Both your hosts tend to obsess over foods, recipes or ingredients and deep-dive with said specialty before turning to grab a new obsession.

For instance, Yumi (me) right now is in the thick of trying to make the perfect Char Kway Teow (fresh, wok-fried Malaysian noodles that are beyond excellent when done well).

Simon revisits one of his past obsessions, sweet paprika, and is delighted to find a new way to cook with it that is both super-simple, and fast.

The sweet paprika that Simon recommends looks like this.

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In this episode, Yumi confronts Simon with something questionable he did with a shot of coffee... And she then razzes him about how she improved his own recipe!

FULLY LOADED PECAN BROWNIES

Line a 20cm square cake tin.

Put the oven on to 180C

Melt in a bowl over hot water 125g chopped butter and 100g dark 85% chocolate,

Remove from heat and allow to sit for a moment.

Quickly add in 3 beaten eggs

300g (1 1/2 cups) white sugar

115g (3/4 cup) plain flour

30g (1/4 cup) Dutch cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Then stir through 180g of pecans. This batter will be very stiff!

Bake for 30 mins. No less! Be careful not to overdo it and have your nose on HIGH ALERT for any burning smells.

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MARMALADE shouldn't be out-of-reach for the average home cook!

And if you LOVE the weird, spreadable, sour, sometimes bitter preserve, then you really must try home-made, because there's nothing as good available to buy in mainstream shops, although Simon does have a few he thinks are "pretty good".

DELICIOUS RUBY BLOOD ORANGE MARMALADE

1.5kg blood oranges

1kg sugar

2tsp agar agar powder (optional)

METHOD

Wash the skin of the blood oranges, remove any stickers and seeds and prepare to get chopping.

Cut off the rough nubby ends of the oranges then halve them, and slice them into crescents slightly thinner than a 20c piece. (Same thickness is fine.) Compost excess pith.

Soak the orange slices overnight in just enough water to cover them.

Next day, sterilise 6-8 jars with metal lids by putting them in a cool oven and then turning it on to 100C for 30 mins.

In a large pot, bring the blood orange slices and their water to the boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and set a timer for 40 mins. 

When the timer sounds, pour in the sugar. Stir to assist it to dissolve. Set another timer for 40 mins and keep cooking it gently so it's bubbling, but not furiously. 

Now you'll need to keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. Keep stirring and watch the level of heat so that it doesn't scorch the bottom of the pan.

In the last minute, scatter over the Agar Agar powder and mix through well.

Allow the jam to cool a little - say, 15-20 mins.

Arrange the sterilised jar in your biggest sink. Pour out the marmalade into the jars using a ladle or heatproof jug. Screw the lids on tightly. When the jars are cool enough to handle, wash them clean of spatters and spills.

Add a cute label if you can be bothered.

Store in the fridge for up to 3 months.

Serve on toast, with a cheeseboard, on scones or muffins. DELIGHTFUL!

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I finally got my hands on a copy of Sami Tamimi's FALASTIN - and it's a remarkable cookbook. It's got one of my favourite tomato recipes in the entire world, a rice dish where you use Greek yoghurt almost as a stock to make a creamy white risotto (incredible), and this dish, which I have (since recording) made multiple times. It's easy, really nourishing, and has flavours that transport you to the wonderful culture and food of Sami's homeland.

SESAME CRUMBLE

50g white sesame seeds

25g black sesame seeds

150g rolled oats

50g flaked almonds

sea salt

cardamom seeds, removed from the pods and crushed

50g smooth peanut butter

1 egg white

100g honey

1tbs rose water

2tbs olive oil

Combine and bake at 160g for 18-20 mins, stirring twice.

Serve on top of fruit and yoghurt.

PS. If you want to find out more about the GRANOLA I have perfected (it really is perfect) have a look here - or search for GRANOLA TEMPLATE, episode 295

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Yumi is still very much hung up on the cookbook that is TOMATO by Clare Thompson, which so far has been yielding a DELIGHTFUL number of heavenly recipes, including the one which inspired her to get into a Black Olive Tapenade...

Because who doesn't love a foodie quest?

Find a hundred grams of the best pitted black olives you can afford!

Moosh them up with 6 anchovies and a tablespoon of capers and 4 tablespoons of olive oil and a sprig of thyme!

