Tasty summer eats: 3 recipes from 3 young Kiwi chefs

By MAS Team

Whether it’s a flat dinner party or a backyard picnic with whānau, these easy but fancy-looking sharing plates are sure to please a crowd. 

Looking for ideas for your next summer potluck? We’ve compiled 3 easy delicious recipes from 4 of New Zealand’s young up-and-coming foodies who understand what cooking as a student is really like.  

Cheese Puffs 

Makes 10 

Ingredients 

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour 
  • 2½ tsp baking powder 
  • Pinch of salt 
  • 1½ cups grated cheese 
  • 1 egg 
  • Around ½ cup whole milk 

Directions 

  1. Preheat the oven to 210°C (410°F) fan bake. Lightly grease a baking tray.  
  2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add the cheese and mix through. 
  3. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg and milk. Add the egg mixture to the cheese mixture and mix through with a knife. You can always add more milk if the mixture is too stiff. Too much makes the mixture sloppy, and it spreads on the tray before it starts rising. 
  4. Drop large spoonfuls on the prepared tray.  
  5. Bake for around 15 minutes or until golden. 
  6. Serve warm from the oven.  

Note: 

To make scrolls, add an extra ¼ cup of flour so the mix is less sticky to the touch. Roll out to 1cm (½ in) thick, and evenly spread over a tub of pesto and crumble a block of feta. Roll, slice into 8 pieces, break apart and spread out on a tray. Bake for 15 minutes. 

Cheese puffs recipe from Alice in Cakeland

After rushing to finish her Master’s thesis in order to audition for MasterChef New Zealand in 2022, and subsequently placing third, Alice Taylor released her cookbook ‘Alice in Cakeland’ in 2024. Here, she shares a favourite from her grandmother’s recipe book

Images and text from ‘Alice in Cakeland’ by Alice Taylor, photography by Lottie Hedley and Melanie Jenkins (Flash Studios), published by Allen and Unwin NZ RRP $45.00. 

Crispy Potatoes, Aioli + Smoked Paprika Seeds 

Feeds: 6–8 

Time: 75 minutes  

Ingredients

  • 8 medium potatoes, halved 
  • Water  
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt  

Aioli

  • 2 eggs  
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon or wholegrain mustard  
  • ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar  
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt  
  • ¾ cup olive oil  

Smoked Paprika Seeds  

  • ½ cup pumpkin seeds  
  • 1 teaspoon cooking oil  
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika  
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt  
  • 3 tablespoons cooking oil  
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt  
  • 1 cup chopped fresh herbs  

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).  
  2. Add the potatoes to a pot, cover with water and add a good pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes. Drain.  
  3. For the aioli, add the egg, mustard, apple cider vinegar and salt to a bowl. Beat with a hand-held whisk or stick mixer until it starts to fluff up and create bubbles (about 60 seconds). Add the olive oil in 6 individual pours, whisking for at least 30–45 seconds after each pour. Once your aioli has thickened, set it aside in the fridge.  
  4. For the smoked paprika seeds, place the pumpkin seeds in a dry frypan over a medium heat and toast until they start to pop. Add the cooking oil, smoked paprika and salt. Stir until the seeds are evenly coated and toast for a further 1–2 minutes.  
  5. Place the potatoes on a large baking tray. Using the bottom of a cup, press down each potato half to squash it a little. Drizzle with cooking oil and salt and roast for 45 minutes or until golden and crispy.  
  6. To serve, spread half of the aioli over the base of a flat, round plate, using the back of a spoon. 
  7. Arrange the crispy potatoes on top. Spoon the remaining aioli over the potatoes and sprinkle with the smoked paprika seeds and herbs.  
  8. Leftovers will last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.  

Tips:

  • You can swap the potatoes for kūmara, pumpkin or yams.  
  • Aioli will last up to 10 days in the fridge. The smoked paprika seeds will store in a jar for up to 2 weeks. Make a big batch and sprinkle them on top of salads and soups.  

Crispy potatos from More Salad by Two Raw Sisters

Known as the ‘Two Raw Sisters’, Margo Flanagan and Rosa Power are passionate about nutrition and wholefoods. They published their 5th cookbook, More Salad, in 2024.  

Credit: Extracted from ‘More Salad’ by the Two Raw Sisters. Photography © Food: Margo Flanagan and Lifestyle: Susannah Blatchford. RRP$49.99. Published by Allen & Unwin NZ.  

Beetroot blush lasagne 

Feeds: 8 

Time: 40 minutes hands-on, 2 hours total

Ingredients

Beetroot béchamel

  • 1kg beetroot, peeled and chopped into 2cm chunks 
  • 3 tbsp olive oil 
  • 100g butter 
  • 100g plain flour 
  • 1 litre milk 
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg 
  • ¾ tsp sea salt 
  • ¾ tsp cracked black pepper 

Filling

  • 750g peeled pumpkin flesh (from ½ crown pumpkin), chopped into 2cm chunks 
  • 1 tsp ground cumin 
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped sage 
  • 5 tbsp olive oil 
  • 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
  • 200g spinach leaves, shredded 
  • 200g feta, crumbled 
  • ½ tsp cracked black pepper 

Additional filling

  • 375g fresh or instant dried lasagne sheets 
  • 2 large handfuls grated Tasty cheese 

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan forced (or 200°C conventional). Line 2 large oven trays with baking paper. 
  2. First roast the beetroot and pumpkin. In a bowl, toss the beetroot with 3 tbsp olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Tip out onto one oven tray. In a clean bowl, toss the pumpkin with the ground cumin, 1 tbsp of the sage, 3 tbsp of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Tip onto the other tray. Roast the beetroot for about 50 minutes, until cooked through (a knife should easily pierce through the flesh). Roast the pumpkin for 30 minutes or until tender. Remove the roasted beetroot and pumpkin from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 160°C fan-forced (or 180°C conventional). 
  3. For the beetroot béchamel, melt the butter in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat until starting to bubble and foam. Add the flour and whisk for a minute or 2, until it forms a thick smooth paste. Remove from the heat and gradually pour in the milk, whisking constantly until the mixture is smooth. Return to medium heat and slowly bring to the boil. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent the sauce catching on the bottom of the pan, until nicely thickened. Remove from the heat and add the roasted beetroot, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Using a stick blender (or similar), blitz until completely smooth. 
  4. For the filling, heat the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, until starting to brown. Add the spinach and cook for a couple of minutes, until it is just starting to wilt. Transfer to a large bowl and toss together with the roast pumpkin, remaining sage, feta and pepper. 
  5. To construct the lasagne, lightly grease a deep ovenproof dish or baking tin (about 33cm x 23cm) with butter. Spread a very thin layer of beetroot béchamel over the base of the dish. Arrange a single layer of lasagne sheets over the béchamel, then spread with half the filling. Add another layer of lasagne sheets and spread with half the béchamel and a handful of grated Tasty cheese. Repeat so that you have 4 layers of lasagne sheets, with a top layer of béchamel sprinkled with Tasty cheese. Bake for 40–45 minutes, until golden brown and the lasagne sheets are cooked through. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes. 
  6. Serve warm, with your favourite side salad. 

Beetroot lasagne by Good Vibes

The Great Kiwi Bake Off 2021 winner and mental health doctor, Alby Hailes, published ‘Good Vibes’ in 2023. Don’t be put off by the comprehensive method, this recipe is easier than it looks.

Credit: Recipe extracted from ‘Good Vibes’ by Alby Hailes (HarperCollins NZ, HB, RRP $55)  
Photography credit: Aaron McLean 

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