Orange and saffron potatoes

1 onion, diced finely

2 tablespoons olive oil

100 mls sherry

½ teaspoon saffron threads

1 teaspoon sugar

Salt to taste

3-4 oranges, juiced

½ teaspoon sherry vinegar, or more to taste

Fry onion in olive oil and salt until softened. Cover with ½ cup water, and cook on high until water is evaporated. This is a quick way to fry onions.

Add sherry and cook on high until nearly evaporated.

Meanwhile grind saffron, salt and sugar in spice grinder. Alternatively, mix them together with a little boiling water.

Add to pan with orange juice, cover and simmer until cooked.

Check seasonings, and add more salt, sugar and vinegar to taste.

Serve warm or cold as a salad.

Banana Bread from Cook's Illustrated, metric version

Ingredients
250g (1¾ cups or 8¾ ounces) plain (prefeably cake) flour
1 teaspoon bi carb soda
½ teaspoon salt
5 large very, very ripe bananas (about 2¼ pounds), peeled
125g butter
2 large eggs
150g (¾ cup packed, 5¼ ounces) brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
Method
Microwave 5 bananas, then pour into a strainer over a saucepan, and drain 15 mins.
Preheat oven to 175 degrees. Prepare a loaf pan about 20x10cm (8½ by 4½-inch) loaf pan by rubbing with butter and sprinkling with flour.
Simmer banana water until reduced to about ¼ cup, about 5 minutes.
Add butter and allow to melt.
Add eggs, brown sugar and vanilla.
Mash bananas and add to mixture in saucepan.
Slice remaining banana into narrow slices.
Combine flour, salt and bi carb soda.
Pour banana mixture into flour mixture, and gently stir to until just combined with some streaks of flour remaining. Gently fold in the walnuts, if using.
Pour mixture into prepared pan.
Bake 55 to 75 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the loaf comes out clean.
Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan and continue to cool on a wire rack.
Slice thickly, toast in a fry pan, and serve with a pat of butter.

Greek Spinach Rice – Tess Mallos

Tess Mallos’ “Greek Cookook” was the first I ever owned, and through it I fell in love with food and cooking. This is one of my favourites from her book.
This is exactly as she wrote it, but these days I use basmati rice and frozen spinach.
It’s delicious served at room temperature as a salad. But bring it to room temperature first. Served straight from the fridge the rice is hard and crunchy, so allow it to come to room temperature. I often warm it in the microwave.

1kg spinach or silverbeet (I use either a combination of baby spinach, parsley, mint or dill, and this may or may not add up to 1kg. Or I use one or 2 packets of frozen chopped spinach - drain and squeeze extra liquid out.)

1 cup chopped spring onions (I often use a normal onion)

1 leek, chopped (optional)

½ cup olive oil (measure this because this recipe relies on a good amount of oil)

1 ½ cups or 300g short grain rice (I use basmati because I prefer it less gluggy, and it has a lower Glycemic Index)

2 tablespoons lemon juice (or more, to taste)

1 tablespoon chopped parsley or dill

3 cups water

Salt and pepper.

Directions

Wash spinach or silverbeet very well.

Remove stems, drain leaves well and tear into pieces. If using silverbeet, chop the bitter stems finely, parboil for 5 inutes in salted water and drain.

In  deep pan gently fry onion and leek (if used) in oil until soft.

Stir in rice and cook 5 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients and parboiled silverbeet stems (if used).

Bring to the boil and add sinach or silver beet.

Stir well, cover and cook gently for 15 minutes.

Remove from heat, leave tightly covered and allow to stand for 5 minutes befoe serving.

Serve hot as an accompaniament to main meals, particularly grilled meats and fish.

Note: This is very good served cold.

Romesco

2 red onions

2 capsicums

4 tomatoes

4 tablespoons olive oil

40g ground almonds, (toasted optional)

2 cloves garlic

2 slices sandwich bread

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Vegetables after roasting. Some of the tomatoes have been peeled.

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

Peel onions and cut in half.

Cut core out of tomato and cut in half.

Place onions, tomatoes and whole capsicums onto baking tray lined with baking  paper.

Put into oven at 250 C for 30 mins, or until cooked and charred.

Lift skins off tomatoes, remove cores from capsicum and peel.

Place all ingredients in food processor and process.

Check seasoning for salt and vinegar. Add more if necessary.

Serve as a sauce for meats, or as a dip.

20 litres non alcoholic sangria

This should feed 100 people on a normal day. Hot days you need more to drink.
2 litres fresh squeezed orange juice, or a really fresh tasting brand

7 litres cranberry juice

7 litres dry ginger ale

7 litres agrum blood orange

1.5 litres tea mix -  cinnamon and bitters, frozen in 3 blocks

Diced citrus – orange, lemon and lime

To make tea mix: soak 10 teabags and 4 teaspoons cinnamon in boiling water until cool.

Add 30 shakes of bitters.

I like to freeze this mix so it can cool the whole sangria as you make it. Freeze it in flat blocks.

For 35 people

500mls tea

1/3 fruit mix

750 mls OJ

1 ½ bottles cranberry juice

2 -3 bottles ginger ale

2 -3 bottles argum