WHAT SMELLS Like...

from Hello Sunshine | Summer 2022/23 | HS09

FINANCING Dreams

On a recent trip down the Bruce Highway from North Queensland I was playing the trivia games they have on big signs on the side of the road to ‘stay alert’.

The idea is that there is a question on one sign to fire your brain and keep you alert and then the answer is on another sign about a kilometre further on.

I’ve done them a hundred times before but luckily I have such a bad memory that I don’t remember the answer by the next time I’m driving that road.

At one point I clearly wasn’t being alert, because I missed the question and only caught the answer, which was ‘The smell of rain’

Having nothing else to do on my long drive but listen to AM radio and wait for the next Q&A, I began pondering what the question may have been.

‘What makes us smile with relief late on a summers afternoon when we’ve sweated through a 40 degree day?’

‘What sends us running to the Hills Hoist to get the clothes off before a downpour?’ or ‘What lifts the spirits of a farmer who has been watching the sky for weeks in the hope that their crops will get a good drink before it’s too late.’

The smell of rain has become all too familiar over the past few summers –we’ve taken it for granted, even resented it as it signals more flooded roads, cancelled events that have been months in the planning, and decimates harvests that in turn have a direct flow on effect on the availability and price of the food we consume.

It can strike fear into the hearts of those who are still just cleaning up their houses and properties from the last unprecedented rain event, and fuel anxiety through its sheer unpredictability.

But if the weather experts are correct, we’d better get used to that smell over the next few months. We might just need to accept that there’s really not very much we can do to control it, and learn to embrace the rain’s sweet, minerally aroma.

Because while it may literally put a dampener on our alfresco dining plans, the alternative to a wet summer season is drought and bushfires.

So let’s focus on the positives - water tanks and dams are full - including the big ones that supply water to our towns and farms. Days are substantially cooler when it’s pouring down. And we get to catch up on movies, books and magazines when we’re stuck inside.

And it drives home the need to establish local food networks, so we’re not so reliant on long distance transport to get hold of our supplies when roads are cut. And this place makes it easy.

Accessibility is no longer an excuse when it comes to supporting local. Markets, independent supermarkets, fruit shops and specialist providores such as the team at Good Harvest are more than happy to source these products as it gives them a point of difference from the grocery duopoly, and you can quickly work out who the serious restaurants and cafes are by doing a scan of their social media. What you can’t buy in person you can often buy quite easily online.

Chefs and restaurants all over the Sunshine Coast are responsible for championing producers and bringing awareness to their hard work, and these brands slowly trickle down into the mainstream market.

The Slow Food Noosa ‘Snail of Approval’ program is a stamp of authenticity for producers and food establishments and is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in discovering more about the provenance of food on the Sunshine Coast.

We know that hospitality and accommodation businesses on the coast will flourish over the summer periodrain, hail or shine (and there’ll most likely be all three), and whether we’re locals or visitors our ability to enjoy the next few months comes down to how we look at the world.

Sometimes you’ve just gotta wake up and smell the petrichlor.

RECIPES BY MATT GOLINSKI

“This is a great example of how you can use two Indigenous ingredients that are easy to acquire in a dish to give it an Asian flavour. Use Macadamias in place of peanuts and lemon myrtle instead of lemongrass to give a Thai flavour with an Australian twist. When I use lemon myrtle leaves in a salad like this, I always choose the soft tips from the tree – you can slice them very finely and you get the flavour with it being too fibrous or chewy. Enjoy!” - Matt

GRILLED SWORDFISH WITH SPANNER CRAB, CUCUMBER, TOMATOES, MACADAMIAS AND LEMON MYRTLE

SERVES 4

Ingredients:

• 4 x 150 gm swordfish steaks

• 150 gm cooked spanner crab meat

• 1 lebanese cucumber, julienned

• 200 gm cherry tomatoes, halved

• ½ bunch coriander leaves, washed well

• 1 small golden shallot, finely sliced

• 100 gm macadamia chips, roasted

• 6 lemon myrtle leaves, very finely sliced

• 2 tbs fish sauce

• 2 tbs lime juice

• 2 tbs castor sugar

Matching Wines

BY TONY COX

Method:

• Stir the fish sauce, lime juice and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved.

• Mix together the crab, cucumber, tomatoes, coriander and shallot together and dress with the fish sauce dressing.

• Lightly oil and season the swordfish and grill in a hot pan or BBQ until just cooked through.

• Sprinkle the macadamias over the swordfish, transfer to four plates and divide the salad between each. Sprinkle with lemon myrtle leaves.

Perfect

DAVIDSON PLUM BRAISED PORK RIBS WITH APPLE, WALNUTS, SULTANAS AND MINT

Davidson Plum on its own is very sour and needs to be balanced with honey or sugar. But its sourness also makes it the perfect accompaniment to protiens such as pork or duck that have a fattiness that benefits from a tart balance.

SERVES 4

Ingredients:

• 1 kg pork spare ribs

• 250 gm Davidson Plums, diced

• 150 gm honey

• 2 cinnamon sticks

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 red apple, diced

• ¼ cup walnuts, roasted and roughly chopped

• 4 tbs sultanas

• ¼ cup mint leaves, roughly chopped

• 2 tbs olive oil

• 2 tbs lemon juice

• ½ tsp dijon mustard

• Salt and pepper

Method:

• Place the spare ribs in a single layer in an oven proof dish and scatter over the plums, honey, cinnamon sticks and salt.

• Cover tightly with foil and bake at 150°C for 3 hours.

• Strain the plums and juices through a fine seive and reduce to a thick paste.

• Brush the paste liberally onto the ribs and place back into a hot oven for 5 – 10 minutes.

• Mix together the apple, sultanas, walnuts and mint and dress with the lemon juice, olive oil and dijon mustard.

• Serve the ribs topped with generous spoonfuls of the apple salad and drizzle with any of the leftover plum reduction.

Macadamia Tart With Davidson Plum Sauce And Cr Me Fraiche

MAKES 4 X 8CM TARTS OR 1 X 20CM ROUND TART

This is very similar to a treacle tart but it has the added texture of crunchy macadamias. The sourness of the Davidson Plum sauce lends itself beutifully to the sweetness of the tart and the creaminess of crème fraiche. If you can’t get hold of Davidson Plums then blood plums would work well, but they’re sweeter and less sour so you’ll probably need less sugar.

Ingredients:

• 1 sheet ready-made sweet shortcrust pastry

• 85 gm brown sugar

• 30 gm butter

• 125 gm golden syrup

• 150 gm macadamias, roughly chopped

• 30 gm breadcrumbs

• 1 egg, whisked with 1 tbs water

• 200 gm davidson plums, diced

• 150 gm castor sugar

• 3 gm agar

• 200 ml crème fraiche, whipped

Perfect

Method:

• Line the 4 tart trays with the pastry, then line the pastry with baking paper, fill with uncooked rice and blind bake until the pastry is almost cooked through but not too dark. Carefully remove the baking paper and rice.

• In a saucepan, heat the sugar, butter and golden syrup gently until the sugar dissolves. Do not boil. Cool slightly, then stir in egg and water mixture, followed by the macadamias and breadcrumbs.

• Spoon the macadamia mixture into the tart shells, and bake at 160°C for 20-25 minutes or until mixture is firm and golden and the pastry is cooked through.

• Put the plums and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over a low heat until the plums break down and become jammy. Add the agar and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine seive and refrigerate.

• Serve each tart on a large spoonful of Davidson Plum sauce and top with a dollop of crème fraiche.

Modern Asian street food. Always fresh. Always local.