If the “What shall I cook for dinner?” question haunts your every evening, this one is for you. Seasoned is the third cookbook from Pepper & Me founder and popular foodie Cherie Metcalfe and is packed with more than 90 no-fuss, big-flavour recipes to make your weeknights a breeze and your tastebuds sing.
There’s everything from quick wins and one-pot wonders to crowd-pleasing salads and desserts that slap. There’s a heavy sprinkle of Pepper & Me Club favourites and a few fresh gems from Cherie and the wider team. Some even come with ADHD-friendly recipe instructions. (Think of those as the TL;DR version for anyone who gets halfway through a recipe and wanders off to fold laundry or scroll TikTok!) Recipes include bangers like Cheeseburger Loaded Potatoes, Bang Bang Chicken, and Instagram sensation, Marry Me Chicken. For dessert, you might launch into a Biscoff Mousse, Lemon Posset, or Self-Saucing Caramel Apple Pudding.
“This book is basically our greatest hits,” says Cherie. “These are the recipes we make at home, the ones people rave about, the ones that work even when you don’t want to because you’re knackered and hangry and down to your last onion.”
We’ve pulled out a few of our favourites below, and Seasoned is available now, here!
Mozzarella-Stuffed Meatballs
Serves 6
These beautiful juicy meatballs are filled with oozing melty mozzarella. I’ve kept this recipe simple — no searing or mucking around. Whack it all in the slow cooker and enjoy at the end of the day. Serve with spaghetti or mash.
Ingredients:
500g good-quality sausage meat
500–700g beef mince
2 eggs
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon Pepper & Me Italian Stallion (Italian Mixed Herb Seasoning Mix)
2 tablespoons Pepper & Me Blow My Coals (‘Everything’ Seasoning)
1 teaspoon Pepper & Me Man Grind Flakes (Salt Mix)
50g powdered parmesan
150g block mozzarella
Sauce:
3 x 400g cans chopped and strained tomatoes (or use passata)
1 onion, finely diced
2 teaspoons Pepper & Me Italian Stallion
Method:
In a bowl, mix together the sausage meat, mince, eggs and panko, then add the Italian Stallion, Blow My Coals, Man Grind Flakes and parmesan.
Cut your mozzarella into cubes, about 1cm square.
Using damp hands, roll the mince mixture into golf ball-sized portions.
Flatten each ball slightly, place a cube of mozzarella in the centre, then carefully seal the mixture around the cheese and shape it back into a ball. Set aside.
For the sauce, mix all the ingredients together, and layer into the slow cooker with the meatballs.
Cook on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
The meatballs should be firm but juicy, and once you cut into one, the cheese will ooze all melty out of the ball.
The sauce will have simmered itself with the delicious flavours of the meatballs to make the perfect pairing.
Cheeseburger Loaded Potatoes
Serves 4 (GF)
Ok, this is maybe not a weeknight dinner, she’s a bit naughty! So yum though.
ALL the toppings on a vehicle of roast spuds — I also like to do these toppings on a bed of hash bites instead of roasties sometimes, just to make it even naughtier.
Ingredients:
1kg Agria potatoes
Oil for cooking
4 tablespoons Pepper & Me Blow My Coals
1 onion
1 tablespoon confit garlic or 2 cloves garlic, crushed
500g beef mince
Cheese Sauce
½ cup evaporated milk
1 cup grated tasty cheese
100g burger cheese or orange processed cheese
1 tablespoon jalapeños, finely chopped
Toppings
½ red onion
Sliced pickles
Fresh chives or parsley
Pepper & Me Schmack Burger Sauce
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan bake.
Peel the potatoes and dice into bite-sized cubes, drizzle with a little oil and toss in 2 tablespoons Blow My Coals. Arrange in an even layer on a roasting tray and roast for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through and golden.
Dice the onion.
Add a drizzle of oil to a pan along with the garlic and onion. Sauté for a minute or two.
Add the mince and brown off, breaking up with a wooden spoon, this will take about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons Blow My Coals to season.
Stir to coat and cook off for another minute or two.
For the cheese sauce, add the milk and both cheeses to a saucepan and melt together gently over a medium heat, stirring constantly until you get a smooth liquid cheese. Add more milk if needed. Stir through the jalapeños.
To assemble, arrange the potatoes on a large platter. Drizzle with three-quarters of the cheese sauce, then top with the mince mixture. Drizzle with the remaining cheese sauce and sprinkle over some finely diced red onion, sliced pickles and chopped fresh chives or parsley.
Dollop generously with Schmack Burger sauce.
Slow-Cooker Chicken Chilli
Serves 8 (GF)
A five-minute meal to prep and chuck into the slow cooker that makes enough for dinner for three nights! Perfect for chicken nachos, enchiladas, on rice or with salad, or served topped with grated cheese, a dollop of guac and sour cream, and a handful of nacho chips. However you like it, it’s a family favourite for sure.
Ingredients:
2 onions
3 x 400g cans beans of your choice (kidney, black, four bean mix)
400g can corn kernels
3 chicken breasts
400g can creamed corn
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
150g Pepper & Me Mexellent Paste (Mexican Spices Paste)
3 tablespoons Pepper & Me Ding Dong Sauce (Smoky Hot Sauce, optional)
1 tablespoon Pepper & Me Man Grind Flakes, to season
Method:
Finely dice your onions, and add to the slow cooker.
Drain the cans of beans and corn kernels, and rinse (unless you’re using chilli beans in sauce, then pop the whole can in). Add them all to a slow cooker.
Dice the chicken breasts and add to the slow cooker along with all of the remaining ingredients.
Stir well, then slow cook on high for 3–4 hours, or on low for 6 hours.
Lemon Posset
Serves 6 (GF)
This is a cheat’s dessert. It’s got an almost crème brûlée-style texture with none of the effort. It’s a very handy one to have up your sleeve, and the perfect lemony bite to end a dinner party with. Serve them in a hollowed-out lemon shell if you want to be fancy, they look really cool, but a small glass or ramekin works well too. Great paired with a limoncello spritz! So simple, so good.
Ingredients:
350ml double cream (Lewis Road Creamery has the best cream)
80g caster sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
Method:
Pop the cream and sugar into a pot and slowly bring to the boil. Let it boil for 3 minutes, stirring the whole time.
Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
Let the mix cool down. Then pour into your glasses or the hollowed-out lemons.
Pop in the fridge and leave to set for at least 5 hours. It should be a really nice firm-set lemony cream.
Serve with a crunchy almond wafer type situation, and some fresh mint.
