Chipotle-brushed potato tian

December 25, 2021

   

I chose an artichoke and chickpea salad to eat on the side of our pumpkin and feta filo pie. I knew this would be enough food for us, really, but I thought it would be fun to make a potato side as well (and skip the potato cubes that I usually include in the salad). This tian is a super-easy but slow-cooking recipe that's been sitting among my bookmarks for years.

The premise is: assemble thinly sliced potatoes in a baking dish, brush them with adobo sauce and olive oil, bake until crispy on top and tender in the middle. As long as you're patient with the baking time, I think this is a near-foolproof method for a smoky, spicy comfort carb. I could work to improve my presentation by arranging the potato slices more carefully, but the flavour is all there regardless.

These potatoes added the perfect kick to varied but mildly-spiced lunch plate. The leftovers, reheated in the oven a day later, were even better!

   

Chipotle-brushed potato tian

(slightly adapted from a recipe on Oh My Veggies)

1-2 teaspoons adobo sauce from a jar of chipotles

3 tablespoons olive oil

5 medium Dutch cream potatoes

salt

Preheat an oven to 180°C. Whisk together the adobo sauce and olive oil in a small bowl. Brush the base and sides of a baking dish with the chipotle oil.

Peel the potatoes and slice them into rounds no more than 3mm thick - keep the pieces together in order for a prettier presentation. Arrange the potato slices in the baking dish so that they're standing up on their thin sides, firmly sandwiched together across the baking dish. Brush the tops of the potatoes with the remaining chipotle oil. Sprinkle over some salt.

Bake the potatoes for 75-90 minutes, until browned and crispy on top and tender in the centre. 

Pumpkin & feta filo pie

December 24-25, 2021

   

This year our Christmas day was small, casual and content, with no pressure to put on a big, fancy meal. But with time off from work, I was in the mood to do something fun in the kitchen and planned out some dishes a couple of days ahead. This Ottolenghi filo pie was simply plucked from my bookmarked recipes and formed the centrepiece of the meal - it's filled with a comforting, crowd-pleasing combination of pumpkin, feta, caramelised onion and sage.

There are a few phases to the recipe and I got a head start a day in advance, roasting the pumpkin in cinnamon and slowly caramelising the onions. This allowed me to focus on the construction of the pie during Christmas day. I had to trim my baking paper back to get the control I needed over the filo sheets, but it all came together and held together without too much drama. Though this recipe isn't vegan, I think it would be easy to adapt: the filo could be brushed with olive oil or melted margarine, and there are some terrific non-dairy feta cheeses available now.

The golden filo pastry makes a bit of a mess when it's time to slice the pie up, but I think it's the kind of crackly, tasty mess that enhances the sense of occasion.

   

Pumpkin & feta filo pie

(slightly adapted from an Ottolenghi recipe appearing in The Guardian)

375g packet filo pastry

90g butter, melted

30g caster sugar

filling

60mL olive oil

2 onions, peeled, halved and cut into 1/2 cm slices

salt and pepper

5g sage leaves, finely chopped

10g parsley, roughly chopped

150g feta, roughly crumbled

2 teaspoons lemon zest

1/2 butternut pumpkin (~650g), seeds and peel removed, cut into 1 1/2 cm-thick half-moons

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Set a frypan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onions and a little salt, and slowly cook the onions until they're very soft and caramelised - expect this to take around 40 minutes. Transfer the onions to a bowl, and stir in the herbs, feta, lemon zest, and a little salt and pepper.

Preheat an oven to 220°C while you slice up the pumpkin. Place the pumpkin pieces in a large baking tray, drizzle over 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and sprinkle over the cinnamon and some salt and pepper. Toss the pumpkin pieces around to get them coated in the oil, and bake them for up to 30 minutes, until tender.

Turn the oven down to 190°C. Line a springform cake tin with baking paper and brush it with the melted butter. Use a little more than half the filo pastry sheets to line the base and sides of the cake tin - brush each one with butter as they go in, sprinkle them with 1/2 teaspoon caster sugar, and stagger them around the tin so that the base is well covered, all the sides are covered, and the sheets extend beyond the top of the cake tin. This process should use up about half of the melted butter.

Arrange half of the pumpkin pieces across the base of the cake tin, breaking them up as needed to fit them into the spaces. Spread half of the onion-feta mixture over the top of the pumpkin. Repeat with the remaining pumpkin and onion-feta mixture. Scrunch another sheet of filo onto the top of the fillings and brush it with butter. Fold over a couple of the overhanging filo pieces, add another filo sheet and brush with more butter. Continue this process until all the overhanging filo is gathered up, and all the filo sheets and butter are used up.

Transfer the springform tin to a baking tray, and place it all in the oven to bake for 50 minutes. Gently remove the outer springform walls from the cake tin and bake the pie for a further 20 minutes, until it is golden brown all over. Allow the pie to cool for around 15 minutes before slicing and serving.  

Pineapple upside-down cake

December 24, 2021

   

I've been lucky to have my mum visiting from Queensland over the past month. She doesn't eat chocolate, so I planned a couple of cocoa-free treats to share while she's around. This pineapple cake was a recipe that came to mind, perhaps nudged to the surface by the pineapple mocktails we recently enjoyed. My past encounter with this cake was at a picnic celebrating our friend Erin's birthday about a year ago. Thankfully the recipe was easy to find online, as I knew it was created by long-time favourite Helen Goh.

