​When I make a mud cake, I usually cut off the top of the cake to make it level before icing it. These truffles are my favourite thing to make with that left over chocolate cake.

This is simple and delicious.

My choice of rum is Croatian rum, but you use whatever rum you love.

Double the recipe if you like.

It is important to finely chop the chocolate or it may not melt quick enough. If this happens, just place the bowl with the chocolate mixture over a saucepan of simmering water, until the chocolate melts and is smooth.

Truffles can also be rolled in sifted dark cocoa powder, if you prefer.

This is a perfect sweet treat to take to a party and they can be made a week in advance, just keep them refrigerated until needed.

Recipe adapted from The Essential Christmas Cookbook

Makes about 25

200g dark cooking chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup (60ml) cream
30g unsalted butter
1/2 cup (50g) chocolate cake crumbs
2 teaspoons dark rum, brandy or whisky
1/2-1 cup chocolate sprinkles

Line a baking tray with foil.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

Combine the cream and butter in a small saucepan and stir over low heat until the butter melts and the mixture is just boiling. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.
​
Stir in the cake crumbs and rum. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until firm enough to roll into balls. Roll heaped teaspoons of the mixture into balls.
​

Spread the chocolate sprinkles on a sheet of baking paper, or pour into a small bowl. Roll each truffle in sprinkles then place on your baking tray. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or until firm.

​Serve in small paper patty cups, if desired.

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​My daughter absolutely loves gingerbread. She loves Christmas time, because she gets to indulge in gingerbread. I love it to, as she joins me in the kitchen and together we make gingerbread men, houses, nativity scenes, bells, angels or this year it was this star tree.

This was quite easy to make, I did it with my special cookie cutter set. The brand was Soffritto, it is a 10 piece star tree cookie cutter set. But in all honesty my 11 year old son just got this little Christmas tree below as a gift from a school friend and they would equally look gorgeous as mini trees, if you don't want to go out and buy this large set.

​Makes 1 tree plus a few Gingerbread men or Reindeers

250g unsalted butter, at room temperature
200g (1 cup firmly packed) brown sugar 
250ml (1 cup) golden syrup
2 egg yolks
750g (5 cups) plain flour
2 tablespoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons mixed spice
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
​plain flour, for dusting, if needed

150g (1 cup) pure icing sugar, sifted

Icing:
185g pure icing sugar, sifted
​25-30ml boiling water​
​
Place butter and brown sugar in a large bowl, using an electric beater, beat until pale and creamy. Add the golden syrup and egg yolks and beat until combined. 

Stir in flour, ginger, mixed spice and bicarbonate of soda.

Place on a clean bench lightly dusted with plain flour, if needed, if the dough is too sticky, and knead until smooth. Divide the dough in half, press dough into 2 discs. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.
​
Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced.

​Line a baking tray with baking paper.
​

Place one dough disc between two sheets of baking paper and roll out until about 4mm thick. Place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. Repeat with second dough disc. Once the dough is cold, use a cutter to cut out the shapes, you will need two of each cutter for the large tree. Lift away the excess and place paper with gingerbread shapes directly on trays. Keep excess dough. Repeat cutting out shapes with second batch of dough.

Combine all excess dough, re roll between two sheets of baking paper, get it cold and repeat until you have enough stars, then you can make any shapes with excess dough.

Bake the gingerbread for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

​Remove from oven, allow to cool for 5 minutes, then carefully, I use a large egg flip, to transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.


To make the icing: sift the icing sugar into a medium bowl. Gradually add the boiling water and mix until smooth. The icing should be a coating consistency. If it is too thick add a little more water. 

Place prepared icing in a small piping bag. Cut a small hole in the corner of the bag. Pipe icing over the cookies to decorate. 

For the tree, place the largest star down on a serving plate. Top with another of the same size star but turn it so the points are not alligned. Place the next largest star with the points alligned with the first star, then the next same sized star with the points alligned with the second star placed down. Repeat with all stars, except the two smallest stars.

The two small stars get iced together and decorated to form the star on top of the tree. Just make sure to place the top icing on just before you add the 'star' on top of the tree as it will 'glue' it in place.

Dust with sifted icing sugar.

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​When I came across this recipe on our Eating Around the World Adventure (El Salvador), I was a bit worried, if I made it, I wouldn't like it. I thought there was too many flavours going on, it would be too much, a bit confusing.

Well I was wrong, I loved it. I loved that it was different to other trifles I had tried, I loved the flavours, I loved how it looked. I loved that each step was easy to make. I loved that you could make it in advance and it was great especially when made two days in advance, as the flavours get better over time. I loved everything about this trifle.

This is great for celebrations as it feeds many, but when I made it, we had no party planned, so I ate this trifle for days, sometimes it replaced, breakfast, lunch or dinner. But I didn't care, I loved every bite.

I like to make one large trifle, basically because it is easier to do, but you can make them in individual clear cups if you prefer.

All recipes are included here for each layer. You will need to make the marquesote, the blood orange reduction, the pineapple and mango compote, the chocolate ganache, the vanilla custard and the chantilly cream. But everything is easy and can be made in advance.

The marquesote is a light sponge cake that is super easy to make. It doesn't fall apart in the trifle, it just soaks up the the blood orange reduction and rum, just like a sponge and tastes amazing.

This blood orange reduction is great as an ice cream topping.

As mangoes were not in season when I made this trifle, I did use tinned mangoes, they worked just fine.

The custard is delicious as a dessert on its own, serve it warm for a creamy texture. If serving cold the custard will set and be like a pudding. Sprinkle with a little extra cinnamon, just before serving.

So if you are looking for something different to serve at your next party, give this trifle a go.

​Recipe adapted from deliciouselsalvador.com/ 

Serves about 18-20

For this trifle you will need to make:
​1 marquesote (sponge cake)
¾ cup Blood Orange juice reduction
¾ cup Dark Sweet Rum
1 ½ cups pineapple and mango compote
Warm chocolate ganache
4 cups warm vanilla custard
4 cups Chantilly cream
1 cup toasted coconut flakes


Make the Marquesote (sponge cake):

1 cup plain flour, sifted
1½ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 cup caster sugar
5 egg yolks
5 egg whites
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 175C/155C fan forced. Combine the sifted flour with the baking powder and salt, re-sift everything, and set aside.

