Miso caramel apple pies

June 1, 2025

   

For Michael's birthday this year, his mum gave him a copy of The Australian Women's Weekly The Pie Maker Volume 2, a recipe book full of cute, single-serve pastries. I offered to make his pick of the recipes as a little home celebration on the weekend following his birthday. Apple pie has long been a favourite of Michael's so I wasn't surprised that he chose the miso caramel-garnished version in this book.

This was a fun little combination, very different to my go-to apple pie recipe. It started with frozen shortcrust pastry but I preferred to use puff, simply quartering the sheet and easing each square into a pie dish without trimming it. I'd never before noticed canned pie apple at the supermarket but we tracked it down and it was an easy filling, spiced up with ginger, cinnamon and miso. On top there's an elegant fan of apple slices; the recipe reckons that each pie can support half an apple but I thought a quarter was a better fit. The recipe's designed for a dedicated pie maker, but these ones were just as effectively baked in the oven.

Finally, there's miso-spiked top'n'fill caramel to drizzle over the top (and if you're sensible, a scoop of icecream on the side). It's a delicious little package, fit for a birthday.

   

As a post-script, here's Henry, the newest member of our household. He's as fond of human food as he is his own, and he stared longingly at these pies throughout their assembly.

Miso caramel apple pies

(slightly adapted from a recipe in
The Australian Women's Weekly The Pie Maker Volume 2)

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 tablespoon white miso

1/4 cup caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

385g can pie apple slices

1 red apple

miso caramel

1/2 cup canned caramel top'n'fill

2 tablespoons white miso

Preheat an oven to 180°C. Line four single-serve pie dishes with paper; I just used squares of paper and didn't worry too much about gaps. Cut the pastry into four squares of equal area and gently fit them into the pie dishes. Add some paper/pie weights and pre-bake the pastry for up to 10 minutes, until the pastry corners are just going golden.

Mix together the miso, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon, and the ginger in a medium bowl. Fold in the canned apple. When the pastry is ready, remove any pie weights and divide this mixture evenly into the four pie dishes.

Remove the core from the apple and slice it into thin wedges. Arrange the slices decoratively across the pies. Sprinkle over the remaining cinnamon and sugar. Bake until the pastry is golden brown but not burnt, about 10-15 minutes.

While the pies are baking, transfer the top'n'fill to a microwave-safe bowl and heat for about 40 seconds. Whisk in the miso until smooth.

Serve the pies warm, generously drizzled with the miso caramel, with a scoop of icecream on the side.

Beit Siti

June 1, 2025

   

I've been following Beit Siti on instagram for quite a while, and immediately put their cafe on my wishlist when its opening was announced in late May. The name means "grandmother's home" in Arabic, and the business pays homage to the Palestinian roots of founder Rahaf Al Khatib.

They're starting slowly and building up. When we arrived at lunch time on a Sunday, the display cabinet was about half sold-out. I missed out on a zaatar and cheese croissant but we happily made do with the alternatives (clockwise from top left): a savoury labaneh croissant ($12), a Danish spread with strawberry jam, dolloped with labaneh and garnished with pomegranate seeds and dill ($10), and a Musakahn Danish of confit onion, sumac and chickpeas ($10). The pastry was beautiful and the fillings so well composed.

   

Beit Siti post what they've got coming up each morning in their instagram stories: I've spotted labaneh cheesecake brownies, several flavours of focaccia, carrot and walnut cake, and mudjaddarah with a vegan option recently! I'd highly recommend stopping in and taking a chance on whatever's in store.

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Beit Siti

150 Bell St, Coburg

https://www.beitsiti.com/

Accessibility: Beit Siti has a ramp on entry. Furniture is mostly regular-height tables and backed chairs at medium spacing (though check out the lovely chaise lounge in the top photo!). We noticed that a high chair was available. We ordered and paid at a regular-height counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

Etta IV

May 29, 2025

   

Last year's visit to Etta for my birthday was such a success that I dragged us back again in May as I ticked off another year. The food at Etta these days is almost surgically designed to appeal to me - lots of bold flavours, Sichuan peppers popping up all over the place and a real emphasis on making the vegetarian food as interesting as the meaty stuff.

