Nourish Magazine Waikato Winter 2020 by Nourish Magazine

ISSUE NO. 40 WINTER 2020 ISSUE NO. 40 WINTER 2020

WAIKATO, NZ

FRESH LOCAL FLAVOUR

WAIKATO, NZ

WWW.NOURISHMAGAZINE.CO.NZ

J002860 DEVCICH.CO.NZ

The Waikato’s finest retirement showhome is now open!

Over the past 30 years Sanderson Group has built hundreds of high-end retirement homes, but we can confidently say this new home is the most luxurious and well appointed home we’ve ever built. If you’d like to get a taste for what you can expect from your new home at Tamahere Country Club – come along any day and take a look for yourself – you won’t be disappointed.

Showhome open every day from 10am-2pm (excluding public holidays)

For sales enquiries or to book a special showhome viewing outside normal hours, call Sandy Turner on 0800 82 62 43.

tamaherecountryclub.co.nz

EDITOR Vicki Ravlich-Horan HEAD DESIGNER Sara Cameron, Minted Design Co. PROOF READER Nikki Crutchley (Crucial Corrections) CONTRIBUTORS Alena Winter, Megan Coupland, Denise Irvine, Emma Galloway, Amber Bremner, Liz French, Lynda Hallinan, Rachel Hart, Kate Underwood, Angela Gifford COVER IMAGE Sheryl Nicholson PHOTOGRAPHERS Brydie Thompson, Ashlee DeCaires, Emma Galloway, Amber Bremner, Vicki Ravlich-Horan, Sheryl Nicholson, Alex Spodyneiko ISSN 2324-4356 (Print) | ISSN 2324-4364 (Online) ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Vicki Ravlich-Horan vicki@nourishmagazine.co.nz 0210651537

regular 6 7 30 36 38 56 62 67

Vicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Picks News Nutrition Gardening Health Fitness Book Review Directory

features 8 11 14 16 28 40 46

The Halal Life Buy Local Eat New Zealand Wild About Flavour Digging into the World of Onions Try for July Sharing Produce

recipes 18 20 24 32 43 48 52 58 62

Recipes from Scope

At Home with Alpino Cheese Please Running Rings Around Onions Bean in the Pantry Well Preserved Pies Chef at Home French Fare

NOURISH

ISSUE 40

Welcome to Nourish Magazine Wow, what a difference a season makes! Last quarter we were talking about exotic holidays, anticipating the foodie extravaganza of Feast Waikato and celebrating innovative entrepreneurs like Kitchen Takeover. Then just a few weeks after our autumn edition came out our world came to a stop. While I have appreciated the quiet time lockdown gave me to spend with the family and to complete a few of those projects around the house, I don’t do well without a plan. So I did spend this period looking at Nourish, what and how we do things, along with how we could continue to grow in this changing world. I am very proud of the fact that next season will mark ten years of celebrating fresh local flavour in the Waikato. And if the feedback I received from readers and clients alike over the past few months is anything to go by, you appreciate it too. So I promise we will continue to be here revelling in our region and all it has to offer, highlighting great local businesses and inspiring you with beautiful in season recipes. And to celebrate ten years, we have a wonderful dinner at Hayes Common planned for the 6th of August. Head to our website for more details. And just because we can’t go overseas doesn’t mean we can’t go on some delicious foodie breaks. In October I will be taking a small group tour to Wellington in the first of our New Zealand series of foodie tours. See www.nourishmagazine.co.nz for more details.

In this issue we dig into what supporting local actually means (page 11), Denise Irvine highlights the community spirit during tough times on page 46, and on page 8 we talk to Cherylene from Koko Café about living her principles. The team have been busy in their bubbles creating beautiful recipes from gorgeous ways with beans on page 43, to comforting pies on page 52. Noel from Alpino shares some treasured family recipes on page 20, and we get cheesy with recipes from award winning local cheesemaker Meyer Cheese on page 24. So please enjoy this slice of local inspiration and from all of the Nourish team, we appreciate your support.

Vicki Ravlich-Horan Editor

French cheese, pastries, wine and much more come in and treat yourself!

GRAB A BITE AT YOUR LOCAL 51a Riverlea Road, Riverlea, Hamilton www.lacave.co.nz

027 537 1853 hayescommon.co.nz

SUN – TUES

7.30AM – 3PM WED – SAT

7.30AM – 3PM 5PM – 9.30PM

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Vic's Picks IN THE KITCHEN Join our editor Vicki, and Megan from Red Kitchen as they celebrate 10 years of bringing delicious food to the Waikato. This small and intimate group will enjoy a fun and relaxed class at Kitchen HQ in Te Awamutu as Vicki and Megan share some of their most popular dishes before sitting down for a delicious meal.

NOURISH FOODIES TOUR TO WELLINGTON

As we canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go exploring the culinary delights of other countries, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s explore what New Zealand has to offer! Nourish will be taking a small group tour to Wellington, in October to catch a slice of Wellington on a Plate and more. Keen to know more or wish to join us on other culinary jaunts around New Zealand? Email vicki@nourishmagazine.co.nz

Thursday 23 July. Strictly limited spaces $145pp www.nourishmagazine.co.nz/cookingclasses Also sharing their culinary knowledge with some awesome cooking classes planned is Melanie Simpson and Jaimee Poole from The Fat Pigeon in Piopio and Fat Kiwi in Otorohanga. Check out their Facebook pages to learn more.

4. 3.

BASTILLE DAY AT HAYES COMMON Hayes Common have cooked up some delicious events to entice you out this winter. Not only will we be celebrating fresh local flavour with the Nourish's 10th Birthday on 6th August (see our website for tickets www.nourishmagazine.co.nz) they also have planned 'La Fete' - Where in true French fashion they will be laying it on with butter, wine, truffle and all things delicious for a night of French Fun using locally sourced ingredients (of course!)

A DAY TRIP WITH DAYTRIPPERS Looking for a fun way to explore the Waikato? Why not discover some of the river trails with Daytrippers? They provide the transport, latest electric mountain bikes, helmets, and guides. You just have to show up and enjoy the ride. www.daytrippers.co.nz

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Grab your friends and book a table Thursday 16th July 6pm $110 *Some dietary requirements may not be catered for on this night, please state upon booking.

PLUS in September their popular Meet the Maker series is back with - A Lady Butcher and Behemoth Beer (Thursday 3rd September, 6pm $120)

News MEYER CHEESE MELT CHALLENGE 2020 It’s back for another year and just as we need some delicious comfort food. After all, what’s more comforting than a cheese toastie? Eateries around the Waikato will be competing for the title of champion toastie maker and the best news is you get to be the judge. The concept is simple, says event organisers Waikato Food Inc Chairperson, Mat Pedley: “No list of rules, just the challenge to elevate a simple dish and win the hearts and taste buds of the public.” The challenge runs from 26 June to 26 July with the list of entries and how to vote on www.waikatofoodinc.com

WAIKATO HOSPO AWARDS The winner of the Meyer Cheese Melt Challenge, along with who will be crowned the region’s best barista, chef, eatery and more, will be announced in mid-August at the Waikato Hospitality Awards. Presented by the Restaurant Association and supported by Waikato Food Inc, this year’s awards will be a little different but the good news is they are going ahead. To keep up to date, learn how to nominate and vote, follow their Facebook page facebook.com/waikatohospoawards

Thanks!

CONGRATULATIONS Good Bugs, makers of fine fermented products made from locally grown produce, won two medals at the recent Outstanding Food Producers Awards. Their Kiss Me Kimchi won silver and their Ginger Ninja Kimchi took home a bronze. Meyer Cheese did it again at the NZ Cheese Awards, with their Goat Milk Gouda being named champion cheese for the second year in a row!

We’d like to give a big shout out to all those people and businesses in our community who have worked to help others through the past few months.

RED BARN CHEF The clever team at The Red Barn spent lock down creating a brand new business! Red Barn Chef builds on their support of local food produce and the talented chefs in their kitchen by creating beautiful chef inspired food bags, delivered to Waikato doorsteps. Now you can enjoy restaurant-quality meals in the comfort of your own home. www.redbarnchef.co.nz

A massive thanks to the Greenlea Butcher Shop who, at the start of May, had donated 10 tonnes of mince to the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul. And that’s not all, they will donate another 8.5 tonnes in the next few months to help families in need. A big pat on the back has to go to Koko Café owner and chef Cherylene Fatupaito who, during lockdown, worked in isolation and churned out over a hundred meals a day for The Serve, who feed the vulnerable in our community. The ingredients were mainly provided by Kaivolution, a brilliant service run by Go Eco who rescue food that would normally go to waste.

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The Halal Life WORDS DENISE IRVINE | IMAGES ASHLEE DECAIRES

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NOURISH

When Hamilton chef Cherylene Fatupaito converted to Islam two-and-a-half years ago she knew it would pose some challenges for her career. At that time, Cherylene was head chef at Mavis & Co, in Hamilton East. She loved her job, and the people she worked with, but Islamic dietary and spiritual requirements were impossible to observe in a mainstream cafe. Cherylene says, “It became too difficult, there were tears. I was very happy at Mavis, but I’d made a different choice. This is a life-long commitment.” The sacrifice to leave Mavis was to honour her faith; she says it was hard but easy at the same time. The best option for Cherylene was to run her own business, where she would be in total charge of the kitchen, the food and the philosophy. It would also enable her to have a prayer space where she and fellow Muslim customers could answer the Islamic call to prayer at prescribed times of the day.

F E AT U R E

she knows the brands to buy, and looks to halal-certifying organisations such as the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) for guidance. “It becomes a habit and it becomes easier. I guarantee my food is halal; many of my customers are Muslim, and I want to give the Muslim community a safety net, a place where they can eat without worrying.” Alcohol is forbidden for Muslims, so Koko is unlicensed. The cafe cannot serve, sell or store alcohol, or use fermented products that may contain even the smallest percentage of alcohol. The lack of wine and beer sales cuts off a potential money-spinner for the business but it’s accepted with grace. Cherylene says she’d enjoyed a few “quiet ones” in earlier times, and when she became Muslim she wondered briefly how she’d ever watch rugby again without having a beer. She laughs: “I still love rugby.” Religious requirements aside, Cherylene says Koko is like any other cafe. “I’m trying to get people through the door, and feed them well.”

So with the support of two investors, she took on the legendary Metropolis Caffe in Victoria Street’s southend. She rebranded it as Koko Cafe, refurbished the vintage premises, and brought fresh energy to a much-loved eatery that had become neglected of late.

Her heritage is Samoan and she was raised as a Mormon in Hamilton. She is a mum to three teenage sons, and a friend to many. She says her conversion to Islam was a mature decision, a pathway that has brought her joy and happiness.

At Koko, Cherylene walks the talk, following Islamic principles and also offering the hearty, generous food that this long-time city chef is known for. Her green Thai chicken curry has many admirers, as has her super-sized breakfast plate, The Abundance; her sweet treat Banoffee crepes; the Koko mushrooms, and more.

She gives back to others through her work with the NISA Network Charitable Trust (Nurture, Inspire, Support, Assist), a Hamilton Muslim women’s organisation that aims to embrace diverse groups and foster strong communities.

