Sydney Food Diary

'Shroom Stacker

Ok, so it doesn't look a perfect treat, but trust me this one was a winner.

Take a big-ass field mushroom, tear some fresh basil and grate some parmigiano-reggiano into it (the 'shroom that is) and then drizzle in a healthy amount of olive oil and grill.

In the meantime, drudge some sardine fillets in breadcrumbs and fry them in olive oil (skin down) with about 5 cloves of sliced garlic and finely chopped eshallots for about a minute. One quick turn and off.

Stack the sardines on the now grilled mushroom and top with a slice of fresh tomato. (We added the crunchy bits of garlic and shallot for an extra texture)

Snap, crackle, pork

And while we are on the subject of pork...

...making kick-ass crackle (hmm, ass crackle?) is a tricky thing. Like most people, we are still perfecting the art but this technique is what works best for us at the moment.

Heat up the old fire box (oven) to 200.

Cut slits into the fat layer (we space them about a finger width apart) and wipe it as dry as humanly possible. Then rub salt flakes on the skin and drizzle on a some nice quality olive oil.

Keep a keen eye as you roast because it is a fine line between nice crackle and burnt rubble. (also helpful is removing the battery from your fire alarm before you start)

Vege-mit-arian

I'm not known for my sensitivity to vegetarians but this simple grilled tofu was simply scumptious.

Tofu : firm
Glaze: soy, honey, ginger, chilli
Salad: mint, coriander, basil
Dressing: mirin, miso, ginger, sesame seeds
Utensils: turner, tongs, fork, knife

Mac 'N' Cheeease

One particularly cold day, two weeks ago, I gave in to Michelle's repeated requests that I make some of my infamous macaroni and cheese.

For this iteration, we used 1/2 a cup of Pyenngana cheddar, 1/2 cup of Danish Havarti (Tilsit) and a fist-full of grated Parmagiana-Regianno.

1 bag o' macaroni, cooked
2 cups cheese sauce (based on bechamel with cheese added)
Lotsa cheese as specified above
1/2 cup buttered bread crumbs (we used multigrain)

Heat your oven to a toasty 200.
Butter a 1 1/2-quart casserole. Put the cooked macaroni into the casserole, pour the cheese sauce over it, and mix gently with a fork.

Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the top and spread the crumbs over the cheese. Bake, uncovered, until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes.

Eat it all up!

Meat lump

Thanks to Gothamist for pointing us to Naomi "The Star Next Door" Judd's Meatloaf Recipe.

Strange Experiment Gone Right - Haiku Series #1

Pork with a thick dark
strawberry balsamic sauce
tastes exquisite.

Sauteed eschallots
softened with halved berries
into warm syrup.

Splash in vinegar
good quality balsamic
half a cup or so.

Add five spice to taste
to the simmering mixture
and a bit of thyme.

Consume hot
with green beans
and chilli.

Sweet po-ta-ta

We've had a couple of questions about the "orange things" accompanying our croque monsieur in yesterday's grilled cheese post. While acknowledging that they look a bit strange, we assure you that they are very delicious and simple to make sweet potato wedges.

You can make them thusly:
1) Chop a sweet potato (or 2) into slats or wedges (not too thick or they'll take an eternity to cook)
2) Grind together - fennel seed (approx 1 tbsp), cayenne pepper (approx 2 tsp), paprika (approx 1 tsp), salt, pepper in your mortar and pestle
3) Drizzle slats with some good quality olive oil
4) Toss in the spice
5) Bake on about 200 for 40 mins turning once

Playing with the mix of spice and it's balance doubles your pleasure (5 spice is supa-nice).

Aww shucks

We're very excited that not only are Coffin Bay oysters (which are among our favorites) in full swing for their season (Mar-Nov) but they seem to be even better than last year's crop in size and quality.

In a sort of pseudo oyster harvest celebration, we thought we would share our favorite oyster salsa from Nobu:The Cookbook (which if you like, you should buy, because there are 2 more)

Matsuhisa Salsa - Yields 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (330 ml)
1/2 cup (60 g) finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
1/4 teaspoon chili oil
1/4 teaspoon finely grated ginger
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1/2 cup (10 g) finely chopped parsley leaves

**Vaguely related

Quick and Simple Salads Part 2

Herby Tomato Salad

The visual appeal of these tasty little treats is impossible to over-estimate.

Ingredients:
Big fat tomatoes (sliced into fairly fat slabs)
Goat's Cheese (chevre, enough to be generous)
At least 2 of the following (all would be even better):
Dill, Basil, Tarragon (extra yum), Green onion (sometimes corriander)
Pinches of salt, pepper

Lay out the slabs of tomato on a tray. Put a dollop of goat's cheese on each slice, flatten just slightly with a fork. Finely chop your herbs of choice and mix. Place on each tomato just enough herb mixture to cover the goat's cheese. Pleasingly pepper and slightly salt.

Dress by drizzle (gently now) with this supa-simple vinaigrette:
1 minced clove of garlic, 3 tbsp (good quality) olive oil, 2 tbsp (maybe more) red wine vinegar (or mirin or balsamic), 1 dollop of dijon or whole grain mustard, pinch of dried thyme. Mix all the above and chill for a few (as in 5) minutes.

Quick and Simple Salads Part 1

Roasted Capsicum Salad

Ingredients:
1 Red Capsicum
1 Green Capsicum
About 250g good quality feta (more wouldn't hurt)
1-2 tbsp good quality Balsamic vinegar (too much = not so good)

1. Cut the faces off the capsicums.
2. Roast 'em up*
3. Slice into thin strips
4. Crumble feta** over the top (go on use you hands)
5. Mix together while adding while adding Balsamic

I also sometimes like to mix in other things: a bit of fresh basil or tarragon, toasted sesame seeds, pine nuts, slivers of pear. My serving suggestion is to fashion little bowls (you should get 3 per) out of another un-roasted capsicum and serve this salad inside.

*Roasting Peppers is dead easy.
Place all the bits skin side up under the broiler. Wait until the skin blackens and begins to peel, then get those suckas out of the oven. Put them immediately in a plastic bag to cool. Wait about 5 minutes and the skin should peel off easily.

**Don't be cheap, buy good feta or it won't crumble well and this won't work. While I'm on the subject, the same goes for Balsamic.