Lamb shank cassoulet
Cassoulet, a sumptuous dish of beans and meats baked under a crisp breadcrumb crust, is what you need to make for your next weekend cooking project.
Prep 1 hr
Cook 5 hrs (plus overnight marinating)
Serves 8
Pici, roast duck and oyster mushrooms
Hand-rolled pici is the thick Italian hand-rolled noodle that is deliciously slippery, and best when coated in a rich duck ragu.
Prep time 40 mins
Cook 2 1/2 hours
Serves 4
Lamb pilaf fatteh
Fatteh is a dish popular in Middle Eastern cuisine, where crisp bread is crumbled over, which adds a wonderful textural element to many dishes - try it on a salad, braise or pilaf as we have here.
Prep time 25 mins
Cook 20 mins
4
Wildflower beer and honey glaze for Christmas ham
The finishing touches are what really makes a festive meal truly memorable. Make your Christmas centrepiece one your guests will never forget with our honey glaze.
Prep 15 mins
Cook 15 mins
Makes enough for 1 ham
Dan Hong’s Sichuan chicken salad with sesame dressing
A Chinese classic, this salad uses sesame paste and a spicy chilli condiment to amp up the flavour of the shredded chicken. Dan Hong shares his recipe in the book, Two Good Cookbook Two.
Prep 30 mins (plus cooling)
Cook 40 mins
Serves 4 as part of a banquet
Nigel Slater's pork with figs
When it comes to Nigel Slater’s pork chops, a splash of cider and ripe figs lead the charge on the flavour front, you won’t be disappointed - from A Cook’s Book.
Prep 15 mins
Cook 15 mins
Serves 2
Nigel Slater's lamb with broad beans and soured cream
Broad bean season is fleeting, so make the most of it. This recipe is from the book, A Cook’s Book by Nigel Slater.
Prep 20 mins
Cook 35 minutes
Serves 2
Rice paper rolls with pork and herbs
Spring rolls bring a light but flavour-packed taste perfect for this time of year, and although there is a little mis-en-place, once you have everything in place, you can simply roll and eat.
Prep 1 hour
Cook 10 minutes
Makes about 8
Whole grilled beef tenderloin with caramelised onions and gorgonzola dolce
Nothing says retro-inspired luxury like a whole fillet of beef. Danielle Alvarez’s version is an instant classic, starting with smoke from the grill and finishing with the piquancy and sweetness of gorgonzola dolce.
Prep 20 mins
Cook 20 mins (plus resting)
Serves 6–8
Sweet and sour pork
When we asked Louis Tikaram of Brisbane’s Stanley restaurant to share some of his favourite recipes to ring in the Chinese New Year, he was quick to choose this Chinese-Australian classic.
Prep 20 mins
Cook 15 mins
Serves 4 as a shared meal
Dry-brined pork with green peppercorn sauce
We’re huge fans of brining meat, whether in a traditional wet brine or this super-simple dry version. For flavour and succulence, the technique is unsurpassed. Bonus: this recipe produces the best crackling you’ve ever tasted.
Prep 30 mins
Cook 2 hrs
Serves 4
Raw beef with roasted rice, lime and chilli
Old-school fine dining meets 21st-century Thai glamour in this fresh take on steak tartare. Cucumber and lettuce take the place of the traditional crisp toast accompaniment, and the smoked chilli seasoning is oh-so-moreish.
Prep 15 mins
-
Serves 4 as a shared starter
Grilled flat iron with pebre sauce
When it comes to grilled meats and what to serve with them, Chileans are among the world’s authorities. Pebre salsa is Chile’s answer to Argentina’s chimichurri – fresh and zingy to cut through the fattiness of great steak.
Prep 5 mins
Cook 10 mins
Serves 4
Sweet potato noodles with chicken and shiitake mushrooms
These stir-fried glass noodles are not only gluten free, they can be transformed into dinner in under 30 minutes.
Prep 20 mins
Cook 10 mins
Serves 4
Bill Granger's sticky chilli pork belly with barbecue sauce
If you want to win friends and influence people, serve them barbecued slow-cooked sticky pork belly. This recipe – from Bill Granger’s book Australian Food – is such a crowd-pleaser that you should seriously consider doubling it.
