Food production has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 50,000.  The use of pesticides, herbicides and hormones in farming and the addition of flavourings, colourings and preservatives in processing have left us with many “products” masquerading as food on our supermarket shelves.

Located on the New South Wales Central Coast, La Tartine is a family owned and managed business baking traditional sour dough breads the way it’s been done for generations.  Using only organic flour, natural levener, filtered water and Guerande salt imported from France, Nick Anthony and his wife Laurence use traditional methods learnt while working at Laurence’s cousin’s bakery in Provincial France.

After 10 years and literally thousands of loaves, the Anthony’s returned to Sydney bringing with them a love for quality bread and expert knowledge.

With the introduction of commercially baked yeast breads, sour dough had lost its popularity.  Industrial baking methods promised shorter kneading and proving times, but creates an inferior tasting loaf which dries out quickly.  A loss of moisture results in a tough crust and harder interior, requiring preservatives and flavourings to compensate.  Other breads may have a longer shelf life but it does not possess the taste or crustiness of freshly baked sour dough loaf or baguette made from high quality ingredients.

Thanks to dedicated bakers like the Anthony’s, sour dough is returning to favour.  The distinct taste of sour dough is the result of lactic acid produced by bacteria fermenting in the dough.  During fermentation, carbon dioxide is also formed and trapped within tiny bubbles causing the dough to expand and rise.  Fermentation also breaks down proteins, making the bread more readily digestible while other acids formed during the process act as natural preservatives.

Along with the traditional unbleached baguette and oval campagne loaf, the team of bakers - now numbering six - offer an array of delicious multigrain, fruit, sesame and rye variations and are available in most organic stores in the Sydney area. La Tartine were also one of the founding stall holders at Pyrmont Markets and can still be found there on the first Saturday of each month as well as at Fox Studios every Wednesday, Redfern on Saturdays, Castle Hill 2nd Saturday, North Sydney the 3rd Saturday and Avoca 2nd Sunday of each month.

As pioneers of the sour dough bread industry in Australia, Nick and his brother Mark have spent many an hour enlightening market-goers on the finer taste and nutritious values of traditional breads.  They are happy to chat about process, ingredients and the best ways to enjoy…. soaked in fine olive oil, smothered in jam, with hunks of robust cheese, or delicately sliced for pate.

An remember, it’s perfectly acceptable to munch on that irresistible end of your baguette while finishing your shopping.  In fact, it’s expected!!

Seasonal Grapefruit Mandarines Oranges Lemon Limes and Kiwi are all high in vitamin C to help keep colds and flu at bay.  They also add zest and flavour to wintery stews.  We traditionally see Valencia, Navel an Seville oranges in Sydney although blood oranges are becoming more readily available late in the season.

It wouldn’t be winter without pears in the fruit bowl and rhubarb in the fridge.  Eat them in crumble, poached atop your morning porridge or in bread and butter pudding.  There are plenty of Peckham and Nashi pears on the shelves right now.  Keep an eye out for Beurre Bosc which are perfect baked - be sure to choose firm fruit with undamaged skin.

Also in season are great winter warming root vegetables Sweet Potato, Swede, Celeriac and Turnip.  Eggplant, Brussels Sprouts, Fennel, Leek, Onions, Silverbeet, Whitlof and Cavolo Nero.

Carrots are another year-round staple but are at their best in winter.  Along with pumpkin, they are high in immune-boosting beta-carotene.

Cauliflower season runs from April to October.  You can also find green and purple and romanesco which is a hybrid of cauliflower and broccoli.

Chestnuts, Walnuts and Almonds high in Omega 3s and antioxidants.

Ginger:  look for think papery skins to represent freshness, the skin becomes thicker as the root becomes older.

Herbs:  Coriander, fresh peppercorns, marjoram, oregano, thyme.

Seafood: Blue grenadier, Bream, Flathead, Ling, Mud Crab, Oyster, Prawns, Red Emperor, Sea Mullet, Snapper

If only learning had always been so enjoyable and so delicious.  For a start, Brigidf Treloar showed us how easy it is to clean squid - well, it looked easy when she did it, prepare a sea mullet for the hot plate and come up with simple recipe ideas for ling fillets.

Professor Iain Suther who came to tell us about the work being done at the Sydney Institute  of Marine Science turned out to be a hands-on seafood scientist when he cooked that delicious sea mullet and handed it around.  We understood why so many professional fishermen tell us that mullet is their favourite fish.

