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Otago Daily Times

First cookbook features popular ‘go-to meals'

Olivia Galletly lives and breathes all things food but she thinks of herself first and foremost as a home cook. The mother of two girls lives north of Auckland and is the author of food blog The Hungry Cook. Its popularity helped launch the then graphic designer into the world of food, creating recipes, styling and photographing food for it, Dish magazine and food producers. "Everything I have learnt is from my parents, hundreds of cookbooks, many hours spent on YouTube, travelling the world and plenty of trial and error." So Galletly says the recipes in her first cookbook, The Hungry Cook, are for cooks just like her. It is a compilation of childhood favourites, crowd-pleasers for entertaining, recipes she has picked up while travelling and meals that her "picky 3- and 5-year-olds will actually eat". "It's full of those go-to meals I make when I'm too tired to cook — comfort dishes for rainy Sundays, popular recipes from my blog and a handful of special ones I've been saving for the book." Galletly likes to cook food with bold flavours which is comforting, not too fussy and, most importantly, delicious. "I don't have the time or energy at this stage in my life for complicated meals on a regular basis." To assist with getting vegetables into her children, many of the dishes include finely grated or diced vegetables. It is also a way to use up the "sad-looking" vegetables in the fridge. Olivia Galletly's book The Hungry Cook is a compilation of recipes including childhood favourites and crowd-pleasers. She and her husband Joel are partial to a cocktail. Joel is the resident mixologist and they like to experiment, so she has included some of her favourites in the book. At her happiest when the family is hosting friends and family, Galletly, who is one of six children, says some of her happiest childhood memories come from meals shared with family and friends, many of which she still cooks today. "We've always had a lot of people around the table." In the book, she shares an important lesson she got from her father when learning to cook — you can make a dish great by balancing sweet, salt, acid, fat and spice. "Play around with your dishes until you find the right balance for you. This might mean adding a little extra honey to sweeten it up, vinegar or lemon to add a little more sharpness or parmesan for fat and umami." The book Images and text from The Hungry Cook by Olivia Galletly, published by Allen & Unwin, RRP $45.00. Food images © Olivia Galletly Cover and lifestyle images © Manja Wachsmuth. Every Sunday I make a slice for the girls' lunchboxes; this is one of our favourites. It's based on the classic rice bubble slice but it's slightly jazzed up. It takes very little time, effort or ingredients. Makes 20-25 squares Ingredients 2 Tbsp sesame seeds 2 cups (75g) rice bubbles 2 cups (70g) cornflakes 80g salted butter 185g marshmallows 1 tsp vanilla bean paste 1 pinch sea salt Method Line a 20cm square tin with baking paper. In a small frying pan over a medium heat, toast the sesame seeds for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden, shaking the pan regularly. Pour into a large bowl and add the rice bubbles and cornflakes. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat, then simmer for 5-8 minutes, swirling regularly until the fat solids (little white bits sitting on the bottom of the pot) turn a golden brown and the butter smells nutty. Reduce the heat to low and add the marshmallows and vanilla bean paste, stirring continuously. Once the marshmallows have melted, remove from the heat and immediately add the toasted sesame seeds and cereals to the marshmallow mixture. Stir until well combined. Working quickly, pour the mixture into the prepared tin. The easiest way to press the mixture evenly into the tin is either with slightly damp hands or with the back of a large spoon which has been run under cold water. Press into the tin until completely flat. Place in the fridge uncovered for 2 hours. Use a large sharp knife to cut into small pieces. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt. The slice will keep for up to two weeks in an airtight container in the fridge. It can go a bit sticky if it's left in the pantry. Tip I use white marshmallows for this recipe. If you use a pink and white marshmallow combo, your slice will have a peachy-pink hue. On a rainy Sunday I find there's nothing more comforting than staying in and slow-cooking a soup for lunch or dinner. This is one of the first things I learnt to cook when I left home; it was a staple dish in all my grotty Dunedin flats. Serves 4 Ingredients 1 Tbsp salted butter 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 medium leek 1 brown onion, finely diced 1 large carrot, finely diced 2 celery sticks, finely diced 1 tsp dried oregano 5 sprigs thyme, leaves only, stalks discarded 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 3 chicken or vegetable stock cubes 1 bacon hock 2 dried bay leaves cracked pepper ½ cup pearl barley 2 kale leaves Method Cut the base and green ends off the leek and discard. Cut the leek down the centre lengthways and thoroughly rinse to remove any dirt. Finely dice. In a large casserole dish, heat the butter and oil over a low-medium heat. Add the leek to the pan along with the onion, carrots and celery. Gently fry for 20 minutes until the vegetables have become tender, stirring regularly. Add the herbs and garlic and fry briefly until aromatic. In a large jug, dissolve the stock cubes in 1 litre of boiling water. Add the bacon hock, stock, bay leaves and a large grind of cracked pepper to the casserole dish. Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 4 hours or until the meat is falling off the bone. Using tongs, transfer the bacon hock to a chopping board. Cut the meat and skin off the bone and discard the bone and skin. Slice the meat into large chunks and add back into the soup. Add the pearl barley to the soup, cover and cook for a further 1 hour. If the soup is looking a little too thick, add an extra 250ml-500ml boiling water. Cut the stems off the kale and discard. Chop the leaves into 3cm pieces and add to the soup. Cook for 10 minutes or until the kale is tender. Tip: Bacon hocks are really salty so don't be tempted to season until you've tasted the soup at the very end. A staple in our house, I often add whatever vegetables and canned legumes I have on hand to this chilli. It's great served with cooked brown or white rice, sour cream, lime wedges, avocado, salad and a few corn chips. If you don't eat dairy products, this recipe still hits the spot without the cheese topping. Serves 6 Ingredients 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp cumin seeds 1 brown onion, finely diced 1 red capsicum, core removed and diced 1 large carrot or 2 small carrots, peeled and diced 1 tsp smoked paprika ½ tsp ground cinnamon 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 zucchinis, trimmed and diced ¼ cup roughly chopped coriander 400g can chopped tomatoes 300ml vegetable stock 3 Tbsp barbecue sauce 400g can kidney beans 400g can black beans 400g can chickpeas Sea salt Cracked pepper 12 Tbsp finely chopped pickled jalapenos ⅔ cup grated cheddar cheese, optional Method Preheat the oven to 190°C regular bake or 170°C fan bake. Heat the oil in a large casserole dish over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and fry for 1 minute. Add the onion, capsicum and carrot and fry for 10 minutes or until the onion has softened. Add the spices and garlic and fry for a further few minutes until aromatic. Add the zucchini and coriander and stir through, then add the tomatoes, stock and barbecue sauce. Cover and gently simmer for 20 minutes, stirring regularly. Rinse and drain the kidney beans, black beans and chickpeas and add to the chilli. Cover and cook on the stovetop for 15 minutes or until the beans and chickpeas are tender. Season with sea salt and cracked pepper and stir through the chopped jalapenos. If desired, top with grated cheese and bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until golden and bubbling.