Author: retrokitchenblog

The retrokitchen is back, with a fancier, ad-free experience and its very own domain:

http://www.retrokitchenblog.com

With Sydney in lockdown, I had to spend my money on something!

 

This is a fabulous recipe.  It’s packed full of goodness and should keep you healthy and slim (ish) during the winter months.

 

Let’s start with the ingredients.

 

1.  A few cloves of garlic:

2.  A medium brown onion:

3.  Bacon (you’ll have to visualise this one!).

4.  Crushed or diced tomatoes (I prefer diced but either is fine):

5.  Small or medium zucchini x 3:

6.  Red capsicum:

7.  Eggplant:

8.  Tomato paste:

9.  Four bean mix:

10.  Penne:

11.  Basil:

12.  Oregano:

13.  Beef stock:

14.  Shaved parmesan:

Now it’s time for some nifty knife work.

Step one – chop garlic:

Step two – chop onion:

Step three – cut bacon into squares / rectangles (or should that be cubes / cuboids? – forgive the imprecision – I did law because I loathed maths):

Step four – slice zucchini thickly (as with the casserole, large pieces are needed so it doesn’t turn to mush while cooking):

Step five – cut and slice capsicum roughly:

Step six – peel and cut eggplant into – you guessed it – squares / rectangles or cubes / cuboids:

Done!  Let’s get cooking!

Step one – in a deep pot, add a dash of oil, add garlic:

Step two – in quick succession, add onion:

Step three – promptly add bacon:

Step four – stir and cook bacon.  Cook until onion starts to soften (is that a verb?).  Unlike other recipes in the retrokitchen, do not allow onion to golden, let alone caramelise :

Step five – add tomatoes.  Fill tin with water and pour water into mixture:

Step six – add zucchini and stir:

Step seven – promptly add capsicum and stir:

Step eight – promptly add eggplant and stir:

Step nine – add pepper, salt, at least 500 ml of hot water (enough almost to cover mixture); then add tomato paste and stir:

Step ten – crumble beef stock in hands, add and stir:

Step eleven – add basil, oregano (and further pepper if desired):

Step twelve – cook for fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step thirteen – rinse and strain four bean mix, add and stir:

Step fourteen – add more hot water, add penne and stir:

Step fifteen – cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step sixteen – grab a bowl, ladle soup (another imagined verb?) and top with the parmesan cheese.  Serve with your favourite red wine and bread rolls:

 

 

 

This dish is such an oldie and so delicious.  The best part about it is that people will think it involves a modicum of effort.  But there’s a cheat at the heart of this recipe (which you needn’t reveal to your diners) which makes it one of the easiest recipes in the Retrokitchen.

It’s been a while since I posted and, looking at these photographs, old Dad and I are a bit out of practice.  One or two of the photos aren’t as slick as normal.  The main problem is that old Dad, old Mum and I are sober.

That’s right we’re doing dry July.  No hope of a cask of wine in this post.  We’re consuming a non-alcoholic staple of the 1970s – cordial:

This looks a bit posh for the 1970s.  But somehow I couldn’t persuade old Mum to drink bright red Cottee’s!

Ah well at least the food will be tasty.  The ingredients are easy.

1 clove garlic- $1.20 per bunch:

As you can see, this is a recycled photo with a different table cloth and 3 cloves of garlic, but you get the idea.

1 small brown onion- around $1.00:

This is another recycled photo showing a medium brown onion.  I have an over-active imagination today!

500 g breast stir fry chicken – $10.50 per packet:

A dozen cup mushrooms – say $3.00:

and, in addition:

Apologies for the two photographs – there was a bit of tension in the Retrokitchen today. It was politic not to ask for a restaged photograph of  the mushrooms.

Now for the slightly embarrassing secret ingredient – Continental Chicken Tonight Cacciatore sauce – $2.50 per jar:

No-one will ever guess – your meal will be too tasty to have come from a jar!

Fresh basil – no price for this as I pinched it from old Mum’s herb garden:

A dozen pitted kalamata olives – say $2.00:

Your preferred pasta – this one set me back $1.95:

Parmesan cheese – this load cost $3.25:

Now let’s get cooking!

