Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2018 i Gourmet Traveller

The only time I’ve had to deal with dietary requirements was when I was pregnant. The doctor told me to avoid unpasteurised cheese, charcuterie and undercooked meat and eggs. Conveniently my body dictated that I stick to a pretty strict diet of water crackers, Vegemite toast and endless bowls of beef pho. I always imagined I’d have one of those green-smoothie pregnancies – kale salads for lunch, nuts and seeds as snacks, the potential of new life forcing me to be the kind of righteous eater I’d never had the discipline to be. The reality was I was consumed by a series of entirely irrational food aversions. My favourite foods betrayed me. Fish was unpalatable, garlic was unbearable and even a good strong cup of tea – my greatest comfort…

KINGFISH CARPACCIO, GREEN CHILLI AND POMEGRANATE, Canteen Pizza Canteen might specialise in pizza and porchetta with a side of pinot noir, but it also caters handsomely for the beachside set. This pretty plate of lime-cured wild kingfish, black radish and pomegranate has the light-and-summery brief nailed. Canteen Pizza, 110 Marine Pde, Cottesloe, WA, (08) 6555 7766. MAX VEENHUYZEN, WESTERN AUSTRALIA EDITOR BEETROOT, LIQUORICE SPONGE AND WALNUT, Bocca di Lupo Set within the new Mitolo Wines cellar door, Bocca di Lupo presents a bold take on Italy. Chef Tom Jack teams lightly pickled baby beetroot with a block of liquorice sponge, walnut crumbs and dabs of chocolate – a fine foil to Mitolo’s grenache, shiraz and sagrantino blend. Bocca di Lupo, 141 McMurtrie Rd, McLaren Vale, SA, (08) 8323 9304. DAVID…

A coffee roastery, craft brewery, kitchen garden and artisan bakery will feature in Brisbane’s riverfront Howard Smith Wharves precinct, opening later this year. As many as eight restaurants will eventually operate on the 3.4-hectare site in the shadow of Story Bridge, one of the city’s last undeveloped waterfronts, together with a 164-room Art Series hotel, and an exhibition centre. Sydney’s Jonathan Barthelmess, the chef behind The Apollo, Cho Cho San, and The Apollo Ginza in Tokyo, is opening a Greek restaurant and bar on the site. Andrew Baturo, a co-owner of The Gresham, Brisbane, is collaborating with his wife, Jaimee, to create Stanley, a 180-seat Hong Kong Chinese eatery and bar, and Matt Yazbek will open Toko Brisbane, a northern outpost of his Sydney and Melbourne izakaya. “Some amazing restaurateurs…

How have your attitudes towards food changed over the years? I’ve always loved the craft of cooking, and loved being able to plate up food that tastes bloody delicious, so nothing has changed in that respect. The only thing that has evolved is that I’ve removed the blandest foods from my repertoire; they rob space on the plate from nutrient-dense and flavourful ingredients. Are you patient with people who don’t share your views about the Paleo diet and lifestyle? Absolutely. Everyone has choices and those are their choices to make. Just because I openly share my journey doesn’t mean I’d force my opinions onto others. What’s your earliest memory of cooking? Home economics at school. They taught us to make cookies and cakes and, even at that age, I wanted…

1 J FRIEND AND CO The contentious debate of smooth versus chunky peanut butter applies to honey, too. This Chunky Honey combines the best of both worlds: a hunk of chewy raw honeycomb suspended in malty, maple-syrup-like honey. $11.80 for 160gm. nzartisanhoney.co.nz 2 ARTEMIS Thyme and eucalyptus run wild on the Greek island of Leros and they make for some seriously tasty honey – this complex and floral Artemis Thyme Honey of Leros is a case in point. Prefer a more sweet-savoury toast topper? Then this is your jam. $25 for 490gm. alpharestaurant.com.au 3 MALFROY’S GOLD If you haven’t cracked a spoon into a sticky slab of honeycomb before, the time is – snap! – now. Along with some of the best jars of honey in the country, Malfroy’s Gold…

