Garlic Olive Oil And Everything Else - Author Q&A With Daen Lia
Plus Exclusive Recipes - Rosemary's Bread Stuffed Eggplant & Simple Salad
You are going to love today’s featured cookbook author. Like most of the world, I discovered Daen Lia on social media. Just like her millions of followers on Tiktok and Instagram, I was enthralled by her incredibly inviting videos of delicious carby goodness accentuated by lots of garlic and olive oil. Daen is a recipe developer and digital creator from Melbourne, Australia. Her website is Daen’s Kitchen where she shares delicious, everyday modern recipes inspired by her Italian and Spanish heritage. You can also find Daen on Daen’s Substack and on Youtube at Daen’s Kitchen!
When her debut cookbook launched earlier this year, I knew I had to add it to my cookbook collection. Garlic, Olive Oil & Everything Else is a beautiful collection of all the things you want to cook and everything you want to eat!
Iconic recipes for lovers of garlic, olive oil and butter. Think Focaccia, Pastas, Crispy Potatoes, Crumbed Things, Confits, One-Pan Bakes and Breads. Plus classic salads, dressings, flavoured butters, amazing seafood and so much more!
For the past couple of months, I have been slowly cooking my way through Daen’s book. It has been wonderful! The cookbook is divided by the following chapters - Garlic, Olive Oil, Butter, Bread, Crumbs and Eggs with recipes that allow each ingredient to truly shine. I love taking my time with a new cookbook and really getting to know it. I also love discovering new techniques and flavour combinations.
One of the most useful things I learned from Daen’s book was building layers of flavour in true Italian style. Slowly macerate and simmer in olive oil to infuse and enhance and elevate.
So far, I have cooked Garlic Confit, Tomato & Garlic Confit Soup, Tomato & Basil Sauce, Simple Salad with Lemon & Honey Vinaigrette, Rosemary’s Bread Stuffed Eggplants, Pesto Genovese With Ricotta Gnocchi, Pasta Alla Vodka and Focaccia. And we have enjoyed each and every recipe immensely.
Most recently, Daen took some time out to answer some questions for all my readers. She has also generously allowed me to share a couple of recipes from her glorious cookbook! The recipes are Rosemary’s Bread Stuff Eggplant and the Simple Salad with Lemon Honey Vinaigrette. I think they would be perfect for a lovely Sunday lunch with the family or a Thanksgiving celebration (because it is that time of the year!)
Without further ado, here is Daen talking about her cookbook, her cherished food memories and her ideal dinner party followed by exclusive recipes from her cookbook!
But first!! The Cook Republic Carrot is feeling all the festive vibes …
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1. Your book is an ode to Garlic and Olive Oil. Can you tell us a bit about what makes these two ingredients so special? Do you have a cool garlic story? What kind of olive oil is your favourite and you would recommend stocking?
My mum taught me so much about food and cooking. She showed me the magic that comes from just olive oil and garlic and how these two ingredients can create something truly delicious. Or how just one tiny anchovy fillet can elevate your meal from good to great. And for that reason, at the heart of this book is garlic and olive oil.
Growing up with a Spanish and Italian mum who ran our kitchen, olive oil ran through our veins and garlic seeped through our pores. We didn’t spread butter onto our breakfast toast, we fried it in olive oil. Our garlic crusher was a prized possession that was handed down to my brother who then handed it down to me. We used olive oil as a seasoning because high-quality extra virgin olive oil is so luxuriously smooth, rich and fruity that it rightfully earned a spot next to our salt and pepper shakers.
I always use a very high-quality extra virgin olive oil. I am really lucky that I was able to produce my own with Rich Glen Olive Oil! But I also love Cobram Estate Olive Oil.
2. Your most favourite recipe from the book and the story behind it?
That would have to be my Abuelos’s concelettas (egg croquettes) – a very special family recipe that has a little bit of a story behind it! While I was writing this book, my mum became very unwell. One minute we were on the beach laughing and taking photos, and the next she was feeling dizzy before collapsing to the ground. You never know how you are going to respond in traumatic moments and, while I was hysterical, my mind also went to this croquette recipe.
