Side Dishes

It may seem like sacrilege to roast new-season jersey bennes, but we urge you to do it! They’re crunchy, buttery and just magical - perfect for a side dish at Christmas.

Spicy Cajun rub gives a spicy twist to grilled fish and perfectly paired with a roasted corn salsa.

Give your roast veg a starring role!

With our top salmon cooking tips and best flavourful pairings, try your hand at making this salmon with macadamia pangrattato side dish. Trust us, it won’t disappoint!

Add a stunning touch to your Christmas table with this macadamia stuffing wreath. Beautifully festive and bursting with flavour, this elegant dish perfectly complements turkey or any other holiday roast. Tip: We recommend pairing this wreath with a roast turkey. For our favourite option, find the full recipe here. We find: Our recipe cooks most […]

This sage and onion stuffing is a classic accompaniment to a roast chicken. This stuffing recipe is also a great base to change or add to depending on what's in the pantry

The traditional New Zealand Christmas dinner of a perfectly glazed ham, carrots, spuds and peas followed by a berry-packed and boozily indulgent trifle is still incredibly hard to beat. Sophie Gray aces a classic boiled new potatoes with minty herb butter, perfect for summer dishes.

For fluffy and crispy Lotatoes™, make our perfect Christmas roast Lotatoes™. Cooked with malt vinegar and fresh herbs, they’ll surely be a favourite!

Fennel infuses this leek gratin with a delightfully bright anise-like taste, making it a flavoursome side dish. Serve alongside a roast dinner or your favourite steak for a nourishing, balanced meal.

I love the way Mum and her friends have swapped recipes over the years when their gardens are overflowing with produce that needs using up. This chutney recipe comes from Mum’s good friend Sue and it’s so simple to make.

This dip is perfect for summer gatherings! Deliciously smooth and with a delightful crunch from the spiced chickpeas, you'll be wanting to snack on this all day long.

Ham and cheese croquettes are not only a great way to use up the Christmas ham, these cheesy delights are delicious any time of year! Whip up a batch for a tasty after-school or pre-dinner snack.

This knockout red pepper and tomato relish is incredibly delicious and versatile and great served alongside chicken or pork, or ever enjoyed as a tasty pizza topping!

Crispy, crumbed and oozing with hot, cheesy filling, these tasty little morsels served with chipotle dipping sauce are such a treat!

Nici Wickes' mum has taken the kasundi recipe from Nici's second cookbook Cook, Eat, Enjoy and made it with plums instead of tomatoes. It’s a fabulous staple to have on hand in the pantry

This recipe creates a homemade aioli that's fragrant in flavour and silky in texture. You’ll want to slather it on everything! For those who haven't made aioli before, it's easier than you think

Gemmayze St restaurant's head chef and owner Samir Allen shares this delicious side dish recipe that sees slow-roasted pumpkin paired with a fennel-spiked labneh dressing. Try alongside a lamb roast

Serve this delicious tomato chilli jam with anything – Parmesan and crackers, alongside a frittata, with a mince pie, heck even a boiled egg! We guarantee you’ll be coming back for more

Sweet. Hot. Plummy. This chutney has it all going on! Nici Wickes' tasty plum and apple chutney recipe is great served spread on bread or crackers and accompanied with cheese

Love naan? It's easier than you think to create this Indian favourite at home with this naan bread recipe. Better still, this version is stuffed with cheese and garlic - yum!

This quick spicy Asian plum sauce recipe is excellent with barbecued meats. You can also mix it with other sauces and dressings to boost flavour and create a sweet, fruity tang

This quick lemon curd recipe isn't as creamy as traditional lemon curd due to the emission of egg, but it's fast and flavoursome with a clear, glossy appearance

Beautifully spiced char-grilled broccoli with lemon, chilli and garlic goes well with just about anything, making this recipe the perfect healthy side dish for every midweek family meal

This deliciously sweet red grape jelly is perfect served over warm scones and enjoyed for morning or afternoon tea with a hot cup of tea, or served spread onto buttery crumpets for breakfast

Nici Wickes shares her mum's recipe for golden, creamy scallop gratin. Perfect as a sophisticated starter for your next dinner party

Eggplant...fries?! This recipe sees this meaty vegetable transformed into thick fries, coated in beer batter then fried to perfection. Serve with garlic yoghurt for a delicious vegetarian snack

Once you try this beetroot and apple relish, you’ll never have apple sauce with your roast pork again! And it makes an attractive gift as it’s got such a gorgeous glossy purple colour

If you’re lucky enough to have a quince tree, you’ll know it's a true autumn treasure. The fruit makes a gorgeously rosy and fragrant paste that's the perfect accompaniment for cheese and crackers

While most jams are made using fruit, this tasty savoury-style recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly's 'Made From Scratch' cookbook is brilliant dolloped atop a steak sandwich, or served with blue cheese.

