Australian Gourmet Traveller - (07)July 2019 (1)

GOURMET TRAVELLER 111

Butter,forspreading
andfrying
4 thickslicesfroma square
briocheloaf
4 thickslicesoflegham
180 gm(1½cups)gratedComté
2 eggs
Seededmustardand
cornichons,to serve
BÉCHAMEL
400 mlmilk
2 freshbayleaves
1 tspmustardseeds
¼ tspnutmeg,finelygrated
1 onion,coarsely chopped
2 cloves
40 gmbutter
30 gmflour
PEA-TENDRILSALAD
30 gmpeatendrils
1 redshallot(optional),
thinlysliced
HOUSEDRESSING
150 mlwhitewinevinegar
150 mllemonjuice
150 mlextra-virginoliveoil
2 tbspDijonmustard
½ tspharissapaste
½ preservedlemon(seeds
removed;seenote)
1 tsp white sugar

Croque madame, leg ham, Comté béchamel

MAKES 2

ThestoryofHardwareSociétégoessomethinglikethis...

WillandDiKeserrealisethatwhatpeoplewantfromHardware
Sociétéis brunch.Allday.Thisis whensomeofthedishesthat
arethefoundationforthecafé’spopularitycomeintobeing.
Melbourneis a townwherepeoplehavealreadytakentothe
ideaofbreakfast,butwhatDiandWilldoat HardwareSociétéis
somethingnew.There’seggsBenedict,buttheyturnit intolobster
Benedict,whichcomeswitha citrushollandaisefoam,softherbs
anda 64-degreeegg.Theyservescrambledeggswitha double-
smokedbaconslab,peasandGruyère.Friedbriochebecomes
a signature,perhapsservedwithEarlGrey-poachedpearsand

chocolateganache.It’snotlikeanyotherbrunchmenuintown.
“Ourfoodis hearty,richandluxurious,”sayschefAaron
Taylor.“We’veneverdonesmashedavo.Wedon’tdoeggs
ontoast.Whywouldyoulineupfor 40 minutesforeggson
toast?DiandWilldecided,thisis whatweloveandthisis
whatwewanttoshare.They’reunapologetic about it.”

ThenbeganaloveaffairwithParis

“WewerehereonesummerandwhenwegotbacktoMelbourne
it wasJuly,winter,grey,depressing,”saysDi.“I saidtoWill:
‘Why don’t we open a café in Paris?’ Will was like, ‘Yeah,

1 Forhousedressing,placeall

ingredientsin a jugwith¼ tsp

saltandwhiskwitha hand-held

blendertoemulsify.Setaside.

Makes21/4cups.Dressingwill

keeprefrigeratedfora week.

2 Forbéchamel,warmmilk

withbayleaves,mustardseeds,

nutmeg,onionandclovesin

a saucepanovermedium-low

heat.Bringtoa gentlesimmer

andsimmerfor5 minutes.

Removepanfromheatandset

asidefor 15 minutestosteep.

Strain,anddiscardonion

andotheraromaticsfrommilk.

In anothersaucepan,meltbutter

overlowheat,addflourand

gentlycookouttoproducea

colourlessroux(3minutes).Add

strainedmilktoroux,a littleata

time,whiskingtomakesurethe

mixtureis consistentintexture

beforeaddingmoremilk.This

willalsopreventlumpsfrom

forming.Continuesimmering

béchamelonlowheatuntil

thick(2minutes).Season

totastewithsaltandwhite

pepper, andsetaside.

3 Preheattheovento180°C.

Butteronesideofeachbrioche

slice, then fry, buttered-side

down,in a largefryingpan

overlowheatuntilgoldenand

crisp(2-3minutes).

4 Placebriochesliceson

a bakingtray,buttered-side

down,andcoveruncooked

sideswithhamandcheese,

makingsurenottoleaveanyof

thebriocheexposed.Bakeuntil

cheeseis wellmeltedandhas

a touchofcolour(7 minutes).

5 Meanwhile,frytheeggs.

Weliketocookthemin a fair

amountofbutteroverlowheat,

justuntilthewhitesaresetand

theyolksarestillsoft(3minutes).

6 Forthepea-tendrilsalad,

combineingredientsanddress

with1 tbsphousedressing.

7 Removebriochefrom

ovenandassembletomake

twosandwiches.

8 Placethesandwicheson

servingplates,pour50ml

béchamelsauceoverthetop

andfinishwitha friedegg.Add

saladtotheplateandservewith

a quenelleofseededmustard

andcornichons.

NoteWeusewholepreserved

lemon(seedsremoved)in this

recipe, as it has great saltiness.

whatever’,thinkingI wasjustdaydreaming.I startedlooking

at shopsonlineandI cameacrossthesiteonRueLamarck

inMontmartre.It seemedideal.”

It’sa quietParisianstreetdirectlybehindtheSacré-Cœur.

“Itwasveryslowtostartwith,”sayschefCarlaEyles,“butthen

aftertwomonths,werealisedweweredoingcoversofbetween

200 and300.It wasexciting.Thefirsttimewehada queueit

wasinsummer.It wasamazing– it wentrightdownthestreet.”

Theynowservemorethan 600 peopleeveryweekend– in

a spacewith 50 seatsanda tinyboxofa kitchen,whichoften

feelslikeit’sbeenheldtogetherbysheerforceofwill.But

thesuccessis a relief.DiandWillrelaxa little,takea look

around,surveywheretheyare.ThelocationofHardware

Sociétéis notreallythepoint.TheywillstayinParisforthe

longerterm,thereis talkofLondon.HardwareSociétécan

beanywhereaslongastheHardwarefamilyis involved.

AsDiandWillsayoverandover,it’sneverbeenabout

money.It’saboutthefuture.Andthepeople.Andtheact

ofdoingthethingyou’repassionateabout.

HardwareSociété, 10 KatherinePl & 123HardwareSt,

Melbourne,Vic,(03)9078 5992; 10 Rue Lamarck, Paris,

hardwaresociete.com

250 gmbutter

250 gmCallebaut(orother

high-qualitydarkchocolate

callets,atleast54%cocoa

solids),finelychopped

370 gmcastersugar

120 gmDutch-processcocoa

6 eggs

Oil,forgreasing

1 Ina saucepanovermedium

heat,meltbutteruntilhot,

butbecarefulnottoburnit

(4minutes).Removepanfrom

heat,addchocolatecalletsand

stiruntilmelted(40seconds).

2 Combinesugarandcocoa

in a bowl.In a separatebowl,

beateggsthenslowlyaddto

dryingredients.Foldin melted

chocolatemixturetocombine.

3 Preheatovento160°Cand

greaseeightmini-loafmoulds.

4 Whenbrowniemixture

hascooledslightly,spoon

intomouldsandbakefor

35-40minutes.Themiddle

shouldbeslightlyundercooked;

it willsetwhenchilled.If stored

in therefrigerator,bringtoroom

temperaturetoeat,orwarmin

a 140°C oven for 5 minutes.➤

Flourlesschocolate

browniesPictured p109.

SERVES 8