Nourish BOP winter 2023

EDITOR Vicki Ravlich-Horan

HEAD DESIGNER Sara Cameron, Minted Design Co.

PROOF READER Nikki Crutchley (Crucial Corrections)

CONTRIBUTORS Denise Irvine, Emma Galloway, Amber Bremner, Liz French, Lynda Hallinan, Kathy Paterson, Harriet Boucher, Fiona Hugues, Rachel Baillie, David Wrigley, Vicki Ravlich-Horan

COVER IMAGE Brydie Thompson

PHOTOGRAPHERS Brydie Thompson, Ashlee DeCaires, Emma Galloway, Amber Bremner, Kathy Paterson, Fiona Hugues, Vicki Ravlich-Horan

ISSN 2324-4372 (Print) | ISSN 2324-4380 (Online)

ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES

Vicki Ravlich-Horan vicki@nourishmagazine.co.nz 0210651537

by Simon Wright

Here's to Winter

As I write this it is raining outside. Not exactly groundbreaking news, I know, as it has felt like it has been raining since last spring. The consolation, as I am warming myself beside the fire with a coffee, is I am also scoffing my face with cake. It was a cake I dug out of the freezer and slapped some chocolate ganache on. I really wasn’t that excited about the cake, as it had been slowly dying in the freezer for over six months, a leftover from one of the many shoots we had in spring for our cookbook. Food waste is always on our minds, as recipe testing and shoots all produce a lot of food. Much is given away, some is put in the freezer and anything that can’t be eaten is either sent to the worm farm or put out to be picked up by the council food scrap collection. On page 17 you can read what happens to the food waste that is collected each week by Tauranga City Council.

Back to my neglected pre-frozen cake, which turns out is delicious! I know I shouldn’t be surprised, it’s the basic vanilla cake in our latest cookbook. It’s a recipe, like many in the book, we love to cook; a foundation recipe you can turn into so many more. But it turns out it is just as good after many months in the freezer with little more than a bit of chocky icing.

This quarter has been an exciting one here at Nourish HQ, with the cookbook arriving. I also jetted off to Mexico for a couple of weeks. You can read more about this and a tour we are taking next year in the spring issue.

Harriet’s been testing beef bourguignon recipes which is possibly why my freezer is overflowing. Read her story and discover the end

results on page 40. On page 36 we highlight cauliflower, including some tasty morsels which may even please the nugget loving kids in your household.

Back to cake, on page 59 Emma Galloway has a beauty made with kūmara. And on page 49 Fiona Hugues praises parsnips.

The sun was shining when we headed up to beautiful Opito Bay earlier this year to meet Perry and Erin from Opito Bay Salt. Read about their journey to create award winning New Zealand sea salt on page 8. On page 67 we also meet the ladies from the Heritage Trading Company, a new space in Cambridge that you have to check out!

This winter we are running the Matariki Dish Challenge in Rotorua for the second year. This is a great excuse to rediscover Rotorua and some of its great eateries, including last year’s winners –Ambrosia. Read more about them on page 14.

Happy reading and here’s hoping the rain stops. And if not, can it at least be filled with cake!

Vicki Ravlich-Horan Editor

MARCH 2024

Keen to join us for two weeks in Mexico discovering there is more to this vast country than tequila and tacos?

Email vicki@nourishmagazine.co.nz to be the first to get all the details.

QUICK PICKS

If you’re looking for an excuse to visit Picnicka in Downtown Tauranga again, mark Tuesday night in your diary for their $29 Steak and Chips deal. I also hear their Family Sunday Roast beats doing the dishes on the weekend.

Also on a Sunday night, July 9 to be exact is Solera’s innovative quiz night. This quiz is the type of quiz I can get excited about. Forget the sports or geography questions, this one’s all about the wine. While you enjoy a six-course dinner, you will be asked to guess the paired masked wines. Check out their social for more details and how to book.

ROTORUA MATARIKI DISH CHALLENGE

Back for its second year in Rotorua, the Matariki Dish Challenge celebrates local while highlighting this wonderful time of year. It’s also the perfect opportunity to visit Rotorua and discover some of their wonderful eateries.

Follow the action on social @matarikidishchallenge or go to the website for details on the eateries.

www.matarikidishchallenge.co.nz

THORNE GROUP SHOW HOME

If you are contemplating building a new home then the Thorne Group show home is a must-see.

Located at 15 Montiicola Drive, Papamoa, this home has wow-factor! In a nod to its Palm Springs location, the home exudes a mid-century, California vibe. Featuring multiple glass stacker doors, soft curved walls with cedar panelling and a central atrium garden – the home welcomes the outdoors in.

Use of eco-friendly materials combined with solar generation with battery storage and a design that optimises passive solar gain, ensures energy efficiency all year round.

www.thornegroup.co.nz

NEWS BITES

The team at The General Mount Maunganui recently took over what was Maude at The Lakes, creating The General Lakes. The Trading Post in Paengaroa also have new owners and has been transformed from a French bistro to The Trading Post Osteria Italiana.

NOURISH THE COOKBOOK, VOL 2 – OUT NOW

It’s out and we are so excited! This is the book we know will stay in your kitchen, as it is filled with the recipes we love to cook. Available on our website and some wonderful local stockists, we are also working on a few events. We will be at the Tauranga Farmers Market on the 24th of June and Falls Retreat on the 30th of July. Check out the Events page on p. 74 for more details on these.

We also think the cookbook will make a great fundraiser, so if you have a school, charity or group looking to raise some money, email vicki@ nourishmagazine.co.nz for details.

RRP$59 | www.nourishmagazine.co.nz

READ BROS HARDWARE GO ONLINE

Read Bros Hardware in Thames is legendary. From its humble beginnings in 1867, the store continues to evolve and move with the times. Their new in-store department called Forage features an eclectic hand selected kitchenware range as well as renowned brands Bakemaster and Bodum. The upcoming launch of their refreshed website and online store means now you no longer need to visit Thames to enjoy Read Bros magic. Nicola Read says there is something for everyone on their new online store. “We have a select range of products available, whether cooking, DIY or gardening is your thing.”

www.readbros.co.nz

FALLS RETREAT PADDOCK TO PLATE DINING EXPERIENCE

This winter experience an intimate dinner at Falls Retreat. Imagine it! With the fire roaring you’ll take your seat at the table to enjoy a carefully crafted four-course meal using seasonal, organic produce from Falls’ very own veggie gardens and local artisan suppliers. If you like, choose the wine pairing with each course (75ml serves ensuring driving home won’t be a problem). What better way to spend a winter’s night with friends?

For a limited time only. 6.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays from Friday 21 July to Saturday 26 August.

$125pp includes welcome drink and four courses. Wine matches available to buy on the night for $49pp.

With just 20 spaces each night bookings are essential!

fallsretreat.co.nz

OPITO BAY SALT

WORDS DAVID WRIGLEY | IMAGES BRYDIE THOMPSON

Salt has been a vital part of human civilization throughout history, valued as a means of preserving food and enhancing flavour. Like wine, it has long been associated with a sense of place. Solnitsata, the oldest known town in Europe, was built around a salt producing facility. The port of Liverpool grew from a sleepy village into a global powerhouse because of its proximity to the Cheshire salt mines. The Polish Empire rose and fell with the fortunes of the rock salt on which its wealth depended.

Today, salt is plentiful and cheap. It is a mass-produced product, usually iodized to prevent caking (thus Cerebos salt’s famous ‘see how it runs’ slogan, reflecting the ease with which it could be poured). But not all salts are created equal, and the best salt today is capable of enhancing and elevating food with a near-magical alchemy. The best salt also speaks of the place from which it was harvested and the people who carefully extract it from the ocean or the earth.

Opito Bay is a special place. It lies 40kms from Whitianga on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula and 15km from the nearest shop. According to Sustainable Coastlines, Opito Bay is one of the three cleanest beaches in New Zealand. Perry Cornish, co-founder of the Opito Bay Salt Company, refers to it as his “happy hunting ground”.

Perry and his business partner Erin Mone hatched the idea of starting a salt making venture in Perry’s Grey Lynn kitchen while enthusing over an artisan salt that Erin had procured. Perry was already cooking with Himalayan salt at home, but he saw this artisanal sea salt as a step beyond that in terms of flavour and texture.

The Opito Bay Salt Company was born.

Erin, an Irish ex-pat, was working in corporate finance at the time having spent years operating a cinema chain in Ireland. Perry came from a marketing and advertising background and had lived in Europe for many years. At the time he was also working in finance in Auckland. His father was John Cornish, the well-known chef and charcutier, so Perry always had brine in the blood.

After several months experimenting with salt-making out the back of Perry’s bach at Opito Bay, the pair packed in their corporate jobs and moved to the Coromandel fulltime. At which time the country went into its very first Covid lockdown.

During lockdown Erin and Perry continued to experiment with making salt and built their first full-sized greenhouse to aid with the evaporation of seawater. Using the sun to gently evaporate seawater (as opposed to boiling) was not only kind to the environment but also retained the trace minerals that are so integral to the salt’s flavour and health benefits.

The pair discovered that their salt was made up of 6% trace minerals compared with only 1% in most sea salts. That meant less sodium (bad) and more flavour and health-giving minerals (good). This purity and mineral wealth sets Opito Bay Salt apart, not only from bog-standard table salt, but also the majority of artisan salt makers around the world.

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With the importance of the ocean and the beach to the business, Perry sees it as vital to look after their environment as much as possible. With the sun doing most of the work, the business is mostly carbon neutral. Their pumps are electric to minimise fuel usage. They have worked hard to make sure their packaging is as sustainable as possible and have installed permeable weed matting on the floors of their greenhouses so that the main byproduct of the salt-making process, pure water, is returned to the earth.

Perry and Erin are enthusiastic about blending their sea salt with the finest ingredients New Zealand (and ideally Coromandel) has to offer. Their range has featured black garlic, smoked chilli, black truffle, rosemary, dry gin (for all your venison needs), as well as seasoning blends like furikake (with Coromandel kelp) and a delicious sazon. Wherever possible they will use local products and even, in the case of the rosemary salt, grow the produce themselves, with the help of a homemade seaweed fertiliser from the same beach they draw their seawater.

Artisan salt is still a fairly new concept to many New Zealanders, and it can be a challenge to convince people that it is worth the extra money to go beyond the see-how-it-runs blandness of iodized table salt. That’s why you can find Erin and Perry at farmer’s markets around the upper North Island most weekends. For Perry, getting people to try the product is the best marketing available.

“It’s a different experience to whatever salt you may have had before,” he says. It’s not just the flavour of the salt but also the texture. When seasoning a steak, for example, a finer marine salt will quickly be absorbed into the meat, but “different sized particles give you a crunch,” says Perry. “A flavour explosion.”

Numerous gold medals from the Outstanding New Zealand Food Producer Awards and Artisan Food Awards confirm what Perry and Erin already know: that Opito Bay Salt is a special product that will enhance the cooking of any home chef. The challenge now is to get their salt into New Zealand kitchens and eventually, to the kitchens of the world.

DAVID WRIGLEY

David is a freelance writer based in Cambridge. His work has appeared in publications such as The Guardian and Noble Rot. He is a veteran of over 20 years in the London restaurant scene.

OPITO BAY ALWAYS IN SEASON

RECIPES HARRIET BOUCHER | IMAGES BRYDIE THOMPSON

PORK AND FURIKAKE WONTON SOUP

SERVES 3–4

This punchy winter broth is both quick and easy to make. The use of Opito Bay Salt Co’s furikake rounds out the Japanese inspired soup and you’ll finish the bowl feeling nourished and warm.

FOR THE BROTH

2 litres of good quality chicken stock/broth

¼ cup miso (available at Vetro)

5cm thumb ginger, sliced

1 tbsp soy sauce

10 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

FOR THE WONTONS

200g pork mince

1 tbsp Opito Bay furikake

1cm ginger, finely grated

1 tsp soy sauce

15-20 large wonton pastry sheets (available from Vetro)

TO FINISH

1–2 carrots, julienned

2 bok choy, sliced extra furikake to garnish

Place the chicken stock, miso, ginger, soy sauce, and shiitake mushrooms in a large pot. Very slowly bring the mix to the boil while you make the wontons. Don’t rush this, allow the flavours to infuse.

To make the wontons, mix the mince, furikake, grated ginger and soy sauce together. Lay a piece of wonton pastry out, then add a small spoonful of mince in the middle. Brush 2 edges with water, then fold the unbrushed edges over to match the brushed edges. Pinch the pastry together to ensure its airtight. At this point you can pinch the pastry in a concertina fashion to create a bunched look, using a little water to help seal it, or leave them as is.

Once the broth is boiling, discard the ginger slices, then add the wontons and boil for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, add the carrot and bok choy and bring back to the boil, before dividing amongst bowls. Garnish the soup with extra furikake before serving.

