Marmalade cheesecake slice

December 31, 2014

We saw the new year in at our friends' home; sharing a potluck, watching Footloose and trading favourite online dance videos. The lowest common dietary denominator was vegan and gluten-free, so I decided to remake the Veganissmo ginger cheesecake slice for this different crowd.

A few days earlier our hosts had given Michael and I a lovely homemade Christmas gift of jarred condiments and a retro serving plate. I put them to good use here, stirring a jar (approx 1 cup) of lime and ginger marmalade into the cashew batter instead of lining the cake with crystallised ginger. It worked a treat, and looked all the cuter on that sweetly patterned platter.

I can see myself making and making-over this recipe again and again - the sandy buckwheat base and dense creamy topping are just to my taste. Given it's vegan, gluten-free, easy to slice and feasible to transport, this is a great go-to for picnics and potlucks.

Gekkazan

Update 11/08/2022: Gekkazan is now closed.

December 29, 2014

Summer city errands are a nice excuse for a city lunch - something we don't do very often. Last year Johanna claimed that Gekkazan has the best vegetarian sushi in Melbourne, so we confirmed that it was open and headed on over. We were relieved to discover that this didn't require entering GPO/H&M; rather, it's tucked away on Postal Lane and best approached from Little Bourke St.

Gekkazan certainly does sushi - there's an extensive selection of rolls, onigiri and inari. In many cases the nori is wrapped separately for a crisper roll-your-own experience. Michael positively rated the ready-rolled chilli-fried tofu with black rice, and the vegetarian-croquette-with-lettuce stuffing ($2.90, both pictured above).

If you're willing to wait a little longer, there's also a menu of cooked-to-order meals. The options were a little narrower than we'd hoped - there's currently no vegetarian bento, and the vegetable noodle soups contained chicken stock. There were, however, gyoza ($8.90) - their conjoined skin was intriguing but the filling was a less innovative vegetable mash.

My agadashi tofu donburi ($14.90) was probably our best selection. The lightly-battered tofu cubes were smothered in a thick savoury gravy with a hint of ginger, and tender slivers of carrot and shitake mushroom; the rice was expertly formed and seasoned. There was a bounty of sides to pick at: seaweed and tofu nori rolls, a croquette sample, flour-dusted potatoes, steamed and fresh salad vegetables. I took my time browsing and delighting in each morsel.

Gekkazan is a cityworker's lunch spot with long queues, fast service, dense seating and a lot of noise. But there's thought and skill evident in their food and their service - we were grateful to the smiling staff member who set us straight on the veg options.

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We were inspired to visit Gekkazan thanks to a review on Green Gourmet Giraffe. Reviews on other blogs are less effusive but still generally positive, see Let's Get Fat Together, Purple bowl, delightfully tasty, DAISYUM.COM, A Chronicle of Gastronomy (twice), ~~~Wild Mixed~~~, Gastrology and The Bonding Tool.

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Gekkazan
Postal Lane at GPO, 350 Bourke St, Melbourne CBD
9663 7767
menu
GPO website

Accessibility: Entry to Postal Lane and Gekkazan from the Little Bourke end is flat, and there are stairs at the Bourke St end. The corridor through the middle is reasonably clear, but the tables are very densely packed and the area is crowded at lunch time. We ordered and paid at a high counter. Signs pointed to gendered, parenting and wheelchair-accessible toilets elsewhere at GPO.

Acustico II

December 28, 2014

It's a lovely time of year to eat outdoors. Though the ground is uneven and the tables small, the dappled sun out front of Acustico is a near-ideal spot for breakfast. They've changed up their menu since we last blogged about them - there's now bircher muesli, an avocado-quinoa salad that looks vegan-friendly, and a lunch menu with cheesy toasties, fancy salads and fresh baguettes.