Step 1 – chop garlic:

Step 2 – chop onion:

Step 3 – remove chicken strips from packet and slice each strip in half:

Step 4 – slice mushrooms:

Step 5 – slice olives:

Step 6 – pour 3 tablespoons of olive oil into pan and heat:

Step 7 – once oil is heated, place garlic in pan and cook until light brown:

Step 8 – place onion in pan, stir and cook until golden:

Step 9 – place chicken in pan, stir and cook until light brown:

Step 10 – place mushrooms in pan, stir and cook until softened:

Step 11 – reduce heat, place secret sauce in pan and stir:

Step 12 – place basil in pan and stir:

Step 13 – place olives in pan:

Step 14 – cook pasta (you might actually start this before the chicken):

Step 15 – serve with parmesan in easy reach:

Step 16 – top with parmesan and wash down with cordial!

I’ll be back next week.  Old Dad, old Mum and I are going to have a celebration of the mid point of dry July – with cask wine and beef casserole.  It is truly delectable so be sure to check in to the Retrokitchen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This dish is such a classic and shamefully easy.  It oozes 1970s appeal.  It’s as if not only 1970s interiors were orange – so was the food!  I wouldn’t call apricot chicken devastatingly handsome.  But it’s straightforward and surprisingly tasty.  The brats will gobble it down.

By now, I trust you know which ingredient I’ll be starting with:

Ah that’s better.  On to the rest of the ingredients.

3 large potatoes – $2.00

100 g frozen peas – $2.00 for 500 g

6 chicken thighs – $8.72

100 g dried apricots – $5.00 for a 200 g packet

1 tin apricot nectar – $2.00

1 sachet of French onion simmer soup – 95 cents

Now let’s get cooking!

Step 1 – preheat oven to 180 degrees centigrade.

Step 2 – Place chicken thighs in Pyrex dish side by side:

Step 3 – place apricots next to / in between thighs:

Step 4 – shake apricot nectar, open tin and pour into saucepan:

Step 5 – add soup mix to apricot nectar:

Step 6 – on high heat, bring mixture to boil while stirring.  Remove from heat just as mixture begins to thicken:

Step 7 – pour mixture over chicken and apricots.  Make sure the sauce covers the apricots, otherwise they will burn:

Step 8 – season with pepper:

Step 9 – and salt:

Step 10 – place in oven:

Step 11 – cook for 40 minutes.  At 20 minutes, briefly remove chicken from oven, stir sauce and turn over each chicken thigh.  At 10 minutes, again remove chicken from oven, stir sauce and re-turn over each chicken thigh to its original position.  Finally remove from oven:

Step 12 – while chicken is cooking, cook potatoes and peas:

Step 13 – mash potatoes, adding milk, butter, salt and pepper.  Then it’s time to eat, …..

Step 14 – …… drink and be merry:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I start to crave this recipe if I haven’t had it in a while.  It’s one of the cheapest and easiest in the Retro Kitchen but such a crowd pleaser.  People will think you can actually cook!  Kids gobble it down – although you may want to use less chilli when serving the little darlings.

Old Dad took the photos once again – the poor fellow was in a rush to catch a plane.  So he made me recycle a few of the photos from the spag bol recipe (admittedly there are some common steps).   Let’s hope he’s back safe and well for our next recipe – apricot chicken!

Anyhoo, to the task at hand.  We’ll start with the lifeblood of the Retro Kitchen:

And on to the ingredients:

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil – as in the spag bol recipe, there’s no price.  Once again, I pinched it from old Mum

2-3 large cloves of garlic – $1.18 per bunch:

1 large brown onion – $1.59 each:

500 g extra lean beef mince – $8.00 per pack:

1.5 green capsicum – around $4 for 2:

140g tub tomato paste – $2.20 for 2 tubs:

400 g tin red kidney beans – $1.96 per tin:

420 g tin corn kernels – $1.95 per tin:

0.5 tspn oregano – $2.30 per jar:

0.5 tspn chilli powder – $3.19 per jar:

4 bay leaves – $1.50 per packet:

You’ll also need rice.  For some reason I forgot to get a photo of this – Old Dad was halfway to the airport by the time I remembered.  You’ll have to use your imagination for a while!

Now let’s get cooking!

