Recipes to support Australian farmers

Bill Granger

Donna Hay

Bill Granger

Baked lime cheesecake with fresh mango

100g crushed wholemeal biscuits
55g ground almonds
50g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
800g light cream cheese
185g light sour cream
175g caster sugar
4 eggs, plus 2 egg whites
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice

To serve

Preheat oven to 150°C. Grease a 24cm springform tin and line the base. To make the base, mix together the biscuits, almonds and melted butter and press into the base of the tin, patting down well. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

To make the filling, beat the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, two at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the lime zest and juice and mix well. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff peaks form, then fold into the cream cheese mixture. Pour over the base.

Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes on a low rack. (The cheesecake will not be completely set in the centre.) Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside to cool with the door open for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave at room temperature for another 2–3 hours, until completely cooled. Refrigerate overnight.

To remove the cheesecake from the tin, carefully run a hot knife around the outside, then slide off the base of the tin.

Cut the mangoes in half on either side of the stone. Cut the flesh in a criss-cross pattern on each cheek and the push inside out. Serve with the lime cheesecake. Serves 10–12.

Glazed ham with fresh mango chutney

6 kg leg ham
20–25 cloves
170ml honey
2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
3 tablespoons dry sherry or rum
2 teaspoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons soft brown sugar

To serve

Use a small sharp knife to cut through the rind around the shank of the ham. Carefully lift the rind from the fat in one piece, running your fingers through where they are joined to ease lifting.

Score the white fat in a diamond pattern and press a clove into the centre of each diamond. Place the ham on a rack over a paper lined roasting tin and bake for 10 minutes.

To make the glaze, put the honey, mustard, sherry, soy sauce and sugar in a saucepan over low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, and simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened. Brush over the ham, making sure that all the exposed fat is covered. Bake the ham for 20–30 minutes, basting every 10 minutes, until it is golden. Remove from the oven and transfer the ham to a platter. Serve with fresh mango chutney. Serves 8–10.

Fresh mango chutney

1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
3 ripe mangoes, diced
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon caster sugar
Sea salt

Gently stir together all the ingredients in a bowl. Leave to rest for at least 30 minutes to let the flavours develop.

Ricotta hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter

1 1/3 cups ricotta
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs, separated
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
A pinch of salt
50 g butter

To serve

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add to the ricotta mixture and mix until just combined.

Place egg whites in a clean dry bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites through batter in two batches, with a large metal spoon.

Lightly grease a large non-stick frying pan with a small portion of the butter and drop 2 tablespoons of batter per hotcake into the pan (don’t cook more than 3 per batch). Cook over low to medium heat for 2 minutes, or until hotcakes have golden undersides. Turn hotcakes and cook on the other side until golden and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and quickly assemble with other ingredients.

Slice one banana lengthways onto a plate, stack 3 hotcakes on top with a slice of honeycomb butter. Dust with icing sugar. Serves 6–8.

Honeycomb butter

250 g unsalted butter, softened
100 g sugar honeycomb, crushed with a rolling pin
2 tablespoons honey

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Shape into a log on plastic wrap, roll, seal and chill in a refrigerator for 2 hours. Store leftover honeycomb butter in the freezer. It’s great on toast.

Puff apple pancake

50g (13/4 oz) butter
4 tart green apples, such as Granny Smiths, peeled, cored and cut into eighths
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
90g (3 oz/3/4 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
a pinch of salt
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon sugar
4 eggs
185ml (6 fl oz/3/4 cup) milk

To serve

Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F/Gas 7). Melt the butter in a 25cm (10 inch) frying pan with an ovenproof handle. Add the apples and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, vanilla and lemon juice and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved.

Mix the flour, salt, lemon zest and sugar together in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and slowly add the eggs and milk, whisking lightly to combine (don’t worry too much about lumps). Pour the batter evenly over the apples (it’s fine if the apples show through). Put the pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes until puffed and golden. If your pan is shallow, place a baking tray underneath to catch any drips. Serve absolutely immediately, with yoghurt.