We ordered the set menu ($115 each) to save making any decisions - the vego version of this comes with a few dishes that aren't on the standard a la carte menu, so it's definitely worth the money if you're feeling fancy. 

   

They kicked things off with a thick slab of bread from the nearby Wild Life Bakery, served with smoked brown butter. I love the Wild Life bread and I would obviously eat smoked brown butter as part of every meal for the rest of my life if I could. When the butter runs out, you can dab the bread in the amazing Sichuan chilli oil that comes with the other dish - a skewer featuring quail egg, pickled daikon and lotus root. A great mix of flavours and textures to get things underway.

   

Next up was roast pumpkin, with seed satay sauce, Jerusalem artichoke crisp and pickled onions. The satay on this had a nice spicy bite, with some acid from the pickles and a creamy base really drawing out the sweet, rich pumpkin. Great crunch from the crisps on top too - this was a big hit.

   

We also loved the pickled and smoked eggplant, with sambal and crispy potatoes - it's working with the same kind of ideas, spicy sauce, acid from the pickles, rich smokiness and then crisp on top. This one isn't on the regular menu, but you should get your hands on it if you can!

   

The greens dish was a mix of Brussels sprouts and Chinese broccoli, served with puffed buckwheat and a fermented tofu cream. A pretty impressive plate for your side veggies.

   

Next up was a golden egg tofu, served on a corn reduction and topped with pickled chrysanthemum. The tofu texture is so incredible - smooth and creamy underneath a delicately crisp outer layer. Variations on this are a staple on the Etta menu and I would always order it. 

   

I would also always order the heartiest dish of the night, the zongzi, featuring oyster mushrooms and black bean chilli oil. I'd never heard of zongzi before Etta served it up - they're steamed glutinous rice cakes basically. Etta's version is so rich and savoury, with meaty mushrooms and five spice and the kick of the chilli oil. It's sublime, especially in winter.

   

The dessert for the night was the dish that is becoming Etta's signature - the chilli oil parfait, with melon, lychee and lime leaf sorbet. The chilli oil parfait is very clever, and this is a really fresh and sharp dessert - it feels a bit more summery than the rest of the menu, but it shows off Etta's approach really well.

We just had a spectacular dinner - service is always exceptional: incredibly friendly, but always super sharp, and the space is a delight, especially in the back dining room area. Every time we go I want to go back immediately - it's a special occasion place that feels like your favourite local as well.

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You can read about our previous visits to Etta here, here and here, as well as a positive review at The Juliet Report.

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Etta

60 Lygon St, Brunswick

9448 8233

autumn a la carte, set menu

http://ettadining.com.au/

Accessibility: The entry is flat and there is one step up from the bar area to the dining area. Tables are moderately spaced and lighting is quite dim. We received full table service. Toilets are unisex and spacious, but we didn't notice handrails or other mobility aids.

Kale dumplings with brothy butter beans

May 25, 2025

   

We're still working our way through the delights of Hetty Lui McKinnon's Tenderheart, and Melbourne's grim winter had us digging this perfect warming stew. It went so well that we made it for a second time about a week later for friends, and it's immediately slotted into my favourites list. It's kind of a nice one to have two people at work here - both times I took charge of the stew and Cindy managed dumplings - but nothing here is actually super complicated or time-consuming. The first time we did it we followed Hetty's instructions and steam-cooked the dumplings on top of the stew (covered, in the saucepan), but we had enough spare to do an oven baked batch as well and that ended up as our go-to method. Either way is utterly delicious though - you wind up with this hearty, aromatic stew topped with rich, cheesy dumplings. It really is an aboslute killer.

