Nadia – August-September 2019

PEOPLEORGANIC CHEF

NO7BALMAC.CO.NZ

Mushroomsalad

Readyin 15 minutesplus marinating

time| Serves4 |GF

Thisrecipeoriginatedathome,withmy

vegetariandaughterAdelphiinmind.

Celeryseedsaddaninterestingflavour

torawsalads,especiallyslaw.

750gwhitebuttonmushrooms,thinlysliced

1 cupfinelyshavedceleryheart,young leaves

included

2 smallpinchesflakysea salt

Juice1 smalllemon

Shavedparmesan,to serve

HERBDRESSING

½cupfinelychoppedherbs– eg flat-leaf parsley,

basilandtarragon

1 tspchoppedthymeleaves

1 clovegarlic,finelychopped

⅓cupextravirgin olive oil

THYMESALT

2 tspceleryseeds

1 tspsalt

2 tspthyme leaves

1 Gentlymixmushroomsandcelery

withsaltandlemonjuiceandsetasidein

fridgetomarinateforatleast 30 minutes.

2 Fordressing,mixherbsandgarlicinto

theoil.Addtomushroomsandleavea

littlewhilelongerinfridge.Tastefor

seasoningandadjustif needed.Mix

thymesaltingredientstogether.

3 Placemushroomsonplatter,topwith

parmesan, sprinkle with thyme salt. Serve.

VARIATIONS

>youcanaddmanythingstothissalad,especially

grains,beans,seedsandnuts.Youmay need to

increase the seasoning a little.•

No7Balmacisa neighbourhoodeatery
(namedforits7 BalmacewenRdaddress)
sothey’renottryingtoreinventthe
wheel,butjustdotheclassicsreallywell.
“Iliketooffersomethingfor
everybody,”Pennysays.Thatincludes
thosewhocan’teatgarlicoronion,or
whohavea glutenornutallergy.Penny
bringsinhintsofspiceandelements
fromdifferentculturesbutina waythat
“temptsratherthanoverpowers”.
Wood-firedcookingisanintegralpart
ofthemenu,asismakingeverything
fromscratch– fromsaucestobreadand
doughnuts(abigstudentdrawcard).
Cookingwithfeweringredients– but
utilisingmoreofeachingredient– is
importanttoo,bothtokeepthings
simpleandminimisewaste.
AthomePennycooksthingsshe
knowsthekidswilllike– sushior
nachosarefavourites.DaughterAdelphi
isvegetarian,soPennymakesa lotof
vegemeals,sometimesaddinga meat
componentfortheothers.
“Idon’twanttostressmyselfoutin
thekitchenathomesoI justtrytodo
somethingthat’sgoingtofeedeveryone
andwecanallrelaxand enjoy it.”

Gardengrowth
Pennygrowsherownorganicproduceat
workandhome.No7Balmac’sgardenis
fullofherbs,vegetablesandfruit–
there’sevena grapevineandpeartrees

• andchefsworkinshiftsalongside
  gardenerBrendanDelvin.
  “It’sreallygoodtogetinthereand
  identifywhat’sreadytobepicked,”says
  Penny.“Yougeta betterrespectfor
  usingtheentirevegetableratherthan
  justthecentrepiece.”
  Babybroccolileaves,forinstance,are
  neverwasted,andwhenthereweren’t
  manygrapesonthevine,Pennyusedthe
  leavestomakedolmades.
  Shedoesn’tgetmuchtimetotendher
  owngarden,soPennygrowshardyveges
  thatwillself-seed.There’salways
  rhubarb, rocket, spring onion, sorrel,

StyleandsubstanceNo7Balmac’sgardenis integraltoitssustainableethos.Aftera firedamagedit lastyear,theinteriorwasredesignedbyCheshireArchitectsandthe

menu updated. Pictured is a dish of wood-grilled tandoori octopus with eggplant pickle, coriander yoghurt and turmeric oil, served with homemade flatbread.

parsleyandsilverbeet.“Allthoseleafy

greensgrowreallywellinDunedin.”

She’sgotfruittreestoo,andforages

aroundPortChalmersformoreto

sustainherjuicinghabit.“That’soneof

myfavouritethingstogivemea boost.”

Moderation(mostofthetime)

Whileherloveofbakingislegendary

• shestartedatNo7Balmacsixyearsago
  asa pastrychef– Pennysaysshedoesn’t
  strugglewithtemptationunless
  somethingisfreshfromtheoven.
  “That’smybiggestdangerarea.IfI’ve
  justcookedpitabreadorsomething,
  you’llprobablyseemeeatingit straight
  away.OtherwiseI’mfairlygood.Witha
  lotofkids,moderationisprettyeasy
  becauseweneedtoration!”
  Whenit comestohealthyeating,a big
  thingforPennyislisteningtoherbody,
  andhonouringwhenshemightneeda
  meatmeal,ora lighter,spicierricedish.
  Andwhileshelovesbaking,shetriesnot
  toousetoomuchbutter at home or eat
  toomuchjunkfood.

Localinspiration

Whilewaitingfortherestaurantto

reopen,PennyandownerKatrinavisited

LosAngelestoresearchideasforthe

newmenu.Penny’sbigtakeawayfrom

thetripwasthatthedesireforlocal,

seasonalproduceandhealthyfoodis

notgoingaway.

“Peoplearereallyconsciousofwhat

theyeat,thequalityofthefood,what

they’redrinking,whereit’scoming

from,”Pennysays.

“Ithelpedmethink,‘Whatotherlocal

stuffistheretoofferpeople?’It mademe

appreciatewhatwehavehereandwonder

howwecanstartusingmoreofit.

“We’recommittedtoour

surroundings– thegarden,thepeoplein

ourneighbourhoodandthelocal

producethat’sgrownaround us in Otago

and the South Island.”

GOODTOKNOW

Aswellascompostingandgrowingorganic

produce,theteamatNo7Balmacareworkingto

reduce waste and have already eliminated cling film.

“We’recommittedtooursurroundings– thegarden,the

peopleinourneighbourhoodandthelocalproduce

that’s grown around us in Otago and the South Island”