Serves 4-6


Ingredients:

1.6kg chicken
3 tsp chopped red chillies
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp peppercorns, crushed
2 tsp soft brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp lime juice
30g butter, chopped


Method:

• Preheat the oven to moderate 180°C.


• Using a large cleaver, cut the chicken in half by cutting down the backbone and along the breastbone. To prevent the wings from burning, tuck them underneath. Place the chicken, skin-side-up, on a rack in a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.


• Meanwhile, combine the chilli, garlic, peppercorns and sugar in a food processor or mortar and pestle and process briefly, or pound, until smooth. Add the soy sauce, turmeric and lime juice, and process in short bursts, or stir if using a mortar and pestle, until combined.


• Brush the spice mixture over the chicken, dot it with the butter pieces and bake it for another 25-30 minutes, or until cooked through and rich red. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition per serve (6):
Protein 25g
Fat 10g
Carbohydrate 2g
Dietary Fibre 0g
Cholesterol 90mg
775 kj (185 cal)

Serves 4-6


Ingredients:

200g somen noodles
1 (2kg) duck
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
300g ground chicken
8 fresh shiitake mushrooms, brushed clean and sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp palm sugar or brown sugar
1 tbsp dry sherry
¼ cup (60g) canned water chestnuts, finely chopped


Method:

• Cook noodles as directed on package. Drain and allow to cool.
• Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Lightly oil roasting pan and place rack in pan.
• Rinse duck and pat dry with paper towels. Trim off excess fat.
• In wok or frying pan over medium-high heat, warm oil. Add onion and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Add ground chicken, cook, stirring, until meat changes colour, about 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, soy and oyster sauces, sugar, sherry and water chestnuts. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Stir in noodles.
• Spoon stuffing into duck cavity. Secure and truss with kitchen string. Place on rack in prepared pan. Using fork, prick duck skin all over. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 180°C (350°F) and cook until juices run clear when skewer is inserted in thigh, about 1 hour. Remove from oven and let stand for about 10 minutes.
• Remove stuffing from duck and place in serving bowl. Carve duck and serve with stuffing.

(Indonesian Roast Chicken)

Serves 6-8


Ingredients:

1 (2kg) chicken, cleaned & halved
2 tbsp light soya sauce
3 tbsp juice of lime
2 tsp turmeric
salt to taste
2 dsp butter

Ground:
4 red chillies
4 chilli padi
1 clove garlic
1 tsp white peppercorns
1 tsp sugar


Method:

1. Grill the chicken gently over low heat till almost golden.
2. Mix together the ground ingredients, soya sauce and lime juice. Blend in turmeric and add salt to taste. Season the chicken with the mixture.
3. Grill the chicken again, basting with remaining seasoning mixture.
4. When done, remove from heat. Brush over with butter. Serve hot or cold, garnished as desired.

10 servings


Ingredients:

1 leg or shoulder of pork
3 tablespoons fennel seeds
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
Pinch dried chile pepper flakes
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 bulb garlic, skin left on the cloves
1 handful fresh sage
1 handful fresh rosemary


Method:

1. Remove and reserve the skin and bone from the leg of pork.
2. To make the scratchings, cut the skin into two pieces and score incisions through each piece. In a pestle and mortar, crush half the fennel seeds with half the coriander seeds, chile flakes, and a pinch of salt. Sprinkle the spice mix over the top and finish off with another good pinch of salt. Pour a little olive oil over the pork skin and bake in the oven, on a rack over a tray to catch the fat, in a preheated 220°C (425°F) oven until very crispy.
3. Make crisscross incisions all over the pork, on both sides. Crush the remaining fennel and coriander seeds with another good pinch of salt. Sprinkle over both sides of the pork, and finish off with a grinding of black pepper.
4. Place the pork and garlic cloves in a roasting tray. Cover with a few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Place the sage and rosemary in a pestle and mortar and gently crush together until they are lightly bruised and have released their flavours. Add 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Squeeze the flavoured oil over the pork and rub the herbs all over it. Cook in the oven in a preheated 200°C (400°F) oven for about 4-4½ hours. Any leftovers are great to use in sandwiches the next day.

6-8 servings


Ingredients:

1.5kg pork loin, boned
1 bunch fresh thyme, leaves picked
1 bulb garlic
200g butter
2 tins (cans) peaches in natural juice, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Around 15 slices of pancetta, streaky bacon, or Parma ham
1 glass (175ml) white wine
A little flour
1 glass (175ml) water


Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Score the skin of the pork through the fat, the incisions should be about 1cm apart. Turn over. Make a pocket for the stuffing by cutting an incision at an angle, about 7.5cm deep in the centre of the streaky part of the loin, working away from the eye meat. Starting slightly in from the side of the meat, slowly slice along the loin not quite to the end, this will ensure your stuffing won't fall out.
3. Chop half the thyme with 1 clove of garlic and scrunch together with the butter, 1 tin of peaches, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Push the butter into the pocket and pat back into shape. Lay the pancetta, bacon or Parma ham over the pork, leaving the skin side uncovered, and tie up firmly with 3-4 pieces of string.
4. Place skin-side up in a roasting tray with the remaining peaches, the garlic cloves, thyme, and half of the white wine. Roast for around 1 hour until the skin is crisp and golden.
5. When ready, remove the pork and peaches to a plate and leave to rest for 15 minutes whilst you finish the sauce. To do this, remove most of the fat from the roasting tray, then place the tray over a high heat. Squash the cooked garlic and add 1 tablespoon of flour. Stir and add the rest of the wine with a glass of water or stock. Simmer and leave to reduce for a few minutes. Strain and add any extra juices from the roasted pork. Check the seasoning and consistency and serve drizzled over the sliced pork.

8-10 servings


Ingredients:

1 (2.5kg) fore-rib, wing-rib or sirloin of beef, French trimmed
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
3 red onions, halved
2 bulbs garlic, plus 4 cloves garlic, peeled
3kg roasting potatoes, peeled
3 rosemary sprigs
2 thumb-sized pieces ginger, peeled and diced
½ bottle robust red wine

Huge Yorkshire Puddings:
285ml milk
115g all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
3 eggs
Vegetable oil

Method:

Yorkshire pudding:

• Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F), and heat a large thick-bottomed roasting tray on the stovetop.
• Rub the beef generously with salt, then add a little olive oil to the tray and lightly color the meat for a couple of minutes on all sides.
• Lay the onions and bulbs of garlic in the tray with the beef on top of them, then cook in the pre-heated oven for a total of 1½ hours.
• While the beef is roasting, parboil your potatoes in salted boiling water for around 10 minutes and drain in a colander. Toss about to chuff them up, this will make them really crispy.
• After 30 minutes, take the tray out and toss in your potatoes and rosemary. With a garlic press or grater, squeeze or grate the cloves of garlic and ginger over everything in the tray.
• Shake the tray and whack it back in the oven for the final hour. Remove the potatoes to a dish to keep warm, place the beef on a plate, covered with foil, to rest, and get your greens and Yorkshire puddings on.
• Remove most of the fat from your roasting tray and you should be left with caramelized onions and sticky beef goodness.
• Add 1 teaspoon of flour to the tray and mash everything together. Heat the tray on the stovetop and when hot, add the red wine. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes, until your gravy is really tasty and coats back of a spoon. Add any juice from the beef and feel free to add some water or stock to thin the gravy if you like.
• Pour through a coarse sieve and push it through with a spoon, and serve in a warmed gravy jug. Serve with Yorkshire puddings.

Huge Yorkshire Puddings:
• Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F).
• Mix the batter ingredients together. Let rest for 10 minutes.
• Preheat a Yorkshire pudding tray or muffin tin with 1cm of oil in each section. After the 10 minutes divide the batter into the tray. Cook for around 15-20 minutes until crisp and puffy, don't open the oven door before then or they won't rise.

Serves 4


Ingredients:

2 (1.5kg) Aylesbury ducks, or Pekin ducks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
255g fresh ginger
2 long stalks baby rhubarb
2 handfuls fresh sage
1 bulb garlic, cloves removed and chopped in half
2 red onions, roughly sliced
2 wineglasses Marsala or Vin Santo
1 cup (285 ml) vegetable, chicken, or duck stock

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Season the ducks generously, putting some salt in the cavity as well. Make sure you save the fat and the giblets for the gravy.
3. Coarsely grate half the ginger and rhubarb. Mix this in a bowl with half the sage and all the garlic and onion, and stuff the mixture inside the cavity of the ducks, ensuring there is an air cavity.
4. Place the ducks on a tray on top of the chopped up giblets and roast in the oven for one hour. Turn the temperature down to 150°C (300°F) and cook for another 1½ hours until crisp and tender. The ducks are ready when the skin is crisp and the leg bones can be easily removed.
5. During this time you will need to drain the fat maybe 3 times into a bowl, this will separate into a clear fat which you can keep for roasting.
6. Once cooked, allow the ducks to rest on a warmed plate while you make the sauce. Drain off any remaining fat from the roasting tray.
7. Pull out all the stuffing and any juices from the inside of the duck and put in the roasting tray and warm this on a low heat.
8. Add the Marsala and loosen all the sticky goodness from the bottom of the tray, and reduce. Add the stock and reduce to a good taste and consistency.
9. Pass the sauce through a coarse sieve.
10. Remove the breasts from the ducks with a knife and, using your hands, remove the thighs. Arrange the breasts and thighs on a large serving plate.
11. Finely slice the remaining ginger and fry off in a little hot oil (or you can use the duck fat) in a non-stick pan. As the ginger begins to color, add the rest of the rhubarb, finely sliced, and the rest of the sage. Fry until crisp. Sprinkle this over the duck and drizzle with the sauce.