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Gary Mehigan's Comfort Food

By: Gary Mehigan , Dean Cambray (Photographer)

Hardcover

Published: 29th March 2010
Ships: 5 to 9 business days
RRP $49.95
$40.95
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Gary Mehigan, from Masterchef, brings us the food he loves to eat - classic dishes with a modern twist. Discover the secrets of family favourites such as pancakes, pumpkin soup and spaghetti with meatballs, and learn how to transform a pork chop or beef stew with the addition of roast quince or onion marmalade.

With over 90 recipes, lively kitchen notes and detailed food photography, this is the perfect introduction to good honest food, together with the kitchen wisdom of one of Australia's most generous and passionate chefs.

Introduction

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since I first stepped into the kitchens at The Connaught Hotel London in 1986. I was a fresh-faced eighteen year-old with a Hotel and Catering Diploma tucked under my arm. My friends thought I was mad – cooking was seen as something subservient, so when was I going to get a proper job?

I encountered a world that was hierarchical and steeped in tradition – you knew your place and twelve-hour days were the norm: it inspired me. I will never forget that first day; it felt chaotic and electric and the concentration required was intense, what with chefs running here and there, huge boilers full of celeriac, artichokes, stocks and sauces, and steamers and stovetops that bellowed out a brutal heat. I had never seen food like it, there was the best of everything, including brown crabs, lobsters, langoustines, turbot, brill, whole Welsh lamb, sides of dry-aged Scottish beef, grouse, snipe, woodcock and wild ducks. In the larder, chefs were peeling kilos of Perigord truffles over a large white tablecloth to catch all the peelings. The earthy, heady smell filled the kitchen – it was mesmerising. I was in heaven.

Twenty years on and this industry has seen me travel around the world, it has channelled my creativity and fuelled my love for food, but most of all it has taught me to embrace the moment – people, places, textures, flavours and sensations that I am sure only a cook can know.

I love to cook at home and in my restaurants – I love the touch, feeling and process of putting gorgeous food onto a plate. It keeps me peeling, roasting, frying, poaching and baking with the best of them – I love it! In fact, I look forward to the day that I'm sixty-five – not to retire, I won't. What I will do is have chickens in my garden, grow my own vegetables and make my own (undoubtedly contraband) beverages from my apples and plums. My Grandad, bless his soul, would certainly approve!

It was my grandfather that inspired my career choice. He was the world to me when I was a little boy growing up on Hayling Island off the South Coast of England. He was a well-regarded chef but that meant nothing to me at the time. In his retirement he nurtured a beautiful English garden. I remember the big, ugly cooking apples and prickly greengages that were so sour they made you wince, but tasted brilliant in his sugary apple pies. The veggie patch had tall lines of tangled runner beans and the greenhouse was full of tomatoes. I remember feeding worms to his giant goldfish, one of which was called 'Guzzle Guts'; it still makes me smile to this day. Mum would find out that I had eaten cabbage for dinner – finely shredded, cooked in a little butter with bacon and garlic – and wolfed down the lot. It drove her mad because, of course, when she cooked cabbage, it never tasted the same.

Thinking about the food that I want to eat is easy. I now know what I love – it has to be deeply satisfying, beg me to plunge my spoon or fork back in for more and take me somewhere I want to be – simple really.

When I was younger I thought that great food was exclusive to grand restaurants. However, some of the worst, most impersonal and improbable food can be found in flashy restaurants. Often they miss the point, which is known in the trade as 'perfect delivery – imperfect experience'. The waiter smiles but doesn't mean it, the food looks fabulous but doesn't hit the spot. As chefs we are often guilty of cooking to impress and to demonstrate our skills and creativity but we often forget the simplest of things. We need to get out of the kitchen from time to time. When we finally do it's a revelation. We discover that not everyone has travelled to our restaurant for a food epiphany. There are people engrossed in conversation, looking lovingly into each others eyes, laughing, arguing or doing business. Food is more often than not just one element of their time together; it is the conduit for so many things.

