When my Brother came to town....

Visiting family is always a great excuse to peruse The Age Good Food Guide, pick a top notch restaurant (so many to choose from) and eventually heading out to reap the spoils.

Starting at the Spice Market at the basement of the Grand Hyatt, we enjoyed 2 for 1 drinks (on a Saturday night(!!!!), business must be slow...) then headed up to the road to 101 Collins Street, some of Melbourne's most highly prized commercial real estate.

Entering through the back dooron Flinders Lane, the building lay sleepy aside from a bustling corner of the ground floor, where The Italian - no, not just one person - but an institution that caters to suits, bruts and possibly everything in between. It almost felt like we were entering an enclave of Melbourne's maffia without even knowing it.

But this story isn't about reviewing this asteemed restaurant but more so, bringing into high regard the humble 'sides'. Yes, that dish that wait staff do the upsell on, the one that used to come on the plate without the diner needing to pay extra for.

It's such a shame that suddenly, the 'three veg' we take for granted as part of an ideal balanced diet is pushed into the realm as something that is considered an added extra to many meals we enjoy around town.

Instead, these dishes are a testament to the season in question as this is when fresh ingredients really do shine.

At The Italian, we enjoyed a side of brussel sprouts a vegetable that you either love or hate. It conjures up tastes and smells that can remind us of 'God love her' our Nana's Sunday roasts where this humble vegetable was possibly a little (meaning a lot) overcooked so that we could effectively suck the contents through our front teeth. Having spent time in the UK, I've experienced this first hand and I'm surprised that I still speak favourable of this mini-cabbage like winter vegetable. On this dining occasion, the sprouts were cooked perfectly and served with smoked ham hock which was an ideal combination...and with the obligatory lemon wedge on the side, it was a dish worth having.

So, in celebrating the reincarnation of this important part of our dining experience, here are a couple of recipes that could very well change your own view of the added extra to your main meal.

Sprouts with mustard & cumin

500g brussel sprouts

3 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 cloves garlic

1/ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt & pepper to taste

Cook sprouts and reserve 2/3 cup of the cooking water.

Heat oil and add mustard seeds.

Cover pan as seeds will jump around. This should take a couple of minutes.

Add cumin, garlic and cayenne in that order. Stir fry for 1 minute.

Add sprouts and cook 2-3 minutes.

Pour in reserved stock and simmer til stock has reduced by half.

Top with toasted, flaked almonds and a wedge of lemon on the side.

Parisian Peas (this is self named, just because...it sounds romantic!)

350g fresh, podded peas or the equivalent frozen peas
100g smoked bacon, diced into 1/2 cm pieces (you can buy it ready cut or use lardons or pancetta cubes)
3 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
100ml vegetable stock (a cube will do)
250ml double cream
A good knob of butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cover the peas with boiling salted water and add a good knob of butter and a couple of teaspoons of sugar.

Simmer for 5-6 minutes until tender, then drain them in a colander.

Meanwhile in a larger saucepan gently cook the shallots and bacon in a little butter without colouring until soft.

Add the vegetable stock and simmer until it has completely reduced.

Add the double cream, season with freshly ground black pepper and simmer the cream until it has reduced by half.

Add the peas and continue to simmer until the sauce is just coating the peas.

Add the butter and more salt and pepper if necessary.

Blind-folded Vegie Stock

In my previous blog, I referred to an easy vegetable stock recipe that even the most novice cook could prepare, hence the reason for referring to it as a blind-folded' stock.
Aside from water base, there are THREE ingredients to chop and then you are on your way to a home made base for soups, risottos or even deglazing a pan after cooking meat.

You will need:
1 leek, roughly chopped
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped

Cover all ingredients with 1 litre of water in a saucepan over high heat.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt and bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Strain the vegetables and discard.
Use immediately or cool and transfer into smaller containers for freezing.

To increase the complexity of the stock, you can add other vegetables such as carrots or garlic, plus bay leaves and peppercorns can also be used.

Get stuck into the funghi!

Autumn is well and truly here, especially in Melbourne (mentioned, for the purposes of my non-Victorian followers).

And, there's not too many cities in the world where you can be driving down a significant traffic thoroughfare (Royal Parade) and see mushrooms popping up on either side of the road. In fact, even saw a pedestrian taking photos of the little marvels - very quaint and got me thinking about how versatile this ingredient is. You can fry them, bake them, mix them in sauces, stick them on pizzas, have them for breakfast lunch or dinner, you can even eat them raw.... there's not too many of nature's gifts that share this versatility.

And there are so many different varieties available, each with their own unique flavour. Slipper jacks, pine mushrooms, swiss, enoki, shitake, or just your stock standard button mushroom - they all have great use, especially at this time of year when supply is at a premium.

A couple of years ago, on a cold May day (completely rugged up) I went mushroom hunting down on the Mornington Peninsula and found the experience to be so interesting (and fun). It's amazing how much you can discover simply by getting down amongst the leaf litter below the massive and majestic pine trees.
And after the hunt, how well did a glass of pinot noir match itself to these morsels which we enjoyed as ingredients in soup, tarts and pizzas.

So here comes my recipe choice to share with you all. It's a Jamie Oliver special that I've cooked a number of times and each time, it's as good as the last. As a lover of beef stoganoff, I think the name of the soup allured me first up, but then the ease of the method made it a staple in my winter soup collection. The addition of rice as a thickener ensures this is a hearty soup to be enjoyed in front of the TV on a Sunday night - with a glass of pinot of course!

Mushroom Stroganoff Soup

40g unsalted butter

1 garlic clove, sliced

1kg mixed mushrooms (swiss, oyster, brown) chopped

1 red onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, trimmed and finely chopped

2 bay leaves (great for flavour)

2 litres chicken or vegetable stock (see my next post about making your own stocks)

1/2 cup white rice

150ml sour cream

zest of 1 lemon

small bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

freshly ground nutmeg, to sprinkle

Here's how to cook it!

Melt the butter in large saucepan, over medium heat.

Stir in garlic.

Add mushrooms and fry for 4-5 minutes.

Season with good quality salt (I use celtic sea salt).

Add onion and celery and cook for a further 3-4 minutes.

Add bay leaves, stock and rice and bring to the boil.

Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked.

Discard bay leaves and blend soup.

Mix sour cream and lemon zest together.

Stir in a few drops of lemon juice and some salt for extra flavour.

Ladle soup into bowls and swirl in a spoonful of sour cream mixture

Sprinke soup with olive oil, parsley and a pinch of nutmeg.

If you like, you can reserve 1/3 of the cooked mushrooms and serve these on top of some grilled ciabatta bread on the side. I don't know about you, but I just love dunking bread into soup. It's so wholesome....

And, if you have access to truffle oil, go on, splurge!!! Add some to the soup in the cooking process. The flavour just takes things to a whole new level.

Enjoy!!