A Chef’s Secret to Homemade Chicken Broth

Yann Nury explains how to make stock with a golden colour and clean taste, and shares a recipe for a hearty root vegetable soup.

Article by Lauren Joseph

23-TMAG-CHICKEN-BROTH-1The French-born chef Yann Nury caters gatherings around the world. When he’s home in New York, he hosts guests at his invitation-only, floor-through loft in SoHo, called La Résidence. Photograph by David Chow.

Carefully tending a vat of stock used to account for a hefty chunk of the workload in fine-dining kitchens. Today, however, says the New York-based chef Yann Nury, “it’s a forgotten skill,” with many restaurants forced to rely on store-bought powder and cubes, owing to cost, time and space constraints. Nury, however, finds those alternatives lacking. “Homemade broth has a purer flavour,” he says. “It tastes more like chicken.” That’s especially true of the stock he makes in his professional catering kitchen in SoHo, where he uses it to deepen the flavour of both his expertly executed comfort food and his more intricate Northern European dishes.

To make his signature broth, Nury relies on an unusual first step that he learned from a client on the Upper East Side, after falling in love with the home cook’s matzo ball soup: He poaches a whole chicken, discards the poaching liquid, and then simmers the bird with lightly sautéed vegetables and herbs for about two hours. This method, he says, ensures that the coagulated proteins from the meat and bones “will already be cooked out,” resulting in an unusually clear, golden soup that doesn’t require constant skimming.

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Tying the drumsticks with kitchen twine makes it easier to remove the chicken from the pot. Photograph by David Chow.

Nury’s winter vegetable soup calls for eight cups of the broth, along with root vegetables and a handful of sage. While the ingredient list is simple, the taste is complex, especially if you add a few Parmesan rinds to the pot — which ups the umami — and top it with sourdough croutons fried in sage-infused olive oil. Any remaining stock can be used to deglaze a pan, steam broccoli or cook rice or beans, says Nury, who also relies on broth to add a savoury note “and an extra dose of protein” to his pasta sauce. “It’s the greatest flavour enhancer,” he says — and not just for professional kitchens. At his Westchester County home, the fridge and freezer are brimming with quart containers of the stuff.

Yann Nury’s Chicken Broth and Winter Root Vegetable Soup

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Melting Parmesan rinds into the soup’s base adds viscosity and a deep umami note. Double down on that flavor by sprinkling a few shavings of the cheese, cut with a vegetable peeler, just before serving. Photograph by David Chow.

Chicken Broth

Makes approximately 6 quarts of stock

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken
  • 1 head of garlic
  • 2 large red or sweet onions
  • 3 carrots
  • 2 turnips
  • 1 parsnip
  • A few sprigs each of thyme, oregano and sage, tied together with string into a bouquet garni
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • About 2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Peel the onions and garlic and scrub the other vegetables, then cut them into 1-inch pieces and set aside.

2. Slide the bouquet garni into the cavity of the chicken. Tie the legs of the chicken together with kitchen twine. Bring a 12-quart pot of water to a rapid boil, salt it generously, then submerge the chicken for 5 to 10 minutes, until gray scum, foam or bits of fat rise to the surface. (These can cause unwanted cloudiness in the broth and dull the flavour.) Remove the chicken and discard the water.

3. Add the olive oil and chopped vegetables to the pot. Seasoning to taste with salt and pepper, cook the vegetables until they are soft but not caramelised, about 4 to 5 minutes. Then add the chicken and cover it with water, letting the twine hang out of the pot so that you can easily remove the chicken later. Cover the pot loosely with a lid, leaving about a one-inch gap for steam to escape. Simmer gently for 1.5 to 2 hours. (You can cook longer if you prefer a more intense flavour.)

4. Remove the chicken. (You can shred the meat to use it in other dishes such as a potpie or taquitos.) Strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer for a golden broth.

Note: The above steps can be followed with leftover roast chicken as well. Stock can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week, and in the freezer for a few months.

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Turnips, parsnips and carrots add to the earthy sweetness of butternut squash. Photograph David Chow.

