​It is cold and wet outside, you need a thick, hearty, delicious soup to warm you up, well look no further this one is a winner. 

This soup ticks all the boxes, it is so tasty with so little effort. You just place the ingredients in a large saucepan, cover with water, bring to the boil, simmer for about 2 hours and all you have to do is stir it every now and then.

You can use smoked pork ribs instead of ham hock if you prefer.

​You can use any brand of chicken stock powder or chicken stock cubes, I just love vegeta myself, and I'm not paid to say that.

I like the potatoes diced a little bigger than the carrots as I like the soup chunky, you dice it how you like it.

So if you are looking for the perfect soup on a cold winters day, look no further, once you put the ingredients in the pot, dinner cooks itself.

Recipe from Jon's mum from www.facebook.com/jonscookingandfoodieblog/

1 large ham hock
2 teaspoons vegeta chicken stock powder
1 x 500g packet green split peas, rinsed, drained
3 carrots, diced 
3 potatoes, diced
2 onions, diced
White Pepper, to taste


Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan.

Cover with cold water, and bring to the boil over medium-high heat. 

Reduce heat to low, then simmer for about 2 hours stirring every so often. If you need to add some extra water, as it has cooked out before the two hours, do so, little by little.

After two hours, the ham will fall off the bone and the soup should be thick and hearty. If it is not like that cook a little longer. 

Remove the ham hock from the soup, cut up the meat into bite sized chunks and return to the soup. Taste for seasoning.

Serve hot with some crusty Italian bread.

Find the recipe at www.whatscookingella.com/pea-and-ham-soup-2.html
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​I'd love to know what you think about this recipe, and please let me know if you have made it, I do like to get feedback. Name and comment only required.

​What do I say about this recipe, how do I describe this dish. This was perfect, this was delicious, it was delicate, it was an experience. Every bite you have is a wow moment bite, it is the perfect balance of flavours. You taste everything that is in it, but nothing overpowers anything.

I have had mud crabs before, but this is my first time putting it into a pasta. After looking for a recipe to try, I found this one, it was easy, it looked like I would enjoy it and boy did I pick right.

This was my first time at 'putting a crab to sleep', I have to say I didn't love the thought of doing that, so I made my husband do that as he loves fishing, so he is okay with that. But sorry crab, it will happen again as my goodness I enjoyed this dish.

I looked at a few recipes on how to cook a crab and I stuck with this one, it was cooked perfectly. You need to have a saucepan that is large enough to fit the crab into it. 

Cleaning the crab was an experience, me and my husband stood side by side picking out all the meat out of the crabs. You can buy fresh crab meat already cleaned, you will need about 400g, but this had to be done, at least this time, it was time consuming, but nice. Now I did get a few small shell pieces into my pasta, as it is really hard not to, but as I am not a restaurant, we didn't really care, and no piece was big enough to get all dramatic on TV food shows that you would crack a tooth. So take your time doing this part, if you don't want crab shell in your pasta.

When cleaning the crab, you will need crab picks and crab crackers. Try not to over pick it, try and get a few bigger pieces of crab, especially from the claws.

While cleaning the crab, the claws can have liquid in it, cooking water, don't discard it, pour it into a bowl, taste it, if it isn't too salty, add it to the pasta when you add the crab meat, add it like you would pasta water.

For the pasta, I used a thin fettuccine, but you can use spaghettini or spaghetti, if you prefer.

I made the recipe using 2 live mud crabs, so you can see a lot of crab in the dish, expect less if you use one, but one is enough for the dish to taste great. We purchased both a male and female crab, that is why we had two, to see which was better. We preferred the male, as it had more meat. The female had roe, but we really didn't love it.

As I used two crabs, I also used 500g thin fettuccine, and it was lovely. 

This was not the cheapest dish I'd ever eaten, but by making it at home for a family of 5 it was far cheaper than going to a restaurant and having it.

So if you love crab pasta, you do need to try this.

​Recipe adapted from Dietmar Sawyere's recipe from the January 2011 Gourmet Traveller magazine or  www.gourmettraveller.com.au 

Serves 8

140ml extra virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 large red chilli, finely chopped
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
1 x 1.5kg live Mud Crab
400g dried thin fettuccine 
2 tablespoons panko crumbs
10g butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped flat leaf parsley 
​
Heat 40ml of the extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan over low heat. Add garlic and chilli and saute until tender (5-6 minutes). Season to taste, add lemon rind and another 90ml of the extra virgin olive oil, set aside to infuse (1-2 hours).
​
Meanwhile, place the live crabs in the freezer for 30 minutes, to put them to sleep.

Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. After the 30 minutes in the freezer, add crab, cover, bring to the boil, then cook uncovered until crab is just cooked and bright orange (12-13 minutes). Refresh in iced water, then pick meat from crab and set aside. You'll need 400g. (If you get cooking liquid in the claws, save it, see notes above)
​
Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Follow packet instructions, but check 1-2 minutes before suggested time, to make sure it is al dente.
​
Meanwhile, taost panko crumbs in remaining 10ml of extra virgin olive oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat until golden (3-4 minutes). Drain on absorbent paper.
​
Gently heat the infused oil over low heat. Drain pasta (reserve 50ml of pasta water) and return pasta to pan with reserved pasta water,  butter and infused oil, stir well and season to taste. You can add the crab claw liquid here, if using. Add crab meat, parsley and lemon juice, cover and stand until crab is warmed through (1-2 minutes). Toss to combine and serve hot, scattered with panko crumbs.

Find the recipe at www.whatscookingella.com/fettuccine-with-mud-crab-garlic-chilli-lemon-and-parsley.html 
​Pin it: au.pinterest.com/pin/399413060693159724/

​​I'd love to know what you think about this recipe, and please let me know if you have made it, I do like to get feedback. Name and comment only required.

​My daughter and a few of her friends went out to the Enmore Theatre to watch a show one night. As they are early teens, us mum's decided while they were at the show we would have dinner together. We ended up at Webster's Bar at King St, Newtown. It was one of those nights where I didn't feel like a steak or even a big meal, so I decided on the chef's salad. I am so glad I did, it was delicious, the flavour combination was just divine, every bite was delicious. It had sweetness from the pumpkin, sourness from vinaigrette, the goats cheese, a lovely addition, it was the perfect salad. It was so good I had to try and make it home. 

So I googled the bar, found the menu, and this is what it read

CHEF'S SALAD
ROASTED BEETS & PUMPKIN, CHERRY TOMATOES, GOATS CHEESE. SEASON LEAVES W/ A HONEY MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE

So from this I have come up with this recipe. This to me can be added as a side to a barbecue or it is a meal in itself. And anyone that has never put roasted pumpkin in a salad before, you need to try it, it is just so good.

This recipe is a guide it can be doubled, it can be halved, you can make it for one person, you can make it for 20 people. You can add more of one ingredient, less of another, this is really up to you.

Roast or boil the beetroots, how you prepare them is up to you. You can even use baby beetroots from a jar, it works just fine. If you are roasting the beetroots, cover each one with aluminium foil and bake with the pumpkin for 45-60min or until when pierced with a skewer, the skewer slides into the centre easily. If boiling place in a pot with cold water, bring to the boil, cook for about 30 minutes or until when pierced with a skewer, the skewer slides into the centre easily.

I got the vinaigrette recipe from the food network and I am keeping the recipe in the quantities as it was posted there. If you don't use it all, as it makes over 1 cup of salad dressing, it will keep in the refrigerator for a few days. So either reduce the amounts if you like, if you are making a small salad, or make it like I did and refrigerate any leftovers. 

Also of by chance you run out of honey, as I did once, you can sweeten it with sugar.

You can also serve the salad undressed, with the dressing on the side in case someone doesn't like dressing on their salad.

There is a lot of versions of a Chef's Salad, this is mine. Simple and packed full of flavour. Just remember the recipe is a guide, add more or less of what you like, and with the dressing, this makes a lot, but it keeps well for another day.

​Makes one large salad

2-3 cooked beetroots, roasted or boiled, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 butternut pumpkin, peeled, chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
4-5 handfuls of mixed salad leaves
1/2-1 punnet Cherry tomatoes, halved
60g Soft goats cheese, crumbled
​
Honey Mustard Vinaigrette: 

1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced in half
1 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
​
Preheat oven to 180C.

Place the cut up pumpkin on a baking paper covered baking tray, season with a little salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until when pierced with a fork, the fork slides into the centre easily. If you are roasting the beetroot, (wrap each on individually in foil) and place on the same baking tray and bake for about 40-60 minutes or until when pierced with a skewer, the skewer slides into the centre easily.
Allow to cool slightly, it can even be added to the salad cold.

