Sablés Korova

Who doesn't love a chocolate biscuit full of dark chocolate chips?  Especially when they are dark and sandy, like their name.  I seem to be making a lot of chocolatey biscuits lately - and a good thing too.  So here we have another recipe made for Cookbook Club.  We were using Emelia Jackson's cookbook Some of my best friends are Cookies.  (Love that title!)  And this is a beauty.  She has some really fabulous recipes in her book.    

These are called sablé due to their sandy texture, that being the French word for sand.  And indeed the texture is very sandy!  Speaking of sand, that reminds me of a Texan lady currently living in Brisbane - Lex in Wonderland.  I really enjoy her Instagram account, as she describes all the differences and things she loves about life in Australia.  

One of the things she mentions is seeing accessible beach matting here in Queensland.  She was amazed when her husband told her what it was for - i.e. allowing disabled people, people in wheelchairs, or with baby strollers and so on, access to the beach!  My disabled hubby for instance finds it very hard to walk on sand, so this is a wonderful thing for many!       

dark and mysterious!

(Recipe by Emelia Jackson: Some of my best friends are Cookies:)

(Start this one early - or the day before, as it has to be refrigerated for some hours, or overnight)

Makes 16:

ingredients:

200g./7 oz plain flour

45g./1.5 oz dark cocoa powder

1/2 tsp bi-carb soda (baking soda)

120g./4.25 oz butter, softened

180g./6 oz brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1-2 tsp vanilla extract

150g./5.5 oz dark chocolate chips

I love vanilla!

Method:

Put the flour, cocoa and bi-carb into a large mixing bowl, and give it a good whisking

Now either use your stand mixer or just electric beaters as I do, and put the butter, brown sugar, salt and vanilla into a mixing bowl, and beat till softened and well-mixed (Emelia says on medium-low speed if using a stand mixer) 

Now add the flour and cocoa mixture to the buttery mixture, and mix till just combined (Emelia says it will look sandy) - I finished mixing it with a spatula!

Add the chocolate chips, and mix them in - don't worry about its sandy, clumpy appearance, says our mate Emelia

Grab some clingfilm/plastic wrap, and line your bench with it

And now dump the sablé mixture onto the clingfilm, form a log shape, and roll it firmly in the plastic wrap - you want to end up with a 30cm/12 inch log

Wrap it in another layer of clingfilm if you feel the need to enforce the log shape :=)

And into the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight (or whack the dough into the freezer, and bake from frozen)

The next day: turn on your oven to 160C/315F fan-forced to heat up

Line 2 baking trays with baking paper

Slice the dough into 1cm/0.5 inch (or thicker if you please) pieces, and place on your trays

Bake for 12-13 minutes till dry and set    see  Notes

Cool completely on the trays

Notes:

I used half black cocoa and half Dutch cocoa to give them a lovely dark colour

And I used dark brown sugar, and a mix of 175g. regular plain flour plus 25g. wholemeal plain flour

I rebelled and used 2 tsp of vanilla, and salted butter (she says to use unsalted but you know that's the Devil's work!)

I ended up baking mine at 180C/350F fan-forced (I think) for 20 minutes! - but my gas oven is a bit old and cranky, like me :)

use some wholemeal flour too, for healthy:=)

ingredients gathered

flour mixture goes into the butter mixture

stir in the chocolate chips

yep, I know what you're thinking :=)

slicing it up

and into the oven

looking different :) but ready to eat

I took some to our local bookshop

As I often do, I took along some of these to the gals at our local bookshop Quick Brown Fox!  Only Theresa was in, so she was left with an ethical dilemma.  What to do? what to do? - hehehe ...

