Food Thinkers by Breville

Welcome to the Breville Food Thinkers blog & monthly e-magazine.

Full of delicious recipes, fantastic new products, helpful information and exclusive offers. Breville Food Thinkers is all about how to eat better, cook better and feel better.

The Great Barrier Feast

Winter in Australia brings many great events and experiences for avid foodies. Some would say there is none better than the Great Barrier Feast at Hamilton Island. Australia's most creative and celebrated chefs conduct master classes using food from the Reef as inspiration.

Special Offer: Join Us at the Great Barrier Feast



Breville Food Thinkers is extending a special offer to our readers who would like to join the Great Barrier Feast at Hamilton Island.

This unique event showcases the beautiful food of the Great Barrier Reef cooked by world class chefs, all in the beautiful surrounds of the unique Island environment.

The next event is on the 6-8th July with Renowned Sydney chef Guillaume Brahimi of Bennelong. If you can picture yourself cooking in paradise we have the following special offer for our Breville Food Thinkers.

Prices from $2,580 per couple staying at the Beach Club

Inclusions:
  • Signed copy of Guillaume: Food for Friends by Guillaume Brahimi
  • Welcome dinner by qualia's Executive Chef, Alastair Waddell, including wines paired by renowned wine critic James Halliday
  • Two AEG Masterclasses with Guillaume Brahimi
  • Finale showpiece dinner watching the world-renowned chef in action, including wines matched by James Halliday at qualia's Long Pavilion
  • Two (2) nights accommodation with a la carte breakfast daily

For further information please visit www.hamiltonisland.com.au/events or to book please call 13 7333 and quote 'Food Thinkers'

Guillaume: Food for Friends

In his long-awaited debut cookbook, celebrated chef Guillaume Brahimi creates exceptional food for friends in some of Australia's most beautiful houses.

Join Guillaume as he opens the doors of seven private homes and his two internationally acclaimed restaurants, Guillaume at Bennelong at the Sydney Opera House and Bistro Guillaume in Melbourne. There are menus and recipes to suit every style of entertaining, from a formal dinner in Leo Schofield's heritage manor in Tasmania to a laidback lunch in the Pittwater home of Heidi Middleton of sass & bide.

Witness the high theatre of the professional kitchen as Guillaume shows us how to master his signature restaurant dishes, such as steak frites, basil-infused tuna and his legendary Paris mash. Then discover Guillaume's favourite recipes to cook at home, from beef daube and gnocchi with beetroot, pumpkin and prawns to dark chocolate mousse and vanilla bean crème brulée.

Stunning photography by Anson Smart captures the individual style and essence of each occasion and reminds us that the secret of a great meal owes as much to the people, the place and the spirit of the event as it does to the food.

Author royalties from the book will support the late Professor Chris O'Brien's Lifehouse at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney.

Gelato Messina make their famous Salted Caramel in the Breville Smart Scoop

Gelato Messina's Nick Palumbo and Donato Tace tell us about the science behind a good gelato, and how to make the famous Messina Salted Caramel at home using the Breville Smart Scoop ice cream machine.

 

Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato

Makes approximately 1 litre

 

Ingredients
  • 2 cups milk
  • ½ cup chocolate hazelnut spread
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 1/3 cup caster sugar
  • 1/4 cup roasted hazelnuts, finely choped
Method
  1. Place milk, hazelnut spread and vanilla extract into a medium heavy-based saucepan. Heat until spread has melted and mixture starts to simmer.
  2. Meanwhile beat egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until pale and thick. Once milk mixture is hot, slowly whisk into the egg mixture.
  3. Clean saucepan and return mixture back to a low heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture has thickened and coats the back of the spoon.
  4. Pour mixture into a heat proof bowl, cover and refrigerate until well chilled.
  5. Pour mixture into ice cream bowl. Set ice cream maker to desired setting and churn.
  6. Add crushed hazelnuts once machine specifies to add in mix-ins.
  7. Once mixture is frozen transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 1 week.

Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Makes approximately 1 litre

 

Ingredients
  • 1 ½ cups milk
  • 7 egg yolks
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/4cup water
  • 1 and 1/4 cups pouring cream
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Method
  1. Place milk into a medium heavy-based saucepan. Heat until milk just starts to simmer.
  2. Meanwhile beat egg yolks until pale and thickened. Once milk is hot, slowly whisk the milk into the eggs. Set aside.
  3. Combine sugar and water in saucepan and stir over low heat and stir over low heat until the sugar has softened and started to dissolve. Increase heat to a medium-high heat, brush down sides of saucepan to dissolve any sugar crystals and cook without stirring until the toffee starts to turn a rich golden colour. Remove from heat and carefully pour in cream.
    Note: Mixture may splatter at this stage.
  4. Return mixture to a low heat and stir until any lumps have dissolved. Add egg mixture and salt and cook, stirring until mixture coats the back of a wooden spoon.
  5. Pour mixture into heatproof bowl, cover and refrigerate until well chilled.
  6. Once chilled pour into ice cream bowl. Set ice cream maker to desired setting and churn.
  7. Once mixture is frozen transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 1 week.

Introducing the Smart Scoop Ice Cream Maker

There's nothing better than fresh, perfectly- textured home-made frozen treats. Making your own ice cream, gelato and frozen yoghurt is healthier and tastier than your supermarket options.

Getting the texture right for different types of mixtures can be a challenge. The new BCI600 Smart Scoop ice cream maker from Breville is the first ice cream maker that automatically senses the hardness of the mixture based on 12 preset hardness settings.

Once made the Smart Scoop has a 'keep cool' feature that will keep it ready until it's time to serve.

The bowl has a 1 litre capacity and is removable to make cleaning up convenient and easy.

The Smart Scoop will be in-store in April.

Getting the most out of your bread with Simon Baker.

Toasting tips for different breads

 

How to Cook Perfect Toast. Breville Lift and Look.

Strawberry and Vanilla Bean Jam

Makes approximately 2 ½ cups.

 

A recipe for making jam in a breadmaker

 

Ingredients
  • 500g strawberries, hulled and quartered
  • 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
  • 1 2/3 cups caster sugar
  • 2 tablespoons jamsetta
Method
  1. Combine ingredients into the pan of the bread maker. Set breadmaker to the jam setting function.
  2. Once jam has finished carefully remove pod and pour hot jam into hot sterilized jars. Seal immediately.

Toast Toppings from our Food Thinkers Readers

We asked a number of our Food Thinkers readers what their favourite toast toppings are. The result was some suggestions that are definitely worth a try!


Nutella with crushed Ferrero Rocher YUM!
- Chelsea


Avocado, tomato on toast and sometimes added cream cheese
- Stephanie


Wholemeal bread toast with avocado, balsamic vinegar, cherry tomatoes, a little bit of basil and lots of salt and pepper - hangover cure of champions!
- Jeremy


Ricotta Cinnamon & Honey (on fruit toast)
Ricotta Avocado Tomato and lots of Pepper
Pea Mint Ricotta and Chilli
- Anthony


Butter ... Lots of butter
- Lachlan


Peanut Butter and Banana for a sweet snack
- Ian


Wholemeal bread with a spread of olivani, a slice of tomato, a splatter of balsamic vinegar, and a sprinkle of salt.
- Richard


I will go with my mixed grain toast topped with cottage cheese (not the Lite version) sliced tomato with one twist of cracked pepper and a piece of sliced salmon on top to hold it all in place.
- James


Tahini and honey on dark rye
- Angela


Fig Jam and whipped cream
- Mike


Sour Cherry jam and cheddar
- Allan


Ham, beetroot and feta
- Bec


Smoked salmon and cream cheese with capers and cracked pepper (or dill/ chives)
Honey and cinnamon sugar with ricotta
- Lauren

Bruschetta

Serves 4

 

Ingredients
  • 1 french stick loaf or sourdough bread
  • 4 firm ripe tomatoes
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 bunch basil leaves
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • Sea salt, to taste
Method
  1. Assemble the Kitchen Wizz™ Pro Food Processor with the Quad® processing blade. Place the tomatoes, garlic, basil, olive oil and sea salt and pulse until chopped.
  2. Cut bread into slices and toast in Professional 800 Collection Toaster.
  3. Once toasted spoon tomato mixture onto bread.