Prep 25 mins (plus freezing, chilling)
Cook 2 hrs
Serves 4
Tamarind and white pepper braised short ribs
Beef short ribs are our absolute favourite cut for braising – if you’ve never tried them, you won’t believe the results. You might need to order them from your butcher, but we promise this recipe is worth the wait.
Prep time 15 mins
Cook 3 hrs
Serves 4-6
Analiese Gregory's confit lamb ribs with date syrup and toasted spices
If the salty-spicy-sweet sucker-punch of these ribs doesn’t knock you out, the crunch factor surely will. Serve up a platter of these next time you have friends over, then stand back.
Prep 20 mins
Cook 2 ¼ hrs
Serves 4
Rice noodle salad with pork skewers
Fresh tropical southeast Asian flavours make this noodle salad the perfect go-to for your next barbecue.
Prep 25 mins
Cook 15 mins
Serves 4
Beef short ribs in a fish sauce caramel
If you’ve never cooked beef ribs like this before, you’ve been missing out.
Prep 15 mins
Cook 4 hrs
Serves 4-6
Pumpkin, bacon and parmesan tart
Packed full of flavour, the caramelised pumpkin, crisp bacon and sour cream filling make this tart your best dish for your next brunch.
Prep 25 mins
Cook 50 mins
Serves 6-8
Maccheroni con ragu bianco
For the ultimate in ragu, a blonde version that uses pork and milk in place of the more common beef and tomato is a rich and elegant, yet completely satisfying take, on a comfort dish.
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 1 hour
Serves 4
Pizza diavola
To make the best Roman-style pizza with the greatest crust and just the right amount of chew, all you need is heat, time and quality Italian ingredients.
Prep 30 mins (plus resting)
Cook 10 mins
Makes 2-3 pizzas
Suckling lamb pomodoro
Looking for a dish to impress this Easter? This suckling autumn lamb, from the book Ombra by Carlo Grossi, could just be it.
Prep 20 mins
Cook 2 hrs
Serves 6
Green chicken curry
This beloved Thailand classic is fresh, fragrant, salty and hot - basically all the things you’re looking for in a curry.
Prep 20 mins
Cook 15 mins
Serves 4
Cold Sichuan-style chicken
Hot chillies, chilled chicken and mouth-tingling Sichuan peppercorns are a potent combination, a multi-sensory experience. Serve some cooling cucumber and plain steamed rice alongside to soothe the palate.
Prep 30 mins
Cook 40 mins (plus cooling, chilling)
Serves 6-8 as a shared dish
Danielle Alvarez's slow-roasted lamb shoulder with white beans and harissa
This entire main from Danielle Alvarez's, new book, Always Add Lemon, can be prepared a day ahead, leaving you only one thing to do before your guests arrive: simply turn on the oven and let it do the rest of the work for you.
Prep 30 mins (plus soaking, resting, seasoning)
Cook 9 hrs
Serves 6
Warm duck, lychee and banana blossom salad
Not all recipes from Michelin-starred restaurants translate easily to Australian home kitchens, but this one’s a cinch. At Paste, chef Bee Satongun roasts her own duck; to save time, start with one from Chinatown.
Prep 40 mins
Cook 5 mins (plus roasting duck)
Serves 6-8
Tom Sarafian's Armenian beef manti
For comfort food to savour, look no further than Tom Sarafian’s subtly spiced Armenian beef dumplings, topped with garlicky labne and a generous drizzle of seasoned melted butter.
Prep 2 hours
Cook 30 minutes
Serves 4-6
Durkhanai Ayubi's Sabzi (Afghan spinach and lamb curry)
Traditionally served at Nowroz (new year) celebrations, this Afghan spinach and lamb curry is mildly spiced and the meat meltingly tender. This version is from Durkhanai Ayubi’s book Parwana.
Prep 20 mins
Cook 50 mins
Serves 4-6
Kebabeh sikhi (Afghan lamb skewers)
These Afghan lamb skewers, from Durkhanai Ayubi’s book Parwana, are perfectly at home at an Aussie backyard barbie. Hold the tomato sauce and serve them instead with flatbread, onion and fresh herbs.
Prep time 30 mins (plus marinating)
Cook time 10 mins (plus preparing coals)
Serves 6