Cook

COOK: The Only Book you Need in the Kitchen

IN COOK, ACCLAIMED CHEF KAREN MARTINI SHARES A LIFETIME OF COOKING, EATING AND LEARNING ABOUT FOOD. THIS IS AN ESSENTIAL COLLECTION OF MORE THAN 1000 RECIPES, FROM OLD FAVOURITES TO BRILLIANT NEW DISHES.

Karen has inspired generations of home cooks, and with this milestone book she brings us a generous breadth of cuisines and ingredients, celebrating vibrant flavours from a uniquely Australian perspective. Karen won’t just show you what to cook, she will teach you how to cook, with everything you need to prepare effortlessly delicious meals. Each recipe in this modern classic is packed with hard-won wisdom from Karen’s inspiring career and Tunisian-Italian heritage. Providing midweek meals, signature spreads, dinner-party dishes and feasts for special occasions, COOK will guide you to make each meal your own. Enjoy an incredible array of classic and contemporary recipes – from the simple to the elaborate – suitable for all skill levels.

PORCHETTA

This is an edited extract from COOK by Karen Martini, published by Hardie Grant Books, Photography: © Mark Chew. RRP $100.

PAIR WITH

Roast potatoes with garlic and rosemary. Horta (boiled leafy greens). Serve thickly sliced in a crusty hot ciabatta-style role with simple soused cabbage. An even mix of finely chopped Granny Smith apple and finely diced mustard fruits. Mustard or Salsa verde.

INGREDIENTS

SERVES 8

• 3kg pork loin, belly attached, or 2.8–3.2kg butterflied boneless pork shoulder • 40g salt flakes • 2½ tablespoons fennel seeds • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns • 6 garlic cloves, peeled • 1 branch of fresh bay leaves (or a good handful if not on the stem), 3 leaves shredded • 5 rosemary sprigs, leaves chopped • 5 oregano sprigs, leaves chopped • ½ bunch of flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, leaves finely chopped • 3 onions, cut into 3 fat slices each • salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

Place the pork in a colander and pour a whole kettle of boiling water over the skin. Dry with paper towel, then score the skin at 1cm intervals. Place on a tray and rub all over with the salt, getting into all the incisions. Flip the pork over so the skin is facing up, then refrigerate, uncovered, overnight to dry out the skin and lightly cure the meat.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 130°C fan-forced. Toast the fennel seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until fragrant, 1 minute. Tip into a mortar, add the peppercorns and a pinch of salt and grind to a rough powder. Add the garlic and crush to a paste. Add the shredded bay leaves, rosemary, oregano and parsley, and grind as finely as you can. Spread the herb paste on the meat side only of the pork, massaging it into all the pockets. Roll up the pork as tightly as you can, securing tightly at regular intervals with butcher’s twine. Place in a roasting tin, using the onion slices and bay leaf branch as a trivet. Transfer to the oven and roast for 3½ hours, or until the internal temperature is 71°C. Remove the pork from the oven and turn the temperature up to 250°C fan-forced. Baste the whole roll of pork with the juices in the tray, then and roast for a further 10 minutes or so to finish the crackling. Watch carefully, as it can burn quickly. Remove from the oven and rest for 20 minutes, then remove the string, slice the pork about 2cm thick and serve with the pan juices and the onion, if desired.

SEA URCHIN LINGUINI WITH ROASTED TOMATO PASSATA & BUTTER

OYSTERS WITH FIRE ICE

INGREDIENTS

SERVES 4

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil • 4 garlic cloves, sliced • 200ml Roasted tomato passata • 2 red bird’s eye chillies, finely sliced • 14 sea urchin lobes • 140g butter, diced • 400g Squid ink linguine • 8 basil leaves • Lemon, Salt & Pepper

Sea urchin has a gently buttery and briny quality, which is stunning with the roasted tomato flavour, spike of chilli and savoury richness of the squid ink pasta. It’s also a strikingly dramatic dish visually. As said, this is special occasion stuff.

METHOD

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the garlic until turning golden, about 2 minutes. Add the passata and chilli and cook for a couple of minutes, then pull off the heat and add the sea urchin and butter. Stand, don’t stir. Season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling salted water for 3–3½ minutes, then tong directly into the pan, placing it back over a medium heat. Toss through for a minute, adding the basil – you just want to warm but not really cook the urchin. Squeeze in some lemon and serve immediately.

INGREDIENTS

SERVES 6-12

• 1.5kg tomatoes • 5 finely sliced red bird’s eye chillies • 3 teaspoons salt flakes • 2 teaspoons caster (superfine) sugar

METHOD

For the fire ice, cut 1.5kg very ripe tomatoes into 2cm dice. In a large heatproof bowl, toss the tomato with 5 finely sliced red bird’s eye chillies, 3 teaspoons salt flakes and 2 teaspoons caster (superfine) sugar. Tightly seal the bowl with foil, then set over a pan of just-simmering water for 2 hours, ensuring the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Strain the tomato mixture through a very fine-mesh sieve into a bowl; you should have 350–450ml of tomato water. Soak 3 leaves gold-strength gelatine in cold water for about 5 minutes. Warm about 100ml of the tomato water in a small saucepan. Squeeze the excess water out of the gelatine, then stir into the warmed tomato water to dissolve. Combine with the remaining tomato water, strain into a shallow container and freeze for 3–4 hours, until solid. Just before serving, scrape the fire ice with a fork to make ice shards, then scatter over the oysters. Great served with a pile of rye bread, butter and watercress sandwiches, alongside a little pile of freshly cooked potato chips.