Grease a 22cm round, or 22cm x 18cm rectangular pan, or an 20cm square pan.

Beat the yolks in a small bowl, with an electric mixer, for about 2 minutes until very light and pale in color. 

After beating, add in the lemon zest and lemon juice and mix or whisk for 10 seconds. Set aside.

Whip the egg whites in a large bowl, with an electric mixer, clean beaters, until stiff but not dry.

Into the whipped egg whites, gradually fold in ⅓ of the sifted flour mixture, ⅓ of the yolk mixture, and ⅓ of the sugar. Repeat this process until all ingredients are incorporated.

Pour evenly into the greased pan. Bake at 175C/155C fan forced for 25 to 30 minutes or until firm and the top is golden. Remove immediately and carefully from pan, place on a rack to cool. 

​Just before you are going to assemble the trifle, cut up into 2-3cm pieces.


Make the Blood Orange Reduction:

​1 ½ cups Blood Orange juice
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
​
In a small saucepan, add the orange juice and sugar, mix well, place over a medium to high heat, stir until the sugar dissolves, bring to the boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until it has been reduced by half. Remove from the heat and let it cool before using.


Make the Pineapple and Mango Compote:

3 cups fresh chopped pineapple
2 cups fresh chopped ripe mango
1 ¼ cups caster sugar
3 whole cloves
1 small cinnamon stick
​
Place all the ingredients in a medium sized saucepan, combine well and bring to the boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook for about 20 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking until most of the liquid has evaporated and you have a syrupy consistency. Remove the cinnamon and cloves before you add the compote to the trifle.


Make the Chocolate Ganache:

1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips
¾ cups thickened cream

Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
​
In a small saucepan, heat the cream and bring to a boil, immediately add it to the chocolate. Let it sit for a minute.  Using a spatula or spoon, stir the chocolate and cream, until all the chocolate has melted and looks smooth and shiny.


Make the Vanilla Custard:

2 egg yolks
4 tablespoons cornflour
¾ cup caster sugar
3 cups cold milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a small bowl beat the egg yolks well and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, off the heat, whisk together the cornflour and sugar. Slowly add in the milk and whisk until smooth.

Place the mixture over a medium heat, whisking continuously until it thickens. Once it reaches a boil, take 2 tablespoons of the custard mixture and quickly whisk into the egg yolks; this will temper the egg yolks to avoid them curdling when they come in contact with the boiling custard.

Now, briskly whisk the egg yolks into the custard. Reduce heat to medium low, continue cooking, and constantly whisk for 5 more minutes. Turn off the heat, add the vanilla and cinnamon, and continue whisking for another 2 minutes to release the steam.​

Transfer the custard to a bowl, cover with cling film, make sure the cling film is touching the surface of the custard to stop the custard from forming a skin, allow to cool, then refrigerate until needed.
​

Make the Chantilly Cream:

½ cup caster sugar
2 cups whipping cream
​
In a medium mixing bowl add the sugar and pour the cream on top. Whip until stiff. Let it chill for about 10 minutes before using.


Toast the Coconut Flakes:

1 cup uncooked coconut flakes

In a small frying pan, over low heat, toast the coconut flakes until golden, be careful not to burn them. 


To assemble the trifle: In a large trifle dish layer half of small pieces of the marquesote and generously drizzle with half of the blood orange reduction and half of the rum. Spread over half of the pineapple and mango compote, then half of the warm chocolate ganache, followed by half of the custard. Sprinkle over some ground cinnamon, then spread over half of the chantilly cream. Repeat with the remaining marquesote, blood orange reduction and rum, pineapple and mango compote, warm chocolate ganache, custard, cinnamon and chantilly cream. Sprinkle the toasted coconut flakes on top. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

If making individual ones, make one layer of everything. I am not sure on how many you will make but I would say between 20-30 x 150ml cups.

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​Our Eating Around the World adventure has taken us to El Salvador.​ Off I go on a search for recipes that I think my family will love, one where the ingredients are easily available.

I found this recipe, and at first glance I thought it was too simple, I kind of thought that it would not work, but not only did it work we absolutely loved it. It is a dish where you place everything in a saucepan all at once and just let it cook for 30 minutes. 

​Now I served it with pearl cous cous, which is not something you would serve it with in El Salvador, but it worked so well together. The sauce here is more of a broth, than a sauce, and as we love soups, this was perfect.

You can use just chicken drumsticks or just chicken thigh cutlets or a combination of the two.

This is a great mid week meal, simple, I think quite healthy, definitely something I will be making again and again.

​Recipe adapted from deliciouselsalvador.com

Serves 4-6

4 tablespoons olive oil
1.5kg chicken drumsticks or thigh cutlets
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 large red capsicums, seeded, cut in thick strips
900g Roma tomatoes, chopped
12 Spanish pimento stuffed olives
1 sprig of fresh thyme
1/2 cup finely chopped coriander
1/4 cup of water
2 teaspoons chicken stock powder
Salt and black pepper to taste


Heat the oil in a large saucepan or cast iron pot over a medium heat. Add in all of the ingredients and stir well to mix it all up. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 30-35 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through, stirring every now and then for even cooking and to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.

Taste for seasoning and serve with pearl cous cous.

To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/salvadoran-chicken-stew-with-red-capsicums.html 
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Recipe adapted from mybestcocktails.com/ 

Makes 1

21ml golden rum
14ml orange liqueur
21ml orange juice
7ml lime juice
​
Fill a tall glass with ice.

Pour in all the ingredients.
​
Decorate with a slice of an orange.

To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/san-salvador.html 
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On our eating around the world adventure we made it to El Salvador. I came across this drink and instantly new this is something my kids will love. 

This is something that you sip with lunch and then enjoy the fruit salad afterwards for dessert. It really is perfect on a warm summers day where you enjoy a barbecue outside and serve this instead of a heavy dessert for the kids (and adults).

This also goes by other names like Agua de Ensalada or Fruit Salad Drink, but it is simply a fruit salad water. I find it is far better than store bought juices or cordials.

