Ross Dobson – författare

''A glorious endeavour'' Nigella LawsonOver 90 rediscovered and revived Australian classics - thrifty, no-waste recipes from a time that honoured seasonal, locally grown ingredients and truly understood the value of food as comfort. Nostalgic, yes, but completely relevant to today''s kitchens. Chef and bestselling cookbook author Ross Dobson has a hobby: scouring old journals, newspapers and books for Australia''s ''forgotten'' recipes. While his research has revealed some shockers not worth repeating, he has come across many more worthy dishes that are missing from the repertoire of modern-day cooks. In The Lost Recipes he sets about righting this culinary injustice by presenting a selection of bygone gems, savoury and sweet, dating from the Victorian era through to the 1950s - all of them rescued, researched, tested and updated by Ross. Threaded throughout are handy tips (celery leaves dried in the oven and then ground with salt make a seasoning with endless uses - especially good on roasted potatoes) and insights into old-fashioned cooking techniques and ingredients deserving of revival. Among these once-forgotten recipes you will find: - mushroom ketchup (1886) - hot slaugh (1876) - olive & anchovy salad (1921) - devilled whitebait (1938) - Sunday Chinese chicken (1949) - brisket with macaroni (1915) - golden billy bread (1925) - pumpkin brownies (1939) - cream lilies (1954) - green tomato & pineapple jam (1933) ''There isn''t one recipe in this book that wasn''t, in essence, once a lovely idea. It has been a privilege and joy to bring them back to life - and in a workable condition.'' Ross Dobson

We all have favourite ingredients that we keep in our kitchen. My personal favourites are in a constant state of change, depending on my mood or the season, but will almost always include tinned tomatoes and barbecued chicken. Anchovies and curry paste. Coconut milk and feta. Dried pasta and instant polenta. Tofu and soy sauce. So often, the ingredients we boughtfor a recipe simply hang around, untouched or forgotten, in our fridge, freezer or pantry. We buy them for a recipe that only calls for a quarter of a tin or half a packet. Or we keep them ready for a culinary experiment that never eventuates. Or we simply can''t eat them quickly enough. Bread - stale, of course - is a case in point. Let''s face it, ''stale'' is what happens to bread. And the better the bread, the quicker it stales. (Don''t worry - fresh bread doesn''t make for good crumbing!) You may be wondering why I have so enthusiastically included stale bread as an ingredient in this book. The simple reason is that frugality is back, baby. But being ''economical'' is not about being stingy. Quite the opposite - it is all about being creative, thoughtful and resourceful. Here, I''ve used stale bread in recipes for pasta with chilli crumbs, crumbed prawns with plum sauce, and parmesan and herb crumbed lamb cutlets. I encourage you (actually - I implore you) to explore at least three other ways with this thrifty and versatile one-hundredth ingredient. This book is not about reinventing your pantry. Instead, more usefully in times like these, it''s all about making the most of what you have to hand. Look at these basic 100 ingredients as a framework for the start of something good!- Ross Dobson

Slow-cooked food is always easy and tasty but it can also be wholesome. Now, everyone's favourite set-and-forget device gets a healthy makeover with over dozens of recipes you'll want to cook again and again.Packed with veg, using smart carbs and with lots of flexibility for when you need to cater for those with dietary restrictions, The Healthy Slow Cooker is a collection of favourite family-friendly food made healthy. It's not completely vegetarian, but is light on the meat, because we all need ways to get more veg on our plate. With chapters covering Sunday Suppers, Weekday Dinners, Set and Forget, Soups, Curry Night and Saturday Night Specials, your slow cooker becomes the gateway to deliciously healthy dinners that don't sacrifice flavour.

There is more than a little truth in the suggestion that beer is humankind's greatest ever invention. It was a thirsty appetite that motivated people to grow the grains needed to make beer; bread was more an afterthought. And while wine might be synonymous with fancy restaurant fare, beer is the perfect match for the big, bold flavours of Piri Piri Chicken, Lamb Shawarma or Goulash. Nothing cuts through the heat of Fish Baked in Chipotle or the salty crispness of Calamari Fritti more than the fresh fizz of a cold beer. Beer Food is the perfect recipe book and beer-matching guide to the flavours you love with a brew. Featuring 80 relaxed, authentic dishes drawing from cuisines internationally, and sprinkled with features on favourite beers from around the world, this is a cookbook that understands that Great Food + Good Beer = Happiness.

"An ambitious new book from Phaidon chronicles three periods of Australian cuisine, from the ancient past to the Anglo era after colonization to the multicultural present" – New York TimesA celebration of Australian cuisine like never before – 350 recipes showcasing the rich diversity of its landscapes and its peopleAustralia is a true melting pot of cultures and this is reflected in its cooking. As an island of indigenous peoples alongside a global panoply of immigrants with different culinary influences and traditions, its foodways are ripe for exploration. As well as the regional flora and fauna that make up bush tucker, there are dishes from all over the world that have been adopted and adapted to become Australia's own – making this recipe collection relevant to home cooks everywhere. The home cooking recipes range from iconic – chicken parmigiana, meat pies, Anzac biscuits and Lamingtons – to lesser known dishes such as Queensland blue pumpkin soup, Stir fried native greens, and Cumquat marmalade, together with a 'guest chef' collection of recipes by a selection of Australia's finest kitchen talents.

Master the art of cooking Chinese food at home with these simple, flavour-packed dishes by bestselling author Ross Dobson.Chinese Food Made Easy takes favourite recipes from each of China's diverse culinary regions and simplifies them so you can recreate them with ease at home. Including expert guidance on finding and selecting the key ingredients to stock your pantry, plus step-by-step guides to essential techniques such as blanching greens and making dumplings, this book will have you turning out favourite dishes like spicy Shanghai noodles, fragrant beef hotpot and Hainan chicken rice in no time. Also included is a detailed meal planner with suggestions on how to put together a truly fabulous Chinese feast.

Fire up the firepit and let's get barbecuing. As an experienced chef and food writer - and a dab hand with the barbie tongs - Ross Dobson knows a thing or two about cooking with fire. In this book his recipes are especially tailored to creating great meals on a firepit with a simple grill or hotplate. Ross shares tips on the best wood to use, foolproof instructions to tame the flame and make the heat last, advice on how to prepare food for the grill, marinades for tenderising and adding flavour, plus ideas for delicious butters, salsas, dips and breads. Over 90 recipes, for chicken, fish, pork, beef, lamb, vegetarian meals and vegetables, are simple to prepare, fun to cook and perfect for your firepit barbecue... Whether it's fragrant chicken parcels for a healthy midweek family dinner, whole trout with lemon and dill for Sunday lunch, or spicy beef kebabs for a cruisy Friday night feast with friends. That's cooking with fire!