Australian Gourmet Traveller - (04)April 2020 (1)

(Comicgek) #1

104 GOURMET TRAVELLER


C


losingtheovendoorandswinging
a teatowelovermyshoulderis one
ofthemostsatisfyingmovements
I makeinthekitchen.I lovethe
alchemythattakesplacebehindthatdoor.It’s
astonishinghowheat,onitsown– without
youdirectingit orsupervisingit verymuch


  • canturnsimpleingredientsintoa meal.
    Thealchemyofheatis a gift.Withonly
    a littleknowledge– andgradualpractise

  • youcanlearnhowtousethewarmth
    withinthatclosedbox.
    BecauseI lovecooking,I’mhappyto
    makecomplicatedfood;I knowthatsome
    dishescanonlybeachievedbybrowning
    theconstituentelementsandslowlybuilding
    layersofflavour.Therewillnevercomea
    timewhenI don’twanttocookandeat
    boeufbourguignon,a dishthatneedsthis
    kindofattention.ButI can’tcookfoodlike
    thisfromMondaytoThursday– I justdon’t
    havethetime.Instead,I roastfoodsthat
    aremoreusuallydoneina panonthestove

  • sausages,broccoliandsalmonfillets– just
    becauseI thinkit’seasier.It is literally“hands
    off”cookingandI’vebuiltupa repertoire
    ofdishesonthistheme.Inmymind,and
    inmycooking,theovenis central.
    Tocookthisway– usingverysimple
    methods– youdoneeda well-stocked
    cupboard.You’renotdoingmuchtothe
    foodyou’recooking,soyouneedbigflavours.
    Thereareingredients– pomegranate
    molasses,miso,preservedlemons– that
    youneedtoget.
    Doyouneedanyfancybitsofequipment?
    Nope.Buta fewroastingtraysare,obviously,
    a must-have(thatwayyoucanroastmorethan
    onedishintheovenat thesametime).Some
    ofminehavebeenonthegofor 30 years,
    andthemorebashedandworntheybecome,
    themoreI lovethem.
    Whyis it important,whenI knowthat
    cookingdoestakeeffort,toofferyoudishes
    that,whilerequiringattention,arerelatively
    easytoachieve?BecauseI believethatthe
    tableis important.I wouldn’thavemanaged
    tofeedmychildrenwellandsharefood
    withfriendsona Wednesdayaswellason
    a Saturdaynightwithout finding simple
    ways to do things.

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