Pâté | The Camomile Lawn

True, he stayed out most days until after dark, but he always came back in time for tea at five and stayed in from then on to talk to her, if she would listen, to Max, if he was home, and tirelessly to Max's musical friends, who frequently stayed to supper, samples the pâtés, compotes and cooked meats with fresh vegetables with which Monika stuffed into the hampers.
The Camomile Lawn
Mary Wesley

My city may be on lockdown but I'm still going to do it in style. And by in style, I mean by eating an entire cheeseboard and drinking excess amounts of bubbly wine. This entries recipe comes from The Camomile Lawn, a beguiling look into the lives of closely connected individuals before and during WW2. I've had this book on my shelf for many months before I finally picked it up to read, and I'm quite glad I did. I've read it more than twice already now since the start of this year - working the characters words and expressions into my mind to think back on.

I'm sure that their meals during WW2 weren't exactly made up of enormous cheese boards covered in fruit and a range of (vegan) speciality cheeses, but oh well. It likely wasn't a mushroom based pâté either - and while I have faint memories of eating actual pate when young and not hating it - these days my tastes run much towards the non-animal based alternatives to classic foods such as these ones. The mushroom is fantastic in it - it has an almost meaty texture and flavour, especially when cooked with the rest of the delicious ingredients.

Pâté
Ingredients
300g oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped
200g button mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp beef stock + extra if needed
2 tbsp + 1 tbsp butter
1 bay leaf
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
20g walnuts, crushed
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
30ml tsp sherry
Sea salt
Fresh cracked pepper

1. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a pan on medium heat - once melted add in the mushrooms and thyme and cook until they begin browning. Add a little salt and pepper at this stage, cook for another few minutes and then remove from the heat and place to the side.

2. Add another tbsp of butter to the pan and add in the shallots, cook until caramelised - around 5 minutes, then add in the walnuts and the garlic, cook for another few minutes before adding the mushrooms back into the pan, along with the beef stock and bay leaf.

3. Leave it lightly simmering in the pan until the liquid reduces down and then transfer to a blender or food processor, remembering to remove the bay leaf and any stems from the thyme. Deglaze the pan with the sherry, cook for a couple of minutes before adding it along with the olive oil into the blender or food processor with the rest of the ingredients.

4. In a pan melt the remaining tbsp of butter and place to the side to cool.

5. Season the mixture well with salt and pepper before blending until it is smooth. You can add a little more sherry or oil in during this time if it's too thick to blend properly.

6. Fill a ramekin or container to nearly the top (depending on the size of your container you may have enough for two!), and pour the melted butter on top to seal it.

7. Place into the fridge for at least a few hours to firm up and then enjoy with a cheeseboard, on a sandwich - or spooned directly from the jar.

Spaghetti and Meatballs | Brooklyn

Over the previous weekend, Eilis had received instructions from Diana about how to eat spaghetti properly using a fork only, but what was served was not as thin and slippery as the spaghetti Diana had made for her. The sauce was just as red, but was filled with flavours that she had never sampled before.
Brooklyn
Colm Tóibín

Autumn has rushed through Melbourne in a hurry and the cold chill of winter has begun to set in. For me this means a hot water bottle every night, excuses to go for a walk in the rain, re-reading classics and an array of carb-heavy comfort foods.

One such classic was Brooklyn from Colm Tóibín, a book I pick up after every rewatch of the film - something that also happens quite a bit. An amazing book about the perils of being homesick, creating a family in another country and a fascinating look at the toxicity that can emerge in small communities.

While there is an array of Irish foods sprinkled throughout this book, I of course had to make some spaghetti and meatballs, inspired by the first meal Eilis shares with Tony's family, one in which she had to practice eating spaghetti beforehand.

My last foray into meatball making was a good six years ago - the only memories I have from it are awful unfortunately. I think the meat may have been old and despite taking only a single bite, I experienced absolutely dreadful food poisoning that lasted throughout New Years Eve and the next day. An experience like that will absolutely turn you away from the food. Only recently I felt inspired to give them another go - albeit with plant based mince and a much lower chance of possible food poisoning.

The end result was a fantastic hearty meal - with a sharp red sauce (that can easily be made in advance and bottled!). Add in some fresh basil and cheese and you really can't go wrong.

