Making homemade sausages and salami is an annual family tradition for many European families. For my family, it has always been the women that make the ‘kolbasi’ and it happens during the middle of winter, when the temperature is below 17°C and the air is crisp and dry.

In the village, kolbasi were typically made at the beginning of January, in time for the Orthodox Christmas. The pig was slaughtered and all of the off cuts would find their way in the sausages, so that nothing was wasted. This included the tongue, lungs and spleen, however it was important to poach the organs before adding to the kolbasi mix.

Here in Australia, we use a basic pork mince with a medium amount of fat. You can mince the meat at home, or to make life easier just ask your butcher to mince it for you. To flavour the kolbasi, softened leek and a mix of chillies and peppers are added. Other recipes call for mint and garlic, the combination really is personal preference.

Once prepared, the kolbasi are hung to dry for 3-4 days or smoked and then fried up and enjoyed with a bountiful amount of fresh bread.

Baba, mum and I made 38 kolbasi, 50cm in length to keep up with family demands, namely my husband, who will happily eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner! If however you have less people to share with, you can certainly make less.

Making kolbasi
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Recipe

Makes 38 kolbasi (50cm in length)

Ingredients
10 leeks, white and light green part finely chopped, dark green outer leaves discarded
310ml (1 1/4 cup) olive oil
5 tablespoons sea salt
200g mild crushed paprika/chillies, lightly toasted (if available, replace with whole dried chillies, toasted and finely chopped/crushed)
15kg pork neck, belly and/or shoulder, finely minced with medium fat (ask your butcher to mince)
7 tablespoons (50g) mild paprika, finely ground (add 2 tablespoons of hot paprika if you prefer)
5 teaspoons ground white pepper
3 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

250g thin pork intestines (sausage casings are available from your butcher)

You will need:
- Meat mincer with sausage attachment
- Large work surface
- Cooking string cut into 20cm lengths
- Paper towels
- 3m rod undercover to dry kolbasi

Method
1) Heat a large pot over medium to high heat, coat base with 3 tablespoons olive oil and add leek. Mix continuously for 10-15 minutes until softened and collapsed but not browned or burnt as this will taste bitter. Set aside and cool to room temperature.
Note: The leek can be prepared the night before and refrigerated.

2) Heat oven to 160°C and arrange crushed paprika/chillies and toast until darkened and fragrant (10-15 minutes), stir regularly to avoid burning. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Note: If using whole dried chillies, toast whole and finely chop/crush when cooled.

3) Clean intestines in cold water and drain, repeat process 2-3 times. Cut into 1 metre lengths and keep in cold tap water to avoid from drying out.

4) Setup meat mincer with sausage attachment.

5) On a large clean table spread out meat mince, add leek, crushed paprika/chillies, mild paprika, white and black pepper, and remaining salt and oil. Scrunch and knead mixture until sticky and well combined (10 minutes). Heat a little oil in a frying pan over medium heat. To taste the seasoning roll 1-2 tablespoons of the meat mix into a ball then flatten into a patty, cook 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked through. Taste, adjust seasonings if required.

6) Carefully slide one of the cut intestine/sausage casings onto the sausage making nozzle, leaving 2cm un-tied hanging over the edge. Stuff meat into the top of the machine and feed the mince through, sliding the casing off the nozzle as the mince comes out, two people make this job easier as one winds the other gently pulls and holds the sausage. Leave 2cm of intestine unfilled at the end and run your hands over the sausage to expel excess air, place in a tray in a coil. Repeat with remaining mince and intestines.

7) Using kitchen string tie each sausage in half with a tight knot and then tie onto elevated rod. Once all sausages are hung place folded paper towels between where the sausages are touching to help them dry out evenly. Dry for 3-4 days in a cool dry environment under cover and below 17°C, e.g. shady balcony, garage.
Note: It’s important that there is no sun or rain, a gentle breeze is perfect. If the temperature exceeds 17°C store sausages in the fridge and re-hang if the weather improves, otherwise continue drying in fridge. If you live in a snowy environment do not dry outside as the kolbasi will freeze rather than dry.