Green Tabasco-Style Hot Sauce

While on our recent road trip, Mr P. and I stayed a night in a re-purposed pottery shed, now a delightful guest cottage.  The owners had just rescued a young sheep, as a companion for their other young sheep, so I got to feed this gorgeous baby her bottle.  So cute!  And she was amazingly strong.  And her wool was incredible - so tough, and firm, like nothing I had ever felt before.  I think they said she was a mini-Dorset sheep (or was it a Babydoll sheep?), grown for its meat usually.  They are not going to eat her, don't worry! 

interior of the cottage/pottery shed

This recipe is from a book called Giffords Circus Cookbook, by Nell Gifford and Ols Halas.  (I had a quick read of this fascinating book, which was lurking in the cottage bookshelves.)  This is a real circus and restaurant that travels throughout the U.K.  Nell who was also an artist sadly died in 2019 from breast cancer.  Her niece took over the circus, after Nell died.  I can hardly get my head around a travelling circus/restaurant (!), much less a woman who painted sixty paintings in a year before she died.  And guess what?  She was the half-sister to Emma Bridgewater!  I love Emma's pottery pieces, and as you may know, I have a small collection of her mugs and plates.  Mm, that reminds me I still want to buy one of her eggplant dishes ...

the book!

Makes 1 small bottle (maybe 250 mL?):

ingredients:

200 mL/7 oz white wine vinegar

2 tsp sea salt flakes

1-2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped

100g./3.5 oz green jalapeño chillies/peppers, de-seeded and thinly sliced  see Notes

Method:

Put the vinegar, salt and garlic into a small saucepan, and bring it to the boil

Throw in the chillies, boil it for a minute or two, then take off the heat and let it rest for ten minutes (at least)

Blend this in a food processor (till smooth, says Nell)

Pour this green mixture into the sterilised bottle, seal it and store in the fridge (Nell doesn't mention the fridge till after you open it, but we live in hot and humid Queensland)

Nell also says it will keep in the fridge once opened for a week, but I have had it there for seven weeks, and still all good!  It tastes bloody good, I must say

ingredients gathered

macerating the chillies

the yoghurt cure!

We tried everything on my hand for the burn - milk, ice, water ... only the yoghurt left on for a couple of hours actually helped!  And I barely touched the chillies with my knife hand. 

really hot and delicious!

Notes:

I kept in some of the seeds, 'cos we like it hot!  As some readers will know, when I was chopping up the jalapeños for this, I foolishly only wore a glove on one hand, not the knife hand.  Oh silly me!  I had never realised properly before that chilli burns like fire! - and for hours.  So don't do what I did; wear the gloves!

I would love to make this again, but with red jalapeños.  I think that would be a fabulous change-up.

chillies!

I nearly forgot to tell you the story of the disasters when we stayed in the cottage.  We were seated at the table on wooden chairs, one of which decided to die, and threw Mr P. on the ground!  And then one of the lamps died, and he got an electric shock from it when we tried to check out what was going on with it.  I'm pretty sure there was a third disaster, but I've blocked it out :=)  Oh yes, I remember - the air con kept turning itself off, and the outside sensor light kept going on whenever we went to the fridge.  Interesting! :=)  But no worries.

the Bonville Headland Lookout at Sawtell, NSW

This Headland looks to the south, showing a beautiful sandy beach.  My previous photos were of Boambee Headland Lookout, looking north.

The owners of the Pottery Shed are very interesting people; she is English and he is American and they live here in Australia.  The cottage sits on their 1.5 acre rural property in the Boambee valley, near Coffs Harbour.  We have stayed there twice now, and will happily go back.  Not an ad by the way; just happy we stayed there.  And we didn't give a hoot about the accidents; we had a fine time!

(Joining in with Jo from Brookford Kitchen Diaries for BKD Cookbook Club.)

Moroccan-Style Tuna With Eggplant And Spicy Yoghurt

We like to eat fish in this household.  We have salmon once or twice a fortnight, (tinned) tuna for lunch once or twice a week, and I also enjoy some tinned sardines now and then.  Meat on the other hand - mm, probably a bit of beef mince once a month!  Hubby and I were both vegetarians in our youth (quite separate to each other).

To be honest, I think this was the first time I had ever cooked with fresh tuna.  I do enjoy a bit of sashimi, but sadly am a bit wary these days due to getting food poisoning from some salmon.  But I am very happy to have fish lightly grilled or baked, like this dish.   

we had the tuna with rice vermicelli noodles

Speaking of all things fish, reminds me of a trip to China years ago, where we were given a dish of ... jellyfish (?) in a clear, sweet liquid.  Of course, there were also chicken feet, and things of which we knew not.  Will never forget the sight of a businessman in his suit, briefcase in one hand, and live, squawking hen in the other.  I'd imagine his wife was awaiting the chook so she could start dinner ...

