zucchini flatbread

In a bid to waste nothing and make the most of my zucchini bounty, I came up with this dish at the weekend, faced with a lone multigrain wrap and a zucchini I had accidentally mandolined rather than grated in the food processor (I’d put the blade on the wrong way!).

It was so delicious! Tom and I shared this one but I will definitely make us one each next time. The recipe is easily doubled, tripled or quadrupled depending on how many flatbreads you have to use.

Zucchini flatbread

Makes one, for two to (reluctantly) share

1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced or mandolined
1 wrap or large pitta bread
2-3 tablespoons ricotta, pesto, cottage cheese or thick Greek yoghurt (I used ricotta)
1 small red chilli, finely chopped or a pinch of dried chilli flakes
A handful of fresh thyme leaves
A handful of grated cheese of your choice (I used ready-grated Parmesan)

Spread the ricotta across the base of the wrap. Layer the zucchini slices on top in concentric circles. Scatter with thyme, chilli and cheese. If you have a zucchini flower from the garden, put that in the middle too for that cheffy touch. Grind some black pepper over the top, if you like.

Prior to going into the oven! I thought it looked rather beautiful.

Bake for 5-8 minutes in a hot oven (check after 5, depending on the thickness of the wrap or pitta bread) until golden and bubbling. Allow to cool slightly, then cut into wedges as you would a pizza, and devour.

apricot and date chutney

In February, my aunt very kindly gave me some apricots off her tree. When I say “some”, I mean 12 kilograms of them. Fortunately, Tasmanian apricots are incredible - like the sort of apricots you’d get in France - so I was not stumped on ideas of what to do with them. If anything, I had too many options!

I opted for stewing some, making jam, experimenting with mustard (which went terribly wrong, the jars exploded when we experienced summer’s last desperate attempt at heat) and turning the rest into delectable chutneys. Word has spread about these chutneys and they are now, after two months’ maturation in my pantry, a valuable currency to barter with in these strange times. I’ve swapped jars of it for fresh tomatoes, rhubarb, apples, cucumbers, pesto and even a new heater!

On chutney making day, apparently the whole street smelled of this delightful apricot and date concoction. Tom told me, as he turned the corner on to our street on his walk home from work, he followed the scent all the way back to our house! Chutney is a delightful thing for your home to smell of.

Be warned - this is not something you’ll be able to rustle up in a hurry. This is a labour of love and you will be exhausted by the end of it. It takes time, as all worthwhile things do, but you’ll be rewarded greatly for your efforts.

Apricot and date chutney

Makes heaps, at least 12 jars

3.5 kilograms fresh ripe apricots, halved and kernels discarded
900g brown sugar
900g pitted dates, halved (you could use sultanas if you prefer)
6 large onions, finely chopped
85g sea salt
1 litre vinegar (any kind - I used plain white vinegar from Woolworths!)
1 tablespoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons mustard powder or brown mustard seeds (I went with seeds for this batch)
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons harissa powder or chilli powder (optional - I like everything to have a kick!)

Place everything in a giant preserving pan (I inherited my grandmother’s) or a large stockpot. Bring to a slow boil, and then reduce to a simmer and cook until thick and the fruit has broken down. Thanks to the dates, it will be a rich brown colour.

In progress!

The original recipe my aunt gave me said to cook for 45 minutes - I found I cooked mine for the best part of 3 hours until enough vinegar had evaporated and it was sufficiently thick. But my stove is a relic that belongs either in the tip or a museum, so you may well have a more modern and reliable stove that cooks the chutney faster! Either way, keep an eye on it, stir regularly to prevent it burning or sticking to the bottom, and go with your instincts. I’ve made a lot of chutney in my time, so I know when one is ready. It all comes with practice.

Have your jars sterilised and ready to go. I don’t have a dishwasher so I washed mine in hot soapy water then dried them in a low oven. This is quite intensive, but as I said at the start, this is not something you’ll do in half an hour, it’s very much a labour of love so you need to embrace the slow and enjoy the process.