On that first occasion I especially enjoyed the combination of fennel seeds and pineapple, but the fennel flavour got a bit lost in my cake. I may have ground the seeds up too finely (I used the spice grinder attachment on our food processor), but I'd also be game to double the quantity if I made the cake again. I also made some minor missteps in cutting the pineapple, such that I found myself tessellating arrow-shaped pieces and filling gaps with small triangles of pineapple. The cake baked just find in this configuration, but I suppose slicing it was a little more delicate. If I'd sliced my pineapple into neat rectangular batons as intended, it would be an easy one piece per cake slice. 

The cake was ready for afternoon tea just as Mum and her sister Carol arrived. It was gorgeously soft and warm, fragrant with orange rind, with caramelly brown sugar dripping off the pineapple. A day later, I popped the second half of the cake in a switched-off but still-warm oven while we went for a walk after Christmas lunch. We were rewarded with that just-baked cake experience all over again.

   

Pineapple upside-down cake

(a recipe by Helen Goh, posted on good food)

pineapple topping

80g brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 medium pineapple

cake batter

180g plain flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

100g butter, at room temperature

80g caster sugar

40g brown sugar

zest of 1 orange

2 eggs

150g sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat an oven to 175°C. Line a loaf tin with baking paper and spray it with oil. 

In a shallow bowl, stir together the sugar, fennel seeds and salt for the topping. Slice the bottom and top off the pineapple and stand it on one of these cut ends. Carefully remove the peel by slicing downwards around the pineapple, then tidy up any remaining peel, 'eyes' and rough bits using a small knife. Slice the pineapple in half vertically, and then lengthways into 2cm-thick rectangles (I think I mistakenly did this widthways). Trim away the core from each piece. Cut the rectangles into lengths that will fit the width of the loaf tin, and when you have enough to cover the tin base, you can keep the leftover pineapple to eat later. Roll the pineapple rectangles into the sugar mixture and set them out in the bottom of the loaf tin. Sprinkle any remaining sugar mixture over the top.

For the cake batter, sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a small bowl and set them aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars together until fluffy. Add the orange zest, and beat in the eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in the flour mixture and sour cream in turns, then the finally the vanilla. Pour the batter into the loaf tin and smooth over the top. Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes, until it passes the skewer test. Allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes before upending the cake onto a serving plate, pineapple on the top. 

Louis

Update 15/06/2023: Louis has been replaced by Zetta's Pantry.

December 16, 2021

   

I was able to access a COVID vaccination booster at the Royal Exhibition Building earlier this month. It was a lovely day, the queue was short, and I had plenty of time to wander the neighbourhood and get some lunch. As I browsed Brunswick St, I noticed cafe seating on a side street and saw a sign for Louis. Friend of the blog Steph had recently recommended Louis and I was glad to have stumbled upon it!

Louis has been open 2-3 years, but quietly shifted to an all-vegetarian menu about a year ago - there are numerous, well-marked vegan and gluten-free options. It's full of fun brunch dishes and a couple of burgers with a 'more is more' philosophy. For example, the smashed avo is actualy a 'smooth yuzu avocado mousse' that comes with balsamic marinated cherry tomatoes, sriracha popping balls, feta, dukkah, lotus chips, beetroot tuile, and herb infused oil.

   

As I read the menu, I recalled that Steph especially recommended Louis to me for its sweet vegan brunches - there are equally over-the-top Lotus Biscoff French Toast and Spilt Tiramisu Garden Cup dishes! Alas, on this day I really did just want something more contained and savoury. The plant-based fish bao ($24) served that purpose nicely. They were stuffed so generously that it was impossible to eat them entirely by hand, with lots of pickly Asian slaw, cucumber and coriander giving freshness, a single seared, salty slice of mock-fish and a spoonful of sriracha mayonnaise in each bun.

This seemed like a nice little entrée to what Louis offers - I'm keen to return, hungrier, in the future.

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Most reviews of Louis seem to be freebies from 2018-2019, before the cafe was vegetarian, e.g. WHATEPIEATS, Suzie Scribbles, THEYCALLMEMAGGIE, Linnie Eats All The Food and A Chronicle of Gastronomy.

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Louis

93 Moor St, Fitzroy

9427 2423

menu

https://www.cafelouis.com.au/

Accessibility: Louis has a flat, wide entry. Furniture (low tables, chairs with backs, and benches) is variously spaced across the cafe. I ordered and paid at a low counter (see left side of top photo). Toilets are narrow, ungendered cubicles with a single shared basin. 

Brother Bon II

December 15, 2021

   

Throughout 2020 and 2021 we've been enjoying meals from Brother Bon in our home. They're one of the few restaurants that co-ordinated their own deliveries, and we could always plan out a delicious set of vegan dishes that would extend beyond dinner to a leftover lunch or two. Dark, locked-down nights with boxed foods don't make for the best photographs, so I didn't blog these meals.

The photos within this post aren't my best, either, but I just can't hold off any longer because Brother Bon now serves my favourite ever fish'n'chips!    

