Proceeds from the sales of a new cookbook that shares recipes and stories from people from refugee and migrant backgrounds will go towards funding a new scholarship. Sakina Ewazi, a visual arts graduate originally from Afghanistan, weeps quietly during the minute’s silence. We’re at Ōtāhuhu library in south Auckland for the launch of Tastes of … Read more
Switch up the flavour combination to suit your mood, or the contents of your pantry. Everyone needs a good staple biscuit recipe and I think this one is a winner. Packed with nutrient-dense oats, hazelnuts and coconut, it has texture and flavour with the addition of the figs, and the ginger lends a lovely earthy, … Read more
A simple, well-executed tomato pasta is a thing of beauty. This recipe is for those days when culinary inspiration just won’t strike, and if you’ve got a garden full of ripe tomatoes, it’s a great way to use them up (if not, a couple of tins of tomatoes work well too). With few ingredients, the … Read more
If you need a little help getting yourself out of bed during these chilly autumnal mornings, this should do the trick. With an abundance of blackberries in our freezer, and being rather partial to oats for breakfast, I dreamt this recipe up to add a little variety to the morning staples. It is amazing how … Read more
Easy baking to celebrate the best of late-summer fruit. This week and next, I’m sharing two recipes inspired by wild blackberries. Having grown up in the suburbs of Auckland, blackberry bushes were rather hard to come by, but now I find myself living a semi-rural lifestyle in the regions, blackberry bushes are rather hard to … Read more
Resist the call of the vending machine by having a batch of these tucked away for afternoon cravings. There’s nothing like having something nutritious and delicious on hand for when the afternoon cravings strike and you need an instant fix. The recipes that follow are quick and easy and make a generous batch of toasted … Read more
Reboot your school lunch repertoire – or your office lunch repertoire, for that matter – with a delicious new sandwich filling. I feel as though the school holidays were over even before they started, despite my initial feelings of trepidation at the thought of making it through six long weeks with three kids under six! … Read more
A few extra zingy ingredients give the traditional corn fritter a real flavour boost. Here in the heart of our wee rural Taranaki village there is a woman who has three acres of land and on it every year she grows the most delicious spray-free sweetcorn. As the summer wears on, I find myself taking … Read more
Get your hands on some sourdough starter and get crack(er)ing on this recipe. There is something magic about a sourdough starter – the life it contains, the life it gives and the potential held within it. I have been making sourdough bread for myself and my family for almost two years now and we are … Read more
Ditch the limp mesclun and supermarket dressing: this is a salad that doesn’t muck around. This salad is a riff on an Ottolenghi recipe and is a wonderful combination of sweet and sour, crunchy and creamy. And what’s more, it gives silverbeet a whole new lease on life as it’s finely shredded and used as … Read more
When you’re hot and thirsty after a long day of doing not a hell of a lot because it’s the holidays, you’ll praise last week’s you for having the foresight to make these bad boys. These ice blocks are the perfect balance between sweet and tart. The classic combination of lemon and ginger is made … Read more
Whip up these easy, classy ice blocks at home and save yourself a trip to the dairy on a stinking hot afternoon. These ice blocks came into being just at the right time, at the start of the summer, enjoyed in the heat of the afternoon as we gazed admiringly over our ever-expanding vege garden … Read more
These are perfect as a gift or to keep on hand to impress impromptu Christmas visitors with. Or, you know, just eat them – it’s Christmas! With our eldest now at school, baking has found a regular place in my life. I take pleasure from the simple task of making something not only to fill … Read more
A very tasty breakfast treat that makes a very charming Christmas present. With Christmas mere weeks away, it can be easy to get caught up in the commercial hype of it all. Resist, I say, and make this orange and ginger muesli instead. It’s simple to make and can be whipped up weeks in advance, … Read more