8) Once dried store kolbasi in airtight containers or freezer bags in refrigerator for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

9) To cook, heat a little oil in a large non-stick frying pan (low heat). Cut cold sausages into 5cm lengths and place cut side down to seal the end, once cooked turn over and seal other end. Turn on side and cook all over until golden. Serve as meze, or as a meal white bread and cabbage salad.

Tips:
- Mild crushed paprika is available from most supermarkets.
- If you choose to add lung, spleen and tongue be sure to poach in simmering water for 10-15 minutes before mincing.
- Homemade kolbasi taste delicious in a white bean soup (graf).

Urania, my childhood neighbour made the best baklava, so much so that my sister and I pressured our mum into mastering her recipe. She was very particular about using only the freshest of ingredients and about the process. The walnuts had to be crushed with a glass bottle rather than chopped as she believed the flavour was better, she also insisted that stale homemade bread be used rather than processed white bread.

I’m not exactly sure which part of Greece Urania was from as she is no longer with us, all I know is that she was from a village near Athens. What’s obvious about this recipe, is that it’s a genuine village recipe as it calls for stale breadcrumbs, probably because it was cheaper than adding extra nuts. The breadcrumbs are genius, as they help to absorb the syrup, making this baklava the perfect balance of flaky pastry, crunchy nuts and sugary heaven.

Making baklava
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Recipe

Makes 45

Ingredients
2 tablespoons (20g) sesame seeds
500g walnuts
2 slices day old white bread, crusts removed use ciabatta or similar)
1/3 cup (70g) caster sugar
3-6 tablespoons (25-50g) ground cinnamon
250g unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil (e.g. canola or sunflower)
500g filo pastry sheets, thawed at room temperature for 2 hours
(this is approx. 1.5 x 375g packets)

Syrup
3 cups (660g) caster sugar
2 cups (500ml) water
Lemon wedge
3 tablespoons (65ml) honey

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

2) Crush walnuts using a bottle or rolling pin (you can also finely chop).

3) Crumb stale bread in a food processor or by rubbing between hands.

4) Increase oven temperature to 180°C.

5) In a bowl combine sesame seeds, walnuts, bread crumbs, caster sugar and cinnamon, mix well and set aside.
Note: Depending on personal taste, you may prefer to add only 3-4 tablespoons of cinnamon.

6) Heat butter and oil in a saucepan over a low heat until butter is melted, set aside and keep warm.

7) Brush a large rectangular baking tray (or two smaller trays) with butter and oil mix. If necessary cut filo sheet length to fit into tray snugly and cover with a damp tea towel to prevent from drying out.

8) Lay a sheet of filo on clean work surface with the longest edge facing you. Working quickly, brush all over with butter and oil mix, top with another sheet of filo and brush again, repeat 2 more times (you should have 4 sheets). Cover remaining filo with a tea towel. Scatter evenly with a 2 handfuls of the nut mixture then roll lengthwise into a long cylinder, if necessary brush the exposed pastry edge with extra butter/oil to seal, then place in baking tray. Repeat with remaining filo and nut mix and brush top with butter/oil.

9) Refrigerate until firm (15 minutes), then cut on a diagonal into 5cm diamonds with a sharp knife. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until lightly golden. Cover loosely with foil partway through cooking if top browns too quickly.

10) Meanwhile, for syrup, combine sugar and water in 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).

11) Cool baklava slightly (2-3 minutes), remove lemon wedge from syrup and evenly pour over. Allow to stand for at least 2 hours (preferably overnight) before refrigerating.

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

Tips:
- Baklava will keep refrigerated in it’s tray for up to 2 weeks.
- Baklava also freezes well for up to 3 months.
- Freeze fresh walnuts in an airtight bag for up to 3 months.

Hello and welcome to 2010!

By now many of you have pulled down the Christmas tree, reluctantly returned to work and successfully convinced yourself that no carbs and going to the gym every day for the next two weeks isn’t such a bad idea. For my family and I, the Christmas festivities continue as this week is “Bozik”, the traditional Orthodox Christmas celebrated on 7 January (it’s based on the old Julian calendar).

I have so many lovely memories of making bread with Mum for “Koleda” (Christmas Eve). We always made two types of bread, dolls for the girls and bicycles for the boys. The breads are given as gifts to all the children with lollies and other treats rather toys. I’m not sure how long the tradition has been around for, but there’s one thing for sure, I’m committed to keep it going.