Winter Root Vegetable and Parmesan Soup

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 8 cups chicken stock
  • 3 or 4 dried Parmesan rinds
  • 1 butternut squash
  • 2 parsnips
  • 2 turnips
  • 2 large carrots
  • 1 celery root
  • 1 bunch of sage, tied into a bouquet garni as above
  • About 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste


Garnish

  • 4 slices sourdough bread, cut into small cubes for the croutons
  • Shaved Parmesan cheese
  • About 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • Sage leaves, optional

1. Peel and cut the vegetables into approximately half-inch cubes. Warm the olive oil in a pot over medium-low heat and add the vegetables, seasoning with salt and pepper.

2. When the vegetables begin to soften and release moisture, cover them with stock. Add the bouquet garni of sage and the Parmesan rinds, and simmer until the vegetables are completely soft, about 30 to 35 minutes.

3. While the soup is simmering, fry your sourdough cubes. Toss the bread with olive oil and season with salt, making sure to coat the cubes evenly. Heat a pan to medium-high and add the bread, working in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding. Flip once the undersides are light golden brown, after about a minute, and brown the other side. (For additional flavour, try frying a few sage leaves in olive oil for about 30 seconds, removing them from the pan with a slotted spoon and then frying the bread in the herb-infused oil.)

4. Remove the bundle of sage and the Parmesan rinds from the pot, then serve the soup topped with shaved Parmesan and croutons.

Pixie’s Recipe for Barbequed Diavola Chicken with Fermented Chilli and Salmoriglio

Head chef at Pixie, Diana Desensi, sits down with T Australia to talk about the next generation of Australian hospitality, tropical fruits, and Pixie’s recipe for Barbequed Diavola Chicken.

Article by T Australia

PIXIE RECIPE_6Pixie's Barbequed Diavola Chicken with Fermented Chilli and Salmoriglio. Photography courtesy Pixie Bar & Restaurant.

For Diana Desensi, paving the way for the next generation of hospitality workers isn’t just a personal inclination – Pixie Food & Wine‘s head chef sees it as a duty of care. “I’ve worked hard and am fortunate enough to align with owners and venues who respect my views within the industry and who support me in trying to change the stigma of strong women in the kitchen,” she says. “When you do what we do with no ego and genuine love for the industry without getting you get caught up in the trivial stuff, it’s all actually quite easy.”

Desensi, who joined Pixie’s in-house Byron Bay team in 2022, has known since high school she wanted to work in kitchens. The support of her home economics teacher paved the way for stints at Victorian institutions such as Cargo, Grossi Florentino and Pt Leo Estate, taking on the role of head chef at Montalto in the Mornington Peninsula’s Red Hill. “It was an amazing experience,” says Desnsi of the opportunity to hone her craft beside the restaurant’s culinary consultant Matt Wilkinson before making her sea change to New South Wales’ Northern Rivers region. “We weren’t just cooking the produce, we were planting and harvesting. From my tenure I was able to learn more about produce than I could ever be taught from suppliers.”

Below, Desensi talks with T Australia about the other Australian venues on her radar, her home cooking go-tos and shares the recipe for Pixies’s Barbequed Diavola Chicken with Fermented Chilli and Salmoriglio.

PIXIE RECIPE_7
The interior of Pixie Bar & Restaurant, designed by Flack Studios. Photography by Anson Smart.

On her favourite produce…

As I’ve recently moved to Byron Bay, it’s been so exciting to discover natives and using tropical fruits that were green down the road. Rollinia, finger lime, lemon aspen and pineapple are all in season and heavily stocked in our cool room.

My favourite producers are Lauren and Lachie from Bundarra Butchery. I’ve spent a bit of time on her farm in Barham, once you understand the time and dedication it takes to produce quality ingredients it’s our duty of care to do it justice on the plate. At the moment I’m using the pig head to make a croquette with horseradish and pickles as a snack.

On cooking at home…

I absolutely love cooking at home, it’s completely different to work as there are no time constraints and nothing chaotic happening around me. I cook with vegetables, a wholemeal galette with a swirl of bitter greens and goats cheese is my go-to. Or pasta, naturally.

PIXIE RECIPE_1
A glass station inside Byron Bay's Pixie Bar & Restaurant, designed by Flack Studios. Photography by Anson Smart.
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A corner seat at Pixie Bar & Restaurant, designed by Flack Studios. Photography by Anson Smart.

On unwinding after service…

My unwind starts as soon as the kitchen closes after service. I try to avoid alcohol, so it’s a big bottle of mineral water while the team are having their beer. Here, we chat about life in between doing orders and discussing new food ideas.

