Beef

Moussaka

This classic Middle Eastern dish is an excellent recipe to start with if you have not tried cooking eggplant. Alternatively, use courgettes, marrow, potatoes, silver beet or spinach instead of the eggplant. The white stalks of silver beet are fabulous used as the base.

Sailor’s Hearty Pasta Pie

When New Zealand hosted the America’s world cup, there were seemingly endless days out on the water, requiring endless picnic fare. We decided to do a picnic feature for Cuisine and I needed an unusual and substantial pie. I was inspired by Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s recipe for a tortellini pie, traditionally served at festive occasions in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. My version is simpler, and in adapting it for antipodean palates I omitted the sugar that...

Shallots and Steak Sandwich

A wonderful steak sandwich is probably the thinking foodie’s hamburger. These sandwiches are a real treat for friends and family as the beef is roasted ahead, kept warm, sliced thinly and served with candied braised shallots, a light red wine sauce and watercress on crusty sourdough. Yum!

Vincotto is a rich, sweet fruit vinegar made with grapes from Lecce in Italy.

Soy and Ginger T-bones

A real meat-eater’s treat, T-bones are large steaks with two textures. One side of the bone has chewy meat from the sirloin and the other, the eye fillet, is so soft it melts in your mouth. Marinate these T-bones in soy and ginger and serve with baby potatoes, baby carrots and batons of celery cooked in a light stock. 

Spicy Meatloaf, Mushroom Sauce and Roasted Beetroot

This spicy dish will make a great midweek dinner when you need something tasty to perk the family up, and there will always some leftovers for the next day. My favourite school lunches were sandwiches Mum filled with thick left-over slices of her tasty meatloaf.