Australian Masterchef 2012.

Oh all this talk about those places and their food, makes me want to get over there again in a hurry.It will be such a shame to see them leave there.

What do you think of those tomatoes! There is nothing like an Italian tomato, we just don't have any here with that intensity of flavour or colour.

I thought Deb looked much more relaxed tonight, and has come to terms with the fact that she won't go all the way. If I had stood the pressure into the top 10 I would be pretty proud of myself.

A number of years ago there was a poster in Recipes who was fair dinkum Italian, and she recommended a particular plain packaging brand of tinned tomatoes as they come from Italy, and were authentic in her opinion to what she would be using back in the home country.

(Not fresh I know, but then I grow my own tasty tom's)

I think that was Bulloncina.I copied a lot of her recipes and they are simple and tasty.(probably a true reflection of home cooking). It was homebrand tomatoes and at the time they were really good.That's going back a few years on message board!

Thanks dizyq - that is her user name, I didn't want to attempt to spell it :-)Bulloncina also posted about the best dried pasta - she had lots of good tips.I think I discovered the MB about ten years ago, and she was posting back then!

I din't see until the end of the masterclass last night. Neil Perry's vege lasagne was looking rather ordinary. Did it get any better!

It looked really good bedazzledjewels! Quite simplistic, but with intense flavour. Also, he added parmigiano reggianoan cheese and an egg to the bechamel sauce.I think he commented that it gave it depth of flavour and the addition of egg gave it a beautiful consistency.

I wondered if there might have been some extra secret that i missed. Thanks Carlos.

The lasagne looked pretty ordinary to me Dazz.The egg in the bechamel would have held it together to enable each serving to be turned out as an individual portion.It seemed pretty pedestrian following the amazing guinea fowl, and after his heavy plug for Qantas it made me think of airline food.

Has anyone come across the individual induction cookers as used last night! I bought one locally, it was only around $160 (all I could get) is useless with very little control between the heat settings unlike the "fixed" types. A 2 unit inbench unit was $1200 but was far superior and looked similar in operation to last nights single units.

Neil Perrys VEGETABLE LASAGNE WITH ROASTED TOMATO SAUCE
Serves: 4
Ingredients

Roast Capsicum
•3 red capsicums, quartered and seeded
•2 tablespoons pure olive oil
•1 teaspoon thyme leaves
•Salt and pepper to season

Parmesan cheese sauce
•1 tablespoon unsalted butter
•1 tablespoon plain flour
•Pinch sea salt
•Pinch freshly ground white pepper, to taste
•125ml milk
•125g coarsely grated parmigiano reggiano
•50g ricotta
•1 egg, lightly beaten

Roast tomato sauce
•750g vine ripened tomatoes, quartered
•40ml extra virgin olive oil
•1 teaspoon sea salt
•Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
•1 small red onion, finely chopped
•2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
•1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
•1 teaspoon fresh marjoram, chopped

Assembly
•300g eggplant, cut into 5mm slices
•5g sea-salt
•olive oil
•400g green zucchini, cut into 5mm slices
•300g roasted capsicum (about 8 pieces) (see recipe above)
•250g dried lasagne sheets
•300g parmesan cheese sauce (see recipe above)

Method
1. Preheat oven to 220°C.
2. For the roast capsicum; Place capsicums and olive oil in a large bowl, season with thyme, salt and pepper. Place cut side down on a baking paper-lined oven tray and roast for 20-30 minutes or until blistered. Transfer to a bowl and cover tightly with cling film. Stand for 5 minutes to loosen skin. Peel and discard skin.
3. For parmesan cheese sauce; Melt butter in medium saucepan, stir in flour; cook stirring for 1 minute. Add salt and pepper and gradually add milk, whisk until slightly thickened. Remove from heat, cool slightly. Add parmesan and ricotta and mix through.
4. Stir in egg until combined. Season to taste. Cover with a round of baking paper so a skin doesn’t form.
5. Preheat oven to 140°C.
6. For roast tomato sauce; place quartered tomatoes, skin side down in a roasting pan, drizzle with 20ml olive oil and scatter with oregano, margoram, salt and pepper. Slow roast for 1½-2 hours or until slightly dehydrated. Cool slightly.
7. Heat remaining 20ml olive oil in a saucepan; add onion, garlic and a pinch of salt and cook over low heat for 10-15 minutes or until onion is translucent.
8. Chop tomatoes into 5mm dice, add to onion mixture with any juices and cook over medium heat until sauce is slightly thickened. If too thick add a little water; pass through a moulis or sieve to remove skin and seeds. Check seasoning and consistency, add a little extra olive oil and some pepper if desired.
9. Place eggplant in a colander, toss with 5g sea salt and stand over a bowl to drain for 30 minutes. Rinse under cold water and pat dry. Brush both sides with a little olive oil and sear in a hot frying pan 1-2 minutes each side or until golden and tender. Remove to a board.
10. Brush zucchini with a little olive oil and sear on both sides in the hot pan until zucchini is golden and tender. Remove to board and trim vegetables to fit dish.
11. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook lasagne sheets to almost al dente. Refresh in iced water and drain well. Cut pasta sheets into rectangles to fit dish.
12. Lightly grease four 2-cup capacity (12x8cm ceramic dishes) with a little olive oil, line base and 2 long sides with a sheet of baking paper extending 3cm above both long sides.
13. To assemble, place a piece of eggplant in the base of prepared dish, followed by a piece of pasta.Spread with parmesan cheese sauce, then top with a piece of roasted capsicum,then top with about 2 strips of zucchini, then a piece of roasted capsicum,followed by another pasta sheet, then parmesan cheese sauce and finally place another 2 strips of zucchini. Fold baking paper over and cover with foil.
14. Repeat this process with the remaining lasagne. Bake at 180°C for 20 minutes until lasagne is tender.:-))

Yes I agree, really anyone who is even slightly adventurous with meals would know how to make that vegetable lasagne. I couldn't believe that a top chef would do a masterclass in Italy, doing such a simple dish. It is a lovely dish and the tomato sauce would taste wonderful, but not a very high standard of cooking really. A bit of a waste of time.

When I heard the peacocksI thought it was Audra at first.

LMAO!Doesn't she drive you mad!! WoooOOOOW - like a cat crying! haha

Just made Neil Perry's Vegetable Lasagne and I have to say it really was delicious!- even though the tomatoes were not truss tomatoes it was still really good. Also, I added a drop of white wine to the tomato sauce (as I nearly always do) and managed to buy the Barilla Lasagne sheets that Neil Perry used and I'll definitely be getting them again.Bellissimo!

This particular recipe is so incredibly quick and easy to prepare!Highly recommend it ;D

Why would you make a rack of lamb when they specifically said they didn't use photos of dishes with bones on the magazine cover!

Agree, he shot himself in the foot there! And the meat wasnt even visible with all the greenery on top! Even hubby commented and he doesnt normally watch it.

. I thought the competition was for amateurs!

I answered this question at #529 - go take a look!

Mindy deserved to win the Masterchef magazine cover challenge It really did look stunning and I think she really surprised herself as she is not really a "dessert Chef"The editor aswell as the judges loved it, and I for one thought it looked very appealing.

OK - the winner was their choice based on visual appeal - BUT Mindy did not finish her dish in the required time or manner - she finished the topping and garnishing on the Judges table which would be enough to disqualify her at any other time.

I know! Good point! - that occured to me too. When they were told "times up" all disheshave to be COMPLETED then! - not in front of the judges!

Yes and even casual observation will show that those irritating countdowns of the last 10 seconds are also BS the plates are all instantly "completed" on time.

I've thought that for a while too.