On what excites her about the industry…

The hospitality landscape in Byron Bay has experienced quite a dramatic change in recent years. To be a part of that trajectory is really exciting! I love feeding people with the things I like, and having that kind of creative freedom in a platform like Pixie Food & Wine is an absolute dream gig.

On the other venues on his radar …

I’ve been keeping it local after moving from Melbourne. I’m really excited about Pipit, Ben’s food is forward-thinking and really beautiful. They offer discounts to apprentices as a way of teaching. Training the next generation of chefs is really important to me so I’m big fan of any business who invests in people that way. Our mates across the lane at Bar Heather excel at hospitality. In general, a half martini with a snack from Ollie has become iconic amongst us chefs. Back home powerhouse Telina Menzies kills the game at being an executive chef, as a strong female lead in the industry she is someone I’m continually bouncing ideas off.

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Table mise-en-scène at Pixie Bar & Restaurant. Photography by Anson Smart.
Unique joinery beside the wine shelving, designed by Flack Studios. Photography by Anson Smart.
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The interior of Pixie Bar & Restaurant, designed by Flack Studios. Photography by Anson Smart.

Pixie’s Recipe for Barbequed Diavola Chicken with Fermented Chilli and Salmoriglio

Serves 4 

Chicken Brine

1 litre water
70 cup brown sugar
80 grams of salt
1 tbs coriander seed
1 tbs pepper corn
1 tbs fennel seed
2 cloves garlic, smashed or pressed
½ onion quartered
1 chicken butterflied then halved

Method

Add all together and bring to boil (apart from the chicken).

Place aside to cool down before placing in the fridge.

Once the brine is cold add the chicken and return to the fridge to brine for 24 hours.

 

Diavolo Marinade

100gm mixed red chilli (cleaned, stalk off and making sure there are no rotten parts)
10gm chilli flakes
2 cloves garlic
300ml grape seed oil
5g dried oregano
5g salt
50ml white wine vinegar
2gm pepper
100gm sweet paprika for dusting

Method

In a large trays place all ingredients (except the sweet paprika) spread out evenly.

Cover with foil and roast at 140c for 1 hour or till the chillies are tender.

Remove from the oven and leave in the tray for 24 hours.

The next day, strain the chilli and blend til they are smooth but still have a little texture to them. Place in a tray and set aside.

Place the paprika in tray and dust the chicken halves well. Place in the tray with the chilli sauce and smother the chicken well between your hands, make sure you get into all the crevasse.

Cover and leave in the fridge to marinate over night.

Chicken

Remove the chicken from the brine and dry well.

On a barbeque on high place the chicken skin side down, cook till dark and smoky before turning it and cooking it flesh side down. Try not to cook it flesh side down too long as you will damage the flesh as it is more delicate than the skin.

Once the chicken is cooked. Rest for 10-15 min before slicing and serving.

Christmas Lunch Is Sorted with Chiswick’s Recipe for Honey Glazed Ham

The restaurant’s former head chef talks with T Australia about summer produce, the chefs on his radar, and the secret to baking Chiswick’s Berkshire honey glazed ham.

Article by Victoria Pearson

Chiswick Christmas Collective_Berkshire honey glazed ham 4_cred Cole BennettsChiswick's Christmas Berkshire honey glazed ham. Photograph by Cole Bennetts.

When it comes to Christmas lunch (or dinner, or breakfast), it’s tough to beat a classic ham. The glossy, dramatic centrepiece for any prototypical Dickensian festive banquet, a well-prepared ham should be moist, but not wet, and strike a delicate balance of salt and sweetness – something Chiswick’s former head chef, Daniel Cooper, knows all too well.

In the lead up to the holidays, T Australia stole a few minutes of Cooper’s time to talk about his pathway to the Sydney hospitality institution, his favourite ingredients to cook with at the moment and, of course, the secrets to the restaurant’s Berkshire Honey Glazed Ham, Mustard and Spice.

Chiswick_Daniel Cooper & Matt Moran 2_Cred Cole Bennetts
Chiswick's Daniel Cooper and Matt Moran. Photograph by Cole Bennetts.

On becoming a chef…

I started in the Hunter Valley, once I started with such a diverse kitchen team, hearing their stories of travel and food discovery along the way, I was hooked.

