Raclette tart. Potatoes, ham, onions and raclette cheese in a buttery flaky pastry. It's just like the raclette you'd get at a night market or food fair, but in tart form!

Raclette tart

The last time I visited my friend Clarice in Paris, we had a little raclette party for dinner. She has a home raclette machine, and she set out all the raclette accoutrements - raclette cheese, boiled potatoes, different types of ham, cornichons, salad - for us to melt and assemble ourselves. It was super delicious and such fun!

Raclette Party!

Home raclette machines are a standard piece of kit in French households, and are also widely available in other European countries - I saw a €40 one at a German supermarket the week after and was so tempted to buy one... until Sandra wisely reminded me that this single-purpose item would take up a lot of space and only be used rarely. Also, did we really need a melted cheese delivery system?

It’s pretty rich (which I’m totally into), and it went well with cornichons and a fresh green salad. (And a sneaky glass of buttery Chardonnay). Leftovers stood up well over the week. I gave the slices a quick blast in the microwave to heat them up, but leftovers would be fine cold, like if you were taking the tart to a picnic or something similar.

Do you like raclette cheese and pastry and butter? Make this tart! (And if you don’t like those things, may I kindly suggest that you’ve come to the wrong blog?) Enjoy!

Potato and Raclette Tart
Recipe by Sarah Cooks, Pastry from Joy the Baker

Ingredients
For the pastry
160 grams plain flour
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
115 grams cold unsalted butter
¼ cup cold buttermilk, plus a few tablespoons extra if required
For the filling
4 medium kipfler potatoes
1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
1 tablespoon butter
100 grams ham, roughly chopped
125 grams raclette cheese, grated
2 sprigs thyme
1½ cups cream
3 eggs

Method
To make the pastry, place the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and whisk to combine. Chop or grate the cold butter into small pieces. Add to the flour and rub in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles damp sand and the butter is evenly distributed. Make a well in the centre and pour in the 1/4 cup buttermilk, stirring with a fork to combine. Once it comes together in a shaggy dough, knead together, and form into a disc. Wrap with clingfilm and refrigerate for one hour (or up to overnight). Roll the rested pastry out into a large circle, approximately 5 millimetres thick. Line a 24cm loose-bottomed flan tin with the pastry and trim the edges. Refrigerate for a further 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200C. Line the pastry case with foil and fill with baking beans or dried pulses. Bake for 10 minutes, then remove the foil and baking beans and bake for a further 5 minutes. Set aside while you make the filling.
To make the filling, peel the potatoes and cut into 1-cm slices. Cook in boiling salted water for 5-10 minutes, or until just tender when poked with a skewer. Drain and set aside.
Melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan. Add the onion slices and cook on a low heat until completely soft and dark brown. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Turn the oven down to 180C. Place the onions, potato slices, ham, and grated cheese into the pastry case. Sprinkle the thyme leaves over.
Whisk together the cream and eggs and season with salt and pepper. Pour into the flan tin. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown and just set. Allow to cool slightly for the filling to set before slicing.
Serve with cornichons and green salad.
Makes 1 x 24cm tart

Have you made this recipe? Leave a comment below! Tag me on Instagram @sarahcooksblog and hashtag #sarahcooksblog

Starting the year off with a super-chill Meal Prep Monday - roast chicken, hasselback potatoes, and green beans with kale pesto. Winner winner chicken dinner!

Roast Chicken
Preheat the oven to 200C. Place a whole chicken into a baking tray. Place 2 cloves of garlic, 1/4 lemon, and a few sprigs thyme and / or rosemary into the cavity of the chicken. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes per 500 grams + 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes before cutting into quarters to serve.

Hasselback Potatoes
Preheat the oven to 200C. Wash 4 medium desiree potatoes. Make slices into the potatoes, approximately 3/4 of the way through the potato, as thinly as you can manage. (Don't cut all the way through, you want to keep the slices connected). Heat some olive oil, duckfat or goosefat in a frying pan that can go in the oven. Fry the potatoes on all sides until starting to colour. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the potatoes are soft all the way through and the slices are golden brown. Sprinkle generously with sea salt and finely chopped rosemary to serve.

Kale Pesto
Recipe adapted from Pinch of Yum
In a food processor, place 1 cup roughly chopped cavolo nero leaves, 1 cup flat-leaf parsley, 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt flakes, the juice of half a lemon, and 1/4 cup shelled pistachios. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. Add up to 1/4 cup more pistachios if you prefer a thicker consistency. Use 2 tablespoons for the kale pesto green beans, and keep the rest in a clean jar for up to a week.

