Food, Finds & Forays
Hey there....
Holy Moly what a wobbly week it’s been here in Melbourne. We entered week eight of the current lockdown (or was it 7? Maybe 9? Time is very subjective these days), riots broke out across the city centre lasting a few days leaving a sad pall over greater Melbourne then the earth shook everyone back into their senses…….somewhat. Yep we had an earthquake, a shaker measuring 5.9 centred two hours from the city near the High Country. We’re not a city prone to earth movement so for many, with nerves a little frayed, it was a bit unsettling to say the least. Today, though, my kitchen is bathed in sunshine from the northern sky, a flock of cockatoos are fesating on seed pods in the wattle trees that shade our terrace and the oven is humming warming its innards ready to welcome this week’s recipe.
I had other plans for the Food section of my weekly update but the many messages I received after a tart I shared on Instagram on the weekend rearranged those plans. With a leftover thawed sheet of puff pastry on my bench and a deli drawer in the fridge full of leftover bits and pieces a tart was born. I hope you enjoy it.
A couple of fun finds this week including a podcast launching tomorrow for the food lovers and readers amongst and something a little different, an incredible photography exhibition in regional Victoria.
And finally a bit of a different Foray. One that’s brought new friends and shared passion and one you might like to create for yourselves.
So go, grab a cuppa (that’s Australian for a cup of coffee or tea) and take a few minutes for a catch up.
Have a great weekend…it is weekend ‘eve’ after all xx
Food
Food traditions are amongst my very favourite. The moment when you bite into your first mouthful of a much-loved dish that you always look forward to, that always evokes a blissful moan of delight. The ever reliable flavour that fills your mouth and takes your heart back to a bank of memories that reliably bloom every time you eat that cherished dish. I have many special memories that always take me back to my own moments but for my kids (who’re far from kids at 19 & 21) and the family I’ve created its plain old sausage rolls. I only ever use this recipe from Donna Hay with a few family tweaks, any attempts to try a different one always roundly rejected. Every year our national football grand final is always accompanied by a large batch of these, indeed I wouldn’t even bother trying to sit down to watch the game with the family without them. BUT without fail every time I make them I get the amount of pastry wrong….every single time!! Now normally it’s a small amount and I ahem may or may not roll up the pastry with some jam and throw it in the oven with the rest for a little cook’s treat. This year however I really got it wrong, I had a whole sheet left over and that’s a little too much to justify as a treat. So with head in the fridge looking for inspo and an armload of bits and pieces this little tart was born. I shared it on Instagram with a pic of sausage rolls and at best thought we might chat about the footy but instead I’ve received many requests for a recipe for what I first called Leftovers Tart but have now dubbed Frittata Tart because ‘leftovers tart’ lacked an enticing quality all recipe titles should have. With a shell of flaky puff pastry, some quickly assembled bits and bobs and an eggy filling similar to a frittata texture and flavour, it’s delicious warm or cold is super flexible and fast to throw together and looks fancy. Oh and it uses up some of those fridge filling leftovers.
From the time I decide to make this I can get it in the oven in 20 minutes of minimal effort. A great one to use for impromptu get togethers or busy nights.
I've served it here with a little herb salad which is simply a few handfuls of soft herbs, salt, pepper, a fruity extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice of some slivers of preserved lemon if you have them and want to be a little bit fancy.
Ingredients:
1 Sheet of frozen puff pastry thawed. You may need to patchwork this like the one on Instagram but that’s totally fine, it all tastes the same.
1 large handful of baby spinach leaves. I like to remove the stalks and tear the leaves up a bit but you do you.
2-3 Tbs of bought caramelised onion jam.
8 eggs
¼ C of Milk, cream or sour cream. Whatever you have in the fridge will work.
1/2 tsp of finely chopped herbs of your choice. I’ve used thyme here but your favourite will be delicious too.
Cheese, I’ve used half a wheel of leftover Brie. A handful of grated cheddar, dobs of goats cheese, or crumbled feta will also work beautifully. Or again you can mix it up and use up leftovers
Method:
Preheat oven to 190c. Grease a 35cm rectangular tart tin or 26cm round tart tin.
Line prepared tin with thawed frozen pastry happily patchworking where needed. It’s ‘rustic’ remember.
Layer fresh spinach leaves on the bottom of the case. Drop spoonfuls of onion jam over the spinach.
Beat eggs and milk/cream/sour cream together with herbs. Pour over the spinach and jam. Lay slices of cheese (or sprinkle grated cheese or crumble feta) on top and pop in the oven for 30 minutes. After 15 minutes turn oven down to 180.
