A winters' table - cooking in Collector

Collector is a small village just off the Federal Highway between Goulburn and Canberra. It is home to some great friends of ours and the kids and I have just returned from a gorgeous weekend there (Tim was in Melbourne for a certain football match). James and Kate McKay live in the heart of this village and are a central part in its fabric. Co-founders of the now enormous Collector Pumpkin Festival, Kate also runs Lynwood Preserves, and writes a regular cooking column for the Canberra Times' food and wine section.

Kate is one of the best, most natural cooks I've ever met and it was just fantastic to hang out in her kitchen and cook and eat together. Particularly when we had such fantastic produce on hand; most of it thanks to our Saturday morning trip to the nearby Capital Region Farmers Market.



Oh it was nice to visit the markets as a punter not stallholder! Held every Saturday on the outskirts of Canberra (Sydney side), this market brings an enormous range of produce together under one roof. We filled our bags with everything from local kiwi fruit to locally grown flowers, bread, apples, bright green new season olive oil, cheese, a thumb-sized piece of freshly un-earthed truffle (all we could afford), stunning coral-coloured mushrooms and organic short-grain rice.

Almost as soon as we got home, the last six items were eased into a simple but rather extravagant risotto. This was lunch, and just to gild the lily, we enjoyed it with a bottle of Collector Sangiovese made by James' talented brother Alex McKay.

Mushroom risotto

20g butter
1 brown onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups semi-brown Koshihikari rice (Randall Organic Rice) or arborio rice
3/4 white wine
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups roughly chopped mixed mushrooms
10g butter
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 small black truffle, very thinly sliced or shaved (of course optional, but it is truffle season here in NSW and if you feel like splurging, they are such a big treat)
3 tbsp new season olive oil (we used La Barre from Central NSW)

Heat the butter in a heavy-based saucepan on medium. Cook the onions for about five minutes or until translucent, then add the garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add the rice and cook, stirring for a minute until every grain is coated in the buttery mixture. Pour in the wine and let bubble down then begin to ladle in the stock, one slosh at a time, stirring between each addition until the stock has been absorbed. Keep doing this until the stock is almost all in the risotto, check the rice every now and then, once it is al dente (only slightly crunchy in the middle), remove the saucepan from heat. Very gently stir through the butter, cheese, mushrooms* and half of the truffle). Place the lid on the pan and set aside for 10 minutes. Just before serving, scatter over the remaining truffle and drizzle with the green olive oil. Serve with a green salad and warm bread. Serves 4.

*If your mushrooms are very fresh and quite small, this should be enough to cook them but if you are worried at all, add them in the last ten minutes of cooking instead.

 

The kids weren't all that into our risotto (thankfully) so had jaffles instead. Some hours later we had a bit of a baking session which resulted in the below wholemeal apple and jam cake, one of the best cakes I've ever made/eaten, and in between all of this we took a turn around town. 

Tom, as is his wont, found a muddy puddle to wallow in and his nose hasn't stopped running since.

Wholemeal apple and jam cake

This recipe was inspired by one given in Kate's copy of Tender, Volume Two by Nigel Slater (such a fantastic book). We made our own omissions and additions and found it just delicious. So much so that I never actually had a chance to photograph the inside of the cake. As soon as it was sliced, every piece seemed to vanish at once. 

220g butter, softened

210g light muscovado sugar

4 eggs
250g wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3 tart cooking apples, chopped into small pieces (unpeeled)

125g jam (we used plum)

Juice of one lemon

Demerara sugar

Preheat oven to 160C and grease and line a 20cm springform cake tin. Beat the butter and sugar together until pale in colour. Lightly whisk the eggs and set aside. Meanwhile, sift the dry ingredients together and in a separate bowl, combine the apples, jam and lemon juice, stir to combine. 

Add the beaten eggs to the butter mixture, a little at a time, mixing well between each addition. Gently fold in the dry ingredients and then fold in the apple and jam. 

Spoon mixture into the cake tin, sprinkle with the demerara sugar and bake for one hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Serves 8.

