Issue Twenty Four SUMMER
SANDOS

Editor’s Letter

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Editor’s
Letter

 
 

The humble sandwich takes centre stage for our summer issue – and what better way to celebrate summer than with a sandwich?! Make ahead, pack for picnics, bring to the beach or roll out a platter for a party – they really are the ultimate finger food.


 
 
The wonderful thing about the sandwich is its ability to transcend the sector – from high end venues (hello Ester’s blood sausage sanga and Fleet’s veal schnitty sanga) to your local corner store and café. And almost every country has a version – from shawarma to souvlaki, kebabs to katsu, banh mi to bocadillos, po boys to paninis, hoagies to hamburgers, tortas to toasties, and the list goes on.
 
In Pat’s Picks, Pat explores the origins of the Italian Beef Sandwich – a Chicago culinary icon depicted in the hit Disney + series The Bear. Australia’s adaption of American sandwiches is well established – so why the lack of delicious Italian Beefs on the menu? Sandwich legends Hector’s Deli show us their version – all pickley, juicy, beefy goodness. Come on Australia, bring us more of THE BEEF.
 
Mark Best argues the case for getting back to basics and realising the opportunities of sub-primaling lamb legs in house for his Best Practice column. Then, he fires up the hibachi to grill up the ultimate Summer Lamb Silverside Sando – and, as usual, Mr Best does not disappoint.
 
For What’s Good in the Hood Myffy Rigby explores the ultimate Australian Summer destination – the iconic Bondi Beach. Absolutely buzzing with incredible food options – we pick some of our favourites to showcase – a culmination of old and new, iconic and evolving – and all very, very delicious.
 
Hot Plates showcases some of the coolest red meat dishes around the country and this time hinterland hot spot The Eltham Hotel and Adelaide’s number 1 restaurant Botanic step into the spotlight, Now, whilst not strictly a sandwich – mopping up your plate with a puffy Yorkshire pudding is a pretty good alternative.
 
In Tasty Meats we’re back on the sandwich bandwagon – to Melbourne we go to visit the pita palace that is Miznon, where fall apart lamb ribs are stuffed into fluffy white pita with all the trimmings. And then back to Sydney to the local’s lounge room Chester White who’s take on a bruschetta is not what you’d expect it to be.
 
Sandwiches are the star of the show in venues everywhere – and a summer staple where the possibilities are endless. There really is no limit to the flavours and cuisines you can jam between some bread – but the best place to start of course is with beautiful Australian beef and lamb.
 
 

Mary-Jane Morse
 
Meat & Livestock Australia
[email protected]
@_raremedium

 

Copyright: this publication is published by Meat & Livestock Australia Limited ABN 39 081 678 364 (MLA).

Pat’s Picks

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“Honestly, Italian Beef is the one thing that represents Chicago the best, even more than pizza.”

 
 
That’s my pal Steve Dolinsky talking. I don’t know anyone who knows more about food in Chicago than Steve – he’s the food reporter on NBC 5 there. He also is also the author of The Ultimate Chicago Pizza Guide, he does Chicago pizza tours, podcasts and a Chicago pizza festival, so when he says the Italian beef is not only a thing, but a bigger thing than pizza, it’s the real thing. “Pizza has been around for a long time, but the Italian beef is truly FROM here, and it’s nearly impossible to find in any other US city done properly.”

The Italian Beef - a champion of Chicago culinary culture

The Italian Beef – a champion of Chicago culinary culture

The keen-eyed reader will have also noticed Steve’s face stuck on the wall of a certain fictional Chicago restaurant. Yep, season one, episode two: that’s Dolinsky’s cameo in The Beef. And that’s why we’re talking about it right now. Despite Australia’s love affair over the last few years with the regional foods of the US, it’s only been since the show that this sandwich has gained any real conversational currency here. And it’s only been at Hector’s Deli, really, that it’s been getting some play – even there, just as a promotional special cooked up for the show.
 
