Most Loved Recipes

of 2024

These were the dishes you couldn’t get enough of this year

Grilled pear, ricotta and walnut crostini

Cook time: 5 mins | Prep time: 15 mins | Makes: 8

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons (40ml) extra virgin olive oil, extra to serve

  • 1/2 sourdough baguette (8 slices), cut into 2cm diagonal slices

  • 1 small pear, not peeled, slice into 8 wedges, discard core

  • ½ orange, juiced

  • ½ cup ricotta, drained

  • 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, grated with a mandoline, extra to serve

  • ¼ cup lightly toasted, roughly chopped walnuts

  • 3g fresh thyme, leaves

  • Season to taste

Method:

  1. Place a skillet on medium to high heat. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil evenly onto the skillet. 

  2. Add sourdough slices to the skillet. Use a glass or weight to press down on slices for 1-2 minutes to achieve charred lines. Flip and repeat. Set aside to cool. 

  3. Carefully wipe skillet out with paper towel. Place skillet on medium to high heat. Add pears with orange juice and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Char pears for 3 minutes turning halfway through. Set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.

  4. In a small bowl add ricotta, parmesan, salt and pepper. Mix to combine.  

  5. Place crostini on a serving platter. Evenly dollop ricotta mixture onto each crostini and press down ricotta with the back of a spoon. Add a pear wedge on top of the ricotta for each crostini.

  6. Evenly sprinkle each crostini with walnuts, extra parmesan and fresh thyme leaves. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil to serve.

Pear Carpaccio

Cook time: 0 mins | Prep time: 15 mins | Serves: 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 pear, fresh

  • 3 tablespoons (60ml) lemon, juiced

  • 2 tablespoons (40ml) extra virgin olive oil, extra to serve

  • 1 tablespoon (20ml) maple syrup

  • salt and cracked pepper to season

  • 30g goats chevre

  • 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted 

  • 5g lemon balm. Can use mint leaves.

  • Rosemary flowers, if available to garnish

Method:

  1. With an apple corer, core the pear and slice paper thin (approx 2mm thick) with a mandoline. Lay in a circular pattern, slightly overlapping eachother on a serving platter.

  2. In a small bowl, add lemon juice, olive oil, maple syrup, salt and cracked pepper. Mix and spoon over the pears to coat.

  3. Evenly dollop pieces of goat’s chevre over the pears, sprinkle over toasted pine nuts and scatter lemon balm leaves and rosemary flowers if available.

  4. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, season and serve.

COOKING NOTES:

This recipe will be perfect as a side to chicken, fish or lamb. Can also be served as an appetiser/starter with prosciutto and a hard cheese like a wedge of pecorino or parmesan.

To create paper thin slices I use OXO good grips Mandoline.

Pan-fried fish with tomatoes, capers, olives and pine nuts.

Cook time: 10 mins | Prep time: 10 mins | Serves: 2

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons (60ml) extra virgin olive oil

  • 400g firm white fish, evenly sliced into 4 pieces

  • 50g butter, unsalted

  • 1 large ox heart tomato, diced into 1cm pieces

  • 1/8 cup baby capers,

  • 1 tablespoon caper brine

  • 1/4 cup green olives, pitted, roughly chopped

  • 1 tablespoon pine nuts

  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano

  • salt and pepper to taste

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley to serve

Method:

  1. On medium to high heat add 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Place white fish fillets into the pan and cook on each side for 2-3 minutes. Check the thickest part of the fish to make sure it is not translucent. Remove from the pan and set aside.

  2. Carefully wipe out the pan with a paper towel and add tomato, capers, brine, olives, pine nuts and dried oregano. Stir and simmer on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.

  3. Turn off the heat and add the fish back into the pan. Coat fish with tomato mixture. Add salt and pepper. Sprinkle over fresh parsley and serve.

Almond and white chocolate cake

Cook time: 25 mins | Prep time: 15 mins | Serves: 6

Ingredients:

  • 4 large free-range eggs, room temperature. See note 4

  • 150g (2/3 cup) caster sugar

  • 250g (2 cups) almond meal, coarse texture

  • 1 teaspoon baking powder

  • 100g white chocolate, block (1/2 cup) roughly chopped. (See note 5)

TO SERVE:

  • icing sugar to dust cake

  • 300ml pouring cream, whipped

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 170°C fan force (340°F). Grease and line a 20 cm round cake tin.

  2. In a stand mixer, whisk eggs on high for 30 seconds.

  3. For a further 4-5 minutes, beat on high speed, gradually adding the sugar in 4 lots. The mixture will turn pale, creamy and foamy in appearance (See cooking notes for more details.)

  4. Gently sift in almond meal, baking powder and fold through chopped white chocolate with a spatula.

  5. Pour into the cake tin. Place in the oven on the bottom shelf and bake for 25 -30 minutes, until golden brown and spongy on top. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes if the top is still wobbly and not yet set.

  6. Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before turning it out onto a platter. Dust with icing sugar. Serve with whipped cream and fresh berries.

COOKING NOTES:

  1. The egg and sugar mixture should be foamy, creamy and pale after 4-5 minutes of beating. It should not be separated. If the mixture does not come together and separates, your cake will not work.

  2. If the eggs and sugar are not creamy, pale and foamy in texture you may have added the sugar too quickly or the eggs may have been cold.

  3. Make sure you gradually add the sugar over 4-5 minutes in 4 lots.

  4. Use 60-70g eggs. If you have small eggs add 1 more egg to step 2

  5. Use chocolate from a bar of chocolate as white chocolate buttons will not melt in the cake as well.

  6. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate. It will last for two days.