Mediterranean Sausage Casserole

A comforting, rustic one-pan casserole packed with Mediterranean flavours. Chopped sausages are simmered with tender zucchini, sweet red peppers and creamy cannellini beans in a rich tomato passata sauce, scented with dried rosemary and oregano.

It's hearty, simple and full of flavour, making it perfect for an easy midweek dinner. Serve this hearty Mediterranean sausage casserole with crusty bread fluffy rice or quinoa. The bread is perfect for soaking up the rich tomato sauce, while rice or quinoa makes it a most substantial and filling meal.

Ingredients:

• 600g sausages, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 large onion, finely sliced into half moons
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 400g tomato passata
• 1 cup water
• ½ tsp dried chilli flakes, or to taste
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 large zucchini, cut into 1 cm slices
• 1 large red pepper, cut into 1 cm square
• 400g tinned cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups firmly packed spinach
• salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

In a large Dutch oven or oven-safe saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, heat 1 tbsp of cooking oil over a medium-high heat. The oil is ready to use when it begins to shimmer.

Add the cut sausages, and lightly brown on all sides, this should take around 3-4 minutes. Remove, and set aside on a plate.

Turn the heat down to low and add the remaining 2 tbsp cooking oil to the pan. Add the onion, and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute, stirring to ensure it doesn't burn. Return the sausages to the pan.

Add the tomato passata, water, rosemary, chilli flakes and oregano. Bring to a simmer.

Add the zucchini and red pepper. Season with salt and pepper.

Cover the dish with the lid, and place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, carefully remove the dish from the oven, and add in the spinach and cannellini beans.

Cover and return to the oven to cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Check that the dish is seasoned to your liking, adding additional salt, pepper, chilli flakes or herbs as necessary.

Turn into a serving dish and serve, family-style, at the table in the pan in which it was cooked.

Serve with crusty bread, rice, quinoa or even mashed potato.

Teochew Kuchai dumpling

I had a little too much of Chinese chives or know as kuchai ready to harvest and, of course, I didn't want any of them to go to waste.

So, what better way to use them than making one of my favourite Teochew snacks-Kuchai Kuih?

With it's soft, chewy rice-flour skin generously filled with fragrant Chinese chives, garlic, minced pork and dried shrimp, this little savoury kuih is simple yet incredibly satisfying. And, to be honest, I have been craving it for a while, so this was the perfect excuse to make a batch!!

Freshly steamed and served with drizzle of chilli sauce, homemade Kuchai Kuih is hard to resist-especially when the chives come straight from the garden.

Kuchai Kuih freezes well, so making a larger batch is a great way to preserve those extra chives rather than letting them go to waste.

Ingredients:

For the skin:

• 75g wheat starch flour
• 75g tapioca starch flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 175ml hot boiling water
• 1 tsp cooking oil

For the filling:

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 100g ground pork
• 20g Chinese chives, cut into about -2 inch in lenght
• 15g dried shrimp, soak in warm water
• 5 shiitake mushrooms, soak in warm water
• 1 tbsp cooking oil

Seasoning:

• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• ¼ tsp ground white pepper

Method:

For the filling: Finely chopped the pre-soaked dried shrimp. Cut the soaked mushrooms into small pieces.

Preheat 1 tbsp cooking oil. Sauté the garlic and dried shrimp until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms, chives, and seasonings. Sauté until the chives are soft and the mixture is dry. Let the filling cools down completely before wrapping.

Making the wrapper: Mix the wheat starch, tapioca flour, and salt into a bowl and whisk to mix and then pour the hot boiling water in. Use a chopstick or a spatula to stir. It will be really sticky at this point. Keep stirring until it roughly comes into a rough dough. Add cooking oil and continue to knead until the dough is smooth and not sticky. Cover and rest for 5 minutes.

Shaping: After 5 minutes, uncover and transfer onto your worktop. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Work with one dough at a time and keep the rest covered.

Dust the worktop light with some flour, then roll out the dough into a thin layer. Using a cutter, cut into round wrappers. Continue to roll out the balance of dough and cut into round wrapper. Any excess of the dough after the cutting can be combined again to make more wrapper. We are now ready to wrap the dumplings.

To make the dumplings, first spoon 1 heaping tbsp chive filling into the centre of wrapper. Pinch the centre of wrapper tightly to seal.

Next pinch the lower half (right side) of the dumpling to seal. Then, bring the upper half (right side) of dumpling forward and press to seal. Next, pinch the lower half (left side) of chive dumpling to seal. Then, bring the upper half (left side) of chive dumpling forward and press to seal.

Press together both sides of chive dumpling to wrapped it up tightly. Continue to do the same for the rest of the wound wrappers. And you are done!

Lightly oiled a steaming tray or line the bamboo steamer if you have one. Arrange the pleated chive dumplings on the steaming tray.

Place on a prepared steamer. Steam for 8-10 minutes or until the skin turns translucent.

Remove from steamer onto a wire rack. Brush with some garlic oil and leave to cool a while before transferring to a serving plate. These chive dumplings are best eaten fresh served with sweet chilli sauce. So enjoy!

If you are making a big batch, you can freeze the remaining. Place the chive dumplings onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper, not touching each other. Freeze in the freezer for 1 hour and then transfer to a freezer bag. This way, the chive dumpling will not stick to each other. When ready to serve, steam over high heat for 15 minutes or until the dumplings are cooked through. 

Italian White Bean Salad

Easy-to-make and no cooking required, this delicious Italian White Bean Salad is a summer side go-to!! It travels well too making it the perfect salad to bring along to BBQ, parties, and warm-weather gatherings.

When the weather warms up, I turn to recipes with simple ingredients that require vert little prep and celebrate the season.

Italian white beans salad combines fresh summer ingredients, like cherry tomatoes, basil, and parsley, with budget-friendly pantry staples like beans, olive oil, and red wine vinegar.

And since it tastes even better the next day, it's the perfect make-ahead side.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked cannellini beans, rinsed and drained if canned
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• ½ cup red onion, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar or lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method:

In a large bowl, toss together the rinsed and drained white beans, halved cherry tomatoes. and thinly sliced red onion. This forms the base of your salad, bright and colourful.

Next, sprinkle the freshly sliced basil leaves into the bowl. This add a lovely aroma and taste that will elevate the dish.

In a small bowl, whisk together the extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar (or lemon juice), minced garlic, dried oregano, salt and freshly ground black pepper until everything is nicely blended.

Pour the dressing over the bean and vegetable mixture. This is where the magic happens! gently toss everything together to ensure all the ingredients are coated evenly without mashing the beans.

Give the salad a taste, and if needed, adjust the seasoning with more salt, pepper or vinegar/lemon juice to your liking.

Let the salad sit for at least 30 minutes at room temperature. This will allow the flavours to meld beautifully.

Your Italian White Bean Salad is ready to serve! Enjoy it chilled or at room temperature as a delightful side dish.