Notes about Recipes in this book

• Curried egg sandwich

  • SpatulaCity on October 29, 2024

    Simple. Good. Needs acid to balance it so added a splash of lemon juice. Added arugula and cilantro to the sandwich just for another dimension

• Vietnamese-style lemongrass pork roll

  • treay on September 22, 2024

    Used chicken cooked with lemongrass butter instead. It was a mixture of a recipe that I found online, and one from this cookbook. It was scrumptious! We haven't been eating much bread lately to follow our low carb diet, and therefore, our taste buds were singing with pleasure while eating this Vietnamese style sandwich!! Will certainly make it again for sure!!

• Vietnamese-style pickled carrot and daikon

  • treay on September 22, 2024

    Fantastic! I have served it next to other meals and it is fresh, yummy and healthy!

  • treay on October 15, 2024

    Delicious as a side dish!

• Superfood salad

  • SpatulaCity on October 25, 2024

    Great grain salad that my husband loved. Subbed arugula for the kale, and Farro for the grain. Added some chopped olives to the Pepitas and Walnut seed and nut mix.

• Macy’s salad

  • SpatulaCity on October 15, 2024

    I really liked the flavor and texture combo here - awesome for fall! It’s kind of difficult to toss with the big leaves and little nubbins - next time I’d chop the leaves down, and add a bit more lemon dressing.

• My favourite simple salad

  • treay on November 25, 2024

    This salad is actually what it says, very simple. The gruyere and the shichimi togarashi helps it to be a bit more exciting to eat. Good as a side dish. Last night I served it next to some scrambled eggs with Mexican beans and it turned into a healthy vegetarian meal.

• Butter lettuce, avocado, cherry tomato and jalapeño chilli salad

  • treay on February 15, 2025

    I added green goddess dressing as per his online recipe. Just beautiful!!

• Prawn, tomato, nectarine and hazelnut salad

  • PiaOC on December 28, 2021

    A refreshing and light entree for our Christmas lunch. Used a light olive oil in place of hazelnut oil. Suspect this recipe will feature regularly over the summer - may need to invest in the hazelnut oil.

• Warm salad of spicy minced chicken

  • KarinaFrancis on November 24, 2021

    Light, super tasty and healthy dinner. I had to make some substitutions - asparagus instead of green beans, red chillies instead of green and chopped peanuts instead of the roasted rice (who runs out of rice?). Still delicious.

• Miso-glazed squid

  • treay on February 15, 2025

    Not my favourite squid recipe. It was ok, but prefer it in a more Mediterranean style.

• Warm salad of chargrilled quail with tomatoes and black olives

  • SpatulaCity on October 21, 2024

    Loved this. Subbed sautéed chicken breast tenders for the quail. The semi-dried cherry tomatoes are amazing and brought a ton of flavor. I added chopped parsley to the herb mix. Delicious served fresh at room temp, or chilled the next day. Could be a great topping for grains or a salad as well! I sought out a Cab Sauv red wine vinegar, and it was very strong: I’d add gradually to taste next time. I used the vinegar measurements called out in the recipe and felt I needed to add more herbs and oil to make it balanced.

• Garganelli with squid, garlic, chilli, tomato and white wine

  • treay on October 15, 2024

    I actually used penne because I couldn't find the type of pasta he used in the book, and it worked really well. I couldn't use the botarga either, so I chopped a couple of anchovies very finely and added that on top with the pangratatto. It was very good, if anything a bit too salty because I followed the recipe and added salt when making the pangrattato and to be honest, probably it wasn't needed. Anyway, an easy and tasty meal.

• Ricotta malfatti with brown butter and sage

  • SpatulaCity on October 21, 2024

    Not my favorite Malfatti/Gnudi recipe, but still tasty. Comparatively, it utilizes only an egg yolk vs the common full egg. Without the egg white there is less binding, and a fair amount of greens and batter were lost in boiling. The Swiss chard adds more complex flavor vs the commonly utilized spinach, however there was quite a bit less cheese so overall it didn’t pack the richness that I enjoy. (This recipe had 1oz, my favorite recipe has 3x as much). Also the ricotta mix should have salt. Or add pancetta to the mix and you’re covered with salt and richness :)

• Duck ragú with pappardelle

  • SpatulaCity on October 27, 2024

    This was good, but I don’t think the flavors are given enough time to reduce together and meld. Between the tomatoes and vinegar it has more acid than a traditional bolognese, and it wasn’t my favorite.

