Fare exchange
Recipes you’ve requested from Australia’s leading restaurants.
Chefs’ recipes you’ve requested.
THE UNICORN HOTEL Chicken schnitzel and gravy
BABAJAN Lamb lahmacun
THE HENRY AUSTIN Braised beef shin with grain salad VINCENT Bread and butter pudding with rhubarb compote
“The lahmacun at Babajan in Carlton North is the best I’ve had outside Turkey. Please can you get the recipe? Hazan Sadik, Carlton North, Vic
Lamb lahmacun Prep time 45 mins, cook 15 mins (plus proving) Makes 4
Extra-virgin olive oil and hummus, to serve Dough
300 gm (2 cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
14 gm (2 sachets) dried yeast
150 ml milk, at room temperature
1 egg, at room temperature
50 ml olive oil, plus extra for oiling tray
Lamb topping
300 gm minced lamb shoulder (ask your butcher to do this)
1 tbsp Turkish red capsicum paste (see note) ½ cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 onion, coarsely grated
1 Roma tomato, coarsely grated
Salad topping
2 Roma tomatoes, peeled, coarsely chopped ½ Spanish onion, thinly sliced
½ cup flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped 4 pickled fermented green chillies, cut into 2cm pieces (see note)
2 radishes, trimmed, thinly sliced
1 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
1 tsp sumac, plus extra to serve
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice 1 For dough, combine ingredients and 1 tsp fine salt in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and knead until a smooth dough forms
(3-5 minutes). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and stand to prove until doubled in size
(20-25 minutes). Divide into 4 even pieces, roll into balls, transfer to a deep oiled roasting pan, cover with plastic wrap and leave to prove for a further 10 minutes.
2 For lamb topping, combine ingredients in a bowl, season to taste and mix with your hands until just combined and mixture forms a neat ball. 3 For salad topping, combine ingredients in a bowl, folding gently to combine and season to taste.
4 Preheat oven to 300C. Roll out a ball of dough on a sheet of lightly floured baking paper to a long oval shape (about 15cm x 25cm). Press a quarter of the lamb mixture into dough, covering nearly to edges. Repeat with a second ball of dough and another quarter of lamb mixture. Transfer both with paper to a large oven tray and bake on upper-middle shelf until golden brown
(4-6 minutes). Repeat with remaining dough and lamb mixture.
5 Scatter salad on top of lahmacun, sprinkle with extra sumac, drizzle with olive oil and serve hot from the oven with hummus.
Note Turkish red capsicum paste, sold as salca, and pickled fermented green chillies are available from Middle-Eastern delicatessens. “Could you get the recipe for the chicken schnitty at The Unicorn Hotel in Paddington? They don’t come better than that.” Amanda Sacks, Stanmore, NSW
Chicken schnitzel and gravy
Start this recipe the day before to brine the chicken. Prep time 30 mins, cook 3¼ hrs (plus cooling, brining) Serves 4 (pictured p30)
60 gm fine sea salt
4 chicken supremes (boned breasts, skin on and wing bone attached; 900gm in total) 2 chicken carcasses (900gm)
2 chicken wings (250gm), cut through joint 75 gm (½ cup) plain flour
2 eggs, beaten
100 gm (1¼ cups) panko breadcrumbs Sunflower oil, for deep-frying
Mashed potato, chopped parsley, lemon wedges and green salad, to serve
1 Stir salt and 500ml hot water in a large non-reactive container (see cook’s notes p177) until salt dissolves (1-2 minutes). Add 1.5 litres iced water and refrigerate to chill (20-30 minutes). Submerge chicken breasts in brine and refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
2 For gravy, preheat oven to 200C, then roast carcasses and wings, turning occasionally, until browned all over (about 1 hour). Reserve chicken fat and pan scrapings, then coarsely chop carcasses and wings, transfer to a small saucepan, cover with 750ml water and sit a plate on bones to keep submerged. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until well flavoured and reduced to 300ml (2-2½ hours). Strain. Stir 1½ tbsp reserved chicken fat and 1½ tbsp flour in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until starting to turn golden brown (3-4 minutes). Gradually whisk in stock and pan scrapings and stir until gravy thickens slightly (2-3 minutes). Season to taste, cover, keep warm.
3 Drain chicken from brine. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towels and place skin-side up between sheets of plastic wrap and gently hit with a meat pallet to a uniform thickness (about 1cm).
4 Place remaining flour, beaten egg and panko crumbs in separate bowls. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Dredge chicken evenly in flour, shaking off excess, then dip into egg. Ensure chicken is completely covered, then press into crumbs, coating evenly. Transfer to tray.
