Both Maggie and Simon believe that there is nothing more important than to source the best possible ingredients to use when cooking. And the best way to do this is to use produce which is in season at the time of the cooking. In this episode Maggie searches for the perfect Tomato which she then uses to make a tomato bruschetta. Simon, not to be outdone, makes his own version of bruschetta using pear and goats cheese. They finish the program with two completely different ways to present Kingfish, and try green and black olives to make an accompanying olive tapenade. Recipes: - Pear/Apple and Chevre Bruschetta - Green Olive Tapenade - Grilled Kingfish with Slow Roasted tomatoes lemon and bay leaves - Kingfish Carpaccio - Tomato Bruschetta
Maggie Beer and Simon Bryant go squiding and it’s easy to see that this is a new experience for Maggie. But with beginners luck she pulls in squid after squid until Simon calls enough is enough and lets his last catch go. Back in the kitchen the two whip up a couple of different versions of a summer lunch. Back in the kitchen Simon cleans the squid while Maggie shows us how to make two different squid dishes; grilled or stuffed and baked in the oven. If you have ever wanted to know the easy way to clean Squid, this is the program to learn the secrets. Maggie continues on to add a salad (caper salad) and a desert (Vanilla Affogato) for an easy to make summer lunch. Simon comes to grip with an alternative summer lunch, the much-maligned Caesar salad, and makes his own version of a Vanilla Affogato. Recipes: - Stuffed Oven Baked Squid - Grilled squid au natural (no cleaning required) - Parsley, preserved lemon and caperberry salad - Caesar Salad - Almond Affogato - White Russian Affogato
Maggie & Simon travel to Mallyons organic stone fruit orchard on the river Murray to taste the organic peaches and apricots grown by Nick & Rita Builder. With a basket of fresh peaches they return to the kitchen. ‘Everything’s coming up peaches.’ Maggie shows how to make a wonderful makes Peach Jam, sharing a new method to check when it is ready to set, makes a simple Peach and Prosciutto salad and finishes with a Peach drink, or Bellini, squeezing the fresh peaches by hand straight into a jug to be topped up with a chilled sparkling white wine. Simon, with an eye on Maggie’s peach jam, whips up an ice-cream anglaise and finishes the ice-cream by stirring in some of the cooled peach jam and a little balsamic vinegar to make a Balsamic Ripple Icecream. He also goes head to head with Maggie and produces another salad using Peaches, Rocket and a mix of spices called ‘dukka’. Recipes: - Peach Jam - Grilled Peaches for salad with Prosciutto - Peach and sparkling wine drink (Bellini) - Balsamic Ripple Ice Cream - Peach, Rocket and Bush Dukka Salad
What better way to entertain than to have a Brunch. Simon and Maggie use eggs, oats and fruit to produce a magnificent spread to share with your friends on a weekend or holiday morning. After cooking breakfast for the hungry hordes at the Hilton, Simon joins Maggie in the Barossa for brunch. But they have to cook it first. Maggie has happily been up at the crack of dawn to collect the fresh eggs, and extols the virtue of happy chooks and free range eggs. Simon brings her a present to try, a white truffle and they both get to it and produce Scrambled Eggs - one with truffles one with orange zest, a recipe Maggie first used when she was newly married. No breakfast can be complete with out a dish using oats, and Maggie produces the most delicious creamy Oat Pancakes served with poached Peaches while Simon shares the secrets behind a classic Bircher Muesli. And since it’s a special brunch occasion both finish with a sweeter dish; Maggie with a delicious cake of Ricotta with a gutsy honey and pears, Simon with a grilled Watermelon. Recipes: - Scrambled Eggs with Orange Zest - Oat, Buttermilk And Honey Pancakes - Ricotta, Honey and Pears - Scrambled Eggs infused with Truffle - Bircher Muesli - Grilled Watermelon - "Kooky Tomato and Pistachio Sandwich."
This week on the Cook and the Chef, Maggie and Simon really show their different approaches to cooking. Maggie cooks a hearty meal for the family, while Simon gives a restaurant touch to his meal. It’s chicken and salads in two different ways with a shared simple desert of strawberries and mango. Living in the Barossa with all her family around her, Maggie and Colin often host a Sunday Lunch. Maggie’s approach is to roast up a chook, Roasted Barossa Chook with Preserved Lemon and Tarragon butter, serve it with Kipler potatoes roasted in the same pan an the chook, some greens, in this case Broccoli and a couple of salads, Freekah Salad and an Eggplant dish. The chook potatoes and greens are served on one large platter, the salads together in one large bowl (ostensibly to reduce the amount of washing up!) Simon spends much of his time in the Hotel and he uses his experience to show how to make individual meals, serving a form of Chicken Kiev with an Eggplant accompaniment. Recipes: - Strawberries - Strawberry and Mango Balsamic - Roasted Barossa Chook with Preserved Lemon and Tarragon butter - Freekeh Salad - Eggplant salad - Chicken Kiev - Eggplant fry
Maggie Beer and Simon Bryant invite us into the kitchen to share the secrets to having friends for dinner without fuss or failure - but with a little drama and presentation. Keep it simple, get fresh produce in season and prepare everything in advance are The Cook & The Chef’s easy steps to dinner party success. No Fuss - No failure - And a sense of drama in the presentation. These are the secrets to a dinner party which works not only for the food, but also for the hosts who can sit back, enjoy the night and not be fussed by worrying about the cooking. So work out what can be prepared in advance leaving very little to do at the last moment, and cook something a little different so that it gives a sense of occasion, while also sticking to some old favorites which you know cant fail. Maggie’s menu for the night consists of old favorites, Prawn Cocktail, and Pavlova, with Passion fruit and Banana while the main course is Duck breast with Sour Cherries. Simon uses the same ingredients and shows his different approach by making another version of a Prawn Cocktail, an alternative entrée, Duck Liver en Brioche with a fennel Salad, and if you don’t want a dessert, then Macaroons, to have with the coffee. Recipes: - Duck Breast with Sour Cherries - Maggie's Prawn cocktail - Simon's Prawn cocktail - Pavlova - Duck Liver en Brioche with Fennel Salad - Macaroons
Maggie asks Simon to help prepare for a party for 20 of her friends. She devises a menu that could be easily doubled or tripled depending on the size of the party. Simon adds a dish of his own and also introduces Maggie to every day catering for large numbers in his Restaurants. Maggie asks Simon to help prepare for a party for 20 of her friends. She devises a menu that could be easily doubled or tripled depending on the size of the party. Simon adds a dish of his own and also introduces Maggie to every day catering for large numbers in his Restaurants. Maggie devises a menu that not only has dramatic impact but also leaves her free to spend time with her friends. It’s a menu that could be easily doubled or trebled to suit the number of guests. She and Simon show how to make all the food before hand and serve up a Dukkah spice mix to be eaten with bread and oil, Chicken Legs with Balsamic Vinegar and a Cold Tomato Salad. Simon adds Whole Snapper Baked in Banana Leaves. The party food is finished off with an unmoulded Jelly made from Sparkling Shiraz and Raspberries. During the program, Maggie shares some of her secrets for throwing a party while Simon shows Maggie around his restaurant kitchen where up to 6,000 meals are cooked each week….catering on a really large scale. Recipes: - Berries in Jelly - Chook Legs with Balsamic - Cold Tomato Pasta - Whole Baked Snapper - Green Mango Salad - Dukka / a spice mix to serve with bread and oil
The season is on the change and Maggie and Simon prepare for an early autumn lunch. As Maggie lives in the Barossa, on Saturdays she shops at the Barossa Market to buy the fresh cheese and vegetables she requires. Simon also heads north to Gawler River to find the source of the Quail, and arrives at Maggie’s kitchen with fresh quail and oysters. Simon gets the cooking started with a Bloody Mary, reserving some of the mixture for a pre lunch drink of Bloody Mary and Oyster. Joining Simon with a Bloody Mary at hand, Maggie shows us how to make a starter of an Avocado and Tomato Jelly, followed by Grilled Quail, and a selection of cheese. Simon ups the anti and makes a dish requiring a little more time, a Heavenly Quail, and then shows how to shuck Oysters the easy way. If you want to know how to handle Quail, and open oysters, these two surely show you. Recipes: - Verjuice & Avocado Jelly - Barbecued Quail in a Fig Bath - Bloody Mary
Maggie and Simon share their secrets for making brilliant pizzas in conventional ovens. They start with the dough, create their favourite toppings and give tips to cooking in an oven. Simon also makes an alternative dough for a dessert, Fig Napoleon, while Maggie makes a dessert pizza. Not many of us are lucky enough to have a wood oven in the back yard. But all is not lost. If you want to make brilliant home cooked pizzas and have only a conventional oven, in this program Maggie and Simon share their secrets. They start with making the dough, create their favourite toppings and give the answer to getting that crisp base using a conventional oven. Simon also makes alternative dough for a dessert, Fig Napoleon, while Maggie makes a dessert pizza. Suggested topping combinations: 1. Maggie’s favourite; Pesto dotted with Persian feta, raw tomato, olive oil and basil added after cooking 2. Simon’s favourite; Tomato, boccincini and basil without any sauce other than a dribble of olive oil on the base. 3. Double pumpkin, black olives and sage. 4. Mushroom fried in butter, Persian feta, parsley and olive oil 5. Baby boccincini, par cooked pumpkin, anchovies and parsley 6. Very thin slices of potato, pancetta and rosemary and dribble of olive oil 7. For the kids; Tomato base, mozzarella and olives 8. Fig Pizza – savoury. 9. Fig Pizza – dessert. Recipes: - Double Pumpkin, Black Olives and Sage Pizza - Mushroom Pizza - Fig Napoleon - Dessert Pizza with figs - Pizza for the Kids - Savoury Fig Pizza - Potato Pizza - Bocconcini, Pumpkin & Anchovy Pizza
It’s Easter and Simon surprises Maggie with a chilli Easter Egg whipped up at work under the expert eyes of his pastry chefs. Maggie’s no fan of chilli but Simon’s determined to win her over. Simon’s chocolate work extends to Maggie’s kitchen while Maggie makes a delicious Russian Easter dessert. Maggie also heads out into the suburbs of Adelaide to source her favourite home grown tomato. An Easter Lunch: TomatoBread Salad with Octopus and Garlic Aioli Or Gazpacho followed by Octopus and Garlic Aioli, Finished off with a chocolate doll to have with coffee... Fine chocolate work is highly specialised but these days being able to buy couverture cooking chocolate at many fine food shops makes it easier. Simon uses a doll to make a gelatin mould into which he pours the chocolate to make an Easter present for the kids. He suggests that a doll is a tricky mould to make first up and to use some thing with less pieces for a first try, an egg shape for example. Maggie’s Pashka is the Easter treat that many Russians break lent with; the rich ricotta and cream combining with citrus flavours in a dish that is simple and delicious. Maggie and Simon both use tomatoes in their Easter fare; Maggie with a Tomato Bread Salad and Simon with a tomato water Gazpacho, restaurant style. To complete an Easter meal, Maggie then cooks up a whole Octopus, a popular Greek Orthodox food during the weeks leading up to Easter. Simon’s Garlic Aioli dressing is the perfect accompaniment. During the program Maggie is delighted by viewers who have sent in some of their home-grown heritage tomatoes. Many of these “tomatofiles” will still be picking their fruit past Easter, into May. Recipes: - Simon’s Tomato water Gazpacho with Gin - Octopus and Garlic Aioli - Chocolate Barbies - An Easter Dessert - Pashka - Tomato Bread Salad
Don’t know what to do with the kids during school holidays?
Raise a toast to the glorious grape as Simon and Maggie celebrate with the fruit of the vine.
It’s time to fire up the barbie and pay homage to Australia’s love of outdoor cooking and dining.
Welcome to an episode that’s Autumnal and extraordinary.
If you thought salads were just for Summer, think again! Its Autumn and the new seasons array of Fruit and Nuts sees Maggie and Simon whip up a collection of captivating flavours.
The great variety of autumn Fruit & Veg on offer has both Maggie & Simon embracing the season.
It’s the last week of Autumn and Maggie and Simon are indulging as they showcase a few of their favourite things.
Thanks to the European and Asian influences on Australian culture we are all increasingly appreciating the food value of fish that fishermen once called “Rubbish Fish”.
Maggie Beer says she wouldn’t be the cook she is today without great olive oil.
Maggie and Simon can’t bear the thought of anyone missing out on one of life’s great pleasures, good food, so they’ve come up with recipes to convince us that a gluten free diet doesn’t have to be a boring one.
Preparing for Christmas in June is not the norm for most of us, but for Maggie and Simon it’s the ideal time to plan ahead and ‘put down’ some ingredients to mature nicely for the festive season.
Maggie Beer is passionate about the Barossa Valley and its German Heritage.
The weather’s cooler..
When Simon returned to Adelaide, after studying to be a chef, he had a whole new appreciation for the Adelaide Hills.
Maggie and Simon bring back some Old Favourites and, of course, reveal secrets that take your cooking to another level.
It’s time to shake off the winter blues with a serve of piping hot comfort food.
Citrus is often considered a basic ingredient, but Simon and Maggie are convinced that it deserves more of a starring role in our kitchens so this week they give it its place in the sun.
Simon’s on a mission to get back to his English “Food Roots” with classic ingredients like Stilton Cheese and Pork sausages.
Around fourteen kilometres off the coast of South Australia lies a beautiful and unspoilt piece of land.
There is nothing like a leg of spring Lamb for the perfect Sunday Roast.
Its time to throw open the window, peel off the winter woollies and marvel at and the wonders of the new season.
Longer days and a more generous serving of sun; spring has arrived, and it’s the perfect time to get into fresh vegies.
Maggie & Simon set out to prove that some frozen produce not only has its merits but in some cases, has its advantages.
Chefs love working with colour and contrast, but Maggie and Simon love a challenge so this week they’re going blonde.
When ‘offal’ is mentioned most of us think of the internal organs of animals, but the word also refers to anything that is considered worthless or thrown away.
It’s the middle of spring and the sunshine and longer days are a great excuse for people to get together and enjoy good company and good food.
If you’re a lover of shellfish, this one’s for you.
On today’s menu Maggie & Simon visit a couple of cooking mates & mentors, who have played a part in their professional & personal lives.
This week on the show Maggie and Simon go ‘wild’ by cooking up some dishes using ingredients that are not farmed.
The warm spring days in the Barossa Valley are perfect for a barbecue and this week Maggie & Simon make the most of the weather to turn on the gas and start sizzling some of their favourite ingredients.
There’s cheese, cheese and more cheese in this episode of The Cook and The Chef.
