Louisa's Top 5 Favourite Recipes

Hi everyone, here's my first guest entry by Louisa Peterson. Louisa works for Delivery Hero, a Sydney-based internet start-up, that makes it easier for Aussies to order home delivery online. Louisa is passionate about food and sunshine, and is a regular contributor to Delivery Hero’s blog. 

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When Lorraine from ‘Passionate about Life’ asked me to write a guest post on my 5 favourite recipes, I thought, easy! But when I started thinking about it I realised it's actually kind of tricky to narrow it down! There are SOO many good recipes out there! Here are some of my favourite recipes, categorised, like a proper geek. Don’t get me wrong I love indulgent, rich meal ideas, but at the same time I love simple, tasty meals that have fresh ingredients and depths of flavour.

No.1 Recipe Favourite - Roast Lamb and Two Veg
Lamb cutlets, mint, rosemary, 2 garlic cloves, red wine, sweet potato, vine ripened tomatoes, fresh steamed green beans and asparagus.
Method: Marinate lamb cutlets in a mixture of mint, rosemary, garlic, olive oil, red wine and tomatoes overnight. Roast the sweet potato with tomatoes first at 200 degrees C for 30 mins. Sear the lamb in a frying pan, then squeeze them in amongst the roast veggies and cook in the oven for 10 minutes. Steam green beans and asparagas. Serve together with a drizzle of the cooked marinade.

No.2 Recipe Favourite – Veggie Salad
Broccoli, beetroot, sweet potato, red onion, rocket, pumpkin seeds, feta, balsamic vinegar
Method: steam broccoli and rinse in cold water to cool. Roast baby beets and small chunks of sweet potato with thick slices of red onion in olive oil for 40 mins (or until tender) at 180 degrees C. Once cooled, cut the baby beets in half.  Dry fry (without oil) a handful of pumpkin seeds in a pan until they pop. Toss broccoli, roasted veggies, pumpkin seeds, rocket and feta together. Serve with a generous splash of balsamic vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste.

No.3 Recipe Favourite – Nanna’s Apple Shortcake
100 g butter, 3/4 cup of sugar, 1 egg, 2 cups of flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
, 7 medium apples stewed, cinnamon or nutmeg to taste.

Method:
Slice apples and stew in a pan with 50g sugar and half a cup of water. Set aside. Soften butter and beat with sugar till well mixed. Add whole egg and beat again.
 Add sieved flour and baking powder in stages until it starts looking like pastry. Use your hands for the final stages. Add a dash of extra flour or milk if necessary, but don't over mix.
Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C. Divide the pastry in half and roll out to the size of the baking dish. You'll need to experiment with thickness depending on the size of the baking tin or dish. Bake for 10 mins, then spread with cooked apples, sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg to taste. Cover with the remaining pastry, pressing down around the edges. Bake for 40 mins or until brown.

No.4 Recipe Favourite – Moscow Mule
Vodka, cucumber, ginger ale, ice
Method: Put a few ice cubes in a glass with two thumbs of vodka, ginger ale, and slices of skinned cucumber. Sit back and relax.

No.5 Recipe Favourite – Homemade Pita Bread Pizzas
Pita bread, tomato pasta sauce, onions, salami, ham, feta, cheese, rocket and avocado, oregano, basil or other herbs to taste
Method: Fry chopped onions till clear. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C. Spread tomato pasta sauce of choice as a base, sprinkle onions, ham, salami, feta and cheese on pita. Add herbs to taste. Bake for 12 minutes or until crispy. Generously sprinkle with rocket and slices of avocado. Super easy, super fast. But if the cupboard looks a little empty or you’re just too busy, takeaway in Melbourne is always a good option.

Image by jeffreyw.

Top 5 'Dine n Dash' in Melbourne

Contrary to what you might think refers to 'Dine n Dash', the below Top 5 list refers to the restaurants dishing out the quickest and tastiest meals in record time - all within an hour. Extremely handy for when you need to 'dine and dash'! Enjoy!

1. Red spice road
27 McKillop Street  Melbourne VIC 3000
(03)9603 1601
If you only have half an hour, and want a quick and satisfying meal, come to Red Spice Road. In 5 min we were seated, with orders taken, served drinks and in 15 min, we got our food. In a halfa, we were full and truly satiated. Order their signature caramelised pork belly, fried barramundi with watermelon salad, crispy soft shell crab with a side of jasmine rice. Servings are generous and moreish so be prepared for a feast. The jug tails are good value at $30 a pop - enough for 4 people or 4 serves. 'Speedy' and 'scrumptious' are 2 words I would use to describe this venue as we rolled out pot-bellied through the heavy wooden doors.

2. Gaijin
135 Commercial Road South Yarra 
 (03) 9804 8873
My new fave sushi restaurant. What a find on commercial rd south Yarra. We loved it so much we had it 2 days in a row! Gaijin means foreigner in Japanese and what an apt name as it combines a modern fusion take on sushi. Must trys include the fried twist roll with salmon seaweed and ginger deep fried with tempura crunch and rolled and dressed with spicy mayo as well as the spider vs dragon roll combining soft shell crab, cream cheese sushi with slivers of  teriyaki unagi (eel) on top! Reasonably priced at circa $14 a dish. Go empty-stomached on mon-thurs for all you can eat sushi at $35 a pop! You'll be in and out in less than an hr - guaranteed grinning from ear to ear.

3. The Dining Haul
86-88 Ormond Rd Elwood
03 9531 9771
Brand spanking new and right across the road from me - comes my new fave local! Themed a seafood bar, with yellow fishermans' rain coats hung out the front and bouys etc lining the restaurant, this modern bistro serves up a quick and satisfying feed for the ravenous seafood lover. Try the fish burger and thin handcut chips or crispy beer battered fish and thin cut fries with garlic aioli and mushy peas. Make sure you order 'your bouy' a zingy potent concoction of rum, honey vodka, ginger beer and fresh lime - enough for 2!

4. Nshry
129A Beaconsfield Parade, Albert Park 
(03) 9682 1077

Another quick feed off Albert park, this joint scores extra points for their scenic views of the ocean front shoreline. Come here for lunch instead of dinner so you get to try their Devine Nshry Umami burger. A handy tip for you - come here for dinner only if you are willing to pay for slightly over priced and tiny delicate bite sized tapas. The Umami burger's beef patty is marinated with ''umami rub'', a salty mix of kombu and porcini powder that adds to the premium Angus and Wagyu mince. This is layered with melted gruyere, roast tomato and mushroom sauce within a soft brioche bun. Crisp onion rings, creamy coleslaw and cornichons are on the side. It's a sure-fire winner and served quickly too. Not hard to see why this one's won the heart of locals and other suburban patrons alike.

 5. Pantry
1 Church Street  Brighton VIC 3186
(03) 9591 0393
Rolling in the master chefs, pantry runs a tight ship here with their quick all day breakkie till 4pm. Featuring all time favorite breakkie specials such as the off the bone ham, gruyere cheese & tomato toastie with poached eggs as well as Spanish breakfast with tomato, capsicum, bean stew, chorizo, ham, fried egg, cheese, on sourdough toast and a huge selection of bircher muesli, stewed apple and cinnamon porridge and French toast, you will be spoilt for choice here. Rest assured though that your food will fly out of the kitchen and into your tums before you can say 'pantry'!