chicken, rice and broad bean soup

•  1 tablespoon olive oil
•  1 brown onion, chopped
•  1 clove garlic, crushed
•  2 bay leaves
•  4 sprigs thyme
•  1.5 litres chicken stock
•  2 x 200g chicken breast fillets, trimmed
•  400g sebago (starchy) potatoes, peeled and chopped
•  ⅓ cup (65g) long-grain rice
•  2 cups frozen broad beans, blanched and peeled
•  sea salt and cracked black pepper
•  ⅓ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil, onion, garlic, bay leaves and thyme and cook for 4–5 minutes or until the onion is tender. Add stock, chicken, potato and rice, bring to the boil and cook for 10–12 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Cook for a further 5 minutes or until the rice is cooked and the potato is tender. Shred the chicken, return to the pan and add the broad beans, salt and pepper. Cook for a further 2 minutes or until the chicken and broad beans are warmed through. Serve soup topped with parsley. Serves 4.

classic chocolate cake

•  300g dark chocolate, chopped
•  250g buttter
•  5 eggs
•  ½ cup (110g) caster (superfine) sugar
•  1¼ cups (185g) plain (all-purpose) flour
•  1¼ teaspoons baking powder
•  ¾ cup (90g) almond meal (ground almonds)

chocolate fudge icing

•  250g dark chocolate, chopped
•  ½ cup (125ml) pouring (single) cream
•  70g butter, chopped

  Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F). Place the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat and stir until melted and smooth. Set aside.

  Place the eggs and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8–10 minutes or until pale and thick. Sift the flour and baking powder over the egg mixture. Add almond meal and gently fold through the chocolate mixture. Line the base of a 23cm-round cake tin with non-stick baking paper. Pour in the mixture and bake for 50 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool in the tin.

  For the chocolate fudge icing, place the chocolate, cream and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. Remove and set aside to cool completely. Beat in an electric mixer until thick and fluffly. Spread icing on the cooled cake. Serves 10.

green olive baked chicken

•  ¾ cup pitted green olives
•  1.6kg whole chicken
•  4 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
•  ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
•  2 tablespoons lemon zest
•  250g cherry tomatoes
•  sea salt and cracked black pepper
•  2 tablespoons olive oil

  Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Soak the olives in cold water for 5 minutes to remove the excess salt. Drain. Divide the chicken into 8 pieces or ask your butcher to do so. Place the chicken in a baking dish, skin-side up, and put a piece of garlic under each chicken portion. Combine the olives, parsley, lemon zest, tomatoes, salt, pepper and oil and spoon over the chicken.

  Bake for 45–55 minutes or until the chicken is golden and cooked through. Place on serving plates and serve drizzled with the pan juices. Serves 4.

lemon and broccoli soup

•  50g butter
•  1 leek, rinsed and sliced
•  2 cloves garlic, crushed
•  1 head broccoli, chopped
•  4 cups (1 litre) vegetable stock
•  100g baby spinach leaves
•  1 cup (250ml) single (pouring) cream
•  1 tablespoon lemon juice
•  sea salt and cracked black pepper
•  80g fresh ricotta

  Heat a deep, medium saucepan over high heat. Add the butter, leek and garlic and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until the leek is tender. Add the broccoli and stock, bring to the boil and cook for 8–10 minutes or until the broccoli is tender. Add the spinach and cook for a further 1–2 minutes. Use a hand-held blender to blend the soup until smooth. Stir in the cream, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top with ricotta to serve. Serves 4.

raspberry and white chocolate muffins

•  2 cups (300g) plain (all-purpose) flour
•  2 teaspoons baking powder
•  ¾ cup (165g) caster (superfine) sugar
•  1 cup (240g) sour cream
•  2 eggs
•  1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
•  ⅓ cup (80ml) vegetable oil
•  1½ cups (225g) frozen raspberries
•  1 cup (175g) chopped white chocolate

  Preheat oven to 180ºC (355ºF). Line 6 x ¾ cup-capacity (185ml) moulds with non-stick baking paper, making sure the paper is 5mm above the top of the tin. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the sugar and stir to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the sour cream, eggs, lemon rind and oil and whisk together. Stir through the flour mixture until just combined. Carefully fold in the raspberries and chocolate and spoon into the lined moulds. Bake for 40 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Makes 6.