How to choose the best fruit and vegetables
These simple rules are mighty useful when visiting a market or grocer.
In Season
EASY
Fillet steak with crispy onions and creamed spinach
Food doesn't have to be fancy to be good. The creamy, cheesy spinach is part sauce and part side dish for the steak. Top off with crispy onion for texture - a great meal.
EASY
Roast broccoli with ricotta and lemon
Meals that make the most of what you have at home is a great way to save money. A cheesy, seasonal salad is a great example because it's easy to adapt to whatever vegetable, cheese, nuts or dried fruit you have to hand.
EASY
Slow-cooker pork belly ramen
Preparing ramen usually involves boiling bones for many hours to create a rich stock, but this slow cooker version couldn’t make the Japanese favourite any easier. There’s no need to hang around and watch the stove, as the dish makes itself.
EASY
Slow-cooker Moroccan harira soup
This traditional soup is eaten throughout the year in Morocco, but even more so during the month of Ramadan to break the fast once the sun sets. It is typically made with lamb but chicken thighs or gravy beef could be used as an alternative, or it's just as good as a vegetarian meal.
MEDIUM
Slow cooked duck legs with beetroot relish
Fortune favours those who plan ahead. This recipe takes about eight hours all up, but there's little toil in that time. I really like this beetroot relish, so use it with lots of barbecued or roasted meats it works a treat. Speaking of which, make sure you serve this duck with some sautéed spinach, silver beat or kale, which ever you like best.
MEDIUM
Toffee apple crumble with pickled pears and sour cream
Use red-skinned apples - they cook down into a soft, jammy filling and make a great contrast to the tart pickled pears.
EASY
Marmalade custard cake
This magical cake separates during the cooking process to a thick custard layer that sits below a spongy cake layer.
MEDIUM
Goat's cheese and truffled celeriac lasagne
Dig the earthy flavour of a seasonal lasagne. This lasagne uses truffle oil or take it to another level by grating fresh truffles into the mixture.
MEDIUM
Warm lentil salad with pumpkin and chilli
This makes a fine meal on its own or a perfect side to a family roast. You could change the pumpkin for parsnips or sweet potatoes
MEDIUM
Veal and pork polpette with cabbage, taleggio and truffled pecorino
This is true cold-weather comfort food. The sauce is perfect with a big scoop of wet polenta, mash or even buttered risoni.
EASY
Beetroot, orange and olive salad
Packed with parsley and flavoursome beetroot, this dish is a great winter salad or light lunch option.
MEDIUM
Braised witlof and leek gratin with gruyere
This salad is fabulous served with roast chicken. You can use it to create a really easy meal by buying a roast chicken.
EASY
Honey-poached nashi pears with Chantilly
This twist on a Korean classic can be eaten warm from the pot or chilled from the fridge. Either way, it's delicious.
MEDIUM
Baked rhubarb and apple shortcake
This baked shortcake is a very simple, delicious dessert that's perfect with just about any fruit you like.
EASY
Roast brussels sprouts with hazelnuts
Go a little nuts with a vegie side for your next big family roast dinner. This sprout dish also works really well with zucchinis or green beans.
MEDIUM
Silverbeet, sausage and haloumi pies
These are delicious still warm from the oven. They're also great cold, and make an easy and pretty complete meal for work or for school lunchboxes.
EASY
Risoni or quinoa with cauliflower, preserved lemon and parmesan
This is tasty on its own or can make a great accompaniment to poultry. It couldn't be much easier to pull together.
EASY
Soft polenta with mushrooms
This recipe for soft polenta is very simple, but it's the earthy-flavoured mushrooms that will keep you making it again and again.
MEDIUM
Winter minestrone soup
This minestrone is all about root vegetables and winter greens; leftover parmesan rind adds a depth of flavour to the broth.