Amanda Thompson and her family are attempting to cut back on the meat, so they gave all the vego sausies the local supermarket had to offer a hoon on the barbie. Here are the results. I was a vegetarian once. Even the best of us take a well-meaning wrong turn on the tangled highways and … Read more
Kawakawa adds subtle peppery notes to a refreshing summer sorbet. Make it while strawbs are cheap and plentiful! There are some crops that thrive in my garden, and others, strawberries being one of them, that don’t. I’ve tried my best and I haven’t given up yet, however. Perhaps next year will be the year! And … Read more
Summer reissue: Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. In this episode, we’re joined by food writer Ginny Grant and a whole lot of babies for our first podcast of 2020. First published February 2, 2020. Independent journalism depends … Read more
Messing too much with summer berries is sacrilege, but this heavenly light sponge provides a fine vehicle for the most luxe of fruits. In this time of misinformation and alternative truths, I’m going to lay some refreshingly stone-cold facts on you. The greatest summer food is a berry. I mean don’t get me wrong, banana … Read more
A tarte tatin is a classic for a reason: simple (you don’t have to make the pastry if you don’t want to), elegant and delicious to boot. I may have mentioned before that we live part way up a mountain. This has a significant impact on our growing season, making it shorter than it would … Read more
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we’re joined by food writer Ginny Grant and a whole lot of babies for our first podcast of 2020. We’re back for 2020 and the Dietary Requirements whānau has magically expanded! … Read more
Everyone needs a good spud salad recipe in their repertoire, and this herb-packed offering is hard to beat. This is my go-to potato salad recipe and it was one I had never written down nor considered sharing. Until before Christmas, that is, when we headed inland to celebrate the festive season Kiwi style with a … Read more
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. Back in January, we had Al Brown round for a barbecue and recorded a podcast while we were at it. A grand time was had by all, but as Simon Day poignantly relayed … Read more
Chef Luke Adams talks to Alice Neville about why cooking and eating with the seasons is so much more than a fad. Like “artisanal”, “authentic” and “bespoke”, the word “seasonal” has become ubiquitous in descriptions of food – to the point that it’s almost lost all meaning. That’s a shame, because eating seasonally is one … Read more
In which Al Brown praised Simon Day’s grillin’ skills and we got it on tape… and then disaster struck. But don’t worry, the recipes survive. If legendary chef Al Brown demands you cook his own recipes for him, you spend all night in the kitchen. And when he tells you how delicious everything is and … Read more
When it’s too hot to do more than throw a few ingredients together, this simple, elegant salad fits the bill perfectly. This salad is a celebration of summer and quality ingredients. The star of the show is without a doubt the peach: golden, sweet and slightly perfumed. When paired with the bite of the red … 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
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
Whatever you do, don’t leave people to their own devices. (But do ask them to bring ice.) People are always asking what they can bring to a party and your answer to that question should always be: ice. You can never have enough of it, and as the host you shouldn’t be expected to race … 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
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