• Rigatoni with silverbeet and sausage

  • treay on October 15, 2024

    Excellent recipe. Easy to prepare and very tasty.

• Macaroni cheese

  • SpatulaCity on October 14, 2024

    Simple and straightforward Mac. I used Gouda in place of the cheddar. I was nervous to simmer the cheese sauce for five minutes, knowing how easy it is for cheese sauces to break if they get too warm and don’t have enough fat/starch to keep the sauce together. Because of that I think I undercooked the sauce and it was a little thin.

• Pea, bacon and chilli broth with gnocchetti

  • runoutofshelves on April 18, 2022

    We loved this. We were a bit amazed by the amount of chicken stock required but it reduced to a delicious broth. We used farfalle instead of gnocchetti and proscuitto instead of speck.

• Best-ever lasagne

  • shane.metzke on January 23, 2022

    Really good but added a couple of tweaks. Added a diced carrot. Increased meat to 400g each. Reduced passata to 500ml as it looked very wet at that point. One tablespoon of balsamic was enough. I think you could take the meat to 500g each, the passata to 750ml and create an extra layer.

• Ramen noodle salad with chicken, ginger and spring onion

  • SpatulaCity on October 17, 2024

    Really tasty and simple dish! This is a personal preference, but I tend not to favor poached chicken. I went through the motions here, but in the end think using leftover roasted chicken breast would be just as good. The ginger and spring onion dressing is delicious but the instruction say to blend everything together while Neil’s note mentions a “vibrant green dressing”. The photo also shows green oil in addition to the brown dressing. I followed the directions and mixed everything, but for more color variation it makes sense to leave the scallion oil separate. Would love to add veggies next time. Julienned cucumber, red pepper, and cilantro for cold, or sautéed cabbage and roasted broccoli if served warm. Another part of me wanted to add chicken stock or miso broth and make it a soup. Possibilities abound!

  • maryflo on March 20, 2026

    Terrific salad. Simple but very tasty. I make this often.

• AKA Chinese Bolognese

  • shane.metzke on September 21, 2023

    So it’s Ok, but I am not sure about the recipe. There’s an online version of it that says you can use tahini instead of Chinese sesame paste so I did that. I dialled down the amount because the book quantity seemed enormous. The online version (delicious.com.au) seems closer to what I would expect would work. Maybe try that instead if you’re interested.

  • SpatulaCity on October 15, 2025

    Loved this intensely savory “bolognese”! Incredible umami kick!

• Classic fried rice

  • shane.metzke on September 23, 2022

    Maybe just one teaspoon of ginger… could add a teaspoon of dark soy too perhaps… but a yummy and filling dish!

  • treay on October 15, 2024

    Loved this recipe. Great side dish.

• Barbecued salmon with tomato and oregano dressing

  • treay on October 15, 2024

    Had to adapt the recipe a bit because I couldn't find macha sauce. Also, I used coral trout instead of salmon. Delicious recipe!

• Barbecued John Dory with pistachio, preserved lemon and caper salsa

  • SpatulaCity on October 15, 2024

    Our fish counter didn't have John Dory, so I used Halibut. Delicious! Tender and flavorful. The recipe made a lot of salsa and next time I’d make half as much. We ran out of pistachios, but I thought Pine Nuts made a nice substitute. Would make again!

• Whiting meunière

  • treay on October 03, 2024

    Simple recipe but delicious!

• Crisp-skin coral trout with finger lime and tapioca sauce

  • treay on March 02, 2025

    To make the fish recipe, I had to use a couple of ingredients that were totally new for us. It had been a long time since I had wanted to try finger limes, a native Australian fruit also known as 'citrus caviar'. They are not usually available in the shops nearby, and when I saw them the other day, I bought some to try. I didn't know what I was going to make with them, and then I saw this recipe and thought it could be good. The other ingredient in the sauce that I had never tried before were tapioca pearls. Another interesting product. The sauce was reasonably easy to make; however, it has an incredible amount of butter, which makes it very rich. I thought it tasted mild but delicious, but hubby didn't like the consistency; therefore, I will probably not make it again ??.

• Blue eye trevalla with clams and parsley

  • treay on October 15, 2024

    This is an extremely easy to make recipe and the result is just outstanding. I entered the photo in a fishmongers competition and won the prize, $50!!