This is one of those recipes where you can add your favorite fruits, so play around with the flavours, you can also add herbs like mint. In the original recipe she added lettuce to the mixture, I wasn't game enough to try it, so I left it out, but even cucumber could work.

I prefer to keep the juice as natural as possible without adding too much additional sugar. But if you want it sweeter, simply add more sugar. If your fruit is super sweet, you may find you don’t want to add any sugar at all. The sweetness is controlled by you.

Give this a try now that the warm weather is here. ​

​Recipe adapted from latinaish.com 

Serves 10-12

1 x 850g can pineapple slices in 100% pineapple juice
1 mango, peeled
3 oranges
2 Granny Smith apples
Juice of 1 lemon
6 cups cold water
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
​
Put the lemon juice into a large mixing bowl or punchbowl.

Dice the apples into small pieces. Stir the diced apple into the lemon juice as you go along, to stop the pieces from browning.

 Peel the mango. Dice the flesh. Add to the bowl.

Open the can of pineapple. Pour the juice into the bowl. Dice the pineapple slices and add to the bowl.

Squeeze the juice of 2 oranges, pour into the bowl. Dice the remaining orange and add it to the bowl.

Transfer the contents of the fruit and liquid to a large pitcher or a punchbowl, it does make a large quantity.

Add 6 cups of water.

Add the sugar and salt. Stir. 

You can drink this immediately, but it tastes best if you put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours, and even better if you can wait until the next day. 

Serve cold.

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​​​​​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella

​Raw, edible cookie dough, this is my daughters idea of the perfect dessert.

After you make a simple base dough, you divide the mixture into four and add flavourings you love. I have made chocolate chip, triple chocolate chip, cookies and cream and my favourite peanut butter. But feel free to modify it and create your own flavours.

This cookie dough is egg free, I even bake off the flour a little to ensure it is completely safe to eat.

This is amazing added to ice cream.

​Give this a try soon.

​​Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced.

For the Base Dough, evenly spread flour out on a baking tray and bake for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, butter, vanilla, milk, and salt until combined evenly. Refrigerate mix for 30 minutes.

Separate dough into 4 sections.

​ For the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: add one section of dough in a large bowl, mix in the chocolate chips and mini chocolate chips until combined.

For the Cookies and Cream Cookie Dough: crush oreo cookies in a plastic bag until coarsely crushed. Place crushed oreos into a large bowl, and add in one section of dough mixing until combined.

For the Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookie Dough: add M&M's, chocolate peanut butter cups, and peanut butter, into a large bowl with one section of dough and mix until combined.

For the Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough: add melted chocolate into a large bowl with the last section of dough and mix until evenly combined and consistent in colour. Add the chocolate chips and white chocolate chips, then mix until combined.

​Eat straight away or refrigerate until needed.

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Okay so I am on an Eating Around the World Adventure where we randomly pick a country and eat food from that country for a week. A few of you know my background and have said 'what about Croatia, when are you doing Croatia'. Well as it is a random shuffle I will get there eventually, but now with the hype of the World Cup, where Croatia got to shine in front of the world, I thought I'd give a post about the food I grew up on, food that is already on my blog.

I am an Australian born Croatian, my parents were both born there as was my husband. My father is from the island Lastovo, my mother from Vrsi, Zadar and my husband is from Pula. My husbands parents were originally from Medimurje, so you can imagine the food I have been exposed to. All different, all delicious.

I grew up eating Dalmatian food, met my husband and was introduced to food from Medimurje, made by my mother in law, then went to Pula and got to eat food from there also. Every region has different food, and all of it is truly amazing.

As my husbands parents live in Croatia we visit quite often. Last year we went on a six week holiday there and it was amazing. We traveled through Istra and Dalmacija, it was amazing. The food we ate, so good. The people, the places, truly a country people should put on their bucket list.

Now I know I was not born there, but being Croatian is a feeling. I grew up with a love for a country, for it's traditions, for it's food, all because of my parent's and how they spoke of it, how they raised me, don't get me wrong I love Australia also, but Croatia will always be special to me. On my last visit I would walk around my mum's village and get teary, I would walk and think my mum used to play here as a kid. I visit her village and I belong there, so even though she left in the 60's, when I go back you have a sense of belonging, you have family there.

Watching the World Cup this year was amazing, watching Croatia play, watching them with pride. Watching the country celebrate when the players came home, it was truly special. What was extra special, is my kids had such pride in their background, they showed a love for the country also. That is why I say it is a feeling, something in you, Croatia is in your blood.

Now a lot of the food I grew up on was pre cookbook and the internet era. My mother, God love her, is an amazing cook, the food she made us was delicious. We had such a variety of food, and there was no recipes, she just made things. I am not even close to being that good. To this day I have no idea how she learnt to cook so well, I put it down to loving her family and making sure they had the best. My dad when he was younger cooked also, it was whichever parent came home first from work started dinner, my mum is very organised person.

Dinner time: this was a time my mother said was family time. We always waited for the last person to get home before we had dinner. This is something I now do with my family, we always sit down together for dinner, we eat, we talk about our day, and spend a small time of our day, gadget free, just spending time together.

My husband, he loves to cook also. On days when I don't feel like cooking he'll throw together a meal that is delicious. He loves making soups and stews, but he really can make anything.

So here are things I grew up on, things I was introduced to after meeting my husband. Now some may say not everything is traditional to Croatia, but what I have learnt since starting this little adventure, is that food crosses many borders, so this is more about what people are eating in a country, rather than where it originated.

Scrambled Eggs and Asparagus 
Langusi 
​Chicken Livers and Onions 
​Simple Fried Chicken 
Octopus and Potato Salad
My Mum's Octopus Salad 
Musaka 
Fried Calamari 
Grilled Fish 
Kebabs 
Roast Pork with Sauerkraut 
Mince and Potato Pita 
Mince Stuffed Capsicums 
Sarma 
Mussel Buzara 
Cuttlefish Stew 
Fried Whitebait 
Fried School Prawns 
My Mother in Laws Goulash with Trganci 
My Mother in Laws Cabbage Soup 
Cuz Pajz-Cabbage Soup 
Jota-Sauerkraut Soup 
My Dad's Lentil Soup 
​Pasta Fazol 
Josip's Spinach 
Blitva
Lastovsko Zelje 
Fish Soup 
Chicken Soup with Griz Knedle 
Beef or Lamb Soup 
Beef and Bean Goulash Soup 
Easy Baked Goulash 
Cheese and Zucchini Pita 
Chicken Paprikas with Pljukanci 
Beef Goulash 
Medimurska Gibanica 
Palacinke 
Ricotta Filled Crepes 
Madarica 
​Krempita 
​

Scrambled Eggs with Asparagus: I have lost count how many times my mother in law made us 'jaje i sparoge'. Now in Australia we don't have the wild asparagus that Croatia has, but this is still really, really good with our asparagus, and at certain times of the year we can buy baby asparagus and that is perfect here. This is a Sunday morning breakfast in our house.