OPITO BAY SAZÓN

WEDGES

Opito Bay Salt Co’s sazón is a taste of Mexico and Central America. We love using it on wedges, so the flavour shines through. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

cup plain flour

3 tbsp Opito Bay sazón

2 tsp Opito Bay Sea Salt

1kg of scrubbed Agria potatoes, cut into wedges. neutral oil (rice bran, sunflower etc)

1 tbsp sazón

Par boil the wedges in salted water until they are just starting to soften, but not fully cooked. Strain in a colander and allow to drain thoroughly. You want them to be as dry as possible.

Mix the flour, 3 tbsp of sazón and salt together. Tip the wedges back into the pot they were cooked in, sprinkle over the sazón/flour mix, put the lid on and shake the pot gently to coat the wedges and rough up the edges.

Arrange on a tray in one layer (use two trays if needed – don’t over crowd them). Sparingly drizzle with a neutral oil. You don’t want to overdo it, or they will be soggy. Bake in a preheated oven at 220°C for 30 minutes or until crispy. Turn the wedges halfway through. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tbsp of sazón when they come out of the oven and toss to coat before serving.

THE SWEET SUCCESS OF

Ambrosia

At a young age, Kris Beehre was told not to play with his food, but now “that’s what I do for a living”, he says, laughing, as we talk about the rich history of his Ambrosia Restaurant and Bar.

Ambrosia sits among the hustle and bustle of Eat Street in Rotorua. You wouldn’t know it, but it’s one of the oldest licenced restaurants in New Zealand, opening in 1954 as ‘B-B-Que’, owned by Charlie Pihira. Kris says there’s an original menu hidden somewhere in a filing cabinet. On it a T-bone steak is just 20 cents!

Over its almost 70 years in business, the restaurant site has only had three owners. Herbie and Annette Sewell took over from Charlie in 1984, where they changed the name to ‘Herb’s Place’. In 2009, Kris and his parents, Mary and Ron Beehre, took over the reins. Kris’s mate Mikey came up with the name over a few beers. “In Greek and Roman mythology, it means ‘Food of the Gods’, I’m told.”

Kris is the head chef, Ron takes care of accounts and maintenance and Mary has taken a managerial role. Kris’s partner Jess isn’t involved in the day-to-day, but she has the “patience of a saint”. As for his kids, Avaani is in the kitchen gaining experience and learning a trade, which will perhaps lead to the new generation in charge.

Kris has a thing for culinary history, having worked in London’s oldest restaurant, Rules (circa 1798), before moving back to Rotorua when his son was a baby. He wanted to be his own boss, there were a few options at that time in Rotorua, but when he caught wind of the Eat Street plans, he knew Ambrosia was the one.

As a youngster in Rotorua, Kris remembers thinking Herb’s Place was “really fancy with its French doors”; however, he never ate there until he owned it. It was a bit run-down when he and his parents took over: they replaced the floors, put in bifold windows, and built the deck out front. The covered roof came with the Eat Street development.

Kris has created a family feeling among his staff. He dreamed of having a “relaxed, cool culture” and it has paid off, as four of his small team have been with him for more than five years. I met souschef Daniel Gainsford, who has been at Ambrosia for seven years. Daniel is proud that the kitchen team makes everything from scratch, including their breads and pasta. There was the tempting aroma of rewena bread fresh out of the oven, music blasting and lots of laughs.

While Kris is currently head chef, he’s had others in the role in the past, which allows him to focus on the business. “The head chef is

like a steel and all the chefs are the knives,” he says. “You sharpen your knowledge from the head chef.”

The food is Ambrosia’s point of difference, the menu shaped by each chef’s experience. Currently you’ll find a Mediterranean/ Turkish influence from chef Unsal Yigit, who has been teaching the team about use of spices. “I think that’s the thing with food, you have to be progressive and keep evolving,” Kris says.

Ambrosia is a family friendly restaurant. The menu changes twice yearly but there are weekly specials to keep the creative spark alive and the regulars happy. “You can come here and get steak and chips or toss the other side of the coin and get duck sausage roll with potato mousseline and wild cranberry sauce.”

Some other choices include the Canterbury lamb rump with caramelised beetroot, balsamic onion and parsnip wafer (which I’m told is very popular); the low ‘n’ slow Asian style pork belly; and the funky fungi burger. There’s a breakfast menu for the weekends, but you’ll find tempting options for lunch and dinner seven days a week.

The one thing that hasn’t changed since the restaurant opened is, of course, the Ambrosia dessert: Kris’s take on it is described as strawberry mousse, marshmallow, Greek yoghurt, mixed berry compote, woven sugar basket and berry coulis. Understandably, it’s a customer favourite.

You’ll find local ingredients wherever possible on the menu. “If you spend locally, they get to know you and that favour is returned,” Kris says. “Look after people who look after you.” Ambrosia uses Lux Organics, Rotorua Truffles, Kai Rotorua’s kūmara and there are regular visits to the local farmer’s market for seasonal inspiration.

Kris is a keen gardener himself, growing pink oyster and shiitake mushrooms, lettuces, herbs and potatoes. When there are extras, you’ll find his homegrown produce on your dinner plate.

Kris has won multiple awards over the 14 years of his family’s Ambrosia ownership, with the most recent being the Matariki Dish Challenge Champion in 2022. He’s been working on this year’s entry for over a month. He won’t share too much but paua dumplings with marmite consommé is on the cards. “Marmite is a secret weapon.” And he’s been playing with a venison rack (clearly still ignoring the childhood advice about not playing with his food).

New Dessert Menu

But First Dessert have just released their new plated dessert menu, with the most delicious seasonal flavours.

Indulge in their Yuzu Panna Cotta, or perhaps the Crème Brûlée that’s topped with poached pear and pistachio biscotti. Whatever kind of dessert you’re looking for, there’s something for you at But First Dessert!

Owning a restaurant for 14 years is no mean feat, says Kris: “It’s a rollercoaster of fun and stress. You get pockets of bliss and pockets of despair, but the pockets of bliss keep us going. We’re just glad that we’re still here after everything that’s been thrown at us.”

Ambrosia and its predecessors have been feeding the hungry and thirsty in Rotorua since 1954, so it is certainly doing something right!

Ambrosia Restaurant and Bar 1096 Tutanekai Street, Rotorua ambrosiarotorua.co.nz

Visit us in store: 6/109 Devonport Road, Tauranga- Access via Elizabeth Street www.butfirstdessert.co.nz @butfirstdessertnz

WASTE NOT

WORDS

Food waste is a huge problem! The problem does not lie in the sheer waste – and the many layers in which waste happens when food doesn’t end up getting eaten (like the waste of resources to grow, store and transport food; the waste of money spent to buy it). The real problem lies in the fallacy that

because food is compostable there is no harm sending it to landfill.

When you throw that banana skin or stale bread out and it ends up in landfill, it doesn’t decompose as nature designed. Instead, starved of oxygen, it breaks down anaerobically, producing methane, a greenhouse gas 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide. One-third of the world’s food goes to waste, contributing to 8-10% of the world’s emissions, which are expressed in carbon dioxide equivalents. If food waste was a country, it would be the third highest emitting country behind the US and China.

Tackling food waste has a big impact and it is a lot less complex than recycling, easier than taking public transport and cheaper than installing solar panels. It’s something we can all do and if you live in Tauranga City, it’s as simple as putting out your food scraps bin each week to be picked up.

In July 2021, Tauranga City Council implemented a new kerbside collection system which included weekly pick up of household food scraps. “Since the launch of the new collections,” Dan Smith, Manager Sustainability & Waste from Tauranga City Council, says, “We’ve almost halved the amount of household waste going to landfill and reduced the amount of food scraps in our rubbish bins each year by a quarter.”

Just over 3 million kilograms of food scraps were collected in the first year of the new service alone!

According to emissions factors provided by the Ministry for the Environment, if this amount of food scraps had gone to a landfill designed to capture as many emissions as possible, it would still have released 350% more emissions than when sending these food scraps for composting through the new food scraps collections. Even landfills with emissions capture technology in place still release a significant amount of emissions into the atmosphere. That 3,000 tonnes of food scraps collected would produce an estimated 1,823 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents if put into landfill.

By contrast, composting the food scraps would only produce 521 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents, a reduction of nearly 72%. The avoided emissions are equivalent to eliminating nearly 5 million kilometres being driven by a standard private vehicle.

Dan points out that alternatives to landfill are always going to be positive.

SO WHAT HAPPENS TO THAT BANANA SKIN WHEN YOU PUT IT IN THE FOOD SCRAPS BIN INSTEAD OF IN THE RED RUBBISH BIN?

Keeping a compost station on your kitchen bench and emptying it every day or two (or in the freezer during the hot months) is a great way to ensure everyone in the family is putting their food scraps in the right place. This could be as simple as an icecream container with a lid.

Each week, these bins are collected by a fleet of state-of-the-art trucks.

From here, the food scraps make their way to Enviro NZ’s composting facility in Hampton Downs. Their team uses a number of methods to process the food scraps into compost, which produces significantly less methane emissions than landfilling, and gives the food scraps a second more useful life as nutrient-rich compost.

This rich compost is then used to nurture plants and produce more food right here in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato. This is nature’s original recycling system.

Picked up by our friendly collection truck drivers — the unsung heroes of the new service.

Composting me helps grow more food for you to eat!

It only takes me 3-4 weeks to be transformed into compost!

Flavours a Plenty IN LOCAL CHALLENGE

WORDS VICKI RAVLICH-HORAN

This autumn, local eateries were challenged to create a winning dish inspired by beautiful local Bay of Plenty produce. Twelve eateries from around the region took up the Plates of Plenty Challenge, receiving a box containing local mushrooms from Fat Guy Fungi, El Jefe Meats sausages, Small Batch chocolate hazelnut butter, Ohiwa Black Diamonds truffle salt, limoncello from Distillerie Deinlein, chillies from Bay Tropics, and Kaimai Eggs, and were tasked with using at least three of the items to create a bespoke dish for the festival.

Oscar Nathan, general manager at Tourism Bay of Plenty, says the challenge is designed to establish and encourage beneficial partnerships between the region’s innovative foodie producers and respected hospitality businesses.

“We were impressed,” Oscar says, “with the creativity and culinary skills displayed by all 12 of the eateries that entered, and it was great to garner the support of the seven local producers who enthusiastically submitted their best ingredients during the challenge.”

Papamoa café Pearl Kitchen received almost a third of all the public votes cast to claim the People’s Choice Award. Their dish featured a bacon and maple scotch egg served with a sautéed mushroom medley, truffle mushroom foam, crispy potato, rocoto romesco, and a Parmigiano and madeira jus.

Pearl Kitchen head chef Nigel Reid says they sold about 400 servings of the dish throughout the 10–day Flavours of Plenty Festival (24 March – 2 April).

“We really thought about the ingredients in the Plates of Plenty Challenge box and wanted to represent them well. Scotch egg was perfect for our breakfast/lunch demographic – and who doesn’t love a scotch egg!”

Meanwhile, Alma Eatery in Ōmokoroa caught the attention of the Plates of Plenty Challenge expert panel, earning the Judge’s

Alma Eatery's Rosica Kriska prepares their prizewinning dish

Alma Eatery - Fagottini con funghi e tartufo dish

Choice Award for its fagottini con funghi e tartufo.

Their dish, featuring pyramid-shaped pasta stuffed with mushrooms, Grana Padano cheese, ricotta and herbs, served with truffle butter consisting of roasted hazelnuts, sliced truffle, pekepeke-kiore, and truffle salt, made one judge note: “It was dancing on my palate.”

Alma Eatery co-owner and head chef Marco Velickovic says his whole team helped perfect the dish before its release. “It means a lot that people within the hospitality sector recognise what we’re doing. The dish sold out most days [during the festival]. We’re even planning to add the dish to our menu, going forward.”

Keep up to date with local producers and eateries, as well as plans for the next Flavours of Plenty Festival, at flavoursofplentyfestival.com.

Pearl Kitchen - Nigel Reid and Tanesha Horsburgh

Pearl Kitchen - Pearl's Scotch Egg dish

Confit de Canard

RECIPE WAYNE GOOD | IMAGES ASHLEE DECAIRES

I have just returned from a very overdue visit to Europe, taking in France of course, as well as Spain and Portugal.

One of my all-time favourite things to eat in France, other than foie gras, is confit de canard, or twice cooked duck. Available here in cans from Vetro Hamilton, and very good too, it is actually very easy to prepare your own. It does, however, require a process of three days from beginning to consuming.

Confit is made using the leg/thigh and wings; however, I use the leg/thigh, also known as the Maryland. This is also available from Vetro or La Cave.