When they got the brief from Disney+ and Broadsheet to create the special, the Hector’s team’s secret weapon, says Joe Farrell, head of culinary operations at Hector’s, was a relative of owner Dom Wilton. Wilton’s Chicagoan uncle-in-law, Stephen, gave them directions and feedback, and that, along with some taste-tests, a close study of The Bear and some YouTubes from the show’s culinary consultant, Courtney “Coco” Storer and Matty Matheson, plus a dash of Hector’s style resulted in a sandwich that was a fitting tribute to the Italian beef, but still recognisably a Hector’s creation.
 
“We made our own seasoning mix and 100-per cent sourdough hoagies, added horseradish mayonnaise (a Hector’s classic) and some sharp, thinly sliced provolone cheese,” says Farrell. “We wanted to show off our version of the sandwich, but we also didn’t want to go so far as to dilute what the real thing is meant to be. Using high quality, house-made ingredients we knew the sandwich was going to be good, but was it a Hector’s sandwich? We wanted it to be fatty, juicy and pickley, and by adding a few touches it really became a medley of classic and new flavours that I can’t imagine any Chicagoan wouldn’t love.”

Joe Farrell head of culinary operations at Hector’s Deli

Joe Farrell head of culinary operations at Hector’s Deli

And the real thing, back in Chicago? In short, it’s a sandwich born out of necessity, created by working-class Italians in Chicago in the early 20th century to make cheaper meat and bread go further. At its simplest it’s a sandwich of very finely cut slow-cooked lean beef on gravy-soaked French bread, usually served with peppers and Italian pickles. 
 
Our Chicago correspondent Steve Dolinsky has some you-gottas for you here. “You gotta have firm, sturdy Italian or French loaves,” he says. “But not with hard crusts, like a baguette; they need to absorb the jus when you dip them, but not fall apart.
 
“You gotta have slightly steamed or sautéed green bell peppers, sliced or chopped for even distribution. You gotta have giardiniera – when you order a ‘beef, sweet, hot’, you’re talking a beef with sweet bell peppers and hot giardiniera.” The giardiniera you’ll encounter in a beef shop in Chicago, Dolinsky says, will typically be a pickle of sport peppers (the green peppers you’ll also see on a Chicago hot dog), cauliflower, carrots and celery.
 
“And you gotta have a well-seasoned jus or gravy. Garlic and oregano are key.” The beef takes a brief bath in it before going into the sandwich. Dolinsky’s go-to order is usually ‘beef, sweet, hot, dipped’ or ‘beef, sweet, hot, juicy’, “which means please dip the sides of the sandwich into the jus just before serving it”.
 
Then, of course, there’s the meat. “You gotta roast top round beef with lots of garlic for hours, until it softens, let it cool completely, then use a professional meat slicer when it’s cool to get those thin shavings. You can’t hand-cut an Italian beef.”

What’s the difference between a regular beef and a great one? For Dolinsky, it’s the thinness of the meat slices (“you really need it paper thin”), it’s the time the meat spends in the jus (“you can’t let it sit in the jus all day, so you need to visit places with high turnover”) and the way the peppers are distributed (“most places just place a hunk of green bell pepper on a ‘beef, sweet’ but the best places will add chopped peppers for better eating and chewing”). For the record, his top spot is Johnnie’s in Elmwood Park, but it’s technically outside the city limits, so if we’re going by the book, in the city proper, it’s Bob-O’s on West Irving Park Road.
 
What of The Bear, and the beefs that feature prominently in season one? “There’s literally no one making their own bread in these places – they’re small with no room for baking – that’s Hollywood,” Dolinsky says, “but the rest of what I’ve seen seems legit.”
 
And what about the life portrayed in The Bear? Joe Farrell has an interesting take on it, having done something like the reverse of Carmy, the main character. He started out in fancy restaurants (Gerard’s and Esquire in Brisbane and Lume in Melbourne among them) before making the switch to the sandwich life at Hector’s in January of 2023.
 
