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!!

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

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.

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

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

750g Loligo Squid, cleaned (see notes below)

1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns

2 teaspoons sea salt

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes, medium heat

1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

Salad ingredients

2 cups finely shredded carrot

1/4 cup finely shredded daikon (white radish) or small red radish

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon caster sugar

generous pinch of sea salt

Soak shredded daikon and carrot in separate bowls of chilled water for at least 15 minutes

Make salad dressing by combining vinegar, sugar and salt, stirring until sugar dissolves.

Heat Szechuan peppercorns, salt, chilli and black peppercorns in a dry frying pan over a moderate heat until salt is lightly browned, stirring constantly to prevent burning.  Pound to a fine powder in a mortar and pestle.

Drain carrot and daikon well.  Toss together with salad dressing.

Pat the Squid dry with paper towel.  Heat a large frying pan, grill plate or barbecue.  Lightly oil barbecue and cook Squid over a high heat for 1-2 minutes, turning once.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper mix.  Serve with salad.

To prepare squid, grasp the arms and pull firmly to separate head from tube trying to not break the ink sac as the ink stains.  Cut below the eyes and discard head and guts, push beak (mouth) out from between the arms.  Remove quill, peel skin off by grasping side fins and peeling aroudn the tube.  Wash and use tentacles.

Cut tubes open, lay out flat and wipe the inside clean with paper towel.  Slice into strips or score with diagonal cuts to make a diamond patter, then cut into larger chunks.  Trim any hard suckers from the tentacles or drop legs into boiling water for 60 seconds.  Drain and strip suckers off with the back of a knife or with paper towel.  Cut think legs in half lengthways.

Notes - Lare Squid can benefit from being tenderised by gently hitting with a meat mallet before cooking.  Salt and pepper mixes are available from selected delicatessens and food stores.

For more squid recipes visit www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au

Serves 2-4

1 whole Sea Mullet.  Alternatively use Australian Salmon, Tailor, Blue Mackerel, Silver Trevally and Pilchard

Olive Oil

Salt & pepper to taste

lemon wedges and green salad to serve

Rinse the fish and pat dry with paper towel.  Lay the fish flat and fillet one side only on the top (dorsal) side from behind the head to the tail, gently pushing the knife against the rib cage to release the flesh, or simply cut through the ribs on one side. Separate the fillet from the base of the tail but do not cut through the belly of the fish.

Gently pull the fish open like a book and clean out the guts (although the roe could also be cooked or smoked).  A band of fat along each side of the backbone (depending on the season) may be left to melt and baste.  Rinse the fish and pat dry.  Season with salt and pepper.

Lightly oil a preheated barbecue or chargrill and cook the fish, scales and skin side down, over a moderate heat.  By coring the fish with a heatproof baking dish, lid or lightly oiled foil, there is no need to turn the fish.

Cook for 20 minutes or until flesh turns opaque and flakes easily when tested with a fork.  Cooking is perfect when the skeleton and ribs can be lifted free intact.

Remove the fins (and head) and serve fish with lemon wedges and salad.

Notes - The skin protects the Sea Mullet flesh during cooking but can be removed before eating to reduce the oiliness and the stronger flavour found in the darker meat beside the skin.

P.S. Pilchards are now called “Australian Sardine”

What swims around in our local waters is more prolific at different times of the year.

This informative evening will highlight what is available and in good supply at the local Sydney Fish Market and local seafood suppliers around town in May. There will be the opportunity to try your skills at preparing and cooking different varieties and then to enjoy a shared table of prepared dishes with local wines.

Our presenter is the experienced Brigid Treloar who has been a freelance food consultant for over 20 years. The author of eight cookbooks, many of them translated into other languages, she also contributes to newspapers and magazines, reviews restaurants and judges cookery and recipe competitions. She has made many TV appearances and can often be heard discussing food on the radio. Brigid has presented specialist cooking classes in Sydney, interstate and overseas and is an educator at the Sydney Seafood School. Brigid advises many of Australia’s food companies on product and recipe development, food styling and photography and provides recipes and cooking information for company websites.

As we sample Krinklewood’s biodynamic 2009 Verdelho, we’ll learn how to prepare some very simple and delicious recipes:
Char-grilled local Squid with salt and pepper seasoning
Chermoula Sea Mullet Fillets
Pink Ling Skewers with Wasabi Mayonnaise

We’re excited to include Iain Suthers, a Professor in the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences at UNSW, and now based at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science. Iain has published over seventy papers and book chapters on a variety of marine subjects concerning fisheries and oceanography, including a recent book on plankton. Plankton is the base on which the entire ocean food chain rests. Iain will tell us about the growth rate of fish as the key to sustainable fisheries, as well as the work of SIMS and ocean climate.