Summer’s just around the corner and soon the days in the Barossa Valley will be hot and the risk of snakes too high to roam far, so Maggie is making the most of the last mild weather.
Christmas is fast approaching, but for some of us that brings the annual stress of working out how to feed a big group! This week Maggie and Simon demonstrate that cooking a Christmas lunch or dinner doesn’t have to be stressful, as they share some great tips on presenting simple but delicious Christmas fare, using turkey as the centre dish..
It’s Valentine’s day, and while neither Simon or Maggie will confess to being big partakers of the day that Simon calls the “day of international silliness” it is an excuse to share food, and Simon and Maggie have some recipes that’ll sweep you off your feet.
Since the dawn of time we’ve known there’s something special that happens when you cook a piece of meat over flame, so this week on the show Maggie and Simon get ‘fired up’ to explore the magic of meat, heat and smoke.
This week on the show it's all about presentation.
Are Simon and Maggie fussy about their produce?
Simon and Maggie paint the town red (and a range of other colours) when they celebrate a backyard fruit that's become a foundation stone of so much cooking - the glorious and gorgeous tomato - with innovative recipes that are as fresh and simple as they are scrumptious on the tongue and easy on the eye.
In this week's episode, our Fig infatuated Cook & Chef are kept fully supplied with fruit after Simon finds out how to get his hands on figs all year round.
Ducks are on the menu this week and Simon re-visits his culinary past and takes on a challenge from ancient China, Peking duck.
It's Easter and eggs are definitely on the menu this week.
It's pear season, and whether you like them crunchy, ripe, baked, poached or even grilled Maggie and Simon have something to please.
This week Simon and Maggie are off to the Mediterranean ...
This week Maggie and Simon transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, with a celebration of common ingredients that are humble yet wonderful: apples, onions and old-fashioned chicken stock.
Tonight Maggie and Simon are celebrating traditions.
This week on the Cook and the Chef it's all about knives, theft and surprises.
Maggie Beer, the cook who in so many ways defines regional cuisine, owes her success to what she describes as the "audacity" to embark on a journey based on nothing more than an instinct to cook.
This week on The Cook and The Chef Simon and Maggie celebrate new season pumpkins.
It's the Chinese Year of the Pig, and Maggie and Simon are celebrating in the best way possible by sharing pork recipes.
This week on The Cook and the Chef, Maggie and Simon's culinary worlds meet in the middle, the Middle East.
How do you eat when you're on the go, wandering around a music festival or even working down a mineshaft?
This week Maggie's grandchildren harvest some of her macadamia nuts so she can incorporate them in a delicious biscuit, while Simon uses the nuts to coat a bitey goat cheese.
It all ends in tears this week on The Cook and the Chef.
There's Italian sunshine and some chilly Australian surf in this week's mid-winter episode of The Cook and The Chef.
Rolled sleeves, flour covered fingers and chocolate smeared grins - its winter school holidays and the kids are in the kitchen.
Maggie and Simon often start out with the same ingredient and end up in very different places! This week they're taking different approaches to cooking with rice, so while Simon reveals the secrets to one of his favourite Chinese dishes, Maggie tackles a true Mediterranean classic.
This week on The Cook and the Chef, Maggie and Simon prepare some of their favourite winter recipes.
For Simon this week's show is all about pastry, while Maggie heads off on another food adventure, hunting for great oysters on SA's Eyre Peninsula.
On the Cook & the Chef this week, Maggie travels to Tasmania and samples some of the wonderful produce that the Apple Isle has to offer.
From a Dutch oven to a casserole dish many cultures boast a pot for slow cooking and for the Moroccans it's the cone shaped Tagine.
An Australian fast-food icon makes a surprising appearance on The Cook and the Chef this week.
This week Maggie and Simon demonstrate how a little bird like quail can pack a big punch.
In the words of Simon Bryant, The Cook and The Chef are "going mental" this week in a program celebrating a home-grown version of one of the world's most expensive foods: French black truffles.
Beef is on the menu this week as Maggie dons her boots and oilskin and travels to the far north of South Australia to experience an Outback Cattle Drive.
Sunday's a very special night for our Cook and Chef - but for very different reasons.
Spatchcock and terrines are on the menu this week as Maggie and Simon share with us some of the traditions and ingredients that have influenced their culinary lives.
This week on The Cook and the Chef it's all about sweetness and light, in the form of sugar and glorious North Queensland sunshine.
This week Maggie takes us to the heart of Australia for the Alice Springs Desert Festival.
This week we follow Simon as he travels to sunny North Queensland in search of Black Tiger Prawns.
In this week's episode Maggie and Simon cook up a few favourites.
"It's a party," declares Maggie, "and we're having fun!" In this program, Maggie and Simon show how to prepare excellent cocktail food for a stress-free party.
In this week's episode of the Cook and the Chef, Maggie & Simon re-visit at a few of their favourite kitchen moments from the year.
Christmas is fast approaching, but for some of us that brings the annual stress of working out how to feed a big group! This week Maggie and Simon remind us that cooking a Christmas lunch or dinner doesn't have to be stressful, as they share some great tips on presenting simple but delicious Christmas fare featuring turkey.
Simon and Maggie stroll back into the kitchen for a new season to dish up a refreshing summer feast. Maggie uses delicious second flush raspberries to adorn a fail proof sponge while Simon works magic with a raspberry, lamb and pea combination. Simon then treats us to a saucy fish curry using fresh territory barramundi, while Maggie adds layers of sweet tang to her barra with a lemon confit. In the Barossa Maggie has access to so much wonderful produce and February is the month for second flush raspberries. Local grower Cheryl Stevens shows Maggie why the raspberry is such a delicate fruit and Maggie makes the most of them being on her doorstep by putting them with cream to adorn and flavour a spectacular sponge. Simon combines the flavour of raspberries with lamb and peas in a delicious dish for those who dare to be different. On a recent expedition to the Northern Territory Simon tracked down many of his favourite tropical treats and in this episode he brings us beautiful farmed Barramundi courtesy of barra Farmer, Bob Richards. Simon’s Estuarine Barra is one of the few fish that has the flavour and the texture to stand up to a long cook and to stand its ground in his spicy, rich Indian curry. Maggie’s salt water farmed Barra has a very similar texture and the saltiness is complimented perfectly with the sweet tang of a lemon confit and the warmth of ginger. Recipes: - Meen Mollie Curry (Fish Curry from Kerala) - Pan Roasted Salt Water Barramundi with Carmelized Lemon & Rocket - Stephanie's Sponge with Cream & Raspberries - Lamb with Raspberries
Salt & pepper Crocodile is on the menu this week as Simon tests the Northern Territory’s claim that they produce some of the best meat available. Succulent fresh figs are in season and Maggie can’t resist the temptation to combine them with braised chicken and locally produced honey, an irresistible combination. Stunning sweet sensations wrap up this weeks Summer fare, with Simon’s Rosewater Baklava and Maggies Honeycomb Pikelets. To check out the Northern Territory’s claim that they produce the best crocodile meat, Simon visits a farm near Darwin and talks to zoologist Adam Britton who explains why it’s not just the skins of these extraordinary creatures that we should be looking at. Hot & quick is the trick with croc meat, so back in the kitchen Simon fires up the wok and serves some up. Salt & pepper style with steamed Jasmine rice is just the thing for a deliciously quick and simple meal. Maggie visits a couple in the Barossa who are well and truly living their own version of “the Good Life.” Brian Linke and Sally Fennessy live just out of the small Barossa town of Angaston, and in their pursuit of a simple life and good food they have become almost self sufficient. One of their products is a beautiful honey which Maggie combines with some fresh figs and braised chicken, an irresistible combination. With a touch of Rosewater, Simon demystifies Baklava, bringing this sweet sensation to within every ones grasp. Continuing her fig and honey theme, Maggie serves her mouth watering Honeycomb pikelets with fresh figs & crème fraîche, a fitting end to this weeks sweet summer fare. Recipes: - Chicken Braised with Figs, Honey & Vinegar - Honeycomb & Crème Fraîche Pikelets served with Fresh Figs, Honey and Mint - Salt and Pepper Crocodile - Rosewater Baklava
This week Maggie meets food legend Rick Stein and they discuss the gentle art of cooking fish. Back in the kitchen, Maggie works her magic on an impressive piece of farmed Kingfish while Simon is inspired to try out one of Rick’s recipes, a mouth-watering fish pasty. Simon and Maggie also get cracking on some crab dishes, inspired by Simon’s visit to Australia’s first commercial mud crab farm, all the way up North in the Territory. True lovers of food should need no introduction to Rick Stein, a master of the art of cooking fish. Maggie was thrilled to be on a panel discussion with Rick at a recent food festival, where they engaged in some gentle conversational jousting and Rick declared that "Nothing is so exhilarating as fresh fish simply cooked." Inspired, Maggie fries some delicious farmed Kingfish accompanied by a colourful and delicious side serve of capers, burnt butter, tomatoes and golden marjoram. Jealous that he didn’t get to meet "Mr Stein," Simon decides to try out one of Rick's recipes, a fish pasty which Simon pulls off with aplomb. On his travels in the Northern Territory Simon was thrilled to find out that someone is finally having some luck farming mud crabs in Australia. It hasn't all been about luck though, as Simon found out when he spoke to Graham Williams at the Darwin Aquaculture Centre, who's been working on the project for years and using all his ingenuity to ensure we don't run down our wild stocks. Back in the kitchen Simon is keen to cook the chilli crab dish he saw everywhere in Darwin, but he decides to leave out the chilli for Maggie's sake and instead opts for a ginger crab stir-fry. Maggie enjoys Simon’s mud crab but confesses that when it comes to crab she prefers South Australia's blue swimmer crab, which she throws into a delightful omelette. Recipes: - Crab Omelette - Rick Steins Fish Pastie - Ginger Mud Crabs - Kingfish with Burnt Butter Golden Marjoram & Green Olives
In tonight’s episode Maggie and Simon dish up a bit of mango madness with two tropically inspired dishes that showcase the unique flavours of green, unripe mangoes. Maggie then whips up a “sandwich” using delicate puff pastry and a bitey cheddar balanced with sweet quince paste, while Simon has spectacular success with twice baked goat cheese souffles. The oppressive heat and threatening trade mark clouds of the “ troppo” season in Darwin weren’t enough stop Simon on a recent visit from seeking out his favourite green Mangoes. Darwin local, Nurseryman, Chris Nathaniel was just the person to point Simon in the right direction, and as well as taking in the huge variety of tropical fruits in Chris’s nursery, Simon was able to come away with the perfect green mangoes which he uses in a Som Tam, ( green papaya salad). Spicy, citrus and textured this dish is an explosion of tropical flavours. Maggie also uses green mango which she soaks in green ginger wine before combining with ripe grilled mango and topping with fresh yoghurt cheese (labna). It’s a beautifully balanced dish, refreshing and yet warmed with a touch of ginger. Maggie is always in search of perfect food and wine marriages, and in the Barossa Valley people are discovering that local cheeses are often the best partners for the local wines that the region is famous for. Victoria Glaetzer is a young wine maker turned cheese maker who talks to Maggie about why quality cheese deserves to be the hero of the wine-cheese marriage, and about how to choose wine that doesn’t dominate the cheese. In the kitchen Maggie uses strong cheddar to fill delicate puff pastry. Walnuts and quince paste balance the bitey cheese but it’s still complex and strong enough to marry with Maggie’s chosen red wine. Simon’s choice of beverage is Vino Cotto and to accompany this cooked wine Simon shows us how to make fail proof souffles. The balance is not just between beverage and food but on the plate itself
On tonight’s early autumn menu, Maggie and Simon make salad magic with baby herbs. They maybe small, but they pack all the punch of their parent’s, as well as being a lot more cute. After salads its seafood, as Simon introduces Maggie to the ‘foie gras’ of the ocean, pearl meat, a sweet and delicate jewel of the sea, which they both lightly fry to perfection. To finish Maggie serves one of her favourite ocean treats, oysters with eschalots and chervil, while Simon bakes his with ‘citrus roe’, our very own native finger lime. Maggie loves her herbs and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit Rob Foster who grows baby, or micro herbs which are “early” versions of greens or herbs that are intensely flavoured and beautiful to look at. They are usually harvested after seven to fourteen days and though small in size “micros” are packed with flavour and nutrients. With plenty to go around, both Maggie & Simon are inspired by make their own micro salads. Maggie combines beetroot and goat’s cheese and Simon, pumpkin seeds, garlic chips and smoky lemon pieces, two culinary delights that taste and look fantastic. The superb quality & size of South sea cultured pearls is well known, but the pearl oyster also produces another rare and unique product, pearl meat. To find out more about this sweet, succulent stuff, Simon travelled to a pearl farm on Northern Australia’s magnificent Coburg peninsula where he met Pearling advisor Richard McClean who revealed some of the mysteries of the pearl oyster. This ‘foie gras’ of the ocean is delicate and needs to be cooked hot and fast, so a stir fry with ginger, chilli & spring onion is Simon’s stimulating solution, while Maggie goes for a sensational pan fry with shitake mushrooms, fresh ginger,chervil and verjuice. Australian native finger limes feature in Simons final dish. These uniquely Australian citrus are being snapped up by overseas customers, but are still not widely known at home. Fo
After trying a Jack fruit curry on a recent trip to Darwin, Simon was inspired to use this remarkable fruit in a biryani, an exquisite combination of rice, jackfruit, herbs and spices. Of all the exotic fruits, the Jackfruit has to be one of the most bizarre. The largest tree borne, edible fruit in the world, it’s related to the Mulberry family and is thought to have originated in the Indian rainforests. This gigantic fruit can grow up to forty kilos in size and although the smell can be slightly off putting when its ripe, the delicious yellow flesh and seeds can be used in a variety of both sweet and savoury dishes. At this time of year Maggie’s garden is still bearing a colourful and tasty selection of vegies and one of her favourites, the eggplant, is in abundant supply. When it’s baked and served with rag pasta and roasted tomatoes, it makes a succulent autumn dish that’s almost impossible to resist. Although widely eaten overseas, goat meat is still a niche product in Australia, but not for our intrepid cook and chef who show us how they approach this sometimes misunderstood meat. After visiting a farmer in South Australia’s Mallee region to find some of the best home grown product, Maggie produces a superb pot roasted shoulder of goat, which she serves with a Beer family favourite, eggplant pickle, while Simon makes goat rendang, a delicious Malaysian curry, perfect to serve with his Jackfruit Biryani. Recipes: - Goat Rendang - Pot Roasted Goat with Fennel Preserved Lemon and Rosemary - Eggplant or Aubergine Pickle - Jackfruit Biryani - Aubergine, Roasted Tomato & Rag Pasta with Chevre
