Moussaka

Moussaka is a traditional Greek dish with layered potato, lamb mince, eggplant and topped with a béchamel sauce. I’ve made a few adaptations here. Firstly, I’m not a big fan of baked potato – so I replaced the potato with… more eggplant!  Secondly, as a Greek dish, this is typically full of garlic and onion… so it’s time to break out the gold ol’ garlic oil. I’m not going to lie, I used a lot of it. Lastly, this is traditionally made with lamb… but where I am right now, lamb isn’t exactly cheap, so I’ve substituted with half pork and half beef to get the right fat content / mildness of flavour.

I focused more on the eating than on the photo taking.

Serves 6-8 (reheats like a dream)

1.5kg beef and pork mince blend

750g truss tomatoes, finely diced

¼ cup garlic oil

1-2 eggplant, thinly sliced

4 spring onions green parts only, finely sliced

5 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp dried oregano

¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

Cheese Sauce

500ml lactose-free milk

140g dairy-free margarine (or preferably butter if you can tolerate it)

½ cup GF flour

3 egg yolks

½ cup (50g) grated parmesan

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Lightly brush eggplant with garlic oil. Add to pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side, or until tender and lightly browned. You will need to cook this in batches and set aside.

Heat a little garlic oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add beef and pork mince and cook, stirring and breaking up lumps, until browned all over. Remove meat from pan and set aside. Add onion to the same pan and cook, stirring, for a few minutes or until softened. Add the meat back to the pot with cinnamon and oregano. Stir to combine, then stir through the tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes or until mixture thickens. Add fresh herbs.

Next, prepare the cheese sauce. Heat milk and vegetable spread in a medium saucepan for 4 minutes or until hot. While whisking continuously, gradually add flour until combined, then continue whisking until thickened and mixture bubbles. Remove from heat and set aside for 10 minutes to cool. Whisk in eggs and cheese, then season.

Preheat oven to 180C. Line a large baking dish with greaseproof paper. Layer meat and eggplant in the baking dish, then top with a layer of cheese sauce. Bake for 30 minutes or until browned.

Five Spice Beef with Greens and Noodles

Dave actually said, "wow!" when he tasted the beef. I absolutely love five spice with beef, particularly when you also have oyster sauce. Mum used to make something like this - can't remember the exact recipe - but it's an all-time favourite and definitely included beef, five spice and oyster sauce. YUM!

I'm a fiend for rare beef

Serves 4

1kg beef steak, cut of choice

¼ cup soy sauce*

¼ cup rice vinegar

2 Tbsp fresh ginger

½ tsp chilli flakes

2 tsp five spice powder

2 tsp fish sauce

200g rice noodles, cooked

Handful of green beans, cut into 1cm lengths

3-4 bok choy

4 spring onions, green parts only, finely sliced

2 green chillies, seeds and membranes removed, finely diced

1 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped

½ cup fresh basil, roughly chopped

2 Tbsp sesame oil

¼ cup oyster sauce*

A good splash of soy sauce*

2 Tbsp sesame seeds, to serve

Combine soy, rice vinegar, ginger, chilli, five spice powder and fish sauce in a large bowl. Add beef and let marinate for at least an hour. Three hours is even better.

To prepare the buk choy, separate each leaf into stem and leaf, then slice the stems into batons.

To cook the beef**, add 1 Tbsp sesame oil to a large frypan over a medium-high heat. Cook the beef to rare, then set aside to rest. Slice into ½ centimetre slices.

Heat 1 Tbsp sesame oil in a large frypan or wok. Add spring onions and chillies and cook until onion softens. Add beans and bok choy stems and cook. Add bok choy leaves and cook until wilted. Add the cooked rice nooles, coriander, basil, oyster sauce and soy sauce to the pan and stir to combine.

To serve, pile noodles into bowls, top with sliced beef and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

* If you have a high gluten sensitivity, ensure you are using gluten free soy and oyster sauces.

** I am not a steak master, I go for about 2 ½ minutes per side (depending on thickness), but honestly if you’re not sure… look it up on youtube.

Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Thick and rich. There is nothing like a good bowl of pasta to warm the cockles of your heart.

Thanks to my lovely David for this beautiful photo!!

Serves 6

500g gluten free pasta

500g pork mince

500g beef mince

1/3 cup tomato paste

2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp white pepper

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup polenta

3 spring onions, green parts only, finely sliced

2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves

½ tsp red chilli flakes

2 Tbsp garlic oil

800g tinned diced tomatoes (doesn’t have to be exact)

500ml chicken stock*

1/3 cup tomato paste

2 bay leaves

¼ cup red wine

½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

½ lemon, juiced

Combine pork, beef, tomato paste, thyme, white pepper, egg and polenta in a large bowl. Roll out 2cm balls and place into containers or onto plates and refrigerate, covered, for an hour.

In a large pot, heat garlic oil over a medium heat. Add spring onions, thyme and chilli and fry until the onion soften. Add tomatoes, stock, tomato paste, bay leaves, wine and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer, stirring occasionally, for about an hour or until the sauce has thickened.

Preheat oven to 180C and prepare a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper.

Heat a large frypan over medium heat with a little oil. Add meatballs one at a time**, shaking the pan occasionally to turn the meatballs over. Once browned, transfer the meatballs to the baking tray and keep in the oven for 5-10 minutes or until cooked through. Add cooked meatballs to sauce pot and stir through. Keep cooking meatballs in batches until they’re all done.

Boil a large pot of water with big pot and cook pasta. Serve meatballs and sauce with pasta, topped with parmesan.

* I make and store my own onion-free, gluten-free stock for use

** Rerolling the meatballs before putting them in the pan will help prevent them from getting a flat side

Bacon Wrapped Pesto Beef

Similar to chicken roulade, this pretty much encompasses all my favourite ingredients: beef, bacon, pesto. Yeah. 

Serves 4

750g sirloin steak

16 rashers of bacon

1 cup basil leaves

3 spring onions

3 Tbsp garlic oil

1 tsp anchovy paste

½ lemon, juiced

½ cup roasted macadamia nuts

Firstly, prepare the pesto. Place basil, spring onions, garlic oil, anchovy paste, lemon and nuts in a food processor. Blend on “pulse” until just combined Season to taste.

Now prepare the beef. Place the beef steak between two pieces of baking paper. Pound the beef out so that it is 5mm thick. Slice steak into two pieces, widthways.

Lay out cling wrap on the bench, a little larger than your piece of steak. Lay strips of bacon out (approximately 8 per steak), overlapping a little on each edge. Place the steak on top. Spread a few large tablespoons of pesto across the steak.

Carefully lift up the cling wrap from one side of the beef / bacon and roll beef into itself. Peel back the cling wrap from the bacon as you go so that it doesn’t end up in the middle of the roll. Once you have a full roll, use the cling wrap to secure the roll in place. Place the roll on a place and refrigerate for at least an hour (can be left for 1 or 2 days if you want to prepare in advance). Repeat process with other steak.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Gently remove the cling wrap and place the two rolls on the baking paper. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and baste with its own juices. Bake for a further 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Asian Beef Burgers

These are super moist burgers with a slight, but not overpowering, asian flavour. Thank-you Oyster sauce.

Makes 15 small burger patties

750g minced beef

1 zucchini, grated and juice squeezed out

2 Tbsp polenta

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

2 Tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped

2 spring onions, green parts only, finely sliced

4 Tbsp oyster sauce*

1 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground ginger

½ tsp white pepper

Prepare a plate or baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, getting your hands into it to make sure it’s thoroughly combined. Roll balls of mixture in your hands and pat down to approximately the size of your palm. Lay patties out on the prepared plate.

Once all patties have been made, cover and place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Heat a BBQ to high heat. Place patties on grill and cook, turning after a few minutes.

Serve with salad and extra oyster sauce.


* Coeliacs and those avoiding large amounts of gluten should be sure to get a gluten-free oyster sauce. Alternatively, substitute with some tamari and a little brown sugar.