5 Preheat oven to 60C and heat oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium-high heat to
165C. Carefully lower 2 breasts, wing-bone down, into oil and fry until golden brown underneath (3-4 minutes). Carefully turn over and fry until golden brown all over and internal temperature reaches 65C at the thickest point near wing
(3-4 minutes). Drain on paper towels. Transfer to a lined oven tray, place in oven to keep warm and repeat with remaining chicken breasts.
6 Serve chicken with gravy, mashed potato, parsley, lemon wedges and a green salad.
“I’m obsessed with the braised beef shin with grain salad at The Henry Austin in Adelaide, and would love to make it at home. Can you help?” Sylvia Saad, Adelaide, SA
Braised beef shin with grain salad and yoghurt sauce Prep time 40 mins, cook 5 hrs (plus resting)
Serves 6
60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
3 onions, coarsely chopped
6 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
½ bulb garlic, cloves separated, unpeeled 200 ml red wine
1 beef shin (about 2.5kg)
500 gm ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1/ cup (firmly packed) lemon thyme
3
5 star anise
2 litres (8 cups) hot chicken stock
Grain salad
125 gm each wholegrain greenwheat freekeh, toasted buckwheat and tricolour quinoa (see note)
125 gm flaxseed
50 gm sunflower seeds
50 gm pepitas
50 gm raisins
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lemon ¼ cup (tightly packed) flat-leaf parsley ¼ cup (tightly packed) mint, plus extra
to serve
50 ml olive oil
Yoghurt sauce
300 gm Greek-style yoghurt
½ cup (firmly packed) parsley ½ cup (firmly packed) mint leaves 1 tbsp tarragon
Juice of ½ lemon
1 Preheat oven to 200C. Combine 2 tbsp oil, onion, celery and garlic in a deep casserole or heavy roasting pan large enough to hold the shin and roast, turning once, until vegetables are caramelised (50 minutes to 1 hour). Reduce oven to 140C, remove vegetables from oven and deglaze pan with wine. Add beef, tomatoes, thyme, star anise and stock, cover with a lid or baking paper and foil, and bake until meat is almost falling from the bone (4-4½ hours).
Rest in stock for at least 30 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, for grain salad, bring freekeh, 250ml water and a pinch of salt to the boil in a covered small saucepan, then reduce heat to low and simmer gently until tender (30-40 minutes). Bring buckwheat, 250ml water and a pinch of salt to the boil in a separate small saucepan, reduce heat to low and simmer until water has evaporated and buckwheat is tender (14-15 minutes), then cool. Meanwhile, in another small saucepan, bring 250ml water to the boil, add quinoa and a pinch of salt, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring every few minutes, until water has evaporated and quinoa is tender (14-15 minutes). Dry-roast flaxseeds, sunflower seeds and pepitas in a heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat until fragrant and flaxseeds start to pop
(2-3 minutes). Gently combine grains, toasted seeds, raisins, lemon rind and juice, herbs and olive oil, and season to taste.
3 Remove beef from pan, skim off fat, strain liquid, reserving half the vegetables (discard star anise and thyme) and pour 1 litre cooking liquid back into pan (cool and freeze remaining liquid for another use). Simmer over medium-high heat until reduced by two-thirds (15-20 minutes), then add reserved vegetables and season to taste.
4 For yoghurt sauce, blend ingredients and a pinch of salt in a food processor until herbs are coarsely chopped. Transfer to a serving bowl, top with extra mint and serve with beef shin, reduced stock and grain salad.
Note Toasted buckwheat, known as kasha, and freekeh are available from select health-food shops. “I could eat the bread and butter pudding at Vincent in Canberra every day. Could you publish the recipe?” Dave Austin, Braddon, ACT Bread and butter pudding with rhubarb compote Prep time 20 mins, cook 50 mins Serves 6 (pictured p31)
750 ml (3 cups) pouring cream 6 eggs
75 gm caster sugar
1 tbsp brandy Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean 1 brioche loaf (about 400gm), cut into 1cm-thick slices
50 gm ( 1/ cup) raisins
3
Vanilla bean ice-cream, to serve
Rhubarb compote
100 gm caster sugar
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 orange 1 cinnamon quill
2 cloves
1 star anise
1 bunch (500gm) rhubarb, trimmed, cut into 5cm lengths
1 Preheat oven to 160C and butter a large baking dish (about 2 litres). Whisk cream, eggs, sugar, brandy and vanilla seeds in a bowl. Arrange brioche slices, overlapping, in dish, scattering half the sultanas between slices, and the remaining sultanas on top. Pour egg mixture over brioche and bake until custard sets and brioche is golden brown (40-50 minutes).
2 Meanwhile, for rhubarb compote, combine sugar, orange rind and juice, sugar, spices and 2 tbsp water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to medium, add rhubarb and simmer gently until rhubarb is tender but holds its shape (4-5 minutes. Serve with bread and butter pudding and vanilla bean ice-cream.