Step 1 – crush garlic thoroughly:

Step 2 – chop onion finely:

Step 3 – chop capsicum.  Again, I forgot to get a photo of this.  There’s a bit to the task as you want to avoid certain parts of the capsicum (eg the middle part with all the seeds for example).  I’ll have to get back to you when Old Dad comes home!

Step 4 – pour 3 tbsp oil in deep frying pan and put on medium-high heat.  You may recall from the spag bol my admonition that you’ll regret using any more:

Step 5 – place garlic in oil:

Step 6 – spread garlic out and cook until light brown (watch out – it happens quickly!):

Step 7 – place onion in oil:

Step 8 – spread onion out and stir until it becomes soft and golden – perhaps a little more so than the photo below:

Step 9 – add mince:

Step 10 – the following is verbatim from the spag bol recipe – I just couldn’t seem to improve the words.

Once the mince is flat in the pan, start breaking it down into smaller pieces using your wooden spoon.  You want to avoid large lumps.  That said, you don’t want to pound it so fine that the meat won’t hold the flavours to come:

Step 11 – cook mince until brown:

Step 12: add capsicum and cook for a few minutes until it softens:

Clever dicks will notice that this is a fresh shot not recycled from the spag bol post.

There are two main changes (apart from my clothes):

• I’ve had my watch repaired (I got it for my 16th birthday – it’s ageing better than I am); and
• I’ve gained weight – it’s from all this cooking.   The recipes aren’t fattening but cooking each three times for this blog may well be!

Step 13 – reduce heat.  Add tomato paste and stir:

Step 14 – add 2 cups of water and stir – again I missed a shot of this so I hope you can visualise it for yourselves.

Step 15 – add pepper and stir:

Step 16 – add salt and stir:

Step 17 – rinse corn kernels with a strainer and add to pan:

This shot is at a funny angle.  Maybe Old Dad got to the Yalumba when my back was turned.

Step 18 – rinse red kidney beans with a strainer and add to pan:

Isn’t it starting to look yummy!

Step 19 – add 0.5 tspn oregano and stir.  You may want to add a little more water if it’s starting to look too dry:

Step 20 – add 0.5 tspn chilli powder and stir:

Step 21 – add bay leaves, stir and simmer for a few minutes:

Step 22 – grub’s up, kids!

Step 23 – return to a true bundle of joy:

 

 

 

I love this recipe.  It’s so darn easy and tastes great.  Also there’s something a bit magic about creating pies.  It’s the crisp, golden structure which makes people think you’re a genuinely talented cook.  Little do they know….

Let’s start with that long-standing drug – alcohol, in prime 1970s form:

They’re not my hands, incidentally.  Old Mum got there before I did.  But don’t worry – I’ll get my own back.  She’ll be mashing the potatoes later.

And now to the ingredients – a bit more pricey than spag bol but still quite a steal!

3 sheets of puff pastry – $5.50 for 6 sheets:

Don’t be intimidated by the “serving suggestion” – your pies will look much better than that!

Chicken breasts – $12.14 for 867 grams:

I don’t know why I had to posh up with the chicken.  I prefer to do this recipe with 3 breasts totalling 800 grams, ie half a breast per pie.  For some reason, only the free range brigade offer a packet of this kind.  Fear not – the recipe is just as good with 600 grams of cut price, battery raised joy!

3/4 cup of stuffing mix – $2.45 per packet:

Fresh rosemary – 3 sprigs – can’t price this one I’m afraid.  I stole it from Old Mum’s herb garden:

4 dried apricots – $7.50 per packet:

1 x med brown onion – approx $0.50:

2 tbsp honey – $4.00 per bottle:

3 tbsp tomato ketchup – $1.50 per bottle:

3 unwashed potatoes – approx $1.50:

2 cups of frozen peas – $2.00 per packet:

Now let’s get cooking!

I’ll be frank with you.  When you do this recipe for the first few times, it’s better to make the sauce initially and then proceed to the pies, peas and potatoes.  This is because the sauce involves a wee bit of timing and judgement.  Once you have it all down to a fine art, you’ll be able to do the sauce while the pies cook in the oven.

So, the sauce.

Step 1 – chop onion finely:

Step 2 – pour a small amount of olive oil into saucepan.  Put on high heat.  Place onion on top.  Cook onion, stirring regularly, until it softens:

Step 3 – add honey and stir:

The eagle eyed reader will notice I’m using a different jar from the twist and squeeze model shown above.  Old Mum wouldn’t let me use the new honey until the open jar was finished.  I guess it’s a wartime rationing thing.