Medimurski ​Langusi: Another recipe that my mother in law taught me. This is like a little fried bread. It has a crispy outside but the middle is so soft and fluffy. We love it for breakfast and each of us like it with a different topping. I like it sprinkled with caster sugar, my kids all love it smeared with nutella and my husband (and boys) love it with jam.

Chicken Livers and Onions: A simple dish, perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This is something my husband and I grew up eating.

Simple Fried Chicken: Here is another of my mum's recipes that my kids and nieces love. When my mum makes this all her grandchildren love it, it goes very quickly, they call it KFC, Kata's Fried Chicken. Why do I call it Croatian, because the only seasoning is Vegeta.

Octopus and Potato Salad: This is my mum's octopus and potato salad recipe, this is food I grew up on. I cannot begin to tell you how good this is, I love every single mouthful. My mum has taught me how to make the most tender octopus, it melts in your mouth, now I am happy to share this with you.

My Mum's Octopus Salad: My mum is a great cook, and her octopus salad is by far the best one I have ever tried. The octopus is so tender the way she cooks it, you actually can't believe it can be so soft.​ If you would like to cook octopus, but are unsure how, try this, I have never had softer octopus ever.

Musaka: Here is another family favourite in our house. This recipe is so simple, yet very flavoursome. This is like a potato bake with mince in it.

Fried Calamari: This is my kids favourite way to eat calamari. Serve fried calamari up as party finger food or with a salad for lunch or dinner, this is delicious and just needs to be made. This is simple, it is tasty and for me far better than the store bought processed one that seems to have a string in the middle that I can never actually bite through.

Barbecued Grilled Fish: The Croatians love their fish, and grilled fish is something they love, living on the water, how could they not. You can barbecue whole fish or slices. We also grew up with a love of seafood, we prefer to barbecue the whole fish, if a snapper or bream for instance, but every now and then my husband buys a large Red Emperor or a large Snapper, where we slice it and cook it sliced. Delicious.
I love to chop up garlic and parsley, cover with extra virgin olive oil, then pour that over the fish, once it is cooked.

Shish Kebabs-Raznjici: These are great at any barbecue, Croatians, make these all the time, well at least we do. You can season/marinade them however you like, I actually love them made from either pork neck or chicken thighs with either onions or capsicums between the pieces of meat, season well with salt and white pepper and that's it. Simple, yet so tasty. If you can't barbecue, you can fry them if needed. Now we eat them straight off the stick with a salad, but you could easily put them in a wrap and eat it that way.

Roast Pork Belly with Sauerkraut: This a dish my mother has been making us for years, we absolutely love the combination of pork and sauerkraut. Simple and delicious.

Mince and Potato Pita: This is layers of filo pastry scattered with a mince and potato filling. I love to make this at parties as finger food or I make it as a light dinner teamed with a green salad. Simple and delicious.

Punjene Paprike-Mince Stuffed Capsicums: This is another recipe from my mother. She made this for us when we were growing up. These capsicums are my families version of comfort food. 

Sarma: For years I was going to Croatian weddings and I would have Sarma. This is not food I grew up on at home. When I was little, my mum made Stuffed Capsicums a lot, but never Sarma. After I got married and left home, my mother learnt how to make Sarma, she likes trying new things, as I do now, and this is how she makes it and now I do to. We all now love it and it is extremely popular at parties when she makes it.

Mussel Buzara: This is one of those dinners where you get to eat with your hands, my 9 year old loves them so much because they taste great, but also because he can eat with his hands. It is a quick and easy recipe that tastes so good with very little effort. You actually don't get full on the mussels, it is the crusty Italian Bread that is the filler, it is used to soak up all that gorgeous sauce. 

Cuttlefish Stew: When I first got married my mother taught me how to make this cuttlefish stew. My family absolutely love it. This is her recipe. It amazes me how well she cooked, as she taught herself how to cook, she made up recipes and everything she made was brilliant.

Since I got this recipe from my mother my husband has taken over making it from me. Every time we have cuttlefish he now takes charge in the kitchen. He has added anchovies and chilli to my mum's recipe and improved the recipe, even though it was already brilliant. He loves this recipe.

Fried Whitebait: or fries with eyes as I read recently. This is a popular Croatian snack. Some may think it's grouse, but when cooked properly, they are delicious, team it with lemon or aioli and you have a great little snack.

​Here is the recipe:

Serves 4

500g whitebait
1/4 cup plain flour
Vegetable Oil, for deep frying

Lemon Slices, to serve
Garlic Aioli, to serve

Heat oil in a large saucepan or deep fryer to 180C.

Place the flour in a mixing bowl and toss in a few whitebait at a time. Coat the whitebait, shake off any excess flour and place on a plate. Don't pile them on top of each other, or they will stick together.

Add the whitebait to the hot oil in small batches and cook for around 4-5 minutes, or until the fish turn golden brown. Place on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.

Season with salt and pepper, serve whitebait with lemon slices and dip into garlic aioli.

Fried School Prawns: Ok this one is not for everyone, my mother included. My father introduced this to us. This is school prawns, dusted in plain flour (and chilli powder, if you like), then deep fried until super crisp, I stop frying when the oil stops sizzling. Then you eat them whole, shells, head and all. My youngest loves this. Serve this with a Garlic and lemon yoghurt, delicious. If you're like my mother, you can peel them.