Serve warm or cold.
Notes:
*This recipe is great to use up the left over bits from yesterday’s cheese platter so long as they weren't left sitting in the sun for too long.
*If you don’t have onion jam you can slowly caramelise a small, sliced onion over very low heat until translucent and soft a little oil and biter. For the last few minutes add 1 tbs of balsamic vinegar and half a tsp of sugar stir and dissolve sugar for a few minutes and cool slightly before using.
*You can also use platter condiments like quince paste or the like in place of the onion jam.
*The pictured tart has prosciutto added. If you have some similar sliced meat you’d like to add do so before pouring over the egg mixture.
Finds
Clearly one of my favourite things to do is cook and create with food. No surprises there but almost as loved is my passion for books and reading. I love fictional literature, being transported to places and times not of my own, inhabiting someone else’s story is like a meditation and escape from whatever the everyday presents. Almost as much, I love learning from my reading often absorbing all I can on whatever subject has taken my fancy. So with that in mind I’m super excited for tomorrows’ first episode of Sophie Hansen’s latest podcast venture in collaboration with Germaine Leece. Together they’ve produced a series called Something to Eat Something to Read. It sounds like a delightful listen between two great mates discussing two of life’s greatest pleasures. I can’t wait for this one. Each week it will drop through an email newsletter, sign up here if you need something new to listen to.
One of the things I’m most excited to get to after lockdown is the Ballarat Foto Biennale. Hosted by The Art Gallery of Ballarat the Biennale is an internationally recognised festival of photography. Now I know you’re not all photographers and not here for photography chatter but this year the exhibition features an exclusive collection of work by famed artist Linda McCartney. The Linda McCartney! This won’t just be interesting to photographers but will also intrigue enthusiasts of pop culture and music history. She had such intimate and privileged access to some of history’s greatest music figures and such a unique take on their private world. Her style was one where she was able to blend into the setting and capture genuinely fascinating images. The exhibition, which rarely leaves the UK, has been extended until the end of January 2022 thankfully. If restrictions allow where you live think about a trip to lovely Ballarat and a day at the gallery, there’s loads to do there, so maybe think about making a little trip of it.
Linda McCartney Image sourced from the internet
'Something to Eat Something to Read' Logo by Naomi Bulger Of Tangle and Fern who also created my logo and is AMAZING!!
Forays
A bit of a different one for you this week and perhaps one you might like to think about for yourself.
A number of years ago I won a ticket to a launch event for a magazine that was fairly new to the market and one I loved. Never one to be very shy I went along on my own having a lovely time people watching and mingling here and there. Amongst the lovely folks I chatted to was a gorgeous lady who saw that I was on my own and who made a generous effort to hang out with me for a while. We exchanged Instagram handles and kept in touch frequently through our accounts. One of her posts caught my attention prompting me to DM her and ask about her evening. It was a collection of photos from an evening with friends called Cookbook Club. I was intrigued, what was this gathering? I mean she had me at cookbook but this appeared to be a group of mates hanging out together with plates of food and lovely drinks and all celebrating a book one of them had nominated. And that my friends was exactly what it was. A book club where wine was not a cheeky guilty pleasure while everyone discussed characters in a book but rather part of a feast collectively created by a group of likeminded enthusiasts who’d come together to do anything but discuss the book but rather devour beautiful food, gossip, laugh and delight in an old-fashioned dinner party of sorts brought together by friendly collaboration. Around two years ago there was some movement in her group of friends, and I was invited to join in. A group like this has been such a delight and one I highly recommend similarly minded readers trying for themselves. There’re many ways to bring people together for such a gathering but this is how we do it. Each month a member takes their turn to host the get-together and as host they nominate the book. For those who don’t own the nominated book and don’t wish to purchase it the host sends the book’s index for the member to select a recipe which the host then sends through. The host co-ordinates the selections and therefore menu by email ensuring nothing is doubled up. The host provides the drinks for the evening, and everyone brings their dish and good spirits for, what is always, a fun evening. In between lockdowns we’ve still managed to catch up and keep our little group going. We’re a group of seven women from all different backgrounds, skill sets and personalities. It’s a delight to hang out with such interesting women I would not have met otherwise, discover new books and cuisines. Do you have some people in your life who might enjoy something like this? Maybe ask one friend and have them ask someone new and so on. I recommend keeping it small to between 6-8 members and settling on the same time each month to keep it simple. Let me know if you’re part of a similar group, I’d love to hear your story too.