Confit de canard is an extremely old way of preparing and preserving duck for the winter in France. The duck was prepared as I am going to explain, then it was placed into large pottery jars, sealed with duck fat and placed into the cellar for the winter months.

CONFIT DE CANARD

6 duck legs (available from Vetro)

1 tbsp salt

2 tsp herbes de Provence (available from Vetro) freshly ground pepper

Day 1: Mix together the salt, herbes de Provence and a good grinding of pepper, then sprinkle all over the duck legs. Place the duck legs into a ceramic dish, cover and place into the fridge for 24 hours.

Day 2: Preheat the oven to 150°C fan bake.

Remove the duck from the fridge and place it into a cast iron Dutch oven or a good heavy covered oven dish. Cook for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the duck is very tender. Once tender, allow to cool at room temperature, then place into the fridge overnight.

Wine Match

with Brigid from La Cave

Day 3: Heat the oven to 200°C fan bake. Carefully remove the duck from the dish, taking as much of the fat off as you can without damaging the duck. Place onto a roasting pan and into the oven.

Roast until the skin is golden, sizzling and spitting.

Use the duck fat to roast the most amazing Agria potatoes to have with the duck.

FOR AN EASY SAUCE, I DO THE

50g butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, diced

FOLLOWING:

2 tbsp Bonne Maman Fig Conserve (available from Vetro)

¼ cup red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a small pan and add the onion. Sauté until clear.

Add the garlic, fig conserve and red wine vinegar.

Cook and reduce to a glaze consistency. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with the duck, crunchy potatoes and steamed green beans. You can’t get any more French than this.

Bon appétit.

Wayne Good

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

Brigid from La Cave says the best match for duck is a Burgundy and would go for the Victor Berard Bourgogne 2020. Pinot Noir grapes make this wine have aromas of red fruits like blackcurrant and gooseberry. The palate is ripe with rich tannins and aromas of spices. Her other recommendation would be a classic Chateaneuf du Pape. Victor Berard Chateauneuf du Pape 2016 contains Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault grapes. A rich ruby colour with intense aromas of dried spices , herbs and flowers, this is a bold but well balanced wine.

Available at La Cave, 51a Riverlea Road, Hamilton www.lacave.co.nz

YOU SAY TREE TOMATOES I SAY

Tamarillos

At their peak from June until August these egg-shaped tangy fruit are a winter highlight, and their relatively short season means you can gorge yourself silly then politely move on.

To eat raw, cut in half (cross section) and scoop out the flesh with a teaspoon. If you are lucky enough to have more than will keep in a fruit bowl, they are easily frozen, but remove skins first.

SMALL BATCH PICKLED TAMARILLOS

Pickle tamarillos ahead of time, as they are best eaten after two weeks of being submerged in the pickling liquid.

MAKES 1 LARGE JAR

3 whole cloves

½ small cinnamon stick

2.5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

500ml red wine vinegar

1 cup sugar

a pinch of flaky salt

pared rind of 1 small orange, lemon or lime

8 red tamarillos

To prepare the tamarillos, make a cross in the skin at the tip of each tamarillo and blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove and plunge into a bowl of cold water. Peel away the skins and cut off stems. Cut in half lengthwise and put into a large sterilised jar or divide between two smaller sterilised jars, if you prefer.

Put the cloves, cinnamon stick, ginger, red wine vinegar, sugar, salt and citrus rind into a saucepan and slowly bring up to the boil. Simmer gently for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to mingle then remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Pour the cooled pickling mixture over the prepared tamarillos until they are submerged and screw on the lid. Keep in the fridge and store for 2 weeks before eating.

OVEN-ROASTED PORK SHOULDER

SERVES 6

1 tbsp olive oil

1 carrot, 1 onion, 1 stick celery, peeled and diced

4 fresh bay leaves or 2 dried bay leaves

1.7kg boned and tied pork shoulder, skin scored for crackling, at room temperature

2 tsp fennel seeds

3 tsp flaky sea salt

finely grated zest of 1 lemon or lime

500ml chicken stock

Heat the oven to 240°C.

Put the olive oil, carrot, onion, celery and bay leaves in a covered roasting dish. Sit the pork amongst the vegetables, skin side up. Grind the fennel seeds and salt together until you have a fine powder. Add the lemon or lime zest, then rub over the skin of the pork and inside the scored skin. Pour the stock around the pork, cover and put in the oven for 30 minutes.

Lower the oven temperature to 190°C and continue to roast the pork for a further 2 hours until tender but not dry.

Remove the pork from the oven and put on a warmed plate. Turn the oven to grill. Cut the crackling away from the meat and put in a shallow roasting tray. Cover the pork so it keeps warm.

RUSTIC TAMARILLO AND APPLE TART

Apple balances the intense flavour of tamarillos with the citrus zest adding subtle fragrance. Served with a scoop of ice cream or dollops of whipped cream makes this tart simply irresistible.

I like to prepare the tamarillos ahead so they have plenty of time to sweeten up a bit. You can leave them in the fridge, well covered, overnight or during the day. It speeds up the preparation time too.

SERVES 6

PASTRY

180g plain flour

150g cold butter, diced

90g sour cream (not lite)

milk or melted butter, for brushing

1 tbsp caster sugar

FILLING

6 red tamarillos

¼ cup caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp

2 large cooking apples (I used Granny Smith) finely grated zest of 1 small lemon or 1 lime

To prepare the tamarillos, make a cross in the skin at the tip of each tamarillo and blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove and plunge into a bowl of cold water. Peel away the skins and remove the stalks. Cut in half then into quarters lengthwise and put on a large plate. Scatter the ¼ cup caster sugar over the cut fruit and leave to macerate.

Peel, cut into quarters and core the apples then slice each quarter into 3–4 slices. Put into a bowl as you go, sprinkling with 1 tbsp caster sugar and the grated zest. Toss gently to ensure the apple slices are coated in sugar. Set aside while you make the pastry.

To make the pastry, put the flour with a pinch of salt into a food processor and pulse once or twice to sift the flour. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Dollop over the sour cream and again pulse until the pastry begins to very roughly come together. Tip out onto a lightly floured bench and bring together in a ball then flatten. Roll the pastry out into a round (about 30cm in diameter), to fit a lightly floured standard oven tray.

You can roll the pastry out on the oven tray if you find that easier than transferring it.

Arrange the apples on the pastry, leaving a 5cm border around the edges. Arrange the tamarillos on top (leave any collected juices behind as these will make the pastry soggy during cooking). Gather up the pastry, to form a border, pleating as you go, but being careful not to tear the pastry to minimise juices leaking during baking. Brush the pastry border with milk or melted butter and sprinkle over the 1 tbsp of caster sugar.

Put into the fridge to rest the pastry and firm up while you heat the oven to 190°C.

Remove from the fridge and put in the oven to bake for 40–45 minutes until the pastry is well browned and crisp.

Tip – During the cooler months you can work with this food processor pastry straight away – there is no need to chill before rolling. In fact you don’t want it too firm otherwise it can tear when pleating.

Kathy Paterson

Kathy Paterson is a recipe developer, food stylist and photographer. A plentiful herb garden and a trial and error vegetable garden give Kathy the starting place for her recipes along with her love of the classics with a modern twist.

www.kathypaterson.co.nz

Family fun in Singapore

WORDS & IMAGES VICKI RAVLICH-HORAN

WHERE

A tropical island in South-east Asia, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, Singapore has long been a strategic port due to its position. A natural meeting point of sea routes, the city flourished as a trading post for vessels, resulting in it being the largest port in Southeast Asia and one of the busiest in the world.

WHEN

Located just one degree north of the equator, Singapore has a year-round tropical climate rather than defined seasons. Warm and humid is the norm year-round with rain almost an everyday phenomenon.

With this in mind, any time of the year is a good time to visit Singapore, just pack a light weight rain jacket!

WHY

At just 710 square kilometres and with a population of five million people, Singapore jams a lot into a small space and this means you can too. But sensational Singapore deserves more than a quick stopover!

On route to Penang last year, Zoe and I spent four days in Singapore, only just scratching the surface. And while many are drawn to the shopping, I can say we didn’t step inside a mall once, even if the air conditioned reprieve would have been nice.

In addition to it being a natural stopover point for Kiwis travelling to Asia, America or Europe, Singapore also offers a chance to discover a bustling big city, experience a number of cultures, eat amazing food, enjoy some thrills and much more.

FOOD

As we drive from the airport to our hotel, our taxi driver points out the sights – the monolith building shaped like a boat that is Marina

Bay Sands, the glass sail-like domes of the Botanical Gardens and the ArtScience Museum shaped like a lotus flower. Other than a trip to the top of Marina Bay, none of the sights our driver points out are on our packed itinerary. To ensure I am on the right track, I ask, “What’s the best thing to do in Singapore?” The immediate and emphatic response I get back is “Eat” – and we switch to a more entertaining conversation than architecture.

With 49 Michelin starred restaurants on this island you can definitely experience some high end cuisine that lives up to Singapore’s reputation for being expensive. But eating is one of the cheap things you can do in Singapore, so my advice is to forget the fancy restaurants and head to one of the many hawker centres.

We started at Chinatown and the Chinatown Food Centre, which has a wet market below with some of the best hawker food above. It is here you will find Hawker Chan, one of two Singaporean hawker stalls to gain a Michelin star in 2016. The soy sauce chicken is now famous and despite losing the star in 2021, the lines of tourists continue.

They may not have Michelin stars, but there are hundreds of other options. To narrow your choices down, look out for those with queues of locals, like those you will find outside Zhong Guo La Mian Xiao Long Bao for their hand made xiao long bao and la mian with fried bean sauce.

You know a vendor is good if they only serve one dish and Old Amoy Chendol are this, serving only chendol, an icy treat made with freshly pressed coconut milk, gula melaka syrup poured over a mountain of shaved ice and topped with red beans and pandan jelly.

Just over a kilometre from the Chinatown Food Centre is Singapore’s largest hawker centre, Maxwell Food Centre. Here you will find one of the must try Singaporean dishes, Hainanese chicken rice. Arguably the best (and according to Anthony Bourdain) is at Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice.

The walk between the two food centres is a great chance to walk off a few calories as well as discover some more culinary delights. Zoe’s was a rainbow ball of candy floss from a vending machine. Mine, while not an experience I’d like to repeat, was trying durian.

My first visit to Singapore twenty-plus years ago as a backpacker had me splurge by enjoying a Singapore Sling and satay at Raffles Hotel. This iconic hotel was where the Singapore Sling was invented and while I couldn’t afford to stay there, I could soak up the experience. On this trip this theory led us to Marina Bay Sands CÉ LA VI bar. Here the Singapore Sling came with eyewatering prices along with eyewatering views from the 57th floor of this modern landmark of Singapore.

WHAT

While my food obsession is only heightened when I travel, the seven-year-old with me would be happy with a bowl of plain rice –compromise is the key! Luckily for us Singapore offers a long list of things to see and do and not just eat.

On our first day, in addition to learning the subway or MRT system, we explored Sentosa Island. Sentosa is a resort island connected to Singapore by road, cable car and monorail. We bought a day pass and used the cable car for a scenic way to get to and see the island. Here you have a choice of a number of attractions from Madame Tussauds to zip lining, beach time or bungy jumping.

We narrowed down our adventures to the S.E.A Aquarium, before heading to Universal Studios and then on to Adventure Cove Waterpark. While all three were great fun, and we could have spent more time at them all, hands down the best was the Adventure Cove Waterpark.

We were here to get up close and personal with dolphins and after donning wetsuits and learning a bit more about these marvellous mammals, we jumped in the pool to be kissed, splashed and have an amazing up-close experience with them. On a high from the dolphins, we headed deeper into the water park to discover a whole lot more fun, including the Riptide Rocket, which is described as a water coaster.

The perfect spot to end your day is at Siloso Beach, which comes alight with a light show each night at 7.30, that is if nature’s lightning show doesn’t show up first.

Like many cities, a great way to get the lay of the land, see and learn lots is in one of the open air hop on hop off buses. Just watch the clouds above before you race to the top level, unless experiencing a Singapore shower is on your list.

On our last day we headed to Singapore Zoo. To get there you can catch the MRT to Khatib Station, where you can then catch the Mandai Shuttle for $1. Singapore Zoo is huge, so plan to be there all day and remember to pack the kids’ togs as there is a water park in the middle to cool off.

For us the zoo came with another unforgettable up close and personal experience with wildlife when a wild long-tailed macaque jumped on Zoe and tried to steal her ice cream. What ensued was a tense stand off between protective but terrified mamma and a crafty wild creature! We were luckily saved by some passing keepers whose job it is to mitigate the interactions between visitors and these free roaming wild monkeys. If you have more time, check out the neighbouring parks, Mandai River Park and Wildlife Park.