On maintaining drive…

Hospitality is an exciting and rewarding industry, working closely with top producers and seeing just how hard they work to give us incredible ingredients and showcasing them. They definitely make us look good.

On unwinding after service…

After a busy service, nothing beats a nice piece of cheese and stone fruit relish.

On his favourite ingredients to cook with…

Spring-summer is an amazing time to be cooking, the garden at Chiswick is full of produce. Malfroy’s honey from the Blue Mountains is one of the first producers I was introduced to in Sydney, amazing honey!

Chiswick Christmas Collective_Berkshire honey glazed ham 2_cred Cole Bennetts
Photograph by Cole Bennetts.

On cooking at home…

I keep it simple and fresh at home, usually something inspired by the Mediterranean coastline and cooking on the BBQ.

On other venues on his radar…

Recently moving from Melbourne, I’m excited to discover the Sydney food scene on a more local basis. There are some great things happening in the hospitality world and plenty more yet to find.

On the chefs he’s following…

Jac Challinor from the Nomad Group is doing great things across Sydney and Melbourne, including the recently opened Reine & La Rue.

Chiswick Recipe for Berkshire Honey Glazed Ham with Mustard and Spice

Serves 8-10

Leftover tip: The great thing about Christmas ham is you are still eating it for breakfast, or on sandwiches, for a week after Christmas! Storage notes below.

Ingredients

1 good quality leg of ham (3-4kg) – I prefer black Berkshire hams
30 cloves, for studding
250g brown sugar
1tsp star anise powder
1stp coriander seed, crushed
2tbs mustard powder
60ml pineapple juice
60ml cider vinegar
60ml Malfroy’s gold yellow box honey

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 180-degrees. Remove the skin from the ham, leaving the fat on.

Score the fat with a knife in a criss-cross pattern, then place a clove in the centre of each diamond.

Mix the sugar, mustard, spices, pineapple juice, vinegar and honey, and place into a saucepan. Bring to a simmer until the sugar is melted.

Place the ham on a baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the fat starts to brown.

Reduce oven to 150-degrees and brush the ham with the glaze. Continue to bake for 20 mins (or until caramelised).

Repeat this process – a rich caramelised glaze should be building over the ham fat. Keep doing this process until the entire glaze has been used and ham has a nice rich caramel colour.

Remove the ham from the oven and allow to rest for hour before carving.

If storing leftover ham, place in a ham bag or pillowcase and store in the fridge for up to four days.

A Simple Baked Potato, With a Luxurious Twist

The French-born chef Yann Nury shares a festive take on a classic American comfort food.

Article by Lauren Joseph

potatoesNury is known for his technical prowess, but this simple potato recipe has been surprisingly popular with diners. “It’s the signature dish of one of my favorite clients at her residences in Paris and New York,” he says. Photograph by David Chow.

Caviar purists suggest that the ideal way to enjoy a hit of the briny roe is atop something starchy and a little rich. A blini, plucked from a passing cocktail tray, will do. But so will the humble potato. The New York-based chef Yann Nury, 41, describes it, in fact, as “the ideal receptacle for a noble product.” And unlike a bite-size canapé, a caviar-adorned jacket potato is both luxurious and comforting.

To make his version, Nury, who previously worked for Daniel Boulud, uses the Yukon Gold variety. The standard choice for a baked potato is a floury type, like the ubiquitous Russet. But the Yukon Gold’s slightly dense texture — what Nury calls its “natural creaminess” — allows you to reduce the amount of fat you add later, he says. Perfect, he explains, because you want “to keep the purity of the potato flavour.”

Nury roasts the potatoes until they’re tawny, then slices them open, carefully scooping out the flesh and folding tangy crème fraîche, olive oil, lemon zest and chives through it. Then, he spoons the mixture back into the crisp potato skins. His recipe calls for an extra potato to use for the filling, so that each of the three finished ones will be indulgently plump once restuffed. After a second round in the oven, the potatoes are topped with a dollop of caviar, preserved lemon, more chives, dill or fennel fronds.

“I love starting with ingredients or dishes that are unchallenging and familiar, and bringing special touches to them,” Nury says. He’d never had a baked potato until moving from France to America in his twenties, but “crème fraîche is what I grew up with,” he says. He prefers it to the thinner, more predictable sour cream and balances its richness with Espelette pepper, a mild chili grown in southwest France that he describes as a “flavor enhancer” rather than dominatingly spicy. “A potato is a potato and steak should be a steak,” he says. “My job as a cook is to elevate these flavours.”

