Australian_Gourmet_Traveller_2017

WHO Emma Nicholas-

Jennings and husband,

Gary Jennings, owners of

Melbourne gelato shop

Miinot, learnt their trade

helping Nicholas-Jennings’

parents at their gelateria on

the Mornington Peninsula

during holiday season.

“We got sick of travelling

back and forth, so we

thought we’d do our own,”

she says. The couple took

a risk on a derelict strip of

shops in Melbourne’s

northern suburbs and

opened Miinot in 2015.

Despite its off-piste location,

the gelateria attracts people

from all over the city.

WHAT Local ingredients are

used to make flavours such

as honey, yuzu and feijoa.

On any given day, the

cabinet might hold a

dairy-free banana, coconut

and charcoal gelato, or the

OMG, which has layers

of salted-caramel gelato,

Nutella and butterscotch.

Recently, Shropshire

Blue from Melbourne

cheesemonger Harper

& Blohm was crumbled

on a quince and goat’s milk

ice-cream. It was a sell-out.

HOW Unlike some gelaterias,

Miinot doesn’t own a

pasteuriser, often used to

speed up the gelato-making

process. Instead, Miinot’s

gelato thickens naturally

overnight in the fridge,

allowing the flavours time to

steep, and is churned slowly,

which makes for a thicker,

creamier result. “When we

tasted our first batch, we

were amazed at the texture,”

says Nicholas-Jennings.

“Our customers constantly

comment on it.” The final

step is coming up with a

fun name for each flavour.

Sergeant Pepper teams

Tasmanian pepperberry

with dark chocolate; The

Cone of Silence pairs vegan

chocolate with waffle-cone

pieces; and the Superhero

has chocolate swirled with

hazelnut and Nutella and

layered with wafers.

WHY Miinot is truly small-

batch gelato. Without a

pasteuriser to whip up more,

once a flavour has sold out,

that’s it. “People see a post

on Instagram and know to

get in quick,” she says.

WHERE Miinot Gelato,

71 Melville Rd, Pascoe Vale

South, Vic, (03) 9383 4258

BY EMMA BREHENY

Miinot Gelato

This Melbourne gelato-maker’s small-batch

operation is big on flavour.

The

producers Cutting shapes

Been there, eaten that? Step

away from the pappardelle

and try this pasta for size.

PACCHERI

Neapolitan for “slap” (as in slap you in

the face while you eat it), these tubes

are wider than rigatoni and fatter

than cannelloni. Find them tossed

with prawn and Napoli sauce at

Osteria Ilaria in Melbourne, or stuffed

with octopus at Wyno in Sydney.

CASARECCE

Twisted and rolled, with a name that

means homemade, casarecce hold

whatever they’re paired with –

suckling lamb ragù at Italian & Sons

in Canberra, say, or cow’s milk

squacquerone cheese and leeks

at Adelaide’s Osteria Oggi.

MAFALDE

These ribbons with one or both

edges curled are great for holding

on to sauce, such as the braised

rabbit and pecorino at Tartufo in

Brisbane. Pino’s Vino e Cucina in

Sydney, meanwhile, tosses them

through a wild boar ragù.

MALLOREDDUS

Think of tiny gnocchi. Gnochetti,

even – which is what they’re called

in Sardinia. Locals serve them with

rich sauces and pecorino. Acme in

Sydney does a spelt version with

king brown mushrooms, walnuts and

rosemary. Both are winners.

LORIGHITTAS

Chef Giovanni Pilu knows his

lorighittas. And he would – the twisted

rings of pasta come from Sardinia, his

home island, where they’re called

Morgongiori. Pilu suggests eating

them Carloforte style with yellowfin

tuna, tomato and pesto. Si, signore.

Yuzu and Marrakech cup

(left), and Chocolate

Coconut Cherries with

Burnt Fig. Right: Orange

Pomegranate and

Banana Coconut Ash,

and Mandarino and

Forest Berries. Below

right: Miinot co-owner

Emma Nicholas-Jennings

BY DAVID MATTHEWS

News

GOURMET TRAVELLER 27