumpkin just softens. Finish the pumpkin sauce with cheese, cream, nutmeg salt & pepper to taste. Done!

When your ready to serve, slowly pre heat a wok or large saute pan to medium heat, add olive oil and saute cooked pasta until crispy and golden brown, quickly add the spinach leaves saute until there just wilted.  Portion out on a serving platter drizzled pumpkin sauce over the pasta with an extra sprinkling of pecorino cheese.

Glazed Apricot Christmas Garnish

Gorgonzola and Spinach Risotto

Recipe by Chef Dale Sniffen

• Preparation time:         20 minutes
• Cooking time:             20 minutes / stirring all the time
• Resting time:              5 minutes with the lid on

Prep list:

• 1 white onion finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil
• 350gm Italian Arborio rice
• ½ cup white wine
• 4 cups simmering chicken stock
• 100gm Parmigiano reggiano grated cheese
• 100gm Gorgonzola cheese cubes
• Extra Virgin Olive oil    

Spinach prep

300gm spinach leaves sauté dry for 3 minutes, set aside and stir through at the end.

Method

In a wide open, shallow heavy pan cook the onion, garlic, nutmeg in olive oil on medium heat for 3 minutes without browning until translucent.  Stir in the rice until well coated.  Stir in wine and reduce until almost dry.  Slowly stir in warm stock (200ml) at a time and repeating until all the stock has been absorbed and a cream texture appears.  Allow 20 minutes for this step.

Test rice for consistency it should be firm not mushy. Remove from the heat, stir in cooked spinach, reggiano cheese pop the lid on to rest for 5 minutes before serving.  Portion out and scatter Gorgonzola cubes evenly on the risotto.

Garnish with extra Parmigiano cheese and Olive oil.

Potato and Chickpea Tagine

Prep list

• 2 brown onions finely sliced
• 4 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp Chef Dale’s Moroccan & Curry blend
• 4 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 cm Crushed Ginger
• 2 cup chopped tomato
• 1 kg royal blue potato 1cm cubed | skin on
• 50gm Preserved lemons skin, finely chopped
• 1 L  vegetable stock
• 400 ml Coconut milk
• 1 400ml tin chickpeas
• sea salt & Pepper

Method

Slowly pre heat you tagine on low to medium heat. Add olive oil, butter and sliced onions to the base of the tagine. Evenly distribute the onions, attach the dome and allow the onions to caramelize for 3 to 4 minutes ( don’t open the lid).

Add the spice blend, garlic and ginger, and slowly cook the flavors out until fragrant. Add tomato, potato, preserved lemons and stock  attach the lid and slowly simmer for 20minutes. Remove the lid to reduce the liquid by 1/3.  Add coconut milk and chickpeas and simmer for another 10 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Basil oil

• 1/2  cup Extra virgin Olive oil, slighted to 60c
• 2 cups of loosely backed basil leaves

Blend in a heated bender until a green basil oil appears.

Broad Bean and Green Olive Hummus with Toasted Naan Bread

Recipe by Chef Dale Sniffen

Prep list

• 300gm frozen broad beans simmered for 5 minutes in lightly salted water
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 100ml olive oil
• ½ red onion
• ¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
• 100gm roughly chopped green Queen of Spain olives
• Toasted Naan bread to serve

Method

Allow the cooked beans to cool down before you use them. Place all the ingredients except the olives in the blender and process until smooth.  Remove the Humus from the blender then stir through the chopped olives.

Toast the bread on the BBQ until golden brown, cut the bread into a pie shape suitable for dipping.  To serve scatter some green leaves on a large serving platter.  Portion out the dip into a container with the toasted bread surrounding the dip.   

Chicken soup the (cold stopper)

Recipe by Chef Dale Sniffen

• Preparation time:             20 minutes
• Pressure cooking time:     40 minutes
• Pressure released             water method

Prep list

• 2 white onion cut into 1/8^th
• 2 carrots roughly chopped
• 1 celeriac diced
• 300gm green beans
• 4 tbsp Olive oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 sprigs thyme
• 1 whole chicken
• 3 L chicken stock
• Salt & pepper
• ½ cup chopped Italian parsley

Method

Pre heat your pressure cooker on medium heat and quickly sauté vegetables in olive oil for 4 minutes until you cook out the rawness of the vegetables.  Add herbs whole chicken and just cover with stock.  

Fire up too full heat!!  Lock up pressure cooker and once you get to full pressure back off the heat to low. (Start high and finish low) Cook soup for 40 minutes, and then use the “water method” to quickly release pressure.  Carefully remove whole chicken to a mixing bowl and allow it to cool down before removing the meat.   Mean while simmer the soup slowly and season to taste with salt & pepper and a good hit of chopped parsley. Shred chicken then add to soup simmering soup.  

Simple the best chicken soup! This is why you bought a pressure cooker.

Red Goats Cheese Dip

Shopping and prep list

• 1 Altino Whole Grilled Artichoke hearts drained
• 1/2  jar Altino Sun dried tomato drained
• 1 Altino Roast Pepper 1/2 drained
• 200gm Chevre goats cheese
• 1/2 red onion roughly chopped
• 1/2 packet Italian parsley
• 3 tbsp Altino Balsamic vinegar
• 1 witless leaves
• Mustard micro herbs for garnish

Method

Simply process in a food processor until smooth.

Served as a dip or spread 

Angel Hair Pasta With Fresh Tomato And Smoked Salmon

Recipe by Chef Dale Sniffen  

• Preparation time;                20 minutes
• Cooking time;             15 minutes

Prep list for the sauce

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves crushed garlic
• 6 punnets mini Roma tomato
• 2 cups basil leaves
• Tomato sauce cooking method

Simply heat olive oil and garlic in a sauce pan over low heat and slowly infuse the garlic flavor in the oil.  Add the whole mini tomato and gently cook for 10 minutes.  Add fresh basil to the sauce then pulse in a food processor or blender until coarsely blended.   That’s it! Done.

Pasta Dish

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 500gm steaming Angel Hair Pasta noodles
• 2 cups fresh tomato sauce
• 250 gm smoked salmon steak, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup pasta water
• Sea salt & pepper to taste

Method

Using a large wok quickly saute cooked pasta in olive oil for 30 seconds then add tomato sauce, saute for 2 minutes.  Add salmon chunks, cheese and pasta water, saute for another 30 seconds or until that sauce has reduced down.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve at once.