tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-590095984615631662024-02-20T21:48:35.565-08:00boyeatswayroundworldramblings of an epicure abroadtest123456789elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09411855941598122794noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59009598461563166.post-48906406331154531192015-08-10T22:19:00.001-07:002015-11-05T05:06:30.996-08:00Dinner at Orana, Adelaide<br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"> I would of course be doing an injustice to myself, if, after a weeks interning with Orana, I were not to taste what I'd been foraging and prepping in the kitchen, even if I am on a backpackers budget. I was always going to eat at the end of the week, I'd be a fool not to. I'd tried to persuade the boys to join me, as I knew they'd love it (and I didn't want to be billy no mates in the corner), but after some umm-ing and ahh-ing at the start of the week they'd decided against it. Fair enough, we are on a tight budget and dinner is $180 excluding drinks.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">The first three days I spent foraging, so it wasn't until my fourth day when I helped with evening service that I got to try some of the food at Orana. The boys picked me up from work afterwards and I was still so impressed with what I'd tasted that I said to them, in a nutshell, 'look, you just have to come, the food is unreal.' That was that, we booked a table for three on the Saturday night there and then. What's the point of travelling if you can't treat yourself once in a while anyway?!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">Orana serve a 24 course tasting menu, with the option of a wine/juice pairing, though we just opted for a single bottle of red (the cheapest one!) to have throughout the meal - getting the wine pairing significantly increases the price of the meal, y'see. The 24 courses are broken down in to four sets of four snacks, getting progressively larger as the meal goes on. After the sixteen snacks the four mains are served, these are slightly larger again and come out as individual dishes, rater than getting four bitesize dishes at once. After the mains are over you then get three dessert snacks, followed by two larger deserts that are eaten as individual dishes. The whole meal took over three hours and was absolutely fantastic, there's something very satisfying about taking your time and eating lots of small, very different tasting dishes rather than a few large ones, particularly when the food is as good as it is here, I couldn't recommend it enough - a taste of Australia.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">Potato damper with lamb butter</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;">The first course of the evening, a terrible picture, I know. Damper is a traditional Australian bread made simply of flour, water and milk, cooked directly on hot coals, eaten by frontiersman, drovers and travellers when camping. These were made with a potato naan dough, served with tongs so we had to cook and turn them at the table - a nice touch. The lamb fat butter was charged through a whipped cream dispenser and silky smooth. A great start.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">Emu, wild plum, mountain pepper // Smoked mussel,</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">granny smith apple and sea blight</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Rolled emu carpaccio was good but the mussels stole the show, they were in fact my favourite dish of the night - hot smoked and covered in the reduced smoked mussel stock and a reduced apple juice 'syrup'. Oh so very good. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">(Top L - R, Bottom L - R)</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">Saltbush, black garlic, buffalo curd // Prawn and Davidson plum</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">Roast beef and pumpkin // Mulloway, quandong & ruby saltbush berries</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;">The two seafood snacks were my favourite here, the prawns were seasoned with dehydrated lacto Davidson plum powder which gave them a sour edge. The contrast of the crispy skins and raw flesh of the Mulloway, along with the sweetness of the quandong and ruby saltbush berries was a delight. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">Prawns and Davidson plum</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Kangaroo tendon and mountain pepper //</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">Alexander play heart, native honey, green ants //</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">Lamb, kohlrabi & cumin eucalyptus</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;">A scallop dish, which I forgot to photograph, also came with these snacks, and along with the kangaroo tendons were the two standouts for me. The scallops were cooked over coals until crispy, but on one side only, giving a lovely texture - both raw and cooked in one mouthful. The crispy, deep fried kangaroo tendons were delicious, made in the same way as you would crispy pig skin (slow cook, dehydrate, deep fry), the mountain pepper sauce was insanely good. The cumin eucalyptus oil on the pickled kohlrabi and lamb was a superb flavour also.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">Alexander palm heart, native honey, green ants</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;">The alexander palm inflorescence was interesting - just three raw ingredients in their natural state. The palm hearts had an almost coconut-y texture and paired well with the fragrant honey and sour ants. A truly Australian dish. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">And now on to the fourth round of slightly larger snacks...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Basically a squid (+ ink) risotto, cooked in a reduced chicken stock and topped with what looked like some kind of caviar but turned out to be tiny segments of finger lime, giving a citrus popping sensation the mouth. Delicious. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">A taste of the sea, this salty, briney dish did not enamour itself with the boys, but I loved it. The crab and yoghurt sorbet, although fishy itself, cut through the strong saltiness of the popping Neptune's pearls seaweed and accompanying sauce. Never have I had a seafood dish that tasted so strongly of the sea. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">Davidson plum, white aspen, lilly silly & tea tree</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Raw native fruits covered in a N20 charged Davidson plum lacto juice. The aerated lacto juice was fizzy, sour and delicious. A great palate cleanser. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">Homemade sourdough and homemade butter</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;">The sourdough was great, we had a second. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">On to the mains...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">(I forgot to photograph the first main - a spelt 'risotto' with lots of native greens - min min, water lily, mangrove seed, kutjera and saltbush)</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">George, myself and Hen</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiffJH04VKvgLQEF_js87V_9P6fQMhIX91X4FoqCwedL0eyygj9WamaGeS99FEUbLZc6uSwGUCpwQMdTsBQQVXmbh6NeDoff6RrHzbSS_LYK18GjW5SVJTvGLmxKBySo4_Iy3qpXjrRyQ/s1600/IMG_6230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiffJH04VKvgLQEF_js87V_9P6fQMhIX91X4FoqCwedL0eyygj9WamaGeS99FEUbLZc6uSwGUCpwQMdTsBQQVXmbh6NeDoff6RrHzbSS_LYK18GjW5SVJTvGLmxKBySo4_Iy3qpXjrRyQ/s400/IMG_6230.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">Charred kangaroo, beetroot, grasses and wild garlic</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;">A piece of theatre. The smoke filled wine glass hid the dish beneath. The glasses were lifted by the waiters in unison and the smoke swirled round us, after which, the Prancing Pony india red ale was poured in the same glasses, taking on some of that smokiness. The beer was one of the most delicious I've ever had; a great accompaniment. The dish consisted of slices of kangaroo carpaccio topped with intensely rich, almost disintegrating, kangaroo tail meat, pickled three-cornered leek stems, crispy smooth sow thistle, wrapped in a long length of pickled beetroot, all with a hint of smokiness. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1AMSjpXFSV-RaTwq5UfUhpTDVmEeGkMhq4mbVl_4hf9ywB1wItb6sllVE94S8lMJYdHsNSyInLC2noU_zWAWhcyigAY_gDMyvTW4wBRcbHLeR8EjWWg5W0zJpOPIQiBORhD8ddtaWCg/s1600/IMG_6167.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1AMSjpXFSV-RaTwq5UfUhpTDVmEeGkMhq4mbVl_4hf9ywB1wItb6sllVE94S8lMJYdHsNSyInLC2noU_zWAWhcyigAY_gDMyvTW4wBRcbHLeR8EjWWg5W0zJpOPIQiBORhD8ddtaWCg/s400/IMG_6167.