The ham

The first time I saw Ina Garten (aka The Barefoot Contesa) on her cooking program I watched in horror as she flattened feminism with her rolling pin, swanned about her enormous house in the Hamptons preparing excessive amounts of rich food for her sweater wearing cheesy friends and doted upon husband Jeffrey. But for some reason, I am intrigued by her and her complete lack of irony. I've even started to try her recipes and mimic her favorite expressions: "let's have a party", "it's going to be so much fun" and "why does everything start with a stick of butter?"

This is Ina's recipe for ham glaze and like everything Ina makes, it's "so good".

Glaze

6 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 cup good mango chutney
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Score and stud the fat of the ham with cloves. Spread with the glaze and cook in a preheated 160 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.



If you want to cook the ham from 'green' rather than buy a cooked ham, here is what you do before glazing.

Soak the gamon in a basin of cold water overnight. To cook, place ham in a pot large enough to hold it. Place it on the stove and fill with cold water, then add a handful of cloves and peppercorns, several bay leaves, a couple of star anise and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Put it over a medium heat and bring slowly to the boil, for about 30 minutes. Watch it carefully - as soon as the first bubble breaks the surface, turn the heat right down. It is very important that you don't let the ham boil. Allow a cooking time of 20 minutes per 500g. Cook in the water for two thirds of the cooking time. Remove from the water, remove the rind and glaze the ham as above. Transfer to a preheated 160 degree oven and cook for remainder of the cooking time.

Of course, ham is the perfect way to indulge in some chutney loving.



For this occasion I cracked open a jar of pear and capsicum chutney.

I had managed to let the chutney mellow for a whole 2 weeks and it was delicious. Not too sweet and not too sour but just right.

It's a girl

Happy birthday Evie, love Aunty Shelagh

C'mon Aussies

Could it be that the cold weather and bad coffee is starting to get to me? For some reason I felt a little homesick and even stirrings of patriotism when I saw these familiar faces in the Harvey Nichols Foodhall on Saturday.




Then I noticed the date. 26 January. The invasion of Australians onto the British food scene- that's worth celebrating.

Christmas crack

I have a theory about christmas and the tendancy to over indulge. Because most of the food we associate with christmas only makes an appearance once a year, our primal instincts kick in and we make sure that our bodies store enough mince pies, turkey, christmas pudding and brandy butter to see us through the next 11 months of the year. Easter and hot cross buns provide only a brief respite for anglos and our 'one trick pony' culinary calendar. Oh to be Jewish, Greek or Indian and spend the year celebrating events with food.

Usually I spend christmas in sweltering heat in Queensland so this year it was nice to be able to indulge in a hot Christmas lunch with a fire, turkey, roast veg and all the trimmings.




The highlight of the feast was an incredibly juicy, tasty glazed gamon.





All digested over a post lunch walk.

A day to preserve

Peering out my bedroom window this wintry morning I was greeted with a sky of grey. A lovely day for staying indoors and making chutney.

Most recipes tell you that chutneys benefit from ageing- anywhere from a month up to a year- to allow the flavours to mellow. The longest I’ve been able to hold off is about a week, the shortest, a day, which may be why my chutneys have a slightly wincey, sharp flavour. This time I’m determined to exercise some self control and give my chutney some time with itself. I’m also going to make plenty so at least some jars will sit on the shelf for awhile.


Tomato and capsicum chutney

1.5kg red tomatoes coarsely chopped
5 cloves garlic chopped
2 white onions finely diced
1 red capsicum, roasted, skin and seeds removed, finely diced
475ml cider vinegar
150g raisins cut in half
8 whole cloves
2.5 teaspoons chili powder
5 small red chillies finely diced
½ cup lime juice or lemon juice
½ tbs ground cumin
420g sugar
2 tsp salt
1 cinnamon stick broken in half
2+1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated

Place tomato, garlic, onion and capsicum in large saucepan and slowly bring to the boil. Stirring occasionally, simmer 20-25 minutes. Place remaining ingredients in bowl and mix well to combine then add to tomato mixture and mix with wooden spoon. Continue to simmer for 11/4 hours, stirring occasionally. Take off heat, remove cinnamon halves and spoon into hot sterilised jars and seal. WAIT BEFORE USING.