While the menu has Cherylene’s colourful, tasty stamp, there are subtle differences in keeping with Islamic dietary requirements. All ingredients are halal, an Arabic word meaning permitted, according to Islamic law. In reference to food, it is the dietary standard prescribed in the Quran, the Muslim scripture. Pig flesh is forbidden so there is no bacon or pork at Koko, and Cherylene uses breakfast beef as a bacon substitute, a smoked brisket cut sourced from a halal supplier. All meat — lamb, chicken and beef — at the cafe is halal-slaughtered (see below), and many ingredients are sourced from halal-certified suppliers. These include cheese, gelatine, pastry and other products that may contain fats, colouring or preservatives derived from animals. Cherylene has researched ingredients and suppliers rigorously,

HALAL MEAT REQUIREMENTS In a nutshell, halal meat practice has three main components: the animal is killed by hand, blessed by the slaughterman, and blood is drained immediately from the carcass. The Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand (FIANZ) does most of the halal certification in New Zealand. It says the Islamic term for halal-slaughtered animals is dhabihah, which has the following requirements under Islamic Law: • That the animal has been killed with a sharp knife • That its throat is cut ensuring the severance of the oesophagus and the jugular veins • That only Allah’s name is mentioned at the time of the slaughtering and no other name is associated New Zealand has specific regulatory standards for halal meat production. These are administered by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

NISA members are rostered to cook one night a week for The Serve, an organisation that provides hot meals for homeless people in Hamilton. During the Covid-19 lockdown, Cherylene cooked every night for The Serve from her Koko kitchen, calmly tackling these extraordinary circumstances, packing up umpteen meals of mac ’n cheese. At the same time, she was maintaining her own strict fast because it was the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims are forbidden to eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. She says, ""halal" is not just about what we eat, it’s bigger than just that, it is about how we hold ourselves, in our behaviours, how we treat others with respect and calmness, it’s about upholding modesty, always aiming to be peaceful and kind in thoughts, intentions and acts." Koko, 211 Victoria Street, Hamilton The Meat Industry Association (MIA) says it is compulsory for all animals to be stunned before commercial slaughter in New Zealand. Stunning ensures an immediate loss of consciousness to prevent animals from feeling any pain during the slaughter process. The MIA says in New Zealand there is no exemption to the requirement for pre-slaughter stunning, unlike in some other countries. Halal slaughter requires that the animal dies from the “halal cut” to the throat, i.e., that the pre-slaughter stun is not powerful enough to kill the animal. So in premises that undertake halal slaughter in New Zealand, reversible electrical stunning is used to ensure that animals are rendered unconscious instantaneously and remain unconscious at the time of slaughter, therefore complying with both animal welfare and halal requirements. Sources: fianz.com mia.co.nz

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Proudly supporting the Waikato

The Bidfresh Hamilton team are made up of over 40 people who live, work and play in our region. Not only is our office and depot based in the Waikato so too are many of our growers and producers. Bidfresh Hamilton are proud suppliers of local producers like Meyer Cheese, Over the Moon Cheese, Raglan Coconut Yoghurt, Wild Country, Bellefield butter and more. If supporting local is a key part of your message we can help!

PROUD SUPPORTERS OF

CALL US FOR THE BEST FROM THE WAIKATO. CONTACT GUS TISSINK

0800 346 3366 | 027 241 3090 | gus.tissink@bidfood.co.nz

NOURISH

OPINION

Buy Local WORDS VICKI RAVLICH-HORAN

Buy local—it’s far from a new concept, yet the slogan has suddenly gained new importance. What does support local actually mean and what difference does it really make?

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An example of the confusion supporting local presents is Bidfresh Hamilton. They are owned by a multi-national company yet are based in Hamilton employing over 40 locals. Add to that their commitment to supporting local growers and producers. It’s thanks to Bidfresh that small local artisan businesses like Cilantro Cheese and Bellefield Butter appear on menus or that our local chefs get to go and meet the local growers of the beautiful produce they use.

If you break the chain instead of money going around, it heads out of town.

After seven weeks locked in our little bubbles, many of us burst out and headed straight to our local cafe for a coffee or perhaps it was to the hairdresser to tame those locks. We didn’t do this because sudden world events or the time we had to reflect on our economy and community had changed our habits. We did this because this is where we normally go for coffee or a haircut. So what about that trip to Bunnings to get the last pail of fence paint you needed to finish your lockdown project—is that shopping local? Bunnings is an Australian company but it employs locals. Does the equation change if the paint you buy is New Zealand made? Would you even check? Buy local may be a simple slogan, but in reality it is anything but. At the core of the concept is that you as the consumer have immense power every time you spend money. But with power comes responsibility and consequences. Spend that money with locally owned and operated businesses and more of your money stays in the local economy. As Lisa Quarrie from Hayes Common points out: “Local businesses drive our local economy, employ local and spend local themselves.” But has Lisa found the crack? Do all local businesses practise what they preach? Like you, locally owned businesses also have a choice every time they spend money. Is that local cafe shouting “support local” but then serving you bacon made from American pork, eggs from Masterton and coffee roasted in Christchurch really walking the talk? If they favoured local suppliers they not only support local themselves they are helping you to too. Plus, more of that local money keeps circulating in our region. Lisa says, “We try to use local businesses where we can. We choose product over price or ease. We need to demonstrate to our clientele that value for money can be found through quality, service, consistency and atmosphere. All these things combined provide the overall experience, not just price. Otherwise small producers wouldn’t stand a chance.”

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The creation of relationships is a key part of the buy local ethos. Studies can try to calculate the economic benefits of the money staying in the local economy. It is hard to calculate the intangible benefits. While great local businesses do this well, some go the extra mile. Hayes Common have their regular Meet the Maker evenings which Lisa says, “showcases great local suppliers and makers in the region”. And they are not alone. We have some great local eateries supporting local. Lisa is quick to praise: “Punnet, Palate and River Kitchen all incorporate local and do a great job! And there are many more I am sure!” I’d have to agree we have some fabulous operators in the region who have always incorporated supporting locally into their business model. A few that spring to mind include The Shack in Raglan, Alpino in Cambridge, and Mr Pickles in Hamilton. Locally owned and operated businesses are what give towns their distinct character. It’s what distinguishes the uniqueness of our community. It’s these businesses that have a vested interest in the region, who give back to everything, from local charities to sports groups. As we rebuild our economy, we have a chance to rebuild our communities. Supporting local will help us build a resilient economy as well as a resilient community. But to do this it requires everyone to play their part—individuals and businesses alike.

NOURISH

LOCAL

LOVE LOCAL

SWEETREE HONEY

PEPLER’S

SOLOMON’S GOLD

Raw honey and bee pollen sourced from specific locations in the Waikato. Sweetree is a boutique operation offering delicious, awardwinning honey extracted from wooden bees-waxed frames packed into glass jars, each with a unique ‘taste’ of the Waikato.

Pepler’s started as a way to preserve excess fruit from the family orchard. Thirty years on they may be a little bigger, but they are still making gorgeous condiments and dressings by hand in small batches using local produce.

Ethically sourced beans from the Solomon Islands are handcrafted in Mt Maunganui to make delicious single-origin dark chocolate. Packed full of superfood antioxidants and free from dairy, gluten and nuts.

www.sweetreehoney.co.nz

www.peplers.co.nz

www.solomonsgold.co.nz

ZEALONG TEA ESTATE

HUNT & GATHER BEE CO.

New Zealand’s only commercial tea estate. Zealong produces 100% certified organic award-winning tea while also offering visitors an extraordinary experience.

Beekeepers with a strong focus on building a sustainable business, Hunt and Gather Bee Co are a small family owned business based in Raglan.

Only 15 minutes from central Hamilton, Zealong offers tours, tea tastings, wonderful food and hospitality set amidst breath-taking views.

Their Kanuka honey won gold at the 2020 NZ Outstanding producers awards and you can buy this along with their full range of raw honey, comb honey and organic beeswax wraps at the Waikato Farmers Market, selected local stores or online.

Try their signature High Tea, a thoughtfully crafted savoury and sweet selection complemented with Zealong tea and served in a picturesque setting overlooking the tea estate. 496 Gordonton Road, Hamilton www.zealong.com

Or discover the world of beekeeping for yourself with one of their Beekeeping Experiences. Find out more at www.huntandgatherbeeco.com

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EAT NZ. WORDS ANGELA GIFFORD

It’s like walking away from the house and out into the darkness of the farm. You know, that kind of moonless night, where the first moments are so black that there’s a period of complete disorientation. Your senses carry the resonance of the light you’ve just left. And it’s not until you’ve stood still and quiet for a period of time that the sky and its celestial bodies reappear.

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NOURISH

I’m writing this in the middle of May, and the last six weeks have been like that for the New Zealand food story. All blazing lights and energy, and then darkness and disorientation as food experience was amputated from food. And now, a period of contemplation as we search for what is left. It’s as if someone has come and rubbed all the words off the whiteboard, but if I look closely I can still see the gentle outline. And here we all are, holding the pens, deciding what to write back. Do we want to carefully copy back each phrase? Did that sentence serve us well, bring happiness in a sustained way? Was that sentence true, or one written for us as a supposed version of ourselves? What about the words that don’t even make sense, now that our language of life has been changed forever? There’s an overwhelming desire to just fill in the board immediately, with all the things, making it look busy and happening and bright… But the end of the story hasn’t been written yet, so it seems wrong to do more than decorate a border around the edge. And, if you’ll forgive my mixed metaphors, the night sky is the same. I can see the planets start to reappear. Their significance and weight making them the first to come back. Our food solar system is dominated by agriculture. It’s the way we’ve seen ourselves since colonisation, a trading nation which was the paddock and ocean for the motherland. But agriculture has some unique challenges ahead of it, not all of them related to this pandemic. Industrial production systems have led to imbalance and prevented firebreaks developing between species. And if this virus is a school shark, then climate change is surely the great white circling. If there’s a blue planet in our food system I’d call it Te Ao Māori or an indigenous worldview. It’s been the furthest from our view in recent years, hidden and forgotten, but holds with it significant understanding of our place in the world and the connection we have to it. The re-emergence of this indigenous knowledge could shine a pathway forward for us all. And there are some food system planets that have been eclipsed for the moment: tourism, events and hospitality. What will they look like when they reappear? It’s too early to get a true reading. But even as recently as the last few days, I can see some constellations. A small group of stars that have begun to re-imagine hospitality in New Zealand.

F E AT U R E

How can a restaurant become the hub or centre of a community? How can a community support its existence? How can that establishment feed people? It’s a wild reframing from a traditional business model. Restaurants had the smallest of profit margins and that was because they supported a network of other small businesses, from growers to cleaners and other suppliers and services. How can we better support hospitality establishments that manifest the gathering of us as a community moving forward? Why should they take all the risk on their own? What happens if they all decide the risk is just too great… Local food networks are constellations as well. A cluster of growers, catchers and makers, juxtapositioned with eaters. This crisis has made these networks shine brightly as people have realised that ‘knowing their farmer’ or ‘knowing their fisher’ has tangible benefits for food access. The opportunity now is to support these relationships towards longer term resilience. If everything has been thrown in the air, what opportunities are there for different pairings or combinations as things resettle? Can agriculture and tourism become better bedmates? Why is there such a division between food and wine in New Zealand? Can different primary sectors work more closely together? And finally, there is us, as eaters. Have we finally worked out that we can cook, and that we do love food and that eating good food keeps us well? We’ve reached a major crossroads. Never has there been more opportunity for positive change. Which path will we take now?

Angela Gifford | Eat New Zealand @Eat.NewZealand | @TheFoodFarmNZ Angela is the CEO of Eat New Zealand. Committed to connecting people to our land through our food, her work gives her a unique perspective across all aspects of the New Zealand food and beverage landscape, from production to food transformation to food experience. Angela is also the co-owner of The Food Farm, an organic permaculture farm, with her husband and three children. Besides feeding themselves, they teach others how to grow their own food. She knows how to milk a cow in a paddock, gut a chicken, find porcini and grow field tomatoes. These are her proudest accomplishments to date. You can follow her work and life @TheFoodFarmNZ and @Eat.NewZealand on Instagram.