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">I shall have to hunt this beer down, it was that good</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy6uILGCfgivH5T5PfYeaH3fID1uihZ8MjemMvk64Lw9Xc7K3jsaB5M5QxccUPUg7iZwyIBf5hIGnzYEMzF1VBE4wFF1KcBq-wGiXrY4maj2G5UVpT052Kj6RCPxk83rsy2FaVmo-WSQ/s1600/IMG_6228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy6uILGCfgivH5T5PfYeaH3fID1uihZ8MjemMvk64Lw9Xc7K3jsaB5M5QxccUPUg7iZwyIBf5hIGnzYEMzF1VBE4wFF1KcBq-wGiXrY4maj2G5UVpT052Kj6RCPxk83rsy2FaVmo-WSQ/s400/IMG_6228.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">Coorong mullet, lentils, walnut and ice plant</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Coorong mullet was steamed quickly over a geraldton wax infused water (the plant that tastes like kaffir lime leaf), served atop the richest, most delicious lentils I've ever had, garnished with ice plant, an incredibly crunchy and succulent beach herb, and finished with a gerladton wax oil - seriously good. See my previous post for info on geraldton wax and ice plant.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNbvDPnalTDJ3jydzA5LamZyd3ggLKOYTv1_gSqyMRg6DqWCVheRqDZlZvxI6aAh_zxV3JXeuJ6O0FYV9xBG9Y2nSaf3jSMkmxcg8FR9Fi2N2kmR1JpUl6wL71Pk-9IAD_ricJSMBiRA/s1600/IMG_6229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNbvDPnalTDJ3jydzA5LamZyd3ggLKOYTv1_gSqyMRg6DqWCVheRqDZlZvxI6aAh_zxV3JXeuJ6O0FYV9xBG9Y2nSaf3jSMkmxcg8FR9Fi2N2kmR1JpUl6wL71Pk-9IAD_ricJSMBiRA/s400/IMG_6229.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">Coorong Angus beef, smoked potato and leek</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;">The last of the mains. Sous vide beef, the creamiest ever smoked mash, soft, giving leeks garnished with native lilac flowers and sauced with a pandanus fruit 'soy' and fruit vinegar. Very nice.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigixJ5lUTsr7fC1tsBzIQAUZumbcG3Ifeutlsdr_6bvgcxJ19_XdauZEEFNMJrO3zpLNinq7EdTAtIDgDM6wtrbaetpFdgqbBLwMH2IdNueEI9VuwDUihefUp6K3F0BAqCzeKXFhSO7w/s1600/IMG_6172.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigixJ5lUTsr7fC1tsBzIQAUZumbcG3Ifeutlsdr_6bvgcxJ19_XdauZEEFNMJrO3zpLNinq7EdTAtIDgDM6wtrbaetpFdgqbBLwMH2IdNueEI9VuwDUihefUp6K3F0BAqCzeKXFhSO7w/s400/IMG_6172.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">Pocky sticks! Porcini, geraldton wax, quandong</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Desert snacks...an Australian take on pocky sticks, my favourite were the geraldton wax, surprise, surprise - it's just such a great flavour.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9plwTGSI0Tx4OnNmTx-Ji58ivoTiin1K1mRPKPzSqfWXTGtK6bRfcOQjwinxOQ4QdNap_FU3nidMCRyt1IIfYgxW-gP0GbyY0oXBpl7sqGO6H8TE_5GuMZJrp0ZG4BSuMI9hhgTi_nA/s1600/IMG_6231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9plwTGSI0Tx4OnNmTx-Ji58ivoTiin1K1mRPKPzSqfWXTGtK6bRfcOQjwinxOQ4QdNap_FU3nidMCRyt1IIfYgxW-gP0GbyY0oXBpl7sqGO6H8TE_5GuMZJrp0ZG4BSuMI9hhgTi_nA/s400/IMG_6231.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">Burnt damper and native currant // Blood lime marshmallows</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Burnt dampers were carbon-y, soft and delicious, I don't have much of a sweet tooth so wasn't a fan of the blood lime marshmallows, they kind of reminded me of a fizzy Flump, however, George proclaimed them as his favourite of the evening. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">(There was a desert of Bunya tubers and Davidson plum molasses in between these, which I forgot to photograph)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5nf3TDdpghuOE0ZhqG6sFiyW4WvlmA0jnpdpxpsQSDeE5Z7kiyAkiAGb_2ZBLmxXD-TAguQ9JgAlsZ0Cn33fW4KnYS96KHSDGjGtdpjNVwdoK_VZdkgWClWi5krO1pbePAePTP4cZg/s1600/IMG_6175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5nf3TDdpghuOE0ZhqG6sFiyW4WvlmA0jnpdpxpsQSDeE5Z7kiyAkiAGb_2ZBLmxXD-TAguQ9JgAlsZ0Cn33fW4KnYS96KHSDGjGtdpjNVwdoK_VZdkgWClWi5krO1pbePAePTP4cZg/s400/IMG_6175.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">Set buttermilk, strawberry and eucalyptus</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444;">My favourite desert, and one of my favourite of the evening, this dish was subtle but so delicious - a take on strawberries and cream, or should that be cream and strawberries. The chilled set buttermilk was creamy with a great texture - like a panna cotta but with a quarter of the gelatine. The oil was made of the leaves of a type of gum called strawberry eucalyptus, no prizes for guessing what it smells like, the other component simply being juiced strawberries. This is my kind of dessert, lacking in sugar with subtle but delicious flavours. A great way to end a fantastic meal. Worth every penny. </span></div>
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<br />test123456789elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09411855941598122794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59009598461563166.post-83384641802983040912015-08-08T23:56:00.000-07:002015-11-01T01:25:24.852-07:00Foraging w/ Orana, Adelaide<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"> My trip so far in Australia has been an unorganised one, with no real plans and full flexibility to do as I so wish should something interesting arise. That's how I wanted it to be, organised disorganisation, if that's not too oxymoronic. This internship was the exception though, I'd had this planned and confirmed long before I set off from the U.K. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"> A couple of the guys who I interned with at Noma work there, and so said I should get in touch with the head chef and pay them a visit. I did just that. Orana offer a 24 course tasting menu based on native Australian ingredients, with an emphasis on seasonal and foraged produce. Now I'm pretty clued up with my British wild plants, but, before this week, had very little idea as to what one can find down under. I'd bought a guide book in Sydney, but it's tough to ID a plant from one photo in a small book, particularly when from totally alien plant families and environments.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"> This last week has been perfect for correcting my aforementioned lack of knowledge, and aside from being fascinating and a lot of fun, it has given me a good starting point to being able to confidently chomp my way through Australia's flora.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">Here's a round of up what I found;</span></span><br />
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<u><span style="color: #444444;">Native Lilac (<i>Hardenbergia violacea</i>)</span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">With only a very subtle sweet flavour, these flowers in the pea family are used as a garnish.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioobhyk_eY4HjqItAoz4iZsiLxXb6E7QP2wGrn9wxv_qdLy81wRWROqNeiLmMzCz10EmQrWnRL2suj4VbnDJn4Sw7nR5dwVMZPMRH_30jImjODmBzoDzsvFT3mj2vRnWuveVPWTly6KA/s1600/IMG_6080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioobhyk_eY4HjqItAoz4iZsiLxXb6E7QP2wGrn9wxv_qdLy81wRWROqNeiLmMzCz10EmQrWnRL2suj4VbnDJn4Sw7nR5dwVMZPMRH_30jImjODmBzoDzsvFT3mj2vRnWuveVPWTly6KA/s400/IMG_6080.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444;">Ruby Saltbush (<i>Enchylaena tomentosa</i>)</span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Although the leaves are also edible, we were after the small fruits, which vary in colour from yellow to orange to red and everything in between, depending on the plant. The berries have an unusual sweet, fruity taste. Used mainly as a garnish, they have a hard central 'pip' that is somewhat unpleasant if eating the berries in profusion.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJaWxM_NLp91q2Nfoc2HQ5siJ2nfyimOtGCvgt4Zemwow7xVAPITeve6yuZgPVGMu083syKlIUdSet9cdOyFWd52NnVMc3708LCtKFiBqF6a-L1s5YuY5UKv_KeyrXbQgWmZH1yd7UQ/s1600/IMG_6119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJaWxM_NLp91q2Nfoc2HQ5siJ2nfyimOtGCvgt4Zemwow7xVAPITeve6yuZgPVGMu083syKlIUdSet9cdOyFWd52NnVMc3708LCtKFiBqF6a-L1s5YuY5UKv_KeyrXbQgWmZH1yd7UQ/s400/IMG_6119.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444;"> Blite (<i>Suaeda </i>spp.)</span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Similiar to the sea blite found in the U.K., though the different varieties of blite here can be found far inland. Leaves are succulent and can be salty depending on where they're growing. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuyH9GfwbxRVZOCdsPQCx-ZgcdVEHWVsB7O8R0x_Z93UcbTF_jKNl9jYCZMegwj-y_5jlC1SA46Rdn78-CjE81LS0YOQK99-JLLH26Z0VSgEpDeuLkHD8AgRfdVoa3XXKaN44dLpNadA/s1600/IMG_6120.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuyH9GfwbxRVZOCdsPQCx-ZgcdVEHWVsB7O8R0x_Z93UcbTF_jKNl9jYCZMegwj-y_5jlC1SA46Rdn78-CjE81LS0YOQK99-JLLH26Z0VSgEpDeuLkHD8AgRfdVoa3XXKaN44dLpNadA/s400/IMG_6120.