Three winter warmers!
From Good Cooking Every Day
Hi there!
I can’t quite believe it’s been 10 whole months since GOOD COOKING EVERY DAY hit the shelves around Australia!
I have loved seeing so many of you cook from it and if you haven’t got a copy yet, consider this a little reminder that it is a A MUST HAVE COOKBOOK filled with almost 100 simple, seasonal and delicious recipes for good cooking, well, every day! I love this book so much and I think you will too!
It’s available at all good book stores and if you can’t see it on the shelf, ask your local bookseller to order one in!
Also of course online! Some handy links below!
It will also see a USA release on August 5! Currently only on AMAZON, but if you are in the States, please ask your local independent bookseller to order a copy or 10!
Today I am sharing THREE delicious winter warmers from the book!
First up, Tarragon Chicken which is a little retro but actually so elegant and comforting!
Next, a really good lamb ragù which I serve with hand rolled umbricelli but dried pasta would work a treat of course.
And last but not least, a recipe for one my favourite desserts, Portokalopita which is an ingenious Greek cake/pudding made from filo pastry and flavoured with orange, cinnamon and cloves .
Feel free to share this newsletter with anyone who you think will enjoy it and these recipes and as always, THANK YOU for being here!
Also, a few tickets are left for my dinner next week with Mastercard Sydney at Chiswick! It’s going to be so lovely and I hope to meet some of you there. We’ll be serving up some dishes from Good Cooking Every Day as well as some classic Chiswick dishes!
Photography: Armelle Habib,
Styling: Karina Duncan
Happy weekend, happy cooking!
Julia x
Tarragon Chicken
SERVES 4
1 x 1.6–1.8 kg chicken, broken down into 6 pieces
sea salt
plain flour, for dusting
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 shallots, halved
125 ml (1/2 cup) dry white wine
250 ml (1 cup) pure cream
300 ml chicken stock
handful of tarragon sprigs
black pepper
Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced.
Season the chicken pieces with salt and dust in the flour, shaking off any excess.
Heat half the olive oil and butter in a large, deep ovenproof frying pan over a medium–high heat. When the butter is foaming, add the chicken, in batches if needed, and brown for 3 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan.
Wipe the pan clean and add the remaining olive oil and butter. Once the butter is foaming, add the shallot and a pinch of salt and cook for 4–5 minutes or until the shallot is beginning to colour. Deglaze with the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to lift any brown bits. Cook for 1–2 minutes until reduced, then add the cream, stock and tarragon sprigs. Season with a little salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and return the chicken, skin-side up, to the pan.
Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 40–45 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Check for seasoning, adding more salt and some black pepper if needed, then serve.
Umbricelli with lamb ragù
SERVES 6
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
800 g lamb shoulder, cut into 8 cm pieces
sea salt
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 rosemary sprigs
pinch of chilli flakes
150 ml dry white wine
800 g canned tomato polpa (finely crushed tomatoes)
250 ml (1 cup) chicken stock
black pepper
grated Pecorino Romano, to serve
PASTA DOUGH
400 g tipo 00 flour
pinch of sea salt
200 ml warm water
semolina flour (semola rimacinata), for dusting
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium– high heat. Season the lamb with salt, then cook for 4–5 minutes until browned well on all sides. Remove the lamb from the pan and drain off all the fat.
Warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the same pan over a medium–low heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10–12 minutes until the vegetables are softened and beginning to colour. Add the garlic, rosemary and chilli flakes and cook for 2–3 minutes or until aromatic.
Increase the heat to medium–high, return the browned lamb to the pan and deglaze with the wine, scraping the bottom of the pan to lift any brown bits. Simmer for 1–2 minutes to slightly reduce the wine. Add the tomatoes and stock and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook, partially covered, for 3–3 1/2 hours or until the lamb is tender and the sauce is thick and rich. If the meat is still in large pieces, use the wooden spoon to gently break it up into the sauce. Season to taste.
Meanwhile, to make the pasta dough, tip the flour and salt onto a clean work surface and mix to combine. Create a well in the centre, slowly pour in the water, then using your hands, slowly bring in the flour, a little at a time, and mix to incorporate. When the dough becomes stiff, really work hard to bring in as much of the flour as you can. A pastry scraper can help bring everything together. Knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with an upturned bowl and rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
Roll out the dough to form a disc around 1 cm thick, then drizzle with some olive oil to stop it from drying out. Cut the dough into 1 cm strips and roll each strip into a thin rope around 5 mm wide. Have a small bowl of water nearby in case the dough begins to dry out, so you can wet your fingertips to help keep the dough moist. Place the rolled umbricelli on a clean tea towel dusted with semolina flour.
Just before you cook the umbricelli, have the ragù heating over a medium heat.
Cook the umbricelli in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until chewy but not chalky, around 3–4 minutes. Drain the umbricelli, reserving some of the pasta cooking water. Add the umbricelli to the ragù along with as much cooking water as needed to help coat the pasta. Simmer the pasta and rag. for 1–2 minutes, until slightly thickened, then serve with plenty of grated Pecorino Romano.
Portokalopita
SERVES 8-12
500 g filo pastry
1 orange
180 g caster sugar
3 eggs
200 g full-fat Greek yoghurt, plus extra to serve
150 ml light-flavoured extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of ground cinnamon
ORANGE SYRUP
juice of 1 orange
2 strips of orange peel
150 g caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
Using your hands, tear the filo pastry into smallish pieces. Lay them out on a tray and allow them to dry out for at least 1 1/2 hours, but overnight is great, too.
Place the orange in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook for 35–40 minutes or until the orange is soft. Allow to cool, then halve it, remove any seeds and roughly chop. Place the chopped orange in a food processor or blender, add the caster sugar, eggs, yoghurt, olive oil, vanilla, baking powder and cinnamon and blitz until smooth.
Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced. Grease a 24 cm square cake tin with a little olive oil.
Place the dried filo pastry in the tin and pour on the orange mixture. Mix well with a fork, coating all the pastry without pressing down too much. Bake for 35–40 minutes or until the portokalopita is lightly risen and golden.
While the portokalopita is cooking, combine the orange syrup ingredients with 200 ml of water in a saucepan over a high heat.
Stir to dissolve the sugar, then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 6–8 minutes or until syrupy. Allow to cool.
When the hot portokalopita comes out of the oven, pour over the cooled syrup, including the cinnamon stick and cloves. Allow to cool in the tin. Serve the portokalopita with the extra yoghurt.
I love a lamb ragu
I've made your tarragon chicken quite a few times now and it always gets rave reviews. Love your book!