Many of us are fortunate to grow up eating hearty home cooked favourites prepared with love from our very own mothers.

Some of my favourites as prepared by my mum Judy would have to be:

• Apricot chicken
• Curried Sausages
• Savoury Mince

Another one I mentioned a while back on my Facebook page was Mum’s savoury slice. Mum has been making this since I can remember and it’s always a crowd pleaser. We took mum and dad away last weekend to Bowral to the annual home and garden show and when we check into our accomodation I saw a large rectangle tupperware container poking out of mums handbag. I knew it was one of two things.

Mum also loves to make fruit cakes and puddings. I have never been great when it comes to the cakes and pastry division, its never been my area of strength for me but hey, that’s what mums are for right? Luckily for us it turned out there were two containers which included our favourite, savoury slice, and a pumpkin fruit cake.

I have been asked for the savoury slice recipe many times and Mum actually sent it to me before we went to France and I neglected to post it. Sorry about that, but there is no time like the present.

The savoury slice for me is one of those very simple homely recipes that you often get cravings for. Simple tastes that always remind you of a time and place. A happy place.

This recipe reminds me of others that you may have experienced from your childhood such as:

• Spinach dip in a warm cob loaf
• Potato bake
• Pikelets, scones and pancakes.

Another food memory I have is the upright grill. I think every time we turned it on there was almost a fire. It was pretty much a big toaster with an upright grill plate. You’d insert pork rashers or chops, seal it tight and insert in into the toaster. A small kitchen fire later you’d have piping hot crispy chops ready for dinner. This was in the days before smoke alarms were mandatory. I remember dad running around waving a tea-towel opening up all the doors and windows. Does this ring any memory bells for you? 

I mentioned the upright grill to mum recently as I was wondering if they still sold these fire traps. I don’t know if they do but mum did mention they were not very easy to clean. It’s safe to say any kitchen appliance that sets fire to food is going to be difficult to clean…

Anyway, without further adieu here is Mum’s savoury slice recipe. It’s great to keep in the fridge for a snack or to add to your BBQ buffet table.

It’s also a great “fridge passing snack”, you know, when you walk past the fridge and discreetly grab a little bite to eat. We all do it, let’s not pretend we don’t.

With that said I should own up to something. Mum was always wondering where the savoury slice was disappearing too and yes, it was me, but I have a feeling Mum already knew that anyway. It’s a mothers instinct.

What are your childhood food memories? I would love to know, you can leave a comment for me below.

Mike’s Mum’s Savoury Slice

Ingredients:

1 packet jatz biscuits crushed

2 cups grated cheese

3 tablespoons parsley

300g chopped bacon (I like hickory smoked bacon or maple bacon)

1 onion chopped (you can use leek as a substitute also)

1 large carrot grated

3 eggs

1 cup of milk

Cracked pepper

Method:

Combine all the ingredients and mix well with a spatular. Spread the mixture into a greased slab tin (like a tin you’d use to make a slice in). Pre-heat the oven to 200c. Place the slice in the oven for 5 minute before reducing the temperature to 150c, and cook for a further 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the slice cool. Slice into squares, 3cm x 3cm and enjoy!

Bon Appétit!