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444;">Iceplant (<i>Mesembryanthemum crystallinum</i>)</span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">One of the most delicious wild greens I've ever tasted. Not native to Australia, it originates from Africa and southern Europe. It grows in coastal dune systems and has a fantastic crunch and subtle salinity, with not a hint of bitterness. This is due to the glistening bladder cells which give the plant the 'ice' part of the name. These cells, although not particularly visible on the picture below, can be the size of a ball bearing and function as a water reserve, giving it that incredible crunch and freshness. </span></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444;">Brush Cherries (<i>Syzygium australe</i>)</span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">A rainforest tree native to eastern Australia, we found this cultivated in gardens around the Adelaide suburbs, in both hedge and tree form. The berries have an unpleasant soapy taste unless completely ripe, when they have interesting floral notes and a watery crunch. The large pip inside must be removed.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEGwtmFahWjR5cAycFbv9JmSWR3hTcvibtntofz-Q_l5KcaBhC32IPC66yzt0xI_UPOaTKQWrZla6wbl2QL7dKq33tPssx8FmluY4-RFXpfVm6HeuSrOqcEvW9_4ApzWm7e2mu4QBAg/s1600/IMG_6121.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmEGwtmFahWjR5cAycFbv9JmSWR3hTcvibtntofz-Q_l5KcaBhC32IPC66yzt0xI_UPOaTKQWrZla6wbl2QL7dKq33tPssx8FmluY4-RFXpfVm6HeuSrOqcEvW9_4ApzWm7e2mu4QBAg/s400/IMG_6121.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444;">Tasmanian Mountain Pepper (<i>Tasmania lanceolata</i>)</span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Berries and leaves both have a pungent peppery taste, though there are no berries at this time of year. Found naturally in temperate rainforest of Tasmania and south east Australia. We picked this from a farm growing native Australian food plants. </span></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444;">Lemon Myrtle (<i>Backhousia citriodora</i>)</span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">A strong lemon scent and flavour, used as a tea or flavouring in desserts, oils, with fish etc. Again picked at the same farm as the Tasmanian Mountain Pepper, though commonly found in front gardens and urban areas in Adelaide. Probably the most commonly used native food plant in Australia. </span></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444;">Blood Lime</span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Hybrid between the native Red Finger Lime (<i>Citrus australasia var. sanguinea</i>) and the Rangpur (lemandarin). Has been farmed commercially in Australia since 2004. They have a much sweeter flesh and skin than normal limes and can be eaten whole. So delicious.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2l8UcqP_ydptMuuKXpJ9n6LzUuIPov0FmwKpwTvYsyWtPbr-IN6zbwt9QvGeogoAxqSOhikZgh2njFYFMTIZV_-VZJuUIb3QaNUUGvpovtFgh3AaTMsacCimQHh_RV89Brc6Q22pjg/s1600/IMG_6098.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk2l8UcqP_ydptMuuKXpJ9n6LzUuIPov0FmwKpwTvYsyWtPbr-IN6zbwt9QvGeogoAxqSOhikZgh2njFYFMTIZV_-VZJuUIb3QaNUUGvpovtFgh3AaTMsacCimQHh_RV89Brc6Q22pjg/s400/IMG_6098.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444;">Watercress (<i>Nasturtium officinale</i>)</span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Same as you find in the UK, almost certainly an introduced species. Much more peppery than the cultivated stuff.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBIh-d44r-U_2s2wxRPt9Q_VtfWOw1cuZmV1myeqVSfsUeym_paFpS0li09SMxHHqP4K4VmxNOQW4kLPhlMAyeyz8W1axmORXIoKaeMHqnQaSV715uL8AtfkWDuUzL-hvumPTl1ajXA/s1600/IMG_6104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgBIh-d44r-U_2s2wxRPt9Q_VtfWOw1cuZmV1myeqVSfsUeym_paFpS0li09SMxHHqP4K4VmxNOQW4kLPhlMAyeyz8W1axmORXIoKaeMHqnQaSV715uL8AtfkWDuUzL-hvumPTl1ajXA/s400/IMG_6104.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444;">Plum Pine / Illawarra Plum (<i>Podocarpus elatus</i>)</span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">The fruit is the larger, darker part and the seed is the smaller, lighter blue part. The fruit tastes like a mucilaginous plum and the top like resinous pine bark. The seed is usually discarded. Native to the sub-tropical eastern New South Wales and Queensland, these had been planted along one road in central Adelaide.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_E5t5DWlx5Rp0z-pNwsB9FSyUrk_gneFNkNXMXwTuCQ1pTA1Vm3GIzwun72k_sFdFwKa0t68YBcC1xPdfq46h9Lr3jlw-EdQCtCoYYoPhSbV5fxYfqt1Drg2De0pNwRjN7X2hcLOULA/s1600/IMG_6126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_E5t5DWlx5Rp0z-pNwsB9FSyUrk_gneFNkNXMXwTuCQ1pTA1Vm3GIzwun72k_sFdFwKa0t68YBcC1xPdfq46h9Lr3jlw-EdQCtCoYYoPhSbV5fxYfqt1Drg2De0pNwRjN7X2hcLOULA/s400/IMG_6126.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2qhm5sEN_LmpiU7LYMPeviKDeA14iK2B9uP4FSNqwyKBICN1s5ffR36MNlFQdwmPh9fGOiXQEaNBUoIdAhj0vdW017xEy-Iq24we5Nzj-4SQnwna84OZbkS1oG0FPNT3hyphenhyphenZVuiG3TA/s1600/IMG_6125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI2qhm5sEN_LmpiU7LYMPeviKDeA14iK2B9uP4FSNqwyKBICN1s5ffR36MNlFQdwmPh9fGOiXQEaNBUoIdAhj0vdW017xEy-Iq24we5Nzj-4SQnwna84OZbkS1oG0FPNT3hyphenhyphenZVuiG3TA/s400/IMG_6125.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444;">Geraldton Wax (<i>Chamelaucium uncinatum</i>)</span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">The leaves have the most incredible flavour, akin to kaffir lime leaf and lemongrass. Makes the most delicious oil. Endemic to Western Australia, this plant is found in gardens across Adelaide. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlq-lUdsoS6MvLCuw0LuiXb5kGymwtDBtFcPcTtwVK57H2d5l3LwAeuXqF9kWGmSWpE7QdG1o6dbP6Waa0YxUvhwCZaUpC9lyGA25NH6CFfiO2Q_UzqRTbkM4iT4UVVsvR8zkZH2GMA/s1600/IMG_6133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHlq-lUdsoS6MvLCuw0LuiXb5kGymwtDBtFcPcTtwVK57H2d5l3LwAeuXqF9kWGmSWpE7QdG1o6dbP6Waa0YxUvhwCZaUpC9lyGA25NH6CFfiO2Q_UzqRTbkM4iT4UVVsvR8zkZH2GMA/s400/IMG_6133.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444;">Samphire (<i>Salicornia spp. </i>and <i>Tecticornia spp.</i>)</span></u><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">The fronds are familiar in appearance to those found in the UK, but the plants themselves take on a different form here. Whereas each frond tends to grow individually and low to the ground in salt marshes in the UK, the Samphire here grows in bushes and is not strictly limited to wet, coastal areas. I've found it on clifftops and in great profusion near Lake Eyre due to the saline soil conditions. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yvJjjmn5qFZBym5z0S7SgABrYTnJN4_ljq2ipEH6Qo67P1JJvYAN1sxHqVwloby1jdKBjp2BYydz0qDB0YrVHyUZyTNB2KBhY_F8IBo5IyGpettLoz59GFkeuNIEy2TtWP1y0PZAPA/s1600/IMG_6224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yvJjjmn5qFZBym5z0S7SgABrYTnJN4_ljq2ipEH6Qo67P1JJvYAN1sxHqVwloby1jdKBjp2BYydz0qDB0YrVHyUZyTNB2KBhY_F8IBo5IyGpettLoz59GFkeuNIEy2TtWP1y0PZAPA/s400/IMG_6224.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444;">Pigface / Karkalla (<i>Carpobrotus rossii</i>)</span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Native to Australia, this coastal plant was introduced to the UK, which we now call Hottentot Fig. You can find many different species here, with different colourations and flower types. Young leaves found by the coast have a delicious fresh and salty succulence, older leaves tend to be more bitter and mucilaginous. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_u92gDfKN_3fWIfIw1NNvhvg1LhmigU4xI2cD8yxyr5yolJ9MAKf0ivP8282r1wyHCmOFzfSAI9USY4_zWkkFYhqnLEehME5_PPdyPp7KIsYOljkm0PKiuwoK9H2h7b3CxGNJm5Qiw/s1600/IMG_6227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_u92gDfKN_3fWIfIw1NNvhvg1LhmigU4xI2cD8yxyr5yolJ9MAKf0ivP8282r1wyHCmOFzfSAI9USY4_zWkkFYhqnLEehME5_PPdyPp7KIsYOljkm0PKiuwoK9H2h7b3CxGNJm5Qiw/s400/IMG_6227.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444;">Saffron Milkcaps (<i>Lactarious deliciosus</i>)</span></u></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">An introduced European species, these are now the most commonly eaten species of wild mushroom in Australia due to the large stands of pine that have been planted since European settlers first arrived. The latin epithet <i>deliciousus</i> shows that they've been regarded as a good edible for quite some time. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-kTyjoQ5y_Ihem5KuQVSyxCBEsSHWb0jy-kVgK8wV3l0dJA0HXaQnd35mwN-lDCltZe5CVXkOqQmwcwRdcff95tJ8ublQ2OWtNHehyphenhypheny4TDHiMWXffqvjX-gsCSdiGEtEmn3Imnhbpg/s1600/IMG_6225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-kTyjoQ5y_Ihem5KuQVSyxCBEsSHWb0jy-kVgK8wV3l0dJA0HXaQnd35mwN-lDCltZe5CVXkOqQmwcwRdcff95tJ8ublQ2OWtNHehyphenhypheny4TDHiMWXffqvjX-gsCSdiGEtEmn3Imnhbpg/s400/IMG_6225.