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WILD ABOUT FLAVOUR WORDS KATE UNDERWOOD | IMAGES BRYDIE THOMPSON

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In the eye of Rotorua lies a cafe where a passion for hunting, people and flavour come together to support and sustain the diverse village of locals and visitors, seven days a week. Dana and Steven Greer are the heartfelt humans behind Scope, the quirky daytime eatery where fun, deer-inspired décor and delicious food coexist in a vibrant, animated space. Aside from smiling faces and a convivial atmosphere, the first thing you’ll notice when you enter Scope is the impressive and colossal antler chandelier, made locally in Lake Tarawera from fallen antlers of red and wapiti deer. It sits above a cabinet of drool-worthy sweet treats and savoury options, piled generously to induce the right kind of overwhelm, like the adult version of a kid in a candy store. Freshly baked blue cheese scones perch next to the Wicked Toffee Coffee Walnut Slice stacked on rustic wooden stands, amidst decorative pinecones, and Banana Dark Chocolate and Maple Muffins. Along with the fully-loaded cabinet, the butchers roll showcases a menu of approachable, cleverly-named brunch and lunch options, with a tasteful hunting twist. The food is both familiar and packed with character, all made from scratch without an ounce of pretence. The ‘Butchers Best’ venison burger is the signature, served with beetroot relish, curly fries and aioli and can be matched with a locally brewed Croucher IPA beer. Owner Steven is partial to a burger for breakfast—perfectly acceptable pre-hunting fare he reckons. There’s even a dish dubbed ‘The One That Got Away’, a vege stack involving hashbrowns, mushrooms and an Otaika Valley poached egg. The story of Scope is a unique combination of Dana’s vivacious personality and extensive hospitality experience alongside Steven’s calm persona, business nous and a love for the hunt. Dana is Transylvanian by heritage and coming from a big, social family she’d always had an affinity for Kiwi’s laid-back, friendly nature. She moved to New Zealand in 1998 to complete her business degree and somewhere along the way the couple met as colleagues in the world of finance. Several businesses later, including four cafes it was time to create their combined dream. In May 2017, after revamping the run-down Thai restaurant on Tutanekai Street, they opened their doors to feed and caffeinate visitors and locals alike. Both the aesthetic and menu offerings are intentionally designed to be ‘man friendly’. “We want the men to be dragged in here by their wives or girlfriends on their first visit,

and then willingly return every time after that,” explains Dana. A plan that has clearly been working, as in 2018 Scope won People’s Choice in the Rotorua Hospitality Awards and was a finalist in Café of the Year, an incredible achievement for just their second year in the game. The notoriously decadent ‘Snickers’ chocolate/caramel/ peanut hybrid slice may also have had something to do with it, guaranteed to make any day, infinitely better. The cafe’s catch phrase is ‘wild about flavour’, but what it should really say is wild about community. There’s a genuine warmth in this place, where everyone moves swiftly from stranger to friend. Dana tells us, “Life is so serious outside these doors, but inside we want our customers to have a laugh and feel joyous and uplifted”, either by the Altura coffee in their cup, the eccentric wallpaper with dogs wearing suits or the virtuously ‘healthier’ caramel slice loaded with dates, nuts and dark cacao. “We spend most of our lives here, so we really just want everyone to enjoy it.” Since their inception they’ve supported the Salvation Army’s ‘coffee for a can appeal’, last year arranging three separate pickups, thanks to the crazy amount of cans they collected. They work with Ronald McDonald House, donate to the local school galas and during lockdown Dana rallied her crew of fellow local business friends to organise a special goodie bag for the ultimate ladies day out (worth $1400) to give away to a deserving front line worker, as well as proactively gifting vouchers to Hospice for their online Zoom bingo classes. “We really just love giving back, it makes us both feel good,” says Dana. It’s this fierce loyalty to serve their community that provides the type of business narrative where ‘support local’ means more than just a post-lockdown hashtag. Despite being part of an industry navigating the unknown, a quote by K.J Parker sums up the Scope empire brilliantly: “To hunt successfully you should know your ground, your pack and your quarry.” Armed with their positive attitude and a host of loyal customers, Dana and Steven clearly have all the ammunition they need to continue to deliver joy and wild flavour to their community at a time when it’s appreciated most. Scope Rotorua 1296 Tutanekai St, Rotorua 07-282 2090 www.scoperotorua.co.nz Kate Underwood @relishthememory

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SNICKERS SLICE BASE ½ cup self-raising flour ½ cup plain flour ½ cup cocoa ¾ cup coconut ½ cup brown sugar 100g butter 3 tbsp peanut butter CARAMEL 800g condensed milk 75g butter ½ cup golden syrup Topping 2 cups roasted peanuts ICING 250g dark chocolate ½ cup cream

Make the base by mixing all dry ingredients together in a bowl. Melt the butter and peanut butter together then combine with the dry ingredients. Press into a greased and lined 24cm baking tin. Bake for 10 minutes at 180°C Meanwhile make the caramel by putting all the caramel ingredients in a pot and bring to a simmer. Stir constantly to stop it sticking or burning on the bottom. Cook until the caramel thickens and turns a light brown colour. Pour the caramel over the cooked base and bake again for 10–15 minutes. Take out and, while the caramel is still hot, sprinkle the peanuts on the top. Allow to cool before icing. For the icing chop the chocolate into small pieces and melt with the cream over a low heat. Mix until smooth and all chocolate has melted. Pour over the peanuts and allow to set before cutting into squares.

To Make Caramel Slice – use this recipe just omit the peanuts.

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SCOPE VENISON BURGER The recipe for the patties makes 10 decent size patties. Use fresh venison mince and freeze the patties for an easy burger meal next time.

FOR THE PATTIES 1.5kg venison mince 1 tsp cumin Â˝ large onion, diced 3 tbsp tomato sauce 1 tbsp Dijon mustard Â˝ tbsp dried thyme 4 cloves garlic, crushed Mix all the ingredients together then divide into 10 150g balls. Squeeze and shape these into patties and fry or grill on the BBQ. Scope serve these with rustic buns, a beetroot relish, roasted red capsicum, Swiss cheese, salad and homemade aioli. Dana says it is best matched with a dark IPA, local Croucher Moonride being perfect.

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AT HOME

With Alpino RECIPES NOEL CIMADON | IMAGES ASHLEE DECAIRES

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NOURISH

RECIPES

Food has an amazing ability to not only nourish our body but warm our hearts and as Noel from Alpino shows us sometimes it’s the simplest dishes shared with those you love that hold the fondest memories. Here are a few of his favourite recipes from his childhood growing up in Italy.

ZUPPA D’ORZO (BARLEY SOUP) ½ onion, finely chopped 1 leek, only the white part, finely chopped

CABBAGE AND PANCETTA SALAD I could eat this any day. It’s delicious eaten straight away or after a couple of hours in the fridge. Full of vitamin C, cheap as chips and available all year round.

1 carrot, diced 1 celery stalk, diced olive oil

4 tbsp olive oil

butter

50g diced pancetta (alternatively bacon diced in 5mm cubes)

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp cumin seeds

1 ham hock

½ cup beef stock

6 cups beef stock

half a cabbage, thinly slice

125g barley

3–4 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 potatoes, peeled and diced

salt and pepper

salt and pepper parsley

Thinly slice the cabbage and place it in a bowl.

Sauté onion, leek, carrot and celery in butter and olive oil until nice and soft (this is called soffritto). Add the bay leaf and ham hock and cook on low heat while continuing to stir for about 10 minutes. Add the barley and stock and simmer for 1 hour. Add the potatoes halfway through. If you have any Parmesan rinds chuck them in now too; it will improve the flavour a lot and give it a natural saltiness. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add some finely chopped fresh parsley before serving.

Place diced pancetta (or bacon) into a hot frying pan with the olive oil. Fry on low heat until golden brown then add the cumin seeds. Continue to fry for about 2 minutes. This will be enough time to get all the cumin flavours to permeate the oil and pancetta. Add the beef stock and simmer until the liquid reduces by half (2–3 minutes). Pour the hot sauce over the sliced cabbage, season with salt, pepper and vinegar. Mix and serve instantly as a delicious side salad.

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OSSO BUCO 1.5kg osso buco

Mix the salt and pepper with the flour, then dust the meat with the flour.

¼ cup flour

Heat a Dutch oven or deep skillet with butter or oil, or a mixture of both. Sear the meat until golden on both sides (you may have to do this in batches).

salt & pepper 3 onions, roughly diced 5 garlic cloves, crushed ¾ cup white wine 2 cans of diced tomatoes ¾ cup beef stock butter/olive oil flour salt and pepper

Remove the meat and add the crushed garlic and the onion and cook until the onion is tender. Add the meat back in along with the wine and simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes and beef stock. Cover with a lid or tin foil, and place in the oven for about 1.5 hours at 180°C. The sauce should cover most of the meat. If not, I recommend turning the meat halfway through to cook consistently. Serve with polenta, pasta or potato puree and Gremolata (a mixture of chopped Italian parsley, garlic, lemon zest, olive oil and chilli. )

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MOZZARELLA IN CARROZZA This was a very inexpensive dinner we had as kids. We always loved it. My mother would have cooked a big batch of tomato sauce at the time and frozen it in portion sizes, but a store bought one or a good quality passata will be fine.

8 slices bread (old toast bread is great) 320g mozzarella, sliced or grated 2 tomatoes, sliced 120g champagne ham fresh basil 1–2 tbsp flour 2 eggs oil for frying

Place the bread slices onto the bench and make sandwiches, evenly spreading the tomato slices, ham, basil leaves and mozzarella. Dip the edges of the sandwich in flour and then a little water. This seals the sandwich and prevents it leaking during the frying process. Beat the eggs and then dip the sandwiches in. Heat the oil in a heavy pan or deep fryer, ideally to 180°C. Deep fry the sandwiches in the oil until golden. Place the fried sandwiches onto paper napkins to soak up excess oil and serve hot topped with the warmed tomato sauce, grated fresh Parmesan and extra basil leaves.

Tomato Sauce

Dice some shallots and fry in a pan with olive oil until slightly coloured. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes, fresh basil leaves and simmer on low to reduce (approx. 30 minutes). Season with salt and pepper, plus chilli if you like it spicy.

simple pasta tomato sauce Parmesan cheese

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RECIPES VICKI RAVLICH-HORAN | IMAGES BRYDIE THOMPSON

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NOURISH

RECIPES

Cheese & Miso Scones 3 cups flour 5 tsp baking powder 75g butter, cold 1½ cups of grated cheese (we used Meyer tasty or vintage gouda)

The New Zealand Cheese awards were to be held in Hamilton again this year. Call me biased, but I think it’s an appropriate place for the awards to be held each year; after all, the Waikato is the home to some of New Zealand’s most successful artisan cheese makers including local favourite Meyer Cheese, who picked up five gold medals and a Champion Cheese award again this year. One of New Zealand’s most award-winning cheese makers, Meyer Cheese makes Dutch styled Gouda cheese with milk from their own cows on the family farm in Ohaupo. With a pipeline directly from the milk shed to the cheese factory, you couldn’t get fresher milk and the results speak for themselves. Inspired by their wonderful cheese range, we got cheesy in the kitchen and created some classic family favourites.