   

I ordered this once or twice as a delivery, and I just knew its texture would be even better when I had the opportunity to eat it straight from kitchen to table in the restaurant ($24.90). The vegan fish substitute is banana blossom, which is lighter and flakier than most of the gluten-based mock fishes I've known. The Brother Bon chefs apply a spice rub to the banana blossom before battering and frying it to a dark golden crisp.

   

Both the battered mock-fish and the accompanying chips have unusually good seasonings. I also appreciate that this meal comes with some side salad, mushy peas, tartare sauce and a wedge of lemon to break up the deep-fry-fest. I shared some of my fish around the table and boxed up half of the chips to take home.

   

While I was revelling in an all-time favourite meal, Michael had a very enjoyable Char Kway Teow ($22.50), choosing mock-chicken from the six (!) protein options on offer.

The Brother Bon team have made gradual improvements to their restaurant setting over the years - what once felt a bit like a food court is now more subtly lit and relaxed. The service is excellent, and the menu only seems to get better too. I'm hoping we have many more opportunities to eat in at Brother Bon in 2022.

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You can read about my first visit to Brother Bon here.

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Brother Bon

377-379 High St, Northcote

9077 1335

menu page 1, 2

https://www.brotherbon.com.au/

Accessibility: The front door is very wide and slides, floors are flat and tables are moderately spaced. We ordered at our table and paid at a low-ish counter. We haven't visited the toilets, but I previously spotted a disability-labelled unisex toilet down a wide corridor at the back of the building.

Staple II

Update 12/06/2023: Staple is now closed, but the team are now involved with Croixssant.

December 12, 2021

   

We had a glorious weekend away at the beach mid-December, and the trip home took us through the western suburbs so we swung in to Staple for lunch. Pandemic rules had loosened a little since our last visit, so there was more seating available indoors, and staff remained diligent in their safety practices.

   

The menu had shortened from the four pages we last saw to a still-extensive two pages of bagels, burgers, toasties and specials. Arriving late and hungry, we were easily talked into meal deals with thick herb-sprinkled chips and a softdrink on the side (+$6). Michael chose the Terrie duckie ($16) from the list of toasties and received a neatly packed sandwich of thick-cut bread stuffed with mock-duck, scrambled tofu and mock-cheese, with generous squeezes of teriyaki sauce and mayo, and a garnish of nori strips and sesame seeds.  

   

I had an unexpectedly green-bunned Colonel burger ($17). This was very similar in style and quality to my beloved Origin Tales Zinger Tower, with a thick mock-chicken patty in an ultra-crisp batter, mock-bacon, cheese, lettuce, pickles and mayo.

   

I could barely finish my meal but Michael couldn't resist the 6-for-$15 doughnuts, which we gradually worked through over the following days. My fave was the chocolate-topped one stuffed with a peanut butter cream.

We've since heard a rumour that Staple are closing up their Altona North premises this week and intend to open up something new in the CBD. We'll be keeping a close eye on their socials for news of that in the new year - they're a lovely crew, and they make such fun vegan food!

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You can read about our first visit to Staple here.

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Staple

37 Cabot Drive, Altona North

0493 102 414

all day menu 1, 2

https://staplefood.co/

Accessibility: Staple has a narrow door and flat entry. Indoor furniture was well spaced. We ordered and paid at a low counter. Michael used a unisex toilet that was reasonably spacious (but didn't include handrails or other features) and was located upstairs.

The Carringbush Hotel II

December 5, 2021

   

Our one regular social connection throughout the locked-down months of 2020 and 2021 has been doing the Saturday Age quiz on Zoom with friends. It's lovely, now, to have the opportunity to share a meal with them in person. The all-vegetarian Carringbush Hotel was an ideal location for our mostly-veg*n group.

The menu has unsurprisingly changed since our last visit (most likely for book club or a pub trivia night last summer), but it hits similar beats. It's mostly vegan, with gluten-free and nut-free options well marked. There are fried nibbly things, hearty pub style meals, salads that sound like full, delicious meals, and a couple of desserts. It really was tough to choose what to order!

   

Michael and I shared the dumplings as a starter ($14, pictured top). They're now served fried, with a mango lime coriander dipping sauce. We loved the super-savoury mock-pork and mushroom filling, and appreciated the green papaya side salad.

Michael also took on the deep fried tofu burger ($24, pictured above). It's a challenge to wrap your mouth around, and gets most of its flavour from a great burger sauce. 

   

I was curious to try their riff on a vegan sausage roll ($12). It's a generous portion with lovely, flaky pastry. The interior is dotted with lentils and a bit mushier than I prefer (there might be only one true vegan sausy for me). Again, The Carringbush went the extra mile with a lovely side salad to balance the plate. (And don't worry - there's abundant tomato and hot sauces available to squelch on top.)

The Carringbush sets a very high standard for veg*n pub dining - I hope we'll be able to ease back into regular attendance there in 2022.

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You can read about our first visit to the Carringbush here. It has also won favour on Green Gourmet Giraffe and I Spy Plum Pie.