TIP – Sentosa Island is pretty much cashless, so make sure you have a credit or debit card that will work.

Chope – a pocket size packet of tissues – is essential in Singapore, especially in hawker centres where the tissues double as the perfect bagsing symbol and tool to clean up. Before ordering your meal, first find a spare seat. By placing your packet of tissues on your spot you can confidently head off to order knowing your seat will be there when you return.

CARROTS

WORDS LYNDA HALLINAN

If Mastermind was still on the telly, carrots could be my specialist subject. Their history is fascinating.

Native to Iran, ancient herbalists originally grew these humble vegetables for their aromatic seeds rather than their scrawny roots, which originally came in shades of purple, white and yellow. Legend has it that nationalist Dutch horticulturists selectively bred them orange to honour William of Orange, though the truth may simply be that apricot-coloured carrots were more aesthetically pleasing and thus more profitable.

We all know carrots are the favourite snack of a wise-cracking, wascally wabbit, but did you know that Bugs Bunny was inspired by Clark Gable's Oscar-winning carrot-peeling performance in the 1934 film, It Happened One Night? Or that Elmer Fudd's favourite crop is also to blame for many a pet bunny with an upset tummy? While cartoon cottontails happily chomp on carrots, the roots are actually too sweet for rabbits’ digestive systems.

“Let them eat carrot cake,” said Marie Antoinette. Or at least she could have, for King Louis XVI's chef Antoine Beauvilliers is credited with its invention. Fun fact: A Canadian bakery boasts the Guinness World Record for the biggest carrot cake ever baked, a 2,075kg slab with half a tonne of grated carrots in its batter.

An American grower currently holds the record for the heaviest carrot (10.17kg), while a British gardener grew the longest, measuring 6.245m. (Fancy a crack at the record? I once interviewed a competitive Welsh giant veg grower who told me the trick to producing prize-winning carrots, radishes and parsnips is to fill lengths of PVC downpipe with a mix of sand, peat and compost, sow a single seed on top, then drench weekly with liquid fertiliser.)

A decade ago, I sowed 26 varieties of carrots in a trial for NZ Gardener magazine. The pick of the crop was ‘Majestic Red’ (Yates Seeds), though the heirloom ‘Rainbow Blend’ (Kings Seeds) was the most beautiful.

Pacifica’s Pick

With up to 2,000 seeds per packet – that’s 50 carrots for as little as 10c if you sow with care – carrots are one of the best value vegetables to grow at home. Just don't eat them all at once, as overdosing on beta-carotene does indeed turn your palms and the soles of your feet orange, a condition known as carotenemia.

HOW TO GROW CARROTS

As idioms, carrots are dangled enticingly, likened to peas, compared to red hair and paired with sticks as a method of motivation. However, sticks or stones, lumps, bumps or any other barriers in the soil won't persuade your carrots to stay on the straight and narrow, for this is one crop where soil cultivation is key.

Prepare for sowing by digging deeply and thoroughly, then space the seeds 3–5cm apart along the seed trenches to save time thinning later. Or intersow with a quick crop of radishes.

If carrot rust fly is a problem, sow rows of onions or plant garlic between your carrots. The scent helps deter this low-flying pest. Sowing in raised beds higher than 45cm also puts them off. Carrots are frost-hardy. Dig as required; storing them in the soil keeps them fresh for up to six months.

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, free-range chooks, kunekune pig and thieving pukekos. She has an expansive organic vegetable garden and orchards and is a madkeen pickler and preserver.

During winter when colour is scarce, vibrant pansies and violas are a great option to brighten up your garden. Bright and happy flowers with a wide choice of colours and styles available, they fill a hanging basket or border with their beautiful faces. Plant mixed seedlings or one colour for extra impact – position in full sun or part shade. Remove spent blooms to encourage further flowering and they will continue to give pleasure for many months. From personal experience, I can recommend the Antique shades for longevity. And don’t forget – they are edible so can be used as garnish for salads and sweets! Janet (Pacifica Home and Garden Store, 112 Tara Road, Papamoa)

THE EVOLUTION OF Cauliflower

For years cauliflower was dismissed as a bland side dish with little to offer in terms of taste or nutrition. In recent years, that idea has been flipped on its head, and today cauliflower is a celebrated superfood, popping up on menus and in cookbooks around the country. Let’s take a closer look at the transformation from forgotten vegetable to musthave ingredient.

Cauliflower first arrived in New Zealand from European settlers in the early 19th century. It began as a luxury vegetable grown mainly in the Auckland and Wellington regions, but by the 1920s, it became widely available, finding its way onto the plates of everyday Kiwis.

The vegetable belongs to the Brassica family which includes broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and kale. Celebrated for their health benefits, Brassicas are high in fibre, low in calories, and rich in nutrients. They also contain phytochemicals which reduce the risk of chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease. But that impressive nutrient profile is wasted if nobody wants to eat them! Cauliflower used to be something you had to choke down. The vegetable would often be steamed or boiled to within an inch of its life and, if you were lucky, smothered in a rich cheese sauce. Cauliflower was little more than a side dish served with roasts during winter; something to endure until the weather warmed up and it could be swapped out for a garden salad.

Luckily, as New Zealand’s culinary landscape becomes more diverse, our understanding of what to do with this humble vegetable has evolved. By looking overseas, Kiwis have discovered that cauliflower is a much more versatile vegetable than we thought. In India, it is a key ingredient in aloo gobi, while in Israel,

it is often roasted and served with tahini sauce and pomegranate seeds. It can be used as an alternative to cabbage in a Korean kimchi, and often finds its way into French gratins.

Two things become clear when we study how cauliflower is treated abroad. First, the boiling needs to stop! Not only does this destroy the texture, but the excessive heat also damages many of the nutrients. Instead, cauliflower comes to life when roasted, fried, and pickled which not only tastes better, but is healthier, too. The other lesson is that it needs to be paired with flavourful ingredients like spices, herbs, garlic, chilli, and lemon zest. Being mild and absorbent means cauliflower can carry and complement bolder flavours for a well-balanced dish.

Recently, cauliflower has been noticed by health food advocates, becoming a popular low-carbohydrate substitute for rice, potato, and pasta. It’s not uncommon to see cauliflower rice, cauliflower macaroni cheese, or a cauliflower pizza base on the pages of a health food cookbook or on a café menu.

While cauliflower was once relegated to the role of boring side dish, its newfound popularity has turned it into a star ingredient. Join the cauliflower revolution and discover how this modest vegetable can be transformed into a delicious and healthy dish that will impress even the pickiest eaters.

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.

WORDS RACHEL HART

12 TH JUNE -16 TH JULY

We challenged local eateries to celebrate local and Matariki this winter. Go and try what they came up with!

FIND PARTICIPATING EATERIES AT matarikidishchallenge.co.nz

My Cauli!

RECIPES HARRIET BOUCHER & VICKI RAVLICH-HORAN IMAGES

DECAIRES

Curry Cauliflower Soup

Cauliflower continues to be the darling of the vegetable world. Steamed with some cheese sauce is no longer the pinnacle of a cauliflower’s culinary delight. And while I draw the line when it comes to turning them into pizza, there is more to this beautiful brassica than steaming or boiling. Harriet’s Nuggets are a great example, and I am positive you and the kids will love them!

In the summer cauliflower makes a great salad, both raw and roasted. But for the winter months a soup or curry are just what is needed.

I love making a big batch of soup every weekend and either freezing it in portions or having it for week-day lunches. This curry cauliflower soup will be on repeat this winter in my household!

1 large onion, sliced

1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

3cm thumb of ginger, finely grated (about 2 tbsp)

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

3 tsp garam masala

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

½ tsp turmeric

1 whole cauliflower

500g Agria potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 litre vegetable stock

1 can coconut cream or milk

1–2 tsp brown sugar

2–3 tbsp lime juice

Cut the cauliflower in half. Cut one half into small florets and set the other half aside while you start on the soup. In a deep pot, heat a splash of neutral oil over a medium heat and fry the onion until soft and turning golden. Add in the red chilli, ginger, garlic and spices and stir until fragrant. Add in the cauliflower florets and stir to coat before adding in the potatoes, tomatoes and vegetable stock. Slowly bring to a boil and simmer until the cauliflower and potato are completely soft.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

While the soup is cooking, slice the remaining cauli half into thin, bite sized pieces. Arrange in one layer on an oven tray and sprinkle with salt, pepper and a pinch of turmeric and paprika for colour. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven for 20–25 minutes or until the cauli is golden and cooked through.

Blitz the soup mix with a stick blender until smooth. Return to a low heat and add in the coconut cream along with brown sugar, salt, pepper, and the lime juice to taste.

Stir through the roasted cauliflower pieces before serving.

Satay Roast Cauliflower

I love this satay sauce and often slather it over a whole chicken before roasting, so I knew it would work for cauliflower too. It’s a quick and easy way to make a warming curry-like meal, where you can alter the heat levels to suit by the curry paste you use.

This dish is also vegan and gluten free.

1 bunch fresh coriander, stalks included

1 cup roasted peanuts

2 tbsp Thai red or yellow curry paste juice of 2 limes

2 tbsp soy sauce

¼ cup sweet chilli sauce

2 tbsp brown sugar

1cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 lemongrass stalk (white part only), bruised (or if you can’t get fresh 1 tsp of drained lemon grass from a jar)

2–3 kaffir lime leaves

1 cup coconut cream

1 cauliflower

1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed. extra coriander and peanuts for garnish

Put the coriander, peanuts, curry paste, lime juice, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, sugar, ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and coconut cream in a food processor and whizz until smooth.

Cut the cauliflower into florets and mix through the satay sauce along with the chickpeas.

Lay everything out on a large baking tray and bake at 200°C for 30–45 minutes. You want a little char and the cauliflower to be cooked but not mushy.

Serve garnished with some extra coriander and peanuts along with some rice or naan bread.

Cauliflower Nuggets

If you’ve been looking for a way to get the kids to eat cauliflower, this is it. These cauliflower nuggets are easy to whip up and go with almost any dipping sauce you can imagine. If serving as a canapé for adults, try a blue cheese sauce or a herby mayo.

450–500g of cauliflower vegetable stock

1 egg

¾ cup panko

¼ tsp white pepper

½ tsp salt

½ cup parmesan cheese

¼ cup flour

1 egg, whisked

1 cup breadcrumbs or panko

¼ cup finely grated parmesan (use a microplane if you have one)

Cut the cauliflower into florets, then place into a pot and cover with vegetable stock (you can also use chicken stock or water).

Bring the cauli to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes or until the cauli is starting to soften but still has a bit

of bite to it – don’t overcook!

Drain over a sieve for 5 minutes to ensure all excess water has drained, then place into a blender or food processor. Blitz the cauli together with the egg, panko, pepper, salt and parmesan cheese. Allow the mix to cool completely in the fridge so it firms up. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Once the mix is cool, shape into bite sized balls and flatten slightly. Mix the breadcrumbs together with the second lot of parmesan. Crumb the nuggets by coating in the flour, then dip into the egg, then coat in the breadcrumb/parmesan mix. Place on a lined tray and drizzle with a neutral oil. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow the nuggets to rest for a few minutes, then serve with your favourite dipping sauce.

HARRIET’S HOW TO

Beef Bourguignon

My earliest memories of beef bourguignon weren’t fond, as it was full of mushrooms and onions, which my younger self couldn’t get on board with. You’ll be pleased to know my palate has matured and it’s now a dish I crave every winter.

Le Creuset signature round casserole available at simplydivinekitchen.co.nz

WORDS HARRIET BOUCHER | IMAGES ASHLEE DECAIRES

Beef bourguignon is a hearty beef stew that features red wine from the burgundy region as one of its key ingredients. The beef should be meltingly tender, the sauce rich and thick and it should be laced with succulent onions. While each recipe differs slightly, this is one of those classics where if it’s fiddled with too much, it’s no longer a beef bourguignon.

In the early 1900s, Auguste Escoffier published his beef bourguignon recipe and it soon became a staple on many menus in France, London and New York. Julia Child helped secure this as one of the most iconic French dishes, recognised worldwide. A typical beef bourguignon recipe would see beef (and sometimes bacon) being browned in a pan, followed by a mix of carrot and onion. The beef (and bacon) is then added back in, coated in flour and browned for a few minutes before a bottle of red wine, stock, tomato paste, garlic and herbs are added in. It’s then slow cooked for a few hours until tender. During this time, pickling onions are cooked in one way or another and button mushrooms are sautéed to be added at the end.

JULIA CHILD

Was there even a question as to whether I would test this recipe out? Julia Child’s recipe would be one of, if not the most famous beef bourguignon recipe on the planet. Bizarrely, it starts by simmering bacon lardons for 10 minutes, before frying them in a casserole dish. Since most recipes would be based off hers, the rest of the method is as explained above. Julia’s onions are browned in a pan, then covered in beef stock and simmered until meltingly tender.