Passionfruit Curd

Makes approximately 2 cups.

 

This tangy tasting passionfruit pulp is delicious spooned over fruit salads or desserts.

 

Ingredients
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ¾ cup caster sugar
  • ¾ passionfruit pulp (approx 6-8)
  • 125g butter, chilled, chopped
Method
  1. Place whole eggs, yolk, sugar and passionfruit into a heatproof bowl. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.
  2. Add the butter and stir continuously until mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon (about 12-15 minutes). Pour curd into sterilised jars.
  3. Refrigerate once cool.

Making Pizza at Home with Pete Evans

With a string of awards including World's Best Pizza, Hugos is now Australia's leading authority on one of our favourite foods. In this video, Executive Chef, Pete Evans offers step by step instruction on how to make his famous pepperoni pizza at home.


Win 1 of 20 Pete Evans Cook Books

My Table was the second book by award-winning chef Pete Evans. Asked to describe the book Pete says "It's all about the food I love to cook at home. When you're at home you like to cook food you genuinely enjoy and want to share with friends and family".

We are offering our Food Thinkers an opportunity to win 1 of 20 copies of this great book. To enter click on the link above and tell us:

What is your favourite pizza topping?

 

This promotion has now closed. Thank you to all those who participated.

Introducing the Pete Evans Signature Edition Pizza Maker

How do you create the crispiness of a wood-fired-oven pizza without bricks? The Pete Evans Signature Edition Pizza Maker has a ceramic stone base with surrounding elements that provide even heating.

To create the Pizza Maker Breville teamed up with world-champion pizza chef Pete Evans. Pete is passionate about pizza and he has created a book of his favourite recipes, which is included with the oven. You can click here to view many of these recipes here on Breville Food Thinkers.

When asked about the secret to making a great pizza Pete says, “Perfect pizza comes from the quality of your toppings and how hot your equipment can get. The Breville Pizza Oven solves the biggest challenges to creating a hot, crusty pizza with mouth-watering, cooked-to-perfection toppings. The ceramic stone retains heat and the top and bottom elements can heat the oven to a maximum 350 °C (something a domestic oven can’t do), recreating the effects of a traditional brick oven. It’s really so fast you can feed a family in no time at all.”

Making your own bases and using fresh, seasonal ingredients allows you to create authentic, delicious home made pizzas that are tastier and healthier than the fast-food alternative.

The Pizza Maker is a popular choice for families. Kids love cooking and making pizzas is a great way to get them involved. They can use quality produce to create simple and great flavours. It typically only takes five minutes to cook a pizza to perfection.

Tips for Making Pizzas at Home:
  • After use the pizza stone will have char marks. The ‘seasoning’ of the stone in this way adds to the flavour of the pizzas. It’s important to avoid the temptation to immerse the stone in water to clean it. Because it is porous it will absorb water and you will end up steaming your pizzas! Simply wipe the stone clean after use with a cloth, or brush it when it has cooled.
  • When adding toppings remember that they will often shrink in size under the heat of the oven so you need to be generous. Splashing out on a small amount of luxury ingredients like Italian buffalo milk mozzarella will also make a big difference to the end flavour.
  • Always remember to season your pizza with salt and pepper before placing it in the oven and try adding fresh mint, basil or rocket leaves to the pizza after cooking.

Any questions? You can ask our test kitchen for advice on using the Pizza Maker. If you have a special recipe or have had an experience to share email us. We’d love to hear from our Food Thinkers.

Keep it Simple!

Pete Evans shares his passion for Pizza.

 

My advice for making a great pizza? Keep it simple!

