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Recipes From Our Mums

Made With Love: Recipes From our Applejack teams maternal figures.

In celebration of Mother’s Day, we’re sharing dishes from the maternal figures closest to our Applejack team.

Nothing says love like food and nothing really hits like a home cooked meal. Some of our Applejack team are kindly sharing their favourite recipes and dishes from the maternal figures who’ve shaped them, and just why they’re so special. From Chef’s to our Head Office team, scroll down to find out the dishes that shaped us.

Dishes From Our Mums

Amber Doig: Classic Kiwi Bacon & Egg Pie

“This is a simple classic which was always on rotation in our home, either for pot luck parties, school lunches or a quick sunday lunch. I think it was one of my first recipes I could make by myself, once Mum had shown me a couple of times I was empowered to throw one together and in the oven. Can be easily modified to suit every taste, like any quiche/pie hybrid, with any seasonings or herbs you like, but we tended to keep it simple and serve with a delicious homemade chutney or relish. Childhood and Nostalgia wrapped in puff pastry.”

The Butler Chef Amber Doig

Matias Cilloniz: Fig Cake

“Peeled, ripe figs, stacked, pressed and frozen to loosen their sugars and stick to each other after melting. Served cold, with a vanilla bean, orange zest and fig leaf crème anglaise, and a pinch of salt… I remember eating it still frozen as a kid, my siblings and I couldn’t wait. The summer heat, the figs at their best, and not enough patience between us… It exists only here, at a table in Lima, in my memory at the end of summer. Nostalgia that sinks in slowly. The table as gift. Quite literally.”

Executive Chef Matias Cilloniz

Jono Buttigieg: Għaġin il-forn (Maltese Pasta Bake)

“After my father passed away, mum was a single mum raising five kids, whilst also running a transport business. To say she was busy is an understatement, yet food was always ready and on the table without fail. Every Saturday, she’d make Għaġin il-forn, a Maltese dish that’s still a staple at our family gatherings today. Whilst the dish is fairly simple in nature, to me it’s a reminder mum’s strength and resilience through hardship, and the sense of stability she gave me and my siblings growing up.”

HR Coordinator Jono Buttigieg

Alexandra Barron: Mums Tiramisu

“My mum made this for me every birthday without fail – tiramisu was always the perfect way to end the celebration! From the coffee to the generous pour of Tia Maria, I’d always have more than one slice.”

Group Marketing Manager Alexandra Barron

Hamish Watts: Mimi's Chicken, Veggie & Rice Winter Soup

“I’ve always loved this soup because Mum would make it the minute winter rolled in, especially on those grey, rainy days or whenever I was feeling off. It’s warm, simple, and somehow fixes everything. Even now I still ask for it, and every bowl feels like home.”

Director & Co-founder Hamish Watts

Full Recipes to make this Mother’s Day:

Amber Doig: Classic Kiwi Bacon & Egg Pie

Classic Kiwi Bacon & Egg Pie (Edmonds cookbook amended recipe):

Ingredients –

Pastry:

2 sheets of puff pastry

Pie filling:

225g smoked streaky bacon, cut chunky
1 onion, diced
6 eggs
1/2 cup Grated cheddar
Salt & pepper
A little Butter, to cook onion & bacon

Method –

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Lightly grease a square 20cm shallow cake tin or pie dish.

2. Use 1 sheet of the ready-rolled pastry and line the prepared dish.

3. Heat a saucepan over a medium heat, add onions & bacon, cook until onions are tender, allow to cool

4. Crack eggs in a mixing bowl, Season with salt and pepper and beat until combined, add grated cheese and cooled bacon and onion, mix together.
Pour over pastry base. Brush the edges of the pastry with a little water.

6. Roll out the other piece of pastry or use the second sheet of frozen pastry and lift it carefully onto the filling. Press the edges together to seal.

7. Using a sharp knife, cut away any excess pastry from the edges, arrange it in a stack to keep the layers intact and reroll. Cut out some leaves or other decorative shapes and stick them on the top of the pie with a little water. Make 2-3 slits in the top of the pie. Brush the top with milk or a little beaten egg.

8. Bake for approximately 30mins or until pastry is a beautiful golden brown, serve either hot or cold, usually with someones homemade tomato relish or Watties tomato sauce.

Hamish Watts: Mimi's Chicken, Veggie & Rice Winter Soup

This is one of those throw-it-all-in, walk-away kind of soups. No fuss, no pre-cooking, just honest flavour that builds slowly through the day.

Ingredients –
(no strict measurements, just go with what feels right)

1 whole free range chicken
Celery
Carrots
Fresh tomatoes
Spinach
Any extra veggies you’ve got lying around
3 cloves garlic
Good quality stock
Turmeric
Smokey paprika
Bay leaf
Fresh herbs (whatever’s growing or in the fridge)
Salt and pepper
Brown rice (about a cup, give or take)

Method:
1. Load it up
Place the whole chicken into your slow cooker. Roughly chop all the veggies and throw them in raw. Add garlic, tomatoes, herbs, bay leaf, turmeric, smokey paprika, salt and pepper.

2. Cover and forget
Pour in enough stock to cover everything. Pop the lid on and cook low all day. No frying, no prep, just let it do its thing.

3. Pull it apart
Once the chicken is super tender, lift it out carefully. Strip all the meat off the carcass and shred it. Discard bones and return the chicken to the pot.

4. Add the rice
Stir in the brown rice. Let it cook for another hour or so until the rice is tender and the soup thickens slightly.

5. Taste and tweak
Check seasoning. Add a bit more salt, pepper or herbs if needed. You can loosen it with a splash more stock if it gets too thick.

6. To Serve
Ladle it into big bowls. Finish with fresh herbs if you’ve got them. Best served with lots of crusty bread and butter.

It’s rich, comforting and the kind of thing that somehow tastes even better the next day!