Kale Pesto Green Beans  
Top and tail 375 grams green beans. Cook in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes or until soft. Drain and rinse under cold water to arrest the cooking process. Place into a bowl, add 2 generous tablespoons kale pesto, and gently toss with tongs until the beans are coated in the pesto.

To assemble the lunches, cut the chicken into quarters and divide the chicken, potatoes and green beans between four serving containers. You're done!


Let's look at the leftovers! One thing I liked about this meal prep was having a decent (but not overwhelming) amount of pesto and cavolo nero leaves in the fridge to keep me going throughout the week. As I mentioned before, I packed the chicken carcass away and froze it for a future soup, and another great option would be to use the chicken pan juices as a pasta sauce.

I used the pesto on toast, adding extra flavour (and green vegetables) to my breakfasts! Here my usual (already luxe) avocado toast was made extra luxe with the addition of the kale pesto and a small ball of burrata. (PS I'd treated myself to some burrata at the market when I'd done my shop for the chicken dinner).

Toast with kale pesto, avocado, burrata

I also used the pesto as a spaghetti sauce, topped with another small ball of burrata. If it looks like a lot of cheese for that amount of spaghetti, that's because it is! Go hard or go home.

Spaghetti with kale pesto & burrata

Another night, another spaghetti. I sautéed some garlic, anchovies, and fresh chilli in some olive oil, then added a few finely chopped cavolo nero leaves and cooked until softened. I tossed some spaghetti through it (and after taking this photo, showered it in grated parmesan). Strongly flavoured and delicious!

Spaghetti with cavolo nero, garlic, anchovies and chilli

And finally, I made something a little more involved with the last of the cavolo nero - a one pot lamb sausage and cavolo nero orzo dish. This was so good, really comforting but not too heavy, and packed full of flavour! I'll be sharing the recipe shortly!

Lamb Sausage & Cavolo Nero Orzo

All the best for a fabulous year ahead full of delicious food!

Fennel, potato and smoked mozzarella gratin. This comforting dish is made of buttery soft pieces of fennel and potato, spiced up with the barest hint of chilli, topped with smoky mozzarella and grilled until burnished and golden. It's awesome as a vegetable side, or even as a main meal on its own!

So I was thrilled when Nando's PR company sent me a little gift pack the other week. This was to promote a deal they were running (quarter chicken and two sides for $12), but I was mostly excited by the peri-peri salt and peri-peri rub they included! (Looks like the rub and the salt are both available for purchase at Nando's restaurants now, awww yeah).

... chuck some garlic cloves in the tray, and then roast until crisp. Ta-dah!

Roasted!

Indian Roast Potatoes

Dhal ingredients

I gotta say, the sizzling spices and garlic smell SO good! It reminded me of that spice mix they use in Sichuan cookery, that you might find sprinkled over fried lamb ribs. (Ungggggh so good).

Spice mix

From here you basically chuck all the other ingredients in and simmer slowly until cooked.

Dhal

I don't normally order raita at restaurants, but I did think something fresh and light would be nice against the dhal and potatoes. For this, you simply whizz together some yogurt with green chilli, mint and coriander, and then stir through some cucumber. I cut the cucumber into half-moons, but I think in future I'd prefer a more uniform texture, so would probably grate or finely dice the cucumber. Either way, it tasted great and complimented the curry and potatoes well.

And that's it! I really enjoyed this meal, with all the great spices and complex flavours. I was looking forward to it every day, even though I ended up eating it for six meals over one week. I misjudged how much those red lentils expand when you cook them, and made a much bigger batch of dhal than expected! Apart from all the dhal I ate myself, I gave a couple of individual servings to friends, and even froze an individual portion for a future speedy supper.

However, I have adjusted the amounts for the recipes below - the recipe will make approximately four generous servings, so a week of meal preps. Enjoy!

