Years ago cauliflower only appeared on our plates as an over boiled soft mush, except that is for when it was accompanying roasts, when the much more delicious cauliflower in cheesy white sauce appeared. Thankfully, today it is used a lot more creatively, such as cauliflower rice, roasted, added to curries, soups and casseroles. This is tomato version is yet another way.
Don’t have a Tagine pot to cook this recipe in? There’s lot of alternatives you can use. Dutch Oven: Excellent for browning meat on the stove, then transferring to the oven for slow cooking.
Slow Cooker (Crock-Pot): Perfect for the low-and-slow, hands-off approach.
Heavy Frying Pan: Use a large, wide pan with a tight lid for stovetop cooking.
Baking Dish with Foil: Use a dish covered tightly with foil for oven-baked tagines. Whichever way you choose, it will taste delicious.
This recipe bring back memories for me. Some years ago we we rented a house up the coast to spend Christmas with family. Our son’s girlfriend at the time was a vegetarian, so I racked my brains and searched through my cookbooks looking for something I could cook for her for Christmas Day. It had to be something easy and that I could take the ingredients up there with me to cook in an unfamiliar kitchen. This was it. Luckily I prepared most of it the day before, because on Christmas Day bushfires in the area meant we had no power for Christmas lunch. We managed to put a meal together, but it’s a Christmas that lives in the family history.
The filling for this tart is pretty simple, just the apricots and jam. It seems unusual not to have a creamy/eggy type filling over the top, so I think the marscapone or thick cream would be essential.
Whether you’re having a BBQ, a roast or just a nice steak, a great potato dish is always appreciated. This is a new one to me, a bit of a twist on French Potatoes au Gratin (Dauphinoise). The difference being the cheese, Swiss Raclette. You can substitute Gruyere, Emmenthal, Romano or Mozzarella mixed with grated parmesan if you can get the Raclette, but the Raclette really is the best.
This roulade looks delicious, but it’s definitely a recipe that you need to take your time with, especially the rolling. While you can make it a couple of hours before guests arrive, unfortunately it’s not something you can make well ahead of time. It’s worth the effort though.
Plain omelettes, cheese omelettes, ham omelettes, Spanish omelettes, the list goes on, but this is the first time I’ve seen a recipe for a pea omelette and a pea souffle omelette at that. Very fancy and perhaps good enough to serve up as a lunch dish or even an entree.
Dietary requirements for friends visiting isn’t as easy as it used to be. Back in the day, we just decided on a menu, cooked it and people ate it. That seems like Good Old Days!!! Now there’s a lot more things to consider, gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, etc. This recipe works for vegetarians and even the gluten free with a slight change to GF flour in the cheese sauce, so maybe it’s a problem solver.
Something for the kids’ lunchboxes or your own!! A batch of these in the freezer might be useful for those days when you’re in a rush or you’ve just run out of ideas…………..
Although this recipe suggests beef cheeks or chuck steak, I think beef cheeks would be my first choice. Either way you’ll end up with a rich and delicious dish.
Beb's Recipe Drawer 