There's no need to go out to eat when special dishes such as this are so easy to prepare at home. Black spaghetti coloured with squid ink, available from delicatessens and larger supermarkets, makes a great talking point.
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Butternut pumpkin and corn stew
Butternut pumpkin has a lovely firm texture, ideal for cooking in stews. Combined with black-eyed peas, corn and red capsicum, it makes a nutritious family supper dish that is perfect for cold winter days. Serve with boiled rice or warm crusty bread.
Penne with artichokes and olives
This light pasta dish is ideal for summer dinners as only the pasta needs to be cooked. Once al dente, it is simply tossed, still warm, with diced tomatoes, quartered artichoke hearts, black olives and a rich lemony dressing flavoured with [...]
Fish parcels with orange
Whole red mullet are baked in the oven on a bed of aniseed-flavoured fennel and fresh orange segments. To save time, ask your fishmonger to scale and gut the fish for you. Serve one parcel per person and accompany it with new potatoes and some [...]
Smoked turkey baguettines
Mini baguettes, with their crusty exteriors and soft interiors, are the ideal breads for filling with all kinds of nutritious ingredients to make a quick snack. Here a combination of crisp and chewy vegetables is mixed with delicious smoked [...]
Potato and bacon chowder
It's easy to make a nourishing supper based on ingredients you are likely to have on hand, such as onion, potatoes, parsnips, bacon and milk. Here they're turned into a hearty and satisfying soup, which is finished with a little vitamin-rich [...]
Greek lamb kebabs
Cubes of lamb flavoured with a mixture of garlic, lemon and fresh oregano are cooked on skewers and served with a Greek-style tomato and cabbage salad and pita bread for a deliciously aromatic main dish.
Hoisin beef stir-fry
For a quick meal try this colourful stir-fry of thin strips of tender steak with fresh ginger, button mushrooms, red capsicums and crisp snow peas, served on Chinese egg noodles. Hoisin sauce, a sweet Chinese barbecue sauce made from soya and [...]
Butter bean dip with crudités
This quick and tasty dip is made from canned butter beans puréed with tomato paste, garlic and fresh basil leaves. Served with sesame seed breadsticks, pita bread and a selection of crunchy vegetables for dipping, it makes a nutritious lunch for [...]
Fruit bread slices
If you're bored with cereal for breakfast, try this fruity alternative. Thick slices of fruit bread, toasted and spread with orange-flavoured cream cheese, are topped with strawberries and bananas. Cut the loaf lengthwise for 2 slices per [...]
No harm done
When I needed my university exam certificates for a job interview, my brother volunteered to go up to the attic to find them and put them in a folder for me. The next week, I nervously walked into the interview room, where much to my surprise [...]
Naan with lentil ‘caviar’
Yoghurt spiced with garlic and mint, then mixed with raw vegetables and high-protein lentils, is delicious spooned onto warmed naan. A few coriander and mint leaves on top add a touch of freshness, and a dab of chutney or lime pickle on the side [...]
Ingrate
I recently visited a local restaurant for a spot of lunch. I ordered a ham salad, and the waiter soon arrived with my meal. “Do you know what kind of cheese this is?” I asked him, pointing at my plate. Off he went into the kitchen to find out [...]
Deadly diet
At a conference I attended recently, a doctor was addressing a large audience. “The material we put into our stomachs should have killed most of us sitting here years ago,” he said. “Red meat is full of steroids and dye. Soft drinks corrode your [...]
The customer is always half right
I was really pleased with my purchase of a new pair of shoes from a major retailer. About a week later, on a rainy day, I was in a rush and quickly grabbed my shoes from the rack and made my way into town. To my horror, I felt a wet sensation [...]
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