(Recipe from Belinda Jeffery's Utterly Delicious Simple Food.)

Belinda gives this recipe for 6 diners; I reduced it to 4, so pretty much halved the other ingredients

Serves 4:

ingredients:

Tuna marinade:

1-2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp ground cummin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika

a big pinch of cayenne pepper, or chilli flakes

1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped

1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

30 mL/1 hefty ounce of lemon juice

120 mL/4 oz EV olive oil

sea salt flakes and black pepper, to taste

Spicy yoghurt:

200g./7 oz plain Greek yoghurt

1 very tiny clove of garlic, finely chopped

40 mL/1.4 oz EV olive oil

1 tsp ground cummin

sea salt flakes

The Tuna and Eggplant:

4 tuna steaks around 100g./3.5 oz each (or bigger, if you fancy)  see Notes

600-700g./21-25 oz eggplant

80 mL/2.8 oz EV olive oil

mint or coriander leaves, for garnish

lemon wedges, to serve

ye olde eggplant

not a hint of soap here :=)

Method:

Start early! - make the marinade a couple of hours before you want to cook the fish

So, grab a large bowl, chuck in the marinade ingredients, give it a good whisking and then: leave the tuna in a flat (non-reactive) dish, pour over about a third or so of the marinade (you want the fish all covered), cover the dish with clingfilm or a lid, and let it rest easy for a couple of hours in the fridge (and Belinda suggests giving the steaks a turn every so often)

The rest of the marinade goes into a jug, and into the fridge

Now the eggplant: 

Oven on to 220C/430F to heat up; and line a large baking tray with baking paper

Slice up your eggplant lengthwise into quarters, then wedges

Chuck 'em into a bowl, and toss with the olive oil, then on to the tray in a single layer

Bake for around 30 minutes or so, till golden-brown (and turn 'em over halfway thru' the cooking time)

While this is happening, mix up the spicy yoghurt and put into the fridge while you get on with cooking the fish

Either whack the steaks onto your BBQ, or grab a grill pan, and cook till as tender as you care for - Belinda suggests 1 to 2 minutes per side!  You may want more cooking time

Now put a steak on each plate, pour over a bit of the marinade from the jug, and serve with eggplant and lemon wedges 

who, me?  Yep you Mr Tuna!

Notes:

Belinda suggests making this recipe for 6, using "6 tuna steaks", without giving a weight, but Googling shows the average weight of a tuna steak is around 180g./6.5 oz.  I just happened to only be able to buy small ones!  But grab some bigger pieces, or a couple more steaks to feed another two people (and increase the amounts for the marinade and yoghurt accordingly, if so)

ingredients gathered

prepare your marinade

pour the marinade over the fish

looking golden and delicious

spicy yoghurt at the ready

Mr P. grills the tuna (in his bare feet)

strew (is that a verb?) the coriander leaves over the eggplant

feeling hungry ...

nearly ready to dig in!

dig in!

and/or throw on some mint

In My Kitchen - March 2026

You know I have to say it!  March?!  What the? ...  I've barely recovered from Christmas - hehehe.  It's interesting lately checking out the early morning and late afternoon sunlight these days though.  You can see that the sun has moved to the north, and the light is starting to change depth and colour.  Autumn!  Oh yes please.

Well, what a week.  Mr P. has had another injection, and I've had my six-monthly dental checkup.  Oh the fun!  We often joke that getting older means having a favourite chemist, and discussing all your ills with your friends.  Ah well, I had bookclub too; I made a Nigella Lawson Quadruple chocolate loaf cake to take with.  I love the chocolate syrup poured over it, and sometimes use the syrup recipe for other cakes.  So good!

    

bonus photo of the sea at Sawtell on our recent roadtrip

In My Kitchen:

you can never have too many (Greek) chilli flakes! 

oh not another (food-related) book?  But yes!  It's Alton after all!

and another tumbler?  Also yes!  But the turtle ... :=)

of course I made more mango chutney!

lots of it!