2 tbsp miso paste 1½ cups buttermilk or thin natural yoghurt* Mix the flour and baking powder together. Grate the butter into the flour and then with your fingertips rub the butter into the flour until it is like fine breadcrumbs, then add 1 cup of the cheese. Mix the miso with the buttermilk then mix this with the flour mix until just combined. Turn out onto a lightly floured bench and cut into 6-8 scones. Place these on a lined baking tray with a small gap between each. Top with the remaining cheese and bake at 200°C for 10–15 minutes. Note: They will expand as they cook. I like mine to end up touching once cooked, resulting in softer edges. If you like crisper scones leave a bigger gap between each.

*If you only have a thick Greek-like yoghurt on hand simply thin it down with half milk half yoghurt. Have neither? Milk will work too, just start with 1 cup and add more as you need it.

The Ultimate Cauliflower Cheese 100g butter ½ cup flour 1½–2 cups milk lots of your favourite Meyer cheese, grated (I especially love their not just award-winning but the 2019 Champion Cheese winner goats milk gouda for this) In a small pot, melt the butter. Stir in the flour until it forms a paste—this is called a roux. Cook out the flour, stirring continuously, for at least a minute. Over a low heat, and whilst continuing to stir, pour in approx. a third of the milk. Once incorporated, slowly stir in remaining milk. (By adding the milk slowly you will avoid lumps forming and create a silkier sauce.) Add the cheese and continue to stir until the sauce thickens to the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and white pepper. Pour the hot sauce over steamed vegetables (cauliflower and broccoli are great but when in season asparagus is also delicious!). Then for an extra flourish pop it under the grill for a few minutes before serving.

Got leftover cheese sauce? Spread it between two pieces of bread and grill for a luxurious toastie. Or freeze it for next time. PAGE 25 | WWW.NOURISHMAGAZINE.CO.NZ

Cheese and Onion Tart with Walnut Pastry Pastry ½ cup walnuts ½ cup wholemeal flour

With the motor running, slowly add half the cold water. If the pastry does not come together in a ball, add a little more of the water.

1 cup flour

Wrap the pastry and chill for 30 minutes.

150g butter, cold

Roll pastry out on a floured surface until large enough to line a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Line the tin with the pastry. Cover the pastry with baking paper, then fill with baking beans and bake at 180°C for 15 minutes. Take out the paper and beans, then bake for a further 5–10 minutes more until pale golden and cooked.

1 tsp salt ¼ cup cold water Filling 2 large onions extra virgin olive oil 1 cup cream 2 eggs

While the pastry cooks, peel and thinly slice the onions. Heat a pan and add a dash of oil then the onions and soften over a medium to low heat (15–25 minutes) until just golden.

150g Meyer cheese (cumin gouda is perfect for this tart!)

Spread the cooked onions over the pastry case and sprinkle with the grated cheese.

For the pastry

Beat the eggs and cream together, then season to taste. Pour over the onion and cheese.

Place the walnuts into a food processor and whizz until the nuts are finely ground. Add the flours and whizz again before adding the chopped butter and salt.

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Cheesy Crumbed Baked Chicken 150g Meyer cheese, cut into strips (we used the herb and garlic gouda) 75g butter ½ onion, finely chopped 3–4 rashers streaky bacon, finely chopped 1½ cups Panko breadcrumbs /3 cup finely chopped parsley

Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and bacon and cook for five minutes or so or until the onion is soft and translucent. Take off the heat and add the breadcrumbs and parsley. Cover the chicken breasts with the breadcrumb mix, patting them down lightly before baking for 30 minutes at 180°C.

SUPP OR TING

KIW

Score the chicken breasts on a diagonal 3–4 times and place in a baking dish. Stuff the cheese into the scored gaps in the chicken breasts.

4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless

WIS

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Digging into the

World of WORDS & IMAGES VICKI RAVLICH-HORAN

Onions

One of the earliest cultivated crops, onions are grown and eaten throughout the world.

While almost every country grows onions, many run short of their domestic crop just as the New Zealand harvest is underway. This places New Zealand in a great position to export this crucial crop with us sending approx. 80% of our onions to the Northern Hemisphere each year. Wilcox are one of New Zealand’s largest onion growers, and while they send the majority overseas, there is no doubt the domestic appetite for onions is strong. Someone who knows this first-hand is Gus Tissink from Bidfresh Hamilton, who supplies local chefs with fresh produce, and in the case of onions, this amounts to nearly three tonnes a week. Early this year Gus and I took a quick trip up the motorway, donned our gumboots and visited Wilcox’s fields and HQ in Pukekohe to see the onion harvest in action. While readily available all year round, onions do have a season. Planted in the winter, new season onions begin to be dug up just before Christmas. This early crop has their green tops hand clipped before the bulbs are lifted out of the ground and left in the sun to dry. Drying the skins off helps to protect the onions, which could be stored for nearly a year. By mid-January the main harvest is underway and by April the year’s crop will all be safely tucked away in storage. Once dug, the fresh onions are kept in the field to dry for 2–3 weeks. They are turned at least once to avoid sunburn before a giant harvester and tractor perform a highly choregraphed and practised routine up and down the rows to pick them all up.

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From the field they are sent to be sorted and graded. Gus’s clients prefer the big ones, while you and I tend to like them a little smaller. Wilcox grow 26,000 tonnes between their Pukekohe and Matamata farms. Brown onions, the most popular onion in New Zealand, account for two thirds of this. Funnily enough, chef’s preferences, according to Gus, are not so one sided, with the split between red onions and brown being a lot more evenly split. This, Gus believes, could be attributed to the preference for red onions in fresh salads and sandwiches. Dean Langrell-Read, Wilcox’s Marketing Manager and our guide for the day, says our humidity makes growing white onions, an onion popular overseas, which is eaten raw in salads and sandwiches, problematic. Trials are underway for an alternative to our mainstays, the brown or red onions. It’s not white, says Dean, but it is milder; the downside is it doesn’t keep as long as New Zealand’s hero onion, the Pukekohe Long Keeper. As onions are available all year round, how should we store them? While most of the year a cool, dark spot away from your potatoes is best. Towards the end of the season (October/ November) Dean says you may want to pop them in the fridge, especially the red ones.

NOURISH

Brown Onions Red Onions How do you describe an onion that is almost everyone’s go to? When a recipe calls for an onion this is the guy. With a sharp flavour, the brown onion comes into its own when cooked. The sulphuric flavour turns to sweetness creating the base to so many recipes.

Sweetness is what sets the red onion apart from the common brown. That natural sweetness makes it perfect for pickling (see page 33) or for caramelising. That sweetness can also counter the strong onion flavour and why, if sliced very thinly, you can get away with adding them to salads raw. The other obvious draw to a red onion is its colour. That deep red hue provides a vibrant pop of colour that other onions just can’t. I love them in a stir fry, in a roast vegetable salad, or skewered on kebabs and barbequed.

Shallots

Favoured by chefs for their sweetness, very few home cooks bother with these fiddly, often double-bulbed onions. In Asian cuisine thinly sliced shallots are deep fried and used as a delicious crunchy addition to dishes from congee to curry. They make a beautiful salad—drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil then slowly roast. Serve on a bed of rocket with a sharp fetta to balance the onion’s sweetness.

GROWER

Spring Onions

Also known as scallions, these sweet and mild onions are all about freshness and texture. Their gentle onion flavour gets stronger the closer you get to the dark green tops.

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The Humble

Onion WORDS RACHEL HART

Without a doubt, one of the most important ingredients in a cook’s arsenal is the humble onion. The world’s most universal food, onions are sautéed with garlic, slow cooked and caramelised, marinated in vinegar or thinly sliced to add flavour, depth and crunch to our meals.

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NOURISH

Onions are part of the allium family of herbaceous flowering plants, a group that also counts garlic, shallots, leeks and chives as members. Thought to have originated in Asia, today onions are so ubiquitous that most countries grow their own. And if you’ve ever driven past Pukekohe on a windy day, you’ll know that New Zealand certainly grows enough of the bulbous vegetable to satisfy our own needs. If you’re having trouble reaching your five a day, it may be valuable to learn that onions can be counted in this mix. Indeed a vegetable, one onion contains around 10 percent of your daily vitamin C, B6 and manganese. Their chromium content helps regulate blood sugars while their flavanoids help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol. Onions also contain quercetin, a potent antioxidant with a whole host of health promoting properties that help reduce inflammation, ward off cancer and encourage healthy aging.

NUTRITION

than most fruits and vegetables, an onion’s prebiotic fibre provides food for the healthy bacteria living in the intestine to grow and flourish. Gut health impacts on our digestion, immune system and even mental health, so feeding the good bacteria is very important. The onion’s healthful properties are more concentrated in their outer layers, so avoid over-peeling onions to maximise their healthful effects. Best practice is to peel off the papery layer and use all the fleshy outer layers found within. Onions can be the hidden saviour of a dish—think risotto, pies and guacamole—or the undeniable star, as in French onion soup, caramelised onion frittatas and onion rings. They can be a garnish, a relish or a topping. Thanks to their versatility and nutrition, it’s easy to see why the great Julia Child once declared, “I cannot imagine a world without onions.”

Slicing into a fresh onion creates a chemical reaction that forms sulphur compounds responsible for both the pungent smell and the stream of tears running down your face. These sulphur compounds help protect against cancer, lower blood sugar levels and cholesterol and protect your heart by breaking down blood clots. The catch is these compounds are destroyed by heat, giving those who tolerate raw onions a clear health advantage.

Rachel Hart Hailing from Canada, Rachel has fallen in love with life in the beautiful Bay of Plenty where she is a freelance writer with a passion for healthy food. She splits her time between telling people’s stories, creating web content and experimenting in the kitchen.

Among all these benefits, standing out from the pack is the onion’s influence on gut health. Arguably better for our gut flora

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R E CI P

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E S VI C K I R A V L IC H - H

ORA

G IMA

L SH

IN G ON S S

NNIN G R I AR N O OUND

ONIO N, BE

NOURISH

OODLE SOUP N &

This recipe is based on one by Amiel Stanek from Bon Appetit. It crosses the classic French onion soup with slow cooked beef and moreish noodles.

The original recipe used a few too many pots and pans for me, and while I appreciate this would result in a clear soup, I’m a practical cook who appreciates the flavour and clear bench to the perfect looking bowl. Be warned this is a generous recipe. You’ll need a minimum three litre pot, preferably a heavy Dutch oven type. Unless you are feeding a large crowd, freezing it is a great option. I do this without the noodles, which are best added just before serving and why my measurement of the noodles you need are based on how many people you are serving at the time.

25g butter 1.5kgs onions, peeled and thinly sliced 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1kg beef short ribs (I also used osso buco which worked well. You can get both from www.greenleabutcher.co.nz) 8 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped 10cm piece ginger, scrubbed, finely chopped

6 star anise pods

RECIPES

cloves. Cook, stirring often, until fragrant and oil is sizzling. Pour in the mirin and simmer until nearly evaporated. Return the onion and beef, add soy sauce along with the stock and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover partially with a lid. Simmer for 3–3½ hours, until the meat is nearly falling off the bone.

2 cinnamon sticks 2 tsp ground black peppercorns 2 tsp ground coriander ¼ tsp ground cloves ½ cup mirin ½ cup soy sauce 4 cups beef stock 4 cups water 2 tbsp rice vinegar or juice of a lime 60–100g fresh ramen noodles* per person (or 600g-1 kg if serving all of the soup) Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high then add the onions. Cook, stirring often, until the onions begin to take on some colour, then turn down the heat and cook until they are golden and soft but not mushy. Take the onions out of the pot, turn up the heat and add the oil. Cut the short ribs into single ribs and trim them of excess fat. Season generously with salt and sear these until golden brown on all sides. Remove the ribs from the pot, placing these with the onions. Carefully pour off any excess fat left behind and return the pot to a medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, ground pepper, coriander and

Carefully remove the beef and allow it to cool enough to handle. Cut and discard the bones. This is also a good time to try and retrieve and throw out the cinnamon quills and star anise. Return the meat to the soup and simmer uncovered for another 30 minutes. Add vinegar/lime juice and check the balance, adding more vinegar and/or soy sauce if needed. Cook noodles according to package directions. Divide among bowls. Ladle soup over noodles, making sure each bowl gets some meat and plenty of onions. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve.