I was most pleased that the sweet breakfast option wasn't crossed out this time. My Brunswick bruncher sensibilities were ruffled by their choice to mix currants into ricotta pancakes ($15) and soup it all up with bananas, raspberries, yoghurt, hazelnuts and honey. It proved completely successful, equal parts fresh and filling, creamy and tart and toasty.

I couldn't help noticing that iced chai ($4) now appears on the cold drinks menu - Acustico's rendition is a milky black tea served with lots of ice and ground cinnamon.

The gluten-free quesadilla ($15) seems to be unchanged and an enduring favourite of our friend Dave. It's stuffed with smoked cheese and plentiful jalapenos then served with a salad of tomatoes, corn, onion and spinach. With some friendly egging on from Dave and our waiter, Michael added a poached one to his quesadilla plate ($3).

Relaxed and extra-helpful service from the Acustico staff clinched this as an especially-good any-weekend kind of breakfast. The juice and toastie menus hint that it's a good 'un for lazy lunches too.

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You can read about our first visit to Acustico here. Since then it's been well received by fellow veg blogger Green Gourmet Giraffe, plus omni bloggers I Talk Too Much My Mouth Hurts, the melbourne local and BYEBYEMYTHYROID.

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Acustico
32 Union St, Brunswick
0402 489 800
menu: breakfast, something small, cold drinks, hot drinks
http://www.acustico.com.au/

Accessibility: There's a small step at the Union St entry but it's flat if entering from Railway Place. The front room is a little cramped, but things open out nicely in the back area; tables out the front are spacious but set on uneven ground. Ordering as at the table and you pay at a low counter. The toilet is unisex and narrow.

The Cornish Arms III

December 27, 2014

We had a sneaky non-blogged trip to The Cornish Arms in mid-December and finally stepped beyond the mains section of the menu to discover the vegan option of the spicy chicken wings ($13). They were so good that we were back soon after for a second shot at them. They're a basket of crispily fried mock-meat with a batter not too far removed from KFC hot and spicy and a creamy aioli that soothes the chilli burn. And they are so freaking delicious! Go. Go and order them at once.

The only problem with ordering the chicken wings is that it really drives home how ridiculously big the main meals are. Still, we soldiered on - it was the holiday season after all. I tackled the stupidly gigantic vegan souvlaki - mock duck and chicken (both seitan-based) with salad, garlic sauce and chilli plus a bucket of chips and some tomato sauce ($20). My memories of this are slightly tainted by how full I was by the time I got through it all - the first few bites were out of this world: excellent mock meat, soaked in chilli, mayo-y sauce, but it gradually wore me down. I probably wouldn't recommend ordering this on top of the chicken wings, but on its own it's a pretty incredible meal. 

Cindy was smarter and looked to the more manageably-sized pizza menu, falling back on her faithful mock Hawaiian (strangely unblogged by us!). It's a combination of delicious mock-chicken and excellent facon with disgusting, sickening pineapple. Honestly, you pineapple pizza people are all monsters. Our dining buddy Clamps was more appropriate, ordering the chilli non-carne pizza, a modestly sized treat topped with beef and black bean chilli, corn chips, salsa, jalapenos, sour cream and a smattering of veggies. It looked amazing, but I was too far gone with my souvlaki to sneak a taste. Next time!

The Cornish is a Melbourne vegan treasure - at least for vegans who embrace junky pub food. There's almost nothing healthy on the menu - it's all burgers, pizzas and mock meat - but that's sometimes what you need, and the Cornish is getting better and better at delivering it. The pub's generally got a good vibe (it depends a bit on whether or not there's an open mic night going on), the beer taps are always diverse and excellent - it's a real winner.

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Read about our previous visits to The Cornish Arms here and here. Since our last blog post, it's been reviewed positively from a vego perspective by I Spy Plum Pie, Veganopolous, easy as vegan pie and Little Vegan Bear and by omni-bloggers I talk too much my mouth hurts, makelovetotheworld and A Chronicle of Gastronomy, who all enjoyed the food, although the latter two were let down by slow service.

