The Countrytown Cookoff: Piper Butcher's Three Course Meal

My new song Hard Love is all about putting yourself on the line and owning the strong feelings you have for someone. So, for this edition of the Countrytown Cookoff, I wanted to put those same big feelings and energy into a meal for the person I love. And what better way to do that, than to cook an entire three course meal… I felt like I was on Masterchef! 

I have created Crumbed Halloumi Fries with Honey Yoghurt, Steak with sautéed broccolini and crispy potatoes, and finally a Homemade Sticky Date pudding with Butterscotch sauce. What a combo, right!

I remember making the halloumi fries for the first time and only seasoning them and chucking them in the air fryer. They were too thin, but you could taste the potential and I knew that I had to revisit my recipe, especially in preparation for this!

Steak is such a staple in my house and there truly are so many ways to cook and serve the meat but I decided to go with a simple, classic option rather than going crazy, and only seasoning with salt (because pepper BURNS!) 

Lastly, a sticky date is something I can never say no to, so I knew I’d put all of the extra effort into making that taste nice because I wanted a piece too…hehehe.

Piper Butcher’s Three Course Meal

ENTREE

Crumbed Halloumi Fries:

1 Egg

Approx 1 Cup Crumbs (Bread or Corn!)

½ Cup Self Raising Flour

100g Halloumi

Honey Yoghurt Dressing:

100g Greek Yoghurt

Honey to your liking

METHOD:

Chop your halloumi into 2-3cm thick lengths, and pat down dry before putting them to the side. The next thing you’ll need to prepare is your crumbing station. Find three plates for your flour, crumbs & finished halloumi fries, and a shallow bowl for your egg wash. I personally like to add salt and pepper to both my egg and flour stations, to add seasoning in the important stage!

I set up my crumbing station to be set right to left, because I’m left handed, and that way I’m not reaching across my body trying to contain the mess that is about to ensue! Whichever way, your train should be flour - egg - crumb. Before you start, remember to use only one hand for flour, and the other hand JUST for egg and crumb, to avoid having a gluggy mixture over both hands and turning into a shambles…

Gently take a single halloumi stick and pat it down into the flour, ensuring every single crease and the ends are covered. We don’t want to be too harsh with this process as the halloumi, like your ego, is utterly delicate. Your next station is the egg wash, so have a fork on hand to get the egg wash into the creases of the halloumi…In the words of Aerosmith, we don’t want to miss a thing. Finally, crumb your chip and don’t be afraid to press down into the crumb. We want a solid bond here, not just a surface layer. Now you’ve got the hang of it, repeat the egg wash and press back into your crumbs for an extra crunchy exterior!

After all chips are coated, leave them in the fridge for the crumb to set, and spoon out your greek yoghurt into a bowl. Add honey to your liking and stir in for a delicious sweet and tangy treat. Don’t go eating too much of it and set that aside in the fridge too.

After at least 30mins, take out your halloumi sticks and place them into the air fryer for 15 minutes at 180 degrees celsius, flip them over and go back in for another 8 or so.

Then serve to your liking or devour on your own…no judgement here…just good food.

MAIN

3 medium size potatoes

A bunch of broccolini

Oil and seasoning

Balsamic Vingear

The best bloody cut of steak you can find that you don’t have to mortgage your house for

(Room temp!)

METHOD:

This main dish takes time.

Before you prepare anything, fill a large pot with water and let it start on the stove. By the time we get through our next steps, the water will then be boiling and ready to go. Whoever said you couldn’t do two things at once…look at you go!

Peel your three potatoes and chop into cubes. I like them particularly small so that I can fit more into the one mouthful, but that’s just me. Just remember, the larger the pieces, the longer the cook time. 

We only want to par-boil these potatoes, so we don’t want them in there for long. Once the water is boiling, tip your potatoes in and set a timer for about 6 minutes. Adjust to your liking afterward, but our goal is to easily be able to put a fork into the potato, we don’t want to have it crumble into a mashy mess.

TIP: If they do turn into a mashy mess…congratulations. You’ve just made mashed potatoes. Nothing is a problem here, just happy accidents (thank you, Bob Ross) 

When they’re ready, take them out and place them onto foil for your air fryer, or oven…up to you!

Before we put them in to cook, generously spray some oil over those bad boys and season to your liking. My favourite flavours for potatoes are salt, pepper, paprika and dried rosemary. Douse them in whichever you decide and put them in at 180 degrees for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off (I’d be bloody lost without one), check your taters and give them a rustle around. Then back in for another 10 - 15 minutes.

