NOSY Nostalgia

Matt Golinski shares his favourite food memories that are really on the nose and embedded in his heart.

Sometimes we don’t give our noses the credit they deserve.

We love to look at pretty things with our eyes and listen to nice music with our ears, but it’s our nostrils that are responsible for capturing and storing all the scents and the happy memories throughout our lives that go with them.

The chlorine vapour that transports us back to the summers when we spent 12 hours a day in the pool practicing our handstands and somersaults, only getting out to devour big chunks of sweet, icy watermelon and juicy mangoes.

The ‘freshly mowed lawn with a hint of mower fumes’, just before the ‘minerally afternoon thunderstorm’ wafted in, sends us straight back to all those carefree Christmas holidays when our main priorities in life were riding bikes and eating ice blocks.

Whether you live or holiday in Noosa, it will have no doubt provided you with an arsenal of olfactory triggers that will evoke an emotional response.

The familiar perfume of a favourite sunscreen mixed with salty sea air, the peaty earthiness of a rainforest, brewed tea and warm scones on a balcony framed by jasmine, even the diesel smell of a four-wheel drive that meant you were going on a beach adventure.

But the aromas that really send us spinning back in time are the food ones.

As a kid I was bought a hamburger from a little take away shop on the Maroochy River, and now when I get a whiff of that combination of toasty bun, grilled beef, charry onions, beetroot,

As a kid I was bought a hamburger from a little take away shop on the Maroochy River, and now when I get a whiff of that combination of toasty bun, grilled beef, charry onions, beetroot, tomato, lettuce and barbeque sauce, I almost become that 8-year-old boy dangling his legs over the edge of the Chambers Island bridge again.

A parcel of fish and chips might bring back that perfect family moment in time watching the sun set over the mountains with the river lapping at your feet.

Prawns grilling in their shells and garlic sizzling in olive oil could be that first date at a fancy restaurant with the person who you now share children and grandchildren with.

We’re so lucky to live in a paradise where building those beautiful fragrant flashbacks is easy.

We have some of the best quality and most diverse produce that’s easily accessible through weekly farmers markets, our switched-on fruit shops, fishmongers, butchers, brewers, distillers and providores - and hundreds of cafes and restaurants from Maleny to Kandanga, Caloundra to Noosa, all desperate to lodge their little piece of heaven deep into our hippocampus.

And if forward bookings for restaurants and accommodation on the coast over the next few months is anything to go by, there’s going to be a whole lot of schnozes at work inhaling everlasting memories and planting them forever into the subconscious of locals and visitors alike.

Happy sniffing!

Matt Golinski fires up the BBQ for a long hot summer with these dishes with a difference. Get grillin’! Wines matched by Tony Cox

Ingredients:

• 1 red onion, peeled and cut into 1cm rounds

• 1 fennel bulb, cut into wedges

• 1 red capsicum, quartered, pith and seeds removed

• 6 zucchini flowers, halved lengthwise

• 1 bunch broccolini

• 1 small eggplant, cut into 1cm rounds

• 2 tbs vegetable oil

• 2 tbs olive oil

• 2 tbs lemon juice

• ¾ cup natural Greek yoghurt

• ¼ cup tahini

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• ¼ cup macadamias, roasted and roughly chopped

• 1 tbs sesame seeds, roasted

• ½ tsp ground cumin

• ½ tsp ground coriander

• ½ tsp paprika

• ¼ tsp black pepper

• 1 tsp salt flakes

Method:

• Lightly brush or spray the vegetables with vegetable oil, season well and grill on a hot BBQ until charred and slightly softened. Transfer to a tray and drizzle over the olive oil and lemon juice.

• Whisk together the yoghurt and tahini and season with salt and pepper.

• Mix the macadamias, sesame seeds, spices and salt together.

• Spread the yoghurt and tahini sauce onto a serving platter and arrange the vegetables on top.

• Sprinkle with the dukkah and serve warm.

PINEAPPLE, COCONUT SORBET

Ingredients:

Sorbet:

• 400 ml coconut cream

• 100gm castor sugar

Pancakes:

• 150gm plain flour

• 50 gm rice flour

• 2 tbs castor sugar

• 1 tsp dried yeast

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp salt

• 1 egg

• 250 ml coconut milk

• ½ tsp pandan extract

• 50 ml water

• ½ tsp white wine vinegar

• 1 small pineapple, peeled and cut into 1cm slabs

• 100 gm light palm sugar, grated

• 50 ml lime juice

BRAZILIAN STYLE ‘PICANHA’ STEAKS, BLACK EYED PEA, KIPFLER POTATO AND WATERCRESS SALAD, ROASTED GREEN PEPPERS AND CHIMMICHURRI

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Method:

• In a small saucepan, simmer the sugar, water and vinegar until it reaches 112°C. (soft ball stage)

• Carefully pour in the coconut cream (it will bubble and spit as it’s very hot) and bring back to the boil. Refrigerate until cold, then churn in an ice cream machine, or freeze in ice cube trays until set then blend until smooth in a food processor and refreeze.

• Mix together the dry ingredients for the pancakes and whisk in the egg, coconut milk and pandan extract until smooth. Cover and leave to prove at room temperature for 1 -2 hours.

• Lightly oil the pineapple and char grill until well coloured. Cut into triangles and refrigerate.

• Put the palm sugar and lime juice in a small saucepan and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Transfer to a serving jug.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg rump cap or sirloin, cut into 1.5cm steaks

• 1 x 400gm tin black eyed peas or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

• 300gm kipfler potatoes

• 2 cups picked watercress

• 2 egg yolks

• 1 tbs Dijon mustard

• 2 tbs lemon juice

• ½ cup vegetable oil

• ¼ cup chives

• 2 green capsicums

• 1 small red onion

• 2 tbs sherry vinegar

• 2 tbs olive oil

Chimichurri:

• 1 cup flat parsley leaves

• 1 clove garlic

• 1 small red chilli

• 2 tbs lemon juice

• 4 tbs olive oil

• Salt and pepper

• Lightly oil a BBQ plate or a heavybased pan and spoon large tablespoons of the pancake mix using a medium heat. The plate should be just hot enough that the pancakes cook through without turning them, a lot like a traditional crumpet.

• Serve the pancakes and pineapple on a platter with the palm sugar syrup and coconut sorbet on the side.

• Garnish with the lemon balm or mint.

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Method:

• Thread the steaks onto metal skewers in a semicircular shape. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

• Put the kipfler potatoes in a small saucepan with water and bring to boil.

• Simmer until tender when pricked with a knife, drain and cool. Slice into thin rounds and refrigerate.

• Whisk together the egg yolks, mustard and lemon juice then slowly whisk in the vegetable oil to make the dressing.

• Whisk in the chopped chives and season with salt and pepper.

• Grill the capsicums and red onion in its skin on the char grill of a BBQ until both are completely black all over. Allow to cool, then peel and slice both into strips. Dress with the olive oil and sherry vinegar and season with salt and pepper.

• Place all of the chimichurri ingredients into a small blender (like a nutribullet) and blend to a paste.

• Lightly oil and season the beef skewers and char grill quickly on a hot BBQ. Set aside to rest for a few minutes.

• Mix the beans, potatoes and watercress and dress with chive dressing.

• Spread a generous spoonful of chimichurri onto each of four plates and place the picanha steaks on top.

• Scatter the peppers and red onions over the steaks and serve the bean and potato salad on the side.

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