Meat market

Anthony Puharich and Colin Fassnidge have a gut feeling that their new recipe, using of-the-moment health drink kombucha and lean turkey, will stand the test of time.

The duelling duo’s twist on turkey. Hint: kombucha has a starring role.

A: The kombucha and the turkey are one. C: I’m not convinced kombucha isn’t a fad, but I like the idea of it in a dressing.

A: Now don’t start hating on the kombucha. It’s good for you!

C: True. It’s fermenting. It’s good. It’s like a preservation. Like Koreans with kimchi and Germans with sauerkraut. A: Croatians do pickled cabbage. C: We pickle vegetables in Ireland. A: Kombucha has vinegary flavour notes, so is that why it’s good for a dressing?

C: Yes, that will help us get a good base. We need to taste the kombucha first because it’ll depend on what we’re buying. If it’s not acidic enough, we’ll add a bit more lemon juice to the dressing; if it is a bit acidic, we’ll just add extra oil.

A: So how do I know which kombucha to go and buy?

C: You want to buy a good-quality one that has solid background flavour. These are usually best in health food stores. But then you can just add and balance with your oil, lemon juice and honey to make the dressing. That’s the beauty of simple salad dressings – you can just keep adding and balancing the ingredients until you feel like you have it right. I still feel like in a few years kombucha will be the word no-one wants to hear. Like everything else.

A: Sounds great. But I think kombucha will maintain popularity. Do you like kale? C: Yeah. A: But you probably didn’t when it came out, am I right?

C: True. I suppose that’s a fair point. So in our salad, we have mixed grains, like we used to do at 4Fourteen. Then we have the honey-marinated turkey. We thinly slice it and cook one side of it but not the other side. You take it off [the heat] and it’ll cook through on the plate. A: You only want to cook it on one side? C: Yeah, because it’s thin enough so it’ll cook through.

A: Are you sure? This one needs a safety notice: don’t listen to Colin. Cook your turkey and turn it over because you don’t want to get salmonella. C: Fine, we can turn it over for a second. A: Thank goodness. I’d rather everyone got the health benefits of this one, thank you. Though I bet you’d have your kombucha with a shot of vodka. C: Of course I would. A: I think that would negate the benefits. C: True. But you know what? I like this recipe. I like turkey. And I like that we’re using a sprinkling of furikake seasoning. It’s the new chicken and kale. And then we have the grain salad for texture. Turkey can be bland, but it’s got great texture. The chef cooks with kombucha!

A: And kombucha gets the butcher out of bed in the morning!

HONEY TURKEY WITH KOMBUCHA MIXED GRAINS SERVES 4

1/ 2 cup (80g) freekeh 1/ 2 cup (100g) pearl barley 1/ 2 cup (125ml) extra virgin olive oil 2 banana eschalots, very thinly sliced

(we used a mandoline) 4 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced (we used a mandoline) 1/ 2 bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked, chopped, plus extra leaves to serve Furikake seasoning (from Asian food

shops), to serve 1 small skinless turkey breast, thinly sliced 1/4 cup (60ml) runny honey KOMBUCHA DRESSING 1/4 cup (60ml) plain kombucha 1/ 2 cup (125ml) extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp runny honey 2 tsp Dijon mustard Juice of 1/ 2 a lemon

Cook, freekeh and pearl barley separately according to packet instructions, then drain and set aside to cool.

Heat half the oil in a small frypan over medium-high heat. Add eschalot and garlic, and cook, stirring regularly, for 4 minutes or until golden. Drain on paper towel.

For the kombucha dressing, whisk all ingredients in a bowl until well combined.

Combine grains, parsley and half the dressing in a bowl.

In batches, place turkey slices between 2 sheets of baking paper and hit with a mallet or rolling pin until 1cm thick. Toss honey and turkey together in a bowl. Heat 1 tbs oil in a large frypan over high heat. In 3 batches, cook turkey for 2-3 minutes each side or until cooked through. Transfer to a plate, clean frypan and repeat with remaining oil and turkey.

Divide grain mixture among serving plates, top with turkey and scatter with garlic mixture, extra parsley and furikake. Drizzle with remaining dressing to serve.