“After 12 years of working in dinner-focused restaurants around Australia I was really starting to feel the cuts and burns as well as the 1am deep-cleans,” he says. “Not to say you can’t have a good work-life balance working dinner service and late nights, and I have plenty of friends who live a great life that way, but for me, the opportunity to make that change while also being able to serve food, and work for a business that I’m proud of was the perfect chance for me to make that change.”
 
Farrell says The Bear team has nailed a lot of the flavour of day-to-day hospitality. “From the pressure and intensity, the passion and devotion/desperation, to having something breaking down on you all the time, I’d say they’ve done a great job.” Yes, chef.

 
 

Best Practice

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DIY: LAMB LEG

 
 

Lamb stands as an exceptionally versatile ingredient yet as chefs, are we truly harnessing the full potential of the entire carcase?

As a young chef in the UK an old butcher taught me a salient lesson – “Mark, anyone can sell the best but what counts is selling the rest.”
 
From a deft butcher’s blade, a lamb carcase can yield a multitude of prime and secondary cuts while presenting an opportunity for yield, value, and creativity. However, only a handful of prime cuts consistently grace our menus.
 
The familiar hits include the rack, loin, and oyster-cut shoulder, while the supporting roles mostly fall to the necks and shanks. This represents a missed opportunity for your customers, not to mention keeping the price of those hero cuts inflated and often unavailable.

Cooking composite muscle groups like square-cut shoulders or whole legs has its merits, however the compromises render them less suitable for contemporary restaurant kitchens. Understandably, chefs lean towards the superior portion control and cooking consistency offered by single-muscle cuts.

While I’m a fool for a slow roasted French long leg as the centre piece of a long lunch – I’m also a vociferous proponent for splitting it into more manageable parts. Chump, topside, silverside, knuckle, and shank – with a bonus bone for the dog – allows precise cooking, a variety of delicious techniques and portion control.
 
As dedicated professionals in this craft, we possess the ability to delve deeper into the untapped potential of the lamb carcase. By working a little harder to incorporate these less-celebrated cuts into our culinary arsenal, we not only hold true to the core principles of our metier, but also contribute to a more responsible, sustainable, and resource-conscious kitchen culture. Have at it.
 
Best Practice is intended to be an advice column – but perhaps I’ve come across a little preachy here. Nevertheless, I have taken my own advice, sub-primaled the lamb leg, fired up the hibachi and grilled the silverside to create the perfect summer sando.
 
Now, won’t you do the same?

SUMMER LAMB SILVERSIDE SANDO

Serves 4

Lamb Ingredients

 
1 lamb silverside
Sprig thyme
Zest of a lemon
25ml olive oil
25ml tamari
8 green shallots
1 tsp Murray River salt
1/2 tsp sansho powder
4 Japanese style long milk buns
 

Method

 
Thinly slice the lamb leaving the fat on. Mix with the thyme, zest, olive oil and tamari and allow to macerate for 30 minutes. Thread a slice or two onto the end of 8 skewers.
 
Fire up the hibachi with best quality hardwood charcoal.
 
Trim the shallots and divide in half. Toss in a little oil and season with salt. Grill the shallots until softening.
 
Season the lamb with a little salt and sancho pepper then grill to medium rare.
Split the buns and add the shallots and lamb. Top with a tablespoon of aioli.

Aioli Ingredients

 
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 egg yolk
1 tsp salt
125ml new season’s olive oil juice
½ lemon
 

Method

 
Place the garlic and salt into a mortar and pestle * and grind to a viscous paste.
 
Add the egg yolk and mix well. Slowly add the olive oil at the start and increase in volume as you mix.
 
Add the lemon juice and refrigerate if not using immediately. Will last several days but best now while it is pungent.
 
* You can of course use a blender however it makes a very different product as the mortar and pestle doesn’t incorporate air into the emulsion, allowing a brilliant yellow/green hue redolent of the yolk and olive oil.