The best from the land and the sea features in the kitchen this week as Maggie and Simon work their magic with lamb and cockles. Maggie’s a huge fan of Suffolk lamb and she cooks it slowly to keep it tender and succulent before moving on to a Spanish-inspired dish of cockles, chickpeas and – wait for it – blood sausage! Simon prepares a merguez sausage then shows us his take on the classic French seafood dish, Bouillabaisse. Maggie gets really excited when she meets passionate producers and farmers, and there aren’t many more passionate than Richard Gunner. Maggie visits Richard’s property in the Adelaide Hills to meet his family and his Suffolk lambs, where she gets some great tips on how to slow-cook lamb for maximum taste and tenderness. Back in the kitchen she applies Richard’s technique with great success, serving her lamb with caramelised radicchio. Simon cooks lamb too, in the form of a merguez sausage. Simon’s proud of his snags - which “look like bought ones” - but wonders whether he hasn’t ended up demonstrating just how hard it is to make a good sausage! Maggie has a great time at the beach meeting a strange breed of fishermen: cockle farmers. She can’t quite get the rhythm of the strange dance they perform to dig cockles out of the sand, but she’s certainly mastered the art of cooking them, and back in the kitchen she throws them into a tapas-style dish involving chickpeas and blood sausage. Simon enjoys giving Maggie a mild ribbing about her love of blood sausage and offal in general, but he also turns his attention to a complicated but delicious seafood dish, the French classic Bouillabaisse. Packed with cockles, mussels, and several different kinds of fish, Simon gives his a boost by drizzling it with fancy mayonnaise infused with saffron oil. Recipes: - Caramelised Radicchio - Lamb Merguez - Lamb (Suffolk) with Radicchio - Saffron Mayonnaise - Bouillabaisse - Cockle & Chickpea Tapas
Expect to see creepy-crawlies in the kitchen this week as Maggie shares some great tips on how to prepare succulent octopus and Simon tackles another exotic ingredient from the far North, sea cucumber. Inspired by his visit to Darwin’s Rapid Creek markets Simon also tackles a snake gourd curry, while Maggie passes on a country cook’s recipe for a delicious Dutch-style ginger biscuit cake. Simon’s a huge fan of Adelaide’s Central Markets, but he had to admit that Darwin’s Rapid Creek markets were equally impressive, chock full of exotic ingredients and great characters. Simon was lucky enough to be given a guided tour by local Chef Jimmy Shu, and he was thrilled to see snake gourds on sale. Simon used to love cooking a Sri Lankan snake gourd curry, so his market experience prompts him to dust off the old recipe. If you think snake gourds are an exotic northern ingredient, wait ‘til you see Simon’s next feature ingredient: sea cucumbers! These bizarre creatures of the sea – also known as trepang - were actually Australia’s first export industry, highly valued by Macassan traders from Indonesia who travelled all the way to Northern Australia in search of this slug-like delicacy. Simon loves their consistency but thinks they need a little help with flavour so he uses them in a stirfry. Not wanting to be left with a ‘conservative’ ingredient, Maggie decides to tackle a creepy crawly too and cooks some succulent octopus, an ingredient she claims to like even more than lobster! Maggie reveals that octopus is an ingredient which needs a lot of preparation and care so she shares a great tip for tenderising the meat. As you might expect, it involves yet another exotic ingredient, and this time it’s kiwifruit! Recipes: - Snake Gourd Curry - Sea Cucumber Stir Fry - Dutch Ginger Cake - Grilled Octopus (in herb paste)
This week bask in a lusciously visual treat as Maggie makes a chocolate cake with whisky soaked raisins while Simon conjures up a spectacular Bombe Alaska. Maggie follows her cake with a twist on traditional Moussaka and Simon shows us how to keep a beautiful cut of lamb moist and tasty in a Lamb Mousseline. Maggie loves good quality chocolate in her cooking and it doesn’t get much finer that the chocolate she discovered in Victoria’s Yarra Valley. French Chocolatier, Didier, shows Maggie his artisan chocolates made with cocoa liquor and cocoa butter imported from Africa. In the kitchen Maggie uses the chocolate to make a beautiful cake which is particularly wonderful because all the ingredients, from orange to whisky soaked raisins find their place on the palate. Simon's ambitious attempt at a Bombe Alaska pays off with sorbet, parfait, sponge and meringue carrying flavours of chocolate and coffee and combining to make a memorable dessert, as visually spectacular as it is delicious. At Simon’s hotel new produce is always being tested. Simon is a great supporter of local and wherever possible also supports best practise farming which has a focus on animal welfare. However before any new produce makes it on to his menu it has to pass a couple of tests; it has to be affordable and it has to taste good. In this episode Simon tests a lamb that has been produced with the assistance of a best practise management group. Will it pass his cost test and how will one of the management group feel about being part of a blind taste test of his product? In the kitchen Simon smothers a sealed loin of lamb with a creamy chicken mince, wraps it in vine leaves and steams it to perfection. Maggie also uses lamb but in a mince which is spiced up to be included in a Moussaka that benefits from a terrific twist on a bechamel sauce. Recipes: - Lamb with Basil Mousselline - Lamb Mince Mousakka - Chocolate Bombe Alaska - Chocolate and Orange Cake
Tonight has something for everyone’s palate with Simon whipping up an irresistible crispy fried chicken while Maggie performs some magic with a light lemony cake cooked with plump sultana grapes. Maggie then combines fragrant quince with rosemary to make a beautiful savoury jelly while Simon makes a tangy, spicy lime pickle with lots of chilli. When Simon was asked to become the patron for kids cooking at the local Farmers market he jumped at the opportunity. In his experience cooking at school had been regarded as a “soft” option and he is keen to show kids how proud he is to be a chef and how cooking can be really fulfilling. Both Simon and Maggie believe it’s important to get children’s interest with food that they’ll enjoy and in the kitchen Simon cooks up a treat of fried chicken that the kids will love. Maggie’s sultana cake is another one for the whole family with the plump whole grapes a real surprise in every mouthful. One of Maggie’s passions is preserves and on a recent trip to Victoria she caught up with Annie Smithers. Annie’s love of good regional food and her ability to value add with high quality jams and preserves helped boost the fortunes of Kyneton, a little regional town that was in decline. Annie and Maggie talked about their shared passion for local food and in the kitchen Maggie combines quince with rosemary to make one of her favourite preserves, a savoury jelly. Watching the fragrant quince turn from pale yellow to ruby as it cooks is always a treat. Simon’s next savoury treat is probably not one for the kids unless they’ve had an early introduction to chilli and lots of it. His Lime pickle hits the palate with tang and spice and if you like a bit of heat it’s a great way to utilise limes when they’re at there cheapest. Recipes: - Lime Pickle - Simon’s Fried Chicken - Sultana Cake - Savoury Quince and Rosemary Jelly
If you enjoy the smell of freshly baked, you won’t be able to resist Maggie’s oat, raisin & fennel bread. Irresistibly rich, it’s perfect at any time, but especially for breakfast. But if you’re like Simon and not a morning person, then he’s got just the remedy for you. A delicious ‘granola’ style cerea, with a unique kick to start your day. Never tried goat’s cheese? Then Maggies on a mission to convert you. She makes a beautiful goat’s cheese and Rocket salad, with lardons of bacon and Persian figs, a combination which is too good to miss. Meanwhile Simon rolls out the pasta dough and treats us to some wonderful old favourites from the 1980’s, as he makes Agnoletti with goats cheese, semi dried tomato and pinenuts. Not a much of a fan of commercially made breakfast cereals, Simon heads south of Adelaide to meet John Downes, a highly regarded wood oven baker who’s taken up a hippy passion he picked up in America in the 1970’s…cereal. He now makes four different ‘granola’ style cereals, all lightly roasted to create clusters. Simon is keen to learn the cluster technology, but John tells him he’ll have to walk on the wild side to get it! Taking Johns advice, Simon combines a number of great ingredients, including chocolate, coffee and wattleseed to produce a cereal which not only tastes sensational, but has a serious kick to it. Maggie’s passionate about goat’s cheese and on a recent visit to Victoria dropped in to see organic goat farmers Carla Meurs and Ann-Marie Monda. They make a fantastic selection of Goats cheese from the fresh sweet milk their goats produce, which is set immediately to curd to ‘capture the life of the milk’. Serving some of Carla & Ann Marie’s cheese on her fruit bread, Maggie combines this with a rocket salad with lardoons of bacon and Persian figs. If you’ve never tried goat’s cheese, you won’t be able to resist this. Recipes: - Oat Raisin and Fennel Bread - Lardons, Persian
Tonight Maggie and Simon demonstrate why salt and pepper feature as giants in culinary history. Simon makes a real pepper sauce that turns a steak into so much more than a pub meal, while Maggie pot roasts a pheasant to succulent perfection with apple brandy. Simon then transforms a salted cod into a creamy tasty dip while Maggie uses the curing properties of salt to turn rabbit into a melt in the mouth dish. Twenty Five years ago, Victorian cider maker, Darren Kelly, had a bottle of his Apple Brandy left for Maggie on her doorstep. For reasons unknown it never found Maggie but she eventually got word of Australia’s only Apple Brandy and on a recent trip to Victoria was delighted to catch up with the Kelly family. With its apple flavour and warm vanilla oak tones the brandy makes a perfect partner for her unctuous pot roast pheasant. While Maggie cooks up her pheasant Simon uses five different peppers to show us how a real pepper sauce should be made. His steak dished served with a roast mushroom cap and the pepper sauce will make you think again about the importance of pepper as a really wonderful and complex spice. Simon next finds himself in a lunar like landscape, the salt ponds north of Adelaide. As a chef, Simon couldn’t cook without salt but, as he explains, it’s worth having an appreciation of different salt flavours and textures to make the right cooking choices. Simon blends up a salted cod with milk, potatoes, bay leaves and oil to make a really hearty dip like dish, which in France is called Brandade. Maggie uses salt and rosemary to marinate a farm rabbit before cooking the rabbit in oil and then combining the meat with ingredients like fried ciabatta, pancetta, pine nuts and lemon to produce a warm salad that is a delightful blend of sweet, sour, salt and crunch. Recipes: - Pepper Sauce with Brandy - Pot Roasted Pheasant - Simon's Brandade - Confit of Rabbit
The star of tonight’s menu is without a doubt smoked trout. Maggie uses her trout in a green tomato salsa, combining sweet and savoury flavours to perfection. Simon shows us how to smoke our own trout and combines big flakes of the fish with mayonnaise in a chunky, satisfying sandwich. Maggie and Simon then transform the humble egg into a melt in the mouth egg and bacon pie and superb egg ravioli. Trout is one of Maggie’s favourite fish and on her recent trip to Victoria she visited Tuki Trout farm where she delighted in catching her own trout. Owners Robert and Jan cooked up some fresh fish for Maggie that night, and in the kitchen Maggie demonstrates how Rainbow Trout is also beautiful smoked. Maggie combines green tomatoes with raisins, green apples and verjuice to make a delightfully tangy salsa which cuts through the smokiness of the trout creating a perfect marriage. The salsa and trout work wonderfully with spaghettini. Simon risks smoking out Maggie’s kitchen in his attempt to smoke his own trout. However it’s worth the trouble because his trout is smoked to perfection and combined with a home made mayonnaise and red onion in a delicious, hearty sandwich. The first thing Simon did when he became an executive chef was insist on his hotel using only free range eggs and he recently caught up with his supplier, John Mawby. Despite being made to pack eggs Simon was pleased to see the New Hampshire hens roaming in the sun and digging in the straw. In the kitchen Simon places an egg yolk in the centre of his home made ravioli and with perfect timing in the cooking produces a delicious pasta with a slightly runny yolk. A sprinkle of quality parmesan cheese and parsley bring this simple but spectacular dish even more to life. For her egg and bacon pie Maggie also aims for a slightly runny result and achieves it. With the added bonus of a creamy mouth feel, beautifully textured pastry and the flavour of smoked bacon, the pie is a testament to her belief
Tonight’s episode showcases some great native produce. Maggie’s lightly cooked marinated roo sits perfectly with beetroot and anchovy butter, while the bold texture of Simon’s emu holds up to a slow cook in a rich, sweet curry. Maggie then features lightly textured, milky buffalo mozzarella with roasted red onions while Simon uses the porcelain white cheese in a simple but impressive souffle. Every year Adelaide hosts an international music festival and one of the popular events on the program is "Taste The World" where musicians get to show case some of their cooking. This year Simon was delighted to be the only non musician to take part in the event and he used the opportunity to promote good native tucker. In the kitchen the native food theme continues. Simon demonstrates how to "freshen up" a bought curry paste and then slow cooks Emu in the curry. The result is a big bold textured meat in a creamy rich curry with a great depth of flavour. Maggie’s marinated roo is a quick cook and the delicious gamey flavours are perfectly offset by the sweetness of beetroot and lusciousness of anchovy butter. Maggie recently visited Australia’s first water Buffalo Dairy, Shaw River, in Victoria and met the formidable buffalo who are responsible for a delicate milky white mozzarella cheese. A highlight for Maggie was when Cheese maker, Andrew Royal, got her to help with the making of the cheese. In the kitchen Maggie roasts Red Onions which are then stuffed with the mozzarella and toasted bread and sprinkled with vino cotta then warmed in the oven. The dish is a lovely combination of caramelised sweetness and mild creaminess. Simon features the mozzarella in a dish that became his signature dish when he first left home. When you see how his simple but spectacular three cheese souffle turns out you’ll know why everyone wanted to go to Simon's for dinner! Recipes: - Red Onions roasted with Mozzarella and “pulled” bread - Buffalo Mozzarella Souffle - R
Tonight Maggie and Simon demonstrate how good nutrition and flavour can go hand in hand. Maggie’s spelt pasta with pumpkin, and her mushroom, barley and sherry soup are not only unctuous and satisfying but tick all the boxes for good fibre, low fat, low sugar and moderate carbohydrates. Simon’s noodle broth with his trade mark layering of flavours is also a healthy choice. And if you think desserts are all bad Simon’s delicious apple crumble will make you think again. On her Victorian road trip earlier this year, Maggie visited Powlett Hill biodynamic farm and caught up with Ben Fawcett who, with the support of his parents, reinvigorated their tired farm with a biodynamic approach. The healthy soil now supports pigs, sheep and wheat. The spelt they produce makes wonderful pasta and in the kitchen Maggie demonstrates how the texture and flavour of the pasta can really shine with roasted pumpkin, pine nuts and sage. Maggie then uses another healthy grain, barley and adds the flavours of porcini mushrooms and sherry to make a tasty, autumn soup. One of the big challenges for Simon as an executive chef is to come up with recipes for people with special dietary requirements that don’t compromise on flavour and texture and tonight he makes it look simple. His Quinoa Noodle broth is about fresh ingredients and fresh flavours. Mushrooms, ginger, vegetable stock and soy combine to create a beautifully balanced, light broth for his tasty noodles and silken tofu. For his next challenge Simon was determined to come up with a healthy dessert. To make sure he’s on the right track he gets Royal Adelaide Hospital dietician, Kristy Burfield, to analyse his dish. Kristy gives his apple and oat crumble the thumbs up for health and with it’s coconut, green apples and cinnamon flavours everyone will give it the thumbs up for flavour. Recipes: - Mushroom and Barley Soup - Apple Oat Crumble - Spelt pasta with roasted pumpkin - Quinoa Noodle Broth
