The Kiwi chef and businesswoman from Tauranga found the pandemic had made her put greater importance on spending as much time as she can with the people she loves and making the most of every moment, every day.
Her latest book Together: Food for Sharing is exactly for that, to bring people together.
"A lot of the recipes in this book have stemmed from the Pepper and Me work lunches. The team’s unanimous firm favourite is the chorizo-loaded queso, one that must not be missed."
Metcalfe spent a few years working on superyachts as a live-in chef travelling the world and experiencing different cuisines has inspired her cooking.
Fitting with its entertaining theme, the book is divided into sections for brunch, picnicky bites, salad platters, side hustles, bigger bits, bakery and foursies, a drinks section.
To assist hosts with ideas for entertaining she has suggested some feasting menus with world cuisines in mind such as an Italian feast or Asian street fodo night or Greek Tapas.
While the recipes use her popular condiment range, she has a handy guide of alternatives to use if you do not have her range.
THE BOOK
Recipes extracted from Together: Food For Sharing by Cherie Metcalfe, published by Allen & Unwin NZ, RRP: $45. Food photography by Melanie Jenkins Flash Studio
Panna Cotta with Blackberry Compote and Honeycomb
These little panna cotta moulds are so simple to make, but you can dress them up to be gorgeous. They are best prepared the day before, so ideal if you want to have a low-stress dinner party dessert ready to pull out of the fridge. Fresh blackberries can be hard to find and expensive so I’ve just used frozen, but if you stumble across fresh they’d be even more amazing. A lovely cold dessert for a hot day.
Serves 6
Ingredients
1½ cups milk
1½ cups cream
3 Tbsp caster sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthways
4 sheets gelatine
Honeycomb, to serve
Fresh mint, to serve (optional)
Blackberry compote
300 g frozen blackberries
1 tsp ground Pepper & Me Bakers Blend (or substitute half salt, half sugar and spices, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, cloves and vanilla, to taste)
1 Tbsp honey
Combine milk and cream in a pot on low-to-medium heat. Add sugar and vanilla bean and stir gently to combine and let the sugar dissolve.
While milk mixture is simmering, pop gelatine leaves in cold water and leave to soften for 5 minutes.
Remove milk mixture from heat. Lift softened gelatine leaves out of the water and add to milk mixture. Whisk to dissolve, then pour through a sieve into a jug to strain any bits.
Grease 6 moulds, cups, teacups or whatever you like. Divide mixture evenly between them. Pop in the fridge to set for at least 8 hours or ideally overnight.
Blackberry compote
To make blackberry compote, place blackberries, Bakers Blend and honey in a small pot and gently stir on very low heat for 5 minutes until a nice saucy compote has formed. Pop in a container in the fridge until ready to serve.
When ready to serve, slip a knife down the side of the moulds and turn each panna cotta out on to a plate, or if using a cute wee cup just serve in the cup.
Garnish with blackberry compote, a teaspoon-size lump of honeycomb and fresh mint, if desired.
Chorizo-loaded Queso
The naughtiest recipe in this book, this is an absolute must-try! Perfect to take to a barbecue or to watch the rugby at a mate’s place, this shared starter or snack will go down such a treat. The vibrant fresh salsa breaks up the richness of the cheese, and the chorizo really takes it to the next level. I use Bega burger cheese from Gilmours, but you could also use Dairyworks Cheddar. If you can’t find chorizo mince, you can squeeze the meat out of fresh chorizo sausages.
Serves 8
Ingredients
250 g chorizo mince
1 onion, finely diced
1 Tbsp Pepper & Me Mexellent Paste (or taco seasoning, squeeze of lime and 1 tbsp tomato paste and a little oil to bind)
corn chips, to serve
Queso
250 g cream cheese
400 ml evaporated milk
2 cups grated tasty cheese
300 g burger cheese or orange cheese
¼ cup chopped jalapenos
Avocado Salsa
1 red onion, diced
1 avocado, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 handful fresh coriander, chopped
2 Tbsp lime juice
Pepper & Me Chipotle & Lime Salt (or salt, a squeeze of lime and a pinch chilli powder), to taste
Add chorizo, onion and Mexellent Paste to a pan on medium-low heat and saute for 34 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
To make queso, add all the ingredients to the same pan and gently melt on medium heat, stirring constantly until a beautiful smooth cheesy sauce is formed.
To make avocado salsa, combine onion, avocado, tomato and coriander and season with a squeeze of lime and some chipotle and lime salt.
Top queso with chorizo and salsa, and serve with corn chips.
Spinach and Ricotta Pide
I absolutely love this pide. You could also fill it with a lamb mince filling, which is also amazing.
Serves 8
Ingredients
1½ cups lukewarm water
3 tsp active dried yeast
1 tsp sugar
about 4 cups high-grade flour, plus ½ cup extra for kneading
1 tsp Pepper & Me Man Grind (or whatever salt is on hand)
¼ cup olive oil, plus extra to brush
Spinach and Ricotta Topping
a drizzle of olive oil
1 onion, diced
130g baby spinach
250g ricotta
200g feta, crumbled
2 tsp Pepper & Me Rock The Zaatar seasoning (or any zaatar)
Pepper & Me Man Grind (see above), to taste
Preheat oven to 100degC fan bake.
Combine ½ cup of the lukewarm water with yeast and sugar in a bowl or jug. Leave to activate for 10 minutes until frothy.
Mix flour and Man Grind in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre. Pour in yeast mix, olive oil and another ½ cup lukewarm water.
Using a knife or your hands, slowly draw flour from sides into liquid. Work mixture into a dough that is soft and sticky, but still able to be handled. Add more water or flour as you go, if needed.
Turn out on to a well-floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until dough is springy. Add additional flour (for ease of kneading) gradually at this stage, trying not to add too much as we are aiming for a soft dough.
Once dough springs back to the touch, place in an oiled bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Sit bowl on another folded tea towel in the preheated oven and switch oven off. Leave for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
While dough rises, prepare spinach and ricotta topping. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a pan on medium heat and saute onion until softened. Add spinach and allow to wilt. Set side to cool, then stir in ricotta, feta and the Zaatar.
Line an oven tray with baking paper. Remove risen dough from oven and preheat oven to 200degC fan bake.
Turn risen dough out on to a lightly floured surface and divide into eight pieces. Roll each into a ball, then press out into an oval about 20 x 15cm on prepared tray.
Evenly spread spinach and ricotta topping over ovals, leaving a border of 1cm with no filling. Fold sides partway over topping and squeeze the ends to make boat shapes. Brush dough edges with a little extra olive oil, add Man Grind and bake for 25-30 minutes until pide is golden brown and crispy.
