Sweetcorn Fritters with Bacon, Avocado and Lime

Bill Granger has three restaurants in Sydney – Bills in Wollhara, Bills in Darlinghurst and Bills in Surry Hills. All three share the same menu and i’m sure everything on it is delicious. Though i’ve only ever had one thing. His corn fritters. And i’ve been there quite a few times. My corn fritter loving friend and I have even been to each of the three bills for Saturday lunch for the last three Saturdays. Just to have the corn fritters. So I thought i’d give them a go myself.

Bill’s corn fritters are big and main meal sized, though I did little entree sized ones. I used Bill’s recipe from his book Bill’s Food. I combined half a cup of ground rice, half a cup of plain flour, a quarter of a teaspoon of baking powder, half a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of ground coriander, half a teaspoon of ground cumin. Then added an egg, a teaspoon of lemon juice and half a cup of water and mixed to make a batter. I then cut the kernels from 3 big corn cobs and stirred them into the batter with 4 sliced spring onions and some chopped coriander.

I think the secret to these delicious corn fritters is the ground rice. It makes them light and crunchy. You can buy it or it is easy to make it yourself – just pop some rice in the blender or food processor and grind until it becomes a fine powder.

Then it is just a matter of shaping them and shallow frying them in oil in a saucepan.

If I was making these as a meal i’d make them bigger and bulk up the meal with some baby spinach and capsicum. But for these little ones, I topped them with some avocado, little bits of cooked bacon and squeeze of lime juice.

Ginger Poached Chicken with Coriander Dressing

To me, this is what you would, or should eat at a health farm. It is really delicious, tangy and eating it just makes you feel like you are becoming healthier with every bite. It is a recipe from Donna Hay’s Fast, Fresh, Simple and it is worth a try.

Start off by making the dressing. The flavours are fresh and interesting and would go with a lot of things, not just chicken. Fish would be nice with it. Anyway. Pop a third of a cup of tahini, 2 tbs of water, 2 tbs of lemon juice, 2 tsp of white wine vinegar, a clove of garlic, half a cup of coriander and a quarter of a cup of parsley into a blender and whiz until it is smooth.

Slice a knob of ginger and place it in a small pot filled with chicken stock. Bring it to the boil then reduce it to a simmer. Pop some chicken breasts in (one per person) and simmer for 6 minutes. Add a bunch of broccolini to the pot and simmer for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked and the broccolini is tender.

Then all you have to do is slice the chicken and serve it with the broccolini and coriander dressing. Mmm… I feel healthier just thinking about it!

Lamb and Strawberry Salad

It was a warm night last night, well as warm as it is ever going to get in July, so I thought i’d make something to celebrate the relative heat.

I tossed some sliced strawberries, blanched green beans, chunks of feta and some mint leaves together. I then seared some lamb cutlets and popped them on top of the salad. I then drizzled it with a simple dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a little brown sugar. Super quick and easy. And sunny enough to make you forget it is winter!

Salmon Fish Cakes with Tartare Sauce

Fish cakes were something we had for dinner when I was a kid. And something I always enjoyed but had forgotten about. But I saw Jamie Oliver talking about them on TV and it sparked my memory.

I boiled a few potatoes and them mashed them, making sure they were drained really well first to make sure the cakes wouldn’t be watery. I then added some tinned red salmon, chopped spring onions, coriander and an egg and mixed it all together. I shaped them into little half cup patties and popped them in the fridge for half an hour to ensure they kept their shape.

I then crumbed them by rolling them in flour, dunking them in some egg and then coating them in fresh bread crumbs. I heated some oil in a small saucepan and shallow fried the little patties until they were golden and crunchy.

To make a quick tartare sauce, I just mixed together some mayonnaise, capers, lemon juice and chopped gherkins. I served it with some lemon to squeeze over them and some rocket to freshen it up.

It was enough for a main meal, though you could do a smaller serving and have it as an entree or make smaller ones and have them as a canape at a cocktail party.

.