The onions in this stew were the hero for me. They carried an intense beefy flavour that encapsulated what a beef bourguignon should taste like. I do wonder though, why can’t they be browned in a pan and then cooked in with the beef for the last 40 minutes of cooking time? Simmering the bacon stripped it of its flavour, so I wouldn’t do this in my own recipe. I used chuck steak that was cut into relatively large chunks. It wasn’t a very fatty piece of meat, so I found it on the dry side which is always heart-breaking after the effort that goes in.

ALICE STOREY, THE GOURMET TRAVELLER

Gourmet Traveller contributor Alice Storey’s beef bourguignon sparked my interest as the cooking time was only 1 hour, 45 minutes, which seemed far too quick for the beef to fall apart. She uses a 300g piece of speck in lieu of bacon. The speck fat rendered out beautifully, which I then browned the flour-coated beef in. Unlike Julia’s recipe, there are no carrots or sliced onion that gets cooked in with the beef, so the ingredient list is minimal. Alice’s pickling onions are browned off in the speck fat, then set aside until the last 40 minutes of cooking, where they’re added in along with the speck.

After the 1 hour, 45 minute mark the beef was nowhere near tender and it took two hours longer to cook than the recipe suggested. I used beef rump, which dried out slightly like the chuck steak, but it was falling apart by the end. The onions were only meant to cook for 40 minutes but instead spent 2 hours, 45 minutes cooking while I waited for the beef to tenderise. In this time, the onion flavour was lost. The sauce was thin and there wasn’t any instruction to thicken it, so the recipe felt a bit unfinished.

BARNEY DESMAZERY, BBC GOOD FOOD

Good Food contributor Barney’s recipe marinates the beef in

red wine that has been torched to burn the alcohol off, along with garlic, star anise, thyme and bay leaves. He didn’t specify a cut of beef in this recipe, so I used beef cheek. After two days of marinating, the beef is browned off and braised in the marinating liquid, along with sauteed onion, carrot and celery. The bacon and pickling onions are fried off together and added in the end, followed by sautéed mushrooms.

This recipe started off strong with the intense marinading process, but I feel like it finished weak. The lack of effort put into the pickling onions let the dish down and it was missing depth of flavour from the bacon and mushrooms. The sauce itself, however, was surprisingly light and sweet for what’s usually a heavy stew and it had a strong red wine flavour which is key to a good beef bourguignon. The beef cheek was succulent, the marinating process being worth it.

DIANE HOLUIGUE, THE RECIPE

Diane Holuigue’s beef bourguignon recipe was published in The Recipe by Josh Emmet. The recipe itself was quite vague, and if you hadn’t been on a beef bourguignon spree like me, mistakes would be made. For example, it didn’t specify to brown the beef in batches, but this is a crucial step to ensure the beef gets the caramelised edges, otherwise it turns grey and watery. It also says to braise the beef for two hours, but just like Alice’s recipe, this time frame is nowhere near long enough. The pickling onions were boiled in salted water until softened, then fried in a pan to caramelise, and the bacon was added in at the end of the cooking process, with the mushrooms and onion.

I had used gravy beef, as specified in the recipe, but by the time it was tender the meat itself was quite dry. The flavour had been sucked out of the onions when they were boiled in water. I think if they were boiled in beef stock this would have been a good method to use. This recipe only had 400ml of red wine in it where the other recipes had an entire bottle, but the wine flavour still shone through.

I went into this experiment expecting each recipe to taste noticeably different, but they all tasted relatively similar. Understandable given they all have the same core ingredients! My favourite meat cut/method was from the BBC Good Food recipe, the most flavoursome onions came from Julia Child’s recipe and the best bacon flavour came through in the Gourmet Traveller’s. I preferred the recipes that had carrot in them as it added that extra element of sweetness.

Before finalising my recipe, I jumped on the phone to Nourish contributor and meat expert Kathy Paterson. Kathy advised me that its always best to buy a whole piece of meat, rather than prediced or steaks that you cut further. If meat is much thinner than 3cm cubed, it’ll be more likely to dry out. She loves using cross-cut blade steak, so use that if you can’t find beef cheek like I’ve used in my final recipe. Kathy’s other main advice is to use wine that you would drink yourself. Don’t cheap out, as you can’t hide bad wine!

Harriet

Boucher

Harriet is a Waikato born and raised foodie. She is a chef by trade and has worked in a few popular cafes and restaurants around Hamilton. When she isn’t whipping up treats, you can find her enjoying a walk along the river or dining at her favourite local eateries.

Beef bourguignon is not something that should be rushed. It’s for slow winter weekends, dinner with friends or make a big batch and freeze portions for weeks to come.

1.2–1.5kg beef cheek, each cheek cut into 4–5 pieces

1 garlic bulb, halved

3 sprigs of thyme

2 sprigs of rosemary

2 bay leaves

salt & pepper

1 bottle of pinot noir

1 tbsp neutral oil

250g piece of speck (or use streaky bacon), cut into lardons (available at Vetro)

15 pickling onions, trimmed, peeled and left whole

2 carrots, cut into 2cm chunks

1 onion, roughly chopped

2 celery sticks, roughly chopped

3 tbsp flour

1 tbsp tomato paste

1–2 cups beef stock

30–40g butter

250–300g button mushrooms

Place the beef cheek in a large bowl along with the garlic, herbs, wine and a good grinding of salt and pepper. Allow to marinate for up to 48 hours (overnight will be fine).

Preheat the oven to 150°C.

Place the speck lardons in a heavy bottom casserole dish, turn the heat to medium-high and allow the fat to render out and start to crisp up. Once crisp, remove the speck from the pan, leaving as much of the fat in there as possible.

Wine Recommendations

Victor Berard Bourgogne 2020

Add the pickling onions into the speck fat and cook for 10–15 minutes or until browned all over. Remove from the pan and pop in the fridge for later.

Remove the beef from the wine (don’t throw it out!), and pat dry with paper towels. Brown the beef off in batches in the speck fat, adding a drizzle of neutral oil if needed. This step is important as its where a lot of flavour develops, so ensure the beef is browned on all sides and don’t overcrowd the pan.

Add a splash of oil if needed, then add the carrot, onion and celery to the pot and allow to soften and start to colour, stirring occasionally. Add the beef and speck back into the pot, then sprinkle over the flour. Stir to coat and cook for 1–2 minutes to cook the flour out.

Add the wine, garlic and herbs back into the pot along with the tomato paste and enough beef stock so the meat is just covered. Bring this to a simmer, then place a lid on and pop it in the oven for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. After the two hour mark, place the browned pickling onions in the pot and cook for a further 60–80 minutes. You want the beef to be meltingly tender and the onions soft but holding their shape.

When the beef is nearly finished, sauté the mushrooms in the butter until browned and softened, then stir into the beef.

Once the beef is cooked, check the consistency of the sauce. If it’s quite thin, remove as much sauce as possible into a separate pot and reduce this down until it coats the back of a spoon. Pour the thickened sauce back over the beef.

Serve the beef bourguignon with crusty bread, soft polenta, mashed potato or pasta and steamed greens.

Ruby red colour. Aromas of red fruits like blackcurrant and gooseberry. The palate is ripe with rich tannins and aromas of spices. Available at lacave.co.nz

Labrune et Fils Pinot Noir

Ruby red colour. Aromas of red fruits, vanilla and spices. An elegant and complex palate.

Available at lacave.co.nz

Mathieu Paquet Pinot Noir 2020

Pleasant and delicate with aromas of raspberry and cherry. The palate is fruity, round, with delicious full Pinot Noir flavour.

Available at Vetro Tauranga and Rotorua

Alma Eatery Ōmokoroa

NZ vs France

WORDS RACHEL BAILLIE

I fell in love with Pinot Noir in France. Exploring a French supermarché with baguette, ham and Camembert in hand, I entered the wine aisle to pick up a bottle of red to enjoy. Gone were the labels I was used to. Where was the Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Rosé? Replaced with Chateau de something, Côtes of something else. I picked up a bottle of Vin de Bourgogne and my love affair began.

The French have a strong sense of regionality. Provinces have their own famous dishes, cheese and beverage. Equally, wines are labelled by region and family name. In New Zealand, each wine region is known for upwards of 10 different grape varieties, but vin de Bourgogne (or Burgundy to us anglophiles) has Pinot Noir (red) and Chardonnay (white) and that is it.

Burgundy – in the east of France, south of Champagne – is the ideal region to grow Pinot, with its limestone rich soils and cool climate. The contrast to New Zealand Pinot Noir, however, was almost incomprehensible. That first sip had me reeling. It was enigmatic, contemplative, sexy, earthy. Higher in acid, it was also lighter in colour than I was used to. Somewhat shy, I was left searching for the nuances on the nose. This wine had that little mysterious je ne sais quoi that the French always have. My ‘new world’ palate would never have picked it for a Pinot. And when I say ‘new world’, I’m not meaning our local supermarket.

France is an ‘old world’ winemaking country. Old World includes most European, some North African and some Middle Eastern countries. They're the OGs, the winemaking pioneers. When drinking my first glass of vin de Bourgogne, I could taste the old-world history. I pictured Grandpa hand-picking grapes with a basket on his back.

Rachel Baillie

www.provenancenz.com

Rachel Baillie is a wine aficionado, with 28 years in the beverage industry. Her new business - Provenance Distribution - provides consultancy and world-class service across wine, gin and cider brands.

In New Zealand, as ‘new worlders’ we’re a little bit more laissezfaire. We don’t take ourselves too seriously. This shines through in our renditions of Pinot Noir. Regionality plays a part here too with Marlborough, Martinborough and Waipara having stunning, yet markedly differing, examples. Central Otago though is our most well-known Pinot Noir region.

This chameleon-like, fickle grape is sensitive to even the slightest changes in terroir – where it is grown, what type of soil, sunshine hours and rainfall. In New Zealand, our warm days and cool nights, different soil types (and the fact that we often use cultured yeast to ferment the juice) gives us cleaner, brighter and more fruity wines.

Compared to a Burgundy, Central Pinot is more medium-bodied, fruit forward with silky tannins. Pour it and the aromas jump out and hit you in the face (with kindness of course). There’s no searching for nuances here. Don’t be mistaken, we’re not the poor cousin to our old-world counterpart. The quality is quintessential Kiwi – punching above its weight.

While Burgundy is a wine to have with a meal, we don’t necessarily need baguettes, ham and Camembert to imbibe with the Kiwi version. I now equally love New Zealand Pinot Noir as it can be enjoyed anytime.

WINTER PUDDINGS

“What’s for pudding?” This was always the question asked before we sat down to dinner as children. And while we don’t have pudding every night, there is something nice about ending a meal, often on the weekends, with something sweet. For these recipes I have taken inspiration from in season winter fruit.

RECIPES VICKI RAVLICH-HORAN | IMAGES ASHLEE DECAIRES

LEMON, RHUBARB AND COCONUT CAKE

This cheesecake-like dessert was an instant hit for family Sunday night dinner, so there were no complaints when I had to test it a few more times! Warning, it is big, rich and sweet, which is probably why it was a hit. The tartness of the lemon and rhubarb add a little balance, so if replacing the rhubarb with any other fruit, keep this in mind. Tamarillos work, as would frozen raspberries.

175g butter, softened

1 cup icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla

9 eggs

2 cups desiccated coconut

1½ cups flour

2x 395g tins sweetened condensed milk

1 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 24cm tin and line the bottom and sides with baking paper.

Cream butter, icing sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add one egg and beat until well combined. Fold through coconut and flour until combined.

Press mixture firmly into prepared tin. Bake for 20 minutes in centre of oven. Then allow to cool.

Whisk together the condensed milk, lemon juice and remaining eight eggs then pour over the cooled, cooked base. Add dollops of the rhubarb puree then run a spoon through these to make swirls. Bake at 160°C for a further 35–45 minutes until set.

RHUBARB PUREE

2 cups of chopped rhubarb (around 6 stalks)

3 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp water

Place all ingredients in a small pot and simmer over a low heat for 10–15 minutes or until the rhubarb has broken down into a puree.

CHOCOLATE AND ORANGE BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

Bread and butter puddings have turned rather fancy of late. While rich brioche or croissants do make a delicious pud, there is something to be said for the simplicity of the pudding’s origins and using an inexpensive loaf of white bread, especially for a simple weeknight pudding that screams comfort food.

25g butter, softened

8–10 slices of bread, crusts removed

3 free range eggs

1 cup full fat milk

¼ cup brown sugar

zest of a large orange

½

–¾ cup dark chocolate, chopped

Using some of the butter, grease a small oven-proof dish (approx. 1–1.5 litre in capacity).

