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Campion & Curtis Newsletter - May 2006
Welcome to the May edition of the Campion and Curtis newsletter. This month we're seriously into autumn and to acknowledge this we're looking at the wide range of
ingredients which are available and great ideas on putting this produce to good use. At the end of this edition you'll find recipes for sweet potato and ginger soup,
spicy Sichuan noodles, roast rib of beef and some delicious spicy cheddar muffins. There are also a few recommendations on where to find great Peking duck, news of a
chocolate blog, a Sydney food-lovers visit to Melbourne and information on some of our favourite Middle Eastern stores.
Enjoy, Allan and Michele.
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Autumn produce
The southern parts of Australia are now in genuine autumn conditions with cool, blustery days and reasonable rainfall. This is perfect weather to enjoy the great
produce now available. Carrots, onions, garlic, potatoes, leeks and pumpkin are all wonderful for making soups, especially with the addition of red lentils to add some
body and fresh herbs from the garden for added flavour. Roasts are another great meal for this time of year and should be accompanied by vegetables such as swede,
turnips, sweet potato and parsnips. All are beautiful when peeled, diced and cooked alongside the roast. There's a great range of apples available including Fuji,
Pink Lady, Gala and Jonathan. These make great eating and of course in dishes such as apple pie, tarts, crumbles or simple as stewed fruit to serve with custard.
Pears are also widely available with Howell, Packham, Red Sensation and Williams all terrific. Mandarins are back to their best as are grapes, quinces, cumquats and
persimmons. New seasons nuts in the shell are also available with almonds and walnuts both very good. Pick up a kilo this week and keep them on hand in your kitchen,
complete with a nutcracker of course.
The great Peking duck search
Thanks to all those who have taken the time to let us know about their favourite 'Peking duck' experience. Here's just a small sample of the entries we received.
It has to be the Flower Drum- I've been eating this there since I was four and I've never eaten anything else that compares. Perfectly crisp duck skin, delicious
plum sauce.... my mouth waters just thinking about it! R.C.
Hi, a strong recommendation for Choi's in Riversdale Road. They have a slight twist, using lightly pickled cucumber which retains the crunch and adds another
layer of taste complexity. In my mind it's a toss up between Choi's and Flower Drum. B.D.
Enjoyed Peking duck at Pur Pearl 8 in Elwood. It was a fair while ago, and the restaurant is very noisy, but it's groovy and not bad. Although still not the same as
the Flower Drum! L.P.
Choi's - 186 Riversdale Road, Hawthorn 03 9818 2299. The Flower Drum - 17 Market Lane City 9662 2655. Pur Pearl 8 - 88 Ormond Rd Elwood 9531 9898.
Feel free to send in your Peking pick via email allan@campionandcurtis.com.
Chocolate blogging
This month we're pleased to pass on news of a terrific chocolate food blog It's called Chocolate in Context and is written by Emily Stone,
who describes herself as a chocolate enthusiast, a freelance writer, an itinerant traveler and a native New Yorker based in Australia. It includes
book reviews, road tests recipes and reports on artisan chocolates. Chocolate in Context
The Williamstown Literary Festival
This year's Williamstown Literary Festival will be held on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th May. Somewhere amongst notable presenters such as Andy Griffiths,
Gideon Haigh, John Hirst, Alison Croggon, Sherryl Clark, Tony Martin, Shaun Micallef etc, will be yours truly.
Yes Allan will be involved in a session on Melbourne Food at midday on Saturday 13th. It could be just the place to spend an hour or so on a chilly autumn day.
All related info is available on website or by calling the Williamstown Library on 03 9932 4170.
Cheese Slices
Cheese lovers will be well aware of cheese guru Will Studd for books such as Chalk and cheese, his efforts in getting raw milk Roquefort into
Australia and his recent 'Cheese Slices' TV series which was broadcast on pay TV. His latest news is the release on DVD of his TV series, so now everyone can get a change
to explore the world of cheese with Will as their guide. The DVD is available in ABC shops, specialist bookshops and of course all great cheese shops. RRP $29.95
The six part series covers European classics such as:
Episode 1 - Gorgonzola / Cave Ripened Tallegio.
Episode 2 - Goats Cheese of Poitou - France.
Episode 3 - Parmigiano Reggiano / Grana Padano.
Episode 4 - Pecorino.
Episode 5 - Normandy Camembert
Episode 6 - Cheddar.
Melbourne food tour
We recently received an email from Leanne and Deborah telling us about a combined business and foodies trip they made to Melbourne.
This is a few of the highlights from what sounds like an amazing few days.
Our first lunch was at Pure South, which was great. The food was excellent and service great. The Angus Eye fillet with double cream mash was divine.
Went to Brunetti's and enjoyed spinach pie, followed by baby ricotta filled crostoli - preferred the ricotta filling to the custard.
We had lunch on our second day at Arintji in Federation Square. Another excellent choice. I had the steak sandwich with caramelised onions and hand cut potato chips. Delicious!