It’s a long-standing family recipe passed down from my abuelo, which my bratty teenage self had never bothered to learn. There were countless times my mum would call me over to the kitchen to join in with her, my nanna and my brother as they mixed the roux and rolled the croquettes through her famous breadcrumbs, but I was far more interested in chatting to my friends on MSN and would shout from the computer, ’next time!’.
But that is just the thing about life. You always think you have so much time to ask those you love all the questions you have wanted answers to, but life can change in an instant. I’m very happy to report that my mum is doing so much better now, but for a very long time she wasn’t. So, through Zoom calls and many back-and-forth texts with my brother, I taught myself how to make our family egg croquettes. I was able to freeze a few and cook them up for my mum when she was feeling up to it, and her exact words were, ’Yep, that’s them’. I am so glad I was able to share this recipe in the book!
3. A secret kitchen or cooking hack?
I am not sure if you would call this a hack, but my pantry, freezer or fridge is never without my cooking staple items. This includes garlic and olive oil (of course), my mum’s tomato and basil sauce, our famous crumbed chicken and homemade chicken broth. I find that if I always have these items on hand, I am able to whip up a delicious meal in no time!
This book is an insight into how I run my home kitchen. It’s chaptered into the core elements that influence all of my cooking: garlic, olive oil, bread, butter, crumbs and eggs. These are familiar ingredients that I always keep in my kitchen and pantry. And I do mean always. On the very rare occasions that I find myself without olive oil or garlic, I am either sent into a mild panic attack or send my fiancé out the door for a late-night grocery run.
4. If someone cooked you dinner, what would it be to bring you the most joy?
Because I make so much Italian and Mediterranean food at home it’s always a joy to eat food from a different culture. I absolutely love Japanese and that is always my pick for when I go out for dinner but if someone were to make me a Singapore chili crab with noodles for dinner you would see the biggest smile on my face!
5. Favourite vegetable? Why?
I love red capsicum! Not only do I love the flavour of them, especially when slow-roasted, but they are also extremely nostalgic for me to eat. A trip to my Nanna’s house was never complete without a bowl of her roasted capsicums that had been drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with a touch of garlic and sprinkling of sea salt. They are also my partner’s favourite vegetable so I cook with them a lot at home!
6. What do you enjoy cooking for dinner?
I always enjoy cooking on a Sunday as so many of my favourite things to cook take a lot of time. There is nothing more comforting to me than having a pot of ragu bubbling away on the stove as I prepare some hand-rolled pasta to be tossed through it. Whenever I am serving a slow-cooked meat sauce, such as my Bolognese, with my hand-rolled pasta, my family is over the moon! They eagerly await it all day.
7. What does an ideal dinner party look like for you?
I really enjoy a casual dinner party. I like to have an assortment of food laid out on the table and for everyone to take what they please. You will never find matching dinner plates or beautiful floral arrangements at my dinner parties as I put all my time and energy into the food. For a long time, I wished to be that girl who could host the perfect-looking dinner party however, I have now embraced my approach and wouldn’t ask for it any other way!
8. A cookbook you are loving cooking from and why?
There are so many beautiful cookbooks out there that this is a hard one to answer! Whenever we come into Winter, I always turn to Diana Henry’s From the oven to the table. It has the most comforting winter warmer recipes to choose from. The new cookbooks I am currently loving are The Vegan Homebaker by my talented friend, Georgia Irwin and Peinao by Helena and Vikki Moursellas. It is filled with so many delicious Greek recipes!
Thank you Daen!
Exclusive Book Recipes
Book excerpt …
On special occasions like a birthday or Christmas Eve dinner, my mom would always ask us what we wanted to eat and without fail, my brother and I would respond with “Rosemary's”. What I can tell you is that “Rosemary’s” is bread-stuffed eggplant, what I can't tell you is why we call them “Rosemary’s”. We have no memory as to why they were affectionately given this name, it's just one of those things. Made with the most delicious stuffing of eggplant, bread crumbs, oregano, egg and garlic, our family secret is to create indents in the stuffing and pour olive oil into them. The olive oil further flavours the bread stuffing and also helps to create a beautiful golden and crunchy crust. Paired with my tomato and basil sauce, this meal has been on high rotation in our family for years, and I promise it will be in yours too.
