• Ganga108 on October 21, 2021

  I love Bill Grainger's books, another Sydney based chef and restaurateur, and another prolific cookbook author. His recent one, Australian Food, looks the goods as well. Bill's has been such a staple of my life in Sydney, first in Surry Hills and then in Darlinghurst at that beautiful corner shared-space cafe/bistro. His food is always light and beautiful, invoking images of quintessential blue-skied, sun-filled Sydney days around the harbour. His recent book contains many of his signature dishes that you have probably seen in other books, but so many new ones as well. I don't have it yet but it is on my Xmas wish list.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Avocado & poached egg on rye

  • Ganga108 on January 26, 2023

    Absolutely delicious! I am a great fan of Bill's books focusing on Australian food - really it is Australian Eastern States food. His recipes have a light, sun-filled touch. For this brunch I made the salsa option. As I don't cook with eggs, I replace them with burrata. The creamy texture of the burrata filling is even better than eggs, imo. A brunch perfect for these sunny, hot days of Summer.

• The fresh Aussie

  • Ganga108 on February 13, 2023

    Another dish from Bill's great book. I omitted the gravlax and eggs, and added a pilaf of freekeh and burghul with parsley. I have some pre-cooked greens in the freezer, ideal for this dish. Also made the furikake mix with nori, sesame seeds and sea salt. Utterly delicious.

• Sweetcorn fritters with roast tomatoes, bacon & avocado salsa

  • Ganga108 on January 01, 2024

    A fitting way to pay homage to Bill Granger with one of his most famous recipes on New Year's Day for breakfast/brunch. No bacon for us (#vegetarian) and I replaced the eggs with a little cream, chickpea flour and eno. A definite favourite. Thanks Bill.

• Banana, blueberry & chia seed breakfast bowl

  • Ganga108 on November 09, 2024

    A delicious way to begin a Sunday. With a salute to Bill Granger, gone far too soon, and many happy memories of Bill's in Darlinghurst.

• Chickpea pancakes with spiced roast cauliflower & carrots

  • Ganga108 on February 21, 2023

    Another early morning oven-baking activity in the middle of this heat wave to roast the cauli and carrots. I added zucchini and chillies from the garden (#glut) and garlic cloves. They took quite a bit longer than stated to cook in my oven. Also, I didn't add the brown/black mustard seeds with the spices - they can be bitter if not tempered. I am sad that Nigel joined the ranks with Ottolenghi et al, who don't treat mustard seeds properly - they are so delicious if popped. Next time I will temper them in oil and use the oil with the mustard seeds to coat the veg. Or just use a good mustard oil. >>>Anyway, I adore socca/pudla aka chickpea pancakes - a vegetarian's delight - and this topping makes them extra special. Also the left-over roasted veg makes an excellent "pick at me" snack - or turn them into soup.

• Pumpkin & cardamom breakfast loaf

  • hpmurray on January 28, 2023

    My go to ‘take a plate` vegan specialty. Vegan and non vegan happy with this one. Delicious.

  • Ganga108 on March 10, 2023

    Mine turned out overly moist and a little flat, but utterly delicious. I am determined to make this again.

  • Lepa on June 07, 2024

    This breakfast cake is so delicious! I used AP flour and Greek yogurt because that is what we have and it turned out really well. I also added a pinch of salt because I think that's always necessary. We ate it with butter and flaky salt. This will certainly go into the regular rotation.

• Seeded hazelnut rye loaf

  • juliet_496g8u on March 22, 2026

    This is absolutely fantastic! As easy as can be and absolutely delicious. Lasts forever too. I often replace the nuts with sunflower seeds to make it lunchbox friendly.

  • juliet_496g8u on March 22, 2026

    This is an absolute favourite! Usually replace nuts with sunflower seeds. Have also used walnuts or almonds.

• Crab & chilli linguine

  • Lafro on September 08, 2025

    Simple enough to be a fast weeknight meal - takes just longer than it takes to cook the pasta. So delicious. Left out the chilli for kids and just used a packet of crab meat (blue swimmer)

• Warm spiced salad of pumpkin & cavolo nero with honey, tamari & toasted hazelnuts

  • abengal on April 10, 2026

    Good, easy dish to make. Left out the hazelnuts and cavolo nero as we didn’t have them. As we have a small kitchen and my husband makes all the other dishes, roasted the pumpkin early and then left it in the oven with the heat switched off. Dressing was very strongly flavoured and only used about 1/3 of it. Everyone liked this salad and will make again.

• Chilli, sesame & peanut crispy chicken with miso buttermilk dipping sauce

  • lou_weez on December 30, 2020

    Delicious!! I didn't use as much of the gochujang as the recipe stated as I needed it to be kid friendly. Will defiantly make this again.

  • Lafro on January 27, 2024

    Very tasty! I forgot to add the peanuts and ran out of Miso so had to use mayonnaise instead of the dipping sauce but it was delicious all the same. The coating stayed nice and crispy, the chicken was tender and the sauce had a great peppery kick to it. Would make it again.

• Zucchini fries with tahini yoghurt dip

  • Ganga108 on February 18, 2023

    What a great afternoon snack! I was making Aubergine Frites with lemon, and decided to add Zucchini Fries as we had a couple waiting to be used. Fries were salted and served with the dip - a great combo. They disappeared very quickly.

• Turmeric-spiced chicken in lettuce parcels with green chilli dipping sauce

  • lou_weez on January 05, 2024

    Delicious!! I served it as a salad - shredded the lettuce, used the dipping sauce as a salad dressing and poured some of the coconut spiced liquid over the top of everything. Would definitely make this again.

• Sticky chilli pork belly with barbecue sauce

  • Happykikkers on June 29, 2025

    This was delicious! I left me pieces a little bigger. Next time I’ll try and use low sodium soy sauce, it could use a little less salt.

• Masala snapper with cumin-roast tomatoes

  • hewlettn on January 06, 2024

    Not sure how 200g snapper fillets serves 4?

• Parmesan-crumbed chicken schnitzel with creamed corn & heritage tomato salad

  • Petrakisses on October 18, 2022

    I can't speak for the creamed corn or heritage tomato salad, but the chicken schnitzel is lovely. My new go-to schnitzel recipe.

• Wrap Your Lips Around This

  ...an easy cookbook to like because it’s filled with things you really want to eat. And making them is fairly straightforward. I can fast see this becoming a favourite book on the shelf.

  Full review