Carefully pour the hot chutney into the hot jars. A funnel is ideal, if you have one big enough.

Seal immediately. Label when cool and then store the jars in a dark, cool place to mature. I opened the first jar after a month and it’s already excellent. The longer you leave it, the better it will be. You can keep them unopened in the pantry for up to a year, provided you’ve sterilised everything properly, but once you open a jar, keep it in the fridge.

This chutney has thousands of uses. I love it with cheese on toast, dolloped on dhal or another Indian curry, as an alternative to tomato ketchup for dipping chips in, with a veggie burger, or on the side of a giant wodge of zucchini slice.

zucchini slice

The humble zucchini slice - one of Australia’s favourite dishes. No doubt we “borrowed” it from another nation! Zucchini slice appeared regularly on my family dinner table when I was a child and I was always dismayed when it did because I thought it was “boring”. But with the glut of zucchini in my vegetable garden at the moment, I thought I’d “Phil-ify” this family favourite and lo and behold, it’s delicious! And with the addition of fresh and dried herbs, including an Australian Bush Herbs mix I picked up from one of my favourite shops on the mainland, it’s anything but boring.

This dish is the perfect vehicle to use up a glut of zucchini, and any other vegetables you might have lying around that need using. You can also throw in any cheese you want to use up. It’s the ideal dish for these strange times when we’re all trying to make the most of what we’ve got.

If you’ve got a food processor, I highly recommend fitting the grater attachment and grating the onion, zucchini and cheese all together. An absolute breeze and takes about 20 seconds from start to finish. Just watch your fingers!

Zucchini slice

Serves 6

6 large, preferably organic, eggs
1 1/2 - 2 cups grated cheese of your choice (I used parmesan and cheddar)
3 large zucchini (about 1kg), grated
1 large onion, grated
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
2 teaspoons Australian Bush Herbs mix (optional)
1 teaspoon dried basil
4 spring onions, finely chopped
Large handful of fresh mint, parsley and thyme (or another preferred combo of fresh herbs), finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Grease a large baking pan or lamington pan (I use a baking pan I’d normally make lasagna in).

Whisk the eggs in a large mixing bowl with a bit of salt and pepper, then add all the rest of the ingredients. I tend to do this in stages - add the grated zucchini and onion, mix it in a bit, then the cheese and flour, then the seasonings, fresh herbs, etc. You want it all mixed nicely together with no lumps of flour.

Once thoroughly combined, scrape the mixture into your greased tin and spread out evenly. You can top with more cheese if you like but I tend not to.

Bake in the hot oven for around 35 minutes or until risen and golden on top. Put a knife or a skewer in, as if you’re testing a cake, and if it comes out clean, you’re good to go!

Allow the slice to sit for about 10-15 minutes before cutting into generous pieces. You can serve it as is, or with any accompaniment you like - salad, green beans, broccoli - but as the slice contains green veg already, my favourite way to serve this is with homemade potato wedges and a big dollop of homemade chutney.

mexican barley soup

This is a fabulous soup for using up that bag of pearl barley you’ve possibly had lurking in your pantry for a few years. Or, it might have been the only grain you could find at the supermarket recently!

Cheap, filling and nutritious, I personally LOVE barley and particularly love it in this spicy, warming soup.

I like to use Pasilla chilli powder in this soup because it’s fruity and mild so as not to cause offence to the less-enthusiastic chilli lovers in the house. By all means make it as hot as you like and use your favourite chilli powder. A Mexican one will naturally give it a more authentic flavour. Chipotle and Ancho are widely available and both very good.

And please note, when I say “finely chopped”, I mean however finely you like/can be bothered! I don’t mind chunky onions and pieces of garlic in my soup.