What’s particularly exciting about this trend is just how damn drinkable these lighter styles of red wine are, especially when the weather is warm. “Buoyancy,” says winemaker Tim Bailey. “Red wine with fruit buoyancy. That’s what we’re trying to achieve. And that means picking the grapes a little earlier. Which means lower alcohol.” Bailey is the winemaker at Leconfield in Coonawarra in South Australia, and the buoyant red he’s talking about is a cabernet sauvignon fermented with a few whole bunches of shiraz and cabernet franc. He made it during the 2017 vintage with his mate Dan Redman of the Redman family of local winemakers. It has been released under their Punch Down Boys label, and unlike almost every other Coonawarra cabernet I can think of – certainly in modern…

Carbonara, carbonara, carbonara – there could be worse ways to write a Roman menu. At Marta they’ve opted instead to take a proper lunge at offering a real taste of the food of Rome. The artichokes, that specialty of the Jewish quarter, are present and correct, fried whole till the leaves are crisp and the heart is tender. The suppli – crumbed balls of risotto, beef ragù and mozzarella – are as hearty as any at Roman trattoria Cesare al Casaletto. Carbonara there is, yes, but much more to tempt and delight – and at prices the Romans wouldn’t baulk at to boot. Flavio Carnevale runs the floor with as much brio as his brothers and sisters in Trastevere – and a lot more patience. He also has the stones…

At Lennox Hastie’s Firedoor in Sydney, a guest once told the chef she was “allergic” to the orangewood used to smoke the salmon. After he switched to applewood instead, the diner confessed she just wasn’t a fan of salmon. “The most bizarre request was possibly one guest who claimed they can’t eat things that are purple,” says Hastie, “while another guest said they can’t eat swordfish as they mate for life and it is too tragic.” Duncan Welgemoed of Adelaide’s Africola was once given advance notice about a diner with a nickel allergy. This meant he had to exclude most green vegetables, nightshades, any alliums, most fish, all shellfish, all red meat “and you can’t use any saucepans or frying pans to cook in”. So Welgemoed got creative and planned…

Every once in a while a book appears that becomes an indispensable kitchen companion for cooks the world over. With Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking, Samin Nosrat may have just written the latest. By distilling nearly 20 years’ experience in cooking, tasting and teaching into four simple principles, she has produced a volume that not only implores you to have faith in your own senses, but improves them, honing the skills that are applicable to cooking well. It’s a riposte to so many recipe-driven cookbooks that might look pretty and show you how to make a couple of things, but don’t actually make you a better cook. “We all already know what tastes good,” Nosrat says. “So if you can take a step back and…

Avocado bowl with quinoa, kale and tahini lemon dressing SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 15 MINS (PLUS COOLING) This meal in a bowl is full of the goodness of raw vegetables – kale, carrot and a multitude of herbs. Half an avocado is the crowning glory, the perfect vehicle for a lemony tahini dressing. . 270 gm (1½ cups) quinoa, rinsed 1 bunch kale, stems discarded, torn into bite-sized pieces 2½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil Juice of 1½ lemons, or to taste 4 spring onions, thinly sliced ½ cup coarsely chopped mint ½ cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley ½ cup coarsely chopped coriander 120 gm feta, crumbled 2 avocados, halved, peeled Dukkah, to serve 2 small carrots, thinly shaved on a mandolin Coarsely chopped pistachio nuts,…

The state is California and the bird is the quail, just in case you were wondering. If at first it seems opaque, the name is worth decoding because it tells you a lot about the restaurant. “All we knew was we wanted to serve fried quail with stewed onions,” says co-owner Nicole Krasinski. It was a dish her husband, chef Stuart Brioza, had served at a previous restaurant, sometimes mentioning, as he brought it to the table, that quail is California’s state bird. “That’s a cool name, we thought: State Bird! We added Provisions because it suggests food but nothing fancy.” It also signalled that here, at the restaurant Krasinski and Brioza opened in San Francisco in 2010, was a place where things might be done a little differently. Those…

