Aus: reprise

I am one lucky Roy. After a long and lovely holiday in Australia, and after having completed the hat trick of visiting all three of Bill Granger’s restaurants, I found myself only a week after my return being retreated to a repeat delight.

Tipped off by melly bo, the gent had secured us two tickets… actually, scrap that, maybe it would be best to walk you through this? Yes, I think so.

So please imagine you are unbreakfasted, tripping through the streets of Marylebone early on a Sunday morning; the kind of spring morning that causes deep excitement and hope, even without certain good times ahead of you.

Your gentleman friend leads you to La Fromagerie, where you and around 20 other folk squeeze around tables, are served coffee, juice, and a pumpkin cinnamon muffin… and in walks bill granger. To give you a cooking demonstration. And chat about his culinary begninnings, powdered gravy and ‘owning the morning’.

Obviously it doesn’t get much better, but here is what we ate:

Coffee, juice

Pumpkin cinnamon muffin

Banana bread

Strawberry and rhubarb crisp with yoghurt

Ham and egg Alsatian tart (the very best thing of the morning)

Bill-dressed salad (salad sourced from only 3 miles away) with fromagerie cheese

prosecco

I got to bashfully raise a hand as someone who had been to bills recently, AND he signed my book. AND he likes my name! Although that could be a book signing thing to say when you have nothing else to say, as Stephen Fry said that too.

I was on swinging on a cloud after all that so can't recall the name of the delicate pyramidal cheese the gent chose, and which we ate later with oat cakes.

Things to look up:

Bill liked a restaurant called Petersons (sp?) - run by a chap or chapess by the name of ‘sky’ or somesuch.

All the Bill Granger books I haven't read yet.

The oils / vinegars mentioned by the fearsome fromagerie lady, and which Bill used to dress the salad.

Join the Fromagerie email list.

pellegrinis

Pellegrinis, Melbourne, in pictures:


penne pellegrini, which was a cross between school dinner and made by mumma: hearty, huge, unsophisticated. i think i've blogged about this elsewhere, but i like the picture reminders. the melon granita was amazing and just what i wanted, but didn't know it.

sourdough

sourdough starter

150g strong white flour
50g spelt flour
1 tbsp good honey
150ml warm water

mix until a soft dough. cover with a split freezer bag, elastic band round. put in a warm place (30 degrees c) for 36-48 hours until dough loose and smells alcoholic. it will have darkened on top and bubbles begin to appear.

Feeding the yeast: day 3
30g spelt flour
280g strong white flour
150ml warm water

take yeast starter, add spelt and strong flour with warm water. mix, cover with plastic again. set aside 24 hrs in warm place (less than 24c will stop fermentation) - until mix expands and smells sweet and lightly fermented.

Feeding the ferment : day 4
400g strong white flour
200ml warm water
200g mix from day 3

mix together until thick dough forms. cover and set aside as before for 12 hours, until dough rises.

Maturing the ferment: day 6-9

slow fermentation to ensure it matures gently. keep bowl on bottom shelf of fridge for 2-5 days, depending on how sour you would like it. ferment is ready when skin on top is pulled back and the dough beneath is 'buttery coloured and full of bubbles, like honeycomb'. should be sticky and smell alcoholic and slightly acidic.

the future of your ferment:

refresh every 2-3 days to keep alive. keep back 400g and ditch the rest. mix with 400g water and 800g strong white flour. mix, cover with freezer bag, secure and store in fridge.

making and baking

700g strong white flour
90g spelt flour
400g ferment
650ml water (body temperature)
1 tbsp salt
semolina and flour to dust

combine flours, add ferment, ripping it to pieces. add water, mix until a dough.
work the dough (place away form you, stretch, flip back on itself, stretch sideways - 10-15 mins) sprinkle with 1 tbsp salt, knead until elastic and smooth; finish it in a ball.
put in a tea-towel lined basket or bowl. cover with another towel and set in a warm place for 1 hr.

turn onto floured surface: fold outside edges in a few times, rotate as you go. return to rest for another hour.

divide into two: prove for 16-18 hrs in slightly warm place (17-18 c). dough should double in size and be springy to touch. coat top in flour.

oven 250 (230 fan): place in baking trays ready. remove trays, dust with semolina, turn dough onto tray, round (floured) side upwards: slash or score top. open oven, spray with water, chuck tray in (or place tin of water on bottom shelf of oven). Bake 5 mins. reduce heat to 220c (200c fan), bake 25 mins further until golden and bursting, and base hollow when tapped. if need to cook longer, reduce heat to 210 (190 fan) for another 10-15 mins.

a toblerone by any other name...

i can't tell you how good my eggs florentine breakfast was. the photo does it no justice. so instead i will make a note that the occasion is Bert's birthday and we ate at the 'Bogey Hole' cafe on Bronte beach.

in the oven is Bert's birthday cake: Nigella's 'Madeira cake' (from Domestic Goddess, I think - her first mother-in-law's recipe) . HG actually made it while i ate falafel, sitting in the sun, however we then did a combined effort on a toblerone mousse. you might wonder why you would want to change anything about a toblerone, however i licked the bowl clean and i promise you it's worth the effort.

300g dark toblerone (we used milk...)
2 eggs
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp whipping or double cream

Melt toblerone in one bowl.
Mix eggs and sugar in another, then fold in chocolate and blend well.
In a third bowl whip cream until stiff peaks. Carefully fold in chocolate mix, spoon into Bert's martini glasses and champagne saucers, chill 2 or 3 hours.

the actual instruction for melting chocolate is just bonkers: 'Put toblerone in bowl and cover completely with boiling water. Allow to stand briefly until chocolate softens. Carefully pour off water.' but next time I'll give it a go.