“THEMOSTAMAZINGproduceis
availablerightnow;it’sthebesttime
toownanItalianrestaurant!”says
MaxSharrad,buoyantwithenthusiasm.
“Thebesttomatoesarecominginto
season,late-summerbasil,capsicum,
eggplant,zucchini,mushrooms...
they’reallattheirabsolutepeak.
Usethemuptomakea lasagne,orone
ofthebrilliantrecipesonthesepages!”
AsheadchefofNido,a relatively
newcontenderontheAdelaide
restaurantscene,Sharradhashad
a bigyear.“We’vebeengoingsowell,
wefoundourfeetasa restaurantand
havea good balance in the menu now,”
hesays.
Butthatdoesn’tmeanheand
histeamarereadytotakeit easy,
withSharrad’seyesfixedfirmlyon
thehorizon.Tostart,Sharrad’swife
andfellowchefLauraCassaiwillbe
headingbacktotheMasterChef
kitchen, then there are the collab-dinners(“Ican’treallysaymuchatthis
point,”Sharradexplains,“buthopefully
we’llhavethechancetoworkwith
internationalnamesaswellassome
localtalent”)anda specialclosingnight
eventforSouthAustralia’sTasting
Australiaprogramin April,with
AdamListonandfriends.Plusthere’s
thepipedream of a deli project bubbling
away,too.
“LauraandI alsohaveplanstotake
a triptoItalyatsomepoint.We’re
dreamingofgoingtoBologna,the
homeofpasta...wellit’snotthe
home,it’smorelikepastamecca,
really.I wanttogooverthereand
visitallthelittlepastashops,learn
fromthenonnas,bringbacksome
pasta-makingtoolsanda fewnew
ideas,newtechniques,somenew
shapes,”hesays.“We’lljusttryto
keepkickinggoals.” We have no doubt
they will.MARKETBASKET
BYMAXSHARRAD
CAPSICUM
“Theendofsummeris when
capsicumsareattheirprime.They are
ripeandsweet,andhavethat
characteristicaroma.Oneofmy
favouriteflavoursis capsicumthat’s
beencharredandblistered.Thenyou
enhancethesweetnesswitha littlebit
ofhoney,oliveoil,andsomesharpness
fromthevinegar.Thebalanceis
unbelievablewithgoat’s cheese and
gnoccofritto.”
MUSHROOM
“Weusedchestnutmushroomsin this
recipebecausethey’rereadily
available,butif I weretomakethisat
home,I’dgooutandpicksaffronmilk
capsorwildporcinisandgetthatragu
on.Ofcourse,youcouldsubstituteany
mushroom;thinkofthisasa guide,
thoughI don’trecommendgoingout
andpickingmushroomsif you don’t
knowwhatyou’re doing.”
FLOUNDER
“Oneofthebestthingsaboutflounder
is thatit is veryeasytofilletonceit’s
cooked– allyouhavetodois run
a spoondownthemiddleofthe
backbone,andyoucanflakethe
beautifulpearlywhiteflesh.It’snice
andsweet,andhasa goodamount
oftexture...it haseverythingyouwant
in a fish.Except looks... but you can’t
haveit all.”
PEAR
“Theseasonforreallygoodpearsis
autumn,they’reidealforcooking.
It’simportanttogeta nicebuerre
bosc,somethingthatwillcookdown
andis a bitsweeter.If thepearsare
fromearlierin theseason,they’llbe
crunchierwithmoreacid,butlate-
autumnpearsaresofter and have an
intense sweetnes s.”Produceis keyatNido,where
headchefMaxSharrad’s
seasonalItalianmenusand
unbridledenergyhavecemented
it a new Adelaide favourite.MOLTOBENNENIDO PHOTOGRAPHY
MEGHAN COLES
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