Fior de latte is the traditional Italian name for cow's milk mozzarella. And this gorgeous recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly's Made From Scratch cookbook means you can make this creamy cheese yourself.

This feijoa paste is great on cheese boards and antipasto platters. It's is a labour of love but uses up lots of feijoas and in the long run, potentially saves you buying the pricey store-bought ones

Nici Wickes' peach chutney recipe is simply sensational. This is delicious served with cold meats, cheese and crackers or even with a spicy Indian curry.

Soft Italian cheeses (ricotta, mascarpone, mozzarella) are simply irresistible to cook Nici Wickes! It’s fun to dabble in making them at home and while most require a certain degree of skill or equipment, ricotta is a cinch, she says

As soon as peppers become plentiful, Mum starts making this favourite relish. It’s an absolute treat to have with cold meats and cheese.

These crispy cigars from Deborah Hutton's book, Entertaining Made Easy, make a great party starter. They can even be made in advance, set aside and just popped into the oven when people start arriving.

Caramelised red onions brought to you by New Zealand Woman's Weekly.

A pan of perfectly cooked roast potatoes is a cause for celebration. For super-luxurious roasties, duck fat is the key.

Basic chicken liver pâté brought to you by Taste. Part of a sustainable dining event by Taste and Lincoln University. Recipe by: Michael Smith, photography by: Jani Shepherd and styling by: Fiona Hugues.

Quince paste is a great accompaniment to cheese, or can be melted down and used in fruit tarts and pies. It should be cut into small slices to serve.

When peaches aren’t dangling from trees or being bitten into they should be waiting for you like golden orbs of summertime carefully packed into jars for enjoyment all year round. Sadly with the pace of life for most of us, time to pack and preserve them is scarce. This peachy chutney, however, can be made and eaten all year round thanks to the convenience of tinned peaches in juice. Serve this chunky peach chutney with a large wedge of Dutch walnut gouda, grilled peach halves if they are in season, and plenty of salty pancetta or dried ham. Photograph by Jani Shepherd

This pâté has a reputation in my neighbourhood. I’ve made various versions of it for well over a decade and ‘apparently’ it cures a number of ailments – gluttony possibly not being one of them! Don’t be scared of the earthy richness of the pâté, a little spoonful of the sweet, sour onions balances the flavours – even my fussy kids devour it! Photograph by Jani Shepherd and styling by Fiona Hugues – Gatherum Collectif.

The ultimate comfort food, this super creamy and cheese potato and bacon bake is delicious enjoyed hot out of the oven on it's own, or as a delicious side to a family dinner spread.

A classic family favourite, this hearty and creamy potato and pancetta bake is beautiful served hot straight from the oven. It makes a beautiful side dish to a big dinner spread.

Hot, creamy and utterly delicious, this hearty potato and pancetta bake is beautiful enjoyed straight out of the oven for a tasty family dinner or wonderful side.

The combination of honey roasted carrots gives labne more flavour than your typical average Greek yoghurt

This flavoursome, chunky tomato chutney is wonderfully fruity and delicious served with meatloaf, roast lamb or beef, or spread over cheese and ham sandwiches.

Take your guests on a trip to Paris with this traditional French appetiser and two delicious dips to choose from.

The two classic pasta sauce bases in Italian cooking are tomato and cream based - why not serve up both at your next dinner party? The traditional Napolitana sauce is beautiful served with perfectly cooked penne and fresh basil leaves, while the creamy chicken and mushroom sauce is wonderful tossed through al dente fettuccine to create a nourishing, hearty meal.

Baked ricotta cheese with fresh eggs is so simple! Delicious as a snack, part of a share plate or on its own.

Fluffy, golden and packed full of goodness, this beautiful leek, prosciutto and potato frittata is full of flavour and wonderful textures. Serve it sliced, hot from the oven, or cool as an on-the-go lunch box snack.

Add your favourite herbs and spices to this basic mayo recipe to create a tasty egg- and dairy-free dip.

A staple of Greek cuisine, dolmades are rich in flavour with pine nuts, sultanas, onions and rice wrapped in vine leaves and drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil.

