I feel that Autumn is a time for being re-inspired in the kitchen.  If it has been too hot and humid for a long time, cooking (for me anyway) often becomes a bit of a chore in as much as I really would like a magic wand.  Sometimes I find myself making a potato salad (with cream and mayo and spring onions), throwing together a tossed salad and then cutting up a bought chicken or just cooking a decent piece of steak.  Sometimes I ask my husband ‘what would you like to cook tonight darling?”

Right now the hot and humid days have finally gone and energy is coming back.  Here are some of my favourites for weekend family eating.

Shami Kebabs (lamb meatballs)

For this I suggest you ask your butcher to bone out a leg of lamb, skin it and put it through the coarse mincer (not fine).   About 600g will make plenty as a snack for 4. (The remainder goes in the freezer.)

Put 3 slices of white bread (crust removed) in a bowl and add milk to soak until it is mush.  Pour off any milk and squeeze till bread no longer drips.   Mix the meat and bread together and add the following:

• 1 medium onion, very finely chopped
• 3 cloves of crushed garlic
• 1 inch chunk of fresh ginger, grated
• 2 teaspoons of garam masala
• 1 teaspoon of chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1-2 tablespoons of fresh chopped mint
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon of plain flour

Mix very well.   Form into small balls about the size of a walnut (definitely no more than 3cms diameter).   Traditionally about three of these would be threaded onto a metal or bamboo skewer and then deep fried.  However, I think it is easier (and possibly safer) to just shallow fry individual balls in peanut oil, fairly quickly.   It doesn’t take long.  Drain on absorbent paper and keep warm until you have finished doing a number of batches (you can’t do them all at once).

Great eaten hot, warm or cold – as a snack or part of a bigger spread.  Mango chutney goes well as does a minty yoghurt.

American style Pork Ribs

The trick to this dish is finding the right spare ribs.  I really do mean RIBS – they don’t have a lot of meat on them so you need to be fairly discerning in picking out the best.  My butcher doesn’t have them but I usually find them at the Safeway meat section.  Ridiculously expensive at $5-7 for just one slab of them.  To feed four people I need five or six packets.

Place ribs in a large baking dish and pop into medium hot oven to cook about ¾ through.  Add nothing, just the ribs.  The purpose is actually to cook out any fat.  Take pieces out and cut into sections of 4 or 5 ribs each.  Clean out the baking dish and arrange rib pieces side by side.   Mix the following together in a bowl:

• About 150 ml of golden syrup
• ½  teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• ½  teaspoon of salt and a little pepper
• 2 cloves of crushed garlic (more if you like)
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
• 1 ½ tablespoons of dijon mustard

Coat the top side of the ribs with this mixture and cook in oven till it becomes sticky.  Turn ribs over and coat the other side and cook again till sticky.

The mixture can be increased proportionately to fit the quantity of ribs you are cooking.  The above amount probably is just enough for 4 sets of ribs.

Serve with a little boiled rice and salad or whatever takes your fancy.

 

Duck with Muscat-Honey Sauce

Buy a good duck such as Luv-a-Duck (size 20-22) which is sufficient for four people.

Place in baking dish, sprinkle with salt and then into medium hot oven.  Cook for about three hours, turning occasionally, sprinkling more salt and pricking here and there to release fat.  About 2/3rds of the way through reduce oven temperature a little.  You want the duck well cooked but not ruined.  This is a sort of confit style.

While duck is cooking boil at least one potato per person until at least half done.  Peel and cut into large cubes.  About 30 minutes before you are ready to eat, heat a large pan and add butter and the potatoes plus salt (Murray River flakes if you have them).  Turn about every now and then till crisping up.     Also prepare whatever other vegetable you might like or preferably make a really good mixed greens salad with cherry tomatoes, slices of pear, shaved real parmesan etc.

Now for this part you need to take care – remove duck to large plate and then drain off the fat in the pan into a jar for use later.   You should wind up with at least half a cup of total duck juices.   Put these juices into a small saucepan on the stove top.  Add equal quantities of Muscat (about $10 for a bottle of Chambers regular muscat) and honey (about the same quantity as the juices you have saved).

Cook and stir till it starts to foam.  Remove from heat and let settle so you can test taste.  It should be about right – sweet and yum.

Cut duck up into quarters or carve if you prefer.  Carefully share out the sauce for each serving.    Make your plate look nice and have an appropriate good wine to accompany (my favourite sparkling Shiraz-Durif goes down particularly well).

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