Dinner ideas

Create these Greek-style meatballs to make the perfect sharing platter.

Use vegetables of your choice such as green beans, snow peas or buk choy. Use sliced chicken breast or thinly sliced beef rump steak as an alternative to the pork fillet. Use regular basil if thai basil is unavailable. Note

Confit, from the French verb ‘confire’ meaning to preserve, means both a food item that has been slow-cooked in fat to cover, and also the cooking technique. Confit foods are exquisitely soft and delicately flavoured, so the technique is sometimes used, as in this recipe, simply to achieve this luxurious effect. Note

Baby green beans can be used instead of snake beans. Note

Some clams might not open after cooking. These might need prompting with a knife or might not have cooked as quickly as the others ­you don’t have to discard them, just open with a knife and cook a little longer if you wish. Note

Caldeirada is a Portuguese fish stew that varies from region to region, but usually contains a variety of fish along with potato, onion and tomato or capsicum.

Cook steaks to seal until moisture begins to pool on top surface (about 2 minutes). Turn only once. Cook on second side until cooked to taste. Note

This recipe is for lovers of spicy seafood.

Recipe can be made a day ahead and refrigerated, covered. Note

Roti is an Indian subcontinent flat bread that is the perfect complement to curries, stews and other saucy dishes.

Traditional to North Africa, a tagine is an aromatic casserole, usually cooked and served in an earthenware dish, also called a tagine.

Freeze beef for about an hour­ this will make it easier to slice. To obtain ginger juice, squeeze grated fresh ginger into a sieve set over a bowl. A piece of ginger measuring about 10cm in length will yield 2 tablespoons of grated ginger; this amount of grated ginger should in turn yield the 2 […]

Crispy, crunchy and delicious Southern fried chicken from Australian Women's Weekly.

Soak bamboo skewers in cold water for at least 30 minutes before using to prevent them from scorching during cooking. Note

A quick, light and simple salad with an amazing combination of flavours and textures.

If the potatoes that you purchase for this recipe are young and quite small, scrubbing them well (rather than peeling) will be sufficient. Tuna is at its best if browned both sides Note

Kalonji seeds are also known as nigella or black onion seeds. Tiny, angular seeds, black on the outside and creamy within, with a sharp nutty flavour that can be enhanced by frying briefly in a dry hot pan before use. Kalonji can be found in most Asian and Middle-Eastern food shops. Note

Recipe is best prepared as required. Note

Crab meat can be bought already cooked from some fishmongers. Alternatively buy cooked crabs (about 600g) and remove the flesh from the shells and claws – enough to weigh 200g. Well-drained canned crab meat could be used in this recipe. Note

We used sebago potatoes in this recipe. Note

Peri peri prawn and coleslaw tortillas

Broccolini is a cross between broccoli and chinese kale; it resembles broccoli in appearance, but is milder and sweeter in taste. It has long asparagus-like stems and a long loose floret, both completely edible. Baby buk choy or gai lan work well in this stir-fry, too; use in place of the broccolini. Note

The secret for making perfect roast potatoes? Use olive oil instead of other oils or butter because it tolerates high oven temperatures better and gives a delicious taste to the potatoes.

This meal has a medium GI. Note

This is a bright and colourful summery dish with lots of big flavours and great textures.

A slab of American-style pork spareribs will consist of between 7 and 10 ribs each. After the meat is cooked, separate the ribs with a knife then eat them in your hands. Note

This recipe is not suitable to freeze. Note

An exquisite peppered pork dish that can be whipped up for dinner parties in no time.

Ribollita is a Tuscan soup based on whatever vegetable the cook has at hand. Traditionally, it is thickened with stale bread.

Ragoût, which comes from the French verb, ragoûter, meaning `to stimulate the appetite', does exactly that in this dish.

We used corella pears in this recipe. Dijonnaise is a commercial blend of dijon mustard and mayonnaise, available in supermarkets. Note

A delicious filo pastry pie that will fill the bellies of your entire family (and more!)

This pork and rosemary meatball dish is packed full of Italian flavours, even down to the angel hair pasta.

Recipe is based on a traditional lamb roast recipe from northern India. Note

You can use either savoy cabbage or wombok (also known as chinese cabbage) in the coleslaw. Stout is a strong tasting dark-coloured beer that goes well with beef. Note

You can substitute a white medium-grain rice if koshihikari is unavailable. Note

A rich, slowcooked French casserole with lamb, white beans, streaky bacon and crushed tomatoes.

Quick and easy stir-fried Asian greens from Australian Women's Weekly.

A flavourful dish for barbecues, lunch or dinner.

Eastern and Western cuisines collide in this delicious baked dish of curried pumpkin and lentil crêpes.

Substitute watercress and tatsoi leaves for baby spinach and mizuna, if preferred. Note

A light salad that packs a flavourful punch through the roquefort cheese and dijon dressing.

An Italian-American dish of chicken breasts, capers, parsley and Marsala wine.

Quick, easy and full of flavour - this is a great Asian stir-fry for busy midweek dinners.

Replace pork with sliced chicken breast or beef rump steak. You can use basil if thai basil is out of season or you could replace the basil with coriander. Broccolini can be swapped with baby corn, if you like. Note

This terrific tortilla combines potato, spinach and mushroom for a tantalisingly soft and fluffy interior that's as satisfying as it is tasty.

M'hanncha, a Moroccan almond pastry, means `the snake' and this coiled sweet pastry treat certainly represents that.

Farfalle is a short, rather sturdy butterfly-shaped pasta that is also known as “bow-ties”. It is good for a dish such as this because the folds and crinkles of each piece help capture the pesto and hold the other ingredients. Replace the farfalle with penne or small shells if you wish. Note

A French main-dish stew with tender veal and creamy mushrooms from Australian Women's Weekly.

A rich and delicious Moroccan vegetable soup with a spicy hit of harissa.

You can used store-bought char-grilled capsicum for this recipe, if you like. Note

We’ve used brown long-grain rice in this recipe because of its lovely nutty taste, but you can replace it with white long-grain rice if you wish. You need to cook about 1⅓ cups rice for this recipe. Note

The secret to this recipe is the amount of olive oil used. Perfect as a second course or as the main course for a light summer lunch, served with salad and crusty bread or with chips (frites). The moules in France are small and sweet. This recipe is not suitable for those large green New […]

With the help of a pressure cooker, make these exquisitely spiced and flavoured Greek lamb shanks in no time.

Makes enough for four 150g servings of panfried veal scaloppine. Also goes well with grilled chicken breast fillets, barbecued pork medallions, roasted lamb cutlets. Marsala, a caramel-flavoured fortified wine, is named after the city from which it comes, and is the most popular dessert wine in Italy. Dry marsala is often served as an apéritif. […]

We used blue-eye trevalla fillets in this recipe. Note

A sweet, rich and delicious spiced pork dish from Australian Women's Weekly.

A delicious and filling chickpea, watercress and capsicum salad from Australian Women's Weekly.

Piri piri sauce is a spicy Afro-Portuguese chilli sauce available from Middle-Eastern food stores and most major supermarkets. Note

Stories vary on the true origin of the margherita pizza - but at least we can all agree that when it comes to pizza, nothing beats a classic.