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The Cornish Arms

163A Sydney Rd, Brunswick

9380 8383 

menu (thanks to dimmi)

http://www.cornisharms.com.au/

Accessibility: There's a flat entryway and a pretty spacious interior. Lighting is low without being ludicrously dim. Ordering and payment happens at the bar. The toilets are on the same level and are wheelchair accessible.

Sweet potatoes with orange bitters

December 25, 2014

We hosted a small Christmas gathering at our place this year - just us and a handful of family members picnicking in the park. Even with just a small group, we figured Christmas was the perfect excuse to delve further into Plenty More - Ottolenghi's recipes are Christmas staples around here, so we were excited to try a few new ones. 

We couldn't go past a couple of pretty classic Ottolenghi-style salads - a mango and curried chickpea salad (bottom of the picture above) and a parsley, lemon, cannellini bean and quinoa salad (top left). The quinoa salad was actually surprisingly straightforward for Ottolenghi - the usual array of shredded herbs (parsley and mint in this case, plus some coriander I threw in by mistake!), a bit of quinoa, some beans, lemon and a few spices - it's really simple and pretty effective. 

The curried chickpea salad took a bit more work, even with the shortcuts we used (tinned chickpeas and pre-ground spices rather than soaked chickpeas and roasting and grinding our own). You've got onion to fry, cauliflower to blanch and fry and a whole lot of mango to slice up. The pay-off is worth it though - this is an excellent mix of sweet mango, spicy curry flavours and some nice charred cauliflower chunks (plus plenty of greens for freshness). We'll definitely be making this again.

Our centrepiece though was the most time-consuming dish of the lot - roasted sweet potatoes with orange bitters (recipe below). It's actually not a lot of work, just lots of chopping and then an hour of roasting, with regular stops to stir things together. It's a phenomenally good dish - the glaze that you roast the potatoes in is a mix of sweet and bitter and it caramelises as it roasts, leaving the potatoes sticky and loaded with flavour. Throw in the infusion of deliciousness from the roasted garlic, sage and thyme and you've got a classic veggie dish that's destined to impress. The goats cheese in the recipe can be omitted without really diminishing the dish, so it's easily adapted for vegans.

We had a lovely Christmas lunch - a few nibblies, some wine, sunshine and these three dishes is a winning combination, especially when followed up with a batch of these cream cheese brownies that Cindy whipped up for us. We've made our way through a lot of Ottolenghi recipes over the years, but he keeps coming up with brilliant dishes and will remain a regular Christmas visitor at our place.

Sweet potatoes with orange bitters
(adapted very slightly from Ottolenghi's new book Plenty More)

350ml orange juice (the recipe calls for freshly squeezed, but we had some decent bottled juice that worked fine)

80g brown sugar

60ml red wine vinegar

60ml Agnostura bitters

2 tablespoons olive oil

1.5kg of sweet potatoes, unpeeled (about 4)

2 red chillies, slit open longways

4 stems of sage

10 sprigs of thyme

2 heads garlic

100g goats cheese, broken into pieces

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 220°C.

Slice the sweet potato into wedges, about 3cm wide and 15cm long. 

Combine the orange juice, vinegar and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and keep it at a low simmer for about 20 minutes - you want the liquid to have thickened up and reduced by about half. When it's done, take it off the heat and add in the olive oil, bitters and a teaspoon or two of salt.

Put the sweet potatoes in a large bowl, along with the garlic, chilli and herbs. Pour over the sauce and toss everything together so that it all gets well coated. Lay the mixture out in two lightly oiled baking trays - you want to try to get it all in a single layer, but it's not critical if things get a bit too crowded (see our pictures above).

Roast for an hour, taking the pans out every 15 minutes to shuffle the potatoes around and make sure they're coated in the liquid. Ours dried out by the 45 minute mark so we added an extra splash of orange juice to each pan. 

Remove from the oven and let them cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature, dotted with the goats cheese and seasoned with salt and pepper.