ISLAND FARE
APPLE ISLE CHEF MASSIMO MELE COOKS UP A LUNCHTIME FEAST USING THE FRESHEST SEAFOOD AND LOCAL, TASMANIAN PRODUCE.
THERE CAN BE FEW
lovelier places to spend a sunny afternoon than chef Massimo Mele’s terrace overlooking the River Derwent, dish after dish arriving at the table, glass of local sparkling wine in hand. We’ve spent the morning exploring his thriving vegie garden, orchard and chicken run and making passata from his homegrown tomatoes and basil. It’s the Tasmanian dream come true.
But it wasn’t always Massimo’s dream. “I was opening a new restaurant, I was looking after La Scala in Paddington, I was busy, I was happy,” he says of the life he was living in Sydney before returning to Tasmania, his birthplace, six years ago. He’d already earned his stripes cooking in restaurants in Hobart and Melbourne, then returned to his Italian roots, working on his grandparents’ tomato farm outside Naples, before heading to Sydney to run the kitchens at Hugo’s Group and La Scala. “I’d been away for so long that I didn’t have any plans to come back.”
But everything changed when he met Tasmania-based Kristy, now his wife and the mother of the couple’s two sons, Max, four, and Rio, two (a baby girl is due to join the family in November).
“Dark MOFO was the first thing we did together,” Massimo recalls. “We stayed at Pumphouse Point; we did the Seafood Seduction, where you spend a day out on a boat getting crayfish and abalone. And I started to really fall in love with Tassie again.”
As he settled back into island life, Massimo discovered that, despite Tasmania’s rich farming traditions, many restaurants served up produce flown in from Victoria. And so he found his passion: making sure fresh, local, seasonal Tassie produce makes it onto the plates of diners. “I went on this journey to meet producers. I started talking to them, and they ended up being mates,” he says. “Fresh and local is better for the farmers, it’s better for the environment, and it’s a much better experience – the flavour speaks for itself.”
That close-knit network of farmers, producers and chefs is in evidence when we chat on the phone some weeks after that golden day on his terrace. Massimo is driving out to Bothwell to dig up horseradish that will appear that night on the tables at Grain of the Silos, the Launceston restaurant where he is the food director. When I mention we are featuring novelist and farmer Meg Bignell in this >
“Almost every single ingredient I use, I can name the producer.”
issue, he says, “Bignell? I think she’s the cousin of the farmer I’m getting the horseradish from.” It’s this sense of community – all but lost in many places – that Massimo is determined to celebrate on the plate. “Almost every single ingredient I use, I can name the producer, who packed it, where it came from,” he explains. “That’s the beauty of Tas – it’s not that it’s better than anywhere else in the country, it’s just that everything’s that bit closer.”
It’s not always easy – COVID put paid to Massimo’s plans to collaborate with local growers. “We’ve got to start that whole process again,” he says ruefully. And he’ll have to establish it in the south of the state, too, as he’ll soon be at the helm of new luxury hotel The Tasman’s restaurant in Hobart. On the upside, lockdown prompted him to establish his vegie garden, as well as launching seasonal small-group cooking experiences at his studio kitchen. “I’ve made heaps of mistakes,” he admits cheerfully of learning to grow food. “But I appreciate produce and what farmers do even more now.”
He’s had a helping hand from Electrolux, who kitted out both his home kitchen and his studio kitchen.
“I don’t work with brands unless I really feel it,” explains Massimo, who is an ambassador for Electrolux. “Their appliances are so easy to use and they just work.” He loves the appliances so much, in fact, that, he says: “I’ve converted my in-laws and my mum as well!”
And it was his home kitchen’s appliances that turned out this delicious lunch, whipped up by Massimo from the freshest local produce (of course) and served up on his terrace on a bright and beautiful Tasmanian day. Buon appetito!
The writer travelled to Tasmania as a guest of Electrolux.
OSTRICHE, CETRIOLO, ANETO, ERBA CIPOLLINA
Serves 4
2 cucumbers salt
12 oysters 1 bunch of chives 1 bunch of dill
Four days before you plan to serve the oysters, start fermenting cucumbers. Finely chop and weigh cucumbers in a bowl, then add 3% of their weight in salt and pack into a clean sterilised fermentation jar. Top up with filtered water and place ceramic weights on top so the water covers the cucumbers.
Cover the jar with muslin cloth or a tea towel and use an elastic band to fix securely. Leave to ferment at room temperature for 4 to 6 days.
When the cucumbers have finished fermenting, strain the juice through a fine mesh sieve and retain for dressing the oysters.
Chop chives and dill and set aside. To serve, open the oysters and place on serving plate. Top with the fermented cucumber, reserved juice, dill and chives.
INSALATA DI POLPO
Serves 6-8 sea water or 100g rock salt
1kg octopus tentacles
1 cup Tibetan barley a little extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
1 fresh long red chilli, sliced (seeds
removed, if you prefer it mild) 2 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 tablespoon chopped marjoram 250ml white wine vinegar
250ml mild extra-virgin olive oil extra white wine vinegar and extra-virgin
olive oil, to serve extra fresh herbs and edible flowers,
chopped, to serve
Place a large saucepan of sea water over high heat and bring to the boil. If sea water is unattainable, add 100g of rock salt to 5 litres of water and bring to the boil.