Red Lentil and Chickpea Dhal
Adapted from Philosokitchen

Ingredients
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole yellow mustard seeds
1 teaspoon red chilli peppers flakes
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 pinch nutmeg powder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or ghee
1 small onion, peeled and chopped finely
225 grams red lentils
1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 x 400g tin chickpeas
60 grams baby spinach leaves
1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Method
Place the garlic, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, yellow mustard seeds, chilli flakes, and clove in a small bowl and set aside.
Mix together the garam masala powder, turmeric powder, and nutmeg in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot. Once hot, add the garlic and whole spices, and stir fry until fragrant, approx. 1 minute. (Be careful not to let the garlic burn).
Add the chopped onion and stir well, cooking until the onion is softened and translucent.
Add the red lentils and stir to coat in the fragrant oil mixture.
Add 2.5 cups (625 millilitres) of hot water from a recently boiled kettle, followed by the grated ginger, tomato paste, and dry powdered spices. Stir well and bring to a gentle simmer.
Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the mixture doesn't stick to the pan. Add more hot water if the mixture gets too thick.
Add the chickpeas and baby spinach leaves, and stir in until the spinach is wilted.
Season with salt to taste.
Garnish with chopped coriander to serve.

Indian Roast Potatoes
Adapted from Nigella's Panchporan Aloo (How to Eat) and her Indian Roast Potatoes (Kitchen)

Ingredients
1 kg potatoes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon nigella seeds
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon hot chilli powder
1 bulb garlic
1/4 red onion, finely diced
juice of half a lime
Fresh coriander, chopped
Salt, to taste

Method
Preheat the oven to 200C. Peel the potatoes and chop into 2-3 cm dice.
Place the potato pieces on a large shallow baking tray in a single layer (I used two baking trays), and drizzle with the oil.
Mix together all the seeds and spices, then sprinkle over the potatoes and toss to coat evenly. Break up the garlic clove and add to the tray.
Bake for 1 hour without tossing the potatoes. (If you are using two baking trays, swap the baking trays halfway through cooking).
Meanwhile, place the finely diced red onion and lime juice in a small bowl, cover with clingwrap and set aside.
Once the potatoes are cooked, transfer to a serving dish or your meal prep containers. (I remove the garlic and discard, but feel free to keep them in if you love garlic and aren't afraid of garlic breath). Season generously with salt. Garnish with the red onions (discard any excess lime juice) and chopped coriander.

Cucumber Raita
Adapted from Indian Delights

Ingredients
1 green chilli (de-seeded if you like)
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 Lebanese cucumber
Salt, to taste

Method
Place the chilli, mint leaves, coriander leaves and yogurt in a blender and mix until combined.
Trim the ends off the cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and then cut into fine half moons. (Alternatively, grate the cucumber if you prefer a more uniform texture).
Stir the yogurt mixture and the cucumber together. Season with salt to taste.

Roast duck

This year, one of my favourite meals to cook for friends or family has been roast duck. It's easy to make, and is very impressive. Most people seem of think of duck as restaurant food, but it's actually totally achievable for a home cook. I find roast duck good for small groups - one duck with sides serves four people, and makes a lovely treat of a meal. Ducks also seem to be pretty widely available at supermarkets and butchers, so are easy to find, even at this hectic time of year. Can I suggest cooking this either at Christmas, or one of the meals leading up to the big day?

I always serve my roast duck with roast potatoes (using Nigella's method and the rendered duck fat), red cabbage and cherry pie. It's the perfect combo!

So, why the duck obsession? You see, earlier this year I was invited to a duck cooking class at the Luv-a-Duck headquarters in Port Melbourne. It was a great class, no doubt helped by the fact that Wendy the teacher was a total duck expert and incredibly organised and efficient! In the short space of three hours, our group of eight people cooked lots of different duck dishes and learned heaps of new techniques, including duck Caesar salad with soft boiled eggs, duck risotto, orange-glazed duck breasts, braised duck legs in an Asian sauce, duck-fat roast potatoes, tea-smoked duck breasts with pickled grapes, salt pepper and chilli duck breast with cauliflower rice, and more! Phew! I'd definitely recommend one of their classes if you want to learn more about cooking duck! Here are some photos of the things we made:

Duck class

Prepped duck

A really great tip they taught us was to leave the duck uncovered on a tray, and let it rest in the fridge overnight (or a couple of days), to let the skin really dry out. (Just like I do when roasting pork for crackling!) This helps the skin go crispy when you roast it.

And when you do roast it, let it come up to room temperature while you pre-heat the oven to 200C, then roast it for 40 minutes per kilo. Ta-dah! Crispy roast duck! (I have noticed that the kitchen gets quite smoky when I roast duck, so it's a good idea to have the windows open or the exhaust fan on full blast).

Roast duck

You need to let it rest before carving it, for at least 30 minutes, but I usually give it an hour. (During which time I roast the potatoes and Sandra makes the red cabbage - teamwork!)