The calm before the storm

It's been a big weekend for us here at Mandagery Creek Venison-central. We had a packed event at the Farm Kitchen and a houseful of friends staying, including one of our favourite people and chefs; Martin Boetz of Longrain restaurants. Martin came to cook in the Farm Kitchen yesterday and did the most wonderful job. I am just waiting for a couple of his recipes before posting some recipes and photos from that event, but in the meantime thought I'd put up a some bits and pieces from the rest of our weekend. Namely the quiet few hours on Saturday afternoon when the house was relatively tidy and we were able to do some cooking and pottering before everyone arrived.

 It's always a bit scary cooking for a chef so this weekend we played it simple; dinner was butterflied Wellington lamb with smashed garlic peas and then brioche, raspberry and dark chocolate pudding.

Smashed garlicky peas

1 cup freshly podded peas
2 garlic cloves
sea salt
1 cup mint leaves
3 tbsp nice extra virgin olive oil

Blanch the fresh peas in salted, boiling water for a minute or so. Place the garlic and salt in the bowl of a mortar and pestle smash this together before adding the drained (warm peas) and remaining ingredients. Crush until the flavours have come together in a rough paste. Serve, at room temperature, spooned over the sliced butterflied lamb. This is also beautiful spread over sourdough toast with a slice of prosciutto.

Alice and I had gone to town earlier in the day for a quick pit-stop at the markets and there bought brioche from local bakery Racine (see pudding below) and a bag of oats, rolled by bicycle as we watched via Canobolas Pure Health's inaugural Tour de Oats. The oats were folded into a walnut and chocolate chip biscuit recipe (below), and lastly we swung by organic grower Anna de Baar's stand for a few bunches of sorrel which made their way into this simple, lemony risotto.  

Sorrel risotto

This is a simple, comforting risotto made a bit special by the lemony sorrel. Thanks Anna for the base recipe and the sorrel itself!

1.2 litres chicken stock
1 cup white wine
75g butter
2 eschallots, finely sliced
2 cups arborio rice
2 bunches sorrel leaves, stems removed
1 lemon, zest and juice
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan
Extra virgin olive oil

Heat the stock and keep warm. Melt half of the butter over a medium heat and cook the onions for a couple of minutes, or until translucent. Add the rice and stir well until every grain is coated in the butter, then pour in the wine and stir until absorbed. Add all of the sorrel except for a few leaves (set these aside to garnish) and then, ladle by ladle, the stock. Each time stirring until the liquid is almost all absorbed before adding the next one. This will take about 15 minutes. Test the rice after about this time and if almost cooked except for the slightest crunch then remove from heat, add almost all of the parmesan and very gently fold this through with the remaining butter. Place a lid on the pot and set aside for 10 minutes. Just before serving, stir through the lemon zest and juice then serve on a big warm platter with extra leaves. Shave over the parmesan and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.

Brioche, raspberry and chocolate pudding

This classic pudding is a bit of a crowd-pleaser, and given the minor scuffles (among the grown-ups) over the leftovers, I think I'll double the recipe next time. You can make this up a few hours before dinner and let it sit for a few hours before baking.

8 slices brioche small brioche loaf
1 cup raspberries (or blueberries)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or pieces
3 eggs
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup cream
1 tsp vanilla paste

Lightly grease an oven-proof baking dish and lay the brioche slices across its base. Scatter with the raspberries and chocolate chips. Whisk remaining ingredients together then pour this mixture over the brioche, pressing the slices down so each one is immersed in the custard-y liquid. Either cover and set aside until ready to bake or place in a moderate oven for 25 minutes or until the pudding is just beginning to colour and most of the liquid has been baked into the brioche.
Serves 6

Walnut, oat and chocolate biscuits

150g butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cups self-raising flour
2/3 cup wholemeal flour
3/4 cup oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 180C and line a tray with baking paper. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. Add the egg and beat until smooth. Fold in the flours and finally fold in the oats, chocolate and walnuts. Roll into little balls (about a teaspoon-worth) and place on the baking tray a few centimetres apart and squash down lightly with a fork (dipped in flour). Cook for ten minutes or until lightly golden and cool on a rack.
Makes about 12 

A bitter sweet lunch and new Farm Kitchen dates

The Orange Farmers Market was chock full of beautiful spring produce yesterday; green garlic, beautiful bitter radicchio, duck eggs and a limited supply of seville oranges. Unfortunately the weather was firmly stuck in winter-mode and Tom and Alice were too focused on gingerbread men and hot apple juice to stand still long enough for me to conduct any kind of conversation with anyone, let along Tim who was frozen when we arrived just after eight. But it was great to briefly catch up with Katie and Beau Baddock who only recently started coming to the Orange markets. Thank you for the green garlic and cloudy apple juice guys!