What’s Good in the Hood

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BONDI

 

No other suburb encapsulates Postcard Perfect Sydney quite like this beachside village – even when filming in sideways rain and blistering wind.

 
The city’s best-looking suburb on and off the beach, here’s what’s Good in the Bondi Hood.

THE PROMENADE

 
Bondi Pavilion Shop, 4a Queen Elizabeth Drive, Bondi Beach
promenadebondibeach.com
 
This is some serious Bondi real estate. The Promenade, the largest beachside restaurant in Australia no less, is a neutral pallet of creams and beiges against the azure of Bondi Beach. Find it inside the heritage listed Bondi Pavilion, which has been a mainstay in one form or another of the beachside community since 1911
 
Equally, chef Chris Benedet (ex-Cirrus) offers up a very serious beef tartare. He mixes hand-chopped Westholme wagyu with a mix of pickled enoki mushrooms, mirin-soaked capers, fine herbs and house-fermented chilli and tops it all off with an egg yolk. On the side, smashed herby potatoes and an orb of puffy bread. Perfect carb-to-meat ratio.

TOTTI’S

 
283 Bondi Road, Bondi
merivale.com
 
Owner Justin Hemmes and executive chef Mike Eggert have most definitely cracked the code when it comes to that elusive combo of ‘beach pub, but make it fancy, delicious and approachable’. Find this unicorn out the back of the Royal Hotel. It’s the mix of cream linen in the restaurant and high viz during tradie hour in the main bar that makes Totti’s so very good. That, and the tender wagyu schnitzel served with a watercress side salad and a cheek of lemon.
 
Elsewhere, there’s the venue top-seller of gentle lamb ragu tossed through silky, house-made pappardelle, and the heftier smoked brisket ravioli. Can’t snag a rez in Bondi? There’s also Totti’s in the CBD, and Totti’s Rozelle.

ICEBERGS DINING ROOM AND BAR

 
1 Notts Avenue, Bondi Beach
idrb.com
 
Welcome to Icebergs, restaurateur Maurice Terzini’s stunning cliffside restaurant where there are no bad views, and no bad snacks. Underneath the restaurant, there’s the Bondi Icebergs pool, famous for its swimmers who pound the lanes year-round. Indulge under executive chef Alex Prichard, with the signature salt-crusted rib eye steak and tableside mustard service. The dining room is a make-a-booking-or-be-sorely-disappointed kinda deal, and for good reason. Between that breezy Italian-leaning menu, linen-clad staff and those ocean views, it’s a hot ticket.
 
After a recent renovation, the bar has become a draw in-and-of itself. It’s here you’ll find a juicy cheeseburger on a potato bun, hotdog with perfect snap, a rump cap steak, and a lineup of very delicious cocktails. No need to book, just drop by from the beach for a serve of skin-on skinny fries with those same stunning view. Bliss.

THE DEPOT

 
132A Warners Avenue, Bondi Beach
link.com.au
 
Bondi has always been a strange but fabulous mix of wellnessmania and party vibes. And nowhere recognises that quite the way they do at the Depot. Guy (you might recognise the chef, surfer and free-diver from his show, Bondi Harvest) and Heather Turland (former gold medal marathon runner) run the joint.
 
It’s more than a cafe, it’s a hub where locals and visitors alike stop by for a green smoothie or a margarita; a 12-hour braised brisket, cheese and chilli jam toastie; or chai infused porridge. A chocolate, jam and almond croissant (so wrong it’s right) or a red rice nourish bowl. It’s that high-low mix that has people coming back. That, and a dining room that feels more like a lounge room filled with plants and cookbooks, surf mags and the smell of fresh-baked goods. Drag us away.

