Mamasita's Mexican quinoa salad

oh mamasita, you are a doll. a treasure, a pleasure! your quinoa salad makes me go kaboom in my mouth. so i cracked open your secret and made a facsimile.

cook 2 cobs of corn in 2.5c water with 1tsp salt for 3 minutes: remove corn with tongs and proceed with cooking quinoa in the remaining water:

1c white quinoa

1Tbs olive oil

pinch of salt

simmer quinoa in water in small pan on low for about 20-30 minutes with lid ajar or until all the water is absorbed. stir gently once or twice to ensure even cooking. once cooked, stir through oil and salt, and leave lid off for quinoa to cool.

in a large serving bowl, add:

2c baby spinach leaves, maybe a bit of rocket

1 flame grilled and sliced red capsicum (or 1c from a jar)

10 halved cherry tomatoes or 2 large tomatoes in quarters

2-3Tbs each coarsely chopped fresh dill and coriander

0.25c pepitas (toasted is even nicer)

zest of 1 lime

1 finely sliced medium-hot chilli

1 finely sliced spring onion

using flameproof tongs, grill the corn over the gas flame until lightly charred (about 30 seconds on each side). slice kernels off with a sharp knife. add the corn and cooled quinoa to the serving bowl, toss everything with a little extra olive oil and a small squeeze of lime juice. savour.

sugo and gnocchi class

yesterday's tomato sugo and gnocchi class at spotswood community house was amazing! the coordinators and volunteers who made it possible were amazing, as were the hard working, very enthusiastic participants. looking forward to more soon!

workshop: learn how to make sugo and gnocchi!

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much excitement!


i will be teaching a sugo and gnocchi workshop at spotswood community house on saturday 5 march, 10am-1pm; organic ingredients, lunch included, and take-home goodies for all. places are strictly limited, so get in quick!


an initiative of the newport organic collective and spotswood community house: click here for more details

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sugo: the ultimate super-intense tomato sauce

every once in a while, you may be blessed with an enormous amount of something special, fresh and immediate. if that something is tomatoes, this recipe is for you. 


i must have channelled the nonna of all nonnas one night last week; la più venerato nonna made a case of super-cheap, ultra-perfect tomatoes appear to me on the ride home from work; and, critically, by some mystical osmosis, imparted to me the recipe for sugo: the ultimate super-intense tomato sauce.


you will need a big saucepan: at least 10-15L capacity, and and about 2kg of ripe tomatoes. some people say that you need to squish the juice out of the tomatoes before cooking them. forget this: nonna has better things for you to do (eg make gnocchi, but that's another story).


cut the tomatoes in half or quarters into the saucepan until the pan is FULL. don't worry about removing the heart/stem thing; nonna says you blend it all together anyway. put the lid on, and place pan over low heat for about 15-20 minutes until the tomatoes have released a bit of juice so they don't stick or burn.


remove the lid and turn the heat up to medium-high, and stir in: 
2 tbs each of salt and pepper (you can adjust the seasoning later, but it's important to add  this much now)
2 whole heads of garlic
6 tbs dried herb of choice (oregano, basil, whatever)


stir the tomatoes every 20 minutes to stop them from sticking. the sauce will be soupy and runny for a while: you need to cook it down to about a third of the pan's capacity.


after the first hour, add: 
3 tbs sugar
3 tbs vinegar
4 tbs olive oil


turn the heat down to medium-low. keep stirring regularly. if your sauce sticks or burns, pour it into another pan and keep cooking on lower heat.


once it has reduced to a third of the pan full, blend with a stab mixer or cool and whiz in a blender.


nonna says serve with everything! bellissimo!