No-mix potato salad

I made this salad one Christmas years ago only because we didn’t have a bowl large enough to toss everything together. It was a revelation. Keeping the dressing separate from the mustard cream allowed each element of the salad to have its own character.

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 kg new potatoes
• 1 tsp salt, plus extra to season
• ¼ cup (60m) olive oil
• 100g speck, in a block, cut into lardons
• 4 spring onions (scallions), sliced
• ¼ tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 red onion, cut into thin rings
• 3 dill pickles, sliced
• 2 tbsp baby capers, drained
• ¼ cup finely shredded dill
• 2 tbsp finely shredded parsley

Mustard cream

• ¾ cup (185g) sour cream
• ¾ cup (185g) mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
• black pepper, to season

METHOD

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot, cover with cold water and place over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes until tender (a small sharp knife inserted into a potato should be able to go in and come out easily). Drain and allow to cool slightly, then cut into halves or quarters, depending on how large your potatoes are.
2. To make the mustard cream, mix the ingredients together and season well with plenty of black pepper.
3. In a small non-reactive frypan, heat half the olive oil and fry the speck until crisp. Add the spring onion and cook for about 1 minute until softened. Add the remaining olive oil and the apple-cider vinegar. Remove from the heat.
4. Spoon the mustard cream onto a serving plate, add half the potatoes, then scatter with the red onion, sliced dill pickles and capers. Add remaining potatoes, then pour over the dressing. Scatter with the dill and parsley to serve.

Tip: Keep the potatoes and the dressing slightly warm when you pour the dressing over, as it will help the vinegar to soak into the potatoes. The salad can cool down or be chilled after that, but combining them when they’re still slightly warm is quite important.

Serves 8

Cabbage and cheese fritters

I originally wrote this recipe as mini okonomiyaki (the Osaka-style fritters smothered in a thick barbecue-like sauce), but they are really delicious served just with a little sour cream and chives.

INGREDIENTS

• ½ medium white cabbage, cut into large pieces (about 800g in total)
• 1 brown onion, grated
• ¼ cup (35g) self-raising flour
• 1 egg
• 1 cup (150g) grated cheese
• ½ tsp salt, plus extra to season
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp finely chopped chives, to serve
• freshly ground black pepper, to serve
• ½ cup (125g) sour cream, to serve
• lemon wedges, to serve

METHOD

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the cabbage and cook on high for about 3 minutes, until softened. Drain well, squeeze out excess moisture and finely chop. Combine with the onion, flour, egg, cheese and salt and mix to a thick batter.
2. Heat a large frypan over medium heat and add a little of the oil. Spoon about ½ cup (125ml) of the mixture into the shape of a small patty and fry for about 4 minutes per side until golden and cooked through. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
3. Serve scattered with chives, a little extra salt and freshly ground black pepper, with the sour cream and lemon wedges on the side.

Tip: For the okonomiyaki version, replace the sour cream and lemon wedges with Otafuku sauce (available from Asian grocers and some major supermarkets) and Japanese mayonnaise.

Serves 4

Beef nachos with guacamole

Ballpark. Trashcan. Tex-Mex. There are so many different kinds of nachos today, but the original only dates back to 1940, in the Mexican city of Piedras Negras, just west of the Texan border. They were named for Ignacio Anaya, the maitre d’ of the restaurant that created them, and the rest is history.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups (500ml) vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 20 corn tortillas, cut into triangles
• salt and black pepper, to season

Meat sauce

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 brown onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 kg minced beef
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 400g tinned diced tomatoes
• ¼ cup (60g) sliced jalapenos, to serve
• sour cream, to serve
• Guacamole, to serve
• Tabasco, or hot sauce, to serve
• lime wedges, to serve

Cheese sauce

• 340ml evaporated milk
• 2 cups (300g) shredded cheese

Fresh salsa

• 3 roma tomatoes
• ½ brown onion, finely diced
• 6 coriander sprigs, roughly chopped
• juice of ½ lime
• salt, to season

METHOD

1. Heat the vegetable oil to around 180C in a medium saucepan or wok. Fry the tortilla pieces in batches until golden brown. Season with a little salt and set aside.
2. To make the meat sauce, heat a large frypan over medium heat. Add the olive oil and fry the onion and garlic for a few minutes, then add the beef and fry until browned. Add the paprika, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, salt and pepper and fry for about 1 minute until fragrant. Add the soy sauce and tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove from the heat.
3. To make the cheese sauce, pour the evaporated milk into a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally to ensure it doesn’t burn on the bottom, and add the cheese, stirring for about 1-2 minutes until the cheese melts and creates a smooth, thick sauce.
4. To make the salsa, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and toss together.
5. Place the corn chips on a serving platter and spoon over the meat mixture. Pour over the cheese sauce, scatter with the salsa, and top with dollops of sour cream and guacamole. Scatter with the jalapenos and serve with Tabasco and lime wedges.

Tip: Use store-bought corn chips to save a step.

Serves 6-8

Salmagundi

A salmagundi is a mixed-platter dish that dates back to 17th-century Britain. This here is less of a recipe and more of a permission: your Sunday roast can absolutely be a pre-roasted chicken from the supermarket, lovingly assembled into an eclectic platter, all tied together with a simple vinaigrette.

INGREDIENTS

• 300g new potatoes
• 6 eggs
• 150g green beans, stalks removed
• ½ bunch broccolini, trimmed
• ½ bunch asparagus, trimmed
• ½ pre-roasted chicken
• 150g sliced smoked salmon
• 80g mixed salad leaves
• 1 Lebanese cucumber
• 1 cup (approx. 200g) mixed cherry tomatoes
• 60g sharp cheddar
• salt, to season
• Savoury herb vinaigrette (see below), to serve
• Japanese mayonnaise, to serve

METHOD

1. Add the potatoes to a large pot and cover with water. Place over medium heat, bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender (a small sharp knife inserted into a potato should be able to go in and come out easily). Remove from the water and set aside, leaving the water in the pot. Carefully lower the eggs into the water, then bring the water to boil. Let the eggs cook for 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of iced water to cool, then peel.
2. Place the beans, broccolini and asparagus in a heatproof tray or bowl and cover with boiling water. Allow to stand for about 1-2 minutes, then remove the asparagus and beans and let the broccolini sit for 1-2 minutes longer, checking for doneness. Drain, then trim the broccolini if you like. Season with a bit of salt and drizzle with olive oil.
3. Slice the potatoes into rounds and the eggs in half. Joint the chicken. Take a large platter and arrange all the ingredients in separate piles. Dress with the savoury herb vinaigrette and serve with a bit of mayonnaise on the side.

Tip: As you can probably tell, there are no fixed ingredients for this. Just take whatever you have and build it into a plate. The potatoes and eggs are a personal favourite of mine, but it’s the dressing that really ties everything together.

Serves 6

Savoury herb vinaigrette

Combine ½ cup (125ml) olive oil with ¼ cup (60ml) red-wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, a good pinch of sugar, and 1 tablespoon each finely chopped parsley, dill and chives or other herbs, to taste. Salt, to season.

This is an edited extract from 7 Days of Dinner by Adam Liaw, Hardie Grant Books, RRP $45. Photography: Steve Brown. Buy now