Pear and tomato chutney

675g of pears peeled cored and cubed
8 cherry tomatoes quartered
175g light brown sugar
300mp cider vinegar
75g sultanas
2 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons mustard seeds

Place all ingredients in saucepan and cook gently over low heat for 1 + ½ hours, stirring frequently until the mixture has thickened. Spoon into 2 x 450g warm sterilised jars, seal and store in cool dark place for up to 6 months. WAIT BEFORE USING.

Beetroot and ginger chutney

225g onion, chopped
45g butter
3 tablespoons sugar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
450g raw beetroot, peeled and grated
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
25ml (1fl oz) sherry vinegar
120ml (4fl oz) red wine

Sweat the onions slowly in the butter (they should be very soft) and add sugar and seasoning. Then add the rest of the ingredients and cook gently for 30 minutes. Pot the mixture in sterilised jars. WAIT BEFORE USING.

The chutneys of my labour.


And now I wait…

The search for sausage (oo er)

It was a scene like Brad and Janet’s fated drive in the Rocky Horror Picture Show when my sister and I took a wrong exit from the motorway one dark and rainy night heading down to Wiltshire for the weekend. As we veered off the M3 prematurely the headlights shone on a sign by the road, partially obscured by overgrown grass: “Olde Forde Farm Shop next left”. We gasped in unison – our city slicker cunning telling us that if it was olde it must be goode.

The next day we drove up and down the M3 trying to find the sign again to no avail.
Finally we drove into a little town and stopped to ask at a delicatessen that was promoting itself as a supplier of local produce. Surely they’d know all of the farm shops in the surrounding area. Unbelievably they did know the farm shop because they were it - they’d relocated from the farm into town but had never bothered to remove the sign. Despite my initial suspicions and disappointment that we weren’t going to see haystacks and chickens running around our feet we decided to trial their sausages for the cafe. By god they were tastee.

The cook off

The tasting plate


The performers from left to right are: Pork and herb sausage; Hickory smoked pork sausage; Traditional pork sausage; Old Forge special sausage. Unfortunately they had sold out of their traditional breakfast sausage which is their biggest seller.

And the winner for best performance as a sausage goes to....Traditional pork sausage.

Our tasting notes for the file


1. Traditional pork: * Best. Good flavour and texture. Still quite salty.
2. Hickory smoked pork: Strong taste of smoking. Frankfurter style.
3. Old Forge special: Sage comes through. Drier than 1 and 2.
4. Pork and herbs: Quite dry - very herby but no clear flavour.

Co-stars

For this performance, Sausage co-starred with Spinach and Lentils. As one of the true veterans of the culinary stage, Sausage has performed at many venues throughout the world with a wide variety of co-stars. Some would argue it was happiest in a bun with T Sauce or on a plate with its old friends Mash and Onion Gravy. But like all seasoned performers, Sausage has adapted to modern times and now finds itself working with some of the rising stars of gastro theatre such as Puy Lentil.

This is a really easy and yummy recipe for lentils from Peter Gordon’s book ‘A World in My Kitchen’. It has a subtle asian flavour because of the soy and ginger but it doesn’t steal the limelight from Sausage.

Puy Lentils (serves 4 as a side)

1 large red onion
60ml olive oil
1 clove garlic peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon of ginger- grated
100g puy lentils rinsed and drained
4 teaspoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons vinegar
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

Finely dice half the onion and fry in oil until it begins to caramelise. Add garlic and ginger and cook a little more. Add lentils, soy and enough water to cover by 1cm. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer 20 minutes. If still chewy and the water has gone, add extra hot water and cook until lentils are al dente. Heat remaining oil and add other half of the onion finely sliced. Cook until caramelised. Add vinegar and cook to evaporate it then add pomegranate molasses and bring to the boil. Serve lentils with dollop of yoghurt and onions.

Sauteed spinach

Rinse spinach and drain. In a frying pan heat a tablespoon of olive oil. Add 1 sliced clove of garlic and fry for about 10 seconds before adding the spinach. Toss to cover with oil, season with salt and pepper and then cover with a lid and turn heat right down. Cook for a few minutes until spinach is cooked to your liking.