Rosemary’s Bread Stuffed Eggplant
Serves 5
Ingredients
3 eggplants
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
sea salt flakes
6 slices of stale white bread (about 300g)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 eggs
freshly ground black pepper
500g (2 cups) Tomato & Basil Sauce*, warmed to serve
Pecorino Romano, grated
Method
Preheat the oven to 200 °C (180 °C fan-forced). Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Cut the eggplants in half lengthways. Place them on the prepared baking tray, cut side up, and lightly drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt. Bake for 20 minutes.
Take the eggplants out of the oven. They should be soft to the touch but still have a slight spring to them. Leave to cool slightly. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C conventional (160 °C fan-forced).
Using a serrated knife, cut the flesh out of the eggplant shells. Follow the shape of the eggplant around the edges, then peel out the eggplant flesh. Don't worry if a few holes or tears are made in the skin. Set five eggplant shells aside then finely chop the remaining eggplant shell and set aside.
Place the slices of white bread in a blender and process until you have a fine and crumbly texture. Place in a large bowl with the oregano, garlic, eggs, a pinch of salt and pepper, the eggplant flesh and the chopped eggplant shell. Combine all the ingredients by mixing them together with your hands and using a squeezing motion.
Place the five eggplant shells on a clean pre-lined baking tray. Evenly distribute the eggplant filling among the eggplant shells, fill them as tightly as you can. Using your index finger, make 3 indents roughly 4 cm deep in the filling in each shell and drizzle olive oil into them.
Bake the eggplant shells for 30 minutes or until golden crispy on top.
Serve immediately with the warm tomato and basil sauce and a sprinkling of Pecorino Romano.
Book excerpt …
My mom and I like to call this our master sauce. We use it in so many of our recipes that my fridge or freezer is never without a batch. You will see it pop up in my pasta bake, bread stuffed eggplant, popcorn eggplant and chicken Parma. It's an extremely simple sauce, but sometimes simple is best. Simple will give you a delicious and flexible base to work with for other recipes. But don't let this deter you from eating it on its own! You will have the perfect meal when this source is tossed through some spaghetti and finished off with a generous sprinkling of cheese.
Tomato & Basil Sauce
Makes 1.75kg
Ingredients
80ml (1/3 cup) extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 onion, peeled and halved
4 X 400g cans polpa (finely chopped tomatoes)
1 parmesan rind (optional)
1 bunch basil (50-60g), leaves picked
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Sea salt flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
Method
Place the olive oil, garlic and onion in a large saucepan or medium heat. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the garlic is turning a very light golden colour. Add the canned tomatoes, parmesan rind (if using), three-quarters of the basil leaves, the sugar and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Stir until well combined and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, turn the heat to low and leave for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the garlic cloves, parmesan rind and onion and discard. Scatter the remaining basil leaves on top and serve the sauce on its own with pasta or with the suggested recipes above. You can also store the sauce in sterilized jars, plastic containers or zip-lock bags in the fridge for up to three days or in the freezer for three months.
Book excerpt …
When it comes to salad, I only recently learned that the way you cut your vegetables, cheese or even your lettuce will entirely change the way a salad tastes. Using a vegetable peeler to slice your cheese is a total game changer as it will result in the most perfect little slivers of saltiness. Who knew vegetable peelers weren't just for vegetables? At first glance this salad may look boring. However, when you're eating a succulent fatty piece of slow-cooked lamb or a fried piece of crumb chicken, this zesty and light salad will be exactly what my indulgent, rich and generous recipes are screaming out for. This salad is on constant rotation in our house, which is why I like to make the dressing in a large batch to store in the fridge.
Simple Salad With Lemon & Honey Vinaigrette
Serves 4
Ingredients
100g salad leaves (rocket, lettuce, mixed leaves, kale, radicchio, oakleaf)
1/4 red onion, finely sliced
50g Pecorino Romano, finely shaved
Lemon & Honey Vinaigrette (Makes 300ml)
250ml (1 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
80ml (1/3 cup) lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
zest of 2 lemons
1 heaped teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
sea salt flakes
freshly ground black pepper
Method
To make the lemon and honey vinegar it, place all of the ingredients in a large jar with a lid and shake well until combined. Store in the fridge for several weeks.
Place the salad leaves in a large bowl. Drizzle 2-4 tablespoons of the dressing over the top and massage it into the leaves with your hands. Sprinkle the red onion and Pecorino Romano over the top and serve immediately.
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Thank you for this beautiful write up!