Yann Nury’s Twice Baked Potatoes With Caviar

Makes 3 stuffed potatoes

Ingredients 

  • 4 Yukon Gold potatoes (one potato per person, plus one additional for the filling)

  • 3 tablespoons crème fraîche

  • ½ lemon, zested

  • About 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (plus more to taste)

  • 1 small bunch of chives, finely chopped

  • ¼ teaspoon Espelette pepper

  • Fleur de sel

  • 3 heaping teaspoons Golden Kaluga Caviar

  • Additional toppings, such as fennel fronds, dill, more chives or diced preserved lemon

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scrub the potatoes thoroughly to remove any dirt and dust — you want to be able to eat the skin. Dry very well with a towel, then poke a few holes in each with a fork to avoid the buildup of steam. Coat the skins evenly with olive oil and sea salt. Medium potatoes will take 45 minutes to bake; large ones will take around 60. After 30 minutes, flip the potatoes so the skins crisp up evenly. They’re finished when they can be pierced easily and they have crisp, golden skin. Let them cool slightly, for 10 minutes or so, but not all the way.

2. Prepare the filling. Make a cut along the length of each potato and gently press the two edges to open. Carefully spoon out as much flesh as possible into a mixing bowl. Set the skins aside. Add to the bowl the crème fraîche, the lemon zest, around a tablespoon of olive oil, chopped chives to taste, the Espelette pepper and a pinch of salt. Take care with the salt as the caviar will also add salinity. Mix well with a fork or whisk — you’re looking for a chunky texture; don’t overmix. The filling can be prepared up to two days in advance and stored in the fridge along with the skins, which should be covered in plastic wrap.

3. Spoon the filling into three potato skins until they’re full (remember you will be left with an extra potato skin). The filling should plump the skin and it will expand during reheating. Use the inside of a large spoon to shape and smooth the filling. You can cover the stuffed potato with plastic for a day and recook it, or go straight to the next step.

4. Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Bake the stuffed potatoes for 20 to 30 minutes to warm them and add some color to the filling. Remove them from the oven and cover them generously with your toppings of choice and a dollop of caviar. Serve as is, or atop a few spoonfuls of gently warmed crème fraîche, seasoned with olive oil and lemon zest.

Recipe: Make Chin Chin’s Signature Massaman Beef Curry At Home

The restaurant serves over 500 portions of this dish each week. Now, with its inclusion in the new cookbook “Still Hungry”, you can recreate it at home.

Article by Hollie Wornes

Massaman curryMassaman curry. Image courtesy of Chin Chin.

When Chin Chin first opened in 2011, the Thai-inspired restaurant took Melbourne by storm. From day one, patrons lined up around the block, drawn to its neon-lit GoGo Bar and modern twist on traditional favourites. Six years later and the restaurant’s popularity led to the opening of a second Chin Chin in Sydney. Behind this Asian diner is entrepreneur Chris Lucas, who has since expanded, creating a diverse stable of restaurants that sit under Lucas Restaurants.

Beyond just excellent food, Chin Chin has established itself as a recognisable brand, branching into retail products and cookbooks. The latest release, “Chin Chin: Still Hungry”, marks the brand’s third iteration.

To celebrate this milestone, executive head chef Benjamin Cooper is taking the book on tour, visiting Sydney, Melbourne, Geelong, Adelaide, Canberra and Tasmania to showcase some of the restaurant’s most sought-after dishes. Still Hungry: On Tour includes expert talks, collaborations and master classes. Before Cooper hit the road, we caught up with him to get insights on what to expect, where he generously shared one of the brand’s most popular recipes: Massaman Beef Curry — over 500 servings of which fly off the pass each week.

Chin Chin Still Hungry Ben Cooper
Chin Chin executive head chef Benjamin Cooper with the new cookbook Chin Chin Still Hungry. Photograph courtesy of Chin Chin.

Can you give us an overview of what readers can expect from the latest collection of recipes in “Chin Chin Still Hungry”?

“The opportunity to write a third book was super exciting and we really wanted to give back to all our guests who have supported us over the years. Essentially, it’s an all-in guide to cooking Chin Chin at home that shows you how to harness the restaurant’s signature flavours for your own kitchen. We give you the secrets to all these sauces, dressings, relishes and whole dishes that have come to define my cooking and the food of Chin Chin.”