This week's show kicks off with Simon visiting a Vietnamese supermarket, and he's like a kid in a candy store! Maggie has asked Simon to pick up some bonito and dried shiitake mushrooms, but he's also looking for inspiration for his own dish. Owner Chang Khou helps Simon to navigate the slightly bewildering range of weird and wonderful dried goods on offer and encourages him to buy some salted jellyfish and strips of wood fungus. Simon can't help himself, though, and also leaves with a shiny golden dog, "leftover stock from Year of the Dog." Back in the kitchen, Simon's lurid talisman seems to inspire the Cook and the Chef to try their hands at exotic dishes. Simon prepares a dish which is "all about texture", and he’s not kidding! It's a jellyfish salad which includes dried wood fungus and one of Simon's trademark "two minute pickles". Maggie's a big fan of Japanese cuisine so she tackles a Japanese classic, Chowan Mushi, a form of delicate steamed custard. Of course, Maggie can't resist putting her own spin on the dish, so she adds verjuice and fresh blue swimmer crab. On her travels in Victoria Maggie finally had the chance to check out the source of a wonderful product that she loves using, smoked eel. At Ben's eel farm she discovers that while she likes to eat them, she certainly doesn't like to look at them! Ben shows Maggie the gentle art of holding a slippery eel and shows off his custom-built smokehouse, but despie Maggie's curiosity he doesn't divulge too many secrets about the smoking process! Wanting to respect the flavour of the eel, Maggie decides not to cook it but rather to incorporate it into a bruschetta; she uses beetroot jelly and avocado to slightly offset the smokiness of the eel. Simon decides to try a dish he’s never done before, and throws together a delicious Rice Hotpot. Recipes: - Chowan Mushi with Blue Swimmer Crab - Bruschetta of smoked eel, Beetroot Jelly and Avocado - Jelly Fish Salad - Pickled Vegetables - Smok
This week's episode of The Cook and the Chef is all about Pork and Quinces. Maggie tells the story of how and why she developed her love for this unusual fruit and takes us back to the planting of her Quince Orchard. She goes on to prepare a Quince dessert that emerges from the oven as a burnished orange masterpiece. Simon experiments with Chinese BBQ Style Pork by using a cut of meat that's a little out of the ordinary. He then takes his succulent cut of Roast Pork and adds it to a warming winter Cabbage Soup. Maggie too, joins the "pork party" and comes up with her own version of hearty winter fare when she makes Pork with Red Wine & Shallots. It's a dish that's the result of a long, slow cook and one that's perfect for winter. Recipes: - Cabbage Soup with Chinese Roast Pork - Roasted Quince with Cinnamon and Orange - Brown Sugar and Vino Cotto Parfait - Chinese Roast Pork - Pork with Red Wine and Shallots
The Cook and the Chef is 100 episodes old and to celebrate Simon’s organised a visit from Peter Cundall of Gardening Australia. First up Peter has a look at Simon’s garden and suggests a few good potatoes to grow. Simon takes up the potato challenge and cooks a great potato and chickpea curry while Maggie also uses potatoes in the kitchen to create a beautiful gnocchi and prawn dish. Then it’s a visit to Maggie’s vegie patch and Peter is thrilled to see she’s planted kale – an ancient kind of cabbage that Pete reckons is so full of vitamins and minerals that you can hear it doing you good. Back in the kitchen Maggie then makes Peter a great kale and silverbeet tart that he loves and Simon makes onion bhajis that perfectly compliment his curry. A great way to celebrate the 100th episode. Recipes: - Nicola Potato Gnocchi with Prawns - Kale Tart - Chickpea and Potato Curry - Onion Bhaji
The Cook and the Chef cross the Tasman to explore New Zealand. A land with rugged mountains, pristine waters and - most importantly - great produce! Maggie and Simon kick off their journey in Rotorua, where they find out how the local Maori people have cleverly harnessed the famous geothermal properties of the area for cooking purposes. Kiwi TV chef Pete Peeti treats Maggie to a traditional Hangi, and she and Simon are both inspired to try out some unusual cooking methods. Recipes: - Shabu Shabu (Japanese hopot/steamboat) - Custard (Creme Anglaise) - Cumquat, Almond and Marmalade Roly-Poly with Custard - Roasted Saltbush Mutton in Camp Oven
This week Maggie and Simon show us more beautiful produce from the Land of the Long White Cloud. Maggie finds some delicious Kumara, a Maori word for sweet potato while Simon discovers New Zealand Venison. In Australia most of the sweet potato we buy is the orange variety. It's a different story in New Zealand and on the North Island, near Dargaville, grower, Andre De Bruin, introduces Maggie to two new varieties of sweet potato. In New Zealand sweet potato is known by its Maori name, Kumara, and Maggie decides her favourite is the golden Kumara with its creamy white texture. She is not able to find it in Australia to cook with but in New Zealand Maggie enjoys a lovely feast of all three varieties with Andre and his wife. In the kitchen simplicity reigns as Simon and Maggie celebrate the texture and flavour of good sweet potatoes. Maggie's red sweet potato is baked and then stuffed with candied olives and haloumi cheese. The saltiness of the cheese with the sweet fluffiness of the potato and the complexity of the olive combine perfectly to make a complete vegetarian meal. Simon is more than a little surprised to discover that the white sweet potato he selected is actually very purple on the inside! Despite the surprise he likes the texture and flavour and decides to combine it with a choux paste to make a very "chefy" Duchess potato. With a lot of hard work and through the development of good farming practise New Zealand has built a Venison industry to the point where it now supplies almost ninety percent of the world market. On the South Island, just out of Christ Church Simon visits Graham Brown on his farm that runs the beautiful, graceful Red Deer, and Graham manages to convince Simon that the venison meat is so good that normal braising cuts can be treated like prime cuts of meat. In the kitchen Simon crusts his venison with a mix of seasoning that includes Horopito, a New Zealand pepper. A quick cook and the succulent venison is onto the plate with a bea
Maggie and Simon’s culinary adventure in New Zealand continues this week as we find Simon on the South Island checking out the amazing Wasabi plant and visiting a salmon farm near Mount Cook where the fish are so good they’ve caught the attention of the Emperor of Japan. The show kicks off with Simon visiting Fenton Wood’s wasabi farm near Christchurch. Sometimes known as Japanese horseradish, wasabi has many health and dietary benefits, which is probably why it was so highly prized by the ancient Japanese. Fenton tells Simon that most wasabi paste which is available commercially is not actually wasabi but rather horseradish paste with artificial colour and flavour added. Wasabi is a tricky plant to grow and demands precise climactic conditions, taking 18 months to two years to mature before harvest. It can be grown either in streams (the traditional Japanese method) or in soil, the way Fenton grows his. It flourishes in both environments, with no discernible difference in flavour. Pure, oxygen rich water is one of the key growing factors in either soil or streams. The pungency unique to Wasabi (known as isothiocyanates) is quite volatile and evaporates easily, which is why the rhizomes are served fresh in many Japanese restaurants. The heat really hits the front of the nose and is very different from the heat associated with chilli – which is why Maggie loves wasabi! Back in the kitchen Simon grates a wasabi rhizome onto his Salmon Tartare while Maggie adds the paste to her avocado dip. Sticking in the South Island, Simon is shown around an amazing Salmon Farm near Mount Cook by one the farm’s directors, Rick Ramsey. The farm lays claim to being the highest salmon farm in the world and is situated on hydro canals that were constructed by the New Zealand government for power generation. The canals are fed by glacier and snow melt from the Southern Alps. The quality of the water - both above and below the farm - rivals the best of bottled waters, and
In tonight's episode Maggie and Simon continue their food Odyssey in the Land of the Long White Cloud. On New Zealand's North Island Maggie discovers a microclimate responsible for some wonderful produce while Simon travels across the beautiful, pristine waters of Marlborough Sound in search of the Green Lipped Mussel. Hawkes Bay on the east coast of New Zealand’s north island is one of the sunniest regions of New Zealand. Sheltered by ranges to the west, the Hawke's Bay landscape opens up to reveal rolling hills and fertile plains, the perfect environment for orchards and a host of internationally acclaimed wineries. The city of Napier was devastated by an earthquake in 1931 and was re-built in the art deco style and now has one of the most outstanding collections of 1930’s architecture in the world. The area is renowned for the range and quality of its artisan food producers and while she was there Maggie visited Silver trail gourmet snails, a snail farm run by Raewynne Achten. Raewynne feeds her snails on Brassicas, Plantain and fresh vegetables, all grown without the use of pesticides, providing a healthy and nutritious pasture for her free range snails which she sells to local restaurants. From snails Maggie moved to olives, visiting Rose Gresson at her beautiful olive grove overlooking the bay. Rose has over two and a half thousand trees, which she described as growing like mushrooms and very easy to establish given the Hawkes Bay climate and soils. She grows varieties which are suitable for both the table and oil. Her main oil varieties are Barnea and Manzanillo which she blends and Leccino, a tiny little Tuscan olive which makes beautiful peppery oil. In the kitchen Maggie takes her inspiration from the New Zealand olives and fills a delicious puff pastry with a combination of Kalamata Olives, Olive oil and sweet roasted garlic topped with goat's cheese and oregano. Simon marinates a combination of three different olives and encourages every
In this episode Maggie and Simon discover how New Zealanders adopted and realised the commercial potential of two beautiful fruits, Feijoa and Kiwi fruit. Native to South America, the Feijoa is very popular in New Zealand where a major effort has been made to hybridise the fruit and turn it into a commercial crop. On his visit to the South Island, Simon met Mike McGrath who grows Feijoa on his property near Nelson. Mike extolled the virtues of this sweet, aromatic fruit and explained why Kiwi’s love it so much. Back in the kitchen, Simon combines the unique flavours of the Feijoa with apple & ginger to moisten and liven his "fail proof muffins," while Maggie marries Feijoa with the pear, nut brown butter and almond to produce delicious winter tarts. The fruit that many of us associate New Zealand with is the Kiwi Fruit. Brought to New Zealand from China by school teacher Isabel Fraser in 1904, it is now a billion dollar industry and one of the countries most successful exports. The majority of the Kiwi fruit crop is grown around the beautiful and aptly named Bay of Plenty, on the East coast of the North Island. Maggie met up with Steve Saunders who showed her around some of the regions amazing kiwi fruit orchards. Surrounded by hedges several meters high and with their trellis abundantly laden with green and gold fruit, it was easy to see why the industry is so successful. In the kitchen Maggie makes her fresh New Zealand Kiwi fruit the hero of a lively fruit salad that includes lychees and a syrup with lime and ginger. The salad is served with a refreshing granita made using the golden kiwi fruit. Simon is willing summer to arrive with his refreshing green and gold kiwi fruit margarita. Just a right balance of sweet, salt and tang all that is missing is the umbrella. Recipes: - Feijoa Tart - Kiwi Fruit Margarita - Feijoa and Apple Muffins - Kiwi Fruit Salad with Kiwi Fruit Granita
In this episode Maggie and Simon conclude their six week New Zealand odyssey. Simon checks out New Zealand lamb, one of the most iconic of all that countries products and Maggie returns to Hawkes Bay to find out why Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world. The first shipment of refrigerated lamb left New Zealand in 1882 bound for England and from small beginnings it's gone from strength to strength. Not all of New Zealand's lamb is produced the same way though. Despite its clean, green image only around 1% of the country's farmers are organic. In the heart of 'Lord of the Rings' country, on the South Island, Simon met self-proclaimed 'wild man' and organic lamb farmer, Tim Gow. Tim actually played a wild man, in one of the three films which was shot near his magnificent mountain property in the Southlands. Tim farms Wiltshire's, a hardy meat sheep dating back to Roman times, which is ideally suited to organic farming. One of the pioneers of organic farming in New Zealand, his stock have been free of vaccines, chemicals and drenches for over twenty years and he produces a sweet, fine grained meat, which to quote Tim, 'once you’ve tasted, you're addicted'! In the kitchen Simon cooks one of Tim's lamb shoulders stuffed with a delicious tapenade of green olives, almond flakes, white anchovy and capers, while Maggie slow cooks lamb shanks to perfection, with a combination of cinnamon orange and chestnuts, creating the consummate winter dish. Saffron is one the world's most exotic spices with the majority grown in Iran, but both Australia and New Zealand are now producing some very good product. While in Hawkes Bay on the north island, Maggie visited saffron grower Mark Tyro to discover why, at around $35,000 per kilo, this spice is so expensive. Back in the kitchen Maggie poaches and roasts some pears, in a syrup of saffron, sherry and verjuice and served with a cinnamon and lemon crème caramel they're irresistible. As an accompaniment t
After the exhilaration of the New Zealand trip this week’s show opens with Maggie back on home soil – and almost knee deep in it too! She’s trekking through mud with vegetable grower Dominic Scarfo in search of a vegetable that is often overlooked and undervalued: the swede. Dominic gives Maggie a ride on his tractor and shows her how the swede gets its amazing gradation of colour, but discourages her from attempting to grow the delicious veggie in her back garden. Maggie loves Swedes when they’re small and young, so back in the kitchen she prepares a dish in which small tender swedes are the heroes rather than merely bit players, braising them before adding stock, currants and belly bacon. Simon also tackles root vegetables in the form of an old Irish classic, colcannon. Made with potato and cabbage, the dish is surprisingly tasty and Simon is a big fan. There are not many people who like game birds as much as Maggie does, but this week we meet one of them: her farm manager Jeff Matthews. Maggie’s visiting Jeff’s farm to check out his amazing collection of birds which includes quails, chooks, bantams, ducks and various types of pheasants. Maggie is mainly interested in one particular bird though: the guinea fowl. These flighty, skittish birds are often found on country properties because they make fantastic watchdogs; Jeff tells Maggie that his guinea fowl once alerted him to the presence of a brown snake and they even chased a fox off the property! What’s more, they don’t trash the garden like chooks do, and they make for fantastic eating. Back in the kitchen Maggie prepares her guinea fowl using a classic marinade she learnt from Cheong Liew, and serves it as part of an amazing warm salad. Simon also rises to the guinea fowl challenge, deboning a bird and then improvising an amazing way to roll and stuff the bird employing a used soft drink bottle. Served atop his colcannon, the fowl tops off another tasty episode of The Cook and the Chef. R