My Mother in Laws Goulash with Trganci: My mother in law makes these trganci when we go on holidays to visit them, they are like dumplings. My husband and kids love them. So when my sister in law came to visit us once, she showed me how to make them. She doesn't measure anything when she makes them, it is all done by feel, I however, weigh everything every time, for me it ensures they turn out right every time. ​The goulash, my family love this. It is my mother in laws recipe. When she was on holidays here a few years ago, as she was cooking I was taking notes on how to make it. It takes a few hours from start to finish, but it is well worth the effort.

Bake Marija's Zelje: When I got married, I watched my mother in law make this and I wrote what she was doing so that I could make this for my husband. As my in laws live in Croatia, I wanted to cook my husband things his mum made for him. Since then this has been something that I regularly make for my family. My kids love this to, they grew up on this kind of food. My youngest, when he was 5 years old and in kindergarten, told his teacher (when asked what his favourite food is) he said his favourite food was Cabbage Soup. I'm pretty sure it is not your standard answer for a 5 year old. It still is his favourite.

Cuz Pajz: This soup is one of the first things my mother in law ever cooked for me. My husband's family love to eat soups, nearly every day there is some sort of soup served in their house, either a broth or something like this, thick and hearty.

Jota- A few years ago, my husband has started making his own sauerkraut. So with his last batch I decided to make this sauerkraut soup. This is a family favourite, you will see a few chunky bits of sauerkraut, that is on purpose, as my family like it chunky, rather having it shredded super fine. Teamed with smoked ribs or a ham hack, simply delicious.

My Dad's Lentil Soup: I'm always in awe of people like my parents. They grew up living in a village in Croatia, were not wealthy and although had home cooked meals everyday, the choice was nothing like we have today.

They came to Australia, married, worked to support their family and cooked dinner for us every day. It was a rare occasion that we had take out. This soup was something my dad made for us, besides barbecues this was his signature soup. He was a great cook when he was younger, now he leaves the cooking to mum.

Pasta Fazol: If my dad had lentil soup, my mum had pasta fazol. This was as a kid and still is one of my favourite things to eat. Now my kids love it to. I love food that is handed down generation after generation.

Josip's Spinach: This spinach is named after my husband. His mother taught him how to make it and he has been making it this way for years, it is our families favourite way to eat English Spinach. Although I know how to make it, I find it always tastes better when he makes it-it means less work for me, as we usually have it with BBQ fish, so I get a night off cooking when he makes it, as he does the BBQ also.

I am lucky that my husband enjoys cooking also. Quite often, weekends especially, he is in the kitchen with me and we cook together. He is the no measure just throw it in kind of a cook, I'm a recipe kind of a gal, so when he cooks something it can always be interesting trying to remake it.

Blitva: This is a traditional side dish in Dalmatia. I love it with fish. This is something I grew up on, this is something I love.

Here is the recipe:

1 bunch silverbeet
300 g potato
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped, optional
salt and pepper, to taste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, to taste

Wash and cube the potatoes, then place in a pot, cover with cold water, add salt and bring to boil.

Wash the silverbeet, remove the stems and chop the leaves into 3-4 pieces lengthwise. You can add the stems, I quite like them.

When the potatoes are about 10 minutes away from being cooked, add the silverbeet on top of the potatoes.

Cook until the potatoes are done and the leaves are a lovely rich green colour and have wilted. 

Drain, then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, add crushed garlic, if using, season with salt and pepper.

Lastovsko Zelje: Ever since I was a little girl my dad has made this salad. Usually it is made with my uncle's home grown Lastovosko Zelje (cabbage like they had on the Island of Lastovo), but as my uncle's live 4 hours away from my dad now (and we live in Australia, so I can't buy that type of cabbage leaves), I have started using cavalo nero also known as Tuscan cabbage or kale as it is very similar and more readily available. Of the two cavalo nero is the better option as it is closest to my dad's cabbage, but Kale is great also, more readily available and cheaper. Broccoli leaves work well also, but you need to grow your own, as the green grocers don't sell broccoli leaves.

Fish Soup: Here is a recipe I really don't like, I never have. I am posting it as it something my mum has made for as long as I can remember, it is something I grew up on.  Now I grew up on it, but never liked it, you may wonder why then post it, I'm posting it as my parents love it, my husband loves it and my kids love it.

This soup is something my mum taught me, I have been making it myself for 18 years now (since I got married) and it really is something my family loves.

Chicken Soup with Semolina Dumplings: This is something you will find in every Croatian house regularly, good old fashioned Chicken Soup. It is the start to most meals. My mother always made it with store bought vermicelli, here I have made the recipe with semolina dumplings which my mother in law taught me how to make. They are super easy to make and great to eat, but what I love is if you have run out of vermicelli, you can always whip up some dumplings.

Beef or Lamb Soup: Made exactly the same way as the chicken soup just now I use Beef Spare Ribs or Veal Shanks for the beef version or if making the lamb version I use Lamb Shanks or Shoulder. We love the meat as a meal, so cook it until it is soft and falling off the bone, this with a green salad I find delicious. 

Beef and Bean Goulash Soup: My family love this, when I make this the whole pot goes. It is so simple to make, and I mean ridiculously simple. It is one of those dishes that after a little preparation, it cooks itself. This gets made a lot when my husband plants beans in our garden.

Easy Baked Goulash: Well this recipe is from one of my Croatian Cookbooks, it is called Zapeceni Gulas and when I saw the picture in the book I had to try it, it just looked so good. As soon as this goulash goes into the oven the house had the most delicious aroma going through it. I honestly hoped it would taste as good as it smelt, and it did. This goulash was delicious, every single bite was so good. The meat was soft and tender, the potatoes cooked, but kept there shape, and it was different to my normal stews, this had a very small amount of tomatoes in it, this makes for a completely different stew, it was delicious.

Cheese and Zucchini Pita: One of my favourite things to eat is Pita, I love it, it is party food, it is dinner, it is lunch, it is delicious leftovers, it is anytime food.

Chicken Paprikas with Pljukanci: When we were on holidays recently in Croatia my husband wanted to go to a restaurant to eat Pljukanci, I had no idea what it was. He told me it was a hand rolled pasta that was a specialty in Istra, a region in Croatia where he is from. They were delicious, as soon as we got back to Australia, I learnt how to make them. Here I team it with a Chicken Paprikas for an absolutely delicious dinner my family loves.