Butter each slice of bread and then cut in half on the diagonal to create large triangle pieces.

Layer half these in the dish, sprinkle with the chocolate and then top with the remaining slices of buttered bread.

Whisk eggs, milk, brown sugar and orange zest together and then pour over the bread. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before baking at 180°C for around 25 minutes. The top should be golden but the pudding should still be a little squidgy (that’s a technical term!).

GINGER LOAF WITH PEAR AND BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE

In combination this is a wonderful dessert, but there is nothing stopping you slicing a piece of ginger loaf for afternoon tea or pouring the butterscotch sauce over good old vanilla ice cream.

125g butter

¾ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup flour

1½ tsp ground ginger

1 tsp baking powder

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time, then fold in the dry ingredients. Bake in a greased 24 x 13 cm loaf tin for 20–30 minutes at 180°C.

GINGER POACHED PEARS

2–4 pears

8–10 cm piece of fresh ginger

1 cup sugar

2 cups water

Peel, halve and core the pears. Roughly chop the ginger and place in a saucepan along

with the pears, sugar and water. Cover with a cartouche, which is a fancy name for a lid made from baking paper. No need to go to too much trouble here, simply tear off a piece of baking paper, scrunch it into a ball then unfold enough to fit inside the pot. This will keep the pears from popping up above the water and keep some of the steam in.

Simmer the pears until tender. This will take between 10–20 minutes depending on your pears and how firm they were to begin with. Allow the pears to cool in the syrup.

BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE

50g butter

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup cream

Place all three ingredients in a saucepan. Heat and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring until it becomes a thick, caramel sauce.

IN PRAISE OF PARSNIPS

Back when our dear editor mooted the idea of me creating recipes with parsnips, admittedly I clenched my teeth and winced a little.

It’s hard enough to get my family to eat this anaemic carrotimpersonating veggie let alone convince you lot to love them as well.

On research, darling Aunt Daisy warned to “avoid soft, flabby shrivelled ones – as they’re apt to be pithy and fibrous”, a comment that made my adoration quest suddenly feel rather fruitless. Matters were made considerably worse when purchasing said roots for this shoot, the darling millennial check-out girl, bless her, had to call her supervisor to not only discreetly enquire as to what the hell was in my bag, but also what department to find them in.

Hindrances aside, my case for parsnip appreciation begins with the idea that apparently parsnips contain many positive health

CONFIT PARSNIP ON ROMESCO

Until recently I’ve never really rated confit anything, the thought of all that oil back when I was fancy-free made me cringe. However, this old French way of preserving food has a magical effect on many things and in this instance turns seemingly dreary parsnips into melt in your mouth deliciousness. Served with punchy Romesco sauce and wicked wee pickled currants, she’s a tapas style side dish that steals the show. Serve with crusty bread to scoop up all the bits.

500g skinny parsnips, larger ones halved lengthwise

1 garlic bulb, with the top cut off

2 slices ginger

3 cups olive oil

2 red capsicum, deseeded, halved

3 medium tomatoes, halved

½ cup blanched almonds, lightly toasted

2 slices sourdough bread, crusts removed, torn into pieces.

½ cup sherry vinegar (approx., or red wine vinegar is okay)

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil (approx.)

¹ ³ cup currants

fresh parsley or chervil to serve

Preheat oven to 150°C. Place the parsnips in a oven proof dish large enough to hold them covered in the oil. Add the ginger and garlic bulb and bake for around 30 minutes. Turn them over and return to the oven and continue to cook until soft when pierced with a knife. Set aside in the oil while you prepare the romesco.

Lay the capsicums and tomatoes on a lined baking tray and bake at 190°C for 30 minutes or so until softened and beginning to caramelise.

Place the currants in a small bowl with 2 tbsp sherry vinegar and microwave on high for 1 minute. Set aside to cool.

Place the roasted capsicums and tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor.

Squeeze out the pulp of the cooked garlic bulb from the confit and add to the roasted capsicum. Add the toasted almonds and sourdough. Season. Blend with sherry vinegar and olive oil, adding more vinegar or oil to taste.

Drain parsnips well and reserve oil for another confit. Fry the cooked parsnips in batches over medium heat until golden brown.

Spread the romesco on a serving platter and top with the caramelised confit parsnips. Shower in the pickled currants and lots of flat leaf parsley. Serve on its own with crusty bread or as an accompaniment to roast chicken or whole baked fish.

benefits, including that they may reduce blood cholesterol levels and their high fibre content possibly helps maintain regularity. However, the thought of constipation and awkward doctors check-ups still is not enough to get some of my family to consume them with any vigour at all.

Pleasingly, it’s said the parsnip can be considered the quintessential root vegetable with a flavour that’s complex and earthy and a taste that's difficult to explain. They’re kind of an illegitimate joining of starchy potatoes, sweet carrots and bitter turnips, so compellingly awkward but surprisingly, magnificently delicious when concocted into heart-warming dishes.

Like ‘em or hate ‘em, grimaces and gastric problems aside, I think there’s a lot of humble clever parsnip to love.

Here’s a few of my loved recipes that transform the humble parsnip into swanky dishes that can happily snuggle up on your favourite winter table.

PARSNIP TARTE TATIN

I do love a classy tart for lunch on the weekends, and this pretty little pie of sorts is just the ticket for a dreary winter’s day. Caramelised rounds of soft carrot and parsnip are nestled in a crunchy bed of mustard, crème fraîche and flaky pastry all showered in thyme and creamy chevre. Serve with glasses of bold buttery chardonnay and a bowl of well-seasoned salad leaves dressed in champagne vinegar and olive oil.

500g parsnips & carrots, cut into 2cm slices

3 tbsp butter

1 large clove of garlic, sliced

a sprig of fresh thyme

1 sheet of ready-made flaky pastry, slightly larger than your fry pan (I use Paneton, available at Vetro and La Cave)

2 tbsp whole seed mustard

² ³ cup crème fraîche

100g soft Cherve, crumbled

sprigs of fresh thyme

Place the butter, garlic and thyme in an oven proof fry pan and melt over a low heat. Add the carrots and parsnips and toss to coat. Lay them cut side down, place the lid on and cook over a low heat until they have softened and are beginning to caramelise. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Lay out the pastry and cut a disc 1cm bigger than your fry pan. Combine the crème fraîche and mustard and spread onto the pastry. Flip your pastry mustard side down into the fry pan on top of the parsnips and carrots and tuck in around the edges.

Place the pan in the oven and bake for around 25 minutes until puffed, golden and crisp.

Flip onto a serving plate and sprinkle veggies with crumbled chevre while it’s hot.

Garnish with fresh thyme and serve immediately with a green salad on the side.

WINTER PARSNIP CAKE WITH MAPLE TOASTED ALMONDS

Two decades of being a mother and I am very well experienced in hiding vegetables in all manner of disguises. Even with a house full of teenage kids these days, I’m still fairly apt at getting them all to unwittingly eat their veggies. This cake is no exception and successfully brings me the win I needed to get parsnips across the finish line and happily into their cynical little gobs. Sweet, fluffy spiced cake chocka full of grated parsnip, dressed in lashings of cream cheese icing – good lord it’s delicious … My work here is done.

3 cups grated parsnip

1 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted

4 large free range eggs

2 cups self-raising flour

1 tsp baking soda

1½ cups golden caster sugar

1½ cups vegetable oil

1 tbsp ground cinnamon, with extra to garnish

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground mixed spice

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Grease and line 2 x 24cm spring form cake tins.

Sift and combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a sperate bowl combine the eggs, oil and grated parsnip. Mix dry ingredients into oil mixture until just combined. Divide mixture evenly between the two prepared tins and bake for 35–45 mins until golden and when tested with a skewer it comes out clean. Set aside to cool.

When cool, place one cake on a serving plate, top with half the cream cheese icing. Lay the other cake on top and spread over the remaining icing. Sprinkle over crushed maple almonds and parsnip ribbons to decorate. Sprinkle with a little dusted cinnamon if desired.

Serve in fat wedges with hot cups of tea.

Fiona Hugues

FOR THE CREAM CHEESE ICING

250g cream cheese, room temperature

50g butter, softened

500g icing sugar (approx.)

2–3 tbsp lemon juice

Place the butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer with paddle attachment and beat until smooth and combined. Gradually add the icing sugar in batches with the lemon juice until the icing is smooth and holds soft peaks.

This recipe easily doubles for decadent cakes.

FOR THE MAPLE ALMONDS

2–3 tbsp maple syrup

½ cup slivered almonds

Place almonds in a small bowl, pour over maple syrup and toss to coat well. Bake on a lined tray in a 160°C oven until lightly browned. Set aside and break up/crumble when cooled.

FOR THE PARNSIP RIBBONS

These can be used to top savoury dishes or sweet ones as I have here. I keep mine in an airtight container for a couple of days.

Preheat the oven to 150°C

Using a vegetable peeler, peel parsnips into ribbons (avoid the woody core).

Drizzle with a tiny bit of oil, toss to coat and spread them out in a single layer on a lined baking tray. Season with sea salt, then bake for around 15 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

Award winning food stylist, designer & creative multi-hyphenate Fiona Hugues spent her childhood gallivanting around the Waikato countryside on horse back. After Hillcrest High School, Elam School of Fine Arts took her to Auckland where she has lived ever since and now resides on a rural property with her French husband, their three children & a plethora of animals. She’s an entertaining expert, sourdough coach, art director and gourmand and it’s said in dire circumstances she would possibly trade one of her children for a bottle of Pinot Grigio & a good burrata.

BOTTOMLESS BRUNCH

EVERY SATURDAY BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL

Coffee Conversation

WORDS LIZ FRENCH | IMAGES BRYDIE THOMPSON

If, as café customers, we’ve learnt one thing post Covid, it’s patience. The hospitality industry has been hit hard by a pandemic of staff shortages. Most have signs on their doors advertising for baristas, chefs or wait persons. The government-imposed hoops to jump made acquiring permanent staff from overseas arduous and time consuming.

Many of Excelso’s coffee clients share the frustrations of keeping their businesses afloat and their customers’ needs met with grace and efficiency. Tom Ward, Excelso’s manager, sat down with Mike and Amy from Central Deli to highlight a journey many in the industry will relate to.

FALLING LIKE DOMINOS

If taking over a café in February and having a first child in May was not enough to deal with, the second wave of Covid in 2021 was the real struggle for Central Deli. “One staff member would phone in with Covid, then several others would fall, like dominos,” recalls Mike. “Then, just as they prepared to return to work another family member contracting the virus would keep them home another seven days.” Mike laughs that he thought he had bought a café to manage it, not to cook breakfasts.

Central Deli was lucky in that they were able to retain a full complement of staff throughout the pandemic, but absences and departures required a different approach to management. “When one chef left, we quickly pivoted and trained current staff for the kitchen, working to their strengths and interests,” says Mike. “One of our front-of-house staff expressed a love of baking, so we capitalised on that and extended her job description! Putting a focus on upskilling staff has been a win-win for our business.”

The pandemic also highlighted the importance of creating a team dynamic. “We could not have coped without staff members willing to pitch in when others were away.”

EMPOWERED STAFF

These young owners/managers feel the pandemic has empowered staff to realise their importance in the industry. “People looking for jobs knew they could ask for more because the market was in their favour,” says Mike. “As this was a common occurrence, we showed appreciation for the loyalty of our current staff with significant pay rises for which they were grateful.”

As Mike points out, “To employ someone from overseas you have to sponsor them and guarantee a minimum wage for a set period of time, a big risk for a small business.”

Tom from Excelso identifies with this. After working in the financial industry in London he flew to Australia on his OE, spent all his money, and turned to hospitality to earn more. It made him realise the opportunities in the industry. Yet after moving to New Zealand, it was eight years of relying on visas before the rules suddenly changed in 2021, a result of pandemic employment shortages. Anyone who had lived and worked here three consecutive years was suddenly granted residency. “My relief was tinged with a little bitterness,” he admits. “I am now thrilled to be in a management role in hospitality and will never return to white-collar work.”

THE “ALL BLACKS” OF COFFEE

New Zealand (and we might grudgingly include Australia too) is internationally regarded for the quality of its coffee, the flat

white now a global phenomenon. Kiwi trained baristas are the “All Blacks” of coffee, not only in demand in their own country but sought after overseas. An experienced barista will find the world their oyster.

Mike says he appreciates the input from Excelso in training baristas, in highlighting coffee culture and hospitality in general as a career choice and improving overall standards. Tom adds, “Our barista courses attract young people looking at their future, including high school students. We also encourage those with home machines to perfect the art of making a good coffee.”

Maybe, after reading this conversation, those of us who enjoy a good café coffee regularly should take a moment to appreciate the bravery and tenacity of those who cater to our daily pleasure.

