Impressive New New Zealand Cookbook discussed on Radio Live

Best books at the bach

Following on from the success of her first book,(voted by The Listener as one of the top five cookbooks in 2009), Adie McClelland repeats her recipe for success with simple, tasty dishes with appealing Greek and Asian influences.

Here she is in her introduction:

"More often than not I want to create a meal that will leave a lasting impression, and I want my friends and family to feel that nothing else matters beyond this meal, and I would !ike this meal to be a memorable occasion. The Second Black Dog Cottage Cookbook is full of recipes like that. It is my hope that you will be inspired to do something a little different. To cook without spending a lot of money, to use what is on hand and in season. The days of flash are over for me. It’s back to the heart, back to the home, back to base.

For me, a recipe has to tick a lot of boxes. It must be straightforward and accessible; not flashy nor pretentious, overworked nor fussy. It should be food that you can recognise, food that you can taste and most importantly food that is from the heart and your home. I always cook a recipe that works well for me: it’s a dish that I want to eat, it’s food that brings people together that I care about, it’s food I want to share, and it’s food that represents an occasion to drink, eat and have a good time." 

The publishers have agreed to let me publish the recipes for two dishes from the book which I have already made.Both went down a treat and were easy to make. I intend to work my way through the whole book in the months ahead.

Marinated Chicken Salad with Egg Noodles

This simple crowd-pleaser is ideal for a party. What I’ve done in the past is served it in those cardboard boxes with throw-away chopsticks. Couldn’t be easier. Some dressing ovel the cooled sliced chicken is a good idea, hold back on some of the herbs and greenery if you feel it’s too much. As with all noodle salads check the seasoning, as under-seasoned noodles are bland and dull.

Serves 6 — 8

Method

1. In a processor chop the garlic, chillies and ginger. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend. Tip out into ajar or bowl, keep to one side.

2. Take your steamed chicken and either Chop it into small bite sized pieces, shred it or slice it, now keep it moist and yummy by dribbling over some of the dressing. Do the same with the

warm cooked noodles.

3. When you are ready to serve the salad, with your hands mix the chicken, noodles, spring onions, cucumber, herbs and nuts all together in a large bowl. Moisten with more dressing, check seasoning and plate either on one large platter or individual plates. Dribble extra dressing around the side.

For the dressing                 

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 — 3 red chillies, with seeds,

chopped

2 tsp ginger, grated

1 tbsp sweet soy (Kecap)

4 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp soya sauce

3% cup ight oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Smal handful chopped coriander

For the salad

1 chicken, steamed

2SOg packet egg noodles, cooked

Bunch of sphng onions,

finely chopped

3 telegraph cucumbers, sliced

Handful basil leaves, chopped

Handful coriander, chopped

Bunch chives, snipped

Smal handful mnt leaves, chopped

Handful blanched peanuts

Prawns with Orzo, Tomato, Spinach and Fern

A beautifully simple dish with Mediterranean flavours. Healthy and fresh, it’s become a

firm favourite in our house. I often need to double the recipe so I make the whole thing in

a wok and take it to the table in that.

Method

1. Season prawns with salt and pepper.

2. Cook orzo until done, toss in one tablespoon of oil and reserve.

3. In a large heavy skillet heat the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add garlic and shallots and

sauté for a minute. Add the spring onions and prawns, sear quickly, then remove prawns to reserved orzo. Add chicken stock, tomatoes and passata. Continue to reduce the liquid until mixture has thickened slightly. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Return the orzo and prawns, half the feta, and the spinach back into the tomato sauce and toss to combine. As soon as the spinach has wilted, scatter over the remaining feta, fresh

herbs and glaze with olive oil.

To deglaze a pan, add wine, water or vinegar to a skillet in which food has been browned and stir or scrape up the juices with a whisk. Whisk in butter, herbs, a dollop of redcurrant jelly or cream, simmer to reduce and you have a light sauce ready in minutes.

Serves 4

16— 20 large prawns, peeled

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 ½ cups orzo

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely

chopped

3 shallots, finely chopped

9 spring onions, thickly sliced

½ cup chicken stock

5 large tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 cup passata

200g crumbled feta cheese

6 cups baby spinach leaves

SmalL handful of torn fresh herbs

such as dill, mint and parsley

Extra virgin olive oil

The Second Black Dog Cookbook

Adie McClelland

Phantom House Books - $45

www.phantomhouse.com

Footnote:
I talked about the above title with Wallace Chapman on Radio Live on Friday morning. Thanks to those who later contacted me with kind words.

The other titles I discussed with Wallace were:

At Elizabeth David's Table - compiled by Jill Norman - Hardback - Penguin- $60

Nigellissima - Nigella Lawson - Hardback - Chatto & Windus - $65

Salmon Cookbook - Paula Soder - Hardback - New Holland  $40 

Notes from My Kitchen Table - Gwyneth Paltrow - Hardback - Boxtree - $50