BACK TO THE FUTURE
Waldorf salad and prawn cocktails. Carpetbagger steak and crepes suzette.
Just like facial hair, pocket squares and Brylcreem, what’s old is new again and dinner is no exception. Hip inner-city menus are strewn with oldschool classics given a twist for today. There’s a retro revival in full swing.
But how to transform the daggy dinners of yesterday — apricot chicken and beef stroganoff and tuna mornay — into family favourites of today? We’ve asked some of our best cooking brains how to turn dinner with flares into dinner with flair.
DEVIL’S ADVOCATE
“I have fond memories of devilled eggs in my school lunch box from leftovers of cocktail parties my mum catered for,” says Guy Stanaway (below). The executive chef at Jackalope on the Mornington Peninsula says his twist on this retro classic was inspired by a deep-fried version he tried in San Francisco which has become a playful mainstay on the menu at Rare Hare.
“Like a hybrid of a scotch/ devilled egg, I fell in love with the crisp outer matched with a spicy creamy texture.”
And if you have neither the time nor inclination to deep fry your devilled eggs don’t worry — Guy says they are just as delicious without.
LOAFING AROUND
Matt Preston is a master of reinventing classics and making them cool — or at least making them delicious for today’s tastes.
“I’ve been a fan of reviving dishes ever since I started my Retro Revival column in Taste magazine with their food guru Michelle Southan five or so years ago. It’s such a rich playground of deliciousness,” he says.
Over the years, the cookbook author and kitchen whiz has turned his hand to making meat loaf marvellous — forget about the solid grey block served with lumpy mash and say hello to chicken mince meat loaf with onion jam and a kransky inspired version that oozes with melted cheese.
In his latest book Yummy, Easy, Quick, he gives an Indian twist to chicken meat loaf thanks to tandoori paste and a mango chutney glaze.
“There has been a huge wave of interest in revisiting retro classics but in a way that’s a bit more modern. This means making lighter versions that still pack the same familiar flavour punch. Like we say on MasterChef, there is no point recreating a dish unless you improve it.”
For Matt’s meat loaf recipe and more retro recipes, including the pork and beef meat loaf with bacon jam head to taste.com.au
WINNER WINNER
“It was definitely a staple when I was growing up,” says Sharlee Gibb of that ’80s classic one-pot wonder — apricot chicken.
But rather than use the packet of French onion soup mums around the country once relied on, the co-author of Mr & Mrs Wilkinson includes dukkah and Promite in her modern version to give a salty depth to the sweet fruity sauce.
Coating the chicken in flour and spices and browning the meat first adds depth of flavour before putting it in the oven, with tinned apricots adding juicy sweetness at the end.
“The kids love eating chicken drumsticks and I add cauliflower in there to sneak in some veg,” she says.
GONE SURFING
Head chef of Melbourne’s CBD Argentinian restaurant Palermo, Ollie Gould says his early memories of “Surf and Turf ” involve pre-steamed Moreton Bay bugs atop flavourless steak with béarnaise sauce. “Three no-no’s in this day and age,” he says.
To transform it into a dish for today, he suggests using a good grass-fed beef — “my preferred would be O’Connor’s scotch”. Ollie says soft and buttery scallops work a treat.
“As scallops are difficult to buy fresh for the home, I prefer Canadian scallops as they are fat and keep their moisture as they cook.” A pan sear on either side to caramelise the outer with a sprinkle of good sea salt at the end is all they need — Ollie cautions against salting before cooking as this draws moisture out from the shellfish. “Resting your beef well to avoid bleeding on the plate is a must!”
Chimichurri is a versatile condiment which, if balanced correctly, goes with anything — and Argentinians put the mix of chopped curly parsley, chilli, garlic, dried oregano, red wine vinegar and vegetable oil on to everything. “Earthy, acidic flavours with a slight hit of chilli helps to mould the beef and scallops together without over powering,” he says.