Visited the food hall at Victoria Markets. How amazing this was. We were surprised at the good prices, especially for some of the cheeses and dried fruits.
On our last night we had dessert and hot chocolate at Koko Black. Simply awesome. The handmade chocolates were of an excellent quality.
We enjoyed each and every cafe and restaurant for the quality of food, presentation, service and atmosphere.
Food & Wine Fest - Celebrating Life 2006
The warmer months are filled with festivals and special evens, so many it's hard to get to them all. We've just had news of a late autumn event to be held in Malvern.
Food & Wine Fest - Celebrating Life 2006 will feature cooking demonstrations by chefs Greg Malouf, Jerry Mai and George Hillalled. A wine tasting seminar by Chris Barnes,
lots of live music, plus food and wine stalls galore. The organisers say it will be held no matter what the weather! Sunday, 28th of May 2006 from 11.00 am to 5.30 pm.
Central Park, Cnr Burke & Wattletree Roads, Malvern East Melways Ref - 59 G10 $15 entry fee (17 & under FREE).
Top Melbourne Food Stores
For those of you who really love to get into the kitchen and start cooking wonderful, aromatic Middle Eastern dishes then you'll need to know where to source
the best specialist ingredients. Here are seven of our favourite stores from The Foodies' Guide to Melbourne.
A-1 Bakery
643-645 Sydney Road Brunswick 9386 0440 Daily 7 am-9 pm Melway 29 H6
Like many Middle Eastern shops A-1 combines a large food shop area with a bustling bakery counter. Here fantastic snacks are on offer including 'pizzas' with a thin
meat topping, or try the triangular ones which are filled with feta and haloumi cheese. A few minutes in the oven and they're piping hot and ready to enjoy. The
grocery area is packed with the all manner of goods. Naturally enough dried pulses such as chickpeas and lentils are a feature along with spices plus delicious
spice blends like zaatar. There's also a good display of seeds, nuts and dried fruit.
Basfoods
423 Victoria Street Brunswick 9381 1444 Mon-Fri 8.30 am-5.30 pm; Sat 9 am-5 pm Melway 29 G7
Basfoods is one of a number of great places to buy Middle Eastern foods. The difference here is the service and the amazing range available. Choose from a great
selection of olive products, pickled vegetables and canned tomatoes. Dried fruits and nuts feature strongly alongside foods such as apricot
paste, yoghurt and cracked wheat. Different varieties of rice are available including basmati and jasmine, as well as spaghetti and couscous. Confectionery is
another big seller here, as are biscuits, crackers and wafers. Shoppers can pick up imported jams and honey, syrups, halva and coffee.
Cedar Bakery
33-37 High Street Preston 9484 4999, 9484 4566 Daily 8 am-10 pm Melway 30 F3
Cedar Bakery first appeared on our radar when we heard word of their fantastic cheese triangle pies. After just one visit we were hooked and have been enjoying them
ever since. They also bake excellent spinach and meat or oregano- (zaatar-) flavoured 'pizzas'. Cedar offers a terrific selection of Middle Eastern ingredients with a
plenty of pulses, a great variety of nuts from walnuts and pine nuts through to almonds and peanuts. Spices are well represented here along with noodles for adding
crunch to rice dishes. Bottles of pomegranate syrup and orange-blossom water are also on display.
Charkas
816-818 Sydney Road Brunswick 9383 4487 Mon-Fri 9 am-6 pm; Sat 9 am-5 pm Melway 29 H5
Charkas is worth a visit if you need to stock up on Middle Eastern products at reasonable prices. Bottles of scented waters such as rosewater and orange-blossom
water are available alongside pomegranate syrup. Their fig jam is also well worth a try. Spices are in big supply, with everything from coriander, cumin, zaatar,
paprika and cardamom to Moroccan mixes such as ras el hanout and harissa. Pastries are also on hand, with filo and the wonderful shredded kataifi available.
Charkas also has a refrigerator with fresh products such as labne (yoghurt cheese), yoghurt, dips and pastries.
Middle East Bakeries
20 Hope Street Brunswick 9388 1044 Mon-Wed 8 am-6 pm; Thurs-Fri 8 am-7 pm; Sat 8 am-5 pm Melway 29 G6
Middle East Bakeries is a well-known brand of pita bread available in supermarkets around town. It also operates this retail outlet where their entire range is
available. Pita bread is available from snack size to family size, and in white or wholemeal. There are even soy & linseed and multigrain varieties available.
There are bags of souvlaki bread, which is great for snacks, as is the yeast-free sorj bread (mountain bread). The shop also stocks staples such as dried fruit,
nuts, dried herbs and pulses, cherry, quince and apricot jams, eggplant dip, pickled vegetables, olives and haloumi cheese.