TAQIZA

 
The Hub at 75, Shop UG.03/79 Hall Street, Bondi Beach
taqiza.com.au
 
Taco party by name, taco party by nature. This mini taqueria, down the Hub precinct where you’ll also find Pasticceria Papa, Gelato Messina, and Da Orazio (more on that later), services the area with a staggering mescal and tequila selection (try the Tommy’s margarita), not to mention the birria taco. A specialty of Jalisco, that’s slow cooked beef served with a tomato-y dried chilli and coriander-heavy broth. That beef, all shredded and pull-apart tender, is combined with Oaxaca cheese, and placed on a fresh tortilla, painted in beef fat and then grilled till crisp. It’s served with that broth on the side, which is further amped up with chickpeas and egg noodles. Hot, spicy, moreish. Or check out Carbon, the group’s newly renovated Mexican steak house concept on Bondi Rd.

BONDI TRATT

 
34 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach
bonditrattoria.com.au
 
One of Bondi’s oldest running and most loved venues. Affordable, casual and all-welcoming, chef Joe Pavlovich dishes up a menu that speaks to the all-day vibe of the place. A venue that’s long been loved by Sydney hospitality and Bondi locals as a recovery spot, staff here know how to deal with tender customers.
 
Try the lamb kofta pizza – parmesan, provolone, cavalo nero, kalamata olives, caramelised onion and spicy lamb mince, and a drizzle of harissa spiked yoghurt combine to offer an oozy, cheesy, hot and spicy combo guaranteed to bring the most lifeless soul back from the dead. All in a room directly across the road from the beach. Take a swim, book a table, rule the day.

DA ORAZIO

 
The Hub, Boheme, Shop LG 09, 75/79 Hall Street, Bondi Beach
daorazio.com.au/
 
Plenty will know chef Orazio D’elia for his focaccia and woodfired pizza – and well they should, those puffy, blistered bases are hard to beat. But consider also the arrosticini – the Abbruzzese special sees tiny pieces of salty lamb skewered and cooked gently over charcoal, served in their own ceramic skewer jug, ready for a squeeze of lemon. There’s also the wagyu collar ragu tossed and layered with silky kerchiefs of fresh pasta served over whipped ricotta. Long lunches are the order of the day here. Start with a spritz and settle in.

BURGER PARK BY FISH SHOP

 
Shop 3/17 Warners Avenue, Bondi Beach
burgerpark.com.au
 
Chef Joel Bennetts’ brand new burger joint offers both on and off-menu fun, in a cute corner Bondi locale. If you know what to ask for, you might find yourself with a double smashburger, the patties all lacy and crisp, with a chunky tartare-esque burger sauce, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles and white onion on a potato bun from Organic Bread Bar.
 
On-menu, there’s Bennetts’ tribute to the old school milk bar works burger with a chunky grass-fed beef pattie, thin slices of pickled pineapple, and salt baked beetroot, all on one of those locally made potato buns. A juicy, delicious, updated Aussie classic. Find yourself at Fish Shop but craving a steak? The team are adding one to the menu – expect a Ranger’s Valley sirloin served with lashings of salsa verde butter.

Hot Plates

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Wagyu cooked on Binchotan with Horseradish, Bush Tomato & Emu Egg Sauce

Wagyu cooked on Binchotan with Horseradish, Bush Tomato & Emu Egg Sauce

The Gourmet Traveller 2022 Restaurant of the Year and 2023 South Australian Restaurant of the Year – Restaurant Botanic sits nestled amongst 51-hectares of the picturesque Adelaide Botanic Gardens.

 
A meal here will take at least four hours with over 20 flavour combinations by chef Justin James showcasing unique Australian ingredients.
 
Perhaps one of those combinations will include a piece of cross bred wagyu from the Rangers Valley WX series – where one great ancient breed meets another to create flavour, performance and quality.
 
Portions of striploin or ribeye (depending on availability) are cooked directly on Japanese binchotan charcoal until medium rare, rested, and sliced. Each slice is brushed with bush tomato brown butter and finished with a spice mix of black pepper, fennel, coriander, juniper and Davidson plum.
 