*Note: I used Funky Fields plant based mince for my meatballs. I would do a combination of pork and beef mince if using real mince. The sauce as well needs to cook for a good hour or so - so make sure you get started on that earlier, it keeps really well also, so can be made quite a bit in advance. 

Spaghetti and Meatballs
Approx. 5 servings
Ingredients
Meatballs
400g minced meat *see note
2 tbsp plain yoghurt
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup of fine breadcrumbs
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp dried basil3
tbsp olive oil
Pinch sea salt
Fresh pepper
Sauce *see note
800g tinned peeled tomatoes
400g tinned diced tomatoes
2 brown onions, diced
5 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried chilli flakes
3 tbsp fresh basil
100ml red wine, optional
100ml water
Sea salt
Fresh pepper
350g spaghetti, my recipe is here if you want to make it yourself!

Sauce

1. In a large drying pan heat 2 tbsp of olive oil and cook the diced onions for around 2 minutes before adding in the roughly chopped garlic - cook for around 5 -6 minutes or until onion is translucent.

2. Add in the red wine, cooking it off for a few minutes before adding in all the tomatoes, oregano, chilli flakes, a good pinch of sea salt and pinch of pepper.

3. Leave the sauce on a medium heat until it starts to bubble, add in the 100ml of water and fresh basil and leave to continue cooking . You want to leave it on the stove for at least an hour - but it can easily be left for a good four hours or so - the flavours will only grow.

Meatballs

1. Add all the ingredients for the meatballs into a large bowl, except for the olive oil. Combine well, using your hands to mix the ingredients in - you don't want to bite down on a chunk of anything.

2. Shape the mince mixture into balls - whatever size you want!

3. Heat the leftover olive oil in a pan until hot and place the meatballs in - turning occasionally until all are browned and cooked.

4. At this stage you want to have a large pot of water on the stove boiling - make sure that you liberally salt the water as well. Cook the spaghetti according to instructions and drain when ready.

5. Divide the meatballs and sauce with the cooked spaghetti, serve with fresh basil and parmesan.

Char Siu Bao | The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling

I'm speechless again for the second time in as many minutes. A part of me is terrified. But another part of my brain is running wild with the possibilities. Maybe we could make Xiao Long Bao or BBQ pork buns. A yum cha style takeaway? For dinner!
The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling
Wai Chim

I experienced my first ever yum cha recently. Visiting Sydney for the Mardi Gras parade, I remembered that there was an all vegan yum cha venue - something that is sorely lacking from Melbourne, but possibly for the best considering I spent over $100 within the first thirty minutes, eager to taste everything that got brought past our table. The small town I grew up in had no such options, vegan or otherwise, within it - there was a Chinese buffet from memory, but by most reports from high school friends, eating there would result in a bout of food poisoning unfortunately.

My favourite item (aside from dumplings, because obviously) was probably the steamed buns - hugely fluffy and light, with perfectly cooked and seasoned faux pork inside. Usually I would try and source a plant-based pork to make this with, to ensure that it was as close to the book mention as possible. Unfortunately with everything happening related to COVID-19, it's been harder to make trips out to the usual store that sells the majority of faux meat I buy. I made this recipe twice - once with brined jackfruit and once with mushrooms. While jackfruit will get you closer to the correct texture of pork, I found it was a bit too sweet for me. The mushrooms however absorbed the sauce instantly, providing a flavour that was not too sweet and not too overpowering.

I've read through The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling a few time - it was a purchase made on a whim when browsing Readings bookstore near Cinema Nova (something made very dangerous by it being open till 11pm - the perfect time for browsing as a movie gets out). While definitely located within the young adult genre, it is still a well done book about the challenges of growing up with immigrant parents, along with an even deeper look into the shame of mental health in some cultures. Definitely worth a read at some stage.

Char Siu Bao
Makes approx. 15 buns
IngredientsDough
1 tsp instant yeast
180ml warm water
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 vegetable oil
2 1/2 tsp baking power
Filling
250g king oyster mushrooms, diced very small
1 brown onion, finely diced
3 - 4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp tamari/soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
1/4 tsp Chinese five spice
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp water

1. Combine the warm water and yeast, leaving to sit for around five minutes or until the mixture turns a bit foamy.

2. Add in the flour, sugar, oil and mix until a soft dough forms.

3. On a gently floured surfaced, knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. You may need to add a little more flour at this point or water - you don't want the dough to be too dry or too sticky. Place into an oiled bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave for around 45 minutes to rest.