Beef Goulash: Beef Goulash, this is food from my childhood. Now I'm married with 3 kids and this is now their food from their childhoods. I love it. Food that I grew up on, my husband grew up on, and now my kids will grow up on. I am a true fan of simple cooking, I love when I only have to spend a few minutes preparing things, a bit of starter cooking and then you just allow something to simmer away for about 2 hours, and dinner is done. Some may not like that idea, but I find it very relaxing and I just love the aroma that spreads through the house as a stew cooks.

Medimurska Gibanica: When I got married my husband and I went on our honeymoon to Croatia. My mother in law is an amazing cook and one day she introduced me to this gorgeous dish. It is like an apple and ricotta strudel, only in a slice. 
This is a dessert that I serve when we have a light dinner. It can be served hot or at room temperature, it is loved by both my family and friends.

Palacinke: Croatians call crepes 'palacinke', and I don't know anyone that can't make them, it is the go to dessert for many households in Croatia, because of the simple ingredients used to make them.
Crepes are probably my families favourite thing to eat. My kids when I make them graze on them all day, breakfast, lunch and dinner. They LOVE them. 
As for the fillings, if I'm going sweet, I love lemon and sugar, that is my favourite. My kids love nutella. My husband loves his Croatian plum jam. It is endless the amount of things you can do with a simple crepe. I use this recipe to make the Smoked Salmon Pancake Rolls on this site. I love them filled with a sweet ricotta mixture that I bake. I also use crepes instead of cannelloni shells when making my spinach and ricotta cannelloni crepes, and most recently I use crepes in my savoury crepe recipe. So a simple crepe can be sweet or savoury.

Ricotta Filled Crepes: This is a recipe my mother in law taught me. In my own recipe 'book' I have at home of all the things I cook (it is actually several folders of typed up recipes my family love, all in plastic sheets), it is actually called 'Baka Marija's Palacinke sa sirom'. It is a dessert I never get sick of, it is something I truly love eating.

Madarica: This to me is by far the greatest slice ever to be made. No slice comes close, for me, to perfection as the madarica does. The layering of biscuit and chocolate custard, topped with chocolate, simply amazing. This is a very traditional Croatian slice. This is a must at any festive Croatian occasion.

Krempita: I finally got around to making a Krempita. This is the Croatian version of a Vanilla Slice.
It is fabulous, now I know why you can find this dessert all over Croatia in every cafe or cake shop you go to. The custard is probably the best custard I have ever eaten. It is so light and the lemon zest through it makes it unbelievably delicious.
I used store bought puff pastry, feel free to make your own.
This is the perfect dessert to serve at a dinner party. It looks like it is big and heavy, yet one spoonful and you realise it is so light and just beautiful.

When Croatia comes up on my next random shuffle, here are some of the recipes that will be making that post. This is food I've made, I just haven't had a chance to blog it yet. There is also so much more food I still want to try, so stay tuned there is so much more Croatian food that 'Aj Lajk' and I have to make.

My Mum's Napolitanke:

Sporki Makaroni

My mum's Bakalar: 

Peka

Green Beans and Potatoes:

Leso Riba:

My Mother in Laws Pecene Lignje:

Cabbage Salad

Savor:

Restani Krumpir

Sauerkraut:

 Week 6 of my Eating Around the World adventure took us to Greece.

Now after I went through my Greek cookbooks, I realised one week will not be enough time to get all the recipes I want to try made, so Greek week has turned into Greece month.

There is just so much food I want to try, so much delicious food I have to share. Before I started really looking at Greek food, I would have told people, I don't really like Greek food, I thought it was boring, but I was so wrong, so much delicious food has been eaten this month, that I truly take those words back.

Greek cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine. Greek food makes wide use of vegetables, olive oil, grains, fish, wine, meat (all sorts), along with olives, cheese, lemons, herbs, bread and yoghurt.

Here is the Greek food I made this month:

Slow Cooked Lamb Shoulder 
Tzatziki 
Eggplant Dip 
Hytipi Dip 
Pita Bread 
Marinated Garlic 
Chilli Oil 
Spinach and Cheese Spirals 
Pastitsio 
Greek Salad 
Mediterranean Chicken 
Taramasalata Bites 
Greek Lemon Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki 
Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki 
Lamb and Tomato Pide 
Baklava 
Galaktoboureko 
​Bougatsa Parcels 
Artichoke and Spinach Dip 
Bean Skordalia 
Cherry Spoon Sweet 
Lemon and Oregano Chicken Wings 
Fried Calamari 
Lemon Yoghurt Cake 
Souvlaki 
Roasted Capsicums 
Grilled Fish
Fish Fries 
Fried School Prawns 
Zucchini and Beef Sfougato 

Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder: Words can not describe how delicious this dish was. The lamb could be shredded with a fork, it was melt in your mouth perfect lamb. Super easy recipe, and one you need to try.

Tzatziki: Tzatziki, is a sauce served with grilled meats (beef, lamb, chicken, it really goes with anything) or it is served as a dip. Made from yoghurt, cucumber, garlic and oil, this has become a family favourite, we have it in our refrigerator all the time.

Eggplant Dip: I have made a few Eggplant Dips over the last few weeks and this by far is my favourite. The addition of the fresh tomato and onion to the eggplant is absolutely amazing. This I serve as a side to my gyros or just as a dip on a meze table.

Hytipi Dip: This feta and chargrilled capsicum dip is a nice addition to a meze table or I like to serve it with grilled meats as a side dish. I like to make my own roasted capsicums, as I find they taste better, and chilli oil is so easy to make, why would you buy it. 

​Here is the recipe: 

Makes 1 ½ cups
​
100g Greek Feta
100g chargrilled peppers, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons chilli pieces, from infused chilli oil or 1 fresh chilli
Salt and pepper, to taste

Crumble the feta into a food processor and add the chargrilled peppers and the chilli. Blitz for a few seconds until just combined.
 
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl to serve.

Pita Bread: One of my most exciting discoveries since starting this Eating Around the World adventure. Absolutely delicious pita bread, that is so easy to make. This bread is tasty, soft and goes with so many savoury dishes. I know I will be making this for years to come.

