Maggie's Kitchen

Meeting Maggie Beer today was one of my culinary highlights. I love her warm and generous personality and I love the way it translates into her food.

It's food that's full of flavour, enhanced by good cooking and judicious use of herbs and spices, just the way I like it.




Maggie, who as well as being a fantastic cook is also Senior Australian of the Year, was at Black Pearl Epicure in Fortitude Valley for a brief breakfast meet and greet. She had conducted a cooking class there last night.

She was excited to tell us that yesterday was Australia's Constitution Day and she had been asked to bake a special cake for the occasion. What did she bake? Not a lamington or sponge but a cake she devised to include fruit from every state of Australia including native fruits and berries. Here's the recipe.

Maggie was even kind enough to explain what the Constitution is to a young boy. It was a delight to watch.

I've come home with a signed copy of her book 'Maggie's Kitchen' and a bottle of her Green Tomato Verjuice and Sultana Sugo which I'm planning to cook for friends tonight. Maggie's previous book is 'Maggie's Harvest. And just to show what a fantastic sport she is - Maggie let fellow food blogger have her photo taken with complete with rabbit ears! Go Maggie!

Pasta with Green Tomato Verjuice and Sultana Sugo

Ingredients

Serves 4
500g Green Tomato, Verjuice & Sultana Sugo
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
500g Good quality dried pasta
25g (or a good handful) Chopped flat leaf parsley
100g Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly cracked pepper

Method

Bring salted water to the boil and add pasta. Cook until al dente and drain (but do not rinse). If not using pasta immediately, spread over a flat tray and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
Then when ready to assemble dish, simply reheat pasta in the microwave for 1 minute.
Heat Green Tomato, Verjuice & Sultana Sugo in a small pan with a good glug of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Toss pasta through Sugo with parsley, salt and freshly cracked pepper. Add freshly grated parmesan and a final flourish of Extra Virgin Olive Oil to serve.

Other books by Maggie -