The food I cook in my restaurants is the type of food I love to serve at home. My kids are really into cooking and making pizza is a great way to get them involved. Get the kids to tear off fresh basil leaves or pull off chunks of Italian buffalo mozzarella to scatter over the pizza. Good quality toppings are what make the pizza, so don't skimp on them! The pizza base and cheese are as cheap as chips so you can afford to splash out on the toppings. There's nothing overly fancy about my pizzas, just simple, great flavours made by using quality, seasonal produce. And we've won best pizza in the world with them!

I have one of the BPZ500PE Pizza Makers at home and we use it all the time. It feeds a family of four for about 10 bucks. Pretty good value if you ask me! But the real rewards come from experimenting yourself. Try sweet or savoury pizzas and if you think you've knocked up a fantastic pizza, drop me an email info@peterevanschef.com.au. I love hearing about a win in the kitchen! And don't forget, some of the best results come from just having a go.

Cheers
Pete Evans

Pepperoni Pizza with Mint & Buffalo Milk Mozzarella

As featured in the BPZ500PE Pete Evans Signature Edition Pizza Maker cookbook.

 

Ingredients
  • 170g pizza dough (see here)
  • 1/3 cup pizza tomato sauce (see here)
  • 1/2 cup (40g) mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, sliced
  • 200g hot pepperoni or salami, thinly sliced (paper thin)
  • 2 teaspoons whole roasted garlic (see here), optional
  • 1 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped
  • Chilli flakes, to taste
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

  • To Finish
  • 6 mint leaves
  • Italian buffalo mozzarella
Method
  1. Preheat Pizza Maker, setting 3 for 2-3 minutes or until hot.
  2. Roll dough ball out on a lightly floured surface until pizza base is 0.5mm thick.
  3. Pierce the pizza base all over with a fork.
  4. Turn Pizza Maker dial to setting 2 HIGH heat.
  5. Place base carefully onto 'hot' pizza stone.
  6. Spread tomato sauce over pizza base; sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese, cherry tomatoes, pepperoni, garlic, parsley, and chilli flakes. Season with salt and pepper.
  7. Cook pizza for 10 minutes or until the base is golden and the sides crispy.
  8. Turn off Pizza Maker and slide pizza carefully using a silicone egg flip onto a chopping board.
  9. Sprinkle with mint and buffalo mozzarella. Slice and serve.

Margherita Pizza

As featured in the BPZ500PE Pete Evans Signature Edition Pizza Maker cookbook.

 

Ingredients
  • 170g pizza dough (see here)
  • 1/3 cup pizza tomato sauce (see here)
  • 1/2 cup (40g) mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, sliced into thirds
  • 1 teaspoon whole roasted garlic (see here), optional
  • 1 teaspoon parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

  • To Finish
  • 1-2 tablespoons parmesan, grated
  • Italian buffalo mozzarella
  • 6 basil leaves, sprinkled with oil
Method
  1. Preheat the Pizza Maker, setting 3 for 2-3 minutes or until hot.
  2. Roll dough ball out on a lightly floured surface until pizza base is 0.5mm thick.
  3. Pierce the pizza base all over with a fork.
  4. Turn Pizza Maker dial to setting 2 HIGH heat.
  5. Place base carefully onto 'hot' pizza stone.
  6. Spread tomato sauce over pizza base; sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese, cherry tomatoes, garlic, parsley and chilli flakes.
  7. Season with salt and pepper.
  8. Cook pizza for 10 minutes or until the base is golden and the sides crispy.
  9. Turn off Pizza Maker and slide pizza carefully using a silicone egg flip onto a chopping board.
  10. Sprinkle pizza with parmesan and slice evenly into 6 pieces. Place a basil leaf and piece of buffalo mozzarella on each piece. Serve.

Marion's Thailand - Haw Mok Plaa

Marion introduces a favourite traditional Thai recipe

 

Recipes and Stories From a Hungry Cook

Win 1 of 5 Marion Grasby recipe books

 

If you ask Marion Grasby what her favourite food is, she'll list at least 10 things. Marion loves food. And she loves talking about it.

Now in her first cookbook Marion shares more than 80 of her favourite recipes from throughout her life: the places she's been, and the people she's met and cooked with. Marion has lived in the Northern Territory, Papua New Guinea, Queensland and South Australia, and her food is an eclectic mix of Thai, Italian, French, Middle Eastern and firmly Aussie.