Back from their New Zealand Food Adventure Maggie and Simon again set their sights on local produce, enjoying two excellent fish; King George Whiting and Mulloway. Simon takes his nephew, Harry, on a trip to the local port side markets where they’re entertained by more than a few characters spruiking their wares. Harry is not to keen on the sea food on offer but doesn’t mind a bit of King George Whiting. Convinced that this is a fish for even the fussiest of fish eaters, Simon decides to cook some up. In the kitchen Simon dazzles with a Whiting Paupiette. Little moulds are cleverly lined with whiting fillets and filled with a creamy flat head and scallop mousse. The moulds are lightly steamed and served with a buttery beurre blanc; it’s simple, impressive on the plate, and perfect on the palate. Maggie lightly pan fries her whiting in nut brown butter and serves with crunchy home made chips. The real star of her fish and chip dish is a tartare sauce made with creamy mayonnaise which is textured and flavoured with a stunning combination including capers, cornichons and lemon zest. Ever interested in efforts to develop sustainable fisheries Simon sets out to Port Lincoln on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula. Here, fisherman Jo Ciura takes Simon out to see the magnificent Mulloway being farmed. Once a plentiful fish it has been seriously depleted in the wild but the sustainable aquaculture practises Simon observes means there is now a good supply, and pressure on the wild stock is reduced. In the kitchen Simon makes Mulloway Quenelles, shaping Mulloway that is pureed with egg white and cream into football shapes before poaching. The Quenelles are served again with his delicious beurre blanc and salmon roe that Simon describes as “bubbles of beautiful”. Maggie also purees her Mulloway and combines it with the lovely salty flavours of capers and anchovies to make rustic, flavoursome fish patties. Recipes: - Whiting Paupiette - Mulloway Quenelles
Working at the Hotel often keeps Simon busy late into the evening so he’s not known for his love of early mornings, but this week he’s made the effort to get up well before the crack of dawn to meet his fruit and veg supplier Chris Abbot at the Adelaide Produce Markets. Chris’s day starts around 2:30 am – seven days a week! – and Simon is amazed by the levels of activity at the Market when he arrives around 4:30. Forklifts and trucks zoom everywhere as Simon and Chris discuss the best ways to source only the freshest produce. Chris reckons it’s crucial to try to find local stuff whenever possible and to get to know the growers and producers. He introduces Simon to Frank, who grows fantastic cauliflowers at his property in Virginia. Simon is impressed by the caulies and uses them in a delicious salad, while Maggie uses hers in a warming winter soup. In Duranbah, on the New South Wales North Coast Maggie meets a man who’s trying to re-ignite our passion for passionfruit. David Peasley is the horticulturalist responsible for Australia’s biggest commercial varieties of passionfruit and he talks to Maggie about his efforts to meet consumer demand for a passionfruit that is sweet, full of pulp, and has a beautiful aroma. Our cook and our chef both use passionfruit to recreate classics from their childhood, Maggie making a delectable, oozy vanilla slice and Simon demonstrating how to make your own scrumptious marshmallows. Recipes: - Roasted Cauliflower Salad - Cauliflower Soup - Passionfruit Vanilla Slice - Passionfruit Marshmallows
The beautiful fertile soils of the Northern Rivers Regions of NSW have made possible many amazing sub tropical food enterprises. One of Maggie's favourite food stories from the region is that of Gerard Buchanan, a farmer who discovered that the fruit that would become his most profitable, the native finger lime, was actually growing wild on his property. Maggie catches up with Gerard, or Buck as he's known, and discovers out why the finger lime is called "citrus caviar". Back in the Barossa, with Buck's finger limes in hand, Maggie makes an irresistible dish using scallops, limes and chervil. Quick and easy, it's the perfect combination for this 'citrus caviar' which goes well with all seafood, especially the sweeter kinds, such as scallops, crab and lobster. Armed with one of his favourite ingredients, Kaffir lime leaves, Simon makes coconut rice, a unique combination of jasmine rice, coconut milk, lemon grass and ginger, just the right accompaniment for his next dish. Regular viewers of The Cook and the Chef would be familiar with Simon's love of Asian food, so it should be no surprise that he loves to use a wok. Simon began his culinary career working in a number of Asian restaurants where he learnt that woks are one of the most versatile cooking tools around; they can be used to stir-fry, deep-fry, poach, boil or steam. This week Simon gives us some tips on how to buy the right wok for the right occasion and shows us the delicate art of seasoning a wok, a crucial step which may smoke out your kitchen but ensures your wok will give great results for years to come. To accompany his rice, Simon fires up his first and favourite wok and makes a Thai chicken curry. Taking moments to cook, it's a delight to watch as he deftly combines the ingredients and fries them to perfection using this ancient cooking method. Continuing our rice and citrus theme, Maggie makes Arancini, a speciality of Sicilian cuisine. In Sicilian, 'arancini' means "little oranges" and t
Tonight Maggie and Simon go green with Brussels Sprouts and Avocados. Enjoy their warm winter take on the much maligned Sprout and take a trip back to the seventies with Simon’s Avocado Ice Cream. Having the space to grow your vegies is not an option for many people today, but there are some alternatives out there for the keen gardener. Sustainable foods consultant Latarnie McDonald took Simon to the Fern Avenue Community Garden in the Adelaide suburb of Fullarton, where local residents can apply for a small plot to grow their own vegetables. The gardeners were growing lots of fantastic produce, but some Brussels’ sprouts, grown by Vida, really caught Simon’s eye. In the kitchen Simon makes a mornay by smothering gently steamed Brussels sprouts with a cheese topped béchamel sauce. Baked to perfection in their creamy concoction the sprouts are simply served with some walnut bread. Maggie uses the leaves and hearts of Brussels sprouts in a delicious warm salad which includes hazel nuts, bacon and lemon. The salad is served with a tender chicken scaloppine. On the Northern New South Wales coast Maggie finds herself in “avocado heaven”. Tropical Fruit World, located in Duranbah, is a working farm and theme park that covers sixty five hectares and features over 500 different varieties of rare and tropical fruits. Avocados are one of the parks main commercial fruit and Maggie braves some wet sub-tropical weather to wander through the avocado groves with farm manager Aymon Gow. In the kitchen Maggie uses the classic combination of avocado and prawn to make delicious open style ravioli. The creamy textures of the gently cooked prawn and slightly warmed avocado on the springy egg pasta make this dish a simple yet rich, indulgence. Simon dips into his 70’s cookbooks to come up with an old dinner party favourite, Avocado Ice Cream! Combined with lemon, salt, a creamy custard and topped with more sweet and citrus flavours the palate may not know what to ex
Tonight Maggie and Simon celebrate the “Queen of lemon herbs”, lemon myrtle, and Simon uses a “pizza stone” to bake Calzone while Maggie shows us how to fry a pizza! The little village of Nimbin, in the Byron Bay Hinterland has embraced its reputation as Australia’s hippy capital, and the influence of the counter culture extends way beyond the colourful main street. On the edge of town Maggie discovers the beautiful Djanbung permaculture gardens, and owner, Robyn Francis, explains how the permaculture philosophy of sustainability provides a practical framework for the alternative movement. Maggie delights in the gardens winter offerings and is particularly taken with Robyn’s native lemon myrtle. Back in the kitchen, Maggie re-visits one of her favourite deserts, the ‘crumble’, which is usually made with either apple or rhubarb. Inspired by her trip north and always up for a challenge, she decides to use one of the most delicious and exotic of all tropical fruits, the custard apple and combine it with some lemon myrtle. Served with Lemon Myrtle Crème Anglaise, the result is a mouth watering marriage of two very unique flavours, casting a whole new light on this traditional dish. Also seduced by the ‘Queen of all lemons’, Simon combines lemon myrtle into a glorious Beetroot and Citrus salad. Using three different types of citrus, walnuts and beetroot he creates a superb treat for all the senses, proving once again the versatility of Australian bush tucker. Odd brick domes have been popping up in backyards all around Australia recently, the result of a renewed interest in cooking with brick ovens. To find out more Simon visits brick oven guru, Russell Jeavons. As Russell explains, built and operated correctly these ovens can go far beyond cooking pizzas and bread, the stored heat can be used productively for many hours after the fire has gone out, to bake a wide variety of dishes. Using some of Russell’s strudel dough Simon coo
This week take a trip with Maggie to the stunning sub tropical hinterland of Northern New South Wales where she explores a macadamia plantation and sips locally grown coffee. In the kitchen Maggie and Simon use our native bush nut and coffee to create both savoury and sweet delights. A special treat for Vegans is Simon's Vegan Laksa. The macadamia nut is Australia’s own bush nut and while it is grown commercially in other countries Australia is leading the world market. With nine hundred growers producing well over a hundred million dollars of kernel a year macadamia nuts are our most successful native food both locally and internationally and they are a favourite of Maggies. Just out of Bangalow on the New South Wales North Coast Maggie was given a tour of a huge macadamia plantation by farm manager, Lindsay Bryen, who told Maggie that macadamia nuts make great pesto. In the kitchen Maggie proves Lindsay right, mixing macadamia pesto with moist swordfish and celery to create a delicious textured warm salad. Simon uses macadamias as a worthy substitute for candle nuts in a creamy, tangy Singapore laksa. Suitable for vegans, Simon’s laksa uses soy sauce and a vegetarian blachan for the soup as well as egg free noodles. The coffee industry in Australia has been growing steadily and Northern New South Wales, with it’s high altitudes, high rainfall and volcanic soils, is producing some wonderful Arabica coffee. In the Tweed, Maggie visits Zeta and Mark Grealy’s beautiful mountain property to see how they grow and make their own boutique coffee. Maggie is really taken with the beautiful coffee tree and more than taken with the aroma and taste of the Grealy’s coffee. In the kitchen Maggie makes a deliciously wicked chocolate and vino cotto pavlova, a dessert to be served with the perfect coffee. The Pavlova is dressed with crème fraiche and strawberries but as Simon notes its winning feature would have to be the combination of “crunch and goo” in the
When it comes to fine cheeses we’re spoilt for choice in Australia, there are over one hundred different varieties being produced by Cheese Wright’s all around the country. A self proclaimed ‘cheeseophile’, Simon’s always on the hunt for new product and headed up to Woodside in the Adelaide hills to meet artisan cheese maker Kris Lloyd and try one her latest creations, which had been inspired by her Greek grandfather. Called ‘Etzy Ketzy’, it was something her grandfather would say to her when she asked how he was. In Greek it means half and half, or fifty, fifty and that’s what this soft cheese is, half cow and half goats milk Using some of Kris Lloyd’s deliciously oozy Etzy Ketzy, Simon makes a leek, potato and cheese tart. Served warm or cold with a mixed leaf and herb salad, it’s a great way to use a soft cheese and works flawlessly with the other ingredients Maggie uses another of Kris’s cheeses to make chestnut pikelets with goats cheese, served with a wonderfully rich blood orange reduction. Based on a recipe used for chestnut cake, served in Italy with coffee, Maggie serves her pikelets with currants that have been reconstituted in verjuice, topped with melted cheese and syrup of blood orange, perfect for serving with drinks at any time of the year. Spanner Crabs are found around much of Australia’s coast but only fished commercially on a stretch of our eastern coastline. In the small fishing village of Brunswick heads on the Northern NSW coast Maggie meets Craig Wraight, a young fisherman who’s been catching these deep sea crabs for two years. Craig give Maggie the low down on the unusual orange crab with spanner like claws and Maggie wonders how it will compare with her favourite eating crab, the blue swimmer. Spanner crab salad is next on Maggies menu. Spanner crabs are a little tricky when it comes to removing the meat, but the delicate sweet meat is definitely worth the effort. Once cooked and combined with fenn
Maggie goes bananas this week, travelling to the Tweed Valley in northern New South Wales to discover the unique qualities that this area provides for the growers of this popular fruit. Before transport opened up Northern Queensland most of Australia’s bananas were grown in Northern New South Wales. On a recent trip to the Tweed valley Maggie was really taken with how all the banana plantations are scattered high across the mountain slopes. Third generation grower, Andrew Everest, explained to Maggie that sub-tropical bananas have to be grown up high to protect them from frost. Andrew also explained how the New South Wales bananas benefit from the regions rich volcanic soils. Another feature of sub-tropical bananas is that they take longer to mature than their tropical counterparts and, according to Andrew, this results in them building up sugars and having lots of flavour. Maggie was definitely taken with the flavour of the Cavendish banana she tasted but Andrew had a surprise for her, a bunch of sweet little monkey bananas. Back in the Barossa with bananas in hand, Maggie puts her twist on a classic desert, the banana split, creating a rich and irresistible composition of brandy, bananas, roasted macadamias, ice-cream and crème fraîche, culminating in one very grown up tasting dish. Simon makes one of his favourite banana based dishes, a green banana curry, using plantain’s, a green-skinned, banana-like fruit, a more savoury relative of the traditional sweet banana. Combined with coconut milk, onions and an assortment of spices, this cheap and easy to use ingredient makes a delicious curry, perfect when served with rice and pappadums. Although still readily available the globe artichoke has lost some its former glory, to find out why Simon visits an old friend of the Cook and the Chef, market gardener Tony Scarfo. Tony’s family have been growing globe artichokes for nearly fifty years and has seen their popularity decline in recent times, du
When it comes to cooking with wine, Simon and Maggie follow the golden rule: "if you wouldn’t drink it, don't put it in your food!" As they both whip up delicious wine-based dishes, Simon also takes us behind the scenes of a busy hotel kitchen and Maggie shares her secrets for stress-free rabbit. This week's show kicks off with Simon deep in discussion with the Hotel's Maître d' Atef. Simon and Atef are looking at some changes in the menu and deciding on a corresponding change in the recommended wine match. As Simon tells us, wine recommendations can make or break a dining experience, so it's crucial that a wine either balances the flavours of a dish or contrasts with them in a playful way. Simon also shares his golden rule for cooking with wine: "if you wouldn’t drink it, don’t put it in your food!" Based on this principle, Simon uses a great red as the basis of a French classic, Coq au Vin, while Maggie uses a delightful sparkling white to give excitement to her Chicken Pie. As any home cook knows, it can be stressful trying to co-ordinate all the elements of a meal to be ready, hot and on the table at the right time – so imagine how Simon feels trying to co-ordinate all the elements of a busy Hotel kitchen! This week on the show he takes us behind the scenes and reveals that his Hotel employs a military-style Brigade system to ensure everything goes according to plan. He also shares the secrets of 'the pass' where the chefs finally hand over their food to the waiters, a place where Simon is often to be found on a busy Saturday night. Back in the kitchen Simon prepares an unusual wine-based dessert, sangria with burnt meringue, while Maggie shares her secret to getting a dinner party dish organised without stress: prepare a big pot which you can put in the middle of the table! This week it's rabbit, and Maggie tackles a classic recipe of mustard and prunes – but of course, with a signature Maggie twist. Recipes: - Chicken, Grape and Champagne