*I prefer fresh noodles if you have them, as they simply need plunging into boiling water and are ready to go. You will find a range of NZ made fresh noodles in most Asian and specialty stores. Dry noodles work just as well with the convenience of being shelf stable; they just take a little longer to cook.

ED RED ONIO L K NS PIC These gorgeous bright pink onions add a splash of colour and flavour to lots of dishes, from a burger to salad. They are perfect in a taco or even as part of a platter with cheese and cured meat.

3–4 medium size red onions juice of an orange juice of a lime ½ cup apple cider vinegar

Peel, halve and slice the onions. Place them in a large bowl and pour over boiling water. Drain and repeat. Place the drained onions into a jar and add the remaining ingredients, ensuring the onions are completely covered. Put the lid on and shake well. Refrigerate overnight before using.

1 bay leaf ½ tsp cumin seeds ¼ tsp whole peppercorns ½ tsp salt 1 tbsp sugar

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ED ONION R E T AT RIN B G ER

I’m a sucker for a good onion ring—battered definitely not crumbed. The beer in this recipe conveniently means there is half a bottle spare for the cook—although I am not endorsing dinking and frying! You can swap the beer for sparkling water which will give you just as light a batter although not quite the same flavour. Not essential, but a beautiful addition to the batter, especially if you are making these just to munch on with a beer, is a teaspoon of cumin seeds.

1 cup self-raising flour ½ tsp salt ½–1 tsp cumin seeds (optional) 1 cup beer (any will do although I prefer a lager) 2–3 large onions oil for frying Place the flour, salt and cumin seeds (if adding) in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the beer to form a smooth batter. Carefully peel the onions, trying to avoid cutting into the layers. Cut the onions into ½ cm rings. Separate the rings, adding the large/medium ones to the batter. The innermost rings can be saved and used next time you need onion. Heat the oil to 180°C and carefully drop the batter-covered onion rings into the oil. This is best done using tongs and in batches. Also make sure you allow excess batter to fall off the rings before you place them in the oil. Cook the rings until golden, turning them at least once. Once golden, remove from the oil and place on paper towels to soak up a little of the excess oil. Season with additional salt if desired and serve.

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TERI YA SPRIN KI G

N& E K IC SKEWER H C ION S ON

Teriyaki chicken is a family favourite and so simple to make. Forget pre-made sauces and marinades—make your own!

/3 cup mirin

/3 cup sake

/3 cup soy sauce

3 tbsp brown sugar 500g chicken thighs, skinless and boneless 2 bunches of spring onions oil Place the mirin, sake, soy sauce and brown sugar in a small pot. Heat and bring to a simmer to dissolve the sugar and reduce slightly. Take off the heat and allow to cool.

Cut the chicken into 1–2cm cube pieces and marinate for 1–2 hours or overnight in half of the sauce. Starting at the white end of the spring onion, cut these into 1–2cm pieces until you get to the hollow green part. Thread the chicken on wooden skewers, alternating with the spring onion. Heat a large pan over a medium heat with a little oil and sear the skewers until golden on both sides, being careful not to burn. You will probably have to do this in batches. When they are all cooked, place all the skewers in the pan and pour over the remaining sauce. When the sauce has heated through and coated the skewers they are ready to serve.

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for the love of onions WORDS LYNDA HALLINAN | IMAGES VICKI RAVLICH-HORAN

I have a friend—let's call her Deanna—who doesn't eat onions. While she isn't actually allergic, her tastebuds have an aversion to all alliums. As well as finding onions odiferous, she loathes leeks, shuns spring onions, shudders over shallots and holds chives in contempt. Indeed, the only allium allowed in her kitchen is garlic, though she's as iffy as it is whiffy. “Garlic is okay,” she shrugs, “but I'm not bothered. I don't crave it.” To be honest, if Deanna wasn't also a gardening goddess, creative cupcake baker and my youngest son's bestie's mum, I'd question the foundations of our friendship, for who can live without onions? Not me. I dice, slice and mince onions into almost every savoury dish I make, from cheese scones to muffins, stock, soups, stews, sauces, chutneys, salsas, pizza, bhajis and burgers.

types of spring onions (red bunching 'Crimson Forest' and multiplying 'White Welsh’), plus heirloom banana shallots and 'Cardiff' leeks. But of all the edible crops I've experimented with, from peanuts to pomegranates and soybeans to shiitake mushrooms, I'm most proud of the 4m2 bed that produces an annual barrowload of bog standard brown onions. Onions are slow but fairly easy to grow. Sow seed now, either direct or in trays of potting mix to transplant when their blades look like grass. Old-time gardeners meticulously thin and space seedlings to 15cm apart, but I find it easier to let them prosper in clumps and pluck the weaklings out as spring onions throughout the season. Harvest as summer turns to autumn and their tops brown off, leaving the uprooted bulbs to dry in the sun for a few days to cure their skins for better storage. Garlic can also be planted now, using either your best cloves from last year's crop, or locally grown bulbs from organic food stores. Plant only the fattest outer cloves (eat the rest), nestling them 5cm deep in rich, free-draining soil.

In lockdown, the first thing we ran out of wasn't flour, yeast, baking powder or eggs, but 'Pukekohe Longkeeper' onions. Oh, the tears I cried as I peeled my way through a bucket of piddling pickling onions.

In recent years, allium rust has raised its ugly orange-spotted head again, ruining many a home gardener's garlic crop. With no effective fungicides available, prevention is better than cure, and the best way to prevent this plague of rusty pustules is to plant early and harvest before the worst of the humid summer weather.

Alliums of all sorts are a mainstay in both my kitchen and vegetable garden. I grow three types of chives (broad-leafed, garlic and the standard species, Allium schoenoprasum), two

Leeks need to be bedded in by late summer in order to fatten sufficiently by winter, but leek seeds sown now can be harvested as baby leeks in late spring. Even better, sow leeks now and leave

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NOURISH

GARDENING

them alone for a full year. Although we treat them as an annual crop, they are perennial and, if left to flower, will send out a fresh flush of leeks off the base of the main stalk. Prise off as required. Using this lazy method, I haven't needed to sow new leeks in five years, plus the ball-shaped pale pink blooms last ages in a vase.

FALLS RETREAT GARDENING WORKSHOPS

Although I consider onions to be an essential service worker in my kitchen, friends on low FODMAP diets can't eat them (with the exception of pickled onions and the green parts of spring onions). And a very well-known New Zealand food writer— let's call her Lauraine—once told me she had developed an intestinal intolerance to onions. I was surprised by this culinary confession, for I thought overindulging on onions, especially raw ones, turned everyone's innards into wind tunnels.

$125pp includes morning tea, full day interactive workshop with Nicki MurrayOrr of VitalHarvest, notes to take home and a delicious shared lunch.

Lauraine has, at least, found a nifty substitute for flavoursome recipe bases: she sautés finely sliced Florence fennel bulbs instead. Sow these buxom beauties now as they do best in cool winter soil. SEASONAL CHECKLIST • Stockpile carbon for your compost heap. Rake up fallen leaves, mulch trimmings and pencil-thin prunings and set aside. Use these to layer between loads of green waste (food scraps, lawn clippings, spent crops etc.) • Intersow sweet peas with edible climbing peas. ‘Sugarsnap Climbing’ is a prolific podder that can also be harvested as an immature snow pea. • Sow salad greens, such as arugula, mesclun, Cos lettuce and baby spinach, in pots, and Chinese greens, such as tatsoi, bok choy, gai laan and wong bok, in garden beds. • Sow green manure or cover crops of mustard, broad beans and blue lupin in empty vege beds. Dig in come spring. Lynda Hallinan Waikato born-and-raised gardening journalist Lynda Hallinan lives a mostly self-sufficient life at Foggydale Farm in the Hunua Ranges, where she grows enough food to satisfy her family, freerange chooks, kunekune pig and thieving pukekos. She has an expansive organic vegetable garden and orchards and is a madkeen pickler and preserver.

The Full Monty

Saturday July 4, August 1, September 5 www.fallsretreat.co.nz/the-full-monty Edible Gardening for Beginners – Saturday 25 July Includes morning tea, half day interactive workshop with notes to take home and delicious shared lunch – $75pp Composting & Worm Farming – Saturday 25 July Two-hour interactive workshop with take home notes and includes complimentary welcome drink and nibbles – $60pp SPECIAL OFFER – save 15% if you book both for $115 The Educated Gardener – Saturday 22 August Aimed at those that want to build upon their gardening knowledge, this workshop focuses on bio-intensive planting methods, soil nutrition and our permaculture model. Includes morning tea, take home notes and a delicious shared lunch. $75pp www.fallsretreat.co.nz

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PRECISION CUTTING & PROFESSIONAL COLOURS

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BUILDING RESILIENCE Herbal Adaptogens for Changing Times Feeling tired, anxious or overwhelmed? You are not alone. There has been much going on in the world, which can lead to feelings of stress, anxiety, sadness or fatigue. Or it may just be the stressors of everyday life that are impacting your wellbeing. Now is the perfect time to focus on building resilience for the coming winter months, and the rest of the year, as we continue to navigate changing times. Resilience is defined as being able to adapt well in the face of adversity, trauma, stress or illness. Often primarily thought of as mental or emotional, there are in fact ways we can support our physical resilience, which in turn can positively impact mental and emotional resilience and thus influence our overall wellbeing. Aside from the basics (eating well, exercising and getting good rest) specific medicinal plants, known as ‘adaptogens’, can be used by almost anyone to support their ability to cope with stress. An adaptogen is a term for a safe and non-toxic medicinal plant that promotes balance in the body, one that is able to positively reduce the stress response, normalise body functions and strengthen body systems compromised by stress. To put it simply, they help you to adapt. Once reserved for royalty, Vikings and Olympic athletes, these plants were first formally studied in World War II. Scientists had observed their traditional use by hunters needing to maintain resilience and stamina whilst reducing hunger and exhaustion. They trialled them in enhancing the performance and endurance of soldiers and pilots. Results showed promise, and their modern-day use began. The plants themselves often grow in unfavourable conditions: high altitudes, harsh winters, or dry summers—some even survived the ice age! It is believed their learned ability to adapt to these growing conditions is what makes them so beneficial as a natural medicine. They work by supporting stability in the hypothalamic, pituitary and adrenal glands, and modulate the release of stress hormones. This leads to their array of beneficial effects including enhanced energy and immune function. Below is a small selection of a few worth considering.

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Korean Ginseng (Panax Ginseng) Whilst a few different herbs are referred to as ‘ginseng’, Korean or panax ginseng is the ‘true’ ginseng. Possibly the most stimulating of the adaptogens, it is particularly useful in cases of fatigue and convalescing, and is beneficial to certain chronic disease states. It has also been shown to support memory, cognition and low mood. Males with low stamina, menopausal women, and the elderly may particularly benefit from this ginseng. Siberian Ginseng (Eleuthero) Similar to its not-quite-related ‘cousin’ Korean ginseng, Siberian ginseng also acts as a mild stimulant and supports the immune system, alongside being a general ‘tonic’. It is a good choice for those who may find Korean ginseng too stimulating, but need energy and immune function gently restored, such as children or anxiety-prone individuals.