This was made with gifted mangoes from our new neighbour's dad's garden (I think).  Otherwise, I don't know where he got them from :=) 

a few goodies from Tasmanian Gourmet Online

and I made spicy tomato relish

I bought some condiments (olive jam is great on pizza)

I made savoury mince for a cookbook club post

see those crisps?  Spicy crayfish.  So delicious!

We headed to the local Asian grocery shop, so I could stock up on some of my fave treats.  Pocky is always a winner, though they didn't have my favourite dark and nutty ones. 

and the curveball! - a gorgeous old inkwell with copper feather

This lovely little artwork is by Terina Smith Recycling Artist.  I have a couple of old inkwells so was very happy to add this one to my collection.  Terina created the copper feather (copper? I think so), which sits inside it.  I just love it!

c. Sherry M.

    

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Peanut Chutney - and What to do With It

Chutney?  Interesting word for it.  Nah, I think this is more of a marinade-type thingy.  I made this for Cookbook Club, waaaaay back in August last year.  The recipe is from Everything is Indian by Justin Narayan.  I decided to use it as a marinade for some chicken tenderloins.  I gave half the chutney to a friend (who used it as a marinade for chicken, too), and made this for dinner.  Great minds ...

deliciously nutty

Makes approx. 200g./7 oz:

ingredients:

130g./4.5 oz unsalted peanuts OR 130g. of peanut butter

30g./1 oz white sesame seeds

1/2 brown onion, roughly chopped   see Notes

2 tsp tamarind paste  (or 2-3 tsp lemon juice)

1 Tbs lemon juice

3 small red chillies (or your fave chilli), roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves - yep, roughly chopped :=)

100-125 mL  (3.4-4.3 oz water)

sea salt flakes (1/8-1/4 tsp) and freshly ground black pepper

luckily for me, I don't taste soap when I eat fresh coriander :)

Serves 4:

For the chicken dish:

500-600g./18-21 oz chicken tenderloins (or chop up some breasts)

Peanut chutney - maybe half the jar; just have the chicken well-coated     see Notes

Lemon juice - maybe 3 Tbs

Fresh coriander leaves, torn or chopped - a big handful, or to your taste

sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Rice or rice noodles, to serve

Cucumber and tomato, chopped, to serve

small red chillies

peanuts!

Method:

Grab a wee saucepan/frying pan and toast your nuts and seeds till golden brown (obvs. no need to toast the peanut butter, if  using)

Tip them into a blender or small food processor, with the other ingredients, except the salt and pepper

And blend away till it looks like the consistency of peanut butter

Add more water if you fancy it a bit thinner

Season with the salt and pepper

For the chicken dish:

Marinate the chicken pieces in the chutney for at least 30 minutes

Fry in 2 Tbs of vegetable or olive oil, which you have heated up

Add lemon juice, coriander leaves, salt and pepper

Throw on some white and/or black sesame seeds, if you like

Serve with rice or rice noodles

And chop up some cucumber, tomato and fresh coriander leaves, to go with ...

Notes:

I used peanut butter made from just peanuts and salt

The average brown onion weighs around 150-200g.; I used c. 90g.

I gave half the chutney away to a friend, so I probably used about 100g/3.5 oz for the chicken dish

Throw some mustard seeds or cummin seeds into the chutney (after blitzing to a smooth sauce) - if you fancy!

        brown onion

        cucumber

ingredients gathered

get ready to blitz!

and ... blitzed!  See how smooth :=)

ready for dinner!

Mangoes update: all 200 kilos! (maybe 150 kg.) of fruit has been laboriously picked up (even dug out) from the backyard.  The fruit bats, possums and birds are very sad!  The crows have been indignantly squawking for days about it.  I do love me a crow - so smart, so kind, dropping off gifts now and then.  And did you know? - they absolutely adore fruit.

Mr P. is very slowly getting over his cough, which has lasted for well over 3 weeks!  I can't believe I haven't caught it from him, though he has been politely sleeping downstairs so I don't get it!  Autumn is nearly here, and we have had copious amounts of rain over the last week.  And some flooding out west; it never ends here with the weird weather!!  Hope you are all doing well, my friends.

Guess who?  Yes, moi!  (c. G McKinnon)