Oasis Bakery
Shop 9, 993 North Road Murrumbeena 9570 1122 Daily 8 am-7 pm Melway 69 A9
Oasis Bakery has long been a top spot to pick up excellent Middle Eastern products well away from the traditional Sydney Road hub. The bakery pumps out quality cheese
and spinach triangles and zaatar and meat pizzas. All the classic ingredients are on hand, with pulses, olives, yoghurt, rice, nuts, orange-blossom water and dried
fruit. There's also a fine array of baklava and other sweets, pita and pide bread and a fridge full of dips. The imported fairy floss tastes amazing and offers
excellent value for money. A recently extended cafe allows plenty of space to enjoy a snack.
Spot On Bakery
774 Sydney Road Brunswick 9386 4868 Mon-Fri 7.30 am-6 pm; Sat 7.30 am-5 pm; Sun 8 am-3 pm Melway 29 H5
Spot On may be a bakery in name, but it also has a top range of other food products and great service too. Browse the shelves and you come across pomegranate syrup,
Turkish delight, fantastic tabouleh, vine leaves, tahina and halva in a variety of flavours including pistachio. There's smoked trout dip as well as eggplant,
cucumber, taramasalata and hummus. The Spot On pita bread has long been our favourite pita bread in Melbourne: it's available in white and wholemeal. There's
also Turkish pide sprinkled with nigella seeds, not black sesame seeds, and simit, the bracelet-shaped, sesame-seed coated rolls.
In next months edition we'll have news of new books from Karen Martini and Teage Ezard, plus a welcome to winter cooking.
Cheers until next month, Allan and Michele
Sweet potato and ginger soup
Sweet potato is very similar to pumpkin in that it produces a soup with an excellent texture. The ginger gives it a lift too.
Olive oil for cooking
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 leek, sliced
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
3 cm (1 in) ginger, peeled and sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cream and fresh herbs to taste
Heat a heavy-based saucepan over a medium-high heat.
To a generous splash of oil, add onion, celery and leek.
Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring often. Add sweet potato, ginger and garlic and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.
Add enough stock to just cover, and salt and pepper, and bring to the boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until sweet potato is tender.
Remove from heat, puree soup using food processor and pass through a strainer back into a clean saucepan.
To serve, bring soup back to the boil, check seasoning, and add cream if desired and chopped herbs to garnish.
Serves 4.
Spicy Sichuan noodles
This is a traditional Asian dish which is often called Chinese spaghetti bolognaise. It does in fact look like bolognaise and it is served on noodles,
but it cooks in a fraction of the time and has flavours of ginger, chilli and soy sauce.
375 g Hokkien noodles
1-2 tbsp peanut oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp grated ginger
2 small red chillies, de-seeded and finely diced
4 red or golden shallots, peeled and diced
500 g pork mince
2 tbsp Chinese rice wine
2 tbsp soy sauce
125 ml chicken stock
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, roasted and ground
Put the kettle on to boil.
Pour boiling water over noodles and set aside.
Heat wok until hot.
Add oil, garlic, ginger, chillies and shallots, then cook until fragrant.
Add pork mince and cook, stirring often, until colour changes.
Add rice wine, soy sauce and enough chicken stock to just cover.
Stir until well combined, then simmer for 5-6 minutes, lowering heat if necessary.
Check the seasoning of the pork.
Drain noodles and serve immediately with sauce on top.
Sprinkle with Sichuan pepper.
Serves 3-4.
Roast rib of beef
This is a dish for serious carnivores. Each rib usually weighs in at about 500 g (1lb), which is a serious amount of meat. Serve with lots of garlic and
rosemary potatoes.
Oil for cooking
2 x 3 ribs (bones) of beef, about 1.5 kg per set
250 ml red wine
250 ml beef stock
Freshly chopped parsley
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F).
Heat a heavy-based frying pan over medium heat.
Add a splash of oil and brown ribs all over.
Place on a baking tray in preheated oven and cook for 40 minutes.
Remove excess fat from the frying pan and return to the heat.
Add red wine and allow to reduce by half. Add stock and allow to simmer gently until needed.
Remove beef from the oven and leave in a warm place, covered with a tea towel to rest for 10 minutes.
Carve beef between the bones and serve with wine sauce.
Serves 6.
Spicy cheddar muffins
It's worth searching out the best farmhouse cheddar you can for these muffins as they are well worth any extra expense.
The recipe was supplied by food writer and friend Siu Ling Hui.
250 ml milk
2 tbsp melted butter
1 medium egg, lightly beaten
Generous pinch of cayenne pepper
200 g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp caster sugar
A pinch of salt
150 g grated farmhouse cheddar
100 g walnuts, lightly roasted and chopped; or 1 grated apple
Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F).
Combine milk, butter, egg and cayenne pepper in a large bowl.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
Toss grated cheddar with flour to mix well.
Add the cheese and flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir well.
Add the walnuts or grated apple.
Spoon into buttered muffin trays, cook in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until risen and golden brown.
Makes 6 large or 12 small muffins.
Recipes from Every Day in the Kitchen by Allan Campion and Michele Curtis - (Hardie Grant Books RRP $29.95).