There will be Pukara Estate olive oils to try and Steve Jones of Broken Bay Oysters will be telling us all about this important local seafood species.

The evening is held at the Electrolux Kitchen Showroom which gives you the great opportunity to browse and test some of the newest cook tops and ovens.

When: Thursday, May 06, 2010 from 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM

Where: Electrolux Kitchen Showroom , 163 O’Riordan Street,  Mascot,  2020 Sydney.  View map.

Cost: $50 members, $55 non members, $35 students and pensioners. For bookings.

Dead Sharks ain’t Art

An arts event and auction raising funds to stop all forms of shark slaughter. Threatened and endangered sharks are killed for their fins off the coast of Australia in huge numbers. Already 90% of the world’s sharks have been wiped out.
Join the Nature Conservation Council of NSW for an evening of good company and bid on some amazing auction items, including specially commissioned artworks and a weekend scuba diving trip for two.

All money raised will go towards the NCC’s work to get  increase protection for sharks

When: 6.30pm – 9.30pm, Tuesday 11 May, 2010

Where: Mori Gallery, 168 Day Street, Sydney

Drinks * Nibbles * Guest speakers * Raffle * Live and silent auction & much more …

Limited capacity – please RSVP by Friday  May 7
Ph. 02 9279 2466  or email: marinevol@nccnsw.org.au

I found Karen and her eldest daughter Kate where you’ll see them every Saturday, at the Eveleigh undercover markets in Darlington adjacent to CarriageWorks.  A fabulous display of curd cheeses, some freshly made the previous day, a few flavoured with tomato, olive or pepper, others marinated and some matured.  The newest treats on offer are lemon marinated chevre balls rolled in peppercorns. Sensational on a cheese board or tossed through salad.

Apart from wanting to leave her previous career in land development, Karen was attracted to the idea of raising goats for two main reasons, “Not only can you successfully run enough goats on a relatively small piece of farm land  - goats eat less and as browsers, occupy less grazing land than cows - there was also a noticeable shortage of goat’s cheese in the market and what was available, was imported and expensive”.

Although having been a huge fan of their cheese for a while now, I’d never had a nose for goat’s milk and assumed Willowbrae would have that typical strong musky taste.  But it was surprisingly sweet and fresh and without that twang you may expect.

“You need good quality goats to have good quality milk and cheese.  We are often told it is running the buck with the herd that will bring on the musky flavour but it’s actually all in the goat’s diet and how the milk is handled, such as keeping it chilled so that the relatively high omega 3 fatty acid content does not go rancid.”

“As browsers”, says Karen, “goats thrive on a varied diet and have an incredible ability to know what they need and where to find it.  As well as having access to grasses, branches, lucerne and meadow grasses hay and herbs, our neighbours have also taken to throwing fallen trees and clippings over the fence for them.  They especially like rose prunings and willow tree.”  However, there are some things, eucalyptus for example, they are not allowed for whatever they eat affects the flavour of their milk and therefore the cheese.

In Australia we may consider goat’s milk as an alternative to cow’s, but worldwide far more people drinks goat’s than cow’s milk.  Goat’s milk is believed to more be more easily digestible than cow’s milk.  It is naturally homogenised and therefore needs less processing, is higher in Omega 3 fatty acids and tends to be tolerated by those who react adversely to the highly processed cow’s milk.

When asked if Karen ever looks back and wonders how she came to be one of Sydney’s premier chévre cheese makers, she did admit she wonders “why” sometimes.  ”Being a farmer is a full-time, 365 days a year job.  There’s no taking the day off for Christmas, Easter for birthdays.  There’s no concept of leaving work at the end of the day for a farmer.”  Karen does however brighten again as she explains, “You have to have a passion for what you do”.  Judging by the end product, it is clear the Borg family is sincerely passionate about their goats and cheese making.

Willowbrae cheese and milk is available from the following markets

Every Saturday                        Organic Food Market, Lilyfield

Everleigh Markets, Darlington

1st Saturday of the month    SMH Produce Market, Pyrmont

2nd Saturday of the month  Hawkesbury Harvest Markets, Castle Hill

3rd Saturday of the month   Northside Produce Markets, North Sydney

Every Sunday                           French’s Forest Markets

1st Sunday of the month      Avoca Markets

2nd Sunday of the month    Blackheath Grower’s Market

Every Wednesday                  Fox Studio Markets, Moore Park