STROG ROCK
“When I worked at Mosimann’s in London we would serve at lunchtime ‘Emince de veau Lucernoise’, a dish compromising cream, sliced veal, wild mushrooms, vegetables and fresh tagliatelle,” says Sean Donovan from Fitzroy’s Town Hall Hotel.
While the Swiss serve a version with roesti and Russians use dill to finish their dish, they are basically versions of the same dish that found favour in households across Australia in the ’70s thanks to a can of cream of mushroom soup.
“I have based my updated version of beef stroganoff on a recipe from the grandmother of some Russian friends. I noted all ingredients were pantry items so I have kept it that way. They would serve it with matchstick potatoes.”
SHOW ME THE MORNAY
For Iki-Jime’s Sam Homan, the best way to update the bake that every Australian family has sat down to over the years is to source better quality produce. A tuna mornay made from fresh yellowfin tuna, as opposed to tinned, Sam says will go far in creating a memorable meal.
His version is a type of lasagne, with layers of thinly sliced potato interspersed with tuna and white cheese sauce.
Sam suggests barbecuing the seasoned and olive oil-dressed potato slices — “this will give the dish a nice charred smoky flavour” — and then layering a ceramic dish with the potato, the tuna sliced into 5mm thick pieces, and the sauce, sprinkling the last layer with grated cheese.
Cook gently in the oven (you don’t want to dry out/ overcook the fish) — test by inserting a knife into the centre and checking the temperature, you’re looking for it to be just above room temp. Blast under the grill to give the top a lovely golden gratineed finish.
REAL MEN EAT THIS
At its core, it’s bacon and eggs in a tart — and who doesn’t love that? — so quite why Quiche Lorraine came to be a casualty of early ’80s gender politics at a time of moustachioed masculinity is a bit of a mystery.
But real men do eat quiche, and master baker Michael
James from South Yarra’s Tivoli Rd not only eats but makes a mean one, too.
“I made this classic often when I first started working in kitchens, in the big five-star hotels,” he says. “Caramelised onions work so well with so many savoury dishes, and eggs, bacon and onion is my ideal way to start the day.”
Blind bake the tart shell, and then spread caramelised onions evenly over the bottom of the base. Sprinkle freshly chopped chives and thyme on top. Add a mixture of eggs, cream and a little milk to fill the tart, ensuring that it doesn’t overflow. Grate some gruyere cheese on top, just enough to cover so you get colour and a little crispness.
Michael says it’s best to bake the quiche not too high or fast in the oven, as that will over cook the egg mixture — you want a slight wobble, as the residual heat will keep cooking the egg mixture through after you take it out of the oven, similar to a custard or lemon tart. “The end result should be a rich and silky filling packed full of flavour from the herbs, spice, eggs, bacon and cheese, with a little grating of nutmeg on top to finish.”
LIFE’S A PEACH
Pastry prince Pierre Roelofs says it was in the weighty tome Larousse Gastronomique he first came across Peach Melba.
“As a 16-year-old apprentice I read it from cover to cover. I was fascinated by the era of grand European hotels and superstar chefs,” he says.
His version uses Australian ingredients “in order to better celebrate an Australian Dame”.
For the raspberry sauce, in a food processor blitz 250g raspberries, 25g icing sugar and lemon juice to taste, then sieve to remove seeds.
In a pot bring to the boil 500ml water, 250g sugar and the seeds from 1 vanilla pod. Add 2 ripe yellow peaches, halved and stoned, and reduce to a simmer for 5 mins. Remove from heat, add 8 lemon myrtle leaves and leave to stand for 20 mins to infuse. Remove peaches gently with a slotted spoon and place on to a plate lined with paper towel to drain. Gently peel away the skin from the peaches.
To serve, divide sauce between four bowls. Place a peach half in bottom of each bowl.
Spoon a little poaching syrup over the top, place a scoop of vanilla ice cream on to each peach.
Scatter Geraldton wax sprigs and freeze-dried raspberry over the top and serve immediately.
“I was fascinated by the era of grand European hotels and superstar chefs” PIERRE ROELOFS ON THE PEACH MELBA