Forget the barbie – with these slow-cooker ideas, all the work’s done ahead of time, leaving you to swan around and mingle. I know that a bunch of yobbos in tasteless Hawaiian shirts huddled around the barbecue pretending to know what they are doing is a quintessential part of any Kiwi summer, but my faith … Read more
When you need dessert that’s more than an ice cream from the dairy but less than a Great Kiwi Bake Off technical challenge, make this. Sometimes it’s not necessary to labour things, and this recipe is a good example of that. Fried simply in butter and brown sugar, the pineapple turns a lovely golden colour, and … Read more
Instead of spending all night in the kitchen, keep it simple and use the time you gain to dazzle your guests with that sparkling wit of yours. Let me tell you something: attempting to make a risotto for the first time while simultaneously trying to greet guests, make awkward small talk and get them settled … Read more
With a bit of low-effort forward planning, you can make ice cream at home in mere minutes. As the temperatures rise and the days stretch out further into the evenings, a dessert like this really hits the spot. Quick and easy to make, it’s a great one to have in the repertoire. Thinly slice any … Read more
We know the story: the evening air was balmy and you’d had a beer or two. A rush of blood to the head made you invite far too many people round for a barbie next weekend. Fear not – hostess with the mostest Leisha Jones is here to help. When it comes to hosting, I’m … Read more
A weekend breakfast treat, perfect for using up leftover roast pumpkin. Lucky for us, last year’s summer garden offered forth an abundance of crown pumpkins, self-seeded down the back underneath the dappled shade of the pear trees. They’ve done us well and just as I notice we are down to our last few, I see … Read more
Get your fill of the glorious green spears because they’re here for a good time, not a long time – and they make a damn fine addition to a classic carbonara. You know that summer isn’t too far around the corner when asparagus makes an appearance on the supermarket shelves. I love the versatility of this vegetable. … Read more
New verse by Devonport writer Kevin Ireland. Lamb stew with bonus Gently fry tomatoes and green peppers. Toss them in a casserole. Use olive oil, not butter. Flavour them with home-cured bacon, and throw in plenty of shallots – they’re better halved or whole. Don’t forget turmeric, herbs, black pepper, and, of … Read more
Recipes from the NZ Rugby Stars Cookbook by Ardie Savea, Sonny Bill Williams and Damian McKenzie. Did you correctly match the rugby stars to their recipes? If so, good. If not, go do it now. Right now, you hear? Read no further. When you’re done, come back here. Did you do it? Good. Now you … Read more
What, a paella made with pasta?! We know, but wait, it gets better – Freedom Farms’ delicious new smoked pork chorizo features too. Much of the deli meat − cured products such as salami, chorizo and the like − sold in New Zealand is made from imported ingredients, and under current laws, there’s no requirement … Read more
Hungry? Give these top-notch toasties from the Fed and Baker Gramercy a whirl. In The Spinoff’s humble opinion, the toastie is the absolute pinnacle of New Zealand cuisine, so we’re right on board with the Great New Zealand Toastie Tour. In a collaboration between McClure’s Pickles and Coffee Supreme, 20 cafes and food outlets across … Read more
Three easy-as PB recipes for the toast lover in your life. Peanut butter is one of the greatest foods in existence. It’s varied, versatile and deliciously simple. And it’s also one of the easiest things to actually make yourself. Why would you fund someone else’s career crisis at $8.50 a jar when you can supplement … Read more
Chef Luke Adams shares three delicious Māori dishes. As he whipped up an on-trend beetroot and farro concoction in the kitchen of a cafe in Auckland’s Newmarket, Luke Adams talked us through how to make something very different — the kai he was raised with. Adams (Te-Uri-o-Tai hapū, Te Aupōuri iwi) is head chef at … Read more
There’s only one problem with our annual feijoa windfall – there’s far too many of the little buggers. Emily Holdaway has some ideas to use them up. The way we go on about feijoas in New Zealand you’d think it was a native. It’s not – the feijoa is actually native to central South America … Read more