CHICKEN & ASPARAGUS
Dust chicken pieces with either rice flour or plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Fry until golden, then set aside. Fry 2 shallots until soft, return the chicken to the pan, add a pinch of saffron pre-soaked in 2 tablespoons boiling water, 600g halved new potatoes and ½ cup chicken stock. Cover and cook until tender, around 15 minutes. In the last few minutes add a couple of bunches of chopped asparagus to steam. Add plenty of herbs such as chives, tarragon or chervil and serve.
![](https://www.cuisine.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Cuisine-Magazine-Recipes-Chicken-and-Asparagus.jpg)
Venison with braised spring ragu
Fry diced pancetta with chopped thyme (or savory if you have some), shallots and garlic. Add broad beans, a tin of drained cannellini beans, peas and a little chicken stock (you want the mix to be a little saucy at the end). Cook until tender and add shredded mint. Rub venison medallions with chopped thyme, olive oil and mashed garlic and chilli flakes. Pan-fry, rest, then slice and serve with the vegetables and some bread to mop up the sauce.
Lamb with stir-fried broccoli
Marinate lamb rumps, chops or leg steaks in a mix of minced garlic, ground cumin, ginger, soy sauce and chilli flakes. Pan-fry until done to your liking and set aside to rest. In the same pan, heat some oil, add broccoli florets, and stir-fry for a few minutes, Add slivers of garlic and ginger, then add some soy sauce, a splash of water and cover to steam for a few minutes until crisply tender. Drizzle with sesame oil, add the sliced lamb, top with toasted sesame seeds. Serve with rice
Pork chops with roasted radishes
Brown thick-sliced pork chops on each side in a heavy ovenproof pan, add halved radishes to the pan (reserve the leaves), season generously and roast in a hot oven. Remove the pork chops when done to your liking and set aside to rest. Toss the radish greens through the radishes and cook until they wilt, add a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of maple syrup. Delicious with new-season potatoes.
Pan-fried fish with spring onions & hard-boiled egg sauce
Make a sauce of chopped hard-boiled eggs with Dijon mustard, chopped capers, plenty of herbs such as parsley, tarragon or chives and a dash of white wine vinegar and olive oil. Fry a bunch of spring onions, cut into long lengths with some butter and salt until softened slightly, add a slug of water or white wine and finish cooking by steaming. Add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end. Pan-fry some fish fillets and serve with the sauce.
BLACK BEAN & HALOUMI PATTIES FOR BURGERS
Fry 1 onion with 1 cup grated pumpkin and 1 teaspoon salt until soft, then add a chopped clove of garlic, red chilli, 1 teaspoon ground cumin and ½ teaspoon sweet smoked paprika. Put into a bowl with 2 x 400g tins drained black beans. Take half the mix and whizz to a coarse mash. Add back to the bowl and add 50g grated haloumi, 1 cup chopped fresh parsley or coriander. Combine with 1 egg and ½ cup dried breadcrumbs. Fry for a few minutes on each side and serve in burgers with slaw and favourite pickle (I used Manaaki’s KamoKamo).
![](https://www.cuisine.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Cuisine-Magazine-Recipes-Black-Bean-Burger2.jpg)
Roasted pumpkin, red split lentil & kaffir lime soup
Cube 600g pumpkin, toss with olive oil or coconut oil, a teaspoon of ground coriander and season well. Roast in a hot oven until tender. Put a sliced onion in a stockpot with a couple of stems of lemongrass, a good handful of kaffir lime leaves and some sea salt and fry until soft. Add minced ginger, chilli and garlic. Add ½ cup red split lentils and 3 cups stock and simmer gently. Put the roasted pumpkin in the pot, add extra stock to just cover the vegetables, bring to a simmer and cook gently for 20 minutes. Remove the kaffir lime leaves. Puree and add ½ cup coconut milk, a squeeze of lime juice and 2 teaspoons white miso, adjusting seasonings if necessary, and serve. Garnish with fried shallots.
Chicken & fennel spaghetti
Fry slices of chicken breast in a frying pan until browned, then set aside. Add very thinly sliced fennel and fry with ground fennel, sliced garlic and a pinch of chilli flakes until soft. Add the chicken back to the pan with ½ cup chicken stock and finish cooking. Add lemon zest and juice, plenty of chopped flat-leafed parsley and toss with cooked spaghetti.