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The Carringbush Hotel

226-228 Langridge St, Abbotsford

9191 0149

menu front, menu back

https://www.carringbushhotel.com/

Accessibility: There's a small step on entry. We ordered and paid at a high bar. Furniture is medium-to-densely spaced, and mostly low tables and chairs with backs. Toilets are gendered, with slightly wider than average cubicles, but we didn't notice any additional features such as handrails.

Miso caramel cake

December 4, 2021 

   

When Soon-Tzu Speechley tweeted about this cake last month, I googled around for the recipe and kept a tab open. I'd not heard of its creator, Sybil Kapoor, before but she's a well-established chef and food writer in the UK. It took a few weeks before I had the right moment to make her cake, but I'm very glad I did.

The main event here is white miso. It's stirred into a rich caramel sauce, and the sauce is beaten into a buttercream. That buttercream gets slathered all over a plain vanilla butter cake. The entire experience is very buttery!

A few cooking notes: I think the caramel sauce recipe makes almost exactly double the quantity needed for the buttercream, so halve it if you like. I'm actually looking forward to slathering the leftover caramel on icecream later on. Second, I baked all of the cake mixture in one tin because I don't have two matching ones. I gave it lots of extra time and it passed the skewer test when I took it out, but I could see it was still a bit wobbly in the centre and that section collapsed as it cooled (you can see how thick the buttercream is, to compensate, in the photo above). I'll bake the cake longer still next time. Third, I could have put a bit more buttercream between the layers, because there was plenty to cover the top and sides (I'm pretty inexperienced icing cake sides!).

If there is a teeny downside to this cake, it's that you don't get to experience a warm, soft, fresh-from-the-oven piece. Rather, the buttercream sets in the fridge and the cake becomes firm. This texture reminds me a bit of birthday cake, and is its own pleasure.

Miso caramel cake

(a recipe by Sybil Kapoor, available via House & Garden UK)

miso caramel sauce (approx double the quantity needed for the cake)

250 g caster sugar

4 tablespoons cold water

2 tablespoons golden syrup

150 mL double cream

70 g butter, diced

1 teaspoon lemon juice

4 tablespoons white miso 

sponge cake

225 g butter, at room temperature

225 g caster sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

4 eggs

225g plain flour

1 scant tablespoon baking powder

miso caramel icing

1 cup miso caramel sauce

280 g butter, at room temperature

70 g icing sugar

Make the miso caramel first. Place the sugar, water and golden syrup into a medium saucepan and set them over low heat. Swirl the pan occasionally, until the sugar is melted. Increase the heat and and bring the mixture to the boil, continuing to boil until the mixture turns golden brown and ultimately dark brown. Take the saucepan off the heat and whisk in the cream, then the diced butter, and finally the lemon juice. Allow the caramel to mostly cool before beating in the miso paste. Set the caramel aside.

Next, bake the sponge cake. Preheat an oven to 160°C. Line one or two matching round cake tins with baking paper, and lightly spray them with oil. Beat the butter in a large bowl until fluffy, then beat in the sugar. Beat in the vanilla, and then the eggs, one at a time. Sift over the flour and baking powder and mix until well combined. Pour the cake batter into the cake tin(s), smooth over the top, and bake until risen, golden brown, and springing back when lightly pressed. Kapoor recommends 25 minutes for two cakes, and my one cake was still a bit underdone in the centre after 40 minutes (50 might have been better). Allow the cake to cool completely.

Finally, prepare the icing. Beat together the caramel sauce and butter. Sift in the icing sugar and beat the mixture until fluffy and very smooth. If you have one cake, slice it gently through the centre to create two layers; if you have two cakes then you have two layers ready to go. Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread it with no more than a quarter of the icing. Top it with the second cake layer. Spread the top and sides of the cake with the remaining icing. Make it as smooth or swirly as you like, but aim to properly seal all of the cake away with icing. Refrigerate the cake for at least 1 hour before serving. 

A pineapple & sage mocktail

November 25, 2021

   

We recently joined some friends in their home for a fun and slightly haphazard night - there was an online wine tasting class for two booked, and those of us who weren't drinking wine shared some mocktails. Low/no alcohol beers, wines and spirits have absolutely exploded in Melbourne this past year, and I used this as an excuse to buy some Brunswick Aces 0% alcohol gin. (It's made right in our suburb, and they've got a nice-looking bar that I'm keen to visit.)

The gin smells like citrus and cinnamon to me, and it's very astringent on its own. We all thought it was terrific and summery with tonic water and a slice of frozen grapefruit. I had also prepared in advance the components of this pineapple and sage mocktail, which we'd enjoyed once before with our Ottolenghi Club.

The original cocktail recipe would have us infuse the gin with cardamom pods and sage, but I wanted to keep the gin unsullied for other tastings and future mocktails. Instead, I added the cardamom pods and sage into the clove infusion of the sugar syrup. I wasn't much impressed with the aroma of the syrup on its own (the sage made it weirdly... seaweedy?) but it tastes very sweet and pleasantly herbal.

   

The other big commitment here is the pineapple. It's roasted in foil on high heat for three hours. By then the flesh has mellowed and darkened a lot. It's easier to peel and slice, and the core is highly visible. I would love to try doing this again for a dessert.