Even if you don’t celebrate Koleda, making these with the kids over the holidays is a wonderful way to get them involved in the kitchen. Alternatively, you can bake as a loaf and eat while warm with a generous spread of butter and a sprinkling of crumbled feta cheese.

Add the sponge (yeast mix) to the centre of the well and incorporate

Continue to mix until the dough begins to come together and pulls away from your fingers

Remove the dough to a flour-dusted surface

Making the bicycle

Making the village doll

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Recipe

Makes 2 dolls and 2 bikes (or 1 medium loaf)

Ingredients
Sponge (yeast mix)
1 level tablespoon plain flour
1 tablespoon dried yeast (or 1 x 7g sachet)
1/2 teaspoon caster sugar
1/4 cup (60ml) lukewarm water

Dough
2 1/2 cups (330g) plain white bread/pizza flour (‘00’) sifted, plus extra for dusting
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (250ml) lukewarm water

Method
1) For sponge, combine yeast, flour, sugar and lukewarm water in a small bowl, mix well until there are no lumps (it should have a slurry-like consistency), allow to stand in a warm spot for 10 minutes.
2) Meanwhile sift flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.
3) Once the sponge (yeast mix) has double in size add to the centre of the well with some of the lukewarm water. Begin to slowly incorporate with your fingers (or a fork). Gradually add all of the water and use your fingers to knead, while turning the bowl with your other hand. Continue to mix until the dough begins to come together and pulls away from your fingers (approx. 10 minutes). To finish, gently pull in the dough from the edge of the bowl to the centre to form a neat ball, flour the top, cover with a tea towel and place in a warm spot to prove for 30-45 minutes (depending on the weather).
Note: The weather will also dictate how much flour and water is used, the dough should be quite wet but pull away from your fingers.
4) After 30 minutes gently knead the dough (still in the same bowl) for 2 minutes. Remove the dough to a flour-dusted surface, gently roll to coat with flour and divide into 4 large balls and 1 small ball (the size of a golf ball). Knead each ball for a further 2 minutes, dusting with flour as needed until most of the air is knocked out and the dough stops sticking to your hands.
5) To make a bicycle, roll out one of the balls into a long even shape (30-40cm in length). Coil each end in opposite directions until you have an even bike-like shape, i.e. roll left end upwards and right end downwards towards the centre.
6) To make a doll, roll out one of the balls into an oval shape and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Pinch in at the top to make the head, cut arms and legs, smooth out the edges and lengthen the arms and legs slightly. Roll out the small ball (the size of a golf ball) into a long thin strip, cut in half (use the remaining half when making the other doll) and wrap around the dolls head to mimic a scarf, hiding the edges under each arm. Use your fingers pinch eyes and a mouth.
7) Place onto an oiled and flour-dusted tray, dust top with flour and loosely cover with a clean towel, rest for a further 30 minutes. Preheat fan forced oven to 200ºc.
8) Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden. After 10 minutes loosely cover with a sheet of foil and bake for a further 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 100ºc, remove foil and bake for final 10 minutes (30 minutes in total). Remove bread from oven and wrap in 2 large tea towels to keep warm.

Tip: Feel free to bake as round bread rolls or a medium loaf, the texture is similar to that of a dense European-style loaf.

Every family has Christmas traditions, so every Christmas Eve Mum would bring out the Christmas ham. In preparation for the following day we’d enjoy a light dinner of ham off the bone, a beautiful tomato salad and fresh crusty bread (vienna loaf is best).

In reality, I love this tomato salad throughout summer, when juicy ripe tomatoes are in abundance. Depending on your taste buds, you may prefer this salad dressed with just olive oil and salt, as the tomato juices form part of the dressing. If however, your a vinegar lover like me, a splash of red wine vinegar makes this salad just perfect.

The best part is mopping up the juices with bite-sized chunks of soft bread, yum, yum, yum!
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Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients
2-3 medium vine ripened tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 medium banana chilli, sliced into rings (also known as Hungarian or bullhorn chillie)
1/4 spanish onion, thinly sliced
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Red wine vinegar to taste (optional)
Sea salt to taste

Method
1) Arrange tomato wedges in a bowl, top with onion and chillies. Drizzle with olive oil, vinegar (optional) and sprinkle with salt. Gently toss and serve immediately.