SEE Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech Morocco’s rich cultural traditions and colours inspired the French couturier, who bought a Marrakech riad in the late 1960s. The bold palette of his botanical garden, Jardin Majorelle, has long been a city highlight; the new museum next door features Saint Laurent’s creations and charts his influence. Rue Yves Saint Laurent, museeyslmarrakech.com STAY Villa des Orangers The entrance to this 1930s riad is lodged unpromisingly between a tyre shop and a toilet shop, but inside it unfolds in a series of ornate courtyards shaded by orange trees and featuring Moorish-style plasterwork, fountains and two swimming pools. Its new fine-diner serves Moroccan- and French-influenced Mediterranean dishes. 6 Rue Sidi Mimoun, villadesorangers.com EAT Le Foundouk The stylish terrace (above) atop a caravanserai is challenging to find…

Measures & equipment • All cup and spoon measures are level and based on Australian metric measures. • Eggs have an average weight of 59gm unless otherwise specified. • Fruit and vegetables are washed, peeled and medium-sized unless otherwise specified. • Oven temperatures are for conventional ovens and need to be adjusted for fan-forced ovens. • Pans are medium-sized and heavy-based; cake tins are stainless steel, unless otherwise specified. Cooking tips • When seasoning food, we use sea salt and freshly ground pepper. • To blanch an ingredient, cook it briefly in boiling water, then drain it. To refresh it, plunge it in plenty of iced water, then drain it. • We recommend using free-range eggs, chicken and pork. We use female pork for preference. • Makrut limes are also…

Sarah Oakes, editor; Noosa, Qld A couple of long, lazy days enjoying bushwalks and beautiful beaches with my family in Noosa. @sarahaliceoakes Liz Elton, creative director; Tulum, Mexico After spending time in Tulum with my husband, Tim, I couldn’t decide what I was saddest to leave behind: the beach? The food? The gorgeous dogs that play with you on the sand? I still can’t decide. @liz.elton Pat Nourse, managing editor; Yunnan, China I have fallen hard for Lijiang. Dubbed “the slowest city in China”, it’s a place filled with music and culture, and is home to Zhongyi, one of the most fascinating wet markets I’ve seen anywhere, tadpoles, black truffles and all. @patnourse…

Kelsey Ramage and Iain Griffiths, bartenders behind London’s Trash Tiki pop-up phenomenon, are ready to get down and dirty in Australia. Quite literally. The pair have clocked time at world-renowned bars White Lyan and Dandelyan in London and have spent months travelling the world making cocktails from ingredients that would otherwise be thrown out. “Citrus is the most common,” says Ramage. “I took a picture of the bin at Dandelyan and it was full to the brim of husks that were used from the juicing for one night. That was a Thursday night. And if that’s at every single bar around the world? Think about that.” This month, the pair kick off the last leg of the Trash Tiki world tour, which takes in a visit to our shores. They’ll…

I’ve always loved being in and around the theatre, and communing with the ghosts of the theatre. I distinctly remember the colours of the little theatre at the Palace of Versailles – all blues and green-golds. And Munich, seeing Pina Bausch dance. Paris, the roof of the Palais Garnier. London, the legs of Sylvie Guillem performing William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated with the Royal Ballet. And in Edinburgh, Barrie Kosky’s Poppea. It’s not just the places I’ve seen that influence me, it’s the travel itself. I’m an incessant traveller, and suitcases and luggage often work their way into my thematics and set designs. A lot of the songs I sing are about exile and migration. Berlin is the city that has left the deepest impression on me. I…

Flash back 15 years and the Thai food scene in Melbourne was a bland affair. Restaurants considered the Anglo palate too timid to handle the real deal and even the green curries lacked punch. Bar impresario Camillo Ippoliti helped to change all that. At the time, his Prahran nightclub, Revolver Upstairs, housed the Patee Thai kitchen. There Ippoliti discovered there was much more to Thai food than what was offered on the menu. Staff dinners were feasts of flavours, served with blistering nahm prik and bitter melon to calm the fire. It was this flavour revelation that inspired Ippoliti to open Cookie. Chef Karen Batson came on board to work with the Thai chefs on developing the menu, and she has since made many trips to Thailand to explore the…