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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test123456789elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09411855941598122794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59009598461563166.post-86730928886473919492015-08-04T06:42:00.000-07:002015-11-05T04:27:43.953-08:00Steak at Pablo's, MK2<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"> The last steak night at Pablo's went down pretty well, so we thought we'd do another just before he left Melbourne and back to Spain and Denmark. Last time we served steak with triple cooked chips and a creamy mushroom dipping sauce, traditional and European. Inspired by our looming trip to South America, and after some research on Argentinian cuisine, which frequently came back with claims of 'the best steak in the world,’ we diversified somewhat; steak with sweet potato and confit garlic puree with chimichurri. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"> Turnout was slightly lower than the previous steak night, so only 8 ribeyes (scotch fillets) were needed. I say 8, but I’m skeptical as to whether we were in fact given 8 ribeyes - to me it looks more like 4 ribeyes and 4 rumps steaks. There was certainly a marked difference in tenderness between the 4 ribeyes in the top left of the picture below compared to the other mystery steaks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;"> Anyway, I shan’t go in to much detail here as I’ve already done a very similar post. The sweet potato puree and chimichurri recipes can be found below, to see the steak recipe / reverse sear technique click</span> <span style="color: #b45f06;"><a href="http://boyeatswayroundworld.blogspot.com.au/2015/05/reverse-sear-steak-at-pablos.html"><b>HERE</b></a></span></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7O5G40Xu8Ho-ar5FwrWw5Xct1aIUzyZdmer7mPeGRCd0XXNp-Yh_BwMdyew6hSLCrrJaWHSsN-p-VXE56LGo1dF-RPc6JkMwq93XqiLGaedzdMIz5GpXKsA_ce4olF2eWIwCaxovmmg/s1600/IMG_5596.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7O5G40Xu8Ho-ar5FwrWw5Xct1aIUzyZdmer7mPeGRCd0XXNp-Yh_BwMdyew6hSLCrrJaWHSsN-p-VXE56LGo1dF-RPc6JkMwq93XqiLGaedzdMIz5GpXKsA_ce4olF2eWIwCaxovmmg/s400/IMG_5596.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">although all were supposed to be ribeye, the four</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">top left steaks were far more tender</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYiXl0jBliO9Rxs7cEHVO0pcQQFlcCHM7yoJ3ywsWzsVkJD_TOXLtYiDCdOqpRwM5Xqs-NJwSclcx0Iqw1x4aY3M2AScGU-BF8sd7tHKntFu0Cic4_YQi4BOxnW7y0bNE-clxmPSDzw/s1600/IMG_5598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYiXl0jBliO9Rxs7cEHVO0pcQQFlcCHM7yoJ3ywsWzsVkJD_TOXLtYiDCdOqpRwM5Xqs-NJwSclcx0Iqw1x4aY3M2AScGU-BF8sd7tHKntFu0Cic4_YQi4BOxnW7y0bNE-clxmPSDzw/s400/IMG_5598.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<u><span style="color: #444444;">Chimichurri:</span></u><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444;">A fairly standard chimi recipe, I kind of just chucked everything in and adjusted as I went on. A rough starting point;</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">2 bunches parsley, with stalks</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">1 bunch oregano, stalks removed</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">6 cloves garlic</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">1 tbs red wine vinegar</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">zest of 1 lemon</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">juice of 2 lemons</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">4 shallots</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #444444;">extra virgin olive oil </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">salt + black pepper</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444;">Start by pulsing the parsley and olive oil in a food processor, and the rest of ingredients, pulse, season, adjust. </span></div>
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<u><span style="color: #444444;">Sweet potato puree:</span></u><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444;">Boil 5 medium-large sweet potatoes until soft, drain, leave to steam dry for 20 minutes, blend in food processor with 8 cloves of confit garlic, butter and cream. Season.</span><br />
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test123456789elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09411855941598122794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59009598461563166.post-76477503677707475062015-05-25T06:06:00.000-07:002015-11-01T01:17:07.926-07:00Mushroom hunting, Melbourne<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"> It’s autumn here now in Oz. I’ve managed to chase clouds, leaving the UK in deepest, darkest January and arriving down under at the tail end of summer, catching only two months of glorious sun before the days shortened and the sky turned an all too familiar grey colour. But hey, I’m not complaining, the time for sunbathing in Melbourne may have passed, but with autumn comes other such delights. Granted, the first sight of fat, juicy blackberries is exciting, and the wait for chestnuts to drop from the trees seems to take an age when dangling tantalisingly close, but it’s the emergence of fungi that really gets me salivating come autumn. Mushroom hunting got me interested in foraging three or four years ago, and still no other wild food quite conjures the same yelps or yips upon discovery of a glut. This hunt was no different.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">I’d been talking of going mushrooming with my sous chef, Jayne, for a while as we’d both started seeing urban ‘shrooms start to pop up in parks and on inner city scrub – the season had begun – but we’d never had corresponding days off, so it hadn’t materialised. Last Friday we did, however, and, along with Jayne’s girlfriend, Helen, we headed an hour and a half out of Melbourne to a National Park, of which I forget the name. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;">We stopped on the way as I spotted a couple of Shaggy Inkcaps (</span><i style="color: #444444;">Coprinus comatus</i><span style="color: #444444;">) by the roadside, they were duly collected and off we went again. At least we wouldn’t go back empty handed, not that three small Shaggy Inkcaps were a prize find; edible but certainly not choice - they have a tendency to go slimy upon cooking. Crumbing and deep-frying, as you would a Parasol (</span><i style="color: #444444;">Macrolepiota procera</i><span style="color: #444444;">), is your best bet. See the recipe on my foraging blog, Going Wild, just</span><a href="http://goingwildforaging.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/deep-fried-parasol-fritters.html"><span style="color: #b45f06;"> here.</span></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="color: #444444;">Surprisingly, many of the European mushrooms I’m familiar with also appear in Australia, despite the markedly different flora. Perhaps unsurprisingly is that the vast majority of them appear in close proximity to introduced European species, most of which are species of pine. We went for a wander in the native gum forests and found a whole host of fungi, though none of them familiar, and as pretty as they were, we weren’t after native Australian species, we were after one European species in particular; the Saffron Milkcap (<i>Lactarius deliciosus</i>). You need only look at the Latin epithet, <i>deliciosus,</i> to know that they’re held in high regard as a good edible! </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"> Saffron Milkcaps are nearly always found under pine (they’re know as Pine Mushrooms here) due to the mycelial connections they make with their host plant – beneficial for both mushroom and plant, the mycelial threads that join onto the root system form a two way nutrient exchange platform – the plant supplies the fungi with carbohydrates and in return the fungi aids the trees water absorption and provide nutrients like phosphorous and nitrogen via their mycelia. Whereas Saffron Milkcaps nearly always form these connections with pines, False Saffron Milkcaps (<i>Lactarius deterrimus), </i>a less well regarded, but still quite delicious edible<i>,</i> tend to prefer spruce. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">As we were driving our eyes were peeled, we passed numerous firs and other conifers but it wasn’t until we got to with ten minutes of the national park that we hit the jackpot; rows of plantation Scots Pine (<i>Pinus sylvestris</i>) right by the roadside, and just underneath them on a grassy verge, a tonne of mushrooms. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">We hopped out the car and the yelps and yips began; there were hundreds of mushrooms, of about 4 or 5 different species - some type of <i>Russula</i>, which exact species I do not know, Fly Agarics (<i>Amanita muscaria</i>), the classic fairytale mushroom, with its red cap and white spots. A very interesting mushroom actually; it can be edible, hallucinogenic or poisonous depending on how you prepare it, though that’s another story. Although we weren’t after Fly Agarics I was excited to see them as they’re usually a good indicator for Ceps (<i>Boletus edulis</i>) or other choice <i>Boletus</i>; they have similar growing preferences, but none were to be found, just a load of big, spongy fungi in the <i>Suilleus</i> genus, I’m not sure the exact species – they looked similar to Bovine Boletes (<i>Suilleus bovinius</i>), not the best for the pot, certainly not when growing amongst Saffron Milkcaps. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Armed with a couple of bags, Jayne, Helen and I got picking and within three or four minutes had a whole bag full, it must have weighed 3 or 4 kilos – some of the most productive mushrooming I’ve ever done. We had enough for ourselves so moved on. We found some Field and Horse Mushrooms (<i>Agaricus campestris</i> and <i>Agacirus arvensis,</i> respectively), but they’d been enjoyed by maggots long before we had got to them. After another drive and a new spot with the odd Slippery Jack (<i>Suillus luteus</i>), a decent enough edible, we headed back to Melbourne. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">I had work at 6 in the evening, so headed straight there armed with my bag of Saffron Milkcaps. Instead of taking my half an hour break, I chose to instead play with my ‘shrooms. After a quick clean with a dry towel, I liberally salted them and basted them with a sauce consisting of butter, confit garlic, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. They went straight on the grill and were cooked over a high heat until charred, soft and sweating. Another liberal sprinkling of salt was needed in order to bring out the mushroom-y flavour. The result? Quite delicious, if I may say so myself. They had a real meaty flavour and a pleasantly soft, if not slightly slimy, texture, enhanced by the areas that were charred and crispy. I feasted on ‘shrooms until my half an hour was up and then got back to work. A good day out. </span><br />
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<br />test123456789elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09411855941598122794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59009598461563166.post-51297656694838113452015-05-18T00:26:00.008-07:002015-06-14T19:15:39.094-07:00Reverse sear steak at Pablo's<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="color: #444444;">Although nearly a month ago now, I have very fond memories of this day, Friday 24<sup>th</sup> March. Henry had been in Melbourne for nearly two weeks - a very enjoyable two weeks they were too! The grand plan had always been to work until funds were sufficient to get us through the rest of our travels. </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">When our time working had come to an end, we’d buy a van and hit the road. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"> After a quick browse on Gumtree early Friday morning to just see what was available and for what price, we found a van with all the required criteria at a deceptively low buck. A phone call and trip to the bank to withdraw all available funds later, and we were on a train out of Melbourne by 10.30am. We saw the van, we drove the van, we bought the van. Spontaneity at its most spontaneous and an early present to ourselves. The first car I’ve owned, albeit jointly. The ride home was one of much childish giggling and hairy moments on the road. A great start to the day.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">We had always planned to do a steak night at Pablo’s in the evening, it was meant to be just 4 of us, but a call from Pablo on the drive back to Melbourne confirmed that he had in fact invited half of his uni course round for dinner – I was to cook for 15. This was of course fine – what better way to spend my one day off from 14 hour days in the kitchen than back in the kitchen and cooking for fifteen! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Upon returning to Melbourne, we parked up our new wagon at Queen Victoria Market, located at the northern tip of the CBD; a vast labyrinth of shops and stalls selling everything from fluffy koala teddies, to dodgy faux-leather clothes, to fantastically fresh organic veg, as well as great meat, fish and cheese – a grand place to spend a few hours! The street food night market on a Wednesday eve is also one not to miss; thousands of people, hundreds of street food vendors, a nose full of good smells and belly full of proper grub. Most enjoyable.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">After an hour or so of mooching round buying veg and fifteen thick-cut rib eye steaks (or scotch fillets, as they call it here), we headed back to Pablo’s to get prepping. The menu consisted of three things;</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">- Dry brined, reverse sear steak</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">- Triple cooked chips, Heston Blumenthal style</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">- Creamy mushroom sauce, for dipping the previous two components</span><br />
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Recipes:</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Dry brined, reverse sear steak</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">The whole dry brined, reverse sear malarkey may sound fancy, but it’s really pretty simple, and much more effective than simply chucking a hunk of steak in a frying pan and overcooking half of it in order to get a rare middle – why not have the whole thing rare?</span><br />
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<i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Dry brine:</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Salt. That’s it. As opposed to a wet brine, where you leave a piece of meat in a water and salt solution in order to create an osmotic movement of fluid through the meat membrane. If I’m doing fried chicken, I’ll leave the thighs in a 6% salt solution overnight for extra juiciness. For a dry brine, liberally sprinkle the meat with salt, perhaps 30/40% more than you would normally, and leave it, uncovered, on a rack in the fridge for at least two hours before cooking. That’s it, the meat will be seasoned the whole way through and will be juicer and more tender than if you’d seasoned and cooked straight away.</span><br />
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<i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Why does salt enable meat to retain more moisture? </span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Due to the electrical charges that the sodium and chloride ions in salt carry, salt attacks the meat proteins, causing them to unravel a bit, a process called denaturing. These denatured proteins have a greater ability to retain moisture, so meat that has been treated with salt stays juicier throughout the cooking process – just look at the shine of the meat at the bottom of this post to see what I mean.</span><br />
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<i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Reverse sear:</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"> For this we employ the use of an oven set at a low temperature – I used 130°C, though lower would probably be preferable – I slightly overcooked the first batch, only by a few minutes, but the difference in texture and taste between them and the second batch, which were spot on, was marked. I’d say an oven temp of 100-110°C would be ideal.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"> The whole point of reverse sear is to cook the steak slowly, the whole way through, so that the whole steak is evenly cooked, rather than having an overcooked outer layer, a medium inner layer and a rare middle, which is often the case when entirely pan-fried. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"> For a rare steak you’re looking for the centre of the meat to be around 55°C, I used a temperature probe for accuracy, but the old-fashioned prod test will suffice. How you like your steak will govern at what temperature you take it out the oven, but I’m guessing you wouldn’t go to these lengths if you wanted it medium-well. The first batch that I overcooked slightly read around 59°C, these were significantly tougher than the second batch which came out the oven at 56°C. I’ve listed rough temp charts below;</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Rare - 50-54°C</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Medium rare - 55-58°C</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Medium - 59-62°C</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">After removing the steak from the oven when the middle is at the desired temperature it is then crucial to rest the meat for 10-15 minutes; this allows the muscle fibres to relax and keeps the juices in the steak. At this point the steak will be an anaemic looking off-grey colour, hardly very appetising. We therefore need to get some Maillard browning going on. Heat a pan super hot, with just a dash of oil and sear hard on each side for 30 seconds, any longer and the meat will start to cook through, ruining the point of the reverse sear method. </span><br />
