Jill James provided this delicious dessert recipe using WA olive oil.

Pastry
Olive oil makes a very short pastry, which can be very crumbly – I use some butter as well to add some moisture and make it a little firmer when cooked. You could omit the butter if you wish and add more olive oil and a tablespoon of water.
250 g plain flour
100 g unsalted butter
200 g sour cream
4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
In a food processor, add the flour and the roughly chopped butter – process until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sour cream and the olive oil and pulse a few times to roughly mix together – be careful not to overwork it. The advantage with olive oil is you don’t have to work the dough as much – as it is a liquid. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Filling
10 pears (Beurre Bosc)
100 g butter
150 g sugar
1 tbs caster sugar
Peel pears, halve and core. Choose your pan carefully. Either a tarte tatin pan or I use an old 28cm nonstick frying pan minus the handle. Melt the butter and lay the pears round side down in concentric circles in the pan – remember the fruit will shrink with cooking so be generous with it. Sprinkle over the sugar and cook slowly on a low to medium heat on top of the stove until any moisture has evaporated and the pears are starting to caramelize. This can take up to an hour.
Put the pears aside to cool, then roll out pastry and place over the pears making sure you have about a 2 cm overhang, which you can tuck under to form a lip when the tart is turned out. The tart can sit in the fridge until you’re ready to cook. Sprinkle the pastry top with the caster sugar and cook at 220°C for 40 minutes.
Leave to sit for a few minutes and then carefully invert onto a serving dish.
Serve warm with cream.     

Posted by kate at 4:39 PM | Permalink

Chef at the Jah Roc café in York, Jeff Eaton, devised a unique menu to showcase Nuthouse pistachios, including the recipe below:

Serves 4
4 skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup butter
1 cup pistachio nut kernels
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
8 asparagus spears
1 bunch english spinach
4 sets truss cherry tomatoes
For the pesto: Roast the pistachio nuts until lightly browned then place in blender with basil parmesan and olive oil blend to a rough paste and put aside.
Place half the butter in a pan and, when warmed, add spinach and toss untill slightly wilted. Take out and put to one side and do the same for the asparagus. The spinach and the asparagus should be a bright green color. Then add cherry tomato trusses and pan fry until half cooked. Reserve to one side.
Add the chicken breasts and sauté until 3/4 cooked then add white wine and simmer.
When the wine has reduced by half, add the remaining butter and simmer gently for 1 minute.
Reheat spinach, asparagus and tomatoes.
To assemble, place spinach on a warmed plate, then the chicken breast, then the asparagus and tomato. Crumble the pesto on and around the dish, spoon some of the wine and butter sauce, and serve.

Posted by kate at 4:53 PM | Permalink

Rhys of Ravenhill Dairy is at the Albany Farmer's Market on the long weekend having a look through our printer fresh winter edition. He's in there with his creamy cream and milk along with Albany and Denmark producers involved in the Taste Great Southern event, five butchers, two chefs, five winemakers, over twenty recipes, all you need to to know on osso buco and stock, and a bundle of West Australian writers, producers, products, and restaurants.

Get a copy at all good newsagencies or by subscription here. Also available through the following stockists: Fresh Provisions (Mt Lawley), Sealanes (Freo), Kakulas Sister (Freo), Wine Liasons (Freo), The Home Provedore (Freo), O2H (Nedlands), The Grocer (Nedlands), Lady Kitchener (Claremont), Black Duck Pantry (Albany), Blackwood Kitchen (Bridgetown), Seashack (Esperance), Get Stuffed Olive Company (Gingin), Loose Produce (Como), Margaret Riviera (Cowaramup), Picobello Patisserie (Bicton), Swansea Street Markets (East Vic Park), Gourmet Centro (Subiaco), Vanilla (Fremantle), Angelo Street Markets (South Perth), and Food for Me (East Vic Park).

Posted by anthony at 12:19 PM | Permalink

To be in the running to win a luxury weekend for two at HIlltop Studios in Margaret River, simply take out a subscription to SPICE before August 30th, 2006.

The prize includes a weekend package for 2 at Hilltop Studios.

The Winner of the Jane Brook Gold Filled Wine and restaurant voucher was P. Lannin

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1. Information on how to enter and prizes form part of conditions of entry. Enter as many times as you wish, but each entry must constitute a fully paid subscription. Entries not completed in accordance with these terms and conditions are ineligible. 2. Entry is open to anybody over the age of 18 years except employees of Spice Publishing Pty Ltd, Hilltop Studios and their immediate families. 3. The winner will be drawn at random from all subscriptions received and paid for (including any relevant clearance period) between 1 June and 5pm on 30 November 2006. 4. Prize includes two nights luxury accommodation at Hilltop Studios. Prizes are not transferable or redeemable for cash. 5. The draw will take place at the offices of Spice Publishing Pty Ltd, Shop 9, The Biscuit Factory, 330 South Terrace, South Fremantle WA 6162. 6. No correspondence will be entered into. 7. Winners will be notified by phone and/or mail and their names published in Spice Magazine, Autumn 06 edition. 8. All entries become the property of Spice Publishing Pty Ltd ACN 114 002 050. The entries may be entered into a database for future promotional, marketing and publicity purposes, unless otherwise stated by the entrant. 9. Spice Publishing Pty Ltd shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever suffered, including but not limited to direct or consequential loss, or personal injury suffered or sustained during the course of prize winning trips or in connection with any prize.

Posted by anthony at 9:08 PM | Permalink