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H E A LT H

Mushrooms have been used for thousands of years throughout Asia for their health-giving properties, and reishi is known as the ‘mushroom of immortality’. It is particularly beneficial for supporting the immune system and has also been used traditionally to calm the mind, to enhance meditative practices and to support sleep.

Astragalus Astragalus is an adaptogen that is particularly effective at strengthening the immune system. It is useful in cold and flu prevention, as well as during recovery and convalescing, for example after glandular fever. It is safe for all ages and also supports cardiovascular function, making it an ideal tonic for the elderly. Withania (Ashwagandha) This Indian herb is ideal for those ‘wired but tired’ people. It has been shown to be beneficial for anxiety, insomnia and fatigue. It has a stronger sedative action than many adaptogens and is useful in cases of nervous fatigue. It also helps to support the immune system and is used as a tonic for debility in children and the elderly. Reishi Mushroom Reishi is unique in that it is a medicinal mushroom.

Adaptogens can be consumed in many forms including teas, powders, tablets or tinctures. Their strength and quality vary widely, particularly now adaptogens are gaining in popularity, and there are many options to choose from. Whilst mild effects may be experienced from drinking teas or from other low-dose preparations, we typically recommend taking them as a highpotency tablet or tincture for an initial period of 2–6 weeks to ensure full benefits are received. They’re also not something you can simply take for immediate relief. As one example, many adaptogens that support the immune system are often not recommended during acute infection. Their effects build over time and can be subtle and easier to notice in retrospect. Typical comments include “Wow… I coped with that situation a lot better than I did in the past!” If the above sounds of interest to you and you wish to explore taking adaptogens, consider seeking the advice of a qualified naturopath or medical herbalist. They can safely guide you in finding which herb (or combination) will best suit your situation, taking into account your overall health status and any medications you may be on, as well as ensuring the quality and strength is appropriate. At The Herbal Dispensary, we have a team of three naturopaths and medical herbalists who are always happy to help support you with your health, adaptogens or otherwise. You are welcome to give us a ring any day of the week, or get in touch via our website. By Alena Winter Naturopath, Medical Herbalist & Nutritionist BNHM, DipNut, MNMHNZ The Herbal Dispensary 6 Wallis Street, Raglan (07) 825 7444 www.theherbaldispensaryraglan.co.nz

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Try for July Plastic Free July is a great time to try something new; replace an old habit for good. Try this July to eliminate one form of single use plastic from your life. Every action adds up, and once you have mastered this one, pick another.

That’s a Wrap Beeswax wraps are a great replacement for clingfilm to wrap sandwiches and covering leftovers in the fridge. You can find them everywhere, from farmers markets to local stores or have a go at making your own. www.nourishmagazine. co.nz/make-your-own-beeswax-wraps/

Switching to a reusable wrap for your lunch could save over

75 metres

of cling film a year! That’s good for the pocket and the environment.

It’s in the Bag

We’ve got used to no single use bags at the check-out but what about in the produce aisle? Instead of plastic ones get some washing bags from your local discount store. They are light weight and hard wearing; you’ll get your apples, and more, home safe for years with one bag. Alternatively, use some rescued fabric and sew your own.

50% MORE You get twice as much loo roll in the same sized packaging if you choose XL or double length pack.

BULK UP

Buy in bulk, or as big as you can! Find the double length toilet paper, the largest bag of dog food, or flour, sugar and other staples, get the big toothpaste tube... Bring your own containers and use the bulk bins. More of what you want, less of what you don’t want—the problematic packaging. It’s hard to be perfect and make everything from scratch or find zero waste options but let’s try to be better! PAGE 40 | WWW.NOURISHMAGAZINE.CO.NZ

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BYO Bottle

Make your own makeup removal wipes. Did you know Consumer NZ tested a popular flushable brand. "We found it was 80 percent rayon and 17 percent polyester. And, of course, polyester is plastic and it's not going to biodegrade anytime soon," Sue Chetwin from Consumer NZ says. If you're using makeup removal wipes every day, that's a lot of single use plastic. There are lots of lovely reuseable options for sale online or get crafty with 100% flannelette cotton. Get a wide-mouthed glass jar with a lid. Trace the shape of your jar on your cotton, fill with circles of fabric, add cooled, boiled water and an essential oil that you like. These make great gifts too!

Win

Can you give up single use drink bottles? A recent national waste and recycling audit found every household in NZ uses 188 single use plastic drink bottles a year, and that’s only the ones that make it to your home! Lots are drunk on the go and might be in the boot of your car. Nearly 20% of those bottles ended up in your rubbish bin at home and didn’t get recycled. So remember to refill your water bottle.

EARTH

A recent national waste and recycling audit found every household in NZ uses

188

single use plastic drink bottles a year!

Bags for your bin Lost without your grocery plastic bags as a bin liner? Don’t fear, there’s still plenty of plastic bags out there. Dog and cat food bags, courier bags, bread bags, multipack chippie bags all make great bin liners. A bit smaller than you’re used to, but less smelly if they need to be changed more often. Bonus! Save these bags (any bag!) and reuse them. Or go next level and bare your bin. That means you empty your rubbish bin directly into your pre-paid bag or wheelie bin. Wash the bin out and ready to go again.

a Stainless Steel Lunchbox Are you brave enough to bring your own container? Honestly, the first time might be scary, but after that it’s easy as. Especially great for sushi on the go, reusable lunchboxes are an effective and easy way to reduce single use waste. To get your waste-free lunch started, we’re giving away stainless steel lunchboxes. 25 lunchboxes are available to the first entrants from the Waikato District, Waipa District, Hamilton City and wider Waikato Region. To enter go to www.nourishmagazine.co.nz

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RECIPES

RECIPES & IMAGES | EMMA GALLOWAY

Tinned beans are something most people have stashed away in their pantry, and I’m guessing there’s more than a few of you looking for simple, delicious ways to use them up right about now. Here’s a couple of my favourite ways to eat them.

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BEANS ON TOAST

1 tbsp olive oil ½ onion, finely diced 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tsp thyme leaves, finely chopped (or a good pinch of dried thyme) ½ tsp smoked paprika ½ cup passata (tomato puree) 400g tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed well 1 tbsp tomato paste 1–2 tsp pure maple syrup

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil and onion and cook, stirring often until onions are tender. Add garlic and thyme and cook for a further 30 seconds. Add paprika and cook for a few seconds before adding passata, beans, tomato paste, maple syrup and approx. a quarter of a cup of water. Season with a little fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and cook 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick. Add a touch more water if it’s looking too dry at any stage. Serve over hot buttered toast, scattered with fresh herbs if you have some.

hot buttered toast, to serve fresh herbs, roughly chopped, to serve (optional)

NI N

If you don’t have cannellini beans, try butter beans, pinto or borlotti. If you don’t have passata, you can blend a third of a 400g can of tinned tomatoes until smooth and use this instead. Raw or brown sugar can be used in place of maple syrup. Don’t have tomato paste? Don’t worry, it adds a richer flavour but these are lovely made without too. I scatted the top with some chives, flat parsley and baby rocket from my garden, but don’t worry if you don’t have any herbs at hand. While beans on toast is often thought of as breakfast food, it’s just as good for lunch or dinner!

Serves 2

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CHOCOLATE BEAN CAKE With only six basic pantry ingredients, this flourless chocolate cake is one of my favourites. I tend to use kidney beans, but black or pinto beans also work great. I serve un-iced, but for even more decadence you could top with a chocolate ganache and/or serve with cream or ice cream. Serves 8–10

200g dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly (I use Whittaker’s 50%) 400g tin beans, drained and rinsed well (see headnotes) 3 large free-range eggs ½ cup raw sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp baking powder (gluten-free if needed) cocoa powder, to dust Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 20cm loosebottomed cake tin and line with baking paper. Place drained beans, eggs, sugar, vanilla, baking powder and a good pinch fine sea salt into a small food processor and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides if needed. Add chocolate and blend until combined. Transfer mixture to prepared cake tin and bake 25–30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Serve dusted with cocoa powder.

Emma Galloway mydarlinglemonthyme.com | @mydarlinglemonthyme Emma Galloway is a former chef, food photographer and creator of the multi-award winning food blog My Darling Lemon Thyme. Emma has published two cookbooks, My Darling Lemon Thyme and A Year in My Real Food Kitchen. She lives in her hometown of Raglan, with her husband and two children.

A legend reborn. Fresh food, friendly service, smooth coffee and a great vibe. 211 Victoria St. Hamilton NZ • 07 834 0120 kokocafehamilton@gmail.com k0k0cafe Mon to Thu: 7:30am - 5pm Fri: 7:30am - Midnight Sat: 8am - Midnight Sun: 8am - 10pm

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Sharing PRODUCE WORDS DENISE IRVINE | IMAGES VICKI RAVLICH-HORAN

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I was down to my last lemon in the coronavirus lockdown and this seemed like the most enormous culinary crisis. Almost any dish benefits from the magic of citrus, and I always get anxious when my tree hits its seasonal gap and I’m willing the green fruit to turn gold. They’re not on the panic-shopping list, though, as it’s not in my Waikato DNA to buy the waxy supermarket imports. Lemons grow so plentifully here and the reliable Meyer is available pretty much year-round. My neighbour Mary came to the rescue with a couple of lemons she’d picked from a friend’s tree. Following lockdown protocols, she left them in my letterbox, I washed them thoroughly, and added them to the ‘lonely only’ in the fruit bowl. Later, she kindly boosted my supply with another one. The community kindness of sharing produce—in a safety conscious manner—is one of the things I’ll remember from lockdown. I’ve been the happy recipient of field mushrooms, Granny Smith apples, figs, rhubarb, sweet corn, quinces, kaffir limes, flowers, and a basket of sweet basil. I’ve done fig jam, stewed fruit, mushroom risotto and soup, and the limes, lemons and basil have zhuzhed up many meals. Quince paste is next. Mary also made condiments in lockdown, including plum jam, plum chutney, fig and orange jam, and quince paste. “It will be something to show for this time,” she says. Some of the fruit was foraged on her early morning walks. Like the occasion she said hello to a man who was cutting grapes: he offered her some, she carefully manoeuvred her bag across the tall fence and he cut a bunch neatly into it. No contact involved. A couple of households in our Claudelands neighbourhood have left excess produce at their gates, including pears and feijoas, available for people to help themselves and apply commonsense washing and quarantine procedures. Friends report similar in other areas, with feijoas being the biggest giveaway. Angelique van Camp, of Wild Country Fine Foods in Te Kowhai has also enjoyed limes from a neighbour. She’s passed on abundant mint in return so the neighbour could make mojito cocktails. “It’s part of our community’s spirit,” she says. Such generosity is familiar to Colleen Bourne, co-ordinator of Community Fruit Hamilton, a not-for-profit voluntary group that rescues and distributes produce that may otherwise go to waste. Community Fruit is like the mothership of produce-sharing. It has

F E AT U R E

been operating for nine years and Colleen and her 16-year-old daughter Rebecca pretty much run it on their own, calling on teams of volunteers when there is a big pick to be tackled. The organisation runs on the sniff of a fragrant feijoa; Colleen says it is in the process of becoming a charitable trust, which will give access to more funding. She is grateful to all the people who support them and she says the purpose is two-fold: “We’re trying to get fruit into communities that are unable to afford it, and we want to reduce food waste.” The volunteer teams pick with the seasons from private properties and commercial orchards, and apples, citrus, plums, pears, persimmons figs and feijoas are among their staples. Colleen runs “jam sessions” at Fairfield College, where fruit is turned into condiments that can be distributed free or sold as a Community Fruit fundraiser. There is also a Big Squeeze in September to make marmalade and cordial with prolific citrus. Last year, the teams picked more than 100 tonnes of fruit to distribute to needy families through Hamilton food rescue group Kaivolution, the Combined Christian Foodbank, various community pantries, and Facebook contacts. Colleen often knocks on household doors when she sees fruit falling from laden trees. She’s never had a grumpy response and most times people tell her to go right ahead. “There is food everywhere that’s not being used.” She says she’s programmed not to waste food; this lesson was learned during her childhood in rural Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, where her family made a 650km trek to town for supplies just four times a year. “Nothing got wasted; my mother was manic about it.” Community Fruit largely took a break during pandemic restrictions, not going onto properties to pick, and only distributing—in a safe, low-key way—produce delivered by people with excess. Colleen says she saw a lot of kindness during lockdown, and also desperation from people struggling to feed their families. “The demand for free food has gone up.” She and other volunteers will be back to work when the time is right, picking and distributing fruit again throughout the city. Their work never ends. And I’m hoping the informal neighbourhood networks established during lockdown will continue as well. My full fruit bowl has been testament to the value of sharing. Community Fruit: www.facebook.com/PickFruitHamilton ph 0212531526 or email pickfruithamilton@gmail.com PAGE 47 | WWW.NOURISHMAGAZINE.CO.NZ

Well Preserved RECIPES MEGAN PRISCOTT | IMAGES ASHLEE DECAIRES

Recipe Page 51

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We’re so lucky that citrus thrives in our gardens! My mum sends lemons to her South Island friends. Where we are used to trees laden with fruit every winter, it’s a rare occurrence for them. In return they send back jars of Medlar jelly. It’s a great example of the green economy.

