Cooking with the Australian Womens Weekly Issue 9

Spring is in the air and in the office, we’re calling this edition of AWW Food, the ‘spring green issue’ because it feels light, pretty, and ... upliftingly spring-y. All types of berries will be at their peak soon, so you’ll find divine recipes using these superfoods. On the savoury side, peas are very much in – and trendy for their nutritional qualities. We all love frozen peas for their convenience, but if you buy fresh peas you’ll remind yourself how fabulous these plump little winners really are. In keeping with the green issue - and we should all be eating more greens – turn to What’s for Dinner? for deliciously easy meal ideas to fuel the family. Take a look at Clean & Green for some super healthy smoothies;…

A lot of Asian recipes ask for coriander root and stem mixture. What is this? Can I use ground coriander instead? A Fresh coriander, also known as pak chee, cilantro and chinese parsley, is a bright green leafed herb with a pungent flavour. The whole coriander plant is used in Asian, particularly Thai, cooking to impart a stronger flavour to dishes. This is why, when you buy a bunch of coriander, it is one of the very few fresh herbs that comes with its stems and roots intact. To use it fresh, wash the stems and roots well, then scrape the roots with a small flat knife to remove some of the outer fibrous skin. Chop the roots and stems and reserve the amount required for the recipe. Coriander is…

ESTABLISHED 1950 For the past 65 years, The Australian Women’s Weekly Test Kitchen has been developing, triple-testing, styling and photographing thousands of recipes for home cooks all around Australia and across the world. Our wonderful chefs work hard to deliver delicious fail-safe recipes for all cooks, young and old. So whenever you see our trademark Triple Tested ‘seal of approval’ stamp, this is our guarantee that what you make at home will turn out looking as beautiful as our photographs.…

SPRING Fruit • APPLES• BANANAS• BERRIES – BLUEBERRIES, MULBERRIES, STRAWBERRIES• CHERRIES• GRAPEFRUIT• LEMONS• LOQUATS• MANDARINS – HONEY MURCOT• MANGOES• ORANGES – BLOOD, SEVILLE, VALENCIA• PASSIONFRUIT• PAPAYA, PAPAW• PINEAPPLE• POMELO• ROCKMELON• TANGELOS SPRING Vegetables • ARTICHOKES – GLOBE• ASIAN GREENS• ASPARAGUS• AVOCADOS• BEANS – BROAD, GREEN• BEETROOT• BROCCOLI• CARROTS• CAULIFLOWER• CHILLIES• CORN• CUCUMBER• GARLIC• LETTUCE• MUSHROOMS• ONIONS – GREEN, SPRING• PEAS• POTATOES• SILVER BEET• SPINACH• TOMATOES• WATERCRESS• ZUCCHINI• ZUCCHINI FLOWERS…

Berries always seem like a treat. Perhaps it’s because they are fragile and, strawberries aside, their seasons are fleeting. Their peak season is summer, except for wild blackberries (a noxious weed in Australia, but still to be found along country roads), which ripen in autumn. These days, though, the development of early and late varieties has made it possible to buy one or another kind of berry from late spring until well into autumn. PEAK SEASON Strawberries are available year-round in Australia, since those grown in the cooler southern states are in the shops in the warmer months and those from the warm north appear in the colder months. Raspberries have a divided season, with a first flush in early summer to midsummer, then a second flush a couple of…

Most berries need no preparation except to remove any stalks. Do not wash berries until just before using. Remove the green calyxes from strawberries, except if you need them as a little ‘handle’ for strawberries that are to be eaten in the fingers, such as those that have been half-coated with chocolate or those to be dipped in a sauce such as sour cream sweetened with brown sugar. Gooseberries need topping and tailing and cape gooseberries may need any remaining husk removed. The flavour of strawberries, blueberries and mulberries, which can be a trifle bland, is improved by standing with a sprinkle of sugar and lemon juice for a few hours; the same treatment works for any other berries that are found to lack flavour. Do not cook berries in…