Tips:
- Leftover tomato salad makes the best tomato relish the following day. Store the leftovers in an airtight container overnight, the following day gently fry (medium heat) for 5 minutes or until the tomatoes collapse.
- Never store tomatoes in the fridge, keep in the pantry in a cool, dark spot.
- Use green capsicum if you are unable to find banana chillies.

You know it’s Christmas when desserts start taking the shape of merry snow balls.

These yummy European apple and walnut treats are not strictly a Christmas tradition, but are a lovely alternative to the regular rum ball. The apple stays quite moist and combined with the walnuts, it’s a match made in heaven and very hard to stop at just one!

There are only 5 ingredients and no baking, making this recipe so easy that even the kids can help.

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Recipe

Makes 50 balls

Ingredients
500g (3-4 medium) apples, peeled, cored and grated
225g (1 cup) caster sugar
250g plain biscuits, finely chopped (I use Arnott’s Milk Arrowroot biscuits)
250g unsalted butter, cut into cubes, room temperature
100g natural walnuts, chopped

Method
1) In a medium pan combine grated apple and sugar (low-medium heat). Gently cook, stirring regularly until softened and most of the liquid has evaporated (5-10 minutes). Remove from heat and cool completely (to speed up the cooling process pop in the freezer for 15-20 minutes).
2) Meanwhile, in a large bowl add the butter and ground biscuits. Use your fingers to evenly combine until you have the consistency of a shortbread dough. Add the cooled apple mix and use your hands to combine well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes (this step is optional however I find it helps when forming the balls).
3) Run your hands under cold water (do this every so often) and roll a heaped teaspoon of the mix into a small ball. Coat with chopped walnuts and refrigerate in an airtight container.
4) To serve, remove from fridge and allow to rest at room temperature (15 minutes).

Tips:
- If you don’t have a food processor to chop the biscuits and walnuts, wrap in a tea towel and crush with a rolling pin.
- Make ahead of time and freeze.

Alex’s grandma lives in Valence, France. It’s 100km south of Lyon and 100km north of Avignon. When Alex visits her grandma she always requests her favourite home-cooked dish, ‘Poulet au Citron’ and after cooking it for dinner last night I can totally understand why. The combination of sweet raisins, tangy lemon and velvety rum is oh so comforting and of-course delicious too!

It’s a rustic one-pot dish which has been in the family since the early 1900s. You can imagine the ‘Poulet au Citron’ being served for special occasions, placed in the middle of the table and shared with rice and fresh crusty bread. For me, this dish has a real celebratory feel, the rum and raisins would make it perfect for a simple Christmas lunch or special dinner party, served with fluffy rice and buttery green beans.

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Recipe

Serves 8

Ingredients
200g raisins
1 free-range or organic chicken, jointed (or substitute with 8-10 assorted pieces of drumstick, thigh and breast)
60g butter
4 onions, sliced
1 cup (250ml) rum
juice of 4 lemons, plus 3-4 pieces of peel
2 tablespoons plain flour
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped (optional)

Method
1) In a medium bowl pour over enough water to cover raisins (1½-2 cups), stir and cover. Allow to stand for 1 hour.
2) Heat half the butter in a large casserole or pan (medium-high heat). Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper and cook in batches skin side down, turning once until golden (5-7 minutes). Transfer to a warm plate and set aside.
3) Reduce heat (low-medium), add remaining butter, onions and a pinch of salt, stir frequently until translucent (5-7 minutes). Turn the heat up, add raisins and soaking liquid, add the rum and flambé (1 minute). Add lemon juice and peel and return the chicken pieces and juices to the casserole/pan, ensuring all the chicken is covered with liquid. Bring to the boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
4) Remove chicken to a plate, cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Remove and discard lemon peel. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add flour and whisk quickly. Bring liquid to the boil to slightly thicken (2-3 minutes). Check seasoning and adjust if necessary. Return chicken to sauce to warm through and take off heat.
5) Garnish with coarsely chopped parsley and serve with cooked basmati rice.

