Colin Fassnidge knows good food. As a celebrated chef and popular television personality, he has built his reputation on delicious food and his distinctive, no-nonsense advice for home cooks. When it comes to cooking at home, Colin believes it comes down to commonsense. Master the basics – a simple omelette, a great sauce that goes with everything, the perfect pork roast – and you have the foundations for countless meals.
Today, we have two recipes from the new Colin Fassnidge cookbook, The Commonsense Cook, to share with you – herb-crumbed pork cutlets and a simple green salad with vierge dressing. Happy cooking!
Herb-Crumbed Pork Cutlets
Serves: 4
Some might call these posh schnitties. Crumbing pork cutlets is a great way to add texture and flavour to an otherwise simple dish. Scattering a little grated apple over the pork before serving adds a wonderful fresh crunch that cuts through the richness of the pork.
Ingredients
plain flour, for dusting
2 eggs
400 ml full-cream milk
4 x 200 g pork cutlets, bone in, fat removed
100 ml olive oil
grated granny smith apple, to serve
Zest and Herb Crumb
150 g (1½ cups) dried breadcrumbs
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 bunch of rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
1/4 bunch of sage, leaves picked and finely chopped
1/4 bunch of marjoram, leaves picked and finely chopped
50 g (½ cup) grated parmesan
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, crushed using a mortar and pestle
freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan-forced).
To make the zest and herb crumb, combine all the ingredients in a large shallow bowl. Place enough flour to dust the cutlets in a separate shallow bowl and whisk together the eggs and milk in a third bowl.
Dust the cutlets in the flour to coat, then dip in the egg wash. Transfer to the zest and herb crumb and firmly press the crumbs into the cutlets until completely coated. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof frying pan over medium heat. Add the cutlets and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until just starting to brown. Transfer to a wire rack, place in the oven and cook for 6–8 minutes, or until the cutlets are crisp and golden on the outside and pink in the middle with an internal temperature of 58°C on a kitchen thermometer. Remove from the oven and transfer the cutlets to paper towel to drain.
Cut the zested lemon in half and squeeze the juice over the cutlets. Scatter a little grated apple over the top and serve.
A Simple Green Salad with Vierge Dressing
Serves: 4
A simple green salad should be in everyone’s repertoire. I use this recipe as a starting point and then swap out the leaves and herbs for whatever is currently growing in our garden. The French vierge dressing is great served with your favourite meat and fish dishes or used as a salad dressing as I’ve done here. The dressing will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks – just shake well before using. You’ll need to make it the day before you want to use it.
Ingredients
100 g rocket
4 Tuscan kale leaves, leaves torn, stalks finely sliced
4 rainbow silverbeet leaves, leaves torn, stalks finely sliced
½ bunch of basil, leaves picked and torn
2 tarragon sprigs, leaves picked and torn
2 marjoram sprigs, leaves picked and torn
extra-virgin olive oil or hemp oil, for drizzling
Vierge Dressing (Makes 1 litre)
100 g coriander seeds, toasted
2 star anise, toasted
1 litre extra-virgin olive oil
3 bunches of basil, leaves picked
½ bunch of mint, leaves picked
½ bunch of fl at-leaf parsley, leaves picked
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste
Method
For the vierge dressing, place the coriander seeds, star anise, olive oil and herbs in a blender and blend until smooth. Don’t over-blend the ingredients as you want to avoid the heat of the blender warming the dressing. Transfer the dressing to a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside in the fridge for 24 hours for the flavours to infuse.
The next day, strain the dressing through a fine sieve and transfer to an airtight bottle or jar. Before using, season to taste with salt and lemon juice.
For the salad, combine the rocket, kale, silverbeet and herbs in a salad bowl and mix well using your hands.
Spoon over enough vierge dressing to lightly coat the leaves and toss to combine.
Drizzle with olive oil or hemp oil and serve immediately.
—The Commonsense Cook by Colin Fassnidge (Pan Macmillan Australia) is out now.
This book is part of our 2020 Christmas Gift Guide! You could win 1 million Qantas Points when you order any product featured in our Christmas Gift Guide between 2 November and 14 December, 2020.*
The Commonsense Cook
Real Family Food Made Easy
Colin Fassnidge knows good food. As a celebrated chef and popular television personality, he has built his reputation on delicious food and his distinctive, no-nonsense advice for home cooks.
When it comes to cooking at home, Colin believes it comes down to commonsense. Master the basics - a simple omelette, a great sauce that goes with everything, the...
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