I’m showered, my shirt is clean, my hair is brushed, and, if you look closely, there’s even a slick of lipstick – a tiny effort at 5am to look presentable for market. But there’s one thing I can’t fix: my hands. Although I’ve scrubbed with scratchy wheatgerm soap and wielded a lathery nail brush, my hands are still veined with dirt. The sap from tomatoes, while smelling magnificently of summer, leaves a yellowish, tar-like film that’s almost impossible to remove. Constantly losing my gloves has allowed soil to become ingrained in my palms and fingertips, and the spines from zucchini plants have left a crosshatching of pink scratches, tattooed with earth, along my forearms. Despite my best efforts, when I pass a jar of preserves across my counter to a…

ISLAND WHITE 2016 Rose Kentish Vermentinu, Corsica, $38 SA winemaker Rose Kentish has visited Corsica to produce this delicious, green-melon-scented white and Provence to make a savoury, spicy rosé. rosekentishwines.com.au WILD THING 2017 Bertrand Bespoke Mourvèdre, Heathcote, $40 A brilliant example of the wild flavours that can be found in red wines made from mourvèdre – prickly hedgerow berries, a Campari-like tanginess – at a 12.9 per cent. @bertrandbespoke CHARDY FROM HERE 2016 Fraser Gallop Chardonnay, Margaret River, $39 This gorgeous, scintillating chardonnay is as refreshing as a well-made G&T: lovely hints of sweet fragrant botanicals, some bright lemony cut, and a chalky, savoury finish. frasergallopestate.com.au MODERN CLASSIC 2017 Pewsey Vale 1961 Block Riesling, Eden Valley, $32 A new wine from old vines in a great site high in the…

SEAFOOD Bills Fishhouse Follow a day at the beach with a seafood feast at Bills. Owners Chris and Leasa Harris, fresh from managing Sir Richard Branson’s private retreat Makepeace Island, fly the flag for NSW produce, featuring Yamba prawns, Tunstead oysters from Hastings River and snapper caught off North Haven, as well as an all-NSW wine list. 2/18-20 Clarence St, (02) 6584 7228, billsfishhouse.com.au On the fourth Saturday of the month, a thriving farmers’ market is held at Wauchope featuring local produce such as Ewetopia sheep’s milk feta, Wilmaria olives and buffalo mozzarella from Ausbuff Stuff. wauchopefarmersmarket.com.au COFFEE Four Espresso Locals are greeted by name at this bright and efficient corner café, where the beans are from Padre, the bagels by Black Market Bagels and the cold brew comes…

Lisbon was a sleeping beauty, a low-key city that few but travel aficionados could pinpoint on a map. Once architecturally vibrant, many of the buildings fell into crumbling decline and graffiti gangs did their worst. The restaurant scene was good and solid but it had little to offer the discerning food-lover. But, boy, how things have changed. Lisbon has woken from her slumber, shaken herself down, put on her best dress and become one of the top cities for visitors in Europe. The city is now home to talented young chefs who have embraced their own food culture and opened fabulous little eateries. The traditional places have absorbed some of this youthful energy and upped their game. Our food, like much else in our city, is influenced by Lisbon’s rich…

Like gods and criminals, the Yangzi River has many names, some of them aliases, none of them definitive. In China it’s thought of as two rivers rather than one: the Golden Sand River begins at the glaciers of Tibet and trickles to the city of Yibin, then the Long River flows the rest of the way to Shanghai. It is too long then even for the name Long River. Excessively big is the standard scale in China, where the taxi ranks stretch to the horizon, the apartment blocks look like cities, and the cities look like worlds. One in 16 of the Earth’s population live in its watershed. The Yangzi can drown you just with its statistics. Our introduction to the world’s third longest river is deceptively humble – at…