Use a sharp knife, a mortar and pestle, or a nutribullet-sized blender: The results will differ in texture, but will all be delicious!

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Utterly thrilled with his work perk of a whole ton of beautiful, fresh pistachio nuts, Simon has gone nuts experimenting with this ingredient.

He's tried nearly everything, but today's dish is far-and-away his favourite:

PISTACHIO TRAY-BAKE CHICKEN

Heat oven to 220C

To make the pistachio paste:

Chop 1 cup of shelled and roasted pistachios with one small bunch parsley. Get it quite well chopped and fine and then into a bowl.

Add zest of 1 lemon, 2 finely grated garlic cloves, a pinch salt, 1 tsp Dijon mustard and 3 tbs olive oil.

MIX WELL til you have a chunky paste.

Take a bunch of broccolini and toss with 1tbs of the pistachio paste and set aside

600g boneless, skin-on chicken thighs. Coat them with the remaining pistachio paste.

Pop on tray and roast for 15 mins and then add the greens and roast for another 10 mins or until the greens are cooked and the pistachio crust has gone golden.

Serve with Simon's Lemon Yoghurt. (Greek yoghurt enlivened with a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt.)

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Yumi is going back to her mother's country with this particular culinary love affair.

Zenzai is the name for Adzuki Beans when they're cooked and sweetened, but still hold their beany shape. There's fantastic info about it on this website which is particularly helpful if you love cooking Japanese food!

Sweetened beans can be a weird concept if you're not accustomed to it - but give it a chance, it's extremely digestible and leaves the body feeling invigorated and powered!

ZENZAI

200g Adzuki Beans

1 Litre of water

150g brown sugar

pinch salt

Boil the adzuki beans for 45mins. Drain and rinse them well then top them again with fresh cold water and bring back to the boil. Consider how watery/thick you want your finished product to be when you add the water. (Motto: "You can always add more [water, in this case], but you can't take it away!") Cook for 15 mins before adding the sugar and salt. Allow some water to evaporate but not so much that the pan is dry. Check the beans after another 30 mins. You want them soft and yielding.

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Borrowing heavily from Maggie Beer's famous recipe for SOUR CREAM PASTRY, Yumi gets super-inspired in the kitchen and devises a PIE RECIPE for the ages.

SMOKED ALMOND PASTRY

In a food processor, mix 240g plain flour with 30g smoked almonds. Add in 160g chilled, cubed butter and whizz for 20 seconds.

Add in 125g sour cream, and 40g of olive oil and whizz together for 30-50 seconds, until the dough forms a ball.

Get the dough up out of the food processor, and roll into two balls. (If you love metrics, I weigh the base ball to be 340g (bigger) and the lid ball to be 290g.)

Wrap in plastic or beeswax and refrigerate until needed (at least 2 hours, overnight is fine).

FILLING

Dry roast 1 big, cubed sweet potato for 20mins on 180C.

Dry cook 500g baby spinach until it's all wilted. This looks goofy like the pan is overfilled but it shrinks down, be patient and watch it doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan.

Allow the sweet potato and the spinach to cool.

Combine these ingredients with 500g fresh ricotta, 120g finely grated Grana Padano (I used the microplane) and a pinch of salt.

Mix well.

TO ASSEMBLE

Pre-heat the oven to 180C.

Roll out the pastry in 2 pieces.

The larger piece goes into the base of the pie.

If you're prepping ahead, you can stop here and refrigerate the crust. This will also prevent shrinkage!

Fill the pie with your sweet potato-ricotta-spinach mixture.

Top with the lid.

Trim, decorate, get fancy with the edges (or don't) and remember to cut a slit in the lid for steam to escape.

Brush the lid with a whisked egg yolk, a shake of salt and a generous sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Bake for 30-40 mins. Serve in fat wodges with a side of tomato sauce.

LOSE YOUR MIND and RELISH THE LEFTOVERS!

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It's not brain surgery or rocket science, but heating up some leftover rice *can* be a sexy meal ticket. *cough*

Simon gets inspired with a meal for one that'll take you 4 minutes to put together. Bonus points if you made the lemon salsa from last episode!

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Simon is STOKED with the new season's lemons.