For your steak, you need to preheat your barbecue with your lid closed to really dramatise the process. Yep, that’s the only reason you do it…joking ;)

FYI: I use the grill side, not the plate and aim for medium rare when cooking.

While that’s happening, season your steak generously with salt, and rest until it’s ready to cook. Once the BBQ reaches about 180 - 200 degrees, open that puppy up and lay down your steak for that first delightful TV ad looking sizzle…ahhhh. Then close the lid and let it sit for around 3 minutes. Repeat the process by lifting the lid and flipping the steak to cook its other side. On your third and final repetition, you can either flip for another 1 -2 minutes, or roll the dice and bring it out early. The choice (and the repercussions) are yours! Joking, I’m sure you’ve done a great job. Once they’re ready, lay them on a bed of foil and fold them up for a little nap. The longer they rest the better, because that is the time that the steak and the juices become BEST of friends.

Okay, last part…your broccolini needs to be stripped of its outer leaves and insecurities, and washed of its sins under your tap. After completing the healing cleanse, check them into a pan on medium heat with a bit of oil, and wait to hear that sizzle! (You can do this on the barbecue too when you cook your steaks, and you can be less precious about the method and more stoked on soaking up those steak flavours…)

We don’t want to flip it around too early; I love a good char on mine. Once the florets are wilted, flip them over and let them cook for another few minutes. Although I do like a bit of crunch in the steam, you are able to add a little water to the pan at this stage (just a spritz) and add a lid over your pan to steam and soften the firmer stems!

Before you're done, add some balsamic vinegar to your pan and toss them around for another few minutes. This adds to the flavour in ways your brain couldn’t imagine!! It turns the broccolini into a sweet chargrilled fantasy!

Alright, time to plate up! I cut my steak before plating but you can add your own creative flare to this…I dare you to create a tower of potatoes!

DESSERT

Sticky Date pudding:

200g pitted dates

250ml almond milk

100ml water

1 teaspoon baking soda

115g butter

110g brown sugar

200g self-raising flour

Butterscotch sauce:

100g golden syrup

200g brown sugar

160g butter

100ml lite thickened cream

METHOD:

Now I can’t lie to you. This recipe has been adapted from The Big Man’s World, and I love his food. He is great for creating vegan and gluten free recipes, so if you did want to create that version, head to his website or simply swap out the flour for GF flour, and butter for a dairy free substitute.

Alright. Preheat your oven to 190 degrees celsius, and then it’s cake time!

The first thing you want to do is grab your dates and chop them into small pieces. Throw them into a pot alongside your milk and water and bring to a boil on your stove. Take it completely off the heat for a minute and add in your teaspoon of baking soda and stir. Give your full attention to this part…baking soda likes to create a LOT of bubbles, and I know I had lots of fun using it in science projects back in the day…

After that mixture has cooled, and this part is optional, I transfer it from pot to bowl and use my stick blender to get rid of all of those tiny date lumps and bumps for a smooth concoction.

Then grab a bowl and beat together your room temp butter with brown sugar and stare at it longingly because nothing could taste better than sugar and fat mixed into a bowl together in perfect harmony but it’s completely wrong to taste just THAT part and you need to stay on track…and then slowly start to add your date mixture and stir.

Once you have the date mixture and sugary goodness combined, add your flour and transfer into baking dishes. This amount can serve up to 12 people - if you’d like to serve them a small sized portion for ANTS, or you can simply split the mix into two larger dishes and skip past the serving sizes and just treat yourself…(because that’s really what dessert is about)!

Bake for around 20 minutes at 190 degrees celsius. I checked mine just before this time, and then kept it in for about 22 minutes in total. But basically, you want to insert a toothpick and have it come out a little moist with crumbs still to set outside of the oven.

Alright…for the butterscotch sauce, all you need to do is combine the butter, golden syrup and sugar in a pot over low heat on your stovetop, until they’re all making friends and no lumps can be found. Then transfer off the hot stove and let it cool slightly, before adding in your small amount of cream to help round it out. 

The next part makes you feel like a real chef! Take a large dessert/soup, and gently pour lashings of the butterscotch sauce over your sticky date pudding to soak up the flavour. We want to have plenty left to spare to serve with, but you CAN’T skip this part!

When you’re ready, serve your desired sized sticky date pudding slice with butterscotch sauce on a plate with your favourite assortment of toppings! I chose a cute little strawberry and some delightful vanilla ice cream. 

Bon Appétit, and let me know how you go making these creations! Thank you so much to CountryTown for this opportunity, and I look forward to auditioning for the next season of MKR….NOT!! ;) xxx