Duck-fat Roast potatoes

Red Cabbage

Cherry Pie

I hope you enjoy this recipe! Have you made duck at home before? How do you like to cook it? What's on the menu for Christmas?

Roast Duck
Recipe written by Sarah, method learned from Luv-A-Duck

Ingredients
1 x duck

Method
Prepare the duck at least a day before you want to roast it, to give enough time for the skin to dry. This will help the duck get crisp.
Remove the duck from the plastic wrapping. Chop the wing tips off and reserve for stock or gravy. Using a sharp knife or cleaver, chop off the neck. Peel the fat off the neck and save it for roasting potatoes. There will be two tubes with the neck (the trachea and the oesophagus), pull these off and discard. If you like, save the neck for making stock or gravy. (Note - I'm pretty bad at making gravy so I usually don't bother with this, but perhaps you'll be more successful than I).
Trim any excess fat around the cavity. Save the fat for roasting potatoes.
Place the prepared duck on a rack in a roasting dish and place in the fridge. Leave uncovered at least overnight or for a couple of days, until the skin is nice and dry.
Preheat the oven to 190C, and remove the duck from the fridge to allow it to come to room temperature.
Roast the duck for 40 minutes per kilo, or until juices run clear.
Allow to rest for at least half an hour before carving.

Have you made this recipe? Leave a comment below! Tag me on Instagram @sarahcooksblog and hashtag #sarahcooksblog.

Anyhoo.. as I've mentioned before, we did our family's big Christmas lunch a couple of weeks ago, before we came to Germany. Let's take a look!


Let's start with the pudding. Every year I mean to get organised and make it in advance - at least a week, possibly a few months - but mostly I just forget until the last minute. (Except in 2011, where I made two puddings and froze one for the next year). Anyway, this time I actually made it super last minute - I made up the batter the day before, and steamed it while we were eating Christmas lunch the next day. I was worried that with only one steaming, and no maturation time, it might taste weird, but it turned out delicious! Hooray!

I got some suet at Rendinas Butcher on the day I made the pudding. Luckily they had some (I'd been to another butcher the day before and had no luck), and even better, they kindly gave it to me for free!

Suet

I Googled around, and apparently you can make Christmas pudding with cold grated butter or vegetable shortening, (my backup plans), but I'm told that suet gives the best result. The melting temperature of suet is higher than the other fats, so it takes longer to melt. By the time that the grated suet melts, the batter will have already begun to set, leaving little air pockets in the batter and giving the finished pudding a light and spongy texture.

Here's what it looks like grated up.

Grated suet

As usual, I use Nigella's Ultimate Christmas Pudding recipe, for utter perfection.

Christmas pudding mixture

Even the batter smells good, with its Pedro Ximinez-soaked dried fruit and generous spices.

Delicious mixture

Okidoki, let's look at the lunch itself! We rocked up at my Dad's house late in the morning, Sandra set the table, and we got to work putting lunch together.

The table

As you can see, this is our traditional and much-loved Christmas lunch - Gordon Ramsay's turkey, goose fat roast potatoes, red cabbage and a vegetable side. This year it was roasted carrots.

Bacon blanket for the turkey breast!

Bacon blanket for the turkey breast

Ta-dah! (I'd been given some cherries from the Victorian Cherry Association the week before, so we thought we'd add them to the table. So Christmassy!)

Fooooood

My turkey-carving skills are surely improving. Woop woop.

Carved turkey

Here are the potatoes! As you can see, some of them are a little pale. I forgot to bring the semolina with me, and I think the potatoes were a little overcrowded in my baking tray. Never mind, they still tasted good. (And on my second, small Christmas lunch, you'll see that I made sure they were semolina-dusted and super crispy).

Goosefat roast potatoes

FLAMING!

Christmas pudding

I absolutely love Christmas pudding - and I see no reason to try to find a more crowd-pleasing dessert for the big day. Pavlovas, fluffy sponges and chocolate puddings are all well and good, but for me, the proper Christmas meal must have pudding.

Nigella's ultimate Christmas pudding is my favourite one - both rich and light, super moist and gorgeously aromatic. I don't want to wait until next Christmas to have this again! (We had some leftover and it was just as good microwaved in individual slices for an absolute treat of an afternoon tea).

Christmas pudding

Although I must admit, for some people, the highlight of the Christmas meal isn't the pudding, but rather the vanilla custard. Ahem.

Custard

Merry Christmas everybody!