4. During this time, make the filling. Combine the rice wine vinegar, tamari or soy sauce, sugar, hoisin sauce, ginger, minced garlic and Chinese 5 spice and place to the side.

5. Heat the vegetable oil in a pan and cook the finely diced garlic until soft before adding in the diced mushrooms. You want to cook them for around 5 - 10 minutes until the moisture cooks out of the mushrooms.

6. Add in the prepared sauce to the pan, mixing with the cooked mushrooms and onion until they are all well covered. Combine the 2 tbsp water and 1 tbsp cornflour until a slurry mix and add into the pan. It will only take a minute or so for the mixture to thicken - make sure you keep moving it during this time otherwise it will congeal.

7. Remove from the heat and place to the side to cool.

8. Back to the dough! Pull the dough out onto a lightly floured surface again, lightly pushing down to get the air from it. Now is when you want to add the baking powder in, folding it into the dough until it is combined.

9. Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces (you can do more or less at this stage depending how big you want the buns to be), rolling each piece into a circle.

10. Prepare a number of circles cut from baking paper - you want enough to match however many buns you're making.

11. Cup the circle of flattened dough in your hand and place a spoonful of filling in the middle - sealing them is a bit tricky and I still haven't mastered it, I recommended looking up some tutorials on Youtube. Basically, you're wanting to sort of pleat the outside all the way around, pinching it off until it's closed.

12. While doing this, get a pot of water on to boil - I always use a bamboo steamer to help avoid things sticking - but any steamer is fine. As you make the buns, place them into the steamer on one of the baking paper circles. They'll take around 5 - 8 minutes to cook through depending on how hot the water is. Once you've had one it's a good indication of cooking time.

13. Enjoy with tamari, chilli or vinegar!

Naan Bread | White Teeth

'But what helps with the heat, Ravind? What will aid the gentleman with the burning sensation he is presently feeling?'
’More rice, Ardashir.'
'And? And?'
Ravind looked stumped and began to sweat, Samad, who had been belittled by Ardashir too many times to enjoy watching someone else play the victim, leant over to whisper the answer in Ravind's clammy ear.
Ravind's face lit up in gratitude.'More naan bread, Ardashir!'
White Teeth
Zadie Smith

So the world's going a bit crazy. Unfortunately in Australia we have also been affected, with cases growing in Melbourne very rapidly. It's amazing to see how the entire city has been affected, with trains and trams going empty, restaurants and cafes throughout the CBD bare and more and more companies bringing in mandatory work from home policies. Unfortunately, the hoarding mentality that many have adopted has also hit the supermarkets near me and being able to purchase flour (I just want to make cakes, people!) has been tricky.

I was able however, to get some Tipo00 flour so don't be surprised by the increase in bread related recipes coming up. White Teeth had been sitting in my shelf for the past six years, many friends of mine spoke of it as their assigned reading in high school - but I somehow had never come across it or even heard of it. I finally pulled it off the shelf around a week ago and practically inhaled the words. I think I finished it within the space of four days, taking every opportunity to sneak a few pages of reading in - desperate to know what was going to happen next. On that note - I do not recommend attempting to read while crossing train platforms on your way to work, you'll crash into people and they'll be super annoyed. Trust me.

There are numerous dishes mentioned throughout this book I want to eventually try (Jamaican dumplings, anyone?) but my attention was very firmly fixed upon an attempt at naan bread. Unfortunately, it's near impossible to find naan bread at any market that doesn't contain dairy and since going plant based I've had to miss out on it. I had a few attempts at this recipe - and unfortunately as I do not possess a cast iron pan, I don't believe I will ever get the perfect cook to them. However, using a non stick pan still resulted in delicious, fluffy naan breads - a perfect accompaniment to a meal.

*Note: You can use any plain yoghurt for this - I went with coconut though because it's just so delightfully tangy.

Naan Bread
Makes approx. 8
Ingredients
2 cups plain flour + 1 tbsp
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup lukewarm water
3 tbsp coconut yoghurt, *see note
3 tbsp butter, melted
3 cloves roasted garlic
Roughly chopped parsley, to garnish

1. In a largish bowl mix together the flour, salt, sugar and yeast.

2. In a seperate bowl, combine the yoghurt, olive oil and warm water. Add to the mixed dry ingredients and combine - once the dough has started coming together, bring it onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until the dough is soft and slightly sticky.