Excelso Coffee

112 Third Ave West, Tauranga

www.excelso.co.nz

Liz French calls her writing deeply superficial as she enjoys creating stories about interesting people, places and property, adventures and animals. Her ample spare time is spent cycling, skiing, walking, reading and haunting cafes. She’s written 35 chapters of her memoir titled “What was I thinking?”

Overnight Success

The jury may be out on whether breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, but I know it’s essential to set myself up for a productive one. And there’s no better time to start breakfast than the night before. It’s a great way to speed up busy mornings and commit to a breakfast that’s a bit more nutritious than something-on-toast.

Carrot Cake Bircher Muesli

Bircher muesli or overnight oats are such an easy way to kickstart a healthier breakfast routine, leaving no excuses for skipping breakfast. Put them in a container or jar and they can even be breakfast on the go. This version includes carrot, apple, sultanas, nuts and seeds, spiced to taste just like carrot cake. Top with a spoonful of yoghurt and you’ll find it edging closer and closer to the real thing. Serves two, or keep the extra portion in the fridge for the next day.

1½ cups almond milk

1 cup rolled oats

½ cup grated carrot

½ cup grated apple

¼ cup sultanas

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp maple syrup

½ tsp natural vanilla extract

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp ground cloves

zest of an orange

To serve (optional): almonds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, orange zest, yoghurt.

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.

The night before, mix all ingredients together well, cover and refrigerate. The next morning, remove from the fridge and give everything a good stir.

Spoon into individual serving bowls, garnish with extra nuts and seeds, a little more orange zest and a spoonful of yoghurt if you like.

ROTORUA 1131 Amohau Street, Rotorua • 07 346 0081

TAURANGA 111 Third Avenue, Tauranga • 07 579 9111

vetro.co.nz

Quality mediterranean products at everyday prices

Buckwheat Pancakes with Tamarillo

Buckwheat is a gluten free seed that’s packed with nutrition. I love to incorporate it in our breakfasts, and this simple pancake recipe would have to be one of the easiest ways. Whole buckwheat (referred to as buckwheat groats) is soaked overnight, before being rinsed and blended with a few more ingredients to make pancake batter. I’ve used aquafaba (the liquid from a can of chickpeas) as an egg replacer, but you can use an egg instead if you prefer. This recipe makes about eight small pancakes so double or triple it if you’re cooking for a horde. Serve with poached tamarillo, maple syrup and yoghurt, or your favourite pancake toppings.

PANCAKES:

1 cup raw buckwheat groats (available from Vetro)

1 cup almond milk (or milk of your choice)

3 tbsp aquafaba

1 tbsp maple syrup

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp natural vanilla extract

1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice or white vinegar)

pinch of salt

coconut oil (or oil of your choice), for frying

TAMARILLO:

4 tamarillos

1–2 tbsp maple syrup (or sweetener of your choice)

TO SERVE:

Maple syrup

Yoghurt

The night before, cover buckwheat groats with plenty of water and set aside to soak. The buckwheat will almost double in volume overnight. The next morning, drain and rinse the buckwheat in a sieve. It’ll be a bit slimy – this is nothing to worry about, it’s just starch released during the soaking process.

Tip buckwheat into a blender, add milk, aquafaba, maple syrup, baking powder, cinnamon, vanilla, vinegar and salt. Blend until smooth.

Cook one-third of a cup quantities of batter in a lightly oiled frying pan over low-medium heat for 1–2 minutes, flipping when the surface appears dry and bubbles are appearing. Cook another minute on the second side, until lightly golden. Serve right away or keep warm in a low oven while you cook the rest. These pancakes are a little more fragile than a typical recipe, so keep them on the small side and treat them with care.

For the poached tamarillo, cut a cross in the bottom of each tamarillo, drop them into boiling water for 1–2 minutes, then drain and run under cold water. The skin will then peel off easily by hand. Roughly chop tamarillos, then add to a saucepan with maple syrup and a splash of water. Simmer for about 10 minutes, until ruby red and syrupy. Serve immediately, or make ahead of time and store in the fridge.

FREE TO BAKE

Gluten-free baking can be daunting to many, but it needn’t be when you have trusty recipes to follow! Here’s two of my favs, which are super easy to make, use simple to find ingredients, are gluten and dairy-free and also absolutely delicious.

RECIPES & IMAGES EMMA GALLOWAY

APPLE, ALMOND + ROSEMARY SYRUP CAKE

This is also really lovely made with pears or figs when in season, in place of the apples.

SERVES 12

1¾ cups ground almonds

½ cup raw caster sugar

½ cup tapioca flour

1 tsp gluten-free baking powder

¼ tsp fine sea salt

2 large free-range eggs

¹⁄³ cup olive oil

¼ cup milk of your choice (I used coconut milk)

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into quarters flaked almonds

ROSEMARY SYRUP

3 tbsp raw caster sugar

juice ½ lemon

2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 24cm round cake tin (line with baking paper if you like, but not totally necessary).

Combine ground almonds and sugar in a large bowl, whisk to combine. Sieve over tapoica flour, baking powder and salt and whisk again.

In another smaller bowl, combine eggs, olive oil, milk and vanilla and whisk well. Pour into dry ingredients and stir to combine. Pour into cake tin. Thinly slice apple quarters, trying your best to keep each quarter together. Arrange sliced apples on top of the cake batter, gently pressing into the batter to slightly submerge. Sprinkle flaked almonds onto any exposed bits of batter and bake 40–45 minutes or until the apples are tender and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside. Combine syrup ingredients with 3 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan, bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer 2–3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Pour or brush over cake. Serve warm or at room temperature. Best eaten within 2 days of making.

CHOCOLATE K MARA CAKE

My long time go-to trick for getting moisture into gluten-free cakes (which are notorious for being dry) is to use fruit or vegetable purees. Here sweet orange kūmara puree not only adds moisture but also a little sweetness too, meaning you can get away with only using a tiny amount of sugar. If you like rich chocolate cakes, you’re gonna love this one.

SERVES 12

1 medium orange (Beauregard)

k mara, peeled and cubed

½ cup raw caster sugar

2 large free-range eggs

½ cup olive oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup coconut milk

½ tsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

½ cup ground almonds

½ cup brown rice flour

¹⁄³ cup cocoa powder

2 tbsp tapioca flour or gluten-free cornflour

1 tsp gluten-free baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp fine sea salt

ICING

170g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

½ cup coconut milk

¼ cup brown rice syrup or maple syrup

Steam k mara until soft, then mash and set aside until cold. This can be done up to 3 days in advance and stored in the fridge. You will need ¾ cup of mashed k mara for this recipe, so use any leftovers or store in the freezer for later use.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 24cm round cake tin (line with baking paper if you like, but not totally necessary).

Using an electric whisk (or a regular one and some arm power!), whisk sugar and eggs until thick and fluffy, drizzle in olive oil and vanilla and whisk to combine. While eggs and sugar are being whisked, combine coconut milk, vinegar/lemon juice and mashed k mara and set aside.

Sieve ground almonds, rice flour, cocoa, tapoica flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl and whisk well to evenly combine. Add half the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and gently fold in. When almost combined, add the k mara mixture and remaining dry ingredients and continue to fold in until evenly mixed. Pour batter into prepared cake tin and bake 30–35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside for 5 minutes before removing from the tin and tranferring to a wire rack to cool. Once cake is cool, ice and serve.

To make the icing, combine chopped chocolate, coconut milk and brown rice syrup/maple in a small bowl set over a saucepan of boiling water. Stir until melted, whisking if needed, until smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside 30 minutes or so, stirring occasionally until thickened slightly before using.

Stores in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Emma Galloway

mydarlinglemonthyme.com

@mydarlinglemonthyme

Emma Galloway is a former chef, food photographer and creator of the multiaward winning food blog My Darling Lemon Thyme. She is the author of three cookbooks, her latest book Every Day was released in April 2021. She lives in Raglan with her husband and two children.

F LOORING ANYTHING BUT BO R ING!

WORDS LIZ FRENCH

Hues so vibrant you can almost taste them. Feelings in texture, depth and weight. Looks spanning checks, shapes and florals. 2023 is seeing a resurgence in colour and variety in carpet and vinyl. Gerrand Floorings invite you to express your individuality and inject personality underfoot.

So what’s on the menu at Gerrand?

TWENTY-NINE COLOURS AND COUNTING …

If aubergine and chilli, oranges and greens make you think of food, think again. These are just some of the 29 crafted colour options off the rack in the refreshed Sallee ‘Escape’ collection. The range is a delicious cut-pile available in a hardtwist or plush velour finish in three weights, including an upweighted premium offering.

If the colours off the rack don’t tick the box for you or maybe you want to match or contrast with another interior feature (or even to match your nail polish!) you can also have your Sallee Escape carpet custom and bespoke coloured. This option has a slightly higher price point but no one will have what you have and the impact is breath-taking, plus the enduring value you get in high quality carpet with longevity.

NURTURED BY NATURE

Referencing nature in your home will always stay in fashion. Never has there been such a choice in naturals that feel as soothing as they look. And what is warmer and more natural than wool? The Bremworth Collection Galet creates textured softness in chunky loop pile 100% New Zealand wool finished with a premium felted yarn process. Popular colours sienna, sage and indigo began life as a limited edition but are now design favourites.

Bremworth have also just updated colours in another popular pure wool carpet that may just tempt you to sleep on the floor, such is its sensuousness of crushed velvet. The Charmeuse range has expanded to include the natural hues of clay and woodland.

FLOORS YOU COULD FRAME!

The Feltex Artisan range comes in such wonderful patterns and colours that your flooring can feel like a work of art. From paisley designs to the subtle checks and criss-cross style in neutrals and black and white, this range can make your carpet a talking point without taking over the conversation completely. If you have a space just calling for a bit of a statement, let Feltex bring out the artist in you.

VINYL WITH VIM AND VERVE

The only thing that good old lino has in common with the new generation of designer vinyl options is the retro look, which has seen the return of confident patterns. Amongst the exciting new era of patterns are innovative ways to customise your floors using vinyl. Moduleo Moods creative vinyl floorings not only have 12 floor

patterns but also a range of geometric shapes in complementary colours that can be installed in their own bespoke way. Hard working and wet areas, like kitchens and bathrooms, love vinyl and are often perfect for being bold and making a statement.

YOUR RUG, YOUR WAY

If you don’t want to go full floor with a dramatic statement, floor rugs make a great focal point and ideal for zoning a large room. Most carpets can be made into rugs and can be shaped and sized to suit your needs. There’s a wide choice of edgings to reflect your décor.

Leanne at Gerrand Floorings says she’s thrilled with the new ranges and is delighted that flooring need never be boring. She loves guiding clients through the many choices in the Bay of Plenty’s largest flooring showroom.

Gerrand Floorings

123 Hewletts Road, Mount Maunganui www.gerrandfloorings.co.nz

local

At Thorne Group we subscribe to the old adage that the kitchen is the heart of the home.

Incorporating a kitchen into your home design that encourages family and friends to gather, relax, laugh and share may seem easy but actually takes serious skill and a team of experts to achieve. Working collaboratively from the outset with our awardwinning architectural team, kitchen designers, interior designers and Project Managers, your uniquely designed Thorne Group home will optimise space and deliver the best possible result for your budget.

FOR KITCHEN IDEAS & INSPIRATION SEE www.thornegroup.co.nz

OR VISIT OUR SHOW HOME AT 15 Montiicola Drive, Papamoa

Grand Central

This is such a brilliant idea. You take three women with magpie-like tendencies for finding lovely objects, and the confidence and design skills to turn someone’s chuck-outs into 21st century treasures. You put them together in a store in Cambridge and create a showcase for their handpicked French, English and New Zealand homewares.

This is The Heritage Trading Company, in Cambridge’s landmark Central Hotel on the corner of Empire and Duke Streets, where there is a warm welcome and a dazzling array of old and new china, ceramics, soft furnishings, art, glassware, silver, brass, dressers, chairs, table linen, wool blankets, jewellery, and more, to peruse. “This has always been in my dreams,” says co-owner Jo McIntosh, as customers wind their way through the abundant displays.

The Heritage Trading partners are Jo, Helen Martens and Maria Gascoigne. They run the business as a co-operative, and towards the end of last year they took over Colonial Heritage Antiques – operated on this site by Kenneth Sheldrick and his late wife Beverley for almost 50 years – and folded it into their venture.

Jo, Helen and Maria each have their own brand (and area) within the store. Jo’s is Linen & Stone, dedicated to her love of French furniture, textiles and antiques. She first visited France in 2009, and says she felt like she’d come home. She later discovered that her great-great-grandmother, Adeline d’Oridant, had married a

Frenchman, and was buried in Menton, in south-east France. Jo later visited Adeline’s grave and has learned more about her ancestral connection.

