Celebrity chef Karen Martini is proving that you don't have to choose between savoury and sweet by releasing two brand new cookbooks at the same time. The books, titled Cook Green and Cook Sweet, are packed with bold flavours and crowd-pleasing recipes.
New Cookbooks Showcase Diverse Flavours
The former Better Homes & Gardens favourite joined Sunrise on Wednesday to showcase dishes from her latest releases. Cook Green celebrates vibrant vegetable-packed meals, while Cook Sweet focuses on indulgent desserts. Martini demonstrated a fresh vegetarian san choy bau filled with shiitake mushrooms, tofu, and cashews from Cook Green, alongside salted macadamia nut caramels from Cook Sweet.
Each book contains more than 80 recipes designed to inspire home cooks with approachable yet flavour-packed dishes. Martini emphasised that the recipes are simple to follow and perfect for everyday cooking.
San Choy Bau with Shiitake, Tofu & Cashew
Serves 6 as a starter
Ingredients:
- 1 iceberg lettuce
- 80 g (2¾ oz/½ cup) raw cashew nuts
- 1 bunch of coriander (cilantro) leaves
- 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or peanut oil
- ½ red onion, finely sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
- 10 cm (4 in) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely diced
- ½ teaspoon Chinese five-spice
- 10 fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 10 green beans, finely sliced
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons shaoxing rice wine
- 250 g (9 oz) firm tofu, cut into 1 cm (½ in) dice
- 80 g (2¾ oz) bean sprouts
- 1 large carrot, finely julienned
- ¼ wombok (Chinese cabbage), finely sliced
- 2 long red chillies, finely sliced
- hoisin sauce, to serve
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
Method:
- Remove the core from the lettuce. Soak the lettuce in iced water for 20 minutes, then drain and ease the leaves away intact. Trim away any untidy edges, if you like, then drain again and stack on a plate.
- Combine the cooking sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Heat a wok or large frying pan over a high heat, then add the cashews and toast until scorched, about 3 minutes. Tip out of the pan and set aside.
- Thoroughly wash 3 of the coriander roots and chop. Pick the leaves from all the coriander stems, chop half and set aside.
- Add half the oil to the wok, then the onion, garlic, ginger, coriander root and five-spice. Fry for 1 minute, then add the mushroom, beans, celery and remaining oil and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
- Add the rice wine and tofu, and stir just long enough to heat through. Stir the cooking sauce through.
- Add the cashews, bean sprouts, carrot, wombok, chilli and chopped coriander and toss through.
- Drain off the excess liquid, then serve the mixture in a bowl, garnished with the coriander leaves, with the lettuce leaves stacked next to it and the hoisin sauce on the side.
Make It Different: For a variation, swap the tofu for shredded roast duck (Shiitake, Duck & Cashew) or roasted or cooked chicken (Shiitake, Chicken & Cashew).
Salted Macadamia Nut Caramels
Makes about 60
Ingredients:
- 240 g (8½ oz/1½ cups) macadamias, toasted
- 100 g (3½ oz) flaked almonds, toasted
- 1 tablespoon salt flakes, plus 3½ teaspoons for topping
- 150 g (5½ oz) unsalted butter
- 375 ml (12½ fl oz/1½ cups) pure cream (40–42% fat)
- 240 g (8½ oz) caster sugar
- 150 g (5½ oz) honey
- 150 g (5½ oz) liquid glucose
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F).
- Toast the macadamias and almonds on separate baking trays for 10–15 minutes, until lightly toasted, checking from time to time. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Line a 20 cm (8 in) square tin with baking paper and sprinkle some of the extra topping salt over the base.
- Add the nuts to a bowl.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Add the cream, sugar, honey, glucose and 1 tablespoon of the salt, then stir until combined and starting to bubble. Increase the heat to medium and bring to the boil, without stirring. Cook until the mixture reaches 126°C (258°F), which might take 20 minutes.
- Once at temperature, immediately remove from the heat and pour in the nuts, then stir through.
- Tip into the lined baking tin, then flatten out with a heatproof spatula. Sprinkle with the remaining salt, then leave to set for 2 hours.
- Once cooled, remove from the tin and cut into 5 × 2 cm (2 × ¾ in) pieces. The caramels will keep in an airtight container for up to a week.
Both cookbooks are available now, offering a perfect blend of healthy and indulgent recipes for any occasion.