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"><i>Triple cooked chips </i>à <i>la Heston:</i></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">These triple cooked chips are a tad fiddly and take up a significant amount of time, but they’re worth it for that fluffy middle and crunchy outer. You can find a more in depth recipe online, below is a condensed version I’ve written;</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">1: Boil chips until nearly falling apart, carefully remove, let steam dry then place in the freezer for an hour to dry further</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">2: Fill oil to 10cm in a pan, get to 130°C. Fry chips in small batches until a light crust forms. Remove and put back in the freezer for an hour. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">3: Fry at 180°C in small batches until golden – approx. 7 mins. </span><br />
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Creamy mushroom sauce:</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Again, really very simple, but the addition of stock made from the stems of the Portobello mushrooms in with the creamy sauce really boosts that rich mushroom flavour. For the stock, add just enough water to cover the stems in a pan and cook at the lowest temperature possible – you don’t want it to simmer or even bubble. Leave for an hour or two, strain off ‘shrooms. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"> The rest was simple, fry the mushrooms with a big knob of butter, some mashed confit garlic and finely chopped thyme, though don’t cut the ‘shrooms too thinly, they’ll only go limp - you still want some texture there. When cooked, add some thick double cream and your mushroom stock, about 50:50 ratio, and reduce to desired consistency. Season well with salt and pepper and mix through chopped parsley to finish. Oh, and add more butter if you so wish – butter is good, y’see. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">* I got a bit too caught up in cooking to take photos of the chips and mushroom sauce upon completion, they didn't hang round long. Below are a couple of photos of the laborious process of carefully lining parboiled chips up ready to be dried in the freezer. A fun bit of prep.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">As we were 15 and had only a 4 hob cooker, two of which were taken up by vats of oil for the chips and one for the mushroom sauce, we could only sear two steaks at a time, so served sliced steak on boards with a dollop of mustard, a bowl of chips and some creamy mushroom dipping sauce. No cutlery allowed. Everyone just dived right in and got messy fingers, a less formal yet much more enjoyable way of eating, I think. This went on five or six times until the steak was gone and bellies were close to bursting. After I thought I could eat no more, Giorgia, from Italy, produced a stonking Tiramisu she’d made earlier that day. I found space. It was superb. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">All in all, a very enjoyable day / evening. I'm the proud co-owner of a wagon. The steak was the best I've cooked and the company was second to none. Although I'm working long hours at two kitchen jobs, I still miss being able to to do my own thing in the </span>kitchen. <span style="font-family: inherit;">The lack of ovens at hostels is frustrating. </span></span><br />
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test123456789elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09411855941598122794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59009598461563166.post-29328283954094276742015-02-17T18:32:00.003-08:002015-11-01T01:18:32.888-07:00Sea Urchin Foraging, Sydney<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"> So I’ve been in Sydney for just over two weeks, couch surfing with a couple of mates from back home near Chinatown / Darling Harbour. Having handed out CVs with not so much as a whisper in response, I’d decided it was time to move on and look for work elsewhere. Tomorrow I leave for Melbourne.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">On Sunday 15</span><sup style="font-family: inherit;">th</sup><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Iain and I drove across the Harbour Bridge and to Manly beach, located just north of the harbour entrance, to watch a surf competition. In fantastically useless form, we arrived 45 seconds before it ended, glimpsing only one surfer on only one small wave. I’m glad we showed up far-too-fashionably late, however, as I didn’t give a monkeys about the competition and certainly didn’t want to be sat on a packed beach for hours on end.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">We both vetoed the beach, instead, walking down to the Sydney Harbour National Park at the southern end of Manly. After a cliff top stroll we wandered down to a beach located on the eastern side, at Spring Cove. To my amazement, the whole seabed round the side of the beach was carpeted in large urchins. To my dismay, neither of us had anything that we could use to prise them from their holdings, let alone get in to them. We went home, to do some research in to the legality of taking urchins from a national park beach and promising to come back a few days later armed with the necessary tools should the law not prevent us from doing so.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">A quick Google search was all that was necessary to find a host of articles by marine conservationists outlining the destructive nature of the urchins, with one of them even encouraging the public to get out there and start eating them. So eating urchins will satisfy my belly as well as going someway to rebalance Sydney’s aquatic ecosystems. Done.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">We drove back to the same beach on the 17<sup>th</sup> Feb, armed with knives, spoons and a colander, we couldn’t find any scissors, which would have made getting the urchins open somewhat easier. Dislodging the urchins was surprisingly easy; a wiggle with a long knife aimed at where they attach themselves to the rocks did the trick in seconds. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Although easy to harvest, getting the roe from the shell, clean and in tact is somewhat more laborious, so how, then, does one get to the delicious roe inside? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Usually I’d take a good pair of scissors, trim the spines down and then cut a circle out the bottom side of the urchin (around where it attaches itself to rocks), after doing so I’d use a teaspoon to gently coax out the roe. As well as the roe there’s a lot of ‘gunk’ and other innards inside an urchin, so the roe needs to be cleaned in salty water. As I didn’t have any scissors, just a few knives that Iain had at his flat, I rather brutishly just chopped the urchins in half, scooped out the roe and washed them by placing them in a colander and gently skimming off the crud in the sea. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">In the space of ten minutes I’d cleaned four or five urchins, with an equivalent amount of roe as is sold in Sydney fish market for $18 a tray.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">delicious golden roe</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I realise most people won’t have tried urchin roe, so what does it taste like? It’s everything a seafood should be, sweet and soft, yet with that addictively distinctive salinity - like sharing an intimate kiss with the ocean. Although I bought knives and a colander, I didn’t quite have the foresight to bring any accompaniments - a bit of sourdough toast and a squeeze of lemon juice would have been delightful, but hey, the urchin roe was salty, sweet and delicious as it was. I’m coming back to Sydney later in the year, urchins will certainly be on the menu.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444;">a pasta colander is an effective way to clean the roe</span></td></tr>