Kale dumplings with brothy butter beans

(a recipe from Hetty Lui McKinnon's Tenderheart)

olive oil

1 leek, white and pale green parts, finely sliced

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon red chilli flakes

400g can crushed tomatoes

500ml veggie stock

2 x 400g cans butter beans, drained

1 teaspoon white sugar

50g kale leaves (about half a small bunch), destemmed and finely chopped

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

half a bunch of basil leaves, roughly chopped

salt and pepper

dumplings

1 cup plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons butter

50g kale leaves (the other half a bunch), destemmed and finely chopped

3/4 cup grated cheddar

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

half a bunch of basil leaves, chopped

salt and pepper

In a large saucepan heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and, when it's hot, add in the leek and stir-fry for 2 or 3 minutes until it softens. Throw in the garlic, tomato paste, paprika and chilli flakes and stir for anothe minute or so.

Add the tomatoes, stock, beans and sugar and season well with salt and pepper. Bring the mix to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, get to work on your dumplings. Combine the flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper in a bowl. Rub the butter into the flour mix with your fingers and then stir in the kale, cheese and basil and mix well. Beat the egg into the milk and then fold this into the mix until everything is just combined.

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.

Go back to your stew and stir the kale leaves and red wine vinegar in, tasting the mix and seasoning with salt and pepper as needed.

Transfer the stew to a casserole dish or ceramic baking tray and scoop out golf ball sized dumpling balls and layer them across the stew - you need to leave a little space between them because they'll expand a bit while you bake. 

Give them about 15 minutes in the oven - you want the dumplings to go a little bit golden on top and be cooked through (a skewer should come out clean). 

Serve, topped with the remaining basil leaves and a few drizzles of olive oil. 

Farmer's Daughters

May 11, 2025

   

We booked in a bunch of events at the Melbourne Writers Festival and found ourselves with a four-hour break on Sunday afternoon. That's long enough to go home for a bit, but instead we elected to splash out on a fancy lunch. Farmer's Daughters, which I didn't know much about, had availability on their (covered) rooftop for the late timeslot we were after. We were probably the only table there not celebrating Mothers' Day.

   

The Farmer's Daughters menu is focused on fresh produce from Gippsland. Dietary features aren't marked on the menu, but we trusted there'd be some great vegetables and that the staff would know what's what. Happily, they also offer a few mocktails ($12 each) and an in-menu option that the bartender can whip you up something customised if they're not what you're after. The Phillip Island Mule, with native lemongrass, suited me straight up.

   

Bread excepted, we sampled everything vegetarian across the entrees and mains. Zucchini pieces were grilled, sauced with romesco, piled with shiso, topped with a ball of creamy burrata and liberally sprinkled with dukkah ($25). In a similar pattern, roasted beetroot was teamed with green leaves, topped with feta and seasoned with hazelnuts and pepperberry ($24).  

   

Neat little potato rösti squares ($10 each) were piped with cheese mousse, topped with a fresh fig flourish and a sprig of French sorrel. I wasn't sure about fig and potato together, but the cream cheese was the natural bridge between the two.

   

The roast potato and leek pie ($35) was tremendously burnished and flaky, topped with confit red onion and surrounded by a rich brown butter sauce. It was a bit late in the season for tomatoes, so the salad of heirloom tomatoes, strawberry, mozzarella and basil ($21) worked slightly better in theory than in practice.

   

Dessert was study in classics done well. Cheesecake ($20) was sweet, tangy, nutty and creamy in perfect proportions, with a little berry compote on the side. The 75% Cuvée chocolate tart ($21) was smooth, firm and bittersweet, accompanied by a delectable salted hazelnut praline sauce and spoonful of crème diplomate. We carefully halved both desserts as fairly as we could.

The service at Farmer's Daughters was bright and professional and we enjoyed our meal very much. The vegetarian options leaned heavily on Gippsland's great dairy products, so it's hard to predict how well they'd cater to vegans. We're glad we had this unusual excuse to splurge on a meal there, and I'd do it again if the same rare circumstances recurred.

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You can also read a positive review from Sweet & Sour Fork.

