Quick & Easy

EQUIPMENT 30cm (12-inch) round cake board, plastic sandwich bag, oven trays test kitchen tips If using butter cream instead of the chocolate frosting, you will need two quantities of chocolate butter cream . Use a variety of chocolate bars – such as Flakes, Violet Crumbles or Tim Tam biscuits – for the campfire logs. The […]

Any tart fruit makes an excellent base for a meringue pie, including pineapple and passionfruit, both of which would make delicious substitutes for the citrus we've used here.

Add this chilli tuna and lemon linguine to your list of recipes for a quick, healthy mid-week dinner to help you stick to your resolutions.

While your perfectly cooked steak is resting to its tender conclusion, quickly throw together this fried tomato and chilli sauce to go with. A side order of greens and you have a complete, healthy and low carb meal.

Teaming sweet flavours with salt is not a new discovery, but in recent years the combination of salt and caramel has worked its way from the culinary elite to mainstream tastes. And a good thing, too.

Store in an airtight container for up to a week. Note

Wrap individual wedges in plastic wrap and freeze for up to three months. Defrost as required either overnight in the refrigerator or in the microwave on HIGH (100%) for 1 minute. Note

A beautiful, bright and healthy lamb, burghul and grilled zucchini salad.

Char siu sauce can also be labelled chinese barbecue sauce. You can use lamb backstrap for this recipe, if you prefer, slicing it thinly before use. Note

Tuna sold as sashimi has to meet stringent guidelines regarding its handling and treatment after leaving the water. Regardless, it is still probably a good idea to know your fishmonger quite well, or to seek advice from local authorities before eating any raw seafood. Note

Quick, easy and tasty, this stir-fried chicken with baby corn and noodles is everything you're looking for in a mid-week dinner recipe.

Quick, easy and fun chicken curry pot pies to impress the kids.

The chocolate and oil for the topping can be melted together in a microwave oven. Make topping just before serving ice-cream. Note

Make your own spicy and delicious Thai cucumber pickle with this quick and easy recipe.

With layers of chocolate sponge, raspberry cream and crisp almond-topped meringue, this decadent cake is irresistible. It looks almost too good to eat. Almost.

A spicy Indian-style tandoori lamb dish with grilled eggplant; great for barbecues in the summer.

No one need ever know that these delicious cakes came from a packet. Jazz them up with a few extras, and everyone will think that you are so creative. Note

Cointreau would work well for the liqueur in this recipe, although if you want to keep it booze free, orange juice would also do. Either way, for the amount of time involved the result is deceptively fancy.

Try this very fresh and zesty polenta side to cut through hearty meat dishes.

Granny Smith apples are best for this recipe; they add a wonderful tart characteristic for a good balance of flavours.

Suitable from 6 months Use ripe peaches for this puree, as under-ripe fruit will give a sour taste. Store, covered, in the fridge for up to 1 day. Puree is suitable to freeze, in 1-tablespoon portions in ice-cube trays, covered, for up to 1 month. Note

This sauce goes well with steamed Christmas pudding or fruit cake, chocolate pudding, or over ice-cream. Note

A healthy and filling warm lamb sausage and ravioli salad from Australian Women's Weekly.

This beautiful dessert couldn't be more simple to make, and can be easily adapted for any of your favourite candy bars.

sesame dressing Perilla leaves, also known as shiso leaves, belong to the mint family and are available in green and purple-red varieties from Asian grocers. Use the leaves whole or shredded, as an ingredient or a condiment. You can use mint leaves instead. Note

Take your rissoles in a tasty new direction with chicken mince, and the delicious flavour of crumbly feta and acidic tomatoes.

Almond junket is an easy low-fat recipe that is a delicious alternative to jelly.

The hardest thing about this chocolate peanut cookie recipe is stopping yourself eating all the chocolate covered peanuts that are destined for the bowl.

For rice vinegared water, add 1 tablespoon rice vinegar to medium bowl of water. Note

Tender and slow-cooked beef in red wine sauce with roasted tomatoes from Australian Women's Weekly.

Equipment: 3 x 12-hole (1/3-cup/80ml) standard muffin pans, 30 standard paper cases. The icing will set quickly, so return it to the pan of water and reheat it gently until it’s runny again. Don’t overheat the icing or it will crystallise. A tiered cake plate is the perfect way to show off these ever-popular patty […]

A delicious slow-roasted honey and soy pork neck with complex Asian spices and flavours.

A healthy and delicious snack; wholemeal fruit and coconut loaf from Australian Women's Weekly.

This spicy risotto is cooked in a rice cooker for minimum effort and maximum flavour.

Try something a little different on the barbecue tonight with corn salad, sliced steak and irresistible melting anchovy butter.