3. Put back into a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling wrap or a clean tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

4. Bring your risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a sort of log, cut it into 8 equal pieces. If the pieces are quite sticky still, dust a little of the extra flour on it to stop it sticking.

5. Roll out each individual piece of dough into an oval shape, ensuring that it's no more than a cm thick (I made this mistake when making it for the first time and they sadly ended up quite doughy).

6. Bring a cast iron pan (if you have one!) to a very hot heat slowly. Remove any excess flour from the uncooked naan breads by tossing them between your hands lightly before placing them in the pan.

7. As they are cooking, air bubbles should appear on top - after about two minutes flip the naan breads so that the other side can cook for another two minutes. They should ideally be golden brown with dark spots where the air bubbles have appeared.

8. To keep the naan breads warm while each one is cooking, pop them into an oven proof dish and place into the oven at a low heat.

9. Remove the skins from the roasted garlic and crush into the melted butter, combining well.

10. When you're ready to eat, use a pastry brush to liberally spread the garlic butter mix onto each naan bread before sprinkling with the chopped parley to serve. Enjoy!

Dumplings | The Kitchen God's Wife

Back home, I told the cook girl to boil enough pots of water and to chop enough pork and vegetables to make a thousand dumplings, both steamed and boiled, with plenty of fresh ginger, good soy sauce, and sweet vinegar for dipping.
The Kitchen God's Wife
Amy Tan

I don’t think I’d ever really eaten a dumpling of any kind, before I moved to Melbourne. While there were a few Chinese restaurants in the country town I called home, my family never really frequented them. Instead most our eating out consisted of milkshakes and burgers at a local cafe, or fish and chips on a Friday night, called in ten minutes early to the fish and chip shop in the tiny neighbouring town that was closest to our house.

When I moved to Melbourne though I discovered the deliciousness that is a dumpling. While there may be many disagreements for where the best dumplings in the city are, my vote goes to Shanghai Dumpling House. Terrible service, tissues on tables instead of napkins and food that is usually thrown on the table without a word - however, there’s no better place to devour plate after plate of deliciously hot dumplings during the cold days, filling up on the decadent plates (15 dumplings for $7 is pretty great) and refilling cup after cup of the free tea.

I think I devoured most of Amy Tan’s novels in the same way - trying to hide away during winter and read as much as possible at once, frantically trying to finish so I could see how the story would end. It was once I’d finished, and looked back at the mentions of food throughout that I realised I’d never made dumplings. It was the following weekend that I also realised that my local asian grocer had an entire fridge utterly filled with different kinds of dumpling wrappers - if I believed in signs from the universe, this would have been a sign.

*Note: Depending where you go there may be lots of different types of dumplings wrappers available. Try and get the jiaozi ones - it’s what I used and they were perfect.

Dumplings
Makes approx. 3 - 4 dozen
Ingredients
Dumpling wrappers *see note (at least a pack of 50)
3 tbsp vegetable oil + 1/4 cup
2 tsp minced ginger
1 brown onion, very finely diced
1 carrot, finely grated
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, very finely diced
1/2 head white cabbage, very finely sliced
1 cup gallic chives, very finely sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp white sugar
Fresh pepper
1/2 cup of water
To serve (whatever you want really)
Soy sauce
Sweet vinegar
Chilli oil

1. In a large wok or frying pan heat 3 tbsp vegetables oil and add in the ginger and onions. Cook for a few minutes or until onion is translucent.

2. Add in the mushrooms, cooking for around 5 minutes until just tender. Add in the carrots and cabbage and continue to cook until all vegetables are tender - remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.

3. Add into the bowl the garlic chives, sesame oil, fresh pepper, soy sauce, sugar and remaining 1/4 cup oil. Stir until all the filling is nicely mixed (if the mixture is a bit too wet at this stage, I tend to pop mine in a fine meshed sieve and let a bit of it drip out so the dumplings aren’t too soggy).

4. Now for the fun part: assembling them. Dip your fingers into the water and dampen around the edge of the dumpling wrapper before spooning a small amount of the vegetable mix into the middle. Working from the edge, pinch together the sides of the wrapper using the water to press the edges together more when necessary. Place onto a lightly floured surface when done. Repeat with all remaining vegetable mix.

