home preserved lemons

I have always been fascinated by the food of North Africa and the Middle East. One of the first overseas trips I ever planned was a voyage to Tunisia with my high school friend and maths guru, Paula. Unfortunately that particular journey is still yet to be taken but over the years I have magaged to visit Turkey, Syria, Jourdan, Egypt and a particularly memorable dash to Morocco with my snow bunny sister, Batgirl.

These journeys have introduced me to many new flavours from sumac and tahini to rosewater and pomegranate molasses but by far the most valuable addition to my pantry has been that cornerstone of Moroccan quisine: preserved lemons. It is truly amazing that with some salt and a bit of time you can transform the lemon peel from the part you throw away to the perfumed and zesty hero of the show. Read the rest of this entry »

Last Sunday morning I found myself slightly hungover (thanks to a few too many Poire Williams* at the newly opened Aperitif in Kings Cross the night before) in the cookbook section of Borders in Bondi Junction. A dangerous combination that was bound to result in a purchase despite my resolve to put a hold on the expansion of my cookbook collection until I had paid off my car.

A shockingly pink volume caught my eye. I took in that the authors were Jane and Jeremy Strode of Bistrode fame and my mind immediately took me back to the delicious meal that I had shared in their fabulous little restaurant a few Saturdays ago. Memories of their delectable maple syrup tart and the creamiest pate filled my head only to be replaced by that unforgettable pigs ear and black pudding salad. And I realised that if these people could make pigs ears an object of my culinary lust, then I just had to explore their book. Sold. Read the rest of this entry »

This summer I’ve spent a serious amount of time bonding with the flashy new three burner barbeque that dominates my tiny apartment balcony. Together we’ve covered all my old favourites: baby chickens butterflied and marinated in an ancho chile paste, salmon fillets seared intil crispy skinned but still meltingly pink inside, sourdough bread from Bourke St Bakery charred for bruschetta, home grown lamb cutlets marinated with olive oil and rosemary, chilli salt squid, whole baby barramundi drizzled with a spicy chermoula sauce, addictive moroccan merguez sausages from the sausage kings AC butchery, even our Christmas turkey and glazed ham (thanks for the tip Mands). But by far the biggest explosion in my barbeque repetoire has been in the vegetable department.

For some time now I’ve been a convert of barbequed zucchini (courgettes) charred with well marked lines all buttery inside. This is vegetable alchemy. Tossed with some fresh mint leaves and a peppery olive oil, they make the perfect accompaniment to bbq fish or chicken. Or the old classic corn on the cob which needs the simple preparation of soaking in cold water for an hour (or as long as you can wait) before barbequing covered on a medium heat until the husk is all charred and the inner kernels are cooked to smoky perfection. Or then there’s slender asparagus that have been delicately seared so they are just beginning to loose their crunch. Perfect as a starter served with a rich nutty pistachio & roasted garlic mayonnaise…who needs meat? Read the rest of this entry »

A few weeks ago a chef from Melbourne wrote and inspirational article in the Good Weekend about figs. He was boasting about the abundance of fig trees in the back streets of his neighbourhood that keep him well supplied with succulent fruit during fig season. This got me reminiscing about all the fabulous fig trees I have been aquainted with over the years.

Now figs are an autumn fruit  the same as grapes, so as a girl who has spent the last few years making wine in both hemispheres I’ve been lucky enough to double up on the number of fig seasons I’ve encountered. It’s uncanny but pretty much everywhere I’ve worked there’s been a fig tree ready to donate some of it’s prescious fruit.  From Sonoma to the Barossa, McLaren Vale to the Rhone vintage has always gone hand in hand with a healthy supply of FREE figs. But back in Sydney I’ve been unable to find myself a local fig source and have had to resort to actually buying them from my favourite fruit & veg supplier: Fratelli Fresh. Read the rest of this entry »