All the seafood we ate that night were sustainable species from the waters around Sydney, and that greatly under-appreciated resource to our north, the 100 navigable kilometres of the Hawkesbury.  A hugely productive fishery - not just for prawns but oysters, mud crabs, calamari, eels, mulloway, bream and mullet.

The sea mullet - in perfect nick as it heads out of the estuary from March until end of June / beginning of July - and the Broken Bay Pacific Oysters all came from the mighty secret river.  The ling - also in season at this time - hails from waters north of Sydney.

Steve Jones and his wife Sally came down from Brooklyn to bring us six dozen of their beautiful Broken Bay Pacific Oysters and to share with us the story of how triploid (sterile) pacific oysters come to be growing in an environment more knows for Sydney Rocks Oysters.  It’s a story that proves you can’t keep and oyster farmer down - and having tasted the meaty and flavoursome Pacifics, we’re looking forward to the revival (post QX virus) of the Hawkesbury Sydney “Rock”.

Steve reminded us that the waters of the Hawkesbury are now so pristine, the oysters don’t need to be ‘depurated’ (washed in fresh water under a blue light) before we eat them: which means the full oyster flavour remains.

He also taught us how to open our own oysters and as we discovered that night, freshly opened is the only way to go.

Iain Suthers took off his apron, broke out the power point and gave us an only too brief taste of the work he and his team are doing at SIMS.  He currently holds four grants dealing with eddies of the East Australian Current, gelatinous zooplankton, and coastal migrations by freshwater and estuarine fish.  And if that sounds dry, not the way Iain delivered.  We’ve already been to SIMS at Chowder Bay, but we’re planning another night there.

Rachel Appleton from Krinklewood in the Hunter, whose magnificent 2008 Semillon we were drinking, dispelled a lot of myths about biodynamic farming, and gave us an insight into why the 2008 Krinklewood Semillon we were drinking was so good.  It had exactly the right acid/fruit balance to hold up to complement the flavours of all the seafood on the plates that night.

The commitee would like to thank everyone who came, sponsors Steve Jones and Krinklewood, and Brigid Treloar and Iain Suthers for donating their time and expertise.

Serves 4

4 x 150g Sea Mullet fillets, skin off, bones removed

Couscous & lemon wedges to serve

Chermoula

1 bunch coriander

1 bunch flat-leaf parsley

6 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

Sea salt to taste

2 tablespoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons sweet paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

100ml lemon juice

250ml extra virgin olive oil

To make the Chermoula, finely chop coriander, parsley leave and garlic together in a food processor.  Add remaining ingredient and mix well.

Place each Sea Mullet fillet on a sheet of baking paper or blanched banana leaf.  Spread the Chermoula over the fish.  FOld the paper to enclose the fish in a parcel and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

Place parcels on a baking tray and cook in a hot oven 200C for 8-10 minutes or until flesh flakes when tested with a fork.

Notes - Chermoula fillets can also be cooked (either directly or wrapped in parcels ) on a preheated lightly oiled barbeque, fry-pan or char-grill plate for 2 minutes on one side, turn over and cook a further 1-2 minutes until flesh flakes easily when tested with a fork.

For more fish recipes vsit www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au

serves 4 as an entre

400g Pink Ling fillets

kaffir lime leaves or lemon leaves

1 cup thick yoghurt

2 tablespoons prepared horseradish sauce

2 tablespoons chopped chives

1.5 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Lemon wedges to serve

Cut the Pink Link into 4cm pieces.  Place a lime or lemon leaf on both sides of fish pieces.

Combine yoghurt, horseradish, chives, lemon juice and salt and papper.  Set aside.

Heat a large frying pan, grill plate or barbeque to moderately high heat.  Brush well with oil and cook Pink Ling for 2 minutes.  Carefully turn using a spatula and tongs and cook a further 1-2 minutes or until just cooked through.

Serve fish with horseradish yoghurt and lemon wedges.

Notes - Fish could also be steamed in a bamboo steamer.

Mayonnaise or sour cream can be used instead of yoghurt.  Wasabi can be an alternative to horseradish.  Other suitable seafood you could try for this recipe include prawns, blue-eye Trevalla, Tuna, Marlin, Swordfish, Kingfish, Salmon and Ocean Trout

For more fish recipes, visit www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au