Marinated Garlic: A simple way to add a little extra flavour to your garlic. I add this to roasts, marinades and salads. It is a great addition to tzatziki.

Chilli Oil: Why would you buy Chilli Oil, when it is so easy to make. Make a lot, make a little, super easy and adds a lovely flavour to your dishes. Please don't fry this oil, you will evacuate the house if you do.

Spinach and Cheese Spirals: These truly are delicious. Eat them for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, eat them anytime, just eat them. Puff pastry filled with spinach, ricotta, feta, spring onions, so good. The pastry tastes homemade, so good.

Pastitsio: Greece's answer to a pasta bake. Pasta layered with a bolognese type sauce, then topped with a luxurious bechamel. Now in Greece they would make this with lamb mince, my version is with pork and veal mince. This is a great party dish as it feeds many, can be prepared in advance and tastes delicious.

Greek Salad: A simple, delicious salad that has been served at many a barbecue that I have had at my house. A classic combination of tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, olives and feta. And do not forget to use the best extra virgin olive oil here, as that is your dressing.

Mediterranean Chicken: I have been making this for years now, originally this was called Greek Chicken. This dish is so tasty and easy to make. The reason I changed the name to Mediterranean Chicken, was because all the ingredients in this dish, I grew up on, and as my background is Croatian, I figured I would change the name.

Taramasalata Bites: Now this one is not traditional. Taramaslata is, it is a well know Greek meze, but here I spread it onto Melba toasts and topped it with some seaweed salad, which isn't traditional, as an appetiser for parties. This is one of my favourite things to eat.

Greek Lemon Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki: Gyros, what can I say about this recipe, it is perfect. This flavour combination is just spectacular. The chicken teamed with the salad, topped with the tzatziki, wow, and then the homemade pita bread, it is just so good.

Greek Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki: This is delicious, the flavour combination here is truly amazing, the chicken with the tzatziki, with the salad, all wrapped up in the best pita bread I have ever had, this is one great dish. This is actually my second gyros recipe on my blog, the other has a Lemon Chicken marinade instead, that is the difference, but as I loved them both so much, I had to add them both.

Lamb and Tomato Pide: This was like a greek pizza, to simply describe it. You have a bread/pizza base and it is topped with a lovely spiced lamb and tomato topping. The lamb was actually quite nice. 

Here is the recipe:

Serves 8

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium brown onion, 150g, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, crushed
300g minced lamb
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh coriander
1 medium tomato (150g), diced

Basic Pide Dough:
7g yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2/3 cup (160ml) warm water
2 tablespoons warm milk
2 cups (300g) plain flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Greek yoghurt or tzatziki, to serve
 
Make Pide Dough: Combine yeast, sugar, water and milk in jug; stand in warm place until frothy. Place ½ cup of the flour in bowl; whisk in yeast mixture. Cover; stand in warm place 1 hour. Stir in remaining flour, oil and salt. Knead dough on floured surface, until smooth (I did it in my cake mixer with dough attachment for 5 minutes). Place in oiled bowl, cover; stand in warm place 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 240C.

Heat oil in frying pan, cook onion and garlic, stirring until tender. Add lamb, cinnamon, cumin, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper; cook until lamb is browned, breaking it up as you brown it. Stir in coriander; cool.

Divide dough into three; roll each to 12cm x 30cm rectangle. Spread lamb filling across centre of each piece, leaving 2cm border. Brush edges with water, fold and press around dough. Fold corners to make an oval shape.

Heat oven trays 3 minutes, place pide on trays; bake 10 minutes. Sprinkle with tomato; bake 5 minutes. Cut each pide into slices. Serve with greek yoghurt or tzatziki.

I also made a Spinach Feta version, but I preferred the lamb version.

Baklava: Baklava is a rich, sweet dessert, made of layers of filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with a sugar syrup. It was quite easy to make, and the end result looked as a Baklava should look like. I like smaller pieces, as it is rich, so next time I would make my diamonds smaller, otherwise I wouldn't change a thing.

Galaktoboureko: another new discovery in my Eating Around the World adventure. This is delicious. 

Galaktoboureko is a sweet semolina custard dessert that is poured between sheets of buttered filo pastry, then topped with a scented sugar syrup. Did I think it would be too sweet, yes I did, was I wrong, yes I was. 

Bougatsa Parcels: Now this dessert, what can I say about this dessert, this is delicious. Perfect semolina custard, with a hint of citrus, wrapped in filo and baked to produce a dessert that for me is perfect. I love this and I will add, my non dessert eating husband loves this.

Artichoke Spinach Dip: This dip comes up on my social media accounts quite often, the combination of spinach and artichokes in a dip, I considered trying it, but never got around to it. When I saw it in one of my Greek cookbooks during my Greek month in my Eating Around the World Adventure, I figured it would be a great time to finally give it a go. Well am I happy I did. This dip is delicious. Super easy to make and my whole family absolutely loved it.

Bean Skordalia: I love bean dips, I have been making them for years now. This one has the addition of ground almonds, you can leave it out if you prefer. This is great with fish or meat. I actually like it as a dip, on its own.

Here is the recipe 

400g can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup ground almonds
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 garlic clove, crushed
¼ cup olive oil
 
Place all ingredients in a food processor and process to combine. Transfer to a bowl, season with salt and pepper, cover with plastic wrap and set aside until needed.

Cherry Spoon Sweet: This one I made just because of the sheer simplicity of the dish. I used tin cherries, you could use sour cherries, I didn't. It is popular in Greece to store all kinds of fruit in a sugary syrup. These are great on their own, served the traditional way, on a spoon, with cold water (or a shot of rakija for Croations). But after we made this, we discovered we loved it on Greek Yoghurt or vanilla ice cream as a dessert, you could even add it as a topping for a cheesecake.

​Here is the recipe:

Serves 6

425g can seedless black cherries in syrup
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthways, scrape out seeds
2 x 5cm strips lemon rind
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Drain cherries over a small saucepan; reserve cherries.

Add sugar, vanilla bean seeds and the bean, lemon rind and juice to pan; stir over heat until the sugar dissolves.

