It’s a fact, our sense of smell is strongly linked to our memory. Certain scents, be it from nature or the kitchen can transport us to another time and place. It’s like the smell of baked pasta with feta, it somehow takes me back to my early childhood Saturday mornings, Mum in the kitchen and me as an eager, somewhat annoying nine year old hovering around, waiting for the oven to open so that I could pick off the crispy pasta and feta.

This is a great weekend breaky, or brunch, as it’s easy, filling, and when served with a fresh garden tomato salad, it’s heavenly! The subtle flavour of the egg, pasta and cheese also makes it perfect for kids.

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Recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients
150g dried fusilli or rigatoni pasta (spiral or tube-shaped)
Sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large eggs
4 tablespoons (80ml) milk
Freshly ground black pepper
50g cows milk feta cheese, coarsely crumbled

Method
1) Preheat oven to 220°C. Cook pasta in saucepan of boiling salted water according to packet directions or until al dente. Drain well and set aside.

2) Heat a small oven proof frying pan over medium heat. Add olive oil, then pasta and toss to coat. Meanwhile, lightly whisk eggs, milk, small pinch of salt and pepper. Pour eggs over pasta and gently fold through. Remove from heat, sprinkle over crumbled feta and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the egg is cooked and golden.
Note: You may need to turn the grill on for the last 3-5 minutes.

3) Serve while hot with a fresh tomato salad.

Tip: Double or triple this recipe to serve 4-6 people. Rather than adding the egg mix to the frying pan, arrange the pasta in a lightly greased ovenproof dish or baking tray, pour over the eggs and scatter over the cheese. Bake a little longer, for 20-25 minutes, or until the egg is cooked and golden.

Kadaif or Kataifi is a curious shredded pastry, similar to a fine vermicelli noodle. Originating in the Middle East, kadaif is used to make numerous desserts and occasionally savory dishes too.

Often made with similar ingredients to baklava, that is, nuts, sesame seeds, filo pastry and sugar syrup, this ‘like baklava but not-baklava’, as a friend likes to call it, is delicious and relatively easy to make.

My mums recipe for kadaif is vegan and requires little fat. Once baked, the sweets need to be drenched in the sugar syrup and left overnight, otherwise the filling will be too dry. I recently made the mistake of not pouring enough syrup over, sadly the end result was too dry, and to my embarrassment I delivered a tray for a party…eeek!

Allowing the kadaif to stand overnight will ensure the shredded pastry absorbs all the liquid and plumps up, making a deliciously moist and moreish dessert.

Making kadaif

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Recipe

Serves 40

Ingredients
375g packet filo pastry sheets, thawed at room temperature for 2 hours
375g packet Kataifi shredded pastry, thawed at room temperature for 2 hours
2 tablespoons (20g) sesame seeds, lightly toasted
1 cup (250ml) vegetable oil
1.5 cup (180g) walnuts, crushed

Sugar syrup
5 cups (1.1kg) caster sugar
7 cups (1.75L) water
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar (or vanilla bean paste)
Lemon wedge, seeds removed
3 tablespoons (65ml) honey

Method
1) To toast sesame seeds, preheat oven to 150°C, place sesame seeds on a tray and toast for 5-10 minutes or until lightly golden and fragrant, allow to cool.

2) Preheat oven to 180°C and brush a large rectangular baking tray (or two smaller trays) with oil. If necessary cut filo sheet length to fit into tray snugly and cover with a damp tea towel to prevent from drying out.

3) Lay 2 sheets of filo on clean work surface with the longest edge facing you (cover remaining filo with tea towel). Working quickly, scatter over 1/10 of kataifi, sprinkle 1/10 of the walnuts and drizzle with oil. Gently roll lengthwise into a long cylinder, being careful not to squeeze too tightly, if necessary brush the exposed pastry edge with extra oil to seal, then place in baking tray with the bottom down, brush top with oil. Repeat with remaining filo and filling, to finish brush top with oil.

4) Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden, then turn oven down to 160°C and bake for further 30 minutes.

5) Meanwhile, for syrup, combine sugar, water and vanilla sugar (or vanilla bean paste) in large saucepan and bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until syrup thickens. Take off heat, add lemon wedge and stir in honey. Allow to cool to lukewarm (blood temperature).

6) Cool kadaif slightly (2-3 minutes), remove lemon wedge from syrup and evenly pour over 3/4 of the liquid. Allow to stand for 30 minutes, then turn over each roll, if still dry pour over extra syrup and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove from fridge and turn each roll over again, checking to see if the syrup has soaked through, if not add remaining syrup and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight). Use a sharp knife to cut into equal lengths, approximately 7cm long.

7) Serve at room temperature with an espresso or Turkish coffee.

Tips:
- Kataifi shredded pastry can be found in the refrigerated section of select supermarkets and delis.
- Kadaif will keep refrigerated in it’s tray for up to 2 weeks, or frozen in plastic containers for for up to 3 months.
- Freeze fresh walnut halves in an airtight bag for up to 3 months.

Despite being the first day of Spring here in Sydney, I’m still freezing! Apparently it’s hitting 25°C today but I’m not holding my breath as all I can see are grey clouds!

If you’re like me and feel the chill or perhaps you’re just feeling a little low, then I guarantee that Mum’s comforting chicken noodle soup will warm you up.

The one thing I need to mention is the unconventional addition of a packet of chicken noodle soup mix. I’m not sure why mum has always included it, as I’m sure it would taste good without, but it tastes so good that I’m not planning on changing a recipe which in my opinion is perfect.

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Recipe

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
4-6 assorted chicken pieces, e.g. wing, neck, drumstick, thigh (with skin and bone in)
1 small onion, peeled and left whole
2-3 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
1-2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
1 (45g) packet chicken noodle simmer soup mix
100 gm vermicelli egg noodles, coarsely broken
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
Lemon to serve

Method
1) Soak chicken pieces in cold water for 30 minutes to remove impurities then discard water.

2) Place chicken in a large pot with onion, celery, carrot and 3 litres of cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Skim the surface regularly.

3) Remove chicken and set aside. Remove onion, half the celery pieces and discard.
Note: If you prefer discard all the celery.

4) Add chicken noodle soup packet and vermicelli noodles. Bring the boil and turn off heat. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove skin, coarsely shred meat and add to soup. Add parsley and season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

5) Serve while hot with with crusty bread and a generous squeeze of lemon juice or a drizzle of red wine/apple cider vinegar.

Tip: For a thicker consistency whisk 2-3 eggs with a pinch of salt and slowly incorporate into the soup (the soup should be off the heat to avoid curdling).