Make the vinaigrette: Rub the sides of a bowl with the cut side of the garlic, then discard garlic. In the bowl whisk together the mustard, honey and vinegar. While whisking, slowly add the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
​
Place the salad leaves in a large bowl, add the onion, give it a little toss to spread the onion around evenly.

Now place on the tomatoes, beetroot and pumpkin. Sprinkle over the crumbled goats cheese.

Drizzle over the dressing, just enough, don't over dress. You can always add a little extra dressing on the side if someone likes more. 

Find the recipe at www.whatscookingella.com/chefs-salad.html 
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​So you've never made a cake before, you don't know how to bake you say, why make a cake when it's easier to buy one. Well people, this cake is for you, this is for those of you that have never made a cake before, for those of you that say you can't bake, well guess what, this one isn't baked. And bought cakes, sorry homemade is better, I can't go there.

This cake is for everyone that likes a chocolate biscuit, bakers, non bakers, if you a love a chocolate biscuit, this cake is for you.

My mum sent me this recipe to make for my nieces birthday. Happy Birthday Jessica, threw this in to see if she reads my blog. So as I always listen to mum, I'm scared not to, kidding, no really she can be scary, kidding, she's nice, but scary, I made it as requested. It is a cake that you break up some biscuits, mix it up with a few more chopped up treats, mix in some melted chocolate and a few other wet ingredients, press it into a pan and voila (I became French in the last second) you have a cake.

I loved it, it was great, the texture brilliant, flavour, lovely. 

Now as I find with most chocolate desserts, a little goes a long way, slice it thinly, you want to enjoy every bite. Too big slices and it gets too much, especially since if you are at a party with my family, on party days, by the time the cake comes out, you've already eaten a weeks worth of food, so thin slices, enjoy it.

Now I have changed a few of the ingredients. I omitted raisins, because I cannot stand them, you could add in 1/3 cup, if you like them. I can't stand glace cherries, horrible things (does anyone really even like them) so I replaced them with is 1/3 cup of chopped up red frog lollies. Oh yes I did, when you eat the cake, you know you found a red frog as it adds a chewy element, and adds a nice flavour.

This is supposed to be Prince William's favourite cake. Wow, special moment for me, as now I know I am that good that I can cook for royalty. A cake I make is fit for a future king.

Now I love digestive biscuits, probably my favourite biscuit, but you can use your favourite plain sweet biscuit in this cake to make it suit your tastes.

Now, the chocolate shards, go nuts with the flavours, I added M&M's, you can add coconut, to make chocolate rough shards, add nuts, chocolate chips, 100's and 1000's, what ever you love, put it on. 

You can place the chocolate shards on the cake while the cake chocolate is still 'wet' that makes the shards stick to the cake, but I find that makes slicing the cake difficult. So I like to allow the chocolate on the cake to set first, then decorate with shards. That way I can move the shards when slicing.

This cake keeps well to, leftovers are perfectly good up to a week later, it hasn't lasted longer than that, so I can't tell you if it lasts any longer.

I am in a bit of a silly mood, but in all seriousness, this is a good cake and you should make it, it is fun, it is tasty and with so little effort, it looks good.

​Recipe adapted from New Idea magazine

Serves 8-10

400g packet McVitie's Digestive Biscuits
​1/4 red frog lollies, roughly chopped
1/3 cup raisins (optional)
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup slivered almonds
125g unsalted butter, chopped
395g can sweetened condensed milk
300g dark chocolate, chopped

Chocolate Shards:
190g dark chocolate melts
M&M's to decorate (optional)
​
Grease with cooking spray a 20cm round springform tin. Line base and side with baking paper.

Roughly crush biscuits into a large bowl. Stir in red frogs, pecans and almonds.
​
Place butter, condensed milk and 150g of the chocolate in a medium saucepan. Stir over a low to medium heat until melted and smooth. Stir into biscuit mixture until well coated.

Spoon into prepared pan. Press down gently to smooth over the top.

Refrigerate, covered, overnight.

Make the Chocolate Shards: Trace a 20cm circle on a piece of baking paper, place pencil side down on a flat tray.

Melt the chocolate and spread evenly in the circle. Stand at room temperature until set. Just before it sets, and the chocolate is still a little wet and still sticky, I like to score the wedges, this makes it easier to cut later, the chocolate is less likely to crack when cutting. Also if decorating, I add on the m&m's as they now still stick to the chocolate, try and keep inside your wedge lines when decorating. Allow to set completely. Use a sharp knife to cut the chocolate into wedges. Place in a container, until needed.