Blanch the octopus three times in boiling sea water for about 20 seconds each time. Once complete, turn the heat down, add the octopus and cook on a moderate simmer for 20-25 minutes or until tender. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a pot. Add the barley and return to the boil, then turn to low. Cover tightly and simmer for 55-60 minutes. The barley should be tender but chewy. Drain and let cool. I usually splash a little olive oil through the barley at this stage so it does not stick together.
Once the octopus is cool enough to handle, chop it into 5cm pieces and put in a non-reactive bowl.
Add barley to bowl, then add all the remaining ingredients. Leave to marinate for 48 hours in the refrigerator. Remove the garlic before serving. Best to leave it overnight.
Season with more vinegar and freshly ground black pepper. It shouldn’t need any salt. Garnish with some extra fresh herbs and more extra-virgin olive oil.
SPIEDINI DI AGNELLO CON OLIVE E LIMONE
Serves 4 as a starter
12 bamboo skewers, soaked in water
overnight
500g lamb shoulder, cut into bite-sized
chunks
2 cloves chopped garlic
2 cups black olives, pitted
¼ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon fresh chopped oregano 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 3 teaspoon lemon zest
3 teaspoon crushed chilli (optional) freshly ground black pepper (optional) lemon wedges and salad leaves,
to serve
Place meat in a bowl, lightly season and set aside.
Place garlic, olives and salt in a food processor. Process until chopped finely. With motor going, add olive oil in a slow steady stream and process to a paste. Finally finish with herbs and lemon zest. You may now add chilli or pepper as an option.
Add olive mixture to lamb and stir to combine. Marinate in fridge for 1 hour.
Thread lamb onto soaked skewers making sure they are evenly shaped; this will ensure they cook evenly.
Cook on a heated oiled griddle plate or barbecue for 3 to 4 minutes each side. They will cook very quickly.
Serve with fresh lemon and salad leaves tossed with extra-virgin olive oil.
INSALATA DI BARBABIETOLE, CAPRINO, LENTICCHIE, MELE, NOCI
Serves 4
2 medium sized beetroots, left whole 100ml extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon allspice
½ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 bay leaf salt and white pepper
100g French puy lentils
5 spring onions, finely chopped handful chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 6 fresh mint leaves, shredded 1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
⅓ cup goat’s curd
10 walnut halves, toasted, chopped ¼ Granny Smith apple, cut into sticks nasturtium leaves and edible flowers,
to serve
Preheat oven to 180°C. Wrap beetroot individually in foil. Roast beetroot on an oven tray for about an hour or until soft when pierced with a skewer. When cool enough to handle, peel beetroot and cut into chunks or cubes.
Combine the olive oil, allspice, thyme and bay leaf in a large bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Add beetroot and leave to marinate for at least an hour.
Put lentils into a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil then drain immediately. Cover with cold water again and a pinch of salt and bring back to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender, drain.
When almost ready to serve, toss the lentils with the spring onions, parsley, mint, lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil in a large bowl, then season with salt and pepper. Use a slotted spoon to lift the beetroot out of the marinade, then mix in with the lentils. Lay the lentil beetroot mixture on the plate, top with dollops of goat’s curd, walnuts and matchsticks of apple.
ARAGOSTA, AGLIO, LIMONE, BURRO
Serves 4
1.5kg live Tasmanian crayfish or local
rock lobster
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup soft herbs such as dill, watercress,
mizuna, chives, and chervil lemon wedges to serve
HERB BUTTER
150g unsalted butter, softened
⅓ cup finely chopped mixture of parsley,
chives, dill, and sorrel
1 fresh small red chilli, seeds removed,
finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed finely grated zest of 1 lemon
For the herb butter, combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then chill until needed.
Place crayfish in freezer for 2 hours (to put it to sleep). Place on its back on a flat, non-slip work surface with claws tied to clearly expose under surface.
Preheat oven to 200°C. Place a sharp knife on the head beneath mouth parts. Cut through the head, then backwards towards the tail. Open out to reveal the 2 parts. Remove and discard the dark intestinal vein, stomach sac and gills.
Transfer crayfish, flesh-side up, onto a baking tray and drizzle with oil. Place crayfish in oven and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from oven and top with the herb butter.
Place crayfish back in oven and set grill function. Cook for 4 minutes or until butter is browned lightly and crayfish is just cooked through.
Serve the crayfish hot, scattered with fresh herbs and lemon.
FAGIOLINI, CREMA DI MANDORLE, NOCCIOLE
Serves 4 as a side
2 tablespoons hazelnuts, smashed 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 500g green beans
1 fresh banana chilli, sliced (keep seeds if
you like it spicy)
ALMOND CREAM
150g blanched almonds
250ml water
1 garlic clove lemon juice, to taste
10g salt
50ml extra-virgin olive oil
To make the almond cream, add all ingredients to a medium pot and bring to 65°C using a food thermometer. Once it’s at 65°C, add to a blender and blend until smooth. Season to taste. If too thick add a little more water and oil.
Toast hazelnuts in a pan and cook gently, stirring over a moderate heat. When nuts begin to colour add a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Wash and trim beans and cook in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Once the beans are cooked, drain really well and toss in olive oil, salt and pepper.
To plate, add almond cream to plate, top with dressed beans. Top with hazelnuts and fresh chilli.