ross dobson food

Ross has long championed farmers markets, eating food when it is seasonally available, and using simple cooking techniques to showcase good produce at its best. In this book, he turns his attention to creating meals from wholefoods, using nutritious pulses and grains as the basis of the recipes.

Great Starters include Carrot, Cumin and Lentil Dip; Smoky Paprika Houmous; and Falafel with Minted Yoghurt. Hearty Soups include Curried Parsnip and Butterbean Soup; and Pinto Bean Soup with Shredded Lettuce and Soured Cream. Try a fresh idea from Salads such as Quinoa Tabbouleh; Lentil, Artichoke and Salsa Verde Salad; and Warm Salad of Black-eyed Peas with Halloumi.

 Perfect Sides include Lemon and Cardamom Rice; Buttered Buckwheat with Corn and Green Herbs; and Tuscan Beans wth Sage. Hearty Mains are Sausage, Fennel and Haricot Bean Stew; Slow-cooked Miso Pork Belly with Soy Beans; and Barley Risotto with Mushrooms and Goats Cheese.

Enjoy a wholesome treat from Baking and Sweets try Couscous and Cashew Nut Soda Bread; or Blueberry and Bran Muffins. For dessert indulge in Apple and Raisin Crumble or Honey Couscous with Figs and Rosewater Cream.

When I am entertaining at home I have a mantra - keep it simple and keep it casual.  I just can't see the point of making food that keeps me away from my family and friends.  After all, isn't sharing food and enjoying good company what entertaining is all about?

In my view, there are really three main types of recipe that work well when entertaining and the first is anything that can be prepared ahead of time - a dish that can be baked the day beforehand is a boon, especially if it actually tastes better the next day! The second type is a slow-cooked recipe which, once assembled and popped in the oven, pretty much looks after itself, leaving the cook free to get on with other tasks. The third is a quick and easy recipe that is started from scratch but thrown together in less than 20 minutes - great for when time is short. If a recipe meets any one of these criteria it's likely to be a great recipe for entertaining. 

Read more in New York's  Daily News review 1.31 Mb

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Casual Entertaining 

Market Vegetarian

Fired Up is a wonderful new barbecue cookbook which features a comprehensive range of no-nonsense recipes to cover all your barbecuing needs.

It is divided into four straightforward chapters - bird, cow, fish and on the side - which all offer a mouth-watering selection of grilling and hot-plating fare.

There are classic barbecue favourites like beef ribs with barbecue sauce, more exotic and modern interpretations such as Thai-style garlic pepper barramundi, and innovative and appealing recipes including beer-can roasted chicken.

Check it out at all good book stores.

Vegetarian cooking need not be dull. This book is jam packed with really tasty, easy, no-fuss recipes.

Like kitchen seasons,  the recipes in this book showcase naturally produced, organic ingredients at their best.   Cooking with fresh, organic vegetables and fruit is not only healthy but simple too.  Just perfect for making the most of farmers' market or weekly veggie box produce.

For recipes from my books, just click on 'recipes' and check out some of the sample recipes on offer.
If you have any  questions or general inquiries regarding my recipes or books, please feel free to drop me a line.
I look forward to hearing from you!

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Market Vegetarian

Casual Entertaining

Easy recipes for seasonal organic food.

The recipes in kitchen seasons are fuss free, using naturally produced foods at their peak of perfection. Recipes for starters, mains, salads and sweet things that not only make the most of top quality fresh food throughout the year but reflect the ever changing moods, colours and atmosphere of the seasons.

Although we can buy most food all year round, many so-called 'fresh' products may have travelled thousands of air miles to reach our shopping baskets. All too often the result is disappointment. There is no doubt that food produced and marketed locally, in its natural season just tastes better. As a bonus, such food is likey to be at its nutritional best, too. In spring leafy greens are at their sweetest and crispest, and lamb is especially tender; an organically grown summer tomato simply bursts with goodness; autumn fruits are luscious with juice; a winter leek is silky and full of flavour.

kitchen seasons is about making the most of food in all its glorious prime, just as nature intended...

...stale bread!

Don't we all have stale bread in our cupboard? All it takes is a few clicks of  a food processor to whiz up some crumbs, and combined with a few other kitchen staples like parmesan cheese, olive oil, garlic, chilli flakes and your favourite pasta, you have dinner ready in 10 minutes.

Here are 300 recipes using ingredients you will find in your pantry, fridge or freezer...tinned tomatoes, frozen peas, curry pastes, chocolate...all these ingredients form the basis for delicious meals that are easy to prepare and cook. From whizzing up a cashew and dill pesto, to whisking together a maple custard, to letting lamb shanks and lentils slow cook in a pot (while you get on with other things), this book is the starting point for the inspiration that waits inside every kitchen cupboard.

An exciting collection of recipes that reflect Ross’ love affair with Chinese food which began over the garden fence in Sydney’s western suburbs. The recipes are both tried and true favourites, like lemon chicken, honey prawns and beef and black bean casserole, and exciting new recipes like mandarin spiced duck, cumin lamb skewers, sugar and soy cured tuna and jasmine tea ice cream.

from chinatown...

Few places exite the senses as much as Chinatown-it is a theatre of movement, colour, scents, sights, sounds and food.  Of all these it is the wonderful food that particularly seduces and entices passers-by.

Ross Dobson has been inspired by Sydney's Chinatown since early childhood.  Ross has explored Chinatown markets all over the world, making new discoveries in each one.  In chinatown Ross shares his passion and knowledge of Chinese ingredients to create an exciting collection of recipes that reflect his familiarity with Chinese flavours and culinary traditions.

In most cities you will find a Chinatown: a buzzing, electric enclave of neon-bright lights, alive with exotic colours, smells and flavours. Colourful paper parasols, fire-red lanterns, dragons and fire crackers wait to explode into a celebration of colour and movement. Noodle houses, dim sum houses and mahjong rooms compete with the sound of the wok charn clanging as it hits the wok. Metal on hot metal, breathing heat and life into food. The wonderful flavours of Chinatown. The crazy, chaotic buzz of a Chinatown market.

The intoxicating and seductive smells of barbecue and spice. To many of us the ingredients sold here will look, smell and sound irresistibly exotic: sichuan peppercorns, dried tangerine peel, rock sugar, lotus flowers and liquorice root. Chinatown will explore some of these magical ingredients, combining them with fresh produce to create a simple and fiavour-explosive cuisine. A cuisine with celestial flavours. The flavours of Chinatown.

Chinatown published by Murdoch Books.