Tips:
- Ask your butcher to joint the chicken, they’ll do a perfect job and it’s usually free.
- If you don’t have a gas stove and are unable to flambé (flame) the rum, use a long barbecue lighter or lit candle to light the alcohol at the edge of the pan. Stand back, turn your face and have the lid close by. You can also try heating the rum in a small pan before you flambé and add to the sauce. Checkout this helpful YouTube video on How to Flambé.

I’ve always wanted to make a traditional Christmas pudding from scratch, but for obvious reasons, puddings are not one of my families specialties.

You can imagine my excitement when I received an ‘authentic’ pudding recipe from a friend – a recipe which has been in the family for several generations. Word is that Grandma Bess (born in 1915) was given the recipe from her grandmother, who picked it up at the Royal Easter show all those years ago.

Like so many old favourites, grandma would never measure anything and just throw it all in and every year it would come out perfect. It must have been the “brandy for pudding, brandy for grandma” method that ensured it was so.

What I love most about Christmas and this recipe is the focus on family. Once all the ingredients are mixed in the bowl, everyone in the family takes it in turns to stir and make a wish. On Christmas day, silver coins from yesteryear are boiled to sterilise, then small incisions are made all over the pudding and the coins are inserted for the kids to find, care of the Sugar Plum Fairy. (As silver coins are no longer in production, the kids have to swap them at the end for today’s currency and the silver coins are squirreled away until next year.)

This recipe makes one pudding, which depending on your preference can be served hot of cold (you’ll find instructions for both). I love the hot pudding because it’s a real showstopper – the pudding is placed on the table while hot brandy which has been lit is poured over the warm pudding.

Note: Pudding is best made 1 month prior to serving, store in fridge.

All ingredients should be room temperature

Tie paper or foil tightly with string

Stand for 10 minutes before turning out on a plate

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Recipe…………………………….

Makes 1 large pudding

Ingredients
Pudding
250g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
250g (2½ cups) brown sugar
4 organic or free-range eggs, room temperature
130g (2½ cups) fresh breadcrumbs (grate day-old white bread)
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 teaspoons mixed spice
250g raisins
250g sultanas
250g currants
400ml brandy or rum, plus extra 100ml for hot pudding

Hard sauce (make on Christmas morning)
125g unsalted butter, softened
215g (1½ cups) sifted icing sugar
2 tablespoons brandy or rum

Method
1) In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy (I use an electric hand mixer). Then gradually beat in eggs.
2) In a separate bowl, mix flour, breadcrumbs and spice together.
3) In a separate bowl, mix fruit and stir in a full wine glass (200ml) of brandy or rum.
4) Add dry ingredients and fruit mix alternately to butter mixture. Stir until combined.
5) Grease a 2 litre pudding basin and line base with a circle of greased baking paper or foil (to ensure pudding does not stick when turning out). Pour pudding mixture into basin and top with another circle of baking paper or foil. Place lid of basin over this or cover with 2 layers of baking paper and/or foil and tie with string. Allow to stand for 24 hours.
6) To cook, place pudding basin in a large saucepan with a wire rack or tea towel lining the base. Fill with water, ensure a good 3cm of the basin rim is not under water. Cover and simmer, topping up water when necessary.
Cold pudding: Boil for 9 hours. Before storing, pour another wine glass (200ml) of brandy or rum over the pudding. Cool in the bowl, cover and refrigerate.
Hot pudding: Boil for 6 hours. Before storing, pour another wine glass (200ml) of brandy or rum over the pudding. Cool in the bowl, cover and refrigerate. On Christmas day, reheat in a large saucepan of simmering water for 3 hours. Stand for 10 minutes before turning out on a plate. When serving the hot pudding, place pudding on the table. In a small saucepan, heat half a glass of brandy until it is very hot. Carry saucepan over to pudding and light, then pour the flaming liquid over the pudding.
7) For hard sauce, cream softened butter with icing sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in brandy or rum and refrigerate until it becomes hard.
8) Serve pudding with hard sauce, cream, custard or ice cream.

Tip: I make fresh breadcrumbs in a food processor. Remove the crusts from white day-old bread slices, cut into cubes and process until finely chopped. Any leftovers can be frozen and used when required.