Australian Gourmet Traveller - (10)October 2020 (1)

Saltandpepperberrywitlof

withanchovymayonnaise

SERVES4 // PREPTIME 30 MINS// COOK5 MINS

“Thisdishis a playontheclassicfriedcalamariwithaïoli,”says

FinBurgess.“Thecrisptempurabatterandchewyleavesmimic

thecontrastingtexturesoffriedsquid.Thepepperberryadds

a floral, aniseed tone to brighten and round out the dish.”

8 freshbayleaves

2 largeredwitlof

1 tbspgroundpepperberries

(seenote)

1 tbspseasaltflakes

Lemonwedges,toserve

Vegetableoil,fordeep-frying

ANCHOVYMAYONNAISE

25 gm(4)whiteanchovies

2 eggyolks

2 garliccloves,crushed

125 ml(½cup)vegetableoil

1½ tsplemonjuice(or to taste)

BATTER

50 gmcornflour

50 gmflour

Pinchofbicarbonate

ofsoda

175 ml chilled soda water

1 Forthebayleafpowder,

preheatovento50°Corlowest

settingonfan-forced.Place

bayleavesonanoventray,

thentransfertoovenwiththe

doorajaruntildryandcrisp

butstillgreen(20-25minutes).

Discardcentreribsandstalks,

thengrindleavesina spice

grindertoa finepowder.

2 Quarterwitloflengthways

andtrimcoreslightly,keeping

quartersintact.Removeouter

leavesofeachquarter,then

gentlyfoldquartersbackto

openout.Useyourfingers

togentlyfanouttheleaves.

Setasideona tray.

3 Fortheanchovymayonnaise,

blendorprocessanchovies,

yolks, garlic and 2 tsp cold

watertoa smoothpaste.

Withmotorrunning,gradually

addtheoilina thin,steady

streamuntilmixtureis thick

andemulsified.Seasonto

tastewithlemonjuice.

4 Forthebatter,whiskall

ingredientstogethertocreate

a thinpancake-likebatter.

Donotoverwhisk.

5 Heat8cmoilina fryingpan

to200°C.Linea traywithpaper

towel.Combinepepperberries

andseasaltflakesina small

bowl.Workingwithonequarter

ofthewitlofata time,holding

thebaseandkeepingthe

leavessplayed,dipwitlofin

battertocoatevenly.Drain

excessbatter,ensuringleaves

remainseparate.Usingtongs,

carefullylowerwitlofintohotoil,

allowingbatteronthesplayed

leavestobegintosetbefore

immersingtheentirewitlof.Fry

witlofuntilstartingtobrown

ononeside(30seconds),then

turnandcookuntilbrowned

andcrisp(15-20seconds).

Transfertotraytodrainand

sprinklegenerouslywith

pepperberrysaltmixture.

6 Sprinklewitha littlebayleaf

powderandpepperberrysalt.

Servewithanchovymayonnaise

andlemonwedges.

NotePepperberriesare

availablefromHerbie’sSpices

(herbies.com.au)andother

specialist food stores.

It waswhileworkingata localfishandchip

shoponQueensland’sSunshineCoastthat

FinBurgessfellinlovewiththeatmosphere

ofa kitchen.“I wasonly 14 yearsold,”recalls

Burgess.“Weworkedhardbuthada lotoffun.”

Throughhisfinalyearsathighschooland

whilestudyingatuniversity,Burgessmoved

fromcafétocafé,honinghisskillsduring

busySaturdaybreakfastshifts.Buta degree

infinancecouldn’tkeephimaway from the

buzzyworldofhospitality.

“ItwasatoneofthecafésI’dworked

previouslythatI gotthechancetojumpback

inthekitchen,astheguydoingthecooking

wasgoingawayfora weekendandthey

neededsomeonetomanthepans.”says

Burgess.“I lovedit.Gettingtocookwas

a blastandit alsomeant I could make myself

whateverI liked.”

Aftercompletinghisdegree,travelling

overseas,workingina smallbutcher’skitchen

andstartinga chef’sapprenticeship,Burgess’s

passionforcookingprevailed,andinmid-2019,

helandeda roleassous-chefatGauge– an

ambitious,contemporary-Australian restaurant

inSouthBrisbane.

“Alotofreallytalentedyoungcookshave

comethroughthekitchenhere[atGauge]

andit’sanhonourtobea partofit,”saysthe

27-year-old.“Theheadchefs,CormacBradfield

andPhilMarchant– referredtobystaffas

‘MumandDad’– haveplayeda hugerolein

myowngrowthasa chef.Twodifferentstyles

ofcookingandworking,butalways with a very

cleardirectionandexecution.”

Whenit comestohisowncookingstyle,

Burgessenjoysusingvegetables,particularly

onesthatareunder-appreciated.“I alsoenjoy

findingnewwaystoutilisevegetablesthat

peopleknowwell,”hesays,asdemonstrated

inthistempurawitlofrecipe.

Asforthefutureoffood?“Trytousewhat’s

inseasonandgrownlocally,”saysBurgess.

“Wearesuper-luckyinQueenslandtohave

accesstoa lotofqualitylocalproducers.It’s

aneasyjobwhentheproducewe receiveis

of such a high standard.”➤

FinBurgess

Sous-chefatGauge,

Brisbane

GOURMET TRAVELLER 83

WORDS KARLIE VERKERK.