Delicious Australia – (07)July 2019

PHOTOGRAPHY

BRETT STEVENS

STYLING

KIRSTEN JENKINS

MERCHANDISING

EMMALY STEWART

I LOVE...

SOUL SEARCHING

WHITEPOLENTAWITHMUSHROOM SAUCE

SERVES 4 AS A LIGHT MEAL OR SIDE

(^3) / 4 cup(180ml)milk
1 cup(150g)whitepolenta
15gdriedporcinimushrooms,chopped
(^1) / 2 cup(125ml)extravirginoliveoil
200gsmallportobellomushrooms, trimmed, thickly sliced
400gSwissbrownmushrooms
4 thymesprigs,leavespicked
2 garliccloves,crushed
75gunsaltedbutter
180g taleggio, rind removed, diced
TARRAGONGREMOLATA
2 tbscoarselychoppedtarragonleaves
2 tbscoarselychoppedflat-leafparsley leaves
Finelygratedzestof1 lemon
2 tbs chopped roasted hazelnuts
Placemilkand5 cups(1.25L)waterin a largesaucepanover
medium-highheatandbringtoa simmer.Whiskingcontinuously,
pourin thepolentain a steadystream.Reducetheheattolowand
cook,stirringfrequently,for 30 minutesoruntilsmoothandthick.
Meanwhile,placethedriedporciniin a heatproofbowlwith
1 cup(250ml)boilingwaterandleavetosoakfor 10 minutes.
Heat2 tbsoftheoilin a largefryingpanoverhighheat.Add
portobellomushroomsandcookfor2-3minutesoruntiljust
tender.Transfertoa plate.Placeanother2 tbsofoilin thepan,add
halftheSwissbrownmushroomsandcookfor2-3minutesoruntil
golden.Transfertoa plateandrepeatwithremaining2 tbsoiland
Swissbrownmushroooms.ReturnalltheSwissbrownmushrooms
tothepan.Addthethyme,garlicand25gbutterandcook,
tossing,for2 minutes,thenaddportobellomushrooms,porcini
andstrainedsoakingwaterandseason.Simmerfor8-10minutesor
untilmushroomsaretenderandsaucehasreducedbytwo-thirds.
Forthegremolata,combinealltheingredientsin a smallbowl.
Addthetaleggiotothepolenta,aswellasremainingbutter
and100mlwater,andstiruntilthecheesehasmeltedand
everythingis combined.Seasontotaste.Servetopped with the
mushroomsauceandsprinkledwithgremolata.
Tips:Tospeeduptheprocess,youcanusestore-boughtpolenta.
It maynotbewhite,butif you’reshortoftimeyoucanhavethis
recipeonthetablein 20 minutes.Tomakethisdishmore meaty,
serve it with beef sausages or barbecued steak.
TODAYWEHEARa lotaboutfoodtonourishmorethanjust
thebody– somethingakintothesoul food of the US. Do we
inAustraliahavea truesoulfood?
Originatingin theUS,it wasthecuisinethatgrewfromthe
meagreslavekitchensofthecottonplantationsandtobaccofields
oftheDeepSouth.It thenspread,afteremancipation,tothe
newlyindustrialisedcitiesasthefreedmenandwomenstruck
outin searchofworkandbetterlifein TheGreatMigration.
Aswithsomanycuisinesofdisplacedpeoples,theplatesof
riceandbeans,collardgreens,cornmealandchitterlingsbecame
notonlydinner,butconnectionswithheritageandfamilypast.
Theyweremadewithingredientsthatwerecheapandreadily
availablesuchascornandoffal,andincludedinfluencesfrom
WestAfrica,wheremanyoftheslavescamefrom,andthe
cookeryofNativeAmericans.Bothgritsandjohnnycakeshave
antecedentsfromtheindigenouskitchen.Sometribesalso
barbecuedoverhickory,a clearlinktotheSouthernhog-smoking
pitoftoday.Yetthiscookingonlyearnedthename‘soulfood’
duringthatgreateraofawakeningofblackconsciousnessin the
’60s.Likesoulmusic,soulfoodbecame a matter of pride – an
honouredbadge,hardwon.
Forme,soulfoodhastohavea connectionwithheritage.Here
thiscanmeana linktotheconvicteraoragrarianpastbecause,at
itsheart,soulfoodhastobecalorifictosustainyouforworkin the
fields.Andit doesn’tincludeexpensiveingredients.Sois oursoul
foodtheworking-classbushtuckerandrecipesfromtheCWA
cookbook– foodthatlinksusbacktotheshearingshedandgold
diggings?Perhapsthelikesofsnags(cookedona shovelover the
fire),pumpkinscones,Vegemitescrollsandlambchops.
Certainlythere’ssoulin a nicepotofteaanda slice,a roast
chicken,ora country-stylecasserolethatmighthidecheapcuts
ofbeeforkangaroo.Andin a pantryfulloftinnedpineapple
andcondensedmilk,currypowderanddesiccatedcoconut
forthoselamingtons.Australiancountrycuisinealsouses
indigenousfoodsuchasSydneyrocksandbarramundi– though
thesehaverecentlybecomepartofthetop-dollardinnersof
affluenturbanites– andevokesmemoriesofcampsitemeals
aroundtheopenfire,withstick-cookeddamperandbillytea.
In thismulticulturalcountry,I wouldsuggest,therearefurther
chapterstocomein oursoul-foodhistory,reservedforthefood
ofdisplacedminoritiesthathasincorporatedlocalingredients.
Withthisin mind,is silverbeetorwarrigalgreensourcollard
greens?Is thepolentaofournorthernItalianandAbruzzese
migrantsourgrits?And,if so,doesaddingmilkpowder to the
polenta increase its Aussie soul-food credentials?
Putthebillyonfora cuppaandcrackouttheVegemitescrollsas
Matt Preston considers contenders for Australia’s soul food.
I’M LOVING.
46 delicious.com.au