Fast & simple recipes for all the dads you’re expected to be
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The Dads’ Club top 10 recipes include:
1. Thyme Lamb Brochettes with Braised Spring Vegetables
You can use lamb shoulder, leg or even be super-flash and use the tender lean loins meant to make these simple meaty skewers. And don’t try to make the accompanying vegetables in April. Broadbeans, peas and asparagus are all at their peak in spring so make the most of them now.
- Serves: 4
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Marinating Time: 2 hr
- Cooking Time:20 min
- Primary Ingredient: Lamb
- Type of Meal: Main
Directions
Marinate lamb in mixture of oil, lemon zest, garlic and thyme with some sea salt and black pepper for 2-12 hours covered in the fridge. Thread meat onto soaked wooden skewers and bring back to room temperature.
Cook on a hot barbecue, under a grill or in a large pre-heated frying pan to medium rare.
In a medium frying pan, soften the garlic and leek in half the oil, stirring through the prosciutto. Add the peas and stock or water and simmer for five minutes. Add the zucchini and asparagus and cook for one minute more.
Stir through the broadbeans and warm through then remove from heat and add the mint, thyme, remaining oil and lemon juice. Transfer to a shallow bowl and top with the goat’s curd. Serve alongside a platter of the brochettes.
The secret to this is slow cooking the lamb in oil and water to get it fall apart tender. Typically, the flavours are strong and uncomplicated
- Serves: 1 family
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Marinating Time: -zero
- Cooking Time:3 hr
- Primary Ingredient: Lamb
- Type of Meal: Main
Directions
Place the lamb in a baking dish of your barbecue.
Mix the oil, lemon, salt and garlic and spread evenly over both sides of the lamb.
Sprinkle oregano leaves over both sides and barely cover the lamb with cold water.
Place baking paper or foil over the top of the lamb, pushing it into the sides of the dish to keep the moisture in.
Cook through indirect heat, that is with the side burners on but no heat directly under the baking dish for 2 1/2 hours.
Remove from the barbecue and rest in the baking dish, still covered for ten minutes.
Slice the lamb and serve with remaining liquid and roasted vegetables or salad.
3. Beef and Beetroot Rissoles
You can make these bite sized as a nibble before the main event, or make large, thick patties that are the main event themselves. A kilo of mince goes a long way, but you can make even more, they’re delicious straight from the fridge for days and highly recommended for hangovers.
- Serves:4 – 6
- Prep Time:20 min
- Marinating Time:–
- Cooking Time:10 min
- Primary Ingredient: Beef
- Type of Meal: Nibble, Main
Directions
Thoroughly mix all ingredients except oil in a large bowl with your hands, season well with sea salt and black pepper.
Roll the mixture into balls the size of a walnut and flatten a little with your hands, or make them the size of thick hamburger patties.
Pour plenty of oil on the flat grill and fry the rissoles over medium heat so they cook through without burning.
Drain on paper towel.
They can be served with a simple dip of sour light cream, chopped dill, black pepper and a little lemon juice.
4. Prosciutto Wrapped Seafood Kebabs
- Serves:4
- Prep Time:–
- Marinating Time:–
- Cooking Time:–
- Primary Ingredient: Seafood
- Type of Meal: Entrée
Directions
Wrap each piece of seafood in a strip of prosciutto and place on a soaked wooden skewer with the order something like: blue eye/tomato/scallop/tomato/prawn.
Brush lightly with oil and cook on a medium grill until the seafood is just firm to the touch.
Serve two per person as an entrée with a grind of black pepper and a lemon quarter- maybe with a few drops of Worcestershire if you like.
5. Sesame Lamb Cutlets
These need watching while they’re cooking and you need to get the temperature down or the sesame coating will burn. They are really yummy, sweet treats, either as a main course or a delicious plate of substantial finger food.
- Serves:4
- Prep Time:15 min
- Marinating Time:2 hr
- Cooking Time:10 min
- Primary Ingredient:Lamb
- Type of Meal:Entree, Main
Directions
Mix the garlic, sesame oil, soy, honey and rice wine in a ceramic dish and add the lamb cutlets, ensuring that they are completely coated in the mixture.
Marinate, covered in the fridge for 2 to 12 hours.
Place sesame seeds on a plate and press the lamb into them to coat
Pour the oil over the flat grill and cook the cutlets over a low flame until the meat is medium rare and the sesames seeds are golden brown and slightly scorched
Top with a little sea salt and serve.
6. Classic Potato Salad
- Serves:4
- Prep Time:–
- Marinating Time:–
- Cooking Time:–
- Primary Ingredient:
- Type of Meal :Side
Directions
Boil or steam potatoes until just cooked and cool, then cut into 2cm and gently fold through other ingredients.
7. Grilled Prawns with Thai Dipping Sauce
The only problem that you will have with these is making enough to satisfy your friends.
- Serves:8
- Prep Time:–
- Marinating Time:–
- Cooking Time:–
- Primary Ingredient: Seafood
- Type of Meal :Nibble
Directions
Mix the prawns with the garlic, fish sauce and oil and marinate, covered in the fridge for an hour.
Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and reserve.
Drain any excess marinade from the prawns and place them on a hot char or flat grill, turning after just a minute.
Serve immediately with the dipping sauce. Remind your guests that there’s no double dipping.
Serves 8 as finger food.
8. Prawns with Mango Dipping Sauce
- Serves:2
- Prep Time:10 min
- Marinating Time:–
- Cooking Time:–
- Primary Ingredient: Seafood
- Type of Meal: Entrée
Directions
Either blend all ingredients for sauce in a food processor, or better, puree the mango flesh in the food processor and stir other ingredients through, for a more interesting texture.
Serve the prawns with a dipping sauce in a bowl.
9. The Great Aussie Steak Sambo
There are many delicious recipes for meat on bread, even steak on bread here, but like the great Aussie burger, there’s only one Aussie Steak Sambo. One way to go here is the traditional Greek café version, just like The great Aussie hamburger. You would have toasted thick white bread, lettuce, tomato, fried onions, steak, tomato or barbecue sauce and beetroot is optional here, whereas it is compulsory with the burger. This is the simpler footy club variety, avoiding footy club home brand margarine and stewing meat used for frying.
- Serves:4
- Prep Time:10 min
- Marinating Time:–
- Cooking Time:15 min
- Primary Ingredient Beef
- Type of Meal: Main
Directions
Start the onions in the oil on your flat grill. If they start to dry out and burn, add a little liquid – beer is often close by at a barbecue.
When the onions are half cooked, throw the steaks on a screaming hot char grill, cooking until nicely brown on the outside and slightly pink in the centre.
Make your sambos with steak, onions, sauce and some salt.
If you are following footy club tradition, your sambo should be served in a piece of cheap paper towel, not a plate, so it drips all over everyone’s laps.
10. Fifteen minute baked beans
There are two extremes when it comes to baked beans. You can open a can of the lolly flavoured commercial varieties or you can soak the dried beans all day, then cook them for hours the ‘proper’ way. This solution is somewhere between the two and is disgustingly bloody delicious.
- Serves: 4
- Prep Time:10 min
- Marinating Time:–
- Cooking Time:15 min
- Primary Ingredient: Vegetables
- Type of Meal Main
Directions
In a large frying pan cook the garlic, onion and ham without colouring the vegetables.
Add all other ingredients except the beans and simmer for five minutes.
Add the beans and stir gently for five more minutes.
Serve with sourdough toast.
Recipes have been provided by our Aussie cook Kim Terakes.
Visit Kim at www.aussiebarbie.com.au
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