The gin, syrup, pineapple and some lemon juice mix together into a complex, fruity mocktail that's fun to share and ideal at this time of year. The recipe below has very uneven quantities: pineapple for maybe a dozen glasses, syrup for two dozen, and lemon juice for no more than four...! So I'll be mixing and matching my leftovers in the coming weeks.

   

A pineapple & sage mocktail

(slightly adapted from a recipe on Ottolenghi's website)

1 large pineapple, skin on but leaves trimmed (1.4 kg)

250 g caster sugar

4 whole cloves

4 cardamom pods, roughly crushed

22 sage leaves

gin (we used Brunswick Aces 0% alcohol Hearts Sapiir)

juice of 1 lemon

Preheat an oven to 200°C. Wrap the pineapple in foil, place it in a baking tray, and roast it for 3 hours. Allow the pineapple to cool. Cut away and discard the pineapple's skin and core. Puree the pineapple flesh in a food processor, then set it aside (potentially in the fridge).

Place the sugar in a small-medium saucepan with 250 mL water. Bring the mixture to the boil, then turn the heat down to low. Add the cloves, crushed cardamom pods, and 20 of the sage leaves. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring regularly, and then set the syrup aside to cool. Strain out the cloves, pods and leaves.

When you're ready to drink mocktails, shake together 100 mL of the gin, 50 mL of the pineapple puree, 25 mL lemon juice, and 20 mL of the sugar syrup with ice. Split the mocktail between two glasses and garnish with a sage leaf to serve.

113 Eatery

Update 04/01/2023: 113 Eatery is now permanently closed, but you can enjoy a similar menu at Shop 225.

November 21, 2021

   

We are very fond of the pizzas at Shop 225, so I took note when the team announced their new restaurant 113 Eatery opening in Northcote. We had time for an unhurried Sunday lunch there last weekend.

The menu is very similar to what we've come to expect from the older sibling - a dozen pizzas and a short pasta menu, with a couple of salads and a smattering of starters. It's omnivorous and exceptionally inclusive - everything bar two of the pastas has a vegan option and everything has a gluten-free option. We decided to try the vegan versions of everything we ordered to put them through their paces.

   

Arancini ($16, pictured top) were a fun way to start - they have strong, savoury mushroom and truffle flavours, including a large mushroom slice at their centre, and a garnishing dab of fondue. For his main meal Michael chose the Deliziosa pizza ($28, pictured above), another truffle-scented dish. 113 Eatery have gathered impressive vegan substitutes for fior de latte, nduja, and speck and teamed them with a thin, lightly charred base, thick porcini mushrooms and a scattering of ground pistachios - I really liked the variety and complementarity of flavours.

   

I tried their gnocchi al gorgonzola ($27), which is served in a light, silky beetroot sauce with walnuts. While I enjoyed its more subtle flavours, the vegan formulation lacked the pungency of gorgonzola and even the beetroot didn't have much of its characteristic earthiness.

   

The vegan desserts are a triumph. The tiramisu ($13) that we shared had an almondy gluten-free seams in place of the traditional ladyfingers, dense creamy layers that we think might be coconut-based, and enough coffee and cocoa to seal the deal (a classic version without substitutes is also available). Wonderful cannoli and sweet calzone are also on the menu.

   

113 Eatery retains everything we love about the Shop 225 menu. The setting feels a little fancier, with an elaborate bar rather than a hot pizza oven dominating the interior, and the staff are just as friendly. Located only a few doors down from the Westgarth Cinema and the Merri Creek Tavern, it's an excellent option for dinner before or after a show.

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113 Eatery has already received positive reviews on Melbourne Lifestyle and Gastrology.

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113 Eatery

113 High St, Northcote

9429 0457

meals, drinks, specials of the day & desserts, drinks of the day

https://www.113eatery.com.au/

Accessibility: The entry is flat and narrow, and tables are moderately spaced; chairs have backs and there is a small amount of padded bench seating. We ordered at our table and paid at a high bar. Access to the toilets is flat; they're gendered and narrow.

El Mirage II

November 18, 2021 

   

Something I learned during the most recent lockdowns is that I am actually pretty crap at making pancakes and French toast, which are my favourite fancy breakfasts. I've been keen to treat myself as eat-in dining has reopened, and recently saw a couple people on twitter recommending the sweet options at El Mirage. It's 14 years since we first visited and blogged this cafe (!), and though we've visited and not blogged about it a handful of times since then, it's certainly been a while.

   

We visited on Thursday morning, the only warm day of the week, and took a table outside. The menu is varied and marks gluten-free options, but doesn't pay as much mind to vegans as we've come to expect in Brunswick - the one breakfast dish that notes a vegan option is the 'avocado hummus', which serves these toppings on gluten-free Turkish bread and garnishes them with shave fennel, apple, sumac, pickled chilli, shallots, roasted almonds, goji berries and pomegranate.

   

That said, I got exactly what I was looking for! The Brioche French toast ($21.50) arrived as one thick slice, dusted lightly with sugar, topped with two mascarpone scoops and abundant fruits: a poached pear, half a passionfruit, and fresh raspberries and blueberries. I appreciated that the maple syrup was served on the side, because I only wanted a little of it. I also really enjoyed my chai latte ($4.50), which was properly spiced and not too sweet or over-brewed.