For this stunning (and achievable) spoon-on-everything sauce:

CHOP ONE LEMON very well, flicking out the seeds as you go until it's almost like a paste

chop through a small bunch of parsley,

2tbs drained capers

loosen everything up with 1/3 - 1/2 cup olive oil

sweeten with a tiny bit of sugar or honey

and a fat pinch of salt

Serve on fish --- or listen for our next episode!

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Yumi can't let go of trying to perfect a recipe from The Regional Italian Cookbook. Even though it demands we use a cheese that is impossible to find in Australia.

SHE IS DELIGHTED to report that she's cracked the nut! It can be done!

And is predictably delicious!

Grease with butter a 23cm cake tin and drizzle with olive oil.

Pre-heat the oven.

Run 1kg of peeled potatoes through a grater.

Put the potato "noodles" in a colander and rinse well with freshly boiled water from the kettle.

Mix with 1 egg, beaten with 100ml cold water.

Fold through 70g plain flour (or less).

season with salt and pepper and a generous pinch of finely ground white pepper.

Mix well then put into greased tin.

Top with curls of butter (I used about 100g).

Top with handfuls of grated Fontina cheese or Spressa delle Guidicarie cheese.

Bake on the bottom shelf of your oven at 180C for 35 mins.

Serve hot!

If it still seems undercooked on the bottom, cook individual slices on your sandwich press!

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Yumi gets excited to be tasked with the responsibility of cooking a cake big enough to feed a crowd, that is stable enough to take to the beach.

It uses Nagi's 'My Very Best Vanilla Cake' - which is dead-set reliable and brilliant.

A couple of variations: I cook it in a 28 x 35 roasting tin which I line with baking paper and give a light spray with cooking oil.

I also always use coconut oil (the runny, liquid kind) as the oil in the recipe.

Contrary to what I was planning when we recorded this episode, I changed my mind about the icing and used my own recipe:

YUMI's KILLER ICING

500g fresh ricotta (the kind that is sold in a basket or from the deli, NOT the stuff in the tub)

1 block of lactose-free cream cheese (I have found this in ALDI)

260g icing sugar

2tsp vanilla essence and 1tsp vanilla paste

Whizz everything up in a food processor. You'll need to stop a couple of times and scrape the mixture down the sides. Whizz until glossy and lump-free.

Dress the cake immediately if you're eating it immediately. If you're taking it somewhere, my recommendation is you decant the icing into a sealable container (I use a big, clean 2L yoghurt tub) and keep it cool in an insulated bag with a couple of icebricks until needed. (NO ONE wants beach-warm dairy!) Dress with a silicone paddle and top with hundreds and thousands and candles and other delightful nonsense!

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Unfortunately I missed the opportunity to interrogate Simon on him putting a shot of coffee into his BOLOGNESE - please feel free to email your horror reaction to foodfixemail@gmail.com

SIMON'S SUPER STEAK COFFEE RUB

1-2 tbs finely ground coffee

1 tbs brown sugar

1tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp salt

Combine the ingredients - it's ready for a couple of big steaks.

TO COOK:

Remember to dry off your steak before you do anything!

Then rub in the smoky coffee rub!

Fry HOT and (pretty) quick - depending on the cut of meat, roughly 2 mins per side on either an oiled pan or with a bit of oil drizzled over the steak prior to cooking.

Allow to rest and serve!

PS. 수박 겉 핥기 [subak geot hal-kki] 

수박 [subak]= watermelon

겉 [geot] = outside

핥다 [haltta] = to lick

Literal translation: "licking the outside of a watermelon"

Source: Talk To Me in Korean

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One of Simon's cookbooks has gone to #1 in Australia for the past fortnight.

It's called The Weekly Grocery Shop and you can buy it here.

The idea kind of inspired Yumi to make croutons (again). This time using an innovation borne of necessity. But they're REALLY GOOD!

Pre-heat your oven to 150C and find the biggest trays you have.

Take one stale sourdough baguette and slice into the thinnest possible rounds.

Lay out the pieces of bread like large coins over the baking trays.

Use a microplane to grate a smoked tasty cheese over the bread slices.

Drizzle lightly with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and sesame seeds (optional).

