Peter Gordon: family recipes

Mum - Timmy’s Pavlova

Mum made the best Pavlova and one of our little rituals was that she always made me one when I visited her from London. She was also known to take her electric beaters on holiday to my siblings houses so she could make them one with her preferred tools. Mum preferred to use malt vinegar when making her pavs, but she said any vinegar except cider or balsamic vinegar will work. Mum always served her pavs with whipped cream and fruit. Pavlovas can be stored for up to a week in an airtight container in a cool place out of direct sunlight.

Serves 8

• 3 large egg whites

• 190g caster sugar

• 1 Tbsp cornflour, sifted

• 2 tsp vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 180°C Fan Bake, have a rack ready in the centre, and line a tray with baking paper

2. In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment (or in a large bowl if using an electric beater like Mum) beat egg whites until almost stiff

3. With the beater still on, slowly add the sugar, initially 1 Tbsp at a time - beating 5 seconds between each addition

4. Once half the sugar has been mixed in add the remainder in a slow stream

5. Continue to beat until all sugar is incorporated, the meringue doesn’t feel grainy and the meringue is glossy, around 6 - 8 minutes

6. Sprinkle the cornflour and vinegar on top of the meringue, then gently fold together

7. Dab a little of the mixture in the corners of the tray to anchor the paper down

8. Scoop the meringue onto the prepared tray and turn into whatever shape you want, but at least 4cm thick

9. Place the tray in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 120°C Fan Bake

10. Bake for one hour then turn the oven off and leave the Pavlova to cool for at least an hour in the oven. You can even leave it overnight

11. Note: if you’re making smaller pavs reduce the cooking time to 50 minutes, but otherwise do it exactly the same

12. To serve it, invert the pavlova onto your hand (or use a plate of similar size) and carefully peel the baking paper from the base, then flip it back onto a platter

13. Spread with generous amounts of whipped cream and top with fruit

 

Dad - Bruce Gordon’s Souffle Omelette

My father Bruce doesn’t recall where the idea for this rather fancy-technique omelette came from but he made it most weekends when I was growing up in Castlecliff. He had his own structural engineering business so this was quite different to wielding, grinding and building hoists on trucks. I once told him I added potatoes and he told me he would sometimes add left-over roast or boiled spuds or mashed potato – rather like a bubble and squeak souffle omelette. In this version the potatoes go in raw, hence putting a lid on to cook them as the trapped steam prevents the potatoes burning as they fry. If you do have left-over spuds to use up, then caramelise the onion and bacon together initially before adding the potato for a minute to warm through, then add the tomatoes. This can also be a veggie omelette – replacing the bacon with spinach, mushrooms or sweetcorn would be lovely. Buttered toasted white bread and a cuppa go perfectly with this. The BF tells me you can’t have enough cheese on this btw – I used a tasty Cheddar but use whatever is at hand.

For 2 – 3

• ½ onion, diced or sliced

• 1 large potato, skin scrubbed, cut into 1 – 1.5cm dice

• 1 Tablespoon butter or oil (plus the same again for cooking the omelette)

• 3 rashers bacon, cut into strips (remove the rind if you prefer)

• 1 – 2 diced tomatoes or a handful of cherry tomatoes cut in half

• 4 eggs

• ¾ cup / 100g (or more) grated cheese

 

1. Fry the onion and potato in butter or oil in a fry-pan with a lid on over medium high heat, until the potatoes are cooked, stirring every now and then

2. Add the bacon and cook with the lid off until a little crispy

3. Add the tomatoes and cook until any excess juice has evaporated

4. Separate the eggs and beat the whites with ¼ tsp salt till thick and foamy

5. In another bowl, mix the hot bacon mixture with the yolks, then tip onto the whites and fold at all together

6. Put the fry-pan back on medium heat, add more butter or oil and when sizzling tip the mixture in and gently shake the pan for 10 seconds to let it settle

7. Put a lid on and cook 3 – 4 minutes until it firms at the sides – it will remain uncooked in the middle

8. Sprinkle evenly with the cheese, place under a grill and cook until it’s golden and bubbling

 

Mother Number Two – Rose Gordon’s Yummy Corned Beef

Rose makes the best corned beef, always served with a delicious mustard sauce that she got from the Edmonds Cookbook. When I visit her in Whanganui I always hope it’ll be simmering away in the pot. She makes it using frozen Corned Beef Silverside. If you have it fresh then cook for a slightly shorter time but it may well be the frozen aspect is why it’s so good! Each 500g of meat needs 30 minutes cooking. Serve this with a potato salad dressed with the condensed milk mayonnaise from my first episode four weeks ago.

This will be enough meat for 8 hungry mouths.

 

• 1.5kg corned beef silverside – Rose says cook it from frozen

• 1 onion, peeled and halved

• 1 potato, don’t peel, cut in half if really large otherwise leave whole

• 1 carrot, washed and halved if large

• 1 teaspoon pickling spices

• 3-4 springs fresh herbs – whatever’s in the garden – Rose uses coriander and rosemary

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 Tablespoon golden syrup

 

1. Place the beef in a pot large enough to hold it comfortably. Cover with cold water and slowly bring to a gentle boil. A froth will come to the top which we don’t want, so once it’s simmering, carefully tip the meat into a colander in the sink, discard all the liquid and froth, rinse the pot and return the meat

2. Cover with cold water again and add everything except the golden syrup

3. Bring to the boil then cook over a rapid simmer with a lid on for 90 minutes. It’s cooked when you can poke a carving fork or sharp knife through it

4. Take the pot off the heat, remove the lid, ladle out enough of the cooking liquid so the meat is just above the liquid and drizzle the meat with the golden syrup. Leave to cool for at least 90 minutes

5. Take the meat from the liquid and it’s ready to carve into delicious slices

6. Reserve the cooking liquid to make mustard sauce, and if it’s not too salty it’s great to use in a soup, casserole or even a risotto or curry (and if it is too salty then just don’t add salt to your next dish).

 

Mustard sauce from the Edmonds cookbook

• 1 egg

• 2 Tablespoons sugar

• 1 Tbsp flour

• 2 teaspoons mustard powder

• 1 cup liquid from beef

• ¼ cup malt vinegar

• Salt and pepper

 

1. Beat the egg and sugar, whisk in the flour and mustard

2. Whisk in the beef cooking liquor and vinegar

3. Tip into a small saucepan and cook over a low heat till it thickens, gently stirring all the time

4. Stir in salt and pepper to taste, you can serve it straight from the pan or cooled to room temperature