Tonight Maggie replicates beautiful lamb pies that she created for a charity event, while Simon gives shepherd’s pie a vegetarian spin. Also on the menu is chocolate and lots of it, with a wicked chocolate ganache tart and a light, chocolate soufflé. Settled in 1841 by F.H Dutton Anlaby is one of Australia’s first grand South Australian rural properties. More like a small village than a farm Anlaby is being restored and became the chosen location for a charity event conceived by Maggie and friends over a long Barossa lunch. No small occasion, the event featured local choirs such as the Tutti Ensemble and the wonderful vocals of Jonathon Welsh. Maggie and her daughters catered and, on this beautiful sheep property, Maggie couldn’t go past serving individual lamb pies. In the kitchen Maggie shows us how to make the pies by combining great flavours such as garlic, rosemary, and red wine vinegar with succulent lamb. The pastry is simple and delicious and as Simon notes it compliments rather than competes with the filling. A real surprise in the filling is a spattering of pickled quince that cuts through the meat flavours creating a perfect balance. To round off the menu Maggie then shows us how to make the dessert that was served at Anlaby, a chocolate ganache tart. The chocolate sour cream pastry is light and crisp, a great carrier for the creamy chocolate ganache. Simon buys into to theme of pies but, in typical Simon fashion, nothing is what it seems and an old classic, shepherd’s pie, becomes a lentil pie with a potato and parmesan topping. In this recipe Simon manages to avoid the flavours over amalgamating and the texture and flavour of every vegetable can be identified, while wild mushrooms and mace give a real depth and warmth to the overall flavour . Simon’s chocolate offering is a soufflé. For something slightly different Simon adds an egg yolk for richness which gives this dish a very sophisticated chocolate flavour. The great appeal of
Produce from Tasmania and Kangaroo Island features on tonight's program. Simon travels to Hobart on the hunt for some green tea, while Maggie soak's up some spirits on South Australia's Kangaroo Island. South of Hobart in the delightfully named Sandlfy Simon found Gordon and Jane Brown growing an unusual crop: Green Tea! After getting over the shock of finding tea growing in Tassie, Simon found out that most black tea is actually grown in highland regions so it’s not actually all that unusual to grow tea in such a cold climate. He also discovered that green tea is actually a form of camellia and therefore a very attractive plant. A research scientist, Gordon was involved in the first trials of green tea in Tasmania but fell in love with the plant and decided to commercialise it, drawing on his expertise in the area of food drying. Gordon and Jane visited Japan on several occasions to learn from the masters of green tea cultivation, and after tasting the delightful brew Simon declares that the Japanese must be jealous! Back in the kitchen Simon’s ‘chasing tannins’ as he embarks upon an epic desert, ‘Green Tea Tiramisu’. Italian in origin it’s usually made by layering sponge fingers soaked in coffee, orange liqueur, with a filling of mascarpone, egg whites and vanilla. Always up for a challenge Simon replaces the coffee with his Tasmanian green tea, giving a uniquely fresh and agreeable twist to this traditional dish. Simon has brought back some Tasmanian goodies for Maggie, in the form of dried Morello cherries, also grown by Jane and Gordon Brown. These are perfect for Maggies ‘Spatchcock Squab’, providing a rich sweet and sour stuffing, when combined with roasted garlic, rosemary, lemon and thyme. These flavours marry perfectly with the squab, but would work equally well with duck or quail, especially when served ‘Maggies way’, with a little broccoli and the juice from the roasting pan. Until recently the practice of distilli
Tonight Maggie and Simon demonstrate two different and very delicious ways to use Southern Rock Lobster before making the most of a selection of mouth watering mushrooms. Kangaroo Island is one of Maggie’s favourite destinations, its magnificent coastline and pristine waters provide an abundance of superb seafood for the locals. On a recent trip Islander, Ian Somerfield, offered to show her just how fortunate they are. Ian has a two pot Rock lobster licence and regularly hauls up these magnificent creatures during the fishing season, which runs from November to May. On the day Maggie visited he’d caught a three and a half kilo monster which they proceeded to cook in seawater on beautiful ‘Browns beach’. Maggie was in heaven, this was a lobster as sweet and as fresh as you as you could possibly get! In the kitchen Maggie sets succulent pieces of lobster in a beautifully complimentary saffron tomato jelly. Served in delicate shot glasses the lightly tinted jellies with their suspended lobster pieces are finished perfectly with a dollop of home made mayonnaise. Simon combines his Rock Lobster with crab meat, chorizo, chicken, tomato and okra in a Gumbo, a dish Simon loves because it represents a melting pot of cultural influences. Every spoonful of this dish is a different experience of textures and flavours with a surprise standout ingredient for Simon being the Okra that helps bind the dish together. Southwest of Hobart lies the Huon Valley, an idyllic area celebrated not only got its spectacular scenery but also for the food produced there. Simon is charmed by the beauty of the valley but he’s keen to explore a strange and magical indoor realm hidden away in a large shed next to the mighty Huon River. He’s come to see the amazing range of speciality mushrooms grown here by microbiologist Warwick Gill and his team, and he quickly discovers that growing mushrooms is a rare and specialised art. Warwick tells Simon that shitake mushrooms in the wild
What is it about Tasmania that makes its seafood so great? Is it the clarity of the water that surrounds the island state, its coldness, or the ingenuity of the locals? Simon visited recently to find out and met a couple of young scallop fishermen and some unusual seaweed divers. The East Coast of Tasmania has to be one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline anywhere in the world, but when Simon visits he’s not just interested in the dazzling scenery; he’s also come to find out what makes Tasmanian seafood so great. Simon heads out with a couple of divers who are searching for a rare culinary ingredient: wakame. Wakame is a type of edible seaweed from Japan which has probably found its way to Tasmanian waters in the ballast tanks of visiting ships. A creative Tasmanian nutraceutical company is harvesting the seaweed to extract fucoidans, a component of seaweed which many people believe is beneficial to human health. Simon is slightly dazzled by the science of it all but is thrilled to hear that they are also preparing to market the leaf of the plant for culinary purposes. Back in the kitchen Simon is doing another one of his famous mini-series, and he uses the wakame leaf in part one. It goes into the pot along with some shitake mushrooms and another type of seaweed, kombu, as he prepares a Japanese-style dashi broth. Maggie has never cooked wakame before but is keen to give it a try, so she gets Simon’s advice on how best to fry it to provide a crispy garnish for her kingfish escabeche. As always she has a Maggie-style trick up her sleeve, though, and she marinates it in verjuice before it hits the pan! For part two of his mini-series Simon needs some beautiful scallops, and there are none better than those found off Tasmania’s East Coast. Scallop fishermen Sam and Conrad take Simon out on their boat as they dredge the sandy beds off Maria Island in search of a fresh haul. In the kitchen they form the core of some truly tasty dumplings which
Tonight Maggie and Simon demonstrate how to bring out the best of the brilliant beetroot, and then spice up some delicious dishes with Native Tasmanian Pepper berry. It was a cold and blustery day when Maggie’s good friend, Peter Cundall, dropped in to see her winter garden. Peter loved the Kale, Rocket and Pumpkin she was growing but informed her, in his own special style, that her beetroot was the most "miserable" he’d ever seen. Peter’s advice was that she should grow the beetroot from seed and so Maggie did just that. The result in spring was a beautiful crop of enormous beetroots that Maggie was only too happy to show off to Simon. In the kitchen Maggie combines the Beetroot with Cannelloni beans, garlic, rosemary and mint to create a lively, refreshing dip. The colourful concoction is served with deliciously earthy fennel and chick pea crispbreads. Not to be outdone in showing off the colour of the beetroot Simon makes a beetroot ravioli. The almost iridescent pasta is filled with the creamy textures and luxurious flavours of ricotta, mild goat’s cheese, chives and garlic and served with a layer of similar flavours carried in a buttery sauce and topped with toasted walnuts. It’s a dish that is beautiful on the plate and divine on the palate. The Cook and the Chef fans would be well acquainted with Simon’s love of all things hot and spicy, so when he got wind of a fiery native pepper being cultivated and sold in Tasmania he just had to check it out. Dan Puller explains to Simon that the plant is pretty fussy about where it grows, preferring rich volcanic soils and high altitude; this is why it’s sometimes known as mountain pepper. Dan points out the distinctive, vivid red stem of the plant which makes it easily identifiable in the wild and also acts as a warning of the heat to come! Simon loves using the ground leaf of the plant but is slightly wary of the pepper berries, which pack a real spicy punch. Dan tells Simon that thanks to the inte
It’s almost the holiday season on the Cook & the Chef and Maggie & Simon prepare for Christmas. From fruit mince to turkey burgers this is a culinary treat for all the family. At Christmas time Maggie loves to get as much food preparation as possible out of the way before Christmas day. This year she's managed to enlist the help of her five grandchildren to make a favourite mince tart. The two eldest girls, Zoe and Lilly are both avid cooks, although this year Zoe has her hands full with baby brother Ben who "helps" her to mix the mince. Max takes a very artistic approach to spreading the mince on the tart while little Rory is happy to try any jobs with Nona Maggie's help. The children's excitement about Christmas is infectious and their help means Maggie will have more time on the big day to enjoy everyone's company. In the kitchen Maggie makes her fruit mince, an irresistibly rich mixture of dried fruit, fresh apple, sherry and spices. After simmering for just one hour it’s ready to use, but like us all, it will improve even more with age. Mince pies are traditional at Christmas, but Maggie offers an alternative and spreads her mince onto a par cooked sour dough pastry base, which she finishes with a lattice topping. After ten more minutes in the oven and served hot with vanilla ice-cream it makes a delicious desert, which would compliment any Christmas table. Simon re-visits his childhood and makes white chocolate crackles, with both kids and adults in mind. Using cream and glucose syrup instead of copha, he combines rice bubbles with coconut, pistachio nuts, cranberries and glace cherries to create a Christmas treat that’s guaranteed to bring those memories flooding back. Celebrating Christmas with family and friends is important for many of us, but for some people this isn’t an option. Adelaide’s Hutt St Centre provides support for the homeless and others in need and in the lead up to Christmas, Simon went along to help with lunch, creat
It’s fair to say Australia’s food culture has come a long way in 200 years, and to chart this evolution Maggie and Simon reflect upon their own experience, look back through history and talk to some of Australia’s top chefs. What we eat says so much about who we are, and to explore Australian food Maggie and Simon cook and share their versions of iconic Australian dishes. Come and join Maggie and Simon on their adventure and find out just what Australian cuisine is in 2009. The series kicks off with Simon and Maggie reflecting on the state of the Australian food scene in 2008 and preparing what they consider to be truly Australian meals. Maggie tells Simon about the amazing changes she’s seen in her time as a cook and reminisces about the day in 1980 when she first got her hands on a bunch of fresh basil! We’ve come a long way since then, as demonstrated by the many farmers’ markets springing up around the country, where informed consumers have come to expect the best in fresh produce from enthusiastic producers and growers. In the kitchen Maggie cooks a meat pie, but one with a difference: hers has rabbit! Simon protests that rabbits are introduced, but Maggie points out that Australian cuisine is defined precisely by the fact that it makes use of a range of influences and ingredients from all around the world. She follows it up with an iconic Aussie dish, the good ol’ Pavlova, and just to make sure no New Zealanders try to claim the dish as their own she throws in some macadamias! Simon confesses to being slightly confused about what exactly defines Australian cuisine, but he tells Maggie that he loves the Aussie give-it-a-go attitude. He also loves the fact that we’re starting to shake off the shackles of our British heritage and embrace all sorts of Asian cuisine, which is so well suited to our climate. Simon is also delighted by the fact that we’re starting to be conscious of the impact on the environment of our food choices, and
In this episode Maggie and Simon explore the huge influence of Italian migration on Australian cuisine. Maggie explains how her early childhood led to Italy and a cooking school in Tuscany. Simon recreates some classic Italian dishes and adds a twist and we visit Armando and Maria Matteucci, an Italian couple whose abundant garden and kitchen give us a taste of the Italian food culture that has helped to shape the way we eat today. From pasta to gelati, tomatoes to octopus – Italian migrants have contributed enormously to our Australian way of life. Maggie’s love of Italian opera and food is well known and she reminisces about her childhood visits with her family to an Italian restaurant in Sydney where she fell in love with pasta. As a young woman, a life-changing trip to Italy led to her cooking school in Tuscany with Stephanie Alexander and what is now a lifelong passion for rustic, country cooking. Maggie makes pasta and cooks Rotolo di Spinaci – a classic dish from her cooking school whilst Simon creates his own baked version of Eggplant Parmigiana. We visit Armando and Maria Matteucci, Italian migrants who have lived in Paradise, a suburb of Adelaide for over 50 years who proudly show us their double block brimming with home-grown vegetables, rabbits, olive oil and vino cotto and Maria shows off her cooking with the boast that absolutely nothing goes to waste. In the kitchen again Maggie cooks Focaccia filled with chunks of stracchino cheese and oregano – fantastic eaten hot with drinks, whilst Simon remembers his youth and recreates Lemon Gelati with a bit of basil to give it a real zing. The Italian Influence – a program that sings the praises of all things Italian! Recipes: - Rotolo di Spinach - Focaccia - Eggplant "parmigiana" - Lemon Gelati