Bake for 15-20 mins or until smelling toasty and feeling very crunchy.

Store in an airtight container until needed - should last 2 weeks.

Serve in Caesar Salad, Rocket and Pear Salad or on any soups.

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Simon's amazingly healthful and generous Chicken Soup *IS* pretty winning. He tries to massage my competitive gland by telling me Kate Brown (from my book publisher) prefers HIS soup recipe to mine... HOWEVER IT'S UNTESTED and THEY'RE VERY DIFFERENT!

Warm 1tbs oil in a big pot.

Add 4 finely sliced garlic cloves.

Add a thumb of finely grated ginger and 2 tsp ground turmeric. Cook til smelling fancy.

Add in 500g chicken thighs and

3/4 cup of brown rice

1 bay leaf and

8 cups of water or chicken stock. Bring to a simmer.

Cook for 20 mins.

Add in 2 neatly diced zucchini and cook for the last 10 mins.

(30 mins cooktime in total.)

TO SERVE:

Shred the chicken and return it to the pot.

Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper accordingly.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon and a handful of washed coriander, some chili oil (optional!).

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Why DO people cook sweets with vegetables?

Are they trying to use up a glut?

Trick the people they care about into eating more veg?

OR - does it genuinely work as a flavour add-in?

Today we dive into BUNDT cakes, how they go wrong, and we get specific with a Lemon and Zucchini Bundt Cake that is surprisingly easy, lasts well and uses up your dirty gourds!

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Yumi is drawn to a book called The Regional Italian Cookbook but hits some speed humps in trying to make the perfect Potato Cake.

Can you pronounce Spressa delle Giudicarie?

In this episode you can hear Yumi make multiple attempts to say the name of the cheese, which we were unable to find (email us if you know where to get it! foodfixemail@gmail.com )

Grease with butter a 23cm cake tin and drizzle with olive oil.

Pre-heat the oven.

Run 1kg of peeled potatoes through a grater.

Mix with 1 egg, beaten with 200ml water.

Fold through 120g plain flour (or less).

season with salt and pepper

Mix well then put into greased tin.

Top with curls of butter (I used about 100g).

Top with handfuls of grated Fontina cheese or Spressa delle Guidicarie cheese.

Bake on 180C for 35 mins.

Serve hot!

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Simon is full of inspiration and new information about PEPPER.

So he's got a lovely recipe for a WHITE PEPPER CHICKEN CONGEE.

Rinse a cup of Jasmine rice.

Add it to a pot with 7 cups of chicken stock, 1 chicken breast and 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely chopped.

Simmer gently for 45 minutes until the rice breaks down.

Remove the chicken breast from the pot and shred it to go back into the congee. Season well with salt and LOTS (talkin' a whole tablespoon here) of our hero ingredient - ground white pepper.

Top with a sprinkle of chopped spring onion, a drizzle of sesame oil and maybe even another sprinkle of ground white pepper! Serve!

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'Cacio e Pepe' is having a moment - but Simon has a fantastic spin on the idea that makes it a great dish for ONE (*side eye Yumi*) and cuts the amount of carbs.

Use one jar of fancy white beans, drain and cook up in a half cup or so of stock with a big knob of butter. Warm it up and then add a generous fistful of Pecorino cheese and a MASSIVE grind of freshly ground black pepper. (Be like Simon - or don't! - and get the best, most interesting black peppercorns you can find.)

Stir and add more cheese, more pepper, and wait until it tastes "restaurant fancy".

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What is a Tarka? Simon explains and there's a really good picture of what it looks like on top of a daal here.

CASHEW SPICE TARKA

1/4 cashews

1 tbs ginger

2 sprigs curry leaves

1/4 tsp nigella seeds

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

Meera Sodha's

1 tsp cumin seed

1 tsp mustard seed

1 long green chilli

curry leaves, all fried in smoking hot oil

QUICK NO-FRY BASIC RED LENTIL DAAL

1 small Spanish onion, thinly sliced

1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1 tbs grated ginger

1 tsp grated garlic

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 cinnamon quill

300g red lentils

600ml water

ADD EVERYTHING TO A POT, PRESSURE COOKER or SLOW COOKER and cook for about 40 mins. Add salt and pepper. Then top with a Tarka of your choice!

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