Hey!
I am loving the mix of recipes in this edition. There’s a passionfruit smoothie, an addictive dip, and a plum cake with thousands of five-star reviews. They truly capture what my January was like — it started with an enormous ice cream cake and ended with weeknight-friendly tray bake dinners as I went back to work.
First, I’m excited to share a hot cheese dish for lunch, snacks or dinner:
Roasted feta and grapes
I’ve baked brie and hunks of haloumi before, but never a whole packet of feta. Designed for low-key entertaining or a simple meal for two, Hetty Lui McKinnon’s roasted feta and red grapes is both special and satisfying. I baked it during my first week back at work as an ‘I made it’ Friday lunch.
Speedy white bean and sundried tomato dip
Staying with Hetty, I’ve also been enjoying her tinned bean and sundried tomato dip. I typically make it when I’m overdue for a shop and it takes very little effort (and chopping) using a food processor. The dip is delicious on toast, as a snack with crunchy veggies, I’ve also had it for dinner with yoghurt flatbreads and steamed broccoli.
One pot chicken with caramelised lemon and dates
It’s been so long since I roasted a chicken and it felt like a nice thing to do on holidays when I suddenly had time. This is one of my favourite Alison Roman recipes as it’s extremely delicious without being fussy (everything bakes in a Dutch oven with the lid on). I hadn’t made this since… lockdown and had the extra satisfaction of using lemons and thyme from my garden.
Chicken and plum tray bake
I felt like a plum farmer over the break as we picked close to 20 kilos of fruit from the tree in our backyard. Afternoons were spent picking and then sorting fruit according to ripeness, and I loved the tactility of it. When bowls of plums started taking over our dining table I suddenly remembered this recipe from Julia Busuttil Nishimura. It’s such an easy and abundant meal that reminds me of apricot chicken in the best possible way (it’s that sweet and savoury combo!). It uses chicken thighs and there’s a brown sugar and herb rub that takes only a few minutes to prepare.
An extremely popular plum torte
I adore the story behind this plum torte recipe (NYT Cooking gift link) by Marian Burros, which is regularly republished by The New York Times. Originally, it ran in the paper every year from 1983 to 1989, before it was retired. Readers missed it (some sounded outraged!) so it’s been made available ever since. It’s a butter cake with a very tender crumb and perfectly cooked fruit. I made it in a smaller springform pan (roughly 20cm diameter). I can confirm it is excellent, the 13K five-star reviews aren’t wrong.
Banana passionfruit smoothie
I make a bunch of different banana smoothies and this one by Heidi Sze stands out because passionfruit and kefir give it a very satisfying tang. Passionfruit can be hard to find where I live, so I loved learning about frozen passionfruit cubes. It’s also lovely in a smoothie bowl, with olive oil and maple granola.
Salty peanut-pretzel ice cream cake
This is the best ice cream cake I’ve ever made (NYT Cooking gift link). By Yossy Arefi, it tastes like a restaurant dessert. There are so many delicious, contrasting textures, like the salty crunch of the base and sprinkle that’s made from blitzed and baked pretzels, salted peanuts and butter.
Peanut butter and honey are swirled between ice cream layers and then there’s whipped cream to finish. We were so very happy when this cake was in the house.
Quick things
Did you make the bolognese from last month’s newsletter? My friend Sarah recommended adding a dash of lemon at the end. I was scared at first (haha) but it’s a game changer. I liked it so much, I brought extra lemon wedges to the table.
My Secret Santa bought me Sohla El-Waylly’s cookbook Start Here for Christmas. There’s a recipe for one giant pancake, which I made first purely for the name. So far it’s only available in the book and worth a try if you have a copy.
If you’re visiting lutruwita/Tasmania this summer and driving between Launceston and nipaluna/Hobart, you must stop at this specialty gelato store. It’s only open during the warmer months and is one of the highlights of summer road trips. Let me know if you’re interested in more Tassie recs!
Long-time reader, first time commenter just chiming in to say that I love what you're doing here. I always save the recipes you link and often end up making and loving them.
Thank you for this newsletter! It's a gift.
So happy to see you back!