New cookbooks by Anna Hansen and Laura Faire provide original and fresh recipe ideas.
Photo Christopher Terry
As a passionate cook, I am mystified by adults who tell me they’ve never cooked a meal in their life. Obviously, everyone has a consuming passion of some sort, but there’s one thing everyone has in common: we must eat food to stay alive. What a shame some people’s indifference leads them to relegate cooking to a mundane chore to be avoided – or done by someone else.
Luckily for the rest of us there’s an avalanche of information – television shows, websites and cookbooks – to stimulate our interest. Two recent books have inspired me. The most original one I’ve seen this year is The Modern Pantry, by Anna Hansen (Random House, $69.99), an expat New Zealander who has a fascination for and understanding of the myriad ingredients that form the core of Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines. Before she opened her Modern Pantry (open seven days for breakfast, lunch and dinner) in Clerkenwell, London, she was a partner in Providores, working alongside Peter Gordon.
She brings a fresh voice to recipes, with surprising and sometimes challenging combinations of flavours and textures. As she writes, “I am not concerned with the origins of each ingredient, in the sense that I do not let its origins dictate how I choose to cook it or with what I choose to serve it … My larder is global. There are no culinary boundaries in my kitchen.”
One recipe leapt from the page: sugar-cured prawn omelette with smoked chilli sambal. Hansen says, “This is the signature dish at the Modern Pantry … it has the perfect balance of flavour, texture and aroma and I think it truly reflects my approach to cooking.” (My household will be eating this one over Labour weekend.) But there’s much more. Her salads burst with unusual flavour combinations; the beautifully spiced meat and poultry dishes, such as Persian-spiced pork skewers with sweet tomato yoghurt, are decidedly different; and the desserts and cakes section is one of the most tempting I’ve come across. Not all recipes are photographed, but keen cooks won’t need to be shown what they’re aiming for.
Now Is the Season, by Laura Faire (New Holland, $45) brings another fresh face to the cookbook scene. A keen gardener, she emphasises the seasons, with lots of hints for both kitchen and garden. I especially enjoyed reading her recipes for tisanes, infusions and preserves. As any gardener knows, there’s always a surfeit of produce at the height of any season, so the thoughtful tips hit the mark. You could happily eat Faire’s food every night and yet still entertain with it, too. It’s even better if you can take the vegetables, herbs and fruit straight from the garden to the kitchen, as she does. There’s no “far-too-clever” food, just delightful ideas and recipes filled with flavour and creativity. They’re accompanied by Kieran Scott’s light and breezy photographs. This soup recipe from Now Is the Season is perfect for spring, as scallops are at their best. If fresh peas are not available, use frozen ones.
PEA AND PARSLEY SOUP WITH SCALLOPS
- 50g butter
- 1 large onion, finely sliced
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 2 tsp mineral salt, finely ground
- 1kg peas, freshly picked and shelled (or use frozen peas)
- 1 cup finely chopped parsley
- ¾ cup cream
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 50g butter
- 1 pinch mineral salt, finely ground
- 18 scallops
- 5 leaves tarragon
Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onion and celery with the bay leaf and slowly cook for about 10 minutes. Add the stock and salt (if using commercial stock, taste before adding salt). Bring to the boil, add the peas, cover and bring back to the boil quickly. Boil for 3 minutes until the peas are vibrant green. Remove from the heat and stir through the parsley, cream and white pepper. Blend using a stick blender. Taste and add the vinegar and more salt if required. Keep warm while cooking the scallops. Heat the butter in a heavy frying pan, sprinkle with a little mineral salt. Fry the scallops with the tarragon for 1-2 minutes on each side. To serve, pour the soup into bowls and place three scallops in each bowl. Top with the fried tarragon and drizzle with pan juices. Serves 6. Wine match: new-release sauvignon blanc.
I was drawn to this cake from The Modern Pantry by the unusual combination of ingredients. Moist and delicious, it will keep in an airtight tin for several days.
BANANA, COCONUT AND SAFFRON UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE
- 200g sugar
- 80ml water
- 3-4 bananas, halved lengthwise
- a decent pinch of saffron strands
- 125ml white wine
- 250ml vegetable oil
- 125ml thick coconut milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- 400g caster sugar
- 225g plain flour
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- 100g desiccated coconut
Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 20cm spring-form tin with baking paper. Bring the sugar and water to the boil in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil until a light caramel forms, then pour it into the cake tin. Arrange the bananas cut-side down on top. Cut to fit if necessary. Mix the saffron and wine and leave to infuse for 20 minutes or so, then whisk with the oil, coconut milk and vanilla. Beat the eggs and caster sugar for 30 seconds. Sift the flour and baking powder together, then stir into the eggs and sugar with the coconut and wine mixture. Beat for 1 minute, then pour into the cake tin. Place in the centre of an oven and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and leave for 5 minutes, then spring open the tin and remove the side. Invert the cake onto a plate, then carefully remove the base and paper. Cool. Serves 10. Wine match: late harvest sauvignon blanc.