A man’s new resort in China is its boldest yet. That might sound like a big call when you consider that the group’s first property in China, which opened in Beijing in 2008, occupies outbuildings of the Empress Cixi’s Summer Palace, and offers guests a back door (literally) into the grounds of the palace itself. But while remarkable locations are something of an Aman signature (a dozen of its properties are in or adjoin UNESCO World Heritage sites – Amanjiwo at Borobudur, for instance, or Amangalla, set in Galle Fort in Sri Lanka), Amanyangyun, its fourth resort in China, involves a wilder imagining. Remarkable is perhaps not a word you’d use to describe its location on the south-west fringe of Shanghai, 45 minutes’ drive from the centre of town. Or…

APT Explore the streets of Europe or relax in style with APT. 15 Day ‘Adriatic Gems & French Riviera’ from $13,395 pp, twin share – departs 31 May & 14 June 2018. Visit aptouring.com.au/SmallShips2018 or call 1300 335 714 Art Mob Some have mange, some have ticks and sores. Some are elegant and some are mongrels. But, the sculptures of these camp dogs by the artists of Aurukun are truly collectable. artmob.com.au Vanella Australias first live cheesemaking concept store opens in mid- to late November at Westfield Bondi Junction, located next to the Salt Meats Cheese. Shop 1027/500, Oxford St, Bondi Junction. vannellacheese.com.au Hisense The spacious four-door Hisense 695L French Door Refrigerator is now available in a sleek stainless-steel finish. Its large capacity, including a six-drawer freezer, will appeal to…

Batch Ceramics batchceramics.com.au The Bay Tree (02) 9328 1101, thebaytree.com.au Céline celine.com Chanel 1300 242 635, chanel.com Chef vs Clay djm.ceramics@gmail.com Città cittadesign.com Commune Bondi (02) 9365 3961, communebondi.com Country Road 1800 801 911, countryroad.com.au The DEA Store (02) 9698 8150, thedeastore.com Dinosaur Designs (02) 9698 3500, dinosaurdesigns.com.au Francalia (02) 9948 4977, francalia.com.au Freedom 1300 135 588, freedom.com.au Georg Jensen 1800 536 736, georgjensen.com.au Ginkgo Leaf ginkgoleaf.com.au H&M hm.com/au Hale Mercantile Co halemercantileco.com Harmony Stone Gallery (02) 9550 5529, harmonystonegallery.com.au Ikea ikea.com.au Imprint House imprinthouse.net Jook Ceramics itsajook.com Kristin Moore Pottery kristinmoorepottery.com Little White Dish littlewhitedish.com.au Luna Ceramics facebook.com/lunaceramicsstudio Maison Balzac maisonbalzac.com Matches Fashion matchesfashion.com Mud Australia (02) 9569 8181, mudaustralia.com Mukumono mukumono.com.au Myer myer.com.au Net-a-Porter net-a-porter.com Ode Ceramics odeceramics.com Quies Designs quiesdesigns.com Sarah & Sebastian sarahandsebastian.com Seed Heritage 1300 017 333, seedheritage.com Specified Store (02) 9699 5342, specifiedstore.com Surface Gallery (02) 9566 2002, surfacegallery.com.au Tiffany & Co 1800 829 152, tiffany.com.au Tony Bianco 1800 790 799, tonybianco.com.au Top3 by Design 1300 867 333, top3.com.au Witchery 1800…

Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour There are views of not one but two bridges – Sydney Harbour and Anzac – from some of the 590 rooms in this new-build hotel, adjacent to the International Convention Centre. The harbour stars in the outlook from the fourth-floor infinity pool and the third-floor Champagne Bar, which shares space with Atelier, a rôtisserie and grill with three open kitchens. And maritime motifs feature throughout, including rope-patterned carpets and timber finishes that evoke wharf pylons. Set sail. sofitelsydneydarlingharbour.com.au Larmont Sydney The old Diamant Hotel in Potts Point, just behind the Kings Cross Coca-Cola sign, has changed hands and emerged from an overhaul with 103 stylish rooms and suites with harbour or city views (and some with both). Generous gestures to guests include access to an adjacent…

