BABY GEM LETTUCE, EGG SALAD
AND CURRY VINAIGRETTE
SERVES 44 eggs, at room temperature(^1) / 3 cup (100g) whole egg mayonnaise
2 babygemlettuce,halvedlengthways
Baby parsley leaves, to serve
CURRY VINAIGRETTE
21 / 2 tsp curry powder
21 / 2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp chardonnay vinegar
1tsplemonjuice
100ml grapeseed oil
Forthecurryvinaigrette,combinecurry
powder, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice and
1tspsaltflakesinabowl.Whiskinoilina
slow,steadystreamuntilwellcombined.
Stirthrough2tsphotwaterandsetaside.
Meanwhile, to make egg mayonnaise,
bringasaucepanofwatertotheboil.
Carefullyaddeggsandboilfor8minutes
forhard-boiled.Drainandtransfertoa
bowl of iced water. When cool enough to
handle, peel and halve, separating yolks
andwhites.Pressyolksthroughafinesieve
intoabowl.Finelychopwhitesandadd
to yolk with mayonnaise, stirring until
combined.Chill until needed.
Heatafrypanoverhighheat.Add
lettuce, cut-side down, and cook for
1minuteoruntillightlycharred.Transfer
toaplatterandscatterwithsaltflakes.
Topwitheggmayonnaiseanddrizzlewith
vinaigrette. Scatter with parsley to serve.
SALTBEEF BAGEL, MUSTARD
AND PICKLES
MAKES8BAGELS
Begin this recipe 4 days ahead.
8 poppyseed bagels, halved, toasted
(^1) / 4 cup (70g) Dijon mustard
250gcreme fraiche
1 bunch dill, sprigs picked
PICKLED GHERKINS
100g table salt
1kggherkins or small cucumbers
4cups(1L)whitevinegar
(^1) / 4 cup (55g) caster sugar
1 tsp each black peppercorns
and coriander seeds
1 bunch dill, sprigs torn
SALT BEEF
250g table salt
200gbrown sugar
4garliccloves
1bunchthyme
4 bay leaves
2 tbs each black peppercorns
and coriander seeds
1 tbs cardamom pods
8wholecloves
2staranise
2kguncorned beef silverside,
trimmed, quartered
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 each onions, carrots and celery
stalks, chopped
Four days before serving, for the pickled
gherkins, combine 8 cups (2L) water and
saltinabowl,stirringuntilsaltis
dissolved.Addgherkinstosaltmixture.
Coverandchillfor24hourstobrine.
Drain, discarding brining liquid. To make
pickling liquid, combine vinegar, sugar,
peppercorns, coriander, 2 tsp salt flakes
and900mlwaterinanon-reactivebowl.
Add dill and brined gherkins. Cover and
chillfor3daystopickle.
Forsalt beef, combine all ingredients
exceptbeef,oilandvegetableswith3.5L
waterinanon-reactivebowl,stirringuntil
salt is dissolved. Add beef, cover and chill
for 48 hours to brine. Drain, discarding
liquid and reserving beef.
Heatoilinalargesaucepanoverhigh
heat. Add onion, carrot and celery, and
cook,stirring,for8minutesoruntil
softened. Add beef and enough water to
justcover.Bringtotheboil,cover,reduce
heattoasimmerandcook,turningbeef
halfway,for2hour30minutesoruntilbeef
istender.Removefromheatandstand
beef in cooking liquid until cooled. Transfer
1cup(250ml)cookingliquidandbeefto
abowlandsetasidetocoolcompletely.
Toassemble, spread bagel tops and
baseswithtwo-thirdsmustard.Cutbeef
into8mm-thickslices,drizzlewithalittle
cooking liquid, then layer on bagel bases,
CLAYTON WELLS IS Abusy man.
As well as helming his inner-city Sydney
fine-diner, Automata, he’s spending
oneweekamonthatBlackwattle,his
restaurant in Singapore. Then there’s
hislatestSydneyvenue,A1Canteen,
whichissettoopenanydayopposite
Automata in The Old Rum Store in the
Kensington Street dining precinct.
Thedemands on his time didn’t stop
the hot-shot chef putting together this
collection of recipes that showcases “the
line we’re going to be travelling on with
A1Canteen–it’llbeafun,casualplace”.
Wells’cooking style is heavily
influencedbyhisglobaltravelsand
overarchingdesiretoshowcasethebest
and freshest local produce – clearly
evidentintherecipeshereand,hesays,
anethosthatwillcarrythroughtothe
more casual surrounds of the 55-seater
canteen: “It’ll be a nice eclectic mix of
different flavours.”
AddsWells:“Weliketoplayaround
witha lot of different things at
Automata, and now we’ve got the more
casualsetting[withA1],it’sgreattouse
things we might not use at Automata.”
@c_j_wells