5. To steam the dumplings, you can either use a bamboo steamer or a regular vegetable steamer - just make sure you place a bit of cheesecloth inside the steamer first or otherwise the dumplings will stick badly to the pan.

6. To fry, heat a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a frying pan, placing the dumplings into the pan when the oil is hot. Allow them to fry for about two minutes before adding a small layer of water to the pan, reducing the heat and covering so they can steam. Once the water has evaporated you can remove the cover and let them fry for another couple minutes.

7. Serve immediately with your choice of dipping sauce.

Vegetarian Supreme Pizza | The Book Ninja

Her stomach thundered in anticipation of as she reached just what she was looking for: Jo's Pizza - open all day, every day, and ready and willing to deliver a Vegetarian Supreme, two garlic breads and a chocolate mousse direct to her door.
The Book Ninja
Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus

Winter seems to be officially over. The chilling winds that had taken over Melbourne for the last three months have somewhat subsided and my weekly trips to the local farmer’s market have began to be a lovely walk in the sunshine, as opposed to the previous trips - of balancing bags and an umbrella while trying to retain a vague semblance of warmth. This is Melbourne however, and it wouldn’t be Melbourne without it’s fluctuating weather. That’s why this Sunday afternoon was spent inside, making homemade pizzas, drinking tea and listening to the pouring rain outside.

It’s always lovely to read something that captures your home so well, The Book Ninja set in Melbourne does it so well (arguably Ali Berg and Michelle Klaus’s second novel, While You Were Reading manages to capture the atmosphere of Melbourne even better). It seemed appropriate to devour this book while travelling on the numerous tram lines of the city. I’ve heard often of the Books on the Rail initiative begun by the two authors but unluckily I’ve never encountered a wild book on the public transport of the city.

*Notes: Toppings are basically super subjective when it comes to pizza. Put now whatever you like. I also used Sheese mozzarella for this - it melts so nicely for pizzas.

Vegetarian Supreme Pizza
Makes two large pizzas
Ingredients
Dough
3 cups plain flour
1 cup warm water
1 tsp white sugar
2 tsp dried yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt
Pizza Sauce
400g can of crushed tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp olive oil
SaltFresh black pepper
Toppings *see note
1 red capsicum, deseeded and finely sliced
1 green capsicum, deseeded and finely sliced
6 - 7 button mushrooms, finely sliced
100g black olives, pitted and sliced
50g pickled jalapeños
200g mozzarella *see note

Dough

1. Combine the yeast, warm water and sugar together in a bowl and leave to the side until the yeast begins to foam.

2. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl and mix, then make a well in the middle.

3. Add the olive oil and yeast mixture to the well in the middle of the flour, using your hands to bring the flour in from the sides, bringing the dough together in the bowl.

4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for at least 10 minutes - you want the dough to be smooth and elastic like. Shape into a ball and place into a lightly oiled bowl, covering with a clean cloth and leaving in a warm area to rise or approx. 30 minutes. The dough should double in size.

Pizza Sauce

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan, adding in the minced garlic once the oil is hot and cooking for 1 minute.

2. Add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, black pepper, oregano, basil and paprika.

3. Once the sauce is simmering, lower the heat and cover the pan. Leave on the stove to thicken and cook - it should take about 15 minutes for the sauce to thicken enough to use. Leave to the size while you prepare your dough.

Pizza 

1. Preheat oven to 220C.

2. Prepare two pizza trays by oiling them - I would recommend putting a piece of baking paper down as well (though my own is terrible and sort of requires it if I don’t want them to burn on the bottom).

3. Once your dough has risen, transfer it to a cutting board and half the dough into two even portions. Take one portion and roll it out into the best circle you can - you can make it as thin as you like, depending on what type of crust you prefer. I usually use my hands to stretch it out some more at the end. Repeat with the remaining portion of dough.

4. Place the pizza bases onto the prepared trays - time to top them!Cover the the bases with your pizza sauce and then pop all the toppings on however you want. I tend to put the cheese on first so it doesn’t run the risk of pulling all the toppings off when cutting into it.

5. Place pizzas into the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the pizzas from the trays and place them back into the oven, cooking for another 10 minutes to crisp up the base. Enjoy!