O’S READING ROOM Discover new authors, share insights and meet other keen readers through the O, The Oprah Magazine dedicated reading programme. POOLSIDE YOGA Start the day with meaningful meditations and daily intentions and experience the health benefits of movement, all inspired by O, The Oprah Magazine’s dedication to living your best life. FOOD AND NUTRITION CLASSES Indulge a passion for food and learn a lifetime of healthy habits inspired by O, The Oprah Magazine’s focus on wellness. FASHION ON BOARD Treat yourself to the latest expert travel fashion advice at a presentation curated by Emmy Award-winner and O’s Creative Director, Adam Glassman, exclusively for Holland America Line.…

Pulses, seeds and grains all contain the potential for life, and with the right conditions, they’ll begin the process of creating a new plant. “The highest level of nutrients you can achieve from grains is when they sprout,” says Matt Stone of Oakridge in Victoria. He began drying and milling sprouted grains for bread when he worked at the Greenhouse in Perth. At Oakridge, he saves seed to sprout and plant out, but also uses sprouts on the menu: “We do seeds, grains, lentils, chickpeas. We’re also testing borlotti beans.” Apart from getting a nutrient-dense and versatile result – Stone also uses them in salads, and does a “sprouted grain risotto” – perhaps the best part of DIY sprouting is that it’s dead simple. Toolkit Sprouting set-ups might be as…

The key here is understanding that “bibim” means “to mix”. One of the most distinctive dishes in the Korean culinary canon, not least for the artful quality of its presentation, bibimbap is all about a mixture of tastes and textures. According to Paul Lee of Sydney Korean import company Table 181, bibimbap, a dish with its roots in the cuisine of the royal court of the 14th-century Joseon Dynasty, “consists of oh-sek (five colours) and oh-mee (five flavours)”. Those flavours are sweet, salty, hot, bitter and gosohan-mat, a term which Lee likens to the quality of a creamy cheese or good sesame oil. Dig in. THE SAUCE Jangs, fermented mother sauces, are essential to Korean cooking and gochujang, a sweet-hot ferment of sweet rice paste and dried red chilli, is…

The view that hospitality is something to fall back on rather than a vocation unto itself is an attitude that has to change if we want the quality of the nation’s dining to thrive. That was one of the biggest take-homes when 30 of Australia’s top restaurant talents talked shop at the latest Gourmet Traveller Food Forum, presented by Nespresso. “In every other country it’s considered a great thing to be a chef, run a restaurant or be a waiter,” said Mike McEnearney, chef and owner of Sydney’s No 1 Bent Street. “Why should it be different in Australia?” The discussion, led by GT managing editor Pat Nourse at Sepia in Sydney, focused on what the trade does best and what it can do better, as well as work-life balance,…

With Donovan Cooke in the house, you know the sauces are going to be every bit as interesting as the things they sauce. Cooke’s classical training and impeccable technique shone especially brightly in his sauce-work at Est Est Est in the late 1990s and at Ondine in the early aughts. Sauces were less of a feature during his seven-year tenure at Crown seafood behemoth The Atlantic, but at Ryne, his new 60-seat restaurant in Fitzroy North, they’re up front again. Red wine fumet. Antiboise. Bois boudran. It’s back to the future. The “returning to his roots” narrative is unavoidable at Ryne and it’s not just about the sauces. Cooke’s menu references the past as consciously as a heritage rock tour. How else can you read a dish of pigeon that’s…

Broccoli sang choi bau  SERVES 4 Broccoli and shiitake mushroom combine in a fresh take on the classic wrap. Serve it with rice for a more substantial meal. 750 gm broccoli (about 4 heads), cut into pieces 200 gm shiitake mushrooms, halved and stalks trimmed 1 tbsp grapeseed oil 1 Spanish onion, finely chopped 30 gm ginger (about 6cm), finely grated 3 garlic cloves, finely grated 1 cup (firmly packed) coriander, chopped, and ¼ cup chopped stems plus extra leaves to serve 1 tsp dried chilli flakes 2 tbsp tamari 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp honey Coarsely chopped tamari almonds and iceberg lettuce leaves, to serve 1 Process broccoli and mushrooms in a food processor until coarsely chopped. 2 Heat oil in a large wok over high heat. Add…

