Grains to sustain
Troopers’ treat inspires dessert
Irecently enjoyed tasting my way through a large selection of heritage apples grown on an orchard with more than 150 fruit tree varieties. Some dated back to the 1600s, with flavour profiles that make modern sweet apples pale in comparison.
I came home with a bag of one of my favourite cooking apples, Merton Russet. Destined for an autumn fruit crumble with an Anzac biscuit-inspired topping.
Apple & feijoa Anzac crumble
Preparation time: 20minutes Cooking time: 35 minutes Serves 6
Filling
4-5 cooking apples (about 600g), cores
removed and thinly sliced
1 cup scooped feijoa flesh
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp golden syrup or brown sugar
Crumble topping 1⁄ cup (50g) flour – can use wheat, spelt 3 or gluten-free flour 1⁄ cup (50g) brown sugar
4 3⁄ cup (60g) desiccated coconut
4 3⁄ cup (90g) rolled oats
4 1⁄ tsp baking soda
4
Pinch of salt
75g butter or olive oil
1 tbsp golden syrup
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Prepare the apples and feijoas and place into a 20 x 25cm baking dish. Add the ginger and golden syrup and toss to combine.
Place in the oven so the fruit begins cookingwhile you prepare the topping.
Combine dry ingredients for the crumble topping in a large bowl.
Melt together the butter and golden syrup in a small saucepan. Pour this over the dry ingredients and combine.
Scatter the crumble evenly over the fruit.
Bake for 30-35minutes, until the apples are tender and the topping is golden and fragrant.
Serve with runny cream or vanilla icecream.
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge and consumed within 2 days.
Garlic mushroom orzotto
Orzotto is an Italian dish similar to risotto, using pearl barley in place of rice. If preferred, make this recipe with arborio rice and skip the parboiling step.
This recipe calls for both fresh mushrooms that are sauteedwith garlic to fold through at the end, and dried mushrooms which are cooked into the orzotto for depth of flavour.
Driedmushrooms are available from bulk food and speciality stores, aswell as some supermarkets, and are worth theirweight in gold.
I served the orzotto with roasted butternut squash and venison sausages for a complete meal.
Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 40 minutes Serves 4 as a side
3⁄ cup (150g) pearl 4 barley
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion,
finely chopped 1 celery stalk,
finely chopped
3 cups (750ml) vegetable or chicken stock
10g dried sliced mushrooms, such as porcini 50g butter
3 garlic cloves, roughly
chopped 250g fresh mushrooms – such as brown button, oyster or shiitake – roughly chopped
About 30g grated parmesan
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley to serve
First, parboil the barley in a saucepan of boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain in a sieve.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and saute the onion and celery until soft but not coloured, about 8 minutes. Bring the stock to a gentle simmer in a saucepan.
To the softened onions, add the barley, dried mushrooms and a pinch of salt. Cook for 1minute. Add the hot stock a ladleful at a time, stirring frequently, until the moisture is absorbed, then add another ladle. Continue until all the stock is used and the barley has a tender chew. While the orzotto is cooking, prepare the garlic mushrooms. Melt the butter in a frying pan over a moderate heat. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until golden.
When the orzotto is ready, fold through the garlic mushrooms, along with the grated parmesan. Season to taste with salt and cracked pepper. Serve straight away, with chopped parsley and parmesan.