RECIPES

PRESERVED LEMONS Preserved lemons make a wonderful addition to so many dishes, from the traditional tagines, stirred through couscous, or added to salads, dressings and dips. Take the time now to preserve your abundant crop and come summer you will be very thankful for the jars of sunshine.

8 lemons sterilized preserving jar Himalayan pink salt 8 whole peppercorns 1 bay leaf 1 stick of cinnamon Cut the lemons from the top down, stopping 2cm from the bottom. Do the same in the opposite direction so that you have cut the lemon into quarters yet leaving them intact at the bottom. Place 2 tsp salt inside each lemon. With the back of a spoon, spread the salt over the inside flesh of the lemon. Put your salty lemons in the jar and continue adding till it is full and packed quite tight, adding the peppercorns, bay leaf and cinnamon quill as you go. Push the lemons down using the flat end of a rolling pin until juice is extracted and it covers all the lemons. You want the jar to be full to the top, with lemons and juice. Seal and leave for 4–6 weeks before opening. Once opened store in the fridge.

When making preserved lemons, choose thin skinned clean lemons like Meyer. If you have purchased your lemons, dunk them in a pot of boiling water and then pour them out into a colander. This will wash the wax off the outer skin.

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LAMB KEFTA KEBABS WITH PRESERVED LEMON I love this dish. During the week, when time is not on my side, I just mix a huge dollop of Pepper and Me Ma’rrokkin paste into the lamb mince and flag the skewers (meatballs are just as good). If you are using bamboo skewers, soak in water before using to prevent them from burning.

500g lamb mince 1 preserved lemon, finely chopped 2 tsp cinnamon 2 tbsp fennel seeds 3 cloves garlic, crushed 1 tsp salt 1 tsp smokey paprika Add all the above ingredients together. Using your hand wrap approx. 60g around a skewer. BBQ or cook on a grill and serve with white bean puree and Moroccan couscous.

MOROCCAN COUSCOUS WITH LEMON

WHITE BEAN PUREE

Couscous is so easy to prepare—simply put equal quantities of couscous and boiling water in a bowl, add a little salt and olive oil and cover with cling film or a tight re-usable bowl cover and let sit for 15 minutes. Fluff up with a fork and it is ready to use. Israeli couscous is a fun alternative, although this needs to be cooked like pasta.

1 clove garlic

400g can cannellini beans 4 tbsp olive oil (I use Al Brown’s lemon and fennel oil, available from Red Kitchen) juice of 2 lemons salt cracked pepper

1 cup French couscous, cooked

Place all the ingredients into a food processor and blend till smooth.

2 lemons, zest and juice

Check seasoning and adjust to taste.

1 orange, peeled and cut in small cubes ¼ cup toasted pistachios 1 fresh green pepper, finally chopped ¼ cup parsley and mint, finely chopped salt and cracked pepper ¼ cup dates, finely chopped Mix all the ingredients together and serve.

Megan Priscott www.redkitchen.co.nz Megan is mum to Lily, Lennox and Lincoln. Along with husband Mathew she owns and manages RedKitchen in Te Awamutu. Megan loves good food and wine and holidays with the family. Whangamata is their favourite spot where Megan says a huge paella on the beach is the perfect way to finish a summer's day.

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PIE S RECIPES & IMAGES | AMBER BREMNER

There’s nothing more comforting than a pie on a cold winter’s day, and making them yourself is ever so satisfying. A crisp, flaky pastry case breathes new life into pantry ingredients, something that’s more welcome now than ever. I used New Way flaky puff pastry, which is vegan, available from most supermarkets, and was in my freezer during lockdown. You can use the pastry you prefer or make your own regular or gluten free pie crust.

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RECIPES

MUSHROOM, ONION & LENTIL PIE This pie is an umami bomb of seriously savoury flavours—hearty, warming and the closest I’ve come to a traditional meat pie in many a year. I used a 24cm family sized pie tin. You could also use small pie tins or muffin tins to make individual pies or put the filling directly into a casserole and cover just the top with pastry to make a pot pie. Serve with green peas and a squirt of tomato sauce for a dose of retro Kiwiana.

2 tbsp olive oil 2 onions, sliced 200g mushrooms, sliced 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped (or 1 tsp dried) 1 tbsp fresh sage, finely chopped (or 1 tsp dried) pinch cayenne pepper (optional) 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar, or ¼ cup red wine) 1 can brown lentils, drained 1 tbsp tomato paste 1 tsp marmite 1 tbsp flour 1 cup soy milk + extra (or milk of your choice) salt and pepper 2–3 sheets of flaky puff pastry

golden brown (about 15 minutes). Push onions to one side of the pan, then add mushrooms. Once mushrooms have started to brown, season with a pinch or two of salt, then stir to combine with the onions. Add garlic, rosemary, sage, cayenne pepper and a good grind of black pepper, and cook for another few minutes until fragrant. Add balsamic vinegar to the pan and stir until the liquid has mostly evaporated. Add lentils, tomato paste and marmite, and stir to combine. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of flour over the pan contents and stir to combine. Cook for a few minutes, stirring often. Add 1 cup of soy milk to the pan and stir to combine. Cook for another few minutes, stirring, until the mixture is dark, glossy and thick. The final consistency should be fluid but not runny— like a thick gravy. If the mixture is too thick, add a splash of milk to thin it a little. Preheat oven to 200°C fan bake. Line a pie tin with pastry and trim the edges. If using pre-rolled pastry sheets and a large pie tin, you may need to patchwork more than one sheet together. Pour the pie filling into the pastry case, lightly moisten the edges of the pastry base, then top with another round of pastry. Use a fork to crimp the edges together. Cut a small hole in the middle of the pastry lid to let out steam. You can also do this with a cookie cutter before you put the top on, as I did. Brush the pastry with soy milk, then bake for 20–25 minutes, until pastry is deep golden brown.

Heat olive oil in a large fry pan over medium heat. Cook onions, stirring often, until deep

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MEXICAN BLACK BEAN PASTIES One of the first pies I learned to make was a good old Cornish pasty in home economics class at intermediate. This meat free version is much tastier and an absolute hit with my kids. The flavours are loosely Mexican and inspired by South American empanadas, but using store bought pastry and pantry friendly ingredients. You could also pop a little grated cheese (regular or vegan) in the pastry parcel, if you like. I like these with some heat—ground chilli, cayenne pepper, chilli flakes, chopped fresh chilli or pickled jalapenos are all good additions.

1 tbsp cooking oil 1 onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 1 small red capsicum (or half a large one), chopped 1 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp ground cumin /8 tsp ground chilli (optional)

½ tsp salt 1 can black beans, drained 1 tbsp tomato paste ½ cup water

½ cup frozen corn kernels squeeze of lime or lemon juice 3–4 sheets of flaky puff pastry soy milk (or milk of your choice) to glaze Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook onions, garlic and red capsicum with oregano, cumin, chilli and salt for a few minutes, until softened and fragrant. Add the black beans, tomato paste and water, then simmer for 5 minutes. Use a potato masher to roughly mash some of the mixture, to create a thick but chunky texture. Stir through the frozen corn and cook for a few more minutes. Add a squeeze of lime or lemon and taste to adjust seasoning if needed. Preheat oven to 200°C fan bake. Cut 11–12cm circles from pastry sheets (I cut around a small bowl turned upside down). Fill each pasty with about a tablespoon of filling (avoid overfilling), lightly moisten one edge, fold in half to close, then crimp the edges together with a fork. Brush the pastry with the milk of your choice. Prick each pasty with a fork a few times to let out steam. Bake for 20–25 minutes, until pastry is deep golden brown. Makes 12–16 pasties.

Amber Bremner Quite Good Food www.quitegoodfood.co.nz Amber Bremner is the author of popular plant based food blog Quite Good Food. A champion for cooking and eating food that makes you feel good, she believes small changes in the way we approach food have the power to make a difference.

Wholesome plant-based meals delivered to any doorstep in New Zealand

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SUMMER BODIES ARE

Made in Winter WORDS EMILY DISCOMBE | IMAGES ASHLEE DECAIRES

NOURISH | FITNESS

Exercise is something that needs to be a year-round habit for best overall health results. However, with dull days, cold temperatures and shorter daylight hours, we can be less inclined to workout and instead end up snug on the couch!

3. Boost Your Immune System

Consistent workouts strengthen your immune system, important during our cold and flu season. Plus, working out outside allows you to avoid the germs inside a gym or health facility!

4. Enjoy Some Comfort Food

HERE ARE MY TOP 5 REASONS TO STAY ACTIVE OVER THESE COLDER MONTHS:

Yes, with winter and colder months, casserole, pasta and baked desserts tend to be more popular. They are also loaded with extra calories. I'm big on all things in moderation, but if you have done your workout that day, then you can enjoy some of these foods guilt-free, knowing exercise has helped earn it for you.

1. You Burn More Calories!

5. Summer Bodies Are Made In Winter

Yes, you read correctly! Your body actually burns more calories to regulate its core temperature if you are out exercising in the cold. So go put your coat and scarf on and get that walk done!

Yes, this is such a cliché, but it is true. Changing our bodies takes time and consistency, so staying on track with exercise and clean eating in winter plays a huge role in your body shape long term!

2.. Beat The Winter Blues

The winter season has less sun, which means we absorb less vitamin D from the sun. This can be linked to depression. Research shows exercise can help improve your mood by releasing your “feelgood” endorphins, serotonin and dopamine.

Emily Discombe | Fast Fit PT | Fastfitpt.com Emily Discombe, owner of Fast Fit PT, is on a mission to help people create healthier lifestyles through fitness and health. Fast Fit PT is about creating a community environment where everyone feels comfortable. Various trainers and flexible session times, days and locations mean you can fit exercise in with your life while being part of a community where everyone is set up to succeed. Each season Emily shares some of her tips with Nourish readers so if you have a question for Emily or would like to find out more about Fast Fit PT send an email to emily@fastfitpt.com

FOR THE ultimate CHEESE TOASTIE! With our award winning cheeses, proudly made in the Waikato.