Life in the Hills

Part 1: Notting Hill


Since I arrived in London I’ve been a little hobo with no fixed address –waiting to see where the café will be before finding permanent lodgings nearby. After exhausting my couch credit with family I’ve lucked upon a succession of house sits through friends, friends of friends, and friends who know people who need more friends (ie someone to feed their cats and water their plants when they go on holiday).

Three of my sits have been in west London, Notting Hill, a far cry from the western suburbs that I’m familiar with. London ‘westie’s’ don’t smoke winnie blue’s or do burnouts in the ford on a Friday night. Instead they live large with big sunglasses, big trust funds and big attitude. The ratio of café per capita is also high. Here are some of my picks.

Tea's Me
129a Ladbroke Grove

A very sweet little café hidden down a side st near the Ladbroke Grove Tube. It has a slightly French tea salon feel, a small but fine looking breakfast/lunch menu and some tasty looking salads, tarts and cakes on display.


While the coffee is not amazing, the atmosphere is cosy with a communal table, newspapers and tea (not coffee) served in mismatched china cups and saucers.

Coffee Plant
180 Portobello Rd


Hardly a discovery as there are queues out the door of a weekday morning with locals willing to stand in line for a real coffee before they embark on their commute into the world of coffee chain stores. On a weekend its also rammed as it is smack bang in the middle of Portobello markets.


Definitely the best coffee in Notting Hill and coffee is what they do –roast, retail and wholesale. The café is really just a sideline which explains the rough and ready fitout and limited food options. The staff are young cool cats with confidence but in a good way, and don’t mind telling customers who want an extra hot semi skim decaf hazelnut latte that there’s a Starbucks down the road. They also put on a good show with one barista focusing on milk texturing and another doing the coffee extraction. I find the music slightly louder than is enjoyable - maybe the staff have damaged their hearing with too much volume on the ipod. Maybe I'm getting old.

The Electric Brasserie
191 Portobello Rd


This place is usually so full of Notting Hill knobs that it is worth going just to sit and eaves drop on the surreal conversations taking place around you. Beautiful 30-40 somethings keep one eye on their companion and one eye on the door to see if anyone more fabulous than their companion has arrived.


The coffee and service is actually pretty good and I love the stylised retro fitout - in keeping with the art noveau/deco architecture of the cinema its attached to. Good selection of newspapers too if you get bored of eaves dropping, or your companion. My eyes did water at the cost of a coffee- 2.50 but I guess they know their market.

The Grocer on Elgin
6 Elgin Crescent

More of a takeaway deli than a café, The Grocer is targeting the time poor (and lazy), well heeled foodie demographic in Notting Hill and Chelsea (Grocer on King). Want to feel like you're having a home cooked meal without really having to cook? Enter the gourmet 'ready meal'. I’m amazed at what they manage to seal in a plastic pouch- beef cheeks braised in red wine, duck curry, moroccan tagine... For the uber lazy you can even get sides like steamed rice and mustard mash. They also do sandwiches, salads, cakes and pastries etc. As for groceries, there aren’t many but you can buy Tim Tams and vegemite- the owners are Antipodeans. There are a few tables and chairs if you do want to sit and don’t mind the sterile stripped back design or the hum of the refrigerators. It seems strange that they’ve bothered to provide seating and then done nothing to make it a pleasurable space to sit- would a bit of music hurt? But I digress- the coffee...


like everything digestible at Grocer, is well executed - smooth in flavour if a little on the weak side so I'd ask for it strong, and to go.

Tom’s Deli
206 Westbourne Grove


Firstly, I have to declare my interest as I’ve been working at Tom’s for the last few months as the weekend café manager ie. door bitch and crowd controller. It amazes me that people are willing to queue for a table on the weekend for up to 30 minutes and then wait another 30-40 minutes for their eggs with an egg sauce (the Eggs Benny, Flo and Royale are high demand items at Tom's at any time of the day). It also reassures me that Londoners are desperate for good food in a casual café environment. Tom's is one of the few places in this part of London that is serious about casual cafe food yet has a relaxed quirky atmosphere - which is why I wanted to work here.


Iza, the weekend barista, always manages to keep her cool no matter how long the queue. Tom's prides itself on its strong coffee – two and a half shots is the standard – and the punters seem to like it. There is a traditional deli downstairs with all sorts of exotic gastronomic delights including cooked meals to take away.