   

Michael ate the chilli scrambled eggs ($19.50). He was a bit frustrated that the two toast slices were stacked, but the portion was generous and he enjoyed the flavours once he'd reconfigured them - the eggs were spicy enough, and garnished with a pickled daikon, carrot, spring onion and herb salad, fried shallots, and sriracha chilli mayonnaise.

   

It's great to see El Mirage still in business after all these years, especially when neighbouring cafes like Small Block and East Elevation weren't able to weather the pandemic. The staff were great, it's rare that I enjoy a chai this much, and I'm keen to try their pancakes - I reckon I'll be back for more sneaky weekday breakfasts.

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You can read about our first visit to El Mirage (14 years ago!) here. Since then, it's received positive blog posts on off the spork, fresh bread, DO YOU WANT TO STAY FOR BREAKFAST?, A Chronicle of Gastronomy (freebie), and Skinny Glutton. There's a mixed account on Melbourne Gastronome.

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El Mirage

349 Lygon St, Brunswick East

9388 0966

main menu, specials

facebook page

Accessibility: There is a gentle ramp up from the street to the standard-width door. Furniture is fairly dense, with padded booth seating and austere metal and wood seats indoors and low unbacked stools outdoors (see photos). We ordered at our table and paid side-by-side with a staff member indoors. We didn't visit the toilets. 

Raspberry & halva crumble slice

November 7, 2021

   

Restrictions have eased a lot, but I'm emerging slowly - seeing friends occasionally, in small groups, and most often outside. I'm still spending plenty of time at home and allocating some of it to baking. The halva I needed for this recipe was a nice excuse to walk to a more distant supermarket and browse their novel groceries early in the morning when the aisles were still quiet, then potter around the kitchen in the afternoon.

I made a couple of easy substitutions to render this vegan and gluten-free: margarine instead of butter, and a gluten-free flour blend instead of wheat-based plain flour. I feared this might make for a crumble slice so crumbly it couldn't hold together, but it held up fine. Eaten warm from the oven, I reckon this slice was indistinguishable from a buttery, gluteny version. Eaten cool a day later, it was a slightly less convincing shortcrust but still a very good snack.

The recipe promises lots of contrasting flavours from raspberries, tahini and halva, sumac and rosewater. The raspberries definitely dominate, and the halva has a moment here and there, but the sumac and rosewater got a bit lost in the bake. They might have had a better chance if I'd included the optional unheated raspberry drizzle, but it just seemed messy and unnecessary at the time. These are both flavours I've enjoyed in other pink, fruity desserts so I'd like to see them shine here too!

Happily, I was able to share this slice with friends - we had one spontaneously pop in for a coffee while this was in the oven, and I packed some for a walk with another on Sunday.

   

Raspberry & halva crumble slice

(a recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi published in The Guardian)

225g plain flour (I had good results with a gluten-free blend)

105g caster sugar

50g brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

175g butter or margarine, melted

40g tahini

1 teaspoon vanilla

300g raspberries, fresh or defrosted from frozen

1 tablespoon cornflour

1 1/4 teaspoons sumac

1 teaspoon rosewater

200g halva

Preheat an oven to 170°C. Line a 22cm square cake tin with baking paper.

In a medium-large bowl, stir together the flour, 70g of the caster sugar, the brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in the melted butter/margarine, tahini and vanilla until everything is well mixed. Measure out 300g of the dough and place it in the lined cake tin, using the back of a spoon and/or your clean hands to spread it out into an even layer. Bake the biscuit base for 20 minutes, and refrigerate the leftover dough.

While the base is baking, get out a medium bowl use it to stir together the raspberries, remaining 35g caster sugar, cornflour, sumac and rosewater.

When the biscuit base is baked, retrieve it from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 180°C. Crumble the halva evenly across the biscuit base, then spoon the raspberry mixture over the halva. Retrieve the remaining biscuit dough from the fridge and scatter it in pieces over the raspberries. Bake the slice for 45-50 minutes, until the crumble is golden and the raspberries are bubbling. Allow the slice to cool a bit before slicing and serving.

Staple

Update 12/06/2023: Staple is now closed, but the team are now involved with Croixssant.

November 1, 2021

 

   

Last Monday, we took the day off work and visited Point Cook Coastal Park with our mate Lisa. Afterwards, we stopped by Staple in Altona North for lunch. The Staple team have done their best to create a welcoming set-up in an otherwise stark industrial area, with cheerful signage and a new outdoor eating space with picnic tables and stripy umbrellas occupying a couple of parking spaces.

The Staple cafe and neighbouring grocery are extensions of the Take And Eat tempeh business, so we were eager to focus on their tempeh dishes for lunch. More broadly, the menu is default vegan with exceptions marked (a couple of dishes have vegan egg/chicken's egg versions, there's regular dairy-containing Nutella, and perhaps dairy milk available for drinks). The menu is full of bagels, burgers and toasties with recommended combinations and a build-your-own option with an overwhelming array of mock meats, spreads, salad items and condiments. There don't seem to be gluten-free markings, and the menu is clearly gluten-heavy, so coeliacs will mostly be taking a chance on what's on rotation in the cafe display case.

