Archies' Avo on Toast

Seemed like Melbourne was going crazy about Avocado on toast. We had a truly spectacular one at Archie's every morning. Now that is a breakfast place.  The deal clincher on this one is the sumac and dukkah.

toasted peasant bread (or corn/rice cake for me)

best ripe avocado

best EVOO

squeeze of lemon

sumac

home-made dukkah (easy!)

maldon sea salt

torn mint leaves to taste

torn parsley

feta cheese cubes (we go for cow feta)

home-made chilli sauce (preferably using a couple of different rehydrated dried Mexican chillies)

1. toast your bread, preferably over grill
2. place toast on plate, plump avocado chunks haphazardly on the toast
3. dress with lemon, salt, EVOO
4. sprinkle generously with sumac and dukkak, then herbs and finally with feta to taste

Gildas via Builders Arms

The most memorable taste bomb from Melbourne, from the Builder's Arms on Gertrude Street. Here, the usual anchovy, olive and guindilla are spared the toothpick and rest gently on a toast.

sourdough, sliced into thin diagnols
best quality anchovies
guindillas (pickled green chillies)
home-made aioli

Tapenade
120 gr pitted green olives
1/4 clove garlic
70 gr blanched, toasted almonds
5 gr preserved lemon
50 g parsley, chopped
100 ml EVOO

1. put all the tapenade ingredients in a blender, slowly adding EVOO
2. brush baguette slices with EVOO and grill lightly on each side
3. spread tapenade on each slice of grilled bread
4. top each with anchovy swirled around a chilli
5. spoon aioli on toast after platter is brought to the table

Tonight's Dinner

The Slawson's deserved this delightful little dinner for making the effort to come and visit the Richters! Was thinking of making smoked haddock on polenta with pesto, but too much.

• Speck & robiolo, dates & walnut
• Pan carasau, mozzarella, salted anchovy, lemon zest
• Grilled octopus & pesto
• Leek vinaigrette David
• Nduja & crab tagliolini
• Braised oxtail and pan-fried scallop, reduced balsamic
• Mixed greens, toasted hazelnuts & parmesan
• Compte, tangerine mostarda
• almond cookies

Venice Observations

Staying at Venissa in Mazzorbo made our trip to Venice "in August" a lot more bearable.  Toby, thanks for some of these suggestions, all good!

• Gatto Nero (Burano): famous for its seafood risotto, it does not disappoint. Lovely service and local crowd in the evening, far from the tourist crazies.
• Cipriani (Torcello): the vegetable risotto here was divine, a fine and civilized setting indeed, especially if you're able to arrive at the doorstep by vaporetto.
• Trattoria Antiche Carampane (San Polo): everyone loves this place, rightly so.
• Osteria alle Testiere (Castello): foodie hang out, ie calamari and cardoons...
• Vini di Arturo (San Marco) Calle Degli Assassini

Tonight's Dinner

A lovely dinner with visiting Virginie. My Morito cookbook is getting a lot of my love lately. Virginie brought a sensational Amarone-like Rioja from Vina Tondonia.

• toothpick: olive, anchovy, pickled green chile, sweet picked onion
• pan carasau, robiola and nduja sandwich 
• beetroot borani , dill & feta
• grape compote and yoghurt

Chef Toys

Some things I want to log in the back of my head.

• Rocket evaporator: extracts water from anything without boiling
• Hotmix pro: probably a competitor for Thermomix
• Food dehydrator: all I need is a small one...
• PolyScience smoking gun: for cold smoking
• Rotary evaporator: uses a distillation process

Risotto di Go

This tiny fish --the lagoon goby--provides the basic ingredient for one of the most celebrated Venetian dishes. Above all, it is on the island of Burano where the art of fishing and cooking have merged, with the little trattoria of Gato Nero setting the standard. The skilled cook honors the tradition of keeping the cooking of the risotto moist, or all'onda, to prevent complete absorption of the stock made with the addition of sea water when possible.

400 gr vialone nano rice
1 kg goby
1 onion, 1 stick of celery
1 carrot, 1 tomato,
1/2 lemon, 3 bay leaves
EVOO
1/2 glass white wine
50 gr butter
parmesan cheese
malden sea salt
ground black pepper
chopped parsley

1. put the gobies in a pot with all the veggies, cover with four fingers of water and boil until cooked
2. sieve and mash everything to obtain a stock condiment in which to cook the rice
3. put six tblsp of EVOO in a pot, add a few slices of onion and remove when golden
4. put in a paste of celery and parsley, a good quantity of goby stock and add the rice mixing constantly
5. pour in a little stock at a time and towards the end of cooking add the wine, butter, parmesan, parsley and seasoning