These fluffy banana loaves with crunchy topping make a lovely accompaniment to a hot cup of tea.

You can use white balsamic vinegar instead of the champagne vinegar. Chervil is a delicately flavoured herb with anise overtones and a soft feathery texture. You can use coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley instead. Note

We used corella pears for this recipe. You will need a bunch of watercress weighing about 350g in total to yield the leaves required for this salad. Note

Sashimi-grade fish must be impeccably fresh and prepared using extremely strict standards of hygiene as the fish is to be eaten raw.

Give your bubbles a little tropical twist with these delicious mango cocktails. Cheers!

Sumac, a purple-red astringent spice, can be teamed with almost anything ­ from fish to meat. It is also great sprinkled over vegetables. You can find sumac at any Middle-Eastern food store.

One of the classic flavour combinations, sweet mild pear and fiery ginger make for a delicious biscuit.

Not suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave. Note

A banana and coconut relish from Australian Women's Weekly.

If you prefer, substitute finely sliced zucchini or trimmed asparagus for the sprouts. Note

Dukkah-crumbed chicken served on hummus and tabbouleh topped pitta bread.

Roasting stone fruit intensifies their flavour, as well as softening the flesh. These roasted peaches are doubly fragrant thanks to the honey and vanilla pods.

These nifty little one-pot casseroles are great for any meal! Dinner, lunch, or they can even be given a breakfast theme and served for brunch.

Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces for younger toddlers. Adults can add chopped red onion, coriander (cilantro) and capsicum to the salsa for extra colour and flavour. Note

Smooth ricotta, sold in tubs, is much wetter than firm ricotta cut from a wheel. If you use firm ricotta, you will need to increase the amount of buttermilk by ¼ cup. Note

You can use 1½ cups (240g) of fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels instead of canned if you prefer. Note

A traditional briki (small pot) is the best pot to use when making Greek coffee because it allows the proper amount of froth to form, which in turn adds to the unique taste.

Vietnamese duck salad with rice noodles, sprouts, mint, coriander, and lemon grass.

For a sophisticated Japanese entrée, try this sashimi dish served with fiery daikon, toasted nori and black sesame.

The perfect French sharing platter: croûtes with beef and horseradish cream.

Crispy, crunchy and tender twice-cooked duck from Australian Women's Weekly.

A fancy and exquisite tapas-style warm herb and citrus marinated olives.

Spinach and snow pea salad makes the perfect side for these juicy tuna kebabs with miso and mirin.

The use of the word “jerk” in culinary terms refers to a spicy jamaican seasoning used to marinate meat, seafood or poultry before grilling or roasting it. While each cook has his or her particular favourite combination of spices, jerk almost always contains allspice, thyme and chilli. Piri piri is an Afro-Portuguese hot sauce made […]

These delicate smoked trout and freshly pickled onion squares have a big flavour for such a little bite.

Sweet and spiked with liqueur, you can offer Irish coffee in place of traditional dessert.

Full of flavour, colour and crunch, this Asian-inspired salad is a cinch to make and perfect for a speedy mid-week meal.

A Creole version of paella, jambalya is believed to have got its name when a cook named Jean in New Orleans tossed together ("balayez" in the Louisiana dialect) various leftovers that resulted in such a delicious dish that it was celebrated with a recipe called "Jean balayez".

Use any combination of melons you like. You could prepare this salad the day before, if you like; keep, covered, in the fridge. Add mint and juice to the melons when you're ready to enjoy.

This summer fruit dish is so quick to put together, looks good and tastes great!

A ricer or mouli, available from kitchenware stores, will give the best result for smooth potato puree and therefore a lighter gnocchi. Burnt butter and sage sauce is an easy and delicious accompaniment.

These colours are so vibrant together and create the perfect sweet treat.

Chicken tikka is a chicken dish originating in South Asia where it remains popular in India and Pakistan.

This herb sauce is divine served with grilled meats or as a sandwich spread.

You can warm the tortillas in the microwave oven; follow the instructions on the packet. Note

Reserve some of the fronds from the fennel before slicing and sprinkle over the pizzas to serve. You can use sour cream instead of crème fraîche.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Note

Try this easy 4-ingredient dip for a nutritious snack served with crunchy veggies.

This is an easy, speedy and mouth-watering way to enjoy fresh fish.

This indulgent, comforting meal is perfect for a cosy night in. Purists may prefer to make their own gnocchi, but we've discovered that the store bought version is an excellent time saving alternative.

Spice up a platter of plump oysters with cucumber and piquant mirin dressing.

Soup can be frozen at the end of step 2. Large canned butter beans are also known as lima beans, any white beans can be used. Note

Roast lamb is always a crowd pleaser. Team it with mint sauce and you'll be rewarded with rapturous applause and cheering. Well, almost.