The next day, remove cake from the refrigerator, remove base and sides and place on a serving plate.

Place remaining 150g chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and stir chocolate until melted. Cool slightly. Spread melted chocolate over the top of the cake. Refrigerate until set.

Decorate with Chocolate Shards. Serve.

Find the recipe at www.whatscookingella.com/chocolate-crunch-cake.html 
​Pin it: au.pinterest.com/pin/399413060693090263/

​I'd love to know what you think about this recipe, and please let me know if you have made it, I do like to get feedback. Name and comment only required.

You had me at tequila.

Here is another recipe I discovered playing a 5 ingredient challenge with a food group I joined on Facebook. The five ingredients were ​

Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson's cookbook Simply Nigella

Serves 4-5

​1.4kg chicken thighs or marylands
75ml tequilla blanco
2 limes, zest and juice
1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
2 teaspoons sea salt flakes
2 tablespoons regular olive oil

Chilli, Ginger and Garlic Sauce:
100g long red chillies, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
50g ginger, peeled, roughly chopped
Juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoons caster sugar
Salt, to taste
1 teaspoon sunflower oil

Yoghurt Dressing:
1 cup Greek yoghurt
1/3 cup chopped coriander
Salt, to taste

To serve:
Freshly chopped fresh coriander
Lime, cut in half or in wedges
2 Avocados, sliced or mashed
​2 shallots, sliced
Green Salad with White Wine Vinegarette 
​
Place the tequila, zest and juice of the limes, the chilli flakes, salt and olive oil in a large freezer bag. Add the chicken thighs. Seal or twist the bag tightly (letting out the air first) and give the chicken in the bag a good toss about to mix all the ingredients together. Place it in a baking dish and place into the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight. I like to turn the bag over every now and then for even marinating.
​
Remove the chicken from the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking. Remove the chicken thighs from the bag, reserving the marinade. Sit the chicken pieces on a smallish, shallow baking tray and allow them to come to room temperature. You want the pieces close together, to eliminate too much evaporation of the marinade.

Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan forced.

Just before placing the chicken in the oven, pour half of the marinade over the chicken pieces and transfer to the oven for 25 minutes.
​
Make the Chilli, Ginger and Garlic Sauce: Place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blitz. If the sauce looks too thick, add a bit more lime juice, then adjust sugar, if needed.
​
After 25 minutes of baking, take the chicken out of the oven and pour over the other half of the reserved marinade, then put the chicken back in the oven for another 25-30 minutes.

Make the Yoghurt Dressing: In a bowl add the yoghurt and coriander, season with a little salt and stir to combine.
​
When the chicken is cooked through, remove from the oven. Put the chicken pieces on a serving plate. Then add a little boiling water to the pan to help get every last bit of flavour sticking juice out, and pour it over the chicken. (If you have a lot of pan juices don't add the water, read my notes above as to how to make the sauce).
​
Serve the chicken with a green salad, some more coriander, some sliced or mashed avocado, some sliced shallots, the yoghurt dressing and the chilli, ginger and garlic sauce. Don't forget the wedge of lime.

To save the recipe to your favourites go www.whatscookingella.com/tequila-and-lime-chicken.html 
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​I had some roasted capsicums in my refrigerator and I wanted to do something with them. I found this recipe and thought I'd give it a try. 

This is a fabulous recipe. It is so full of flavour, it is beautiful.

It is great for parties as you can prepare it earlier. I love it for a light lunch, it would be great in sandwiches. It is truly so nice, I love it.

To cut down the cost you can char-grill your own eggplant and roast the capsicums. Double the quantities if you want to make it for a larger group.

​I love it with triple smoked or double smoked ham, but it is nice on it's own also. You can add ham on the side if you want it to be a vegetarian option.

The eggplant mixture can be made several hours ahead. Just toast the bread close to serving.

