The understated charm of The Cook & the Chef has crept up on me in the couple of years that the ABC has been screening it. While not everything Maggie and Simon make is to my taste, the very premise of the show is to celebrate different approaches to cooking. If you browse through their online archives, you'll notice that they challenge their viewers to appreciate meats such as kangaroo and tongue more often than they prepare Aussie staples like beef and chicken, and they sneak in plenty of vegetarian fare too (I have had Simon's vegan laksa bookmarked since it featured late last year).
Last night vegetarian food was the theme for the entire episode! I enjoyed seeing Kurma Dasa featured as their guest - we've blogged several recipes from his book World Vegetarian Food, which was very influential on our first couple of years cooking as vegetarians. Simon likewise took inspiration from Kurma, demonstrating recipes for dahl, chappatti and halva during the show. By contrast Maggie took a buttery, caramelised path, preparing a leek and eggplant tart tartin and semolina gnocchi with walnut sauce.
I'm guessing you might have missed this screening; we probably would have done the same if it weren't for a reminder from reader William Luu. However, you've still got 2nd, 3rd and 4th chances to see the show - ABC1 will repeat it at 11:30am on Saturday, ABC2 will repeat it at 5pm today (I think), and it's available for download on the website.
Thanks for the mention Cindy :)
ReplyDeleteWould just like the add the direct download links for the video as they disappear after each new episode (unless you subscribe to Vodcast).
MP4 format (89.4MB): http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/vodcast/cookandchef_2009_ep04.mp4
WMV format (88.7MB): http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/vodcast/cookandchef_2009_ep04.wmv
i enjoy watching this show too - i like the banter and teasing that goes on between the hosts
ReplyDeletei love this show. Especially Maggie. I don't like the fishy episodes. But otherwise they cook an amazing array of delicious food.
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding those links, Will!
ReplyDeletePip and KJ, I'm happy to discover some more fans within my demographic! I've sometimes wondered if it is primarily me and a bunch of retirees tuning in. :-)
I loved this episode! In fact, I love all of their stuff. There's always *at least* one vegetarian option on the show. And I attempted the leek and eggplant tart tartin and it was absolutely delicious, one of the best meals I've made in a long time. Their eggplant parma they did a couple of weeks ago was good too, but needed more tomato juice through the eggplant and longer cooking.
ReplyDeleteHi Beth! I will have to get onto that tart tartin once we're back in the mood for eggplant. :-)
ReplyDeleteJust discovered your blog (whilst doing an obligatory recipe search) and made the tart tonight...well a 'what we had in the fridge' version (fresh ricotta and a little blue cheese instead of goats, parsley instead of mint, marjoram and thyme, dry sherry, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar instead of the verjuice and vincotto) and it was so very, very delicious. Fiddly, but delicious. Love your blog however it does make me very home-sick for Brunswick. marnie
ReplyDeleteHi Marnie, thanks for stopping by. :-)
ReplyDeleteYour substitutions sound great, I usually try to make the most of what's already in the fridge too!