This summery cocktail is often made with uncooked pureed fruit, but roasting the peaches develops their flavour and adds an extra sweetness. Recipe and photo: Emma Boyd INGREDIENTS 6 peaches 2 tablespoons sugar 750ml prosecco mint sprigs, to serve METHOD Preheat oven to 180°C. Cut the peaches in half and remove their pits. Arrange the fruit cut side up in an oven-proof dish and sprinkle over the sugar. Seal with foil and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until soft and beginning to collapse — the time will vary depending on how ripe the peaches are. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool ..read more

Nothing absorbs flavours like eggplant. Jenny Garing shares her tips to get the best out of this peculiar purple vegetable. Words: Jenny Garing It goes by many names. In France and the UK they call it aubergine. In North America and the antipodes they call it eggplant. In its native India it’s called brinjal, in West Africa it’s a garden egg and in the Caribbean it’s known as a “brown jolly” (surely the best name). In Italian the name is melanzana or “apple of madness”, as it was initially suspected of being poisonous. But no matter what you call it, eggplant (Solanum melongena) is surely one ..read more

This salad is quick and easy to prepare, as beautiful to look at as it is to eat. And it is just as good the next day should you have leftovers since the courgettes will retain their crunch. Recipe and photo: Emma Boyd Serves: 6 INGREDIENTS 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1 clove garlic, minced 1 teaspoon dijon mustard 2 teaspoons thyme, finely chopped 1 small red onion, finely sliced 4 medium-sized courgettes 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 tablespoons currant 3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted 1⁄2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped 1⁄2 cup mint, chopped METHOD In a shallow sala ..read more

As climate change impacts the supply of certain foods, it’s going to become increasingly important to rely on unlikely alternatives. Words and photos: Angela Clifford Imagine having no fresh basil or coriander in your life. Incredibly, this was the reality in 1950s New Zealand. I recently had an intriguing conversation with my mother who grew up in Christchurch during that era. Much of the produce we’ve grown so accustomed to wasn’t available back then. Broccoli, zucchini, capsicum, and eggplants were unheard of. Unless you were of Italian or Greek heritage, you probably wouldn’t have grown o ..read more

A autumnal dessert in a deliciously drinkable format. Words and Images: Nicola Galloway As I write this the perfume of apples cooking fills the house. With gentle nuances of spice it permeates the house with a welcome cosiness as the days shorten and nights lengthen. This time of year is a good time for apple foraging and sourcing heritage apples. In my opinion, these are the best type of apples for cooking as they soften easily once heated. I am referring to the older heritage varieties such as cox’s orange, golden delicious, and sturmer pippin. When it comes to store-bought apples for cooki ..read more

This cake must, must, must be eaten fresh and warm from the oven. Recipe: Alice in Cakeland by Alice Taylor  Photo: Melanie Jenkins (Flash Studios). Serves: 4 I cooked this dish in my audition for MasterChef. This is the cake that changed my life. It made me believe that I was a good baker, and that I understood flavour and balance. I don’t really bake this cake anymore because I feel as though that chapter is closed and I get quite emotional when I make it. In saying that, I am so excited to share it with you and I hope you enjoy it. What I would say is that this cake must, must, must b ..read more

A delicious starter on their own, these rolled eggplants can do double-duty as a side, served with a crisp green salad and pan-fried white fish or chicken. Recipe and photo: Emma Boyd Serves: 6 INGREDIENTS 2 eggplants (ideally, long and slender rather than wide), thinly sliced lengthways 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 2 400g tins chopped tomatoes 1⁄2 cup basil, chopped 200g spinach leaves 150g ricotta 100g parmesan, finely grated, plus extra for sprinkling over the rolls before baking salad greens and parsley, to serve METHOD Preheat oven to 18 ..read more

This garden cake celebrates any of the fruits and vegetables that are in season or lying around.  Recipe: Extracted from Alice in Cakeland by Alice Taylor, photography by Lottie Hedley and Melanie Jenkins. Serves: 8–10 You can use this recipe to make a classic carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Or you can use zucchini, beetroot, parsnip, apple — whatever you have and would enjoy. My favourite is the combination I have used below: zucchini and carrot, with a touch of fennel. INGREDIENTS ½ cup grated zucchini 1 cup grated carrot 1 cup neutral oil — I use canola 1 cup caster sugar zest of ..read more

Nothing takes me back home more than eating this delicious dish with its fragrant layers of saffron rice, fried onions and flavourful curry Recipe: Extracted from The Laden Table: Recipes to share, infused with spice by Ashia Ismail-Singer Serves: 8–10 This is my mum’s recipe (her version is chicken) and it is hands down one of the best biryanis! We all say that, right, about our mother’s cooking? But seriously, nothing takes me back home more than eating this delicious dish with its fragrant layers of saffron rice, fried onions and flavourful curry. It’s a beautiful dish to serve at an occas ..read more

Whether you add it to a fruit salad, or use it to tenderise your steak, nashi is a great addition to every garden and kitchen. Words: Jenny Garing There’s a nashi tree on our property that bears an extraordinary amount of fruit every year, even though we do nothing to it. Despite the wet summer – or maybe because of it – the tree has grown especially well in recent months, giving us a wonderful supply of delicious, versatile fruit. Although they’re both referred to as Asian pears in New Zealand, nashi (Pyrus pyrifolia) is different from the Chinese pear (Pyrus bretschneideri) – sometimes call ..read more