Braised Beef Olives

Ingredients

600 gram beef schnitzel

Stuffing:

• 1 small green red or yellow capsicum
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 3/4 cups soft breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
• salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon soft butter
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 3/4 cups tomato juice
• 1 tablespoon flour

Method

1. Pound beef with a meat mallet or rolling pin to flatten and thin it slightly.
   
2. Trim off any fat. Cut into pieces roughly 12-15cm square.
3. Deseed and chop capsicum. Mix in the remaining stuffing ingredients and spread the stuffing on beef.
   
4. Roll up and tie with string or secure with cocktail sticks.
5. Heat oil in a frying pan and brown beef rolls evenly.
   
6. Place into a casserole dish with a bay leaf.
7. On a low heat, add 1 cup of tomato juice to the frying pan then whisk the remaining juice with the flour and stir in until simmering. Pour over beef olives.
8. Cover the casserole and place into the oven at 170 degrees Celsius for 1 1/4 hours.
9. Remove string or toothpicks and serve either whole or in slices with the sauce laddled over.
   

Gourmet Kiwi Burger

For those of you who have not yet tried pickled beetroot in a burger, you don't know what you are missing. This is what makes the quintessential kiwi burger "kiwi", so it is highly recommended. It's our replacement for gherkin - although we also use them! We don't just to a bun with bit of pre-frozen burger meat and throw a bit of lettuce and hope for the best. These are a work of art! Eating it can be a bit of a challenge, so break out the knife and fork...

(For one burger....change quantities to suit the amount you wish to make)

Ingredients

1 large soft burger bun
1 dessertspoon mayonnaise
1 dessertspoon tomato ketchup
3 large slices pickled beetroot
1 slice pineapple ring
125 grams of mince
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 small onion, diced very finely
1 tablespoon oil
3 slices of streaky bacon
1 slice of your favourite cheese (I use Camembert)
1 egg
Extra oil for frying egg
Torn lettuce of your choice
1 large slice of tomato

Method

1. Firstly, make the burgers. Mix mince with the salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and onion.
2. With clean hands, mould into a small ball and squeeze out excess moisture. Flatten with the palm of your hand and shape into burger rounds.
3. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan or griddle and cook burgers for about 4 minutes on each side. Drain on kitchen paper, place onto a large plate and then put at the very bottom of a pre-heated 100 degree Celsius oven.
4. Fry bacon until cooked to your liking, drain keep warm in the oven.
5. Fry pineapple rings until cooked to your liking, drain and keep warm in the oven.
   
6. In a clean pan, heat two more tablespoons of oil and gently fry the egg by breaking the yolk with the back of a spatula. Remove when cooked to your liking, drain keep warm in the oven.
   
7. Cut buns in half and toast under a grill till golden brown.
8. Place the bottom half of bun on a warmed plate and spread with the tomato ketchup.
9. Assemble starting with beetroot, then pineapple, burger, bacon, cheese, egg, lettuce and tomato.
10. Spread the mayonnaise over the base of the top bun and place on top of burger. Secure with a satay stick and serve immediately.
    

Spanish Tapas - Albóndigas (Meatballs in spicy tomato sauce)

This is a typical tapas found anywhere in Andalucia, Spain. The Moors continue to leave their
legacy with the flavours in this aromatic and earthy dish. Here's how to make Albóndigas.

Ingredients

200 grams each of pork mince and beef mince
4 cloves garlic
70 grams dry breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon grated fresh nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil

1. Place all ingredients, apart from oil into a large ceramic bowl and mix together until contents are evenly distributed.
2. Cover and place in the fridge for about 2 hours. This will firm up the mixture and make it more easy to handle when shaping.
3. Take out of fridge and heat oil in a non stick frying pan.
4. Evenly brown meatballs in batches, ensuring you do not crowd the pan, and cook evenly till golden brown.
5. Remove from pan and drain on kitchen towel and keep warm in oven.
   

...Home made Tomato Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium sized brown onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, smashed and finely chopped with at sprinkling of salt
1 glass white wine
6 of your favourite types of tomatoes, skinned, de-seeded and finely diced
2 teaspoons tomato concentrate
1 cup chicken stock
1 large spring onion, sliced
3-4 drops hot chillie oil
1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Method

• In a medium sized frying pan, add oil and sauté onion and garlic till clear.
• Add wine, tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, spring onion and chillie oil.
  
• Simmer for approximately 15-20 minutes.
  
• Stir in parsley.
• Place albóndigas into a tapas dish, pour sauce over and serve piping hot.
  

New Zealand Maori Hangi

Method

1. 
   
   Begin with digging two holes approximately 2 metres long, 1 metre wide, and 1 metre deep. Then lay down a dozen railway irons, cut into 30cm lengths. This replaces the traditional rocks which are not as efficient. Then on top of this build a bonfire and set alight.
2. 
   
   In the meantime, prepare the vegetables, which generally consist of peeled kumera (sweet potato) and sliced pumpkin, cabbage, and puha or watercress. Wrap each food type in separate tin foil bundles and place into wire baskets, which have been lined with damp linen sheets.
3. 
   
   Take out the white-hot irons out of the fire hole and place them in the adjoining empty hole. This is best done with rakes as the irons have holes you can hook on to. This must be done quickly - you don't want to lose the heat from the irons. The food baskets are then placed evenly on top of the irons. Make sure the linen is still damp. On top of the baskets you position six large, thick, dripping wet sacks. The dirt originally dug from the holes is now shovelled on top and patted down to ensure no steam leaks out. Always keep an eye out for escaping steam - it means your oven is leaking and the food is not being evenly cooked.
4. 
   
   After 4 hours remove the meat and vegetables and serve to your guests with various salads, breads, and sunshine.