A VA I L A B L E A T A L L G O O D C H E E S E S T O R E S  

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C he

t a H f

Andrew Clarke e the Greenlea Butcher Shop RECIPES ANDREW CLARKE | IMAGES JEREMY WARD

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RECIPES

Award winning chef Andrew Clarke has teamed up with the Greenlea Butcher Shop to create some delicious meals you can enjoy at home. The Greenlea Butcher Shop delivers premium export quality beef, lamb and venison direct to your door, and the partnership with Andrew, one of the Waikato’s leading chefs was a natural one, says Julie McDade, Greenlea Meats Business Development Manager. Currently executive chef at Camarosa in Newstead, Andrew has a list of awards to his name including two hats from Cuisine Magazine. Armed with some of Andrew’s recipes and restaurant quality meat you too can enjoy world class food at yours. Here is just a taste. For more recipes go to www.greenleabutcher.co.nz

THAI BEEF SALAD c COCONUT GREEN NAM JIM 2 x large Greenlea sirloin steaks

SALAD

FOR THE MARINADE:

1 avocado

Blend all marinade ingredients together and pour over steaks. Allow to marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature.

NAM JIM

½ packet vermicelli rice noodles

150ml lime juice

¼ cup Thai basil

3 cloves garlic

½ cup coriander

2 bunches whole coriander

¼ cup Vietnamese mint

1½ green chillies

½ fresh coconut, shaved

200g palm sugar

4 spring onions

2cm galangal

1 lime leaf

2 tbsp fish sauce

¼ cup mint

water from 1 coconut

½ cucumber

FOR THE NAM JIM:

250g mung bean sprouts

Blend together all ingredients.

MARINADE

½ punnet cherry tomatoes

3 cloves garlic

¼ cup roasted peanuts, crushed

2cm ginger

2 tbsp pickled ginger

4 tbsp soy sauce 2cm lemongrass 2 tbsp sesame oil 1 tbsp palm sugar

Place rice noodles in a heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for 15 minutes, drain and refresh in cold water, drain again. Extract coconut water (one of the three holes in the coconut is soft and can be stabbed with a screwdriver to release liquid). Reserve the liquid. Crack open the coconut, remove the flesh from the shell and shave with a peeler.

FOR THE SALAD: Split the cucumber and remove seeds with a spoon, thinly slice on an angle. Pick and wash all herbs, and drain well. Thinly slice pickled ginger, julienne lime leaf as fine as possible, halve cherry tomatoes, thinly slice spring onion (diagonally on a long angle) and mix together with herbs, cucumber, mung beans, crushed peanuts, diced avocado, noodles and coconut. Remove the steaks from marinade and sear or grill over a medium to high heat, around 2 minutes each side depending on your grill. Cook to medium-rare, being careful not to burn the marinade. Leave on a wire rack to rest for 5 minutes. Slice the beef into 3mm thick strips and add to the salad. Dress with the Nam Jim dressing and serve immediately.

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GREENLEA BEEF SCHNITZEL c DILL & AVOCADO SLAW roughly chopped

DRESSING

1kg plain flour

3 tbsp dill, roughly chopped

In a small bowl combine all ingredients and season to taste.

3 eggs

4 tbsp pickles

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp capers

SLAW

½ tsp black pepper

1 avocado

Blanch the green beans for 1 minute in boiling salted water, refresh in iced water, drain and split each bean lengthways. Shred the cabbage as thinly as possible (we used a mandolin). Place in a large bowl with the beans.

1kg Greenlea beef schnitzel

1 tbsp onion powder DRESSING CRUMB

1 cup mayonnaise

1½ cups panko breadcrumbs

1 tbsp sugar

4 tbsp sunflower seeds

1 tsp horseradish

4 tbsp sesame seeds 4 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Slice and rinse the shallots with cold water, drain well and add to the cabbage mixture along with the thinly sliced spring onion, celery, dill, parsley, capers, pickles and chunks of avocado. Lightly toss the salad together. Pour over half of the dressing and mix it in, only giving it a couple of turns as to not drown the slaw.

2 tbsp chopped dill ½ cup Tatua sour cream

4 tbsp poppy seeds SLAW 100g green beans

CRUMB Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

SCHNITZEL

¼ green cabbage

Mix salt, pepper, onion powder and flour together in a large bowl.

2 shallots, sliced into thin rings

Whisk together eggs and line up three bowls on your bench: one with flour mix, one with egg and one with seeded crumb. Coat each schnitzel with the flour mix, then the egg and finally the seeded crumb mixture. Try to avoid getting egg mix into the crumb as it will go lumpy and not coat evenly.

2 spring onions 1 stick celery 2 tbsp flat parsley,

The schnitzel is now ready to cook. It can be pan fried over a medium to high heat for around 1½ minutes on each side, oven baked at 200oC for around 15 minutes until golden brown, or deep fried for 1½ minutes. Serve with slaw and extra dill sauce on the side.

Note - I used McClure’s sweet and spicy pickles.

Lovingly Fermented in the Waikato Waikato’s only producers of Sauerkraut, Kimchi & Zesta Fermented Pesto. Find us at Farmers' Markets, local retailers or shop online

www.goodbugs.co.nz

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

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Wild Kinship WORDS VICKI RAVLICH-HORAN | IMAGE ERIN CAVE

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“Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens have the power to change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead This is a quote Monique Hemmingson used to set the scene for her book Wild Kinship. “Margaret Mead wrote this before the 1980s,” says Monique. “Thirty years later I had it tattooed on the inside of my arm, and in the ten years since I’ve constantly been reminded and re-educated of its unwavering truth, be that in a positive or negative light.” The name may ring a bell. Monique lives in Papamoa Beach with her husband James, their daughter Lulu Bloom and dog Remy and a few years ago started Wild One Wholefood Café in Mount Maunganui. It is here the inspiration for the book came. She was inspired by the range of forwardthinking, conscious small business models she’d come in contact with during this venture and realised they had an important story to tell. If there is ever a time for us to change the world it is now. And it is those with an entrepreneurial spirit, those that have had their world rocked so dramatically by the last few months that are in a position to do the changing. Monique will probably say the release of her book hit some bad timing, but I think it may be just the message we need right now.

Wild Kinship is a frank yet inspiring, intimate collection of conversations with the best in conscious small business. Meet industry leaders who are forging a new path and changing the world in their wake, from tiny-home builders, permaculture growers and muesli bar creators to ceramic jewellers and coffee bean roasters. Wild Kinship defies the normal business model and looks at different industries where positive change is being made in the form of simple pleasures like your morning cup of joe. While it highlights conscious enterprises, Monique hopes it will inspire the consumers. “I hope that within these pages you and I can find practical ways to become better. I hope that through this we might understand our power as a consumer and how to channel it.”

REVIEW

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” - Jane Goodall

A powerful point made from Thames locals Yotam and Niva Fay of Pakaraka Permaculture when they point out “anything that’s cheap is so because someone else has paid the price”. Wild Kinship is a book about life and love, about our communities, our livelihoods and how to find both balance and success personally, by nurturing the wellness of the world around us. So be inspired by this beautiful book and the 27 stories of people forging a new path. Published by Beatnik, released 11 May 2020. RRP $60.00, beatnikshop.com

THE NEW KIWI IN TOWN FRESH, DELICIOUS FOOD & COFFEE EVERY DAY PLUS TAKE HOME DINNERS TO GO!

10 Te Kanawa Street, Otorohanga | fatkiwicafe.co.nz |

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PAGE 63 | WWW.NOURISHMAGAZINE.CO.NZ

FRENCH FARE RECIPES WAYNE GOOD | IMAGES ASHLEE DECAIRES

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Every winter Wayne whisks a small group of lucky travellers off to sunny France. They explore quaint French villages, peruse markets, take in the sights, the history and most importantly the wonderful cuisine.

MAGRET DE CANARD A LA FIGUES

Just because our travel plans have been restricted doesn’t mean you can’t explore the world in your kitchen, so Wayne has put together a fine French meal you can enjoy at home. We recommend going and talking to Brigid and the team at La Cave in Hamilton where you can pick up the Duck breasts, fig jam and a good quality balsamic vinegar. While there you can also grab a beautiful bottle of Burgundy to match. La Cave specialises in fabulous imported French food so you can go all out and start the meal with a gooey French cheese or perhaps a crusty bread slathered in foie gras.

2 oranges, juice and zest

RECIPES

Serves 6

2 tbsp seasoned flour 6 boneless duck breasts 2 tbsp olive oil 6 tbsp fig balsamic vinegar* 3 tbsp fig jam 400ml red wine 1 small onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, diced salt and pepper to taste cream (optional) Preheat your oven to 200°C. Heat a frypan and add a little oil. Make 3 cuts on the skin side of the duck breasts to just below the skin. Dust with the seasoned flour and place skin side into the hot pan and cook until brown. Turn and place into the oven for about 5 minutes. (Duck breast should be served quite rare. If this doesn’t appeal, leave in the oven for a few minutes longer.) Remove from the oven, cover with foil and set aside to keep warm. Drain all but about 1 tbsp of the fat in your pan and place the pan onto your hob.

Wayne Good is a chef, interior designer and travel guide. Renowned for his hospitality, Wayne’s cooking classes and tours of France are hot tickets! Discover more at www.arkanda.co.nz

The Herbal Dispensary ph. 07 825 7444 6 Wallis Street, Raglan theherbaldispensaryraglan.co.nz Mon to Sat 9am-5pm Sun 10am - 5pm

Add the onion and sauté until clear, then add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the vinegar, jam, orange juice and zest, and wine. Reduce by half. Finally add a good splash of cream and further reduce the sauce. The sauce should be the consistency of thickened cream. Check the seasoning. Place the duck breasts onto a serving platter and pour over the sauce. Serve immediately. (I would serve this with potatoes cooked in duck fat and beans sautéed with garlic and butter). * If you can’t find this a good quality balsamic vinegar will do

organic, local fruit & vegetables fresh juices & vege boxes fresh bread, free range eggs seeds, seedlings & soil bulk foods & refiller y ointments, balms & tonics herbal tonics, handcrafted tea blends

PAGE 65 | WWW.NOURISHMAGAZINE.CO.NZ

ILES FLOTTANTES (FLOATING ISLANDS) 4 eggs, separated ½ tbsp cornflour 90g caster sugar 125ml milk

To make the sugar syrup, place the sugar and water into a pan and place onto the hob. Stir while heating, until the sugar dissolves, until boiling. Allow to boil until it starts to turn a light caramel colour.

In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites with the remaining sugar until stiff. Fill a large, wide pan with water, place onto the hob and bring to a simmer.

Set aside.

Put tablespoons of meringue mixture, a few at a time, into the simmering water, and gently poach for about 5 minutes, turning once.

toasted flaked almonds and the zest of an orange to garnish.

Cream the egg yolks and cornflour with a third of the caster sugar.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Set aside to cool.

Caramelised Sugar Syrup

Place the milk, cream and vanilla essence into a pan. Place onto the hob and bring to just under the boil.

To serve, pour a little of the caramel sauce into each serving dish, topping with the custard.

Pour the hot liquid over the egg mixture, whisking all the time. Place back onto a low heat, until the mixture thickens to the consistency of double cream. Add the orange water and set aside.

Carefully top with two meringues and finally the toasted almonds and orange zest.

315ml cream 1 tsp vanilla essence 1 tbsp orange water**

½ cup caster sugar ½ cup water

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Serve immediately. ** Available at La Cave

07 838 2825 | 0272 349 560 yolanda@yolanda-innervisions.com

ww.yolanda-innervisions.com