If you’ve found yourself with last-minute hosting duties or just want to spend more time with your guests and not in the kitchen, worry not! CW food writer Libby Kimber brings you some delicious and simple recipes that make entertaining a breeze, at any time of the day or night.
Ben Milbourne’s carbonara Australiana
Recipe and image courtesy of Ben Milbourne for Barilla Australia
Serves: 2
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 10 mins
- 160g Barilla Spaghetti n5
- 100ml olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 100g bacon, chopped
- 150g parmesan cheese, grated
- 3 eggs
- 1 Tbsp Tasmanian pepperberry
- Salt
- 4 macadamia nuts
Put pasta on to boil in salted water.
Sauté garlic in oil, add chopped bacon.
In a bowl mix grated Parmesan and whole eggs.
When pasta is al dente, add it to the pan with garlic and bacon along with a splash of pasta water.
Add the parmesan and egg and mix through hot pasta. Sprinkle cracked pepperberry and mix through pasta, add salt to taste.
Finish by grating macadamia nuts over the top.
Classic vanilla slice with passionfruit icing
Recipe and image courtesy of Australian Eggs | australianeggs.com.au
Serves: 12
Prep: 45 mins, plus chilling time
Cook: 30 mins
- 2 sheets frozen butter puff pastry, thawed
- 1½ cups milk
- 1½ cups pure cream
- 60g unsalted butter, chopped
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 2/3Â cup caster sugar
- 1/3Â cup cornflour
- 6 egg yolks
Passionfruit icing
- 1½ cups icing sugar
- 20g butter, melted
- 2½ Tbsp passionfruit pulp (about 2-3 passionfruit)
Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan forced. Place each pastry sheet on a large oven tray lined with baking paper. Cover with baking paper and weigh down with another tray. Bake for 20 minutes or until crisp and golden. Cool on a rack.
Meanwhile, place the milk, cream, butter, vanilla and sugar in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat to until sugar dissolves, then bring to just below boiling point. Remove from heat.
Whisk cornflour and yolks together in a large bowl. Gradually whisk in hot milk mixture to combine. Return to saucepan and cook on medium high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring.
Line a 22cm square cake pan with 2 long strips of baking paper, allowing 2cm overhang on all sides. Trim pastry sheets to fit snugly in pan. Place 1 sheet in the base. Pour in warm custard mixture. Top with pastry sheet and press down gently. Chill for 4 hours, or until set firm.
Meanwhile, to make the passionfruit icing, place icing sugar and butter in a bowl. Stir in passionfruit pulp until smooth. Spread icing over slice. Chill for 30 minutes or until set. Lift slice from pan. Cut into squares or rectangles.
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