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Farmer's Daughters

95 Exhibition St, Melbourne CBD

9116 8682

a la carte, chef's selection

https://www.farmersdaughters.com.au/

Accessibility: There's a lift to the rooftop. It's densely packed with regular height tables, backed chairs and some padded benches. We ordered and paid at our table. There's a handful of individual cubicles on the same level, some gendered and some unisex ambulant.

Cherry tomato & berry crumble

May 3, 2025

   

When making these two tomato desserts, it was important to me that the tomato wouldn't be hidden away - I wanted it to be a prominent, complementary flavour. I recalled having two inspiring back-to-back meals in New Zealand in 2013 that combined tomatoes with red berries - so bright and juicy, sweet and sour! It had me thinking that I could try bringing tomatoes and berries together in a warm fruit crumble for autumn.

My formula was pretty simple: equal weights of cherry tomatoes and frozen mixed berries, giving the tomatoes extra baking time to ensure they were properly soft. Then a crumble based on the proportions I relied on as far back as 2007 (apologies for the diet talk in that post - yeesh). I used gluten-free flour and wheat-free rolled oats to accommodate our favourite coeliac.

Those test proportions were just what I was after! The fruit layer was lush with a clear tomato flavour, subtly savoury amongst the berries, and an even texture across all the fruit pieces. The crumble was nutty and biscuity, not quite as golden as I reckon a wheat-flour version would be. I scooped Billy Van Creamy vegan peach and coconut icecream on the side, and everyone dug in with curiosity and compliments.

Cherry tomato & berry crumble

(based on this general crumble formula)

 

fruit layer

560g cherry tomatoes

560g frozen mixed berries

1/3 cup caster sugar

crumble

100g gluten-free flour

100g wheat-free rolled oats

100g caster sugar

100g margarine

50g flaked almonds

Preheat an oven to 160°C.

Halve the cherry tomatoes, place them in a casserole dish, and bake for 30 minutes, until they're soft and concentrated. 

While the tomatoes are baking, prepare the crumble. Place the flour, oats and sugar in a food processor and pulse briefly. Add the margarine and pulse further. Add the almonds and pulse a final time.

When the tomatoes are ready, retrieve them from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 190°C. Add the berries and sugar to the tomatoes and stir them all together. Dot the crumble haphazardly over the top. Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the crumble is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Allow the crumble to cool a little before serving, with a dollop of something creamy.

Bush tomato shortbread

May 2-3, 2025

   

Some of our best Melbourne friendships were forged through veg*n blogging and potlucking more than 15 years ago. We remain in contact but life changes - any combination of moving to more distant neighbourhoods, raising kids, health issues, and busier careers mean that few of us have maintained the same time, energy and enthusiasm for elaborate cooking. 

Yet there's been a happy little resurgence this year - over a birthday banquet out, the idea was hatched to hold a tomato-themed vegan potluck. Ever the sweet tooth, I resolved to make dessert and make it good. Here's my first of two contributions: bush tomato shortbread.

I loved using the Mabu Mabu bush tomato spice mix in damper, but at some point they stopped stocking it. I looked around online on and off for months, perhaps years, and it seemed pretty scarce. With this renewed motive, I found unadulterated dried bush tomato through Native Oz Bushfoods and mail-ordered a couple of pouches.

From there I kept it simple, using a vegan shortbread base (sourced from vegan blogging mate Steph!) that I'd usually flavour with lemon myrtle and macadamias. It's easy to make in one bowl and can be mixed by hand. I thought about adding a little cinnamon to assert this as a sweet spice mix but I'm glad that I didn't. The bush tomato shone through, tangy and fruity, dessert without a doubt. Thank goodness I'm stocked with enough spice to make more.

Bush tomato shortbread

(adapted from this recipe, which is based on this one from Vegan About Town)

200g margarine

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 tablespoons bush tomato powder

Preheat an oven to 190°C. Line a baking tray with paper.

In a medium bowl, use a fork to beat together the margarine and sugar. Add the flour and mix until combined. Add the bush tomato and mix again. Roll scant tablespoons of the dough into balls and place them on the baking tray. Bake for ~15 minutes, and allow to cool before serving.