Recipes and images from 'Holiday' by Bill Granger, published by Murdoch Books, photography by Petrina Tinslay.

Crunchy-top pear muffins

125g (41/2 oz/1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
60 g (2 oz/1/2 cup) wholemeal plain (all-purpose) flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
100g (31/2 oz/1 cup) rolled oats
140g (5 oz/3/4 cup) brown sugar
2 eggs 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) plain low-fat yoghurt
125ml (4 fl oz/1/2 cup) grapeseed oil (or other light-flavoured oil)
1 pear, peeled and diced
40g (11/2 oz/1/3 cup) pecan nuts, finely chopped

To serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4) and line six 250ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) muffin holes with paper cases (or just grease well). Sift the flours, baking powder and cinnamon into a large bowl, add the oats and 1/2 cup of the brown sugar and stir together. Make a well in the centre.

Whisk together the eggs, yoghurt and oil. Pour into the well in the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold through the pear, being careful not to overmix. Spoon into the muffin cases.

To make the crumble topping, mix the pecans with the remaining brown sugar. Sprinkle over the muffin mixture and then bake for 20–25 minutes until golden brown.

Recipes and images from Holiday by Bill Granger, published by Murdoch Books, photography by Petrina Tinslay.

Passionfruit, rambutan and mango salad

12 rambutans or lychees, peeled and seeds removed
2 mangoes, cheeks sliced off and scored

Passionfruit syrup

3 tablespoons passionfruit pulp
Juice of 1 orange, strained
Juice of 1/2 lemon, strained
85g (3 oz/1/3 cup) caster (superfine) sugar

To serve

For the syrup, put the passionfruit pulp in a small pan with the orange and lemon juice and sugar and stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until syrupy. Cool completely.

Arrange the rambutans or lychees and mango on a platter. Scatter with mint leaves and drizzle with the passionfruit syrup. Serve immediately.

Recipes and images from Holiday by Bill Granger, published by Murdoch Books, photography by Petrina Tinslay.

So healthy banana ice-cream

3 bananas, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup (140g) vanilla or fruit yoghurt

Place the bananas in the freezer until frozen. Place the bananas and yoghurt in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Serve immediately. Serves two.

Simple banana cake

1 cup (220g) caster sugar
1/4 cup (40g) brown sugar
1 cup mashed banana
125g butter, melted
3 eggs
3/4 cup (180g) sour cream
1 3/4 cups (260g) self-raising flour

Preheat oven to 180°C. Place the caster and brown sugars, banana, butter, eggs and sour cream in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Add the flour and process until combined. Pour mixture into a greased 25cm ring tin and bake for 40–50 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Serve plain or with caramel sauce.

Mango and almond tart

1 sheet store-bought puff pastry
1/4 cup (30g) almond meal (ground almonds)
1/3 cup (60g) brown sugar
2 mangoes, peeled, cheeks removed and halved

Preheat oven to 200°C. Trim the edges of the pastry and place the pastry on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Combine the almond meal and 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar and sprinkle over the pastry. Top with the mango pieces and sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden. Serve warm or cold with ice-cream. Serves four.

Energise breakfast drink

2 mangoes, peeled and chopped
2 bananas, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup (70g) thick natural yoghurt
1 1/2 cups (375ml) orange juice
ice cubes

Tony Burke with Bill Granger and Donna Hay share some recipes to help support Australian farmers.

The Hon. Tony Burke MP

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Bill Granger

Donna Hay

Bill Granger

Baked lime cheesecake with fresh mango

To serve

Glazed ham with fresh mango chutney

To serve

Fresh mango chutney

Ricotta hotcakes with banana and honeycomb butter

To serve

Honeycomb butter

Puff apple pancake

To serve

Crunchy-top pear muffins

To serve

Passionfruit, rambutan and mango salad

Passionfruit syrup

To serve

So healthy banana ice-cream

Simple banana cake

Mango and almond tart

Energise breakfast drink