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<br />test123456789elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09411855941598122794noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59009598461563166.post-18442004904356946132015-02-17T18:30:00.000-08:002015-04-15T23:58:03.750-07:00Sydney Fish Market<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">I'm not a big breakfast fan, that is unless it's a proper breakfast, none of this cereal rubbish. I wouldn't have cereal for dinner, so why settle for it at breakfast?!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">But what to have instead when in Sydney? Gorge on oysters and sashimi at the world’s third largest fish market, obviously.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">The market is in Pyrmont, I’m staying in Ultimo near Darling Harbour, so only a 10 minute stroll down the road. I got there nice and early so as to not miss out on the freshest catch. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">As well as being a wholesalers for the majority of Sydney’s restaurants, the market, located on the waterside in Blackwattle Bay, incorporates a working fishing port as well as numerous retail outlets, delis, and a seafood cookery school. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">As soon as you enter the market the smell of fish smothers you, not in a bad way mind you, just a pleasant, fishy reminder of your locality. The smell of the coast. </span><br /><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">After a wonder round the car park, past the polystyrene mountains and outdoor fish shops, I headed inside – I’d been told to not eat outside as the seagulls have gotten wise and had a penchant for dive-bombing people’s food right out their hands, like taking candy from a baby. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Inside you find more fishmongers, a couple of delis, a veg shop and a few dodgy restaurants; the food looked pretty dire – since when has it been acceptable to cook fresh fish and chuck it in a bain marie for hours to dry out before serving it?! A great waste. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Dry, pre-cooked fish was not on the agenda, and with such an array of weird and wonderful fish, crabs and crustacea that I’d never seen before, there was only ever going to be one place where I’d get my grub from; the wholesalers.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">I toyed with the idea of abalone sashimi, a native Australian mollusc, but ended up going for a mixed sashimi box, consisting of salmon, tuna and a white-fleshed fish, of which I cannot remember the name. As if one tray of fresh fish wasn’t enough I went on to treat myself, buying a tray of 6 Coffin Bay oysters with 3 different toppings and a lone Pacific jumbo oyster. Breakfast is served. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Surprisingly, the fatty salmon was the tastiest fish in the mixed sashimi box, the tuna coming a close second, though all quite delicious with a dash of soy and a touch of pickled ginger. The larger, expensive Pacific oyster was tasteless and too salty – big is certainly not best! The six assorted oysters were just sublime, however. I’m not usually a fan of sauce and toppings on oysters – if they’re of good quality, they’re perfect <i>au naturel</i>. Saying this, the Kabayakki sauce was very tasty indeed; like a watered down, less salty soy, with a pleasant richness. The black caviar and Tabasco was the only dud for me, the caviar was great, but I could hardly taste it or the oyster due the excessive spice from the Tabasco. </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">By far the stand out topping was the Tobikko and Ponzu sauce, which was fantastic. The umami laden Ponzu, the popping sensation and fishy undertones from the Tobikko (fish eggs) and the sweet oyster is a great combination. I could forget about the sashimi and the other oyster toppings and just have a tray (or two) of those!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Although not a cheap breakfast, and not one I could afford even once a week, it was a mighty fine treat and a great start to the day. I left intrigued what abalone tastes like; I guess I’ll just have to come back when I return to Sydney in a few months. Hard life. </span><br />
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test123456789elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09411855941598122794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59009598461563166.post-56271680952561784542015-02-17T16:31:00.001-08:002015-04-03T21:39:28.621-07:00Phuong Vietnamese Pork Rolls, Sydney<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Buying food from the supermarket in Australia is expensive. So much so that I've hardly cooked since being here - buying a loaf of bread and tin of baked beans costs nearly as much as eating out, I know which I'd rather.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">In Chinatown you can expect to pay between $9 and $13 for a meal, that’s between £5 and £7, which is crazily cheap considering the quality of most of the food. But even £5, twice a day, soon adds up, and as acceptable as the Asian-style pot noodles are, they’re hardly the most sustaining.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Thank God then for Vietnamese pork roll, or Banh Mi. I’d been told about these by a good friend who I staged at Noma with - he’d lived in Australia and Vietnam, working in Banh Mi shops in both countries, and fell so in love with them that he’s in the process of starting up his own Banh Mi shop in Quito, Ecuador. Looking forward to my stay there come November time!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">From afar they sound somewhat mundane; a baguette with meat and veg filling, but when everything is combined they transform into something that’s just delicious – <i>the whole is greater than the sum of its parts</i>, and all that. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">The traditional Banh Mi is comprised of a crunchy white baguette, a layer of chicken liver pate and mayo, fresh and pickled veg – cucumber, carrot and spring onion being the staple, occasionally daikon too, sliced or grilled pork, a handful of fresh coriander, some fresh chilli and a healthy spoonful of a sweet soy glaze. This is not to say you can’t get variations upon this, you’ll usually see a selection of different styles of pork, chicken, tofu, or just veg. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">As well as being mightily tasty, these pork rolls are incredibly cheap – you’re looking at $4 or $5 a pop, that’s around £2.50! Needless to say, I’ve lived off them for the last week or so, and I’m certainly not bored of them yet.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">I mentioned in my last post about queue size being a good indicator for quality food at lunchtime in Chinatown, Phuong is no exception. Going between 1 and 2 o’clock is a no-no unless you’re prepared to stand in a snaking queue out the door and round the corner for 20 minutes. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Each Banh Mi is made fresh to order, so you can pick and choose your fillings, though opting for everything is of course sensible. The chillies deserve a special mention, they make it for me – with an almost pickled taste, they have a very quick ‘half-life;’ after a short initial hit of pungent heat, the sting resides within 10 seconds or so. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">There’s not too much more to say about these, they’re just baguettes, very good ones at that. Mi like Banh Mi. </span><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=59009598461563166" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=59009598461563166" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>test123456789elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09411855941598122794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59009598461563166.post-18694028161512073402015-02-11T16:31:00.004-08:002015-04-03T21:45:00.737-07:00Happy Chef, Sydney<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">I’ve been in Sydney for nearly two weeks now and have been doing my utmost to sniff out the best Asian eateries in and around Chinatown.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">After days of wandering round at lunchtime, I soon learned, by way of queue size, which restaurants were held in high regard by the locals and which to avoid. Along with queue size assessment and some targeted Google-ing, I’d soon compiled a list of five or six restaurants that were a must try, Happy Chef in the Sussex Centre food hall being one of them – the best broths in town, I’d heard. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Food halls in Chinatown don’t look too dissimilar to those found in U.K shopping centres; rows of cheap plastic chairs and tables encircled by shoebox-sized food outlets, all serving food on the sort of plastic trays school gruel was dolloped upon. Unlike the U.K., you’ll find not a Macca’s or Bessie’s Baked Potatoes in sight, for the food halls here serve as street stalls would down a Bangkok or Kuala Lumpan back alley; a cheap and sociable way of getting good grub. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">I must admit to being a little sceptical upon arrival; the neon backboards awash with pictures of every dish is something that would normally send me packing back in the U.K, rightly or wrongly so, but with over 10% of Sydneysiders being born in Asia or from Asian heritage, along with the fact that I was one of the only Caucasian faces in the entire place, I figured these restaurants must be doing something right. I guess this as close to authentic Asian cooking you can get without hopping on a plane. I stayed. I’m glad I did.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">I’d read online to look no further than No.1 on the menu, the combination noodle soup, and for $9, that’s less than £5, I could not argue, though the picture was hardly the most flattering. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">The guy taking the orders spoke broken English, and upon ordering, simply pointed to his belly and said ‘contains guts.’ This was of course fine with me; I love all things offally and am quite happy to eat ears, feet, guts, snouts and tongues. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #444444;">My combination noodle soup took only a couple of minutes to arrive - I could see huge vats of broth simmering out back, so it was just a case of cooking the meat and noodles.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Well well well! How a clear urine-coloured broth can taste so good I do not know, it was oily yet crisp and incredibly aromatic. I’m finding it hard to describe the unadulterated satisfaction gained from every spoonful of this broth consumed - I suppose it’s kind of the Asian equivalent of drinking a stonking, rich, meaty gravy straight from the jug for a pre-pudding after finishing a Sunday roast, just bloody good.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">The combination soup certainly lived up to its name; from prawns and tofu, to slices of pork loin and pig’s liver, to blood jelly and intestinal tract, oh and this weird spongy white thing, which I haven’t a clue from where or which animal it came from, it had the lot.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m a huge liver fan, but the slices of off-grey coloured pig’s liver were chewy and tough – boiled liver just isn’t right. The spongy white thing was tasteless as well as confusing. Although disappointing, these hiccups were too minor to negate from the rest of the dish. The tofu was delicious, the prawns were as you'd </span>expect,<span style="font-family: inherit;"> but the two stand out proteins were the bloody jelly and intestinal tract, by quite some way.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">The intestine had an incredibly rich and meaty taste, far superior to that of the pork loin, and the texture of the blood jelly was unlike one I’ve ever come across – almost melt-in-your-mouth, yet still with structure. The taste was subtle yet superb, I could have happily chomped my way through a noodle soup full of the stuff.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">As I’m sure you will have realised, I rate this place; cheap, no frills food that just tastes so so good.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">I’ll be back for laksa.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=59009598461563166" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=59009598461563166" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: url(data:image/png; border: none; cursor: pointer; display: none; height: 20px; opacity: 0.85; position: absolute; width: 40px; z-index: 8675309;"></a>test123456789elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09411855941598122794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59009598461563166.post-57359111913655280612015-02-09T17:53:00.000-08:002015-03-09T18:13:34.304-07:00The Perfectionists' Cafe, Heathrow T2<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;"> After an early train to Heathrow and a goodbye peck on the cheek from the old dear, I made my way through passport control and bag check at Heathrow’s newly revamped T2 – my year of eating and travelling was finally upon me, but not before I could get my final fix of Great British grub, and what better place than Heston Blumenthal’s The Perfectionists’ Cafe. Well I wasn’t going to go to Wetherspoons, was I? As much of a British institution as it may be, I was after a finer farewell.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">The Perfectionists’ Café is the latest addition to Heston’s gastro empire, with a new Dinner opening at the Crown Hotel, Melbourne in August after the 6 month Fat Duck pop-up packs up and heads back to Bray. Like Heston’s Hampshire pubs, this latest venture is not about tasting menus, petit fours and other fine dining frills, but just doing proper food properly. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">The menu is simple, consisting of your standard fodder of pizzas, steaks, fish and chips, burgers etc. The pizzas aren’t your thick crust, soggy-bottomed English takeaway muck, they’re thin crust and crispy, cooked very quickly at high temperatures in a proper wood-fired oven – the Italian way. Although I didn’t try one, the chap sat next to me did and gave it a big thumbs up. The fish and chips are created with similar care; the batter is charged through a whipped cream canister, resulting in a bubblier and therefore crunchier batter. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">I love nothing more than fish and chips, as tempting as it was, the clock hadn’t even struck 8am, and dinner for breakfast just didn’t feel right, Eggs Benedict it was.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Service was efficient and my brekkie was with me within 5 minutes – just what you you need if you’re in a hurry to catch a plane, not that I was mind you. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Well what can I say about the Eggs Benedict? It was indeed very tasty. Fantastic? No. An above average breakfast? Of course. The crumpets tasted like crumpets, nothing of note there, the thick-cut maple-cured ham was very good, as you’d expect from a proper piece of ham, the eggs were cooked perfectly with a runny middle and a soft outer white and the hollandaise was well balanced – nobody likes an overly acidic hollandaise. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">It somehow lacked the wow factor that I was expecting from a Heston joint, but by no means does this mean I didn’t thoroughly enjoy my meal. You get what you pay for, and for under a tenner it was the perfect start to my year of eating and travelling! </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Bye Bye, Blighty! </span></div>
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<br />test123456789elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09411855941598122794noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59009598461563166.post-58464442497840270822015-02-08T20:51:00.002-08:002015-03-09T18:08:12.878-07:00'ello 'ello!<div style="font-size: 16px;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">G’day and welcome! I’ve been in Oz for just over a week now, sunning myself, looking for work and hunting out good eateries. My plan is to stay here for six months, New Zealand for two, and then on to South and Central America for six months – starting in Santiago and working my way north.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">This blog serves to document my foodie journey, from street food to fine dining, and from campsite cook-ups to foraged feasts; a mix of recipes and reviews.</span></div>
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I’m putting my foraging and wild food blog, Going Wild, temporarily on hold, though will still be updating the Instagram, follow the link below for more;</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.goingwildforaging.blogspot.co.uk/"><span style="color: #b45f06;">www.goingwildforaging.blogspot.co.uk</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Hope you enjoy!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: inherit;">Elliot</span></div>
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test123456789elliothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09411855941598122794noreply@blogger.com0