   

Michael's fiery tempeh bagel ($17, pictured top of post) arrived first and I was instantly envious! It's a bagel built up with cream cheese, lettuce, crumbed tempeh schnitzel, napoli, ham and fiery mayonnaise. It was a delightful mess to eat, and spicy enough to keep Michael entertained.

I ambitiously took on the mac n cheesy parma ($17.50, pictured directly above). It's a stack of mixed greens, creamy mac n cheese, thickly crumbed tempeh schnitzel, napoli sauce, melted cheese and nooch sprinklings, and a strip of bacon. While I'd prefer that my salad wasn't smothered in hot food, I couldn't fault the food itself, and with much joy and determination I cleared my plate.

   

A big part of Staple's social media posting is their array of pastries, so we felt compelled to grab a couple of donuts on our way out. The flavours are fun, and I'm impressed by the vegan custards and creams that some of them are stuffed with, but I find them quite bready and think that I probably prefer cakier donuts.

We had a lovely time at Staple filling up on gluten-heavy vegan treats, and relaxing in their outdoor area. The staff were really friendly, adhered carefully to COVID safety procedures, and didn't rush us through at any stage. While a meal in Altona is a rarity for us, it's easy to see why Staple would draw loyal veg*n customers from all across the west.

   

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Staple has already won fans on Mamma Knows West.

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Staple

37 Cabot Drive, Altona North

0493 102 414

bagels; specialties, burgers & toasties; DIY bagels/burgers/toasties; drinks

https://staplefood.co/

Accessibility: Staple has a narrow door and flat entry. At the moment, much of the indoor furniture is pushed to the side and there is a lot of flat floor space. We ordered and paid at a low counter, and received our food at our outside table (solid picnic tables, bench seats without backs, and large umbrellas casting shade). Michael used a unisex toilet that was reasonably spacious (but didn't include handrails or other features) and was located upstairs.

Leek & mushroom quiche

October 30, 2021

   

Last week while planning the grocery shopping, I decided I felt like a quiche. I wanted crumbly pastry, savoury mushrooms and a creamy filling. I didn't have a particular recipe in mind so I googled "mushroom quiche smitten kitchen". While I don't cook her recipes regularly, Smitten Kitchen's Deb Perelman has a thorough approach I admire, and she seems to tend mostly towards dairy- and egg-laden, European-style recipes. Sure enough, she had several options for me to choose from and I picked out a Julia Child/Martha Stewart splice from 2007.

I made a head start in the morning, getting a pastry ball into the fridge and cooking the leeks and the mushrooms. The approach was unusual to me - both the leeks and the mushrooms are cooked lid-on with some excess liquid before it's evaporated off. (It's supposed to be port in the case of the mushrooms, but I made do with white wine vinegar and a sprinkle of sugar.) The leeks in particular really mellowed through this process, though I don't think I cooked off quite enough liquid (more about that in a minute).

It was a struggle to stretch the pastry across the full expanse of my pie dish, so in the measurements below I've added notes for increasing its quantity by 20%. Meanwhile, I couldn't pour all of the eggy milk mixture in so I've decreased the milk by 33%! I'm not going to decrease the egg quantity because this quiche needs all the setting help it can get. My first three quiche slices were actually served with a dessert spoon, completely collapsed. I may have brought this upon myself, leaving the leeks too liquid as I mentioned above, and lazily layering them with the mushrooms and then pouring over the eggy milk at the end. If I make this again, I'll properly stir together the leeks, mushrooms and eggy milk as originally instructed, and I've worded the recipe below accordingly. 

As you can see from the cross-sectional photo below, this quiche is more leek than mushroom, and I might tinker with the proportions. That's just about personal preference, though - the flavour of this quiche was already excellent, and I achieved the crumbly/creamy/savoury experience I was hankering for. We've been teaming it with this this spring salad.

   

Leek & mushroom quiche

(slightly adapted from a recipe on Smitten Kitchen, 

where credit is extended to Julia Child and Martha Stewart)

pastry

1 1/4 cups plain flour (would try increasing to 1 1/2 cups next time)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

113g butter (would try increasing to 135g next time)

1-3 tablespoons ice water

filling

3-4 leeks, white part only, sliced into rounds

1/2 cup water

salt and pepper

3 tablespoons butter

5-6 large white mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk (would reduce to 1 cup next time)

1/4-1/2 cup grated tasty cheese

Make the pastry in a food processor. Start by mixing together the flour, salt and sugar. Dice the butter and add it to the flour, processing until the mixture resembles coarse sand. Add the water, processing between each tablespoon, until a dough forms (I used only about 1 1/2 tablespoons this time). Turn the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap, form it into a thick disc, then wrap it in the plastic and refrigerate the dough for at least an hour.

When the dough is ready, preheat an oven to 200°C. Roll the dough out between two pieces of plastic wrap, until it is large enough to fit your pie dish. Remove one side of plastic and gently ease the dough into the pie dish. Remove the second layer of plastic wrap and tidy up the pastry edges. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork. Line the pastry with baking paper and pie weights (I have some old dried chickpeas for this task!), and bake the pastry for 8-9 minutes. Remove the weights and baking paper and bake the pastry for 2-3 minutes more, until it is just starting to turn golden. Set the pastry aside to cool a little while you prepare the fillings.