If you love an antipasto platter, you will love this. ​

Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook 'Best Food collection'

Serves 4 as a starter

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small (80g) white onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 trimmed celery stick (100g), chopped finely
150g char-grilled eggplant, chopped finely
150g roasted red capsicum, chopped finely
1/4 cup (40g) pitted black olives, chopped coarsely
1 tablespoon drained baby capers
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts (optional)
1/4 cup finely shredded fresh basil
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, extra
4-6 slices triple or double smoked shaved ham (optional)
350g loaf ciabatta
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, extra

Heat the oil in a medium frying pan, over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and garlic, sauté until the onion is soft. Transfer the mixture to a medium sized bowl. Allow to cool, while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Add the eggplant, capsicum, olives, capers, pine nuts (if using) and basil to the onion mixture. Season with some salt and pepper, to taste. Drizzle with a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. Mix well, to combine.

​​Cut the bread on a slight angle into eight slices (1.5-2cm thick).

Brush the bread lightly on one side with the extra virgin olive oil, grill on both sides until toasted.

Top with some shaved ham, if using, the eggplant mixture, sprinkle with extra basil leaves, if desired and a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Find the recipe at www.whatscookingella.com/eggplant-and-olive-bruschetta.html 
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​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.

I came across this recipe and I knew I had to make it. I made it one day when my mum came over for dinner, we loved it, but I wanted to make some changes. So when I had my sons birthday party recently I made it again with my changes and I loved it even more, my guests loved it to.

The filling is delicious, taste before assembling, I season it with pepper only, as feta is salty, but if you feel it needs salt, add some. I use a combination of ricotta and feta as I have tried one previously with just feta and it was horribly salty and unpleasant to eat, the addition of ricotta makes it so much better.

Now I have never been game to make my own filo pastry, so this recipe uses store bought, and although not as amazing as homemade dough, it is pretty darn good.

You can use butter instead of oil for the brushing of the tray and for brushing on the filo pastry, if you prefer.

I like to use Antoniou filo pastry as it isn't frozen, but use whatever brand you love. You may want to count your pastry sheets as you need 8 sheets for the base, 3 sheets for the top and the zucchini mix needs to be distributed between the remaining sheets.

Please don't buy tubs of ricotta cheese, it really does need to be fresh, it has a better flavour and texture.

You can use a baking dish, if you don't have a large tray. The pita will just be thicker, but it still works and it is still tasty.

So if you are having a Meat Free Monday, or a party or a light lunch, whatever the occasion, give this pita a try, you'll love it.

​Recipe adapted from everydaygourmet.tv

​1 x 375g packet Antoniou filo pastry
Sunflower oil, to grease pan
300g fresh ricotta cheese
200g feta cheese
3 zucchini, grated
1/3-1/2 cup Greek yoghurt
white pepper, to taste

Topping:
3 eggs
100ml sunflower oil
200ml Greek yoghurt
200ml mineral water
1/2 teaspoon salt
​
Make the filling: Grate your zucchini, sprinkle with a little salt and squeeze out excess liquid, discard liquid.

Place the zucchini in a large bowl, add the ricotta and crumbled feta, season with pepper. Give it a good mix, to combine. If the mixture looks too crumbly and needs to be loosened up a bit, add some of the yoghurt, one tablespoon at a time, until it looks moist, but not wet.
​
​​Use a rectangular tray, brush oil onto your baking tray.

Lay 8 sheets of filo pastry on the bottom of your tray, making sure each one is oiled lightly. Try to arrange your sheets so that they overflow from the sides of the baking tray.
​
Scatter over some of the zucchini mixture, it can have small lumpy bits and it doesn't need to cover the entire surface. Add another sheet of filo pastry, slightly ruffled, it doesn't have to be straight, this creates pockets of air making it more fluffy. Brush with a little oil.

Add more of your zucchini mix, continue this layering process until there is no more mixture left, making sure you have 3 sheets of pastry left.

Fold the overhanging filo from the outside inwards. Now layer the final 3 sheets, tucking in the ends, sealing your pita completely.

Make the topping: In a large jug add the eggs, oil, yoghurt, mineral water and salt. Whisk together until it is well combined.
​
Preheat your oven to 180C/160C fan forced.

​Now you need to slice the pita up carefully into your serving sizes, I generally cut it up into 6 or 8 pieces. You need to do this so it is easier to serve later and also it will allow the topping to sink into the pita and spread through the layers.

Carefully pour the topping all over the pita, it needs to cover it completely. Use a spoon or a knife to spread it out so that the topping is spread evenly and sinks into the slices, not just sits on top. Allow the topping to soak into the pita for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, place in your preheated oven and bake for approximately 1 hour, making sure the top and bottom are golden.

To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/cheese-and-zucchini-pita.html 
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