Mexican barley soup

Makes at least 6 servings

2 red onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 stalks silverbeet (or chard, or spring greens, or kale, whatever greens you like/have), finely chopped, leaves and stalks
2 teaspoons Pasilla chilli powder or your preferred chilli powder (see note above)
2 teaspoons ground oregano
1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon hot chilli flakes
250g pearl barley
1 x 800g tin peeled tomatoes
1 litre of stock - vegetable or “beef style” (I use the widely available Massel powder)
Worcestershire sauce (or vegan equivalent) to taste
1 red capsicum (pepper), finely chopped
1 cup frozen or canned corn kernels
1 zucchini (courgette), finely chopped
Spring onions, green part only, chopped
Pickled jalapeños, to serve
Greek yoghurt or sour cream and grated cheese, to serve

Drizzle some olive oil in a large, heavy-based stockpot and place over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic and silverbeet stalks (reserve the softer green leaves for later) and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften. Add the spices and pearl barley, stirring to coat. Add the tomatoes and stock, then bring to the boil.

Once boiling, add some Worcestershire sauce (to your taste, I like it for the umami factor), the red capsicum, corn and zucchini. Stir to combine, add a little more stock if you think it needs it (I usually take this opportunity to clear out the dregs of jars of appropriately flavoured sauces/pastes/chutneys I have lurking in the fridge with water, such as tomato paste, tomato chutney, chilli sauce, etc. It all adds great flavour) and return to the boil.

Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for approximately 20 minutes or until the barley is cooked (it will still have a little bite but it will be soft). Add the chopped silverbeet leaves (or whatever greens you’re using) and the chopped green spring onions. Simmer for another 5 minutes.

Taste, season with salt and pepper, and then ladle into soup bowls, topping with a swirl of yoghurt/sour cream, grated cheese and pickled chillies.

vegetarian lentil and nut ragu

Another cooking-from-the-pantry staple in this household. I wanted to use up some nut roast mixture from two weeks ago, and had the dregs of a jar of tomato paste to use (tomatoes of any kind are proving hard to find right now!) so I chucked that in but you can use just lentils, if you prefer.

vegetarian lentil and nut ragu

Makes heaps - enough for at least 6 hungry people - I find it makes one lasagna, one shepherds pie and at least two containers of sauce to freeze

2 onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, finely chopped (or parsley leaves and stalks, they have a similar flavour!)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Any other vegetables you like, finely chopped (I used marrow from my garden and a red capsicum)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Leftover uncooked nut roast mixture (about 300g) or 250g chopped walnuts or one bag of frozen Quorn vegetarian mince
1/2 - 1 cup wine (whatever you’ve got, you can even use Chinese cooking wine or dry sherry)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg
250g lentils (red, brown or green, I like red)
2 cups vegetable stock, vegetarian “beef” stock or tomato juice
4 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 x 400g can whole plum tomatoes or equal amount of passata (get an organic one with less sugar)
4 tablespoons tomato paste
Fresh thyme, rosemary and oregano (or dried if you don't have fresh)
Fresh basil, for serving

Saute the onion, carrots, celery (plus any other vegetables) and garlic in the olive oil in a large saucepan until soft. Add the nut roast mixture or walnuts or the Quorn mince from frozen and stir until the mixture/mince breaks down from large lumps into smaller, grainy ones. Add the wine, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Increase heat and stir until the liquid has evaporated.

Add lentils, stock, tomatoes, tomato paste and the thyme, rosemary and oregano (reserve basil for the end). Reduce the heat and simmer for 1-2 hours, tasting and stirring regularly. Taste for seasoning. Add fresh basil leaves and stir until slightly wilted.

Now you can use it however you like! It also freezes well.

Here are some suggestions:

• Veggie bolognese: Serve with your favourite pasta and lots of veggie-friendly Parmesan.

• Lasagna: layer the ragu with fresh or dried lasagna sheets, a white sauce/ricotta/thick Greek yoghurt and some sauteed greens like kale.

• Shepherd’s pie: place the sauce in a baking dish and cover with mashed potato or other mashed root vegetables.

• Thick lentil stew: add some chia seeds to thicken it slightly and serve in wide bowls with mash, couscous or bread.