The wagyu is plated on a bed of juniper in a bowl, alongside Illawarra plum that has been covered in green ants. The entire bowl is smoked with juniper from the garden and covered with a lid to capture the smoke. On the side, horseradish leaves are dressed in bush tomato and a sauce made of cured emu egg, seasoned with wattle seed and bee pollen.
 
Chef Justin James says the dish is a balance of technique and theatrics – but essentially, it is all about the deliciousness of Australia’s best produce.
 
“The dish showcases multiple techniques while keeping the integrity of the wagyu; most importantly it is delicious and fun to eat. The guest lifts the lid and encounters the smoke of the juniper – it is recommended to grab a slice of beef, wrap the horseradish leaf around it and dip into the emu egg sauce. The plum is intended to enjoy at the end as a palate cleanser – something light after the rich wagyu,” Justin said.

 

Roasted Lamb Shank with Peas a la Francaise, Onion Gravy & Yorkies

Roasted Lamb Shank with Peas a la Francaise, Onion Gravy & Yorkies

Tucked away in the hinterland about 45 minutes from Byron Bay, the Eltham Hotel is rolling out perhaps some of the best pub food in the country.

 
And why wouldn’t it be with star chef Alanna Sapwell-Stone heading up the kitchen? Harnessing her love of nostalgia and putting a special Sapwell spin on things, ensures a menu heavy with highlights, and a line out the door.
 
Case in point, a lamb roast dish well and truly worth travelling for any day of the week. Lamb shanks are browned all over in a hot pan then slowly roasted in a low oven with mirepoix, stock, and red wine. The fork tender shanks are served on a bed of creamy mashed potato with onion gravy, peas a la Francaise, and a huge Yorkshire pudding for mopping up every last morsel.
 
It’s a challenging time for many and as the cost of living continues to soar, we seek the familiarity and comfort of days gone by. Eating evokes memories and dishes like this one meet perfectly at the intersection of craving comfort, budgetary caution, and rapturous reward.

 
 

Tasty Meats

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THE CHESTER BRUSCHETTA

 

CHESTER WHITE | POTTS POINT

$19

If the aroma of house baked focaccia wafting out onto the street isn’t enough to get you through the door – then imagine it topped with shavings of tender bresaola and washed down with a tipple of your choosing. Sold?

 
Well, that’s if you can even get in the door at this neighbourhood favourite. Affectionately known as the locals’ lounge room, Chester White is a home away from home serving up organic charcuterie, house made pasta, a wine list brimming with European and Australian wines – and a side of country music.
 
Prop up at the bar and order up a serve of the Chester Bruschetta. Watch as chef Tong slices freshly baked focaccia then slathers it with lashings of goat’s cheese and a sprinkle of hazelnuts. Next, try not to drool as he selects a slab of bresaola and runs it rhythmically through the slicer then delicately folds the slices atop the bread. Topped with charred onion and finished with blood plum vinegar – all that’s left to do is taste.
 
Hot tip: follow it with the Truffle Cacio E Pepe – spaghetti, salt, pepper, parsley and black truffles tossed tableside in a Sardinian truffled pecorino cheese wheel; and a serve of the local’s favourite – beef cheeks slowly braised for six hours and served with roasted baby potatoes and salsa verde.
 
If friendly service, knowledgeable staff, quality produce and excellent drinks are your thing, then Chester White is your place. You’ll probably find me sitting right there at the bar.

LAMB PITA WITH A BONE

 

MIZNON | MELBOURNE

$19

Classic 2000s RNB tunes rollick up the stairs and out the door onto buzzing Harware Lane in Melbourne’s CBD – follow them down and settle in for a flavour fueled feed of Mediterranean street food. First opening in Tel Aviv in 2011, Miznon now also calls Paris, Vienna, New York City and Melbourne home.