This Week Simon and Maggie marvel at the British success in putting their own stamp on a Pakistani curry and then celebrate the cross-cultural cuisine of Australia’s own "Father Of Fusion" Cheong Liew. Cuisines from different cultures have been influencing each other from the time that people and food have crossed borders. Indeed cultural fusion is part of the evolution of cuisines where historically people have borrowed methods and ingredients or adapted their own dishes to suit new environments. In the 1970's "Fusion" cuisine took on a new meaning as a group of well travelled chefs deliberately set out to combine cuisines and define them in such terms as "East meets West", "New World" or "Fusion". Chefs, like Australia's Cheong Liew were motivated to combine cuisines in the pursuit of flavour with some fantastic results, but some attempts by others lacked integrity and resulted in what the critics called "confusion". Fusion cuisine has tended to thrive in countries like Australia, Canada, the US and New Zealand where a variety of fresh produce is available, where there tends not to be a strong historical food tradition and where people have adventurous palates. According to Cheong Liew Australia meets all the criteria and the lack of boundaries allows chefs to let their imaginations run wild. Simon's first contact with cross-cultural cuisine was the Balti curry. Originating in Northern Pakistan it made its way to Birmingham, England with Pakistani migrants who, from the 1950's to the 1970's, set up little cafes called Balti Houses. The Balti quickly became the curry you had after a night out and a few beers. Already a melting pot of regional influences the British claimed the curry as their own and to accommodate the British taste it was often (and still is) served with chips. In the kitchen Simon makes a delicious corn Balti. The spice base includes, ginger, garlic turmeric, coriander and garam masala making for an extremely flavoursome curry. Simon serve
This Week Simon and Maggie go vegetarian, proving a meat free diet is far from bland and boring. While vegetarianism has always being part of Indian and Asian culture, it didn’t really kick off in the west until the mid nineteenth century, when a meat free diet became more accessible. Every home cook should have a least a couple of vegetarian recipes up their sleeve and Maggies no exception. One of her favourites is a very tempting ‘Tart tatin’ made from leeks & aubergines, herbs, verjuice and vino cotto, cooked to perfection in a sour cream pastry base. One of Australia’s greatest exponents of vegetarian cuisine is legendary Hare Krishna Chef, Kurma Dasa, aka Phillip Gordon. One of the movement's longest serving Australian devotees, Kurma has been extolling the virtues of a vegetarian lifestyle for over thirty years and has written several classics on vegetarian cookery. Inspired by meeting Kurma, Simon cooks a traditional Indian Dahl, a delicious spicy soup made from lentils, vegetables, herbs and spices. Middle Eastern style halva is made from tahina, but just as popular is the Indian version which is usually made from semolina and just happens to be one of Simon's favourite deserts. Using Kurma's recipe Simon makes a version using flaked almonds and saffron, simple and quick to make, it's the ideal accompaniment to any meal. To wrap up our 'vego' feast Maggie makes a delicious semolina Gnocchi with walnut sauce, proving that being a vegetarian doesn't necessarily mean a lot more work in the kitchen! Recipes: - Dahl - Chappatti (flat bread) - Leek & Aubergine Tart Tatin - Gnocchi (Semolina) with walnut sauce - Halva
Don’t be late for a very important date this week: Simon and Maggie are holding a tea party to celebrate the days when afternoon teas (complete with cakes and cucumber sandwiches of course!) were quite the done thing. In Victorian-era Australia our eating and drinking habits were still shaped by our ties to Britain, and what could be more British than afternoon tea? Tea was relative affordable in Australia compared to 'the old country', and we consumed gallons of the stuff. In fact, Australians in the late 19th century took up the craze for afternoon tea with such a passion that we soon became the world’s largest consumers of tea per capita. The pioneering Australian gastronome Philip Muskett was even worried about our "excessive consumption' and wrote that "the gentler sex are greatly given to extravagant tea-drinking, exceeding all bounds of moderation. What wonder, then, that they grow pale and bloodless; that their muscles turn soft and flabby; that their nervous system becomes shattered; and that they suffer the agonies of indigestion?" To celebrate this British tradition the cook and the chef both bake cakes named after British towns: Maggie whips up a delicious Bakewell Tart, while Simon makes the "fly pies" he remembers from his schooldays, more commonly known as Eccles! While people in the cities were having afternoon tea, a completely different influence was arriving out in the goldfields as Chinese immigrants brought with them their rich history of food. No-one is more familiar with this history than Melbourne's famous cook and food teacher Elizabeth Chong. Elizabeth's grandfather arrived in Australia in 1854, passing through the emerging Chinatown in the heart of Melbourne. Elizabeth’s father had a huge impact on Chinese food in Australia: he opened one of the first restaurants to present true Chinese cuisine here, and he even invented that Aussie classic, the Dim Sim! Elizabeth is still carrying on this proud food tradition, continuing to te
If you fancy some fine French fare then join Maggie and Simon tonight as they reveal the significant contribution the French have made to the kitchen while tempting us with classics such as Bouillabaisse and Duck Liver Parfait. In the 60’s a French food experience was likely to be "haute cuisine" in the fine dining hotels of Australia featuring dishes like Crème Caramel and Duck a l'orange. Then, along with a boom in restaurant trade in the 70's Australia embraced the more simple and regional flavours of French Nouvelle. French chef Jean Francois Gavanon notes that today French cuisine is "nowhere and everywhere". It's "nowhere" in the sense that French dishes, especially the classics, do not feature strongly in Australian cuisine and "everywhere" in the sense that through codification of cooking methods and techniques the French have had a huge influence on restaurant and home cooking. Maggie and Simon start the program by treating us to a couple of classics. Maggie's Bouillabaisse is from the region of Provence. With clean, fresh flavours of tomato, pepper, bay leaf and orange the Bouillabaisse broth is the perfect background for the delicate mussels, cockles and lightly cooked fish that feature in this sumptuous dish. This is certainly one of the classics that is not too fiddly and is well worth any effort. Simon's Duck Liver Parfait is a fantastic choice for people who may find Pate a bit too strong. The Parfait is finely textured, creamy and light on the palate with a delicate fortified wine note and little aftertaste. The French are famous for their delicious desserts and pastries and Maggie and Simon present us with a couple of impressive choices. Simon's Vanilla Cream and Berry tart is inspired by his TAFE training days where the influence of French technique dominated. The tart cases are a lovely short pastry and are filled with a delicate vanilla custard and whipped cream combo that is topped with a mixture of fresh berries. The combination of
In this episode Maggie and Simon cook with Australian Native Foods – ‘old’ or wild foods that have not been altered by breeding so they retain high levels of vitamins and antioxidants. These foods provided indigenous Australians with a varied and rich diet for over 40,000 years before European settlement. Maggie and Simon demonstrate how native foods can add unique flavours to everyday recipes, we visit the Spirit Festival for some traditional bush tucker and see how students at Renmark High School are cultivating a commercial crop of Kutjera or Desert Raisins. In this new world of climate change, Australian Native Foods are being seen as foods of the future because they’ve evolved over thousands of years to suit Australian soils and climate. Although early settlers cooked native foods like kangaroo, swan, possum, fruits and berries, once farming was established they reverted to more traditional fare. Fast forward to the 1980s and native foods are rediscovered along with their unique flavours. In this program we visit the Spirit Festival where Warren Miller a Wirangu and Kokatha man demonstrates how he cooks wombat and kangaroo tails. Usually cooked in the ground, Warren has modified his cooking methods for the city. Back in the kitchen Maggie cooks her version of kangaroo tails – in a suet pastry pie and Simon cooks a super quick meal of Cockles with a native herb and spice twist. We visit Renmark High School where a group of students are involved in a pilot project with a bush food producer to cultivate a commercial crop of 26,000 Kutjera or Desert Raisins. This crop uses ¼ of the water of traditional Riverland crops and has 10 times the vitamin C of an orange. Back in the kitchen Maggie cooks Quandong Clafoutis with a macadamia crust while Simon cooks barramundi with desert limes, desert raisins and native spices all wrapped in paperbark. Australian Native Foods – a program that explores a whole new world of ancient and sustainable foods.
This week on The Cook & the Chef Maggie and Simon celebrate the meteoric rise of Australian restaurant culture. Fifty years ago Australia was gastronomically a very bleak part of the world. In the early 1950’s dining out for Maggie's family often meant a meal at the local Chinese restaurant, but the choice was limited. For many it was steak & chips, followed by ice-cream and passionfruit syrup at the local café or milk bar. But something was about to happen which would liberalise the drinking laws, throw open restaurant doors and introduce us to whole new culinary world. The post war immigration boom had arrived and brought with not only great diversity of cuisine, but an extraordinary variety of home grown produce. There was a rise in affluence among the broader population and by the mid 1960's Australians had begun streaming into Europe, driven by our sense of adventure. On their return, they demanded much more than steak and chips, sparking a renaissance in home grown restaurant culture. Maggie played her part in this transformation and takes a nostalgic look back at her restaurant days in the 1980's. She cooks her legendary pheasant pie, while Simon shares his take on 'Greek meatballs', a staple from the 1970's restaurants that he and his family used to visit. We meet Sydney Chef Tetsuya Wakuda who arrived in Australia in 1982 with no formal training and nothing more than a small suitcase. From humble beginnings, Tetsuya is now recognised as one of the world’s best chefs and his restaurant has won numerous awards. As a tribute, Maggie cooks her version of Tetsuya's famous 'Confit of Ocean Trout', and Simon reels in some whiting and makes sashimi, with pickled daikon, ginger and a unique dipping sauce, both dishes celebrating the diversity and vibrancy of today’s restaurant scene. Recipes: - Greek Meatballs (Keftedes) - Sashimi - Ocean Trout - Pheasant Pie
Dust off your flares and fondue set and get set to revive some classic dishes from the 70s, as Maggie and Simon celebrate the dawning of Modern Australian food. The early 70s was an exciting time to be living in Australia – at least according to Maggie, who has a gentle laugh about the fact that Simon’s probably too young to remember! The spirit of experimentation was in the air, with new ideas in politics, theatre, music and film, and this experimentation flowed over into our cooking too. One big source of ideas for Maggie was the food & wine magazine Epicurean. She used to be inspired by the amazingly inventive covers, though the recipes were sometimes a little on the basic side. It was also the era of competitive dinner parties, and Maggie remembers fondly cooking Chicken Veronique at the dinner party she held with husband Colin in the first week of her marriage. She recreates the dish with a modern twist, while Simon draws inspiration from the pages of Epicurean and has go at Duck a L’Orange. This was also the era when Modern Australian food began to emerge, and someone who rejoiced in its arrival was food critic Leo Schofield. He reminisces about the bad old days of stodgy French provincial restaurants, but also recalls his excitement as young Australian chefs started to carve out a new style. Two of the best to emerge in the 70s were Tony and Gay Bilson, and Gay looks back at some 70s trends which helped their culinary experimentation – including the increase in overseas travel, and the arrival in Australia of the food processor! Back in the kitchen Maggie and Simon finish off their 70s dinner party with chocolate mousse and apple fool. Recipes: - Chocolate Mousse - Chook Veronique - Apple Fool - Dauphinoise Potato - Duck a L'Orange
Maggie ventures bravely into Simon’s world of South East Asian cuisine. The Vietnamese dishes Maggie and Simon produce, from soups to crispy fried quail, are clean and fresh and defined by a delicate balance of sweet, salt, acid and sour flavours. Over the past thirty years more than one hundred and fifty thousand people have settled in Australia from Vietnam. When the first refugees arrived they struggled to find any ingredients they could use in their traditional dishes with fresh herbs and vegetables particularly hard to come by. Thanks to Vietnamese market gardeners and to those who set up shops and restaurants the situation is now very different, and even in the country Maggie is able to find ingredients like tamarind and coriander. In the kitchen Maggie ventures into unknown territory with the help of a recipe by Pauline Nguyen and makes a delicious tamarind and pineapple broth. It is a soup that is delicate on the palate with a sour kick that Maggie loves and a lovely complex sweetness courtesy of the pineapple. Maggie even experiments with a bit of chilli in the dish! Simon demonstrates the importance of having a lovely clear stock for a Vietnamese classic, beef noodle soup (Pho). The finished dish is more than a meal, with fresh rice noodles, melt in the mouth beef and the Vietnamese staples; bean sprouts, mint and coriander which swim in the delicate, delicious broth. Enjoying the new challenge Maggie makes a second Vietnamese dish, Crispy Fried Quail, again inspired by Pauline Nguyen. The marinade for the quail combines flavours like; Chinese five spice, light and dark soy, Chinese rice wine and star anise. The Quail is then deep fried and served with a refreshing salad of cucumber, mint and coriander. Again playing with heat, Maggie makes a white pepper dipping sauce for the Quail which, with a generous splash of lime, adds a real tang to the overall taste. Simon’s friends from Nghi Ngan Quan restaurant have encouraged Simon to have a go at mak
Just the mention of Australian classics like butterfly cakes, sponges, jelly cakes and sausage rolls conjures up memories of childhood and a time when home baking was a big part of daily life. These and hundreds of other recipes were handed from mother to daughter over generations and came from countries on the other side of the world to new homes in Australia. Through adversity or necessity, ingredients were experimented with, substitutes made and this legendary Australian 'make do' mentality meant families were fed and nothing was wasted… and in the process these recipes have become Australian classics. This program looks at the history of Anzac biscuits and how they were invented by women so their men at war had something sweet to remind them of home. Maggie cooks Neenish Tarts and explains how this quirky tart that originated in New South Wales got its name. Simon continues the theme and cooks a flourless cake – using almond meal and wattleseed but experiments a bit and adds some desert limes from Maggie’s cupboard to give it a real Australian flavour. Next we visit Margaret Hempel who heads the South Australian Country Women's Association catering team as she bakes Butterfly Cakes and other sweets and savouries for a member's 80th birthday party. She gives us a bit of an insight into country cooks, community cookbooks and the heritage of baking that is now so much part of Australia's baking history. Back in the Barossa kitchen Maggie cooks her version of the Jelly Cake – a chunky lamington-style using raspberries and quince paste while Simon gives a traditional sausage roll a real multicultural twist with some quite surprising ingredients. Australian classics and the CWA – a program guaranteed to bring back memories of the great Australian afternoon tea 'spread'! Recipes: - Jelly Cakes (Individual Cupcakes) - Wattle Seed, Apple and Almond Cake - Sausage Rolls with a twist - Neenish Tart - Gelatine
