Matt Moran: When I Get Home
Matt Moran's new book is a treasure trove of quick, tasty recipes
Why
write this book?
I always
love cooking at home for family and friends so over the last two years I have
been writing down my favourite recipes. These are the recipes I love and more
importantly they do not keep me in the kitchen for hours, giving me time to
enjoy with my family and friends.
What's
the golden rule to cooking when you're time poor?
Use good,
simple ingredients and plan your menu.
What
is home cooking to you?
I find
cooking at home to be relaxing, therapeutic and it's time spent with the
family. And thankfully no-one ever complains!
What
are the basics every home cook should have in their fridge/cupboard?
A good
French butter, salt and Australian extra virgin olive oil.
Who
is your home cook hero?
100% my
96 year old Nan who makes the best date scones in the world.
Matt Moran, When I Get Home
Lantern
RRP $49.95
Blue-eye
trevalla hot pot
SERVES 6
This dish is a favourite of mine from the days when my business
partner Peter Sullivan and I owned our first restaurant, the Paddington Inn
Bistro. When I cook it at home, I serve it with rice or couscous, and perhaps
some braised chickpeas, diced tomatoes with mint and a bowl of plain yoghurt on
the side.
20 ml extra virgin olive
oil
6 × 200 g blue-eye
trevalla fillets
½ bunch flat-leaf
parsley, leaves picked and chopped
½ bunch coriander,
chopped
2 cloves garlic, very fi
nely chopped
250 g mango chutney
1 small chilli, fi nely
chopped
1 teaspoon chopped
ginger
2 teaspoons cumin seeds,
roasted
and ground into a powder
2 teaspoons coriander
seeds,
roasted and ground into a powder
500 ml chicken stock
75 g roasted pine nuts
pinch saffron threads
salt and pepper
1
lemon
Heat the
olive oil in a large frying pan over high heat. When hot, add the fish fillets,
skin-side down, and cook for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Place the
remaining ingredients (except the lemon) in a large saucepan, mix well and
bring to the boil. Add the fish fillets to the pan, skin-side up, then cover
and cook for a further 5 minutes. Place the
fillets in the middle of serving plates and spoon the sauce over the top.
Squeeze a little lemon juice over the top and serve with rice or couscous.
Beetroot
roasted with fetta and watercress
SERVES 4
This is a salad I serve in the cooler
autumn months when there is an abundance of beetroot around.
I prefer the
extra-sweet fl avour of baby beetroot but this salad is just as good with
larger beetroot. I do suggest that you use rubber gloves to peel the beetroot
or your hands will be stained red for days afterwards! I love to use Persian
fetta from the Yarra Valley, but you could just as easily use Bulgarian or
Hungarian fetta.
10 small beetroots
sea salt and pepper
100 ml white wine
vinegar
100 ml extra virgin
olive oil
100 g Persian fetta or
any other
soft, marinated fetta
½ bunch watercress
50
ml balsamic vinegar
Preheat the
oven to 180°C.
Spread a
large piece of foil on the kitchen bench and place the beetroots on top. Season
with salt and pepper, then bring the edges of the foil together. Pour the white
wine vinegar over the beetroots and secure the edges to make a bag. Place the
bag on a baking tray in case of any spillage. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes
until tender, then remove and allow to cool. Using rubber gloves, peel the
beetroots and cut them in half.
Heat 20 ml
extra virgin olive oil in a saucepan, add the beetroot and cook for a few
minutes to sear slightly. Season to taste. Transfer the beetroot to a serving
dish and crumble the fetta
over the
top. Arrange the watercress around the beetroot. Whisk together the balsamic
vinegar and remaining olive oil and drizzle over the salad before serving.
Poires belle
Helene
SERVES 6
I have a sentimental attachment to this dish because completed my four-year apprenticeship
at a restaurant called ‘La Belle Helene' in Sydney. This classic French dessert can be served with vanilla or
caramel ice-cream, or try it with warm custard that has been fl avoured with
pear liqueur.
Chocolate
sauce
60 g cocoa
powder
120 g castor
sugar
25 g butter
Pears
6 Beurre Bosc pears
750 ml
champagne or dessert wine
(sauternes)
300 g castor
sugar
1 vanilla
bean, split
vanilla
ice-cream, to serve
To prepare
the chocolate sauce, place the cocoa, sugar and 200 ml water in a saucepan and
bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring, then
whisk in the butter. Remove from
the heat and allow to cool. Peel each
pear, carefully remove the core from the base (using a small melon baller or
the pointed end of the peeler) and trim the base so it sits flat. Combine the
champagne, sugar, vanilla bean and 250 ml water in a large saucepan and bring
to a simmer. Add the
pears, then cover the pan with baking paper and simmer for 20 minutes until the
pears are cooked through. Check with a wooden skewer - it will slide in and out
easily if the pears are cooked. Leave to cool in the syrup.
To serve,
divide the pears among six bowls and add a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. Pour the
syrup and chocolate sauce into separate
jugs and serve on the side.
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