Courgette Parmesan Casserole

A healthy yet yummy meal the whole family will like. The cheese hides all the delicious vegetables and the kids will be none the wiser. 

Ingredients


2-3 Courgette, ends trimmed, sliced into 1/3" discs
coarse salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
130g all-purpose flour
85g of your favourite tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 large ball or block fresh mozzarella (about 4 1/2 ounces), torn into small pieces
small handful of basil leaves, roughly torn
85g  freshly-grated Parmesan (about 3 ounces)

Method

Sprinkle slices of Courgette with a small pinch of coarse salt and freshly-cracked black pepper on each side.

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

In a large bowl, lightly dredge the courgette slices in the flour, tapping them on the side of the bowl to shake off excess flour. When a pinch of flour sizzles on contact, add the courgette slices in a single layer, turn the heat to medium and cook for about one and a half minutes on each side or until dark golden brown. Transfer the courgette to paper towels to drain. Repeat in batches until all of your courgette it is cooked.

In a Sauté pan or Deep Casserole, arrange as many slices of courgette as can fit snugly in a single layer. Top each slice with a small spoonful of tomato sauce, a few crushed red pepper flakes (if desired), and mozzarella. 

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cheese has melted and begun to turn a golden colour. Add parmesan and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven, and garnish with torn basil. Serve immediately.

Chorizo Queso Fundido-- Super cheesy and great to share!

It's the weekend and the weather is hot! What better time to gather your family and friends with some lovely summer drinks and sit in the garden with an array or appetisers to share and just relax.

Ingredients

500g Chorizo
1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
2 whole small Bell Peppers (any Colour Combination), Seeded And Finely Diced
500g Grated Mozzarella or other favourite melting cheese
Sprinkle Of Chili Powder
3 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced
1/4 cup Cilantro, Chopped
Tortilla Chips For Serving
Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 180 Degrees

Method

In a Crafond Frying Pan (we recommend a 24 cm for this recipe,) cook the chorizo until brown. Remove from pan and drain on a paper towel. Pour off any excess fat. Add onions and peppers to the pan and cook over medium heat until the veggies are soft and golden brown, about 7-8 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
To build the dish, place 1/3 of the cheese in a Crafond frying pan or you even a Crafond Shallow Casserole (pre-seasoned with rapeseed oil) Add half the chorizo. Add another third of the cheese, then as much of the veggie mixture as you'd like (you may have a little left over.) Add almost all of the remaining cheese, the rest of the chorizo, then whatever cheese you have left. Sprinkle the top very lightly with chili powder.

NOTE: Depending on the size of your pan, you may have some ingredients left over. Just build so that the ingredients roughly reach the top of the skillet; they'll shrink quite a bit once the cheese melts!
Place into the oven and start watching it about 4 to 5 minutes in. You want to bake it until the cheese is totally melted, hot, and slightly bubbling...but before the cheese starts to firm up/harden. (In other words, you still want the cheese to be extra gooey.)

Remove from the oven, top with the diced tomatoes, sprinkle on the tomatoes, and serve immediately with tortilla chips!

NOTE: Be sure to have everything ready so you can serve the Queso Fundido pretty much right out of the oven. It's best when piping hot!

Spinach Stuffed Flank Steak- Great Recipe for a Rainy Day

Hey everyone, looks like we will be without the BBQ weather for a little while so we thought we would go with a nice Sunday roast alternative. 

In the office, we've been trying to eat healthier and this beautiful roast recipe is just the right amount of comfort food and  healthy dinner. We love spinach and feta together, it always feels so Mediterranean. 






Ingredients:

1 flank steak, about 1-1/2 pounds
1  10  ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry  
4 ounces sun-dried tomato or herb-garlic flavoured feta cheese, plain Feta crumbled. You could also use Philadelphia too.
2   tablespoons seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4  teaspoon salt
1/2  teaspoon black pepper
1 Red Pepper chopped into small cubes


Directions
1. Heat oven to 200 degrees C, Prepare a roasting pan for this meal and set aside. We recommend the Castey Vulcano Roasting pan as it's silicone handles make it perfect for safe oven use. 
2. Lay steak on a clean work surface. Starting at a long side, slice steak in half without cutting through all the way. Open like a book and flatten to an even thickness.
3. In a bowl, combine spinach, feta, bread crumbs, red pepper and the beaten egg.
4. Season steak with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Press spinach mixture onto steak, leaving a 1-inch border. Beginning on a short end, roll up to enclose filling. Tie steak with cotton twine at 2-inch intervals.
5. Season with remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
6. Heat a large Sauté Pan over medium-high heat. Brown meat on all sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer steak to roasting pan.
7. Roast at 180 degrees c for 35 minutes.

Remove meat from oven; let rest, covered, 10 minutes before slicing.

Best Summer time BBQ Pulled Pork!

One of our American employees gave us his recipe that she makes it at home about once a month and swears by it. We thought we would try it out and wanted to share the results. Let us know what you think…

Ingredients:

3-4 lb Pork Loin Roast, trimmed of all visible fat

Pork Rub or your favourite seasoning ( Any combination of Brown Sugar, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, salt, paprika, onion powder)

12 oz can Dr Pepper (you can replace the Dr Pepper with Guinness if preferred)

Barbecue Sauce (we used Sweet Baby Ray’s)

Instructions

Season the pork with your rub on all sides. Make sure to really massage the rub in to the meat!

Place pork in Crafond Stock Pot and pour in Dr Pepper. Cook in oven for 3-4 hours in oven on 180 degrees.

Remove pork, the loin should be extremely soft and tender. If not tender enough, put loin back for about 45 minutes depending on oven.

If it looks like it will fall apart drain most of the liquid from the pot. Return the pork to your pot and using 2 forks, shred the meat.

Add barbecue sauce to taste (we used 3/4 of the bottle)

Stir well and put back in oven for a few minutes until barbecue sauce is heated through (usually about 15 minutes)

Serve on toasted buns with coleslaw on the sandwich or on the side  with some chips. This recipe is perfect for a World Cup party as it makes a lot with plenty to share!