Step 4 – add tomato sauce and stir:

Step 5 – maintain on high heat, stirring near constantly as mixture comes to boil.  If it’s boiling over, reduce heat slightly.  Cook for at least 10 minutes until mixture becomes a fairly thick syrup:

Step 6 – pour sauce into strainer, holding strainer over measuring jug.  Press onion down against the bottom of the strainer so that onion juices flow into jug:

Step 7 – You’ll only be able to strain some of the onion at any one time.  So once you have squeezed out some of the onion, shift it aside.  Manoeuvre more onion into place at the bottom of the strainer and repeat. It takes a bit of initiative and dexterity (not my strong suits I’m afraid):

Now, onto the pies!

Step 8 – chop rosemary finely:

Step 9 – chop apricots finely:

Step 10 – place stuffing mix in bowl.  Add rosemary and apricots.  Add water and stir into a paste:

Put to one side.

Step 11 – Preheat oven to 180 degrees and thaw pastry.  Arrange three sheets side by side.  Cut each sheet in half:

Step 12 – cut chicken into 6 portions (approx half a breast each).  Place each portion on its half sheet of pastry, close to the front, but leaving a 2 cm border on the nearest sides:

Step 13 – place 1 spoon of mix on top of each portion of chicken.  Press down lightly:

Step 14 – add pepper to taste:

Step 15 – add salt to taste:

Step 16 – fold pastry back over each portion of chicken / stuffing:

Step 17 – indent (or, if you prefer the term, corrugate) front and sides of each pie with a fork:

Step 18 – cut away a small amount of pastry (ie no more than 0.5 cm) from front and sides of each pie:

Step 19 – use knife to cut front corners of each pie, leaving curved edges:

Step 20 – pierce top of each pie 4 times with a fork:

Step 21 – spray an oven tray with olive oil:

Step 22 – arrange pies on tray.  Place in oven for 40 minutes:

Step 23 – wash potatoes:

Step 24 – peel potatoes:

Step 25 – chop potatoes coarsely (ie into relatively large pieces – although feel free to swear while doing so):

Step 26 – boil potatoes and, a little later, boil peas:

Step 27 – Strain peas.  Strain potatoes, return to saucepan and mash.  Old Mum did this.  She adds milk, butter, salt and pepper.  It’s quite yummy.  If you go down that path, you add the extras after you mash and then stir.  It helps, while doing so, to return the mash to heat – otherwise the extras might make it cold.  I’ve condensed this to one photograph – I’m feeling hungry!

Step 28 – remove pies from oven.  Aren’t they magnificent:

Step 29 – serve each pie with mash and peas.  After reheating honey red sauce, pour over each pie.  Don’t drown the entire plate in the stuff, RSL gravy style:

Step 30 – return to wine.  Unlike the spag bol, these pies won’t freeze well.  So enjoy for dinner the next night too.  There may even be some wine left!

I love this recipe.  I’ve had spag bol everywhere from takeaway joints to seemingly swish ristorantes.  I don’t recall anything as tasty as this.  Of course, it’s about as Italian as Domino’s, but a whole lot nicer.  I daresay it’s an English recipe from when old Mum was there in the 1960s.  Well, put it this way, I don’t think Worcestershire is on the Amalfi Coast.

To get you salivating, I recommend you enjoy this recipe with the following icon of 1970s wine culture:

But labour before gratification (on this occasion at least).  Here are the ingredients with an approximate price.  It looks more expensive than it really is.  Most of the list is reusable.  If you take out the stuff you can use again, you’ll feed a family for about $10!  And if, unlike me, you don’t try to defend the nation by avoiding house brands, it could be even cheaper!

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil – sorry, no price for this – I pinched it from old Mum.

2-3 large cloves of garlic – $1.18 per bunch:

1 large brown onion – $0.59 each:

500g beef mince – $6.96 per packet:

2 tbsp tomato ketchup – $1.50 per bottle:

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce – $3.30 per bottle:

1 tin crushed tomatoes – $1.40 each (I guess it’s worth it for the smiles):

140g tub tomato paste – $2.20 for 2 tubs:

1 heaped tbsp brown sugar – $2.20 per packet:

0.5 tspn dried basil – $2.40 per jar:

0.5 tspn dried oregano – $2.30 per jar:

0.5 tspn dried cinnamon – $2.65 per jar:

0.5 tspn dried nutmeg – $3.15 per jar:

4 bay leaves – $1.50 per packet:

And, lastly, your favourite pasta – around $1.70 per packet:

Now let’s get cooking!

