Delicious recipes from one of Australia's fresh young chefs

These simple, comforting recipes are a mix of things Ella saw, ate and was taught on her travels, though years of cooking them have made them something more her own. Above all, they represent community: the reason Ella ever wanted to cook at all.

These zucchini fritters are based on a recipe from the restaurant. Because we made them in such large batches, it'd take one person an entire day to prepare the mix: grating kilos of zucchini, salting them and squeezing out all the water. It is essential to get as much liquid out of the zucchinis as possible, even though it's time-consuming. Your fritters will end up crispier and tastier, so take your time. Aleppo pepper is a variety of capsicum that's dried, crushed and used as a spice. It's mildly spicy, with some fruitiness and cumin-like undertones, and is a brilliant red. It's easily found at Middle Eastern grocers but can be substituted with a mix of smoked paprika and cayenne pepper.

Ingredients

2 large zucchini, grated

4 spring onions, chopped

100g feta

40-60g chopped mixed dill, mint and parsley

110g flour

2 eggs

Aleppo pepper to taste

vegetable oil for deep frying

flake salt, freshly ground black

pepper and lemon to taste

Method

1. Mix the grated zucchini with one tablespoon of salt and leave it to drain in a colander for 10 minutes. Rinse the mix then hand-squeeze out as much water as possible. The fritters will be too wet if not enough moisture is taken out.

2. Mix the squeezed-out zucchini with the spring onions, feta, herbs, Aleppo pepper and lemon. Taste to check the seasoning, then add the flour and eggs. Mix together thoroughly: it will be a fairly wet dough but should be firm enough to keep shape if scooped up in a spoonful. Usually, I check the density of my fritters by frying one and seeing if it holds together. Add a little more flour if necessary.

3. Heat oil for deep-frying until it's hot enough to drop some of the mix in and have it brown in 30 seconds. Turn the heat down to medium. Using a dessert spoon, carefully drop scoops of the mix into the hot oil. Do this in batches. Cook for one and a half minutes until golden brown and cooked through. You should be able to make 15-16 fritters. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Serves 4 as a starter.

This recipe is great for using up any left-over greens in your fridge. I use whatever I have - spinach, chard, sometimes beetroot leaves. Similarly, with the herbs, use a mix of whatever you have on hand.

Ingredients

1 bunch silverbeet

1 brown onion, sliced

60ml olive oil, plus extra to season

2 garlic cloves, sliced

2 x 400g cans chickpeas, drained

2 tbsp honey

1 lemon

20-30g chopped mixed dill, mint and spring onion

flake salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method

1. Start off by preheating your oven to 180C.

2. Wash the silverbeet - I finely chop it, then leave it to soak in a sink full of water before draining well.

3. Saute the onion in one tablespoon of the olive oil in a saucepan for around 15 minutes until golden, then add the garlic and saute until aromatic for about 30 seconds.

4. Add the silverbeet and stir it through the oil, allowing it to wilt.

5. Add the chickpeas and saute briefly.

6. Transfer everything to a baking dish and add the rest of the olive oil and the honey. Cut the lemon in half and add it to the baking dish.

7. Bake for around 40 minutes or until most of the liquid has been cooked out of the silverbeet.

8. Season with salt, pepper, extra olive oil and the pulp of the baked lemon. The lemon will be mellower than a fresh lemon, but taste as you go - it'll still be quite acidic.

9. Stir in the mixed greens and serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 4 as a side.

This is my take on the chicken pilaf we'd buy from street vendors on our way home after nights out. It was the best part of going for a drink. The street food was my highlight of living in the city - buying roasted chestnuts in the snow; going to get a morning simit, a ring-shaped bread covered in sesame, served wrapped in newspaper - always such a treat, always such an event. This dish is best served on the day of making it.

Ingredients

To poach the chicken:

3 chicken marylands

1.5 litres water

table salt

For the pilaf:

35g slivered almonds

4 tbsp butter

600g aged basmati rice

1 brown onion, diced

2 tsp cinnamon

1.25 litres chicken stock, from the poaching

2 tbsp lemon juice

5g parsley, chopped

flake salt to taste

Method

1. Start by placing the chicken marylands in a pot and cover them with water. You want to use around one litre, so choose a pot that will allow them to be submerged with that volume of liquid.

2. Salt the water with two tablespoons of table salt, bring up to a boil, then turn down to a soft simmer.

3. Cook until just past pink, around 25-30 minutes, then take off the heat, leaving the chicken to continue cooking in the hot liquid.

4. Once the stock is cooled, put to one side and shred the chicken.

5. Fry off the almonds in one tablespoon of the butter over low heat until golden. Then drain on a paper towel to get rid of excess butter. Leave to one side.

6. Soak rice in cold water for 20 minutes, then drain well.

7. Put a large frying pan on medium heat and add one tablespoon of butter. Once it's melted, add the onion, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Cook until the onions are caramelised, for about 15-20 minutes.

8. Add the drained rice and fry off until well coated in butter. While you're doing this, bring the stock up to the boil in another pot.

9. Slowly add 750ml of stock to the rice, bringing the liquid up to a soft simmer. Cover with a lid and cook until the stock is absorbed, checking every couple of minutes.

10. Add remaining stock in increments, checking rice as you go.

11. Once the rice is cooked through (this will take 15-20 minutes), take off the heat and leave to steam for five minutes, with the lid on.

12. Stir through shredded chicken, the remaining two tablespoons butter, lemon juice and chopped parsley, and check for seasoning.

13. Serve immediately, garnished with almonds.

Serves 6.

My favourite dessert of all time.

Ingredients

250g salted butter, for brushing the filo

1 packet of filo pastry

For the syrup:

550g caster sugar

450ml water

rind from 1 lemon

For the custard:

400ml single cream

600ml milk

200g caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g fine semolina

150g salted butter

4 eggs

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 165C.

2. For the syrup: combine the sugar, water and lemon rind in a pot, place over medium heat and bring to the boil. Once the sugar has dissolved completely, set aside to cool.

3. For the custard: in a second pot, add the cream, milk, half the sugar and the vanilla. Place over a medium heat and bring to the boil.

4. As soon as the cream mix has come to the boil, whisk in the semolina. Do this incrementally: if you add too much at once your mix will get lumpy. Whisk until the mix thickens, for about five to seven minutes.

5. Once the mix has thickened, remove from the heat and add the butter. Continue whisking until the butter is completely incorporated and the mix has cooled slightly.

6. Beat the eggs in a mixer with the remaining caster sugar until white and fluffy.

7. Once the semolina mix is lukewarm, gently fold through the egg mix with a spatula.

8. Melt the butter for brushing the filo. Generously brush a baking dish with some of the melted butter then start assembling the pie by spreading sheets of filo in the dish and brushing with butter.

9. Repeat the process with half of the packet of filo, then spread the custard on top and fold over the filo that is hanging over the edges. Brush with butter.

10. Set one sheet of filo aside and add the remaining sheets over the custard, drizzling each one with melted butter. Then carefully cover with the final sheet, tucking it under the edges of the pie.

11. Score your pie into serving-sized pieces with a sharp knife; this will help keep the pastry intact when you're cutting it later. Then pour the remaining butter over the top and bake for around one hour or until golden and crunchy.

12. When ready, remove from the oven and pour the cold syrup over the pie.

Serves 10.