• Butterflied chicken with lemon myrtle, ricotta and macadamias

  • ozfoodie on February 05, 2022

    The chicken was lovely and very juicy, even the breast, but neither hubby nor myself were fans of the ricotta stuffing. (We used kaffir lime leaves instead of lemon myrtle, but it was the ricotta that seemed a bit weird.) Will try one of the other variations another time.

• Twice-cooked duck with mandarin sauce

  • SpatulaCity on October 29, 2024

    Worth the effort! Loved this tender duck and its crispy, delicious skin! I reduced the amount of palm sugar in the mandarin sauce recipe, and could have taken it down a touch more.

• Chermoula chicken

  • treay on November 11, 2024

    Lovely recipe. Needs marinating. I served it with mograbiah and broccoli with chilli and garlic. Delicious!

• Sautéed chicken breast with curried potatoes and lemon yoghurt

  • treay on February 15, 2025

    Everything was delicious, especially the potatoes. Here served with Braised Roman beans. Fantastic meal!

• Kung pao chicken

  • shane.metzke on December 28, 2021

    Probably really only need 20% of the chillies and sichuan pepper, otherwise excellent. The pepper only takes a few seconds to cook. Added some celery and shredded cabbage. Thickened with a little corn flour.

• Japanese-style chicken meatballs with cabbage

  • treay on October 15, 2024

    Lovely recipe to be part of a shared meal.

• Spanish-style chicken casserole

  • treay on October 15, 2024

    This is the second time I cook this chicken recipe. It is easy to make but it takes more than an hour to cook at low temperature on the stove top. The sauce is made up with capsicums, onions, garlic, tomatoes, dry sherry and smoked paprika. It is very tasty. It was amazingly tasty.

  • SpatulaCity on October 25, 2024

    This was good - next time I’d add another red bell pepper. Recipe comes out very soupy and we served over rice as sort of a stew.

• Southern Thai-style chicken curry

  • shane.metzke on November 22, 2025

    Pretty good, better than store paste. Don’t skimp on the lime/sugar/fish sauce ratio… add some veggies too, they’re good for you!

• Roast beef fillet with Café de Paris butter

  • treay on October 15, 2024

    The Café de Paris butter was excellent and I made enough to use with other recipes. I just kept it in the freezer and cut small slices when I needed. Lovely with a good steak!

• Barbecued rump steak with salsa verde and spring onions

  • shane.metzke on September 19, 2023

    Excellent rub… excellent salsa… I liked it had no garlic in the sauce. Squish the carved meat in the resting juices. Cooked on a cast iron skillet in the pizza oven… I also cooked a couple of shallots on the skillet, then chopped and mushed them into the resting juices and popped those on top too… VERY nice addition.

• Black pepper beef

  • shane.metzke on January 11, 2022

    Added a little cornflour to thicken, and broccolini - capsicum would also be good. Seemed a pretty restaurant authentic rendition.

• Crispy pork belly with red onion, coriander, peanuts and sesame seeds

  • treay on October 15, 2024

    Delicious, especially with the salad!

• Chickpea and green lentil curry with spinach

  • Ganga108 on May 14, 2022

    It's not uncommon in my kitchen for dishes to come together in a slightly surprising way. So it was with this "curry". With a renewed focus on clean-out-the-freezer-and-pantry, yesterday I cooked a lot of green lentils (finished the packet, yay!) and chopped a bunch of spinach from the garden (intending to saute today). As luck had it, I saw Perry's recipe this morning, so I simmered the spinach with the lentils and spices+herbs from the recipe, and added the chickpeas and chillies for a lovely lunch. I also added some pre-grilled eggplant from the garden (because of the eggplant glut). Served with the yoghurt and salsa as suggested in the recipe, as well as some pickled vegetables. All-in-all, it took about 15 mins. Note that rather than it being a finely-balanced "curry" flavour-wise, it relies on the salsa and yoghurt to make it a good dish (and the mixed pickled veg that I added was awesome with it). Without the toppings it is quite so-so.

• Classic roast potatoes

  • ozfoodie on February 05, 2022

    The title says it – a classic way to cook roast spuds. I used kipfler potatoes. Probably should have turned them more than once for more even browning, but very enjoyable.

• Braised Roman beans

  • treay on February 15, 2025

    Beautiful way of eating beans.

• Stir-fried Chinese cabbage with Chinese ham and black vinegar

  • SpatulaCity on October 29, 2024

    Loved this! I used the suggested prosciutto instead of Chinese sausage. The cabbage packed a ton of flavor and maintained its crunch. Could have eaten a full head of cabbage this way!