Radicchio is something you either love or hate. I'm in the former camp so bought a bouquet-like bunch of it from the lovely Anna de Baar (who we visited back in May). We ate it for lunch today, sauteed very lightly with finely chopped green garlic and a little olive oil. This concoction was spooned onto roasted sourdough from Racine Bakery and finished with marinated feta on top. Yummo. It would also be great next to a few of our venison steaks hot off the barbecue. Our haul of duck eggs are going towards another batch of apple-mint ice cream (recipe here).

Farm Kitchen Dates

Some may be aware that the Orange Wine Week program was launched last week - whootwhoo - and it features no less than four fantastic events here at the Mandagery Creek Farm Kitchen. Click through to download the full program.

We also have spots left for our $45pp lunch this coming Sunday, September 16 so please let me know via email or phone (0400 032 326) if you'd like to come along.

Sun, September 16 | Sunday Lunch | $45pp | BYO
A relaxed lunch at our big communal table. Kick off with a glass local sparkling wine then sit down to a two-course lunch of local produce.

Sat, October 20 | Farm Lunch | $45pp | BYO

A relaxed lunch at our big communal table. Kick off with a glass local sparkling wine then sit down to a two-course lunch of local produce.

Sun, October 21 | Mandagery Creek Venison Farm Lunch | $75pp | BYO

Take a look around the farm, learn how to cook venison and enjoy a three course lunch with us in the Farm Kitchen.

Sat, October 27 | Farm Lunch | $45pp | BYO

A relaxed lunch at our big communal table. Kick off with a glass local sparkling wine then sit down to a two-course lunch of local produce.

Sun, October 28 | Mandagery Creek Venison Farm Lunch | $75pp | BYO

Take a look around the farm, learn how to cook venison and enjoy a three course lunch with us in the Farm Kitchen.

What $50 gets you at the Orange markets

Farmers markets are a great opportunity to source seasonal produce at great prices, plus interesting, beautifully made and unique foods you’d never find anywhere. I sometimes hear people say that markets are too expensive to shop at regularly and really don't agree...so...in an effort to debunk this perception am starting a new monthly post here on Local is Lovely called What $50 gets you. I am writing to friends around the world and now waiting for them to send in ‘guest posts’ for this section and even this exercise has been interesting. A friend in Japan came back saying that his basket would be fairly empty if he spent just $50 in one produce shop while a school friend now living in Bali replied that they'd have enough food for a small army if they spent $50 at their local market.
 
But today we are starting with my local markets by...me. We never do markets in January so it was so lovely to go yesterday as a ‘normal’ person. And because we are heading off for a few days at the beach on monday I stocked up on foods that will travel with us and hopefully help me pimp up some basic holiday cooking.

100g jar of Conapaira capers from the Riverina, $7
Punnet of sour cherries from Nashdale, $2.50
1kg Angelina plums from Borenore, $5
1 bulb Russian garlic from Morganics at Mt Canobolas, $1.50
1 bulb Mediterranean garlic from Morganics at Mt Canobolas, $1.50
1x 500g jar ginger honey from Cabonne Country Honey in Orange, $5
1 x 500g jar Bloodwood honey from Goldfields Apiaries near Orange, $5
1 bunch rainbow chard from Waru Organics in Orange, $3.50
Pot of fresh organic hummus from Waru Organics, $6
200g Fresh goat’s curd from Jannei dairy near Lithgow, $10
Plus a coffee! $3.50

The next Orange market will be held on Saturday morning, February 11. For lots of information about all the stallholders of Orange Markets, have a look at their website.