 
Using fresh and seasonally inspired ingredients, the Miznon team creatively takes the unique flavour of each city and translates it into pita. In Melbourne that might mean tender local beef brisket and melted mozarella served with sour cream, mustard, onion and pickles. Or perhaps decadent wagyu and root vegetable stew with tahini, red onion, pickles and chilli. But it was the Lamb Pita With A Bone that got our attention.
 
Head chef Afik Gal and the Miznon team exude an infectious energy that sweeps you up the moment you descend the stairs. At a furious pace, we get an insight into the makings of this luscious lamb pita. Lamb ribs are tossed well in olive oil and then charred all over on the flat grill. Next, they are piled into an oven tray with carrots, shallots and water for a long, slow braise.
 
Once tender, the ribs are left to cool and set then for service, sets of 3 ribs are warmed in a pan with the carrots then stuffed into an oven fresh pita with lashings of tahini, pickles and schug – a spiced green sauce originating in Yemen.
 
The best and worst thing about Miznon is choosing what to order – and as I effortlessly pull the rib bones from my pita before tucking in, I decide that this is an excellent place to start.

 
 

A Toast to Toast

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Chef Mat Lindsay is passionate about toast – dedicating a whole section to it in his first cookbook, Ester. Some of his thoughts on toast are that it is acceptable at any time of the day; the better the bread, the better the toast; and if you’re cutting off the crusts, you are doing it wrong.

The book provides a blow by blow on toasting the perfect toast – and no surprises here, for Lindsay it involves radiant glowing coals; room temperature bread sliced 18mm thick; and a final result close to the leopard-spotting of a perfect pizza. Cool on a rack (never on the plate); season with sea salt; rest for 15 seconds; then it’s time for butter and toppings.
 
In the book, Lindsay gives us “39 reasons to leave that avocado on the shelf” with a swathe of delicious toast toppings from ‘Nduja and honeycomb to chocolate, olive oil and sea salt – but it’s the grilled tongue and green sauce that gets the green light from us.


 

Images and text from Ester by Mat Lindsay with Pat Nourse, photography by Patricia Niven. Murdoch Books RRP $55.00 AUD

Grilled Tongue and Green Sauce

 
 
Lamb’s tongue is a particular favourite for this one.
 
1. Take a tongue that has been simmered gently to tenderness, then peeled and cooled.
2. Cut it lengthways from the throat end to the tip into fairly thick slices – about four slices per tongue.
3. Pan-fry the slices on their flat sides until they’re nicely coloured
4. Mount the slices on toast, spread thickly with aïoli and spoon some green sauce on top.
5. Some salted capers that have been rinsed then deep-fried to a crisp are a possibly unnecessary, yet not entirely unwelcome, addition.

Green Sauce Ingredients

 
More of a direction than a recipe, and very adaptable. The number, measure and combinations of ingredients in a salsa verde such as this are dictated by your personality, what you have on hand and the sauce’s intended target. The only rule is in the name: it should be green.
 
Use very fresh, clean, dry herbs. My preference is to include:
• Flat-leaf parsley (50 g)
• Watercress (25 g)
• Coriander (25 g)
• Chives (20 g)
• Anchovy fillets (3)
• Lemon zest and juice (of 1 lemon)
• Salted capers (5 g), rinsed of excess salt
 

Method

 
1. Choose your combination
2. Chop half the herbs very fine
3. Chop half the herbs less fine
4. Mash the anchovies to a paste and add them to the herbs
5. Anoint the mixture with a nice lively olive oil, enough to make it a sauce but not so much as to leave the herbs swimming
6. Add some lemon zest, Microplaned or finely chopped, depending on the occasion
7. Perhaps grind in some pepper
8. Squeeze in some lemon juice (strain out the seeds; biting into one can ruin your day)
9. Garlic shoots, blackened on a grill and added at the last moment – go very well with tongue, or indeed any offal
10. Once your chosen ingredients have met, cover the surface of the sauce tightly and let it sit at room temperature for half an hour to let everything mingle and find its place, then taste and adjust the seasoning as needed – it may need a pinch of salt.

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