Step 1 – crush garlic thoroughly:

Step 2 – chop onion finely:

Step 3 – pour oil in deep frying pan and put on medium-high heat.  Avoid the temptation to use more than 3 tbsp – trust me – that’s plenty and you’ll regret any more:

Step 4 – place garlic in oil:

Step 5 – spread garlic out and cook until light brown (this can happen rather quickly so keep your eyes open):

Step 6 – place onion in oil:

Step 7 – spread onion out and stir until it becomes soft and golden.  Old Mum says I haven’t yet mastered this step so by all means go further than I have below.  Even if you go way overboard and the onion starts to caramelise, it isn’t the end of the world:

Step 8 – add mince meat.  Some people find handling raw meat disgusting.  It always gives me a shudder of carnivorous pleasure like I’m one of the big cats about to enjoy my prize.  Whatever your emotional state, just get it into the pan:

Step 9 – once the mince is flat in the pan, start breaking it down into smaller pieces using your wooden spoon.  You want to avoid large lumps.  That said, you don’t want to pound it so fine that the meat won’t hold the flavours to come:

Step 10 – cook mince, using wooden spoon, until brown:

Step 11 – add crushed tomatoes.  Use a little bit of water to rinse out the tin, shake the tin (preferably covering the end with your hand) and pour that mixture in as well.  Stir:

Step 12 – add tomato paste.  As with the crushed tomatoes tin, rinse out the tub with a little bit of water and add that too:

Step 13 – just when you were finding the technicolour red perturbing, lower the heat and add 2 tbsp tomato sauce.  Stir:

Step 14 – break into song with Land of Hope and Glory and add 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce.  Stir:

Step 15 – add salt and pepper to taste – the following photograph shows pepper for illustrative purposes only. Old Mum advised me to shake the salt shaker and twist the pepper grinder for best results:

Step 16 – add 1 heaped tbsp brown sugar.  It’s weird, I know, but it’ll be worthwhile.  Add a bit of water and stir:

Step 17 – arrange herbs and spices on dish (this avoids the risky business of holding an open jar over a pan).  That’s 0.5 tspn each of basil, oregano, cinnamon and nutmeg:

Step 18 – add herbs / spices, stirring and adding a little bit of water after each. Don’t overdo the water:

Step 19 – place 4 bay leaves and simmer for a good few minutes.  Keep an eye on moisture levels.  Add a bit more water if it looks like it’s beginning to stew:

Step 20 – prepare pasta.  Locate pricey and sophisticated parmesan cheese:

That jar cost me $4.28.

Step 21 – serve to grateful and delighted family or guests (I’m told such people exist):

Step 22 – revisit cask of wine ($12.99 for two litres):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.  Spaghetti bolognaise
2. Chicken in pastry with honey red sauce
3. Chilli con carne
4. Apricot chicken
5. Chicken cacciatore
6. Beef stroganoff
7. Cornish pasties
8. Crepes
9. Chicken ‘n’ cheese sauce
10. Beef casserole
11. Veal Marsala
12. Veal paprika
13. Carpet bag steak
14. Beef Wellington
15. Minestrone soup
16. Sweet and sour pork
17. Sultana curry
18. Chicken curry with turmeric rice
19. Chicken with curried apricot sauce
20. Chicken schnitzel with stuffing mix
21. Fish cakes with instant mashed potato
22. Ham steaks
23. Asparagus mornay on toast
24. Lentil burgers
25. Trifle with sherry
26. Poached pears
27. Spiced fruit
28. Pineapple upside down cake
29. Cherry chestnut puree cake
30. Apple crumble
31. Numbered birthday cake
32. Honey joys
33. Apple tarts
34. Cucumber prawn nibblies
35. Chicken balls
36. Swedish meatballs
37. Carrot mousse
38. Spinach pie
39. Chicken with pine nuts
40. Asparagus with hollandaise sauce