BAKED SEA PERCH with STEAMED BROCCOLI & SWEET POTATO FRIES

I was very lucky to be given several Sea Perch fillets from my father-in-law, who caught them fishing up in Northern QLD earlier this year. Sea Perch is often called Red Emperor, however it is not a true Emperor fish. As I am not an avid fish eater but have decided to become, due to the numerous health benefits fish provides, I did some extensive research regarding how to cook fish before diving in. I chose baking the fish as apposed to grilling or pan frying, as it seemed a better way to keep the moisture in the fish. I was surprised to learn that Sea Perch is one of Australia's most highly regarded fish...lucky I have a whole freezer full of them! 

INGREDIENTS

Baked Fish 

• the juice of half a lemon
• the juice of half a lime (or the juice of 1 lemon or 1 lime)
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 2 sea perch fillets, skinned
• al foil 
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 
• shallow oven tray or baking dish 

Sides

• 1 medium sweet potato, washed, peeled & cut into thin even wedges
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 head of broccoli, separated into florets and stalk chopped

COOKING 

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 180 degrees celsius. Toss the sweet potato wedges with the oil and spices, then place on a lined baking tray. Place at the very top of the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes or until fries are lightly browned and cooked to your liking. Remove from heat. 

2. Combine the lemon and/or lime, garlic, chilli and parsley in a small bowl, mixing well. 

2. Place the fish in separate al foil, then brush the oil over the front and back of the fish fillets. Pour half of the marinade over the top of each fillet and wrap the fish like a parcel in the foil. 

3. When the fries have been in the oven for 15 minutes, bake the fish in the oven in a shallow tray or baking dish for 10-12 minutes, using a knife to see if the fish is cooked (if it is cooked, the fillet will flake slightly when the knife enters). Remove from the oven. 

4. When the fish has been placed in the oven, bring a small saucepan to the boil over high heat, covered. Remove the lid and place a sieve or colander in place of the lid with the broccoli florets & stalks inside. Steam for 4-5 minutes or until just tender. Remove from heat and toss with ground black pepper. 

Serve fish alongside 1/2 of the steamed broccoli and 1/2 of the sweet potato fries. 

Serves / 2

Total Preparation time & Cooking time / around 35 minutes  

x Emily 

CAPSICUM APPETIZERS

A fancy appetizer for the weekend. A little fiddly but worth the hassle. Replace the feta cheese for another herb, such as parsley, if wanting to make this dairy-free.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 capsicums (can be red/green/orange or a mixture of these)
• 50g reduced-fat feta cheese
• 3 1/2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped
• a pinch of smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon garlic flakes
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• toothpicks

COOKING 

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius fan-force. Line a baking tray with baking paper. 

2. Slice the capsicum into large flat pieces, removing the seeds. Place on prepared tray with the skin side up and place in the oven for 25 minutes or until the skin blisters and blackens. Put the cooked capsicum in a plastic bag and leave to cool. When cooled peel away the skin and cut into 4cm pieces. 

3. Combine the feta, chives, paprika, garlic and both vinegars in a small bowl and mix well. Place the mixture on the inside of each individual capsicum piece and roll the capsicum over, securing with a toothpick. Serve alone or drizzled with olive oil if you desire. 

Serve as an appetiser 

Serves / 4 

ARTICHOKES WITH HERBS

My boyfriend bought me the most amazing French Cookbook for my birthday this year, after I dropped him all kinds of hints about how much I had fallen in love with the beautiful photos in the book (and not paid too much attention to the ingredients used). Upon receiving the cookbook, I was very disheartened to discover that I would probably never cook any of the recipes, as the amount of cream, oil and butter the talented cook uses would astound anyone. You may not know this about me, but as a general rule, I never use cream in cooking and will only use the occasional dollop of butter for baking. (If you do not believe me, feel free to check through the past 6 months of recipes). However, the cookbook has been a source of constant inspiration for me to pair certain vegetables, herbs and spices together. One such recipe I created is below. To increase the size of the dish, you can purchase 2-3 tins of artichokes and increase the ingredients as necessary. You can cook the artichokes from scratch, of course, however it is rather time consuming and more than a little fiddly!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 x 400g tin of whole artichokes, drained well
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs
• 1 small brown onion (60g), finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely diced 
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary 
• Optional- a drizzle of fresh lemon juice, to serve 

COOKING 

1. Place olive oil, onion, garlic, herbs and whole artichokes in a small saucepan or frying pan over medium heat. Stir gently, careful not to break the artichokes. Cook until the onion is soft, around 4 minutes. 

2. Place the onion mixture on the bottom of a serving plate and top with the artichokes. Drizzle with fresh lemon juice, if desired. 

Serves / 2- 4 as a side 

x E

LEBANESE BREAD WITH SPICES

One of my best friends has watched me talk about wanting to have my own garden for a few years now. As I live in a cozy but small apartment that gets NO sun, this has proved impossible a task for me. In an effort to inspire me, she gave me the endearing cookbook ‘The Edible Balcony’ by Indira Naidoo, which imparts wisdom about how to grow fresh food in very small spaces. As work, exercise, my partner, family, friends and cooking has taken over my life since my 24^th birthday in January this year, I have not been able to conquer or even begin this massive but rewarding task of constructing my very own garden. At the very least, I have made a few of Indira’s unique and homemade recipes in the past few weeks. The first one I will share with you was adapted from this cookbook. Such a simple recipe for a snack, but it tastes just delicious plain or even better served with a dip or two! 

INGREDIENTS

• 2-4 pieces of large Lebanese bread
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon mixed herbs
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon sumac
• 1 -2 teaspoons grape seed/olive oil

COOKING 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius fan-forced. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. 

2. Dry-fry the sesame seeds over low heat in a small frying pan for around 4 minutes or until seeds are lightly golden. Remove from heat and pour into a small bowl. Add mixed herbs, salt and sumac to the seeds and mix well to combine. 

3. Brush the bread sparingly with oil (1 teaspoon for 2 slices, 2 teaspoons for 4 slices) and spread the herb & spice mixture evenly over the top. (If you are using 4 slices of bread, you must use the spice mixture more sparingly than I did in the photo above). Place in the preheated oven for 6-8 minutes or until the bread is lightly brown and crisp to touch. 

Serves / 2 - 4. Works well as part of a mezze platter and served alongside dips. 

x E

FRIED BROWN RICE WITH BROCCOLINI

Whenever I am alone for dinner I like to cook meals that my boyfriend would never eat. Hence the broccolini fried rice below. Broccolini and soy sauce together are just divine. Add a few eschalots and some garlic and you have got an amazingly tasty side dish. As I am inherently quite lazy, when I am alone for dinner I make very simple meals…or maybe I unconsciously make them simple as I know that I have no one to show off to…whatever the reason, give this fuss-free dish a try! 

INGREDIENTS

• 100g brown rice, cooked
• 1bunch broccolini, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 eschalot, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce 

COOKING 

1. Steam the broccolini for around 4-5 minutes. (If you do not have a steamer you can just boil water in a saucepan and place a colander on top, placing the broccolini in the colander and the saucepan lid on top). 

2. Heat the sesame oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and eshalots, cooking for 2 minutes. Make sure that you stir the ingredients constantly so that the garlic does not burn. Add the steamed broccolini and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring. Add the rice and soy sauce and stir for another 2 minutes. 

Serves / 2

Preparation & Cooking Time / 15 minutes 

x E