This week the Cook & the Chef take a close look at the art of food presentation. Maggie gives us a snapshot on the world of food photography, one which is often veiled in trickery, sprays, glues and gels, all used to artificially enhance the look of a dish. Maggies approach is a bit different, self trained, she likes to keep her style simple and natural, letting the food speak for itself and the skills of the photographer really shine through. In the kitchen Maggie shares with us Garfish and soba noodles. Simple to prepare, and beautifully presented, this delicate combination of ingredients is treat for all the senses Equipped with one of his favourite 'kitchen toy's' to make an exquisite 'potato rosti', Simon cooks 'Tournedos Rossini', a slow cooked fillet of beef, so tender that both our cook and chef are lost for words. Simon's world of presentation has been heavily influenced by Japanese cuisine. He introduces us to Sydney chef Tetsuya Wakuda, who's strong sense of the aesthetic is clearly reflected in his restaurant and food. In Japan there’s a saying that "A person cannot go out naked in public and neither should food," probably why ceramics play such an important role in that cuisine. Using some very special Japanese ceramics produced by Tetsuya’s friend Mitsuo Shoji, Simon shares his take on 'Tetsuya's unique salad', while Maggie cooks Shitake fritters and tofu, both dishes proving that we really do eat with our eyes as well as our mouths. Recipes: - Tornados Rossini - Tetsuya Salad - Shitake and Tofu Fritters - Soba Noodles with black sesame and Garfish
This week the 1980s are making a comeback, as Simon and Maggie celebrate the time when Aussie food came of age and the work of three very special cooks: Gay Bilson, Tony Bilson and Janni Kyritsis. In the 1980s Maggie was busy running her famous restaurant The Pheasant Farm. Simon fondly remembers eating there as a teenager but he did think it all looked like organised chaos! Maggie realises that she wasn’t the only one working hard in the '80s though: it was an age of growing wealth but as disposable incomes expanded our spare time dwindled. To save precious time more people were going out to eat, so it was a great age for Australian restaurants as emerging chefs carved out a distinctive Aussie style. One of the best restaurants of the '80s was Gay Bilson's Berowra Waters. Maggie has fond memories of an amazing meal she ate there, so as a tribute to Gay and to Berowra Waters’ remarkable chef Janni Kyritsis she cooks her version of that memorable meal: sweetbreads with pigs’ trotters! Simon loves the dish but also cheekily suggests that his dog Iggy would love it, because he’s a big fan of pigs’ ears! Another great chef who was doing amazing things in the 1980s was Tony Bilson, and Simon’s a big fan of his work. When Simon stopped working in Asian restaurants and started in hotels he struggled at first to master the tricky art of making stocks, so someone suggested he should read Tony’s book. Simon feels forever indebted to Tony for the great advice he found there, so this week he pays tribute by making a brown beef stock, then using that stock to make a delicious consommé with herbed crepe. Recipes: - Pigs ears with sweetbreads and remoulade sauce - Brown Beef Stock - Remoulade Sauce - Consommé with Herb Crepe
Tonight Maggie and Simon entice us outdoors into the late autumn sun to enjoy Greek inspired barbequed goat, souvlaki and baby octopus. Greek desserts are also on the menu so be prepared for some syrupy, sweet lusciousness. To many Australian the name Chantal Contouri would conjure up memories of Number 96, the very risqué night time soapie from the mid seventies that featured Chantal as "the panty hose strangler". These days you are more likely to find Chantal preparing the Greek barbeque in her parents family restaurant than behind a camera, and her commitment to getting her coals just right has Maggie and Simon inspired. With Maggie’s dam as a beautiful backdrop Simon and Maggie prepare their respective barbies . Maggie uses a Kettle BBQ to slow cook Kid which has been flavoured with lemon, garlic, oregano and salt while Simon opts for his home made coal and wok combination to grill souvlaki and baby octopus. Maggie’s meat is almost an hour and a half cook and is served with waxy potatoes . The meat is melt in the mouth and the delicate lemon flavouring given to the potatoes makes for a lovely combination of flavours and textures. The heroes of Simon’s souvlaki are definitely the generous big chunks of haloumi which are balanced perfectly by the tang of red onion and generous portions of eggplant and zucchini. The baby octopuses are marinated in garlic, lemon and dill and the flavours of the coals imparted to Simon’s fare takes it to another level of flavour complexity altogether. For their desserts Simon and Maggie draw their inspiration from another two Greek women, Zeffie Kathreptis and Kryssoula Heisler . Both Zeffie and Kryssie are self taught cooks and neither cooked until they were married. Their commitment to their Greek style cooking, however, was such that Zeffie opened a very popular Greek restaurant in her home town of Adelaide while Kryssie opened Adelaide’s first Greek take-away. These days most of their cooking is done for family a
In this episode Maggie and Simon travel back around 150 years to a time in Australia’s history when rations were doled out to workers and meat became not just a symbol of Australia’s prosperity, but a major part of the Australian diet. With the challenge of using meat, flour, sugar, tea and salt Maggie starts simply, but can’t resist going upmarket while Simon cooks some real bush favourites, making sure to use a good measure of rum! To top it off, we visit a hard-working shearer’s cook to see if mutton still plays a big part in the shearing crew’s diet. ‘Meat three times a day’ was the boastful slogan of 19th century Australia and from early settlement in a country where sheep and cattle were plentiful, daily rations for crews of hard-working rural labourers were high in meat. In this program, Maggie and Simon are given the challenge of using ‘rations’ – 10lbs meat, 10lbs flour, 2lbs sugar and a ¼ lb each of tea and salt, plus a little rum – the weekly food allowance for a rural worker in 19th century Australia. Maggie starts simply with Bread and Dripping and Fried Onions – a fond memory from husband Colin’s childhood whilst Simon’s Pound Cake is an old British recipe that dates from the 1700s and was brought to Australia with the early settlers - but Simon adds a good dash of rum for added punch. We travel back to 1861 and the ABC series ‘Outback House’ to see how the early settlers would have fared with basic provisions and plenty of mutton to get a sense of where the meat-eating tradition started and we visit hard-working shearer’s cook Marilyn Vogel because if there’s anyone who knows how to cook mutton it’s her! Back in the kitchen Maggie can’t resist going upmarket and cooks Rib of Beef with Black Pepper Crust and Bernaise Sauce in homage to her newly discovered convict ancestor who became a cattle farmer while Simon cooks a recipe direct from a 19th century kitchen - Braised Mutton with Suet Dumplings. E
In this episode our Cook & Chef pay homage to the one of the young chefs making a name for himself in Australia today. With his restaurant named as one of the top fifty in the world, Melbourne based chef Shannon Bennett is pushing the boundaries of modern French Cuisine and fine dining. Inspired by Shannon’s unique style and technique Maggie & Simon cook four irresistible dishes, Steak Tartare and Slow Cooked Lamb, followed by Chocolate Mousse and Quince and Prune Croustillant. There’s no shortage of drive or passion when it comes to some of the young chefs making a name for themselves in Australia today, none more so than Melbourne chef & restaurateur Shannon Bennett. Having being inspired by home economics at school , Shannon was desperate to work in the industry and lied about his age to score his first job at the local McDonalds. This gave work him the work ethic and organisational skills he needed to make the most of the opportunities that lay ahead. After completing his apprenticeship at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne and already winning awards, Shannon left for England where he worked for two of Europe’s top chefs, John Burton Race, who featured in the TV series 'French Leave' and the 'Chef Returns' and Marco Pierre White known as both the 'enfant terrible' and the Godfather of modern English cuisine. In 2000 Shannon returned to Melbourne to fulfil his dream of opening his very own classic French restaurant, renovating a former pasta restaurant in Carlton which he called Vue du Monde. This risky venture was a huge success and in 2004, to meet demand Shannon moved to Melbourne’s CBD, where he received an unprecedented 19 out of 20 in The Age Good Food guide and last year his restaurant was named as one of the top fifty in the world. Recipes: - Steak Tartare - Slow-Cooked Shoulder of Lamb with Red Wine Vinegar - Chocolate Mousse the Molecular Way - Bitter Green Salad - Quince and Prune Croustillant
Maggie and Simon both love cookbooks so this week Maggie shows off her collection and admits that acquiring cookbooks is a bit of an addiction! Simon still loves and uses one of the first cookbooks he ever bought: Charmaine Solomon’s famous guide to Asian cooking, a book which helped to change forever the way Australians shopped, cooked and ate. Recipes - Onion and Cream Tart - Nasi Goreng - Green Peas in Coconut Milk - Bean Curd with Peanut Sauce and Rice
In any who’s who of Australian cuisine Stephanie Alexander features as a cook who has influenced not only the way we dine but the way we think about food. Recipes - Fritatta - Lentil Risotto - Baked Potatoes - Polenta and rosemary bread with fresh sweet corn
Margaret Fulton has been called the Isabella Beeton of Australian cookery and with over 4 million cookery book sales she has influenced the way Australians have entertained and eaten for over fifty years. Recipes - Lamb Crown Roast - Marmalade Steamed Pudding - Roast Leg of Lamb with Gravy - Spanish Cream
This week Maggie and Simon celebrate the era of 'Grand cuisine'. The 1970's & 80's heralded a renaissance in Australian restaurant culture, heavily influenced by French 'Haute or Grand cuisine' which was as much about the atmosphere and service, as it was food and wine. Recipes - Sausage en Brioche - Flounder Picasso - Pappardelle with poppy seeds - Beef Satay with Peanut sauce
Do you remember heading to the local Chinese takeaway for a bit of dodgy sweet 'n' sour pork and beef with black bean? Ever since the Gold Rush Chinese food has been a part of the Australian food scene, but for a long time Australians had a very limited view of what Chinese food was all about. China's a huge country, but most of the early Chinese settlers who arrived here were from the Southern region of Guangdong, home of Cantonese cuisine, so Cantonese-style dishes dominated here. Furthermore, the Chinese settlers adapted their food to suit Aussie palates, dumbing it down for an audience suited to plainer fare. These days it's all starting to change though, and we're starting to find out about the amazing variety and sophistication of true Chinese cuisine. Simon loves the fact that you can easily buy fresh Chinese produce, so in the kitchen he prepares a simple but delicious dish centred on a classic Chinese ingredient, fresh silken tofu. Maggie admits that the wok is unfamiliar territory, but as a tribute to great Chinese food she tries her hand at Sung Choi Bao. Recipes - Chinese Fried Eggs - Steamed Silken Tofu - Sung Choi Bow (lettuce cups) - Kylie's Oxtail
Tonight Simon revels in his favourite Thai food, and encourages heat- avoiding Maggie to “dip a toe” into this chilli laden cuisine. The resulting savoury and sweet dishes are delicate, exquisitely complex and beautifully balanced in flavour, and surprisingly Maggie friendly! Recipes - Egg Nets - Prawn Crackers - Spiced Chicken with Plum Sauce - Black Sticky Rice (kao niaw kao muun) and Fresh Mango
This program has a real Australian flavour. Lemon Aspen, Anise Myrtle, Davidson Plum and yabbies are just some of the fantastic Australian native foods Maggie and Simon experiment with this week. In fact, they reckon that if we all planted native bushfoods in our gardens and used them in our cooking, a unique Australian cuisine would evolve that’s jam packed with bold flavours and nutrition and perfectly suited to our climate. Recipes - Kangaroo Tail Soup - Marron and Samphire - Yabby Bisque with Lemon Myrtle - Plum Paste - Davidson - Australian Native Cuisine
This week on the Cook and the Chef Maggie and Simon show us some home cooked alternatives to the mass produced 'convenience' foods that dominate our supermarket shelves today. Not only are they as convenient, but they’re a whole lot tastier and healthy for you too. Recipes - Chook - Brined - Icecream - apple pie - Burger - Chocolate Brownie
Australia has a long and proud history of celebrity cooks and chefs, entertaining food enthusiasts who’ve shared their secrets and helped raise our culinary standards. Recipes - Ox Tripe, slow cooked with wine - Duck Ragu - Eggplant Timbale with Mullet and Confit Potatoes - Congee – Duck and Ginger
Tonight Maggie and Simon tip their hats to the magical Mediterranean flavours of Lebanese cuisine. Pomegranate, lemon juice, pine nuts, olives and walnuts are just some of the fresh ingredients employed to embrace the food and the shared style of dining typical of Lebanese culture. Recipes - Felafel with Yogurt sauce - Egg and Green Olive Salad - Fattoush - Poussins with Pomegranates
In this episode Maggie and Simon pay homage to the regional food culture of the Barossa Valley. Maggie’s 36 years in the valley has given her a love for simple, seasonal food and a pride in the unique foods of the region which to this day echo the first Prussian settlers who made the valley their home. We visit Graham Linke for an insight into the centuries old method of smoking meats, Maggie cooks a dish from her first days in the valley and after teasing some secrets from numerous bakers and butchers Simon valiantly attempts some old German specialities. The Barossa Valley is one of many regions in Australia where migrants have created a unique regional food culture. This program celebrates the Barossa where today, food, religion and cultural traditions echo Prussian, Silesian and German origins. Maggie’s love of all things Barossan is well known and she shares her 36 year love affair with the people, food and music. In the kitchen she bakes Pickled Pork with crisped potatoes, a variation of her first meal in the Barossa when she arrived newly married all those years ago. Simon’s research into all things German led him to bakers and butchers who maintain traditional German recipes with secret methods passed down over generations. Managing to glean a few tips from these masters, Simon cooks Berliner Buns – a sweet, jam-filled doughnut with an interesting history... and they taste unbelievable! We visit Graham Linke, a traditional butcher who smokes smallgoods at the back of his butcher shop in Nuriootpa and carries on the traditions of 3 generations of butchers with recipes from his pioneering Prussian ancestors. Back in the kitchen Simon makes Fritz – also known as Devon, luncheon meat, polony or German sausage depending on where you live in Australia whilst Maggie makes a simple Grilled Peach, lachs shinken and gruth salad using Graham’s famous smoked eye of pork. Food of a region...a celebration of the Barossa and the migrants whose fo
As they say, all good things have to come to an end and sadly tonight’s program is the very last of the Cook and the Chef, but to go out with a bang and to celebrate four fabulous years, Maggie & Simon are cooking for a party, to thank everyone who has helped make the show a success. As with any television program there’s a lot that goes on before the cooking starts and on tonight’s show we take a look behind the scenes. Simon introduces two of his best mates, Stephanie, his 'recipe & research' girl and Carolyn his 'shopper & chopper' and we follow the three of them them as they shop for tonight's ingredients, in Adelaide's amazing Central Market. First up on tonight's party menu Simon cooks one of his all time favourites, Spring Rolls and Maggie a deliciously simple, Baked Ricotta, with raisins, olives and capers followed by a spicy Cinnamon Chicken. For two days each month the ABC crew arrive and take over Maggie's little kitchen in the Barossa Valley and for the very last recording, Maggie shares this fascinating experience with us, a rare insight into the machinations of a television cooking show. The charcoal barbecue is fired up to complete our party menu with Maggie cooking superb succulent Pork Ribs with a delicious cabernet sauce and Simon, Pineapple Skewers with palm sugar syrup, unique but irresistible. Then it's time for the party, where both Maggie and Simon say farewell in their own special way.
