GEORGE DONIKIAN, TV AND RADIO PRESENTER
FB: How would you rate your cooking skills?
GD: Could be better … but I would need to practice more!
FB: What is your signature dish?
GD: Greek style stuffed tomatoes with mince meat in the filling like mum makes.
FB: If you could only have one more meal, what would it be?
GD: An entree of calamari, followed by a main of spaghetti marinara, as made by one-time top Sydney restaurant La Strada in Macleay Street, Potts Point. Finish with dessert, which would come in the form of a bombe Alaska.
FB: What is your favourite TV food show and who is your favourite TV food person?
GD: MasterChef wins hands down, and my favorite food person is Shane Delia.
FB: What is your favourite food?
GD: Asian cuisine is a favourite.
FB: What is your favourite drink?
GD: A bottle of French champagne from the House of Dom Ruinart.
FB: Which 5 people would you most like to invite to dinner?
GD: Elvis Presley, Winston Churchill, Catherine Deneuve, Adriana Lima and George Clooney.
FB: Do you have a kitchen tip for us?
GD: Always use fresh, quality produce.
SALAD DAYS
Salads sure have come a long way from the wilted iceberg lettuce, thick telegraph cucumber slices and anaemic sliced tomato combination of my childhood. Sometimes – if we were being really exotic – mum would chuck in a few bite-size chunks of Coon cheese and drizzle the lot with Kraft Italian dressing. But that’s about as posh as it got.
If you find yourself throwing together the same old salad most days and need some inspiration, here are some tips I find useful:
1. Add some crunch: Experiment with textures. Throw in some roasted, slivered almonds or walnuts, sesame seeds, crispy prosciutto, shredded raw purple cabbage or even some Chang’s crunchy noodles to make it more substantial.
2. Be a smooth operator: Balance the crunch with the creamy texture of avocado chunks or some marinated Persian feta. Roasted pumpkin or sweet potato also offer a smooth texture, great colour and sweetness.
3. Get fruity: Peach or mango slices, mandarin segments, and apple pieces all work wonderfully well in salads, adding sweetness, colour and texture.
4. ‘Leave’ it out (if you like): Salads don’t always have to have leaves in them! Get busy with your spiraliser and replace the lettuce, spinach or kale with zucchini spirals.
5. Drizzle away: One of the simplest and easiest salad dressings is a nice drizzle of olive oil. You can’t go past the range of Cobram Estate olive oils with their little pop-top bottles
6. Get creative: As they always remind us on MasterChef, we eat with our eyes. Take a good look at the vegies you plan to throw in your salad and think of artistic ways in which you can present them. Take a leaf out Grace Aldridge’s book … as you can see by the photo, 12 year-old Grace went one step further recently and turned cucumbers into the most adorable little chickens.