Packed full of flavour, this fragrant and spicy tomato and chilli chutney is extremely versatile. This tasty sauce is superb served atop fresh pasta, on the side of your favourite meat dish or as a gourmet spread on a sandwich.

Cheesy potatoes stuffed with bacon and brimming with deliciousness. What could be better?!

A traditional Italian starter, arancini are stuffed rice balls filled with tomato sauce and mozzarella, then coated with breadcrumbs and fried. We've added crispy prosciutto and pine nuts to add extra flavour and crunch.

Who doesn't love this cheesy vegie side dish? Great with roast dinners, and a clever way to make otherwise boring vegetables tastier for kids.

Create finger food that boasts a wow factor - combining starchy potato and sago with peanuts and fragrant spices to form these indian-inspired patties.

This flavoursome side dish ticks all the boxes, featuring wholesome pumpkin simmered with crispy bacon, butter and garlic.

This vegetarian Moroccan-style dish is filled with red chilli spices, soothing Greek yoghurt and hearty roasted vegetables.

These ricotta and parmesan cheese stuffed zucchini flowers make for standout finger food, a simply good lunch or crispy snack.

A much healthier take on chips and dip, this dish combines crispy golden sweet potato chips with a flavour-packed homemade beetroot hommus.

Jazz up a cheeseboard, dip, share plate or lunchbox with homemade crispbread. Experiment using different fresh herbs.

This vegetarian recipe is perfect finger food for your next party, barbecue or family gathering. If you have many mouths to feed, this will make enough for 10 or more people.

These delicious cheese and corn stuffed potatoes are great served as a hot side dish when entertaining. Or, serve with a salad for a tasty vegetarian main meal.

Share the taste-bud love with these fried potato sticks, covered in herbs and complemented with a spicy tomato salsa.

Bread and butter is no longer a boring supper with this 10 minute recipe that has just six ingredients.

The crispy coating hides a soft heart of pumpkin, rice and tender shredded lamb.

We love this smoked fish and caper pate! This dish is designed as part of a moveable feast for a family get-together, or as an absolute treat this is delicious on some toasted bread with extra herbs and crispy lettuce.

Light, creamy and packed full of flavour, this gorgeous avocado pate is beautiful spread on crackers and served as part of a tasting plate for afternoon tea or nibbles to accompany a glass of wine.

Bring out the relishes and pickles when entertaining – they impress every time!

In these enlightened times we feast in all manner of ways on the 25th. But the traditional New Zealand Christmas dinner of a perfectly glazed ham, carrots, spuds and peas followed by a berry-packed and boozily indulgent trifle is still incredibly hard to beat. Sophie Gray aces a classic

The perfect side dish to any roast dinner, these gorgeous brown sugar and orange glazed carrots are wonderfully sweet and packed full of flavour. You'll have the whole family reaching for more!

Not suitable to freeze or microwave. Note

Not suitable to freeze or microwave. Note Swap the red onions to Happy Chop onions for a tearless experience! Tip

Served either hot or cold, this dish of cauliflower and chilli with salty anchovies, lemon and garlic is a fantastic way to pack a huge amount of flavour into this humble vegetable.

This recipe can be made up to two weeks ahead; store in airtight containers in a cool, dry place, but not in the refrigerator. Not suitable to freeze or microwave. Note

This recipe can be prepared a day ahead. Assemble just before serving. Not suitable to freeze or microwave. Note

Nanna's retro recipes

Spicy Indian mango chutney

Not suitable to freeze. Not suitable to microwave. Note

The flavour of the caponata improves greatly if made a day ahead. It can be served warm or at room temperature. The dish can be served on its own or with plenty of crusty bread. Not suitable to freeze. Suitable to microwave. Note

For a variation, add chunks of zucchini, capsicum, eggplant and carrot to other vegetables halfway through cooking time. Note

Don’t allow curd to get too hot in Step 2, or it will split and you’ll need to start over. Note

To put a fresh twist on the new season’s spring vege, Julie Biuso looks to Italy for inspiration

makes 20 Grissini will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week. To refresh grissini after a few days, spray with water, then place in preheated oven, 180°C/160°C fan-forced, for 5 minutes. Note

For a higher protein meal, add a can of rinsed and drained butter beans to the tomato salsa. Use leftover cooked potato to make potato cakes or vegetable sausage rolls. Note

Use salsa as a filling for tortillas; add shredded lettuce. Note