Brewing up kitchen magic

Looking for ways to increase your beer consumption? can help

Cooking with beer sounds like the sort of 1970s cookbook you’d find tucked among the microwave manuals in an op shop. I can see it now — it would have thick, matte pages, goldentoned photography and curvaceous title font. It would smell slightly of stale beer, like the Atiamuri Hall on a Sunday morning after housie, and the recipes would be just about as appealing to modern sensibilities.

In reality though, cooking with beer can be very “now”. We’re all supposed to be drinking less — why not use a bottle in what you’re eating? And what’s the point of craft beer if not to bring new and exciting flavours to the table?

As with cooking with wine, the only real rule is to use beer that you’d happily drink. If you don’t fancy the flavours of those weird craft beers from your cousin — or the home brew your best mate persists in making — cooking with them won’t help. Re-gift them to someone thirsty and try your favourite brews in these recipes instead.

Saison Scones with Black Pepper and Orange

Makes about 12 scones Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes Craft beer purists might pale at the thought of pouring a fruity, spicy saison beer into a bowl of flour, but these scones are worth the sacrifice. 4 ¼-4 ½ cups self-raising flour Finely grated zest of 1 large orange 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 300ml cream (reserve about a Tbsp) 330ml beer

1 Tbsp raw sugar 1 Heat the oven to 210C and put a baking tray in to heat up.

2 Sift the flour into a large bowl. Stir through the orange zest and black pepper. Pour in the cream and beer. Fold quickly together to make a soft dough.

3 Dust a large piece of baking paper with flour and turn the dough out on to it. Pat into a rough circle, then cut into wedges. Pull the wedges out so there’s at least a finger space between each one (so they’ve got room to expand while cooking). Brush with the reserved tablespoon of cream and sprinkle over the sugar.

4 Lift up the baking paper and transfer the scones to the hot oven tray. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until risen and golden. Serve warm, with lots of cold unsalted butter. These are best eaten the day they’re made.

Dark and Stormy Sorbet

Serves 4-6

Preparation time: 10 minutes (plus freezing time) Cooking time: nil This is an extremely refreshing way to serve dark, chocolatey beers, but remember that the alcohol content will still be present, so don’t accidentally give any to children or non-drinkers. A little cold cream drizzled over the top before serving makes it even more of a treat. ½ cup caster sugar

1 cup boiling water

330ml dark beer

75g dark chocolate, finely chopped or grated 1 Put the sugar and water in a shallow, freezer-safe container and stir well to dissolve the sugar. Slowly stir in the beer, followed by the chocolate. Cover and leave in the freezer to set (about 2-3 hours). 2 Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blend and whiz until smooth and pale. You can either eat it now, or return it to the freezer and eat when you’re ready. To serve, scoop into small glasses and pour over a little liquid cream. Eat immediately.

Pale Ale Cheesy Pasta Bake

Serves 4 Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes If macaroni cheese and Welsh rarebit had a baby, this gorgeously cheesy dish would be it. Feel free to substitute leeks for the onions to amp up its Welsh roots. 250g dried mini penne rigate or other small pasta shapes (about 2 ½ cups) 2 tsp olive oil

5 Tbsp butter

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

4 Tbsp plain flour

2 tsp Dijon mustard

500ml beer — pale ale works well 200g tasty cheese, grated

½ cup dried breadcrumbs 1 Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to packet directions until just al dente (about 6-8 minutes). Drain well and tip into a bowl. Stir through 1 ½ tsp of the olive oil and set aside.

2 Set a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the remaining oil, 4 Tbsp of the butter and the onion. Cook, stirring often, until soft (7-10 minutes). Add the flour and cook for a further three minutes, stirring constantly, until it smells nutty. Keep stirring and slowly pour in the beer to form a smooth sauce (doing this slowly will reduce the likelihood of lumps). Stir in the mustard and the cheese — the sauce should thicken up and smell amazing. Stir in the cooked pasta and season well with salt and pepper. Tip into a greased dish (or small ramekins) and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Dot with butter. Heat the grill to medium-high and set the pasta bake underneath. Grill until the breadcrumbs are golden and the sauce is bubbling. Serve immediately — warn diners the sauce will be very hot!

TIP: This can be made in advance — reheat until piping hot in a 180C oven instead of under the grill.