INDIAN-SPICED ZUCCHINI, MILLBROOK WINERY, JARRAHDALE Beaches. Barbecues. Road trips. Grilled baby zucchini with papery golden-orange flowers still attached, crowning ribbons of raw zuke “cooked” in a bath of hot oil spiced with cumin, fennel, coriander and mustard seeds. This is summer in the West on a plate. Old Chestnut La, Jarrahdale, WA, (08) 9525 5796 PEAS WITH CHICORY, LOVAGE AND SWEET ONION, LONGSONG, MELBOURNE At Longsong David Moyle cooks everything on, over or next to a grill, including this dish of baby peas. They’re chucked in a chinois and held directly above the coals, blistering their skins and giving them a suggestion of smoke. Moyle tosses the peas with grilled chicory and a lovage and sweet onion dressing (made simply with an onion reduction, oil and vinegar). This is one…

Barley and seaweed salad with cucumber and sesame SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 40 MINS (PLUS COOLING, CHILLING) Serve this versatile salad on its own, or offer it as part of a shared banquet. 80 gm pearl barley 30 gm dried wakame (see note) 1 telegraph cucumber, half-peeled and thinly sliced on a mandolin Handful of mizuna leaves (see note), to serve GINGER-SOY DRESSING 100 ml light soy sauce 1 tbsp roasted sesame oil (see note) or sesame oil 3 tsp rice vinegar 1 tsp finely grated ginger 1 Cook barley in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender (35-40 minutes). Drain well, cool on a tray, then transfer to a large bowl. 2 Meanwhile, pour boiling water over wakame in a bowl and…

Sweet potato and black bean rice bowl SERVES 4 // PREP TIME 25 MINS // COOK 40 MINS Call this a power bowl if you like – we just call it super-tasty. There are layers of Mexican-inspired flavour in this deeply satisfying dish. Pictured page 122. 400 gm (2 cups) brown rice 400 gm sweet potato, cut into wedges 110 ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling ¾ tsp smoked paprika ¼ tsp ground cumin ¼ tsp ground coriander 2 corn cobs, cut into 3cm thick rounds 1 cup (firmly packed) baby spinach, plus extra to serve ¾ cup (firmly packed) coriander, plus extra sprigs to serve 3 spring onions, coarsely chopped, plus 1 extra, thinly sliced (optional) 2 pickled green chillies, coarsely chopped, plus extra to serve 1…

We’re dithering on a footpath beside the Gold Coast Highway at Burleigh Heads. There’s no sign to indicate we’ve arrived at our destination. We can’t even find a door handle. We’re learning that some of the tastiest choices on the Gold Coast are the least obvious. Behind Iku Yakitori Bar’s heavy iron-framed door and traditional Japanese blue noren curtain is a dimly lit charcoal-toned interior with floors and walls clad in grey stone. There’s tatami seating in suspended recycled-timber booths and leather stools around a custom-made binchotan grill. Add a likeable menu – from tsukune with a raw-egg dipping sauce, to grilled chicken tail, cartilage, heart and oysters – and the dial is firmly set to fun. Iku is the handiwork of Gold Coast locals Mitch and Nerissa McCluskey. The…

Buckwheat pancakes with strawberries SERVES 4-6 (MAKES 12 PANCAKES) // PREP TIME 15 MINS // COOK 15 MINS Rocker, 5/39-53 Campbell Pde, North Bondi, NSW, (02) 8057 8086, rockerbondi.com.au 340 ml buttermilk or water 40 gm ghee or coconut oil, melted, plus 1½ tbsp extra for frying 2 eggs, separated 200 gm (1⅓ cups) buckwheat flour, sifted 45 gm roasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped, plus extra to serve ⅔ tsp bicarbonate of soda Yoghurt or ricotta, to serve 250 gm (about 1 punnet) strawberries, sliced 10 gm freeze-dried strawberries (optional; see note) 1 cup puffed grains such as quinoa and amaranth (see note), to serve Honey, for drizzling 1 Whisk buttermilk or water, ghee or coconut oil and egg yolks in a bowl. Add flour, hazelnuts, bicarbonate of soda…