Add reserved cherries, bring to the boil; boil, uncovered, about 7 minutes or until the mixture thickens and will coat the back of a metal spoon. Cool to room temperature.

Lemon and Oregano Chicken Wings: ​A lot of the chicken wing recipes on my blog have an Asian influence. So during our Greek week when I saw this recipe using simple Greek flavourings I really wanted to try it.

These were delicious, my kids who are my food judges, really liked them. What I loved was they were one, tasty and two, different from the other wings I make.

Fried Calamari: This is where food really has no borders, although I add it here in my Greek post, Croatians eat this as well, prepared exactly the same way, I'm sure many other countries do it exactly the same way. This is simple, this is delicious.

Lemon Yoghurt Cake: Sometimes you just want a simple cake to have with coffee. A simple cake that is scented with lemons. A simple cake that is just delicious.

I love anything with lemon in it, especially lemon based desserts. So when I came across this traditional Greek cake called Yiaourtopita in my Eating Around the World adventure, I knew I was going to try it. Will be making this again and again.

Souvlaki: These are great at any barbecue, Croatians, like the Greeks make these all the time. You can season/marinade them however you like, I actually love them made from either pork neck or chicken thighs with either onions or capsicums between the pieces of meat, season well with salt and white pepper and that's it. Simple, yet so tasty. If you can't barbecue, you can fry them if needed. Now we eat them straight off the stick with a salad, but you could easily put them in a wrap and eat it that way.

Roasted Capsicums: Roasted capsicums are amazing, they are so full of flavour and need to be served with any antipasto platter. This to me is not only food for entertaining, I am quite happy to top a slice of bruschetta bread and eat them as a snack or as a light lunch. You can roast just red capsicums, or use half red and half yellow capsicums or even some orange capsicums, for additional colour. They look amazing when the colours are mixed.

Barbecued or Grilled Fish: The Greeks love their fish, and grilled fish is something they love, living on the water, how could they not. You can barbecue whole fish or slices. We also grew up with a love of seafood, we prefer to barbecue the whole fish, if a snapper or bream for instance, but every now and then my husband buys a large Red Emperor or a large Snapper, where we slice it and cook it sliced. Delicious.

Use whatever herbs you love, parsley, rosemary, oreagno, you choose the flavours, I love lemon with my fish and after it is barbecued drizzle it with your favourite extra virgin olive oil.

Fish Fries: or fries with eyes as I read recently. This is a popular Greek meze and I have to admit I grew up on it also. Some may think it's grouse, but when cooked properly, they are delicious, team it with lemon or aioli and you have a great little snack.

​Here is the recipe:

Serves 4

500g whitebait
1/4 cup plain flour
Vegetable Oil, for deep frying

Lemon Slices, to serve
Garlic Aioli, to serve

Heat oil in a large saucepan or deep fryer to 180C.

Place the flour in a mixing bowl and toss in a few whitebait at a time. Coat the whitebait, shake off any excess flour and place on a plate. Don't pile them on top of each other, or they will stick together.

Add the whitebait to the hot oil in small batches and cook for around 4-5 minutes, or until the fish turn golden brown. Place on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.

Season with salt and pepper, serve whitebait with lemon slices and dip into garlic aioli.

Fried School Prawns: Ok this one is not for everyone, my mother included. Although I am putting it here, in my Greek post, my father introduced this to us before I looked into Greek food. This is school prawns, dusted in plain flour (and chilli powder, if you like), then deep fried until super crisp, I stop frying when the oil stops sizzling. Then you eat them whole, shells, head and all. My youngest loves this. Serve this with a Garlic and lemon yoghurt, delicious. If you're like my mother, you can peel them.

​Zucchini and Beef Sfougato: A sfougato is like a frittata. I consider this a Greek's version of a zucchini slice. This is simple, and easy and can be served for brunch, lunch or as a light dinner with a salad.

Overall Greek food is something we truly enjoyed. Some dishes I would definitely make again and again and again.

Now after a month of cooking Greek food, I realised I still had so much more food I wanted to try, so this is only Part One for that reason, stay tuned for Part Two after we have tried a few more countries.
​

​​​Now to add another sticker to my world map.

Next stop El Salvador

​Call this fried calamari or salt and pepper squid, for me it is the same thing. Some say calamari is the Italian term for squid, while others say they are two different species, where Calamari is supposed to be softer than squid. So in this post I will use whichever word feels right in my sentence. But you buy whichever you prefer squid or calamari or use whatever you catch, even better.

This is my kids favourite way to eat calamari.

Croatians do not remove the skin from squid/calamari, that to us is where the flavour really is, I'm not sure why chefs take it off, as in all honesty I don't find the skin ugly, and I really am not a fan of white pale calamari. But if you prefer them peeled, peel them.

Serve fried calamari up as party finger food or with a salad for lunch or dinner, this is delicious and just needs to be made.

This is simple, it is tasty and for me far better than the store bought processed one that seems to have a string in the middle that I can never actually bite through.

Please do not throw out the tentacles, they are delicious fried up, I just discard the eye/beak area, but the rest can be chopped up and fried just like the rings you make. I like them left whole as pictured below, it's delicious.

Simple and delicious, try it soon.

​500g whole calamari
1 cup plain flour
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon white pepper

Vegetable oil, for deep frying
​
Lemon slices, to serve
​

Clean the calamari: Remove innards from squid by pulling tentacles from the body, it's easy. Cut across head, underneath eyes to separate tentacles in one piece (discard innards and eyes). Push tentacles outwards, squeeze beak out and discard. You can separate the wings, but I keep them attached. You can remove skin if you like, but I don't. Remove backbone from tube, it looks like plastic, carefully scrape and discard insides.
​

Fill a large saucepan with oil about 5-7cm high, you can use a deep fryer, if you have one. Heat to 190C.


Slice the calamari hood into 1cm rings, leave the tentacles whole or slice them up, especially if large.

Place the flour, salt and pepper in a bowl, mix to combine. The flour needs to taste salty and peppery, this is truly to taste.

Add the calamari and toss to coat.

Deep fry the calamari for about 3-4 minutes, or until golden and cooked, don't overcook them they will become rubbery. Drain on paper towels.

Enjoy with a slice of lemon and tartare sauce if you like.

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​​​If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #whatscookingella