She has spent endless time in France since then, she owns a house in Chauvigny, near Poitiers, with Australian friends, and runs Bespoke French Village Experience tours alongside Linen & Stone in Cambridge. She’s been in the interiors business for 32 years, starting in Australia and following on with a pop-up store in Cambridge in 2020.

Jo’s area of Heritage Trading offers authentic French brocante (vintage and antique goods) alongside beautiful cushions made to her own design and incorporating old French tapestries and printed linens. There are also printed wall hangings, tablecloths, ceramics, mirrors, throws, hand-made bags, and unique garments.

“I have a special love of textiles, and I’m always on the hunt for things that cannot be found in New Zealand,” she says, whisking a set of exquisitely embroidered tablecloths from the shelf.

Maria Gascoigne’s specialty space, Redeemed Recycled Interiors, has its roots firmly in New Zealand. Her style is rustic farmhouse and she began collecting, restoring and selling vintage items at a barn on the family farm at Roto-o-rangi, near Cambridge.

“The shabbier the better,” she says, as she outlines her love of repurposing and redesigning furniture and other goods, loading her ute with her acquisitions. “I find things at charity shops, garage sales, or I hear about people who are down-sizing and discarding. I have literally rescued things from the dump.”

Maria can turn an old wardrobe into a pantry, a wooden cupboard into a butcher’s block, a handyman’s work-bench into a set of shelves. “It just takes a bit of imagination and elbow grease, and I particularly love kauri furniture, it tells a story that is typically New Zealand.”

Maria’s refurbishments retain the patina of their age and history; for her, interiors are about creating a feeling of warmth and cosiness, places and spaces where people want to gather. She also gets pleasure from seeing treasures gain fresh purpose with a younger generation, like a jug from grandma’s china cabinet used as a vase for flowers. “Our job is to bring the best out of old things, present them in a new way and make them relevant again.”

Helen Martens’ brand, Tuffet & Co, takes its name from her love of

chairs and reclaims the old English word for a low seat. (Or in the case of Miss Muffet, of nursery rhyme fame, a grassy mound.) Like partners Jo and Maria, Helen likes to bring fresh life to old objects.

Helen is from England, and she previously had a corporate career, and her own business consultancy, in Auckland, and left that a few years ago to move to Cambridge and be a stay-at-homemother. She settled happily in the Waikato and tapped into her creative side, making pottery and ceramics, and rescuing and reupholstering chairs.

Chairs quickly became Helen’s thing; she loves their various forms, their beauty and history. She takes great pleasure in repainting and recovering them, and passing them on to new owners. Her English country style has been a perfect fit with Jo’s and Maria’s respective interests. “I have a house full of English antiques,” she says.

In Helen’s area of the store you’ll find a mix of old and new china, glassware, furniture, and soft furnishings, including beautiful tweed throws from her beloved home county, Yorkshire, and handcrafted items from Yorkshire artisans Boggle Hole. And, of course, chairs. At present she has an elegant Victorian slipper chair looking for a fresh location.

So when you’ve shopped France, England and rustic New Zealand in Cambridge’s old Central Hotel, take a turn through the cabinets of Colonial Heritage Antiques that offer more treasures and preserve the legacy of former owner Kenneth Sheldrick.

It’s four brands under one roof, a shared philosophy of slow retail, and a traditional general store feel that draws you back for more. I can’t stop thinking about a couple of beautiful cushions and a set of Crown Devon china identical to one my mother owned. Helen found the china in a bin at a Rotary market.

As she says, “It’s the store that keeps on giving.”

The Heritage Trading Company 40 Duke Street, Cambridge www.theheritagetradingcompany.com

Denise Irvine

Denise Irvine is a born-and-bred Waikato journalist and foodwriter. Her work frequently showcases the region's talented chefs and food producers; she says we have the best of the

Thanks Tauranga!

With your help, we’ve turned over 5 million kilograms of food scraps into compost that’s been used by farms and orchards around the Bay of Plenty and Waikato to help grow new food.

Want to help us make even more?

Start using your food scraps bin today.

www.tauranga.govt.nz/thanks

SKINCARE FOR MEN IS ESSENTIAL

Nourish magazine organised a progressive dinner for the downtown Tauranga area, and it was so much fun! Looking around, it dawned on me how many men were there, and I wondered, were they there on their own initiative or were they brought along by their wives or partners?

Perhaps it’s the same for men’s skincare. Would your husband or partner think to take good care of their skin beyond the odd slather of sunscreen and a bit of ointment slapped on their grazes?

Younger men are more conscious of skincare, but a lot of the older generations have a ‘she’ll be right’ attitude and may need a bit of encouragement to care for themselves, don’t you think?

So do the men in your life have a skincare regime at all? As women we invest in taking care of ourselves and men shouldn’t be left out of this youthfulness equation. This advice is for them if you want to wave Nourish magazine under their noses to read on from here.

Now for the science bit for those who need convincing. The skin is the largest organ of the human body, so we need to take care of it. There are certain physiological differences between men and women, where men tend to have oiler, thicker skin that ages differently due to the male hormone testosterone. Men’s skin has more active sebaceous (oil) glands, so it tends to be greasier overall. As a result, men are more prone to acne, especially in the early years. On average men's skin is 20% thicker and (on a positive note) contains more collagen that creates a finer overall appearance. Lucky for them, visible signs of aging appear a little later because collagen depletes with age.

Guys, if you haven't had a skin health routine before now, it’s easy. Just keep it simple:

Clean your face with a face cleaner both morning and evening to remove the day's residue of pollutants and dirt. No, this can't be with a bar of soap or shower gel because these damage your skin and we want to protect and rejuvenate it.

• Moisturise both morning and evening to keep the skin balanced for hydration and to help with fine lines. It does feel quite nice, we promise. There’s a reason why we women like it so much.

• Apply sunscreen every morning (even in winter and on cloudy days) and reapply if you are outdoors for prolonged periods to prevent further damage. The days of getting a couple of good sunburns to settle down into a great summer tan is over now, lads. Melanoma will kill you.

At Tranquillo we can help you evaluate and understand the type of skin type you have and recommend the corresponding products and treatments that will be perfect for your skin. You can even sneak in a quick massage while you are visiting to deal with those tight muscles and stiff shoulders. We won’t tell!

Although we’re focusing on men this month, this consultation and advice applies to everyone – keep the soap bars and shower gels away from your face. One size does not fit all in this case, so any cleansers in the shower or moisturisers in the vanity will not necessarily suit your type of skin. Be kind to yourself and your skin! Everyone feels better with a glowing face, even the most macho of men. Contact Tranquillo now for further details.

Sue from Tranquillo Beauty in Tauranga has great advice each season to keep your skin beautiful and healthy.

tranquillobeauty.co.nz

Cooking Up a Book

They say the best way to eat an elephant is one mouthful at a time. When we embarked on the challenge of creating our latest cookbook it felt like an elephant size task – thankfully the mouthfuls were a lot tastier.

The chatter from Nourish fans about a possible cookbook was growing louder, so last June Harriet and I took ourselves off for a weekend in Hawke’s Bay to create a plan. How could we fit the extra workload into our busy schedule? More goes on at Nourish HQ than many people know. Between Nourish editions we produce a quarterly magazine for Bidfresh, we create recipes or styled shoots for other food businesses as well as running events like the Matariki Dish Challenge. What we decided after that weekend was, where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Our first task was to narrow down what recipes would fill the pages. Debates raged. To ensure our normally fun workplace returned, we decided on three core principles that the recipes had to tick.

Number one – would we or do we make this regularly?

Our clear goal for this book was always that it should be the cookbook that stays in your kitchen. There is no point putting it away on the shelf, as you’ll be reaching for it again and again.

Number two – does it teach you something?

As good cooks we often take for granted what we know and what we instinctively do when cooking, be this using leftovers, or knowing why a sauce split. We want everyone to be able to cook with this confidence, and so many of the recipes we chose are foundation recipes: once learnt they can be adapted and changed –from our basic vanilla cake to the perfect roast chicken.

Number three – ingredients. If this book was going to be one people cooked from every day, it needed to use everyday ingredients.

Friends rallied around to volunteer to be taste testers. Word soon got out that Fridays were the days to pop in for lunch and clean up shoot leftovers. But we didn’t just need help eating the copious amounts of food produced, we needed the immense talent of the core Nourish team.

Sara Cameron, who takes our words and images and turns them into beautiful pages. Ashlee DeCaires and Brydie Thompson, the women behind the lens who always see our vision and then exceed it. Nikki Crutchley, who has to read every word without ever getting to take a bite as she proofreads our work over and over again.

Then there is our family and friends, the people who believed in us even when they were over eating lasagne for the fifth night in a row!

Then it’s you, our reader. We hope you love this book, as it was written with you in mind. Buy it, love it, cook from it and we might just be convinced to do it again.

EVENTS

TAURANGA FARMERS MARKET

Where local and convenience collide. The Tauranga Farmers Market is on every weekend, rain, hail or shine.

Saturday 8am–12noon

31 Fifth Ave, Tauranga

www.tgafarmersmarket.org.nz

SUGO’S BOTTOMLESS BRUNCH

Bottomless drinks and Italian brunch

styled menu.

Every Saturday, bookings essential.

$59pp

19 Wharf Street, Tauranga www.sugosugo.co.nz

FAMILY ROAST AT PICNICKA

Sunday Family Roast night at Picnicka. Lamb shoulder served with roast potatoes, salad and vegetables. Bookings essential.

Every Sunday night

$119 for a family of 4 Elizabeth Towers, 1/38 Elizabeth Street, Tauranga www.picnicka.com

OF THIS PLACE: MARGOT PHILIPS’ LANDSCAPES

A retrospective exhibition of landscape works by Margot Philips, one of our region’s most distinctive 20th century artists.

Open daily 10am to 5pm from 12 May to 17 September 2023.

Free entry

Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga O Waikato, 1 Grantham Street, Hamilton waikatomuseum.co.nz/margot-philips

FIELDAYS NO.8 WIRE NATIONAL ART AWARD

This annual competition challenges artists from across New Zealand to transform the iconic agricultural product, No.8 wire, into inspiring art. Sixteen artworks have been chosen as finalists, who will take out the top prize?

Open daily 10am to 5pm from 26 May to 2 July 2023.

Free entry

ArtsPost, 120 Victoria Street, Hamilton waikatomuseum.co.nz/no8wire

NOURISH COOKBOOK DEMONSTRATION

Vicki will be demonstrating recipes from the Nourish cookbook at the farmers market, as well as selling and signing copies.

The demonstration starts at 10am, cookbook signing from 8am–12pm

Saturday 24 June 31 Fifth Ave, Tauranga

FALLS

RETREAT PADDOCK TO PLATE DINING EXPERIENCE

An intimate experience with diners seated on one long table in front of the log fire in our rustic barn. A crafted four-course meal using seasonal, organic produce from their veggie gardens and local artisan suppliers. 6.30pm, Fridays & Saturdays from 21 July 21 to 26 August

$125pp, wine match $49pp 25 Waitawheta Road, Waihi Bookings essential www.fallsretreat.co.nz

MATARIKI AT THE VILLAGE

An amazing community event that will also feature art exhibitions, market stalls, creative workshops and artisan kai from around the world.

Saturday 17 June 9am–2pm

The Historic Village, 17th Ave West www.theincubator.co.nz/ matariki-2023-1

GAME NIGHT – BLIND WINE TASTING DINNER

Join Solera for their first ever 'Game Night – Blind Wine Tasting Dinner'. Enjoy a sixcourse dinner paired with a masked wine for your team to guess the colour, grape variety, vintage, region, and producer of each wine and possibly win a $200 voucher.

Sunday 9 July | $120 per person

165 Maunganui Road, Mount Maunganui Phone 07 572 0246 to book

NATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ART AWARD

Brave, colourful, and never shy. The art of now. Each year the National Contemporary Art Award brings the best in Aotearoa New Zealand’s contemporary art to the Waikato. Prepare to be challenged, delighted, baffled, and inspired!

Open daily 10am to 5pm from 29 July to 12 November. Free entry.

Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga O Waikato, 1 Grantham Street Hamilton waikatomuseum.co.nz/NCAA

NOURISH AT FALLS RETREAT

Join Vicki and Harriet for lunch and a cooking demo at The Falls Retreat. They’ll demonstrate a few of their favourite recipes from the Nourish cookbook, before award winning chef Brad King and his team recreate the magic for a delicious lunch. Grab a few friends and join us for this great event!

10.30am, Sunday 30 July

$149pp (includes Nourish cookbook) Falls Retreat, 25 Waitawheta Road, Waihi www.fallsretreat.co.nz