Cooking with Noelene - September 2026

Pappardelle With Chicken Livers

Ingredients:

250 gm chicken livers, 1 tbs rice bran / canola oil, 1 onion, finely chopped, 2 tbs minced garlic, 300 gm bacon pieces, 1 tbs tomato paste, 1/2 cup white wine, 500 gm pappardelle, 300 ml thickened cream, 1/3 rd cup of finely chopped fresh parsley.

Soak the chicken livers in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towelling. Remove any sinews and slice the livers in half. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the onion, garlic and bacon pieces, cook over a low heat until the onion softens. Add the liver pieces and cook over a medium heat, stirring until the liver changes colour. Add the tomato paste and wine, continue to cook until the wine evaporates a little. Now cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling water until al dente. Drain and keep warm. Stir the cream into the sauce and season to taste with cracked black pepper. Simmer for 2 minutes over a low heat then pour the sauce over the pasta and toss through. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Lentil Fritters

Ingredients:

125 gm self raising flour, 1/2 cup milk, 2 eggs, lightly beaten, 1 x 400gm can of brown or green lentils, drained and rinsed, 1 x 410 gm can of corn kernels, drained and rinsed, 1/2 red capsicum, diced, 2 spring onions, finely sliced, oil for frying.

Place the flour in a large bowl. In a separate bowl whisk together the milk and eggs. Slowly add the milk mixture to the flour and stir well to combine. Now add the lentils, corn kernels, capsicum and spring onions to the batter. Heat the oil in the frying pan over a medium heat. Place tablespoons of the batter in the pan. Flatten each fritter with a spatula and cook for 3 minutes until golden brown. Flip and cook the other side for a further 3 minutes.

Coconut Blueberry And Chia Seed Pudding.

Ingredients:

250 ml coconut milk, 3 tbs chia seeds, 2 tbs honey, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 150 gm fresh blueberries, black sesame seeds to garnish.

Use a mixing bowl to combine the coconut milk, chia seeds, honey and vanilla extract. Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove from the refrigerator and stir through the ingredients once again and refrigerate for a further 2 hours. Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and divide the mixture between serving dishes. Serve topped with fresh blueberries and a sprinkle of black sesame seeds. ( The sesame seeds are optional.)

Grandma's Easy Apple Cake

Ingredients:

1 and 2/3rds cups self raising flour, pinch of salt, 1/4 cup castor sugar, 60 gm butter/ marg, 3/4 cup milk, 2 cooking apples, peeled, cored and sliced, 1 tsp cinnamon, extra 2 tbs castor sugar.

Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. Grease a 23 cm / 9" round cake pan and lightly sprinkle with fine dry breadcrumbs. Mix together the flour, salt and castor sugar in a large bowl. Rub in the margarine / butter with your fingertips. Add the milk all at once and mix quickly to a soft batter. Place the batter into the prepared pan. Press the apple slices around the edge and in the centre of the batter. Mix together the cinnamon and extra sugar and sprinkle all over the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes or until cooked, test with a skewer until it comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack and invert right side up, to cool completely. Can be sliced and spread with butter/ marg, if you like.

Rhubarb And Apple Streusel Slice.

Streusel is the German name for sprinkle. Streusel is a mixture of flour or breadcrumbs with sugar, butter / marg and spices used as a crumble topping on baked goods.

Ingredients:

100gm butter/ marg, at room temp, 110 gm castor sugar, 1 egg yolk, 100gm plain flour, 35 gm self raising flour, 1 tbs custard powder, 440 gm chopped rhubarb, 400 gm Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced, 2 tbs honey, 1 dsp of finely grated orange rind.

Streusel Ingredients:

75 gm plain flour, 35 gm self raising flour, 75 gm firmly packed brown sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 80 gm butter / marg, chopped.

With this recipe, you have to make the streusel first.

Streusel:

Blend or process the flours, sugar and cinnamon until combined. Add the butter / marg, and process until all ingredients just come together. Now wrap the mixture in cling wrap and freeze the streusel for an hour or until firm. Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. Line a lamington pan 20cm x 30cm with baking paper, extending the paper 3cm over the sides of the pan. Beat the butter, egg yolk and sugar with an electric beater until light and fluffy. Stir in the combined flours and custard powder. Use your hand to press the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove the slice from the oven and cool for 15 minutes. Increase the oven temp to 180 deg C. Cook the rhubarb, apple, honey and rind in a medium saucepan, stirring over a medium high heat, until apples are just tender. Remove from heat and cool for 15 minutes. Now spread the fruit mixture over the slice base, coarsely grate the streusel over the fruit. Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden. Cool in the pan before slicing.

Stirring Change

Change is inevitable, but it is tradition that gives us our identity and strength. The old ways of doing things are often the old ways because they are the best ways and never more so than in the kitchen. Think of the wooden spoon, a thousand years of progress has not improved on that most simple of designs and a must have in every kitchen.