Is there a particular dish or recipe from the cookbook that you’re especially excited to prepare and share with attendees when on tour?

“Honestly, it’s just super exciting to be able to take the book on tour and share it with everyone. I can’t wait to teach people how to make the coconut chilli bomb that goes with the hot, sour seafood soup, or to introduce them to dishes like the grilled broccolini with sesame mayonnaise and the barbecue pork rib-eye with tomato nahm jim, which I know are going to be instant faves.”

What’s the one cooking utensil you can’t live without and why?

“A mortar and pestle — it’s hands down the best value piece of kitchen equipment you can buy.”

Chin Chin’s Massaman Beef Curry

Ingredients 

750gr beef brisket, cut into 3 equal portion
1⁄2 cup (125ml) kecap manis
1⁄3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil 400ml coconut cream, plus extra to garnish
large pinch of salt
1⁄3 cup Massaman Curry Paste 
1–2 golden or red shallots, sliced
80gr fresh pineapple, chopped
1 tbsp grated palm sugar
70gr peanuts, chopped, plus 2 tbsp extra, chopped, to garnish
2–3 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp Tamarind Water
3 kipfler potatoes, boiled, peeled, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 tbsp Crispy Shallots to garnish
roti to serve

Braising liquid

2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 knobs galangal, chopped
1 stalk lemongrass (pale part only), chopped
1 long red chilli, chopped
1⁄4 red onion, chopped
11⁄4 cups (310ml) coconut cream 2 cups (500ml) water
1⁄2 cup (125ml) chicken stock
1⁄3 cup (80ml) fish sauce
50gr grated palm sugar 

Method

1. Place the beef in a dish and brush all over with the kecap manis. Set aside for a few hours or overnight, if possible, to marinate. Wipe off any excess sauce, then heat a frying pan over medium heat with a little oil, add the beef and pan-sear on all sides until golden. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, get the braising liquid started by heating the oil in a large, heavy- based ovenproof dish over medium heat. Add the galangal, lemongrass, chilli and red onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes to release the aromas, then add the coconut cream, water, stock, fish sauce and palm sugar. Bring to the boil, ensuring the sugar dissolves, then simmer for 2–3 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 150°C. Add the beef to the dish of braising liquid, then cover and place in the oven. Braise for about 3 hours or until very tender. Turn off the heat and leave the brisket to cool in the liquid. Once cooled, remove the beef, reserving the liquid, and cut into large bite-sized pieces.

4. To a heavy-based pan over medium heat, add half the coconut cream, 2 tbsp
of the oil and a large pinch of salt. Once the cream starts to separate and the oils split out, add the curry paste and increase the heat slightly. You’ll begin to smell
the spices cooking straight away, but because the paste is made from mainly hard ingredients it will take a while to cook out properly (about 1 hour). The paste will also start to split when it’s nearly done. While it’s cooking, continue to stir the curry so that it doesn’t stick to the pan and burn.

5. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a separate frying pan and slowly cook the shallot until golden. Add the pineapple and cook for about 15–20 minutes until jammy, then add the palm sugar and cook for a further 5 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a separate frying pan and slowly cook the shallot until golden. Add the pineapple and cook for about 15–20 minutes until jammy, then add the palm sugar and cook for a further 5 minutes.

7. Add 1/2 cup (125ml) of the reserved braising liquid and bring to the boil. Stir through the remaining coconut cream, the peanuts and half of the fish sauce and tamarind water. Simmer for 5 minutes to give the sauce a nutty flavour, taste to check seasoning and balance with fish sauce and/or tamarind water as needed. You might even like to add some extra coconut cream.

8. Add the potato and simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in the beef and continue to simmer for a couple of minutes, ensuring the meat is warmed through.

9. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with coconut cream, crispy shallots and peanuts, and serve with roti on the side.

