Delicious Australia – (05)May 2019

IT WASANACTofculinarysubterfuge.

Foryears,MattWilkinson’swife,Sharlee

Gibb,anenterprisingcookin herown

right,wouldservetheunwittingchef

andtheirtwoyoungboysa shepherd’s

piein whichmincedmeatwasstealthily

replacedwithblitzedbeans.“Itwas

onlylaterI foundoutit wasa vegetarian

one,”saysWilkinson,whononetheless

relishedthepie.Thatcleverlymodified

dishinspiredthechef,knownfor

MelbourneeateriesThePieShop

andPopeJoan,andhisrecipe for

a spiced‘shepherd’s’pie.

Alltherecipesonthesepagesshare

animprovisationalapproachtoleftover

food.Excessvegiesaregivena freshspin

in comfortingpotpies,surplustomatoes

aretransformedintoa temptingragu,

andunwantedgrainsaddsubstance.

“Therecipesareallaboutusingthings

upwithoutevenbeinganactualrecipe,”

saysWilkinson.“They’rebasedon

ingredientsI’vebeeneatingathome

andseeingwhatgetswastedthemost.”

WhenPopeJoan,hismuch-loved

Brunswick East cafe, closed last year

Whetherit’sleftovervegoroverripefruit,MATTWILKINSON

can spin some magic to make plentifulproduceshine.

IT’S ALL

GOOD

MARKETBASKET

BY MATT WILKINSON

• FETA
  “Wealwayshavefetain ourfridge,it’sa
  kitchenstapleandit’ssoversatile.I loveit
  sprinkledoverroastvegies,saladsorpies,
  butit’sgreatonanything.I likesoft
  whippedgoat’sfeta,liketheonefrom
  MeredithDairy(adelicious. Produce
  Awardswinner).”


• TOMATOES
  “I don’tknowanyonewhodoesn’tlove
  tomato,andgenerallypeoplebuylots
  ofthem,unlike,say,a pineapple.Quite
  oftenwhenyoumakea ragufrom
  leftovertomatoes,it’sdonein a poton
  thestoveandwhenthetomatoleaks,the
  juicesstayin thepot.Butbyroasting
  them,it evaporatesoutanddriesup,
  givingthema slowerroastyelement
  ratherthana stewyone.Queensland
  tomatoescomethroughin thewinter,
  andNoosa Reds are a favourite of mine.”


• RICE
  “Everyonehasriceathome,andit’s
  perfectwithThaicurries,Indiancurries
  orChinesefood,butyoucanalsothrow
  it intoanythingasa filler.Somepeople
  turnexcessriceintoaranciniorfriedrice,
  butI prefertoaddit topies.If youhave
  leftoverriceorbeansorlentils,hide
  themin a vegiepie.I useit in our
  Punjabi-stylebutterchickenpiesat
  ThePieShop,soit thickensthemup,
  andthecurryandricetasteis soyum.
  Youcouldevenusericein a Yorkshire
  pudding.Betterthan it going in the bin!”


• BANANAS
  “I’vealwayslovedbananas,andwhen
  theygobrownis a goodtimetoeat
  them.Mostpeoplefreezethem,or
  makesmoothiesorbananabread.
  Buttrythisbananasplitwithbread
  andbutterpudding.I lovedbothasa
  kid,soI fusedthem.Athomewealways
  serve pudding with leftover anything.”

Wilkinsontooksometimeofftoponder

foodwaste.(PopeJoanhasrecently

enjoyeda pop-upin Melbourne’sCBD.)

“Youknowwhena recipecallsfor

100 gramsofsourcream,”hesays.

“Whatareyousupposedtodowiththe

other 200 grams?”Wilkinsonis shining

a lightonresidualingredientsina

forthcomingbookheis writingwith

researchersfromRMIT.“We’restudying

thewaydifferentpeopleprepare food

athome,”heexplains.

Ona recentafternoon,theEnglish

nativewasmakinganespressomartini

witha splashofcremedebanane.

Thechefis a fanofbananas.Forthe

adjacentdessert,hecombinedtwo

ofhisfavouritechildhoodsweets,

bananasplitandbreadandbutter

pudding,intoonecrowd-pleasingtreat.

Savourypiesareanotherspecialty.

“InAustraliatheyarelikea national

dish,”hesays.Didheevermeetone

hedidn’tlike?“I’mquitechallenged

bytheclassicEnglisheelpie,”he

reveals.PerhapsGibb could recast

that one, too.

@mrwilkinsons

THE PIE SHOP PHOTOGRAPHY

ANNIKA KAFCALOUDIS

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