So what is the perfect meal? It's as much to do with place and company as it is about contrast in texture and flavour. I think of fish and chips by the sea, the crumply paper, the soggy chips, the squawking seagulls and crashing waves – a summer holiday in a perfect place, eating the perfect meal. It has to be made and served with love and generosity of spirit. The best cooks love to serve; they want to feed you, they can't help themselves, and they can't let you leave without knowing that you are happy and, of course, full and about to burst.

That being said, everyone has a different idea of comfort food. That's the way it should be. When I started thinking about writing this book, I decided to include the first dishes that sprang to mind, trust my instincts and provide recipes that I love to cook myself – in other words, my comfort food.

Whether I'm cooking comfort food or more top-end cheffy dishes, I like to know where my produce has come from – the less it has to travel, the fresher it will be (and it is better for the planet too).

If we take an interest in where and how our food is grown we will naturally end up doing the right thing. Don't buy cherries from California or beans from Kenya; the only reason supermarkets stock them is because we buy them. Buy foods when they are in season, local, plentiful and good value for money. We should also demand that the animals we eat have been reared humanely and responsibly. There is no place for cage chickens; it is not right and we all know it. Try adding variety to your diet by buying different cuts of meat, offal and a range of grains, pulses and vegetables.

Food brings us together. The time around the family table, whether it's the two of you or a troop of hungry mouths, is a special time – time that you can never get back. Discuss your day, the highs and lows; tell each other your thoughts and feelings.

The best advice I can give you as a cook is to enjoy all that food brings to your life. Make the very most of the recipes and celebrate the people you love and the food that you eat together.

Free recipe from Comfort Food by Gary Mehigan - Date and Walnut Scones

More than a few years ago, when one of our pastry chefs made a batch of scones for morning tea, I wasn't happy with the results and asked if anyone had a great scone recipe to share. Tracy, a young chef at the time (and now head chef of Fenix), put up her hand. We made three batches of scones in a 'scone-off ': the pastry chef 's, Tracy's and mine. I was convinced mine would be the best, but they weren't. Tracy's won hands-down - they are incredibly easy and take minutes to make. I threw out my recipe and adopted hers (and so did the pastry chef ). It's funny how you learn every day. You can add what ever flavourings you fancy to the basic recipe - here I have chosen dates, walnuts and a touch of lemon.

Makes 6
375 g self-raising flour
pinch of table salt
2 tablespoons caster sugar
100 g dates, pitted and chopped
50 g walnuts, chopped
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
150 ml milk, plus extra for brushing
150 ml thickened cream
2 free-range eggs
plain flour, for dusting
thickened cream and homemade jam, to serve

  1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 180°C.
  2. Sift the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl. Add the dates, walnuts and lemon zest and mix lightly. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture.
  3. Whisk the milk, thickened cream and eggs in a small bowl. Pour the milk mixture into the well in the flour mixture. Using your fingers, gently draw the flour mixture into the milk mixture to form a soft dough; it is very important not to overwork the dough as it may make the scones tough.
  4. Tip the dough onto a floured surface and gently form into a ball. Press lightly to flatten with your fingertips. Gently roll out the dough until it is 2-3 cm thick. Use a 5-6 cm scone or biscuit cutter to cut into rounds. Place the dough rounds on a non-stick baking tray and brush with a little milk.
  5. Bake the scones for 20 minutes or until golden. Serve warm. There is nothing better than a big dollop of thickened cream and homemade jam to make them extra special.

Notes

  • Use a good-quality selfraising flour when making scones as it really does make a difference to their texture.
  • Brush the tops of the scones with a little milk, cream or egg wash (egg beaten with a splash of milk) for a lovely golden finish.
  • If you work the dough quickly the scones will be a little more crumbly. If you knead the dough for 30-40 seconds they will be a little more bread-like in texture, so experiment to see which style you prefer.

ISBN: 9781921382321
ISBN-10: 1921382325
Audience: General
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 228
Published: 29th March 2010
Dimensions (cm): 29.100 x 24.3  x 2.100
Weight (kg): 29.3

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