Still Hungry: On Tour

Below find the tour itinerary so far — click through for info and tickets:

Chin Chin, Melbourne

Merricks General Store, Mornington Peninsula

  • Thu 10 Oct: Dinner Party – SOLD OUT

Chin Chin, Sydney

Club Chin Chin, Geelong

Arkhé, Adelaide

Carlotta, Canberra

  • Sun 10 Nov: Dinner Party – SOLD OUT
  • Mon 11 Nov: Dinner Party – SOLD OUT
  • Tue 12 Nov: Dinner Party – SOLD OUT

Be the first to hear about more events in Canberra

Simple Recipes Using Food “Scraps” by “Ex-MasterChef Australia” Contestant Mandy Hall

From Carrot Top Tabbouleh to homemade vinegar from apple scraps, these easy recipes will make you rethink tossing out your “waste”.

Article by Hollie Wornes

Recipes to make with food scrapsImage courtesy of Canva.

Before cabbage was served in a jar and kimchi was on every breakfast plate in Sydney, there was Mandy Hall: a former “MasterChef Australia” contender known for championing fermentation before it became cool. She starred on Season 11 in 2019, and had the opportunity to cook alongside renowned chefs like Curtis Stone and serve dishes for Nigella Lawson. While these moments were significant during the show, Hall’s impact has continued well beyond the time the cameras were rolling.

She became known for her innovative cooking style and commitment to sustainability, particularly her emphasis on reducing food waste. Fast forward five years and Hall is now the campaign director for End Food Waste Australia, a leading organisation dedicated to addressing food waste issues across the country. Its mission is to raise awareness about the impact of food waste on the environment and the economy, while promoting sustainable and simple practices to reduce it. 

Hall emphasises the urgency of a collective wake-up call for Australians akin to the Cancer Council’s “Slip, Slop, Slap” campaign that launched in 1981 and changed our behaviour around sun safety. “We need that same level of awareness when it comes to food waste,” Hall says. She regards the change as a grassroots movement, “something positive, relatable and empowering. Something easy. Something that can even be a source of pride for people to own and talk about.

As part of our “Style” issue, Hall offered up some of her simple recipes that anyone can try at home.

Mandy Hall
The innovative chef Mandy Hall. Photograph courtesy of Mandy Hall.

Mandy Hall’s Vinegar Made From Apple Scraps

Ingredients

Apple peels and scraps from approximately 6—8 apples (incl. cores)
3tbs sugar
enough water to cover all the scraps

Equipment 

A 1 litre or larger glass jar
A breathable cloth  (like a chux cloth, cheesecloth or paper towel).
A rubber band or string

Method

1. Make sure your jar has been washed in hot, soapy and rinsed well.

2. Place the apple scraps in the jar, filling it about halfway.

3. In a separate container, mix the sugar with a small amount of warm water (about 1 cup) until dissolved.

4. Pour the sugar water over the apple scraps and then add enough additional water to cover the scraps completely, leaving an inch or so of airspace at the top of the jar.

5. Cover the opening of the jar with the breathable cloth and secure it with a rubber band. This allows air to circulate while keeping out any dust and insects.

6. Place the jar in a dark place at room temperature.

7. Stir the mixture daily to keep the scraps submerged and to incorporate air, which is important for fermentation and the development of acetic acid. Try and make sure the scraps are staying under the water.

Fermentation Process

1. After about 1—2 weeks, you should see bubbles forming, indicating fermentation. Taste the mixture; it should start to have a slight tang. If it still tastes sweet, let it ferment longer.

2. Once bubbling has stopped (probably another 7 days) and the mixture tastes sour, strain out the solids using a colander lined with cheesecloth. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the scraps.

3. Pour the strained liquid back into the jar and cover it again with the cloth. Let it ferment for another 2—4 weeks, tasting periodically until it reaches your desired acidity.

4. Once the vinegar is ready, transfer it to a clean bottle with a lid. Store it in a cool, dark place or in the refrigerator, where it can last for up to a year.

Mandy Hall’s Carrot Top Tabbouleh

Ingredients

1 cup of cooked gratin (can be bulgar, quinoa, rice, buckwheat, or a couscous)
2—3 cups of clean and chopped carrot tops
1 cup of chopped tomatoes
1 cup of finely diced carrots
1/4 cup of finely diced mint
2—3 spring onions finally sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing

1/4 cup of olive oil
3 tbs lemon juice
1 clove of garlic minced

Method

1. Mix all ingredients (except dressing) in a large bowl.

2. Mix dressing ingredients in a jar with lid on.

3. Combine Salad and dressing and eat fresh.

food scrap recipes
The handwritten recipe from Mandy Hall.