These are recipes for the home cook, dishes to make every night of the week, for dinner parties and lazy afternoons. The recipes are peppered with entertaining stories and with incredible photography of the food and of Marion's travels through Australia and Thailand.

To learn more about the book and find more recipes and videos visit Marion's site at www.marionskitchen.com.

This is your chance to win one of five copies of the book. It's easy - click on the enter button and complete the form!

 

Green Prawn Curry

Recipe by Marion's Kitchen

 

Serves 4

 

This delicious recipe is one of many available from the web site of Marion's Kitchen. The Marion's Kitchen Thai green Curry pack includes many of the ingredients listed below (marked *).

You can use chicken or beef instead of the prawns. You can even make a seafood curry using prawns along with sliced calamari and mussels.

 

Ingredients
  • Green Curry Paste*
  • Coconut Milk*
  • Dried Thai Herbs & Chilli*
  • Fish Sauce*
  • Bamboo Shoots*
  • 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 300g shelled, deveined prawns
  • 1 Zucchini (sliced in half and then sliced into thick wedges)
  • Steamed rice to serve
Method
  1. Heat oil over medium heat and fry my Green Curry Paste for about a minute or until it starts to smell yummy.
  2. Now's the time to pour in the creamy Coconut Milk and 1 cup of water. Tip - if you want to make your curry less spicy, you can add an extra ½ cup water here.
  3. Then add my fragrant Dried Herbs & Chilli (leave the chilli out if you want a mild curry or chop it up if you want a spicier curry). Now add the fish sauce and wait for the curry to start simmering again.
  4. Open up those tasty Bamboo Shoots, drain away the liquid and add the shoots into the curry. Now add the prawns and zucchini and simmer for about 2 minutes or until the prawns are just cooked through.
  5. Serve with steamed rice.

Bonus Offer

Marion Grasby become a household name as a contestant on Masterchef. Her passion for Asian flavours, enaging personality and cooking talents made her a favourite of audiences.

Her food range brings all the essentials for your favourite Asian dishes into one little box.

For a limited time, purchase a Breville wok, frypan or rice cooker and receive a selected Marion's Kitchen Thai gourmet meal kit.

Redeemed in participating stores whilst stocks last with a purchase from our Breville Rice Cooker, Electric Wok and Electric Frypan ranges. For terms and conditions click here.

Introducing the Control Grip™

Using a stick mixer can often be a sticky, messy business. The new Control Grip™ reduces suction meaning it's easy on the hands, but tough on food.

 



Making a simple soup with a traditional stick mixer can be hard work for your hands. Fingers held in awkward positions and the suctioning of the stick mixer to the pot are the main causes for this discomfort.

Breville's Control Grip™ Stick Mixer has an ergonomic trigger switch operation, a soft touch grip to prevent slipping, and an anti-suction blending action...all helping to ensure that your favourite comfort food is comfortable to make.

The easy clean and durable stainless steel blending leg will power through the toughest of jobs. And, to assist you even further with your food preparation, the included chopper bowl stores snuggly into the blending jug for compact storage or for use with the jug's ergonomic handle. The dual jug/chopper storage lid also doubles as a non-slip base.

Visit www.breville.com.au/controlgrip for a demonstration, designers comments and product information.

Review: The Flavour Maker

The Fig & Cherry blog tests the Flavour Maker slow cooker

 

"I am really excited to share this kitchen appliance with you as it is not often that new versions of appliances really push the boundaries" - Fig & Cherry review.

This month the food site and blog Fig & Cherry reviewed the Breville Flavour Maker slow cooker. We've been sharing the virtues of the Flavour Maker with our Food Thinkers, so many of you will be aware of the Easy-Sear pan and many other innovative features.

To read the review visit: www.figandcherry.com.

Designing a Better Espresso Machine

Breville coffee guru Phil McKnight shares his insights on the design and features of the BES900 Dual Boiler, coming in August.