In a medium-large saucepan, place the leeks, water, a bit of salt and 2 tablespoons butter. Set the saucepan over medium-high heat with the lid on, boiling the leeks for about 10 minutes, until all the leeks are very soft. Turn down the heat and remove the lid, continuing to cook and regularly stir the mixture until most of the liquid has evaporated - this could take up to 30 minutes. Set the leeks aside in a large bowl.

Return the same saucepan to medium-high heat, this time placing the remaining tablespoon of butter, mushrooms, vinegar, some salt and the sugar into it. Cover the saucepan with a lid and cook for 8 minutes, then remove the lid and cook off most of the liquid. Turn off the heat, and add the mushrooms to the bowl of leeks.

Preheat an oven to 190°C. Whisk together the eggs and milk with some salt and pepper, then pour them over the leeks and mushrooms, stirring them all together. (I actually layered leeks > mushrooms > eggy milk in the pastry and it wasn't ideal.) Gently pour it all into the pastry and level it out. Sprinkle over the grated cheese. Bake the quiche for 25-30 minutes, until puffed and browned.

Theodore's II

Edit 16/09/2023: Theodore's is now closed.

October 27, 2021

   

After several months in lockdown, I could think of few better ways to celebrate loosening restrictions than an outdoor meal at Theodore's. It's been a tough run for a restaurant that opened in late 2019, but their quality service and community spirit has always shone through as brightly as their food. We first visited with a huge crew on a hot night, and I just couldn't get their summer tomato salad out of my mind. Throughout our longest lockdown, we ordered vege boxes, other groceries and a Saturday night meal delivery from them, and when that was over I was able to share a milestone birthday banquet there with friends.

This year, we've had less luck: we booked a birthday dinner for Michael in May, but the first date and two reschedules were all scuppered by a series of lockdowns. We've stopped by for takeaway pretzels and fancy sandwiches. This Wednesday was their first night reopening as a restaurant, and it was forecast to be the warmest, sunniest day of the week, so we walked over early and nabbed one of their outdoor walk-in tables. At last!

   

The first positive impression that the Theodore's team made with me was with their house-made cordials. I picked a mixed citrus one this time, which was lovely, and wished I had the appetite to double down with a kiwi one. They've also expanded their range of non-alcoholic drinks to Sobah beers and a locally made gin.

   

We ate as broadly as we could across the vegetarian options on their street menu. This smoked tofu dip ($14) became an instant favourite, served with big vege crisps and radishes.

   

The goats cheese tart ($16) was also a lot of fun - the dense, creamy wedge of cheese was served with a Jatz crumb, more crackers on the side, and enough herbs and pickled beetroot slices to break up the richness.

   

The fried potatoes with Turkish chilli aioli ($10) were also as fabulous as they looked! We chose them over the house bread - we later spied it at another table and it looked like a worthy carb rival. 

   

Our final savoury dish was mercifully a bit lighter: lettuce cups layered with a vegan lemon crema, baked carrots, olives and a seed mix ($12). 

   

Dessert ($14) was an ultra-creamy bavarois with gingernut crust and blood orange, that the staff said was their play on key lime pie. (A funny coincidence that I've been playing with lime pie and ginger desserts at home lately too!)

   

Theodore's regularly change up their menu, and they're offering only set menus for their reserved tables. (They have a top-notch record accommodating dietary requirements, especially with advance notice.) While there's no guarantee you or we will eat any of these specific dishes on a future visit, I always enter with confidence that it will be a special meal.

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You can read about our first visit to Theodore's here.

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Theodore's 

4 Saxon St, Brunswick 

9380 2446 

current street menu, drinks 

https://www.theodor.es/ 

 Accessibility: On this night, we ate out on the (slightly uneven) street, where furniture was generously spaced, at standard height, and the chairs had backs. We signed in at the door, then ordered and paid at our table. For indoor diners: there's a shallow ramp on entry. Most tables are densely packed booths, but there's a bit of room for a pram around the free-standing tables, and the staff are very welcoming of children (we've visited with a newborn among our party before). 

Ginger caramel slice

October 16, 2021

   

I bought a back-up jar of coconut condensed milk when I was shopping for the lime pie, and it only took a week before I decided to work it into some caramel slice. I always use a decade-long favourite recipe from Steph and Johanna, and this time around I made three adjustments to the caramel layer:

1. I used a can of coconut condensed milk instead of soy condensed milk,
2. I used treacle instead of golden syrup, and
3. I added 1 1/2 tablespoons of ground ginger to the mixture.

There were a few flecks of ground ginger that I couldn't stir smooth in the caramel, and I wondered if I should have strained the mixture before pouring it onto the base. 

Everything seemed to sort itself out during the bake... this slice was magnificent. The caramel was a bit runnier than usual - due either to the coconut/soy switch or to undercooking - but it had the consistency and colour of the caramel you'd find in a Mars bar or Twix. The flavour was much stronger, like gingerbread! For some (including me as a kid), this is probably sullying a classic, but Michael and I are instant fans of this easy-to-make spin-off flavour.