Taste of Australia explores the incredibly diverse food culture of Australia. Lyndey Milan travels across the country to unearth the real taste of Australia; from the cities to the fresh local produce of the bush, the wine regions and the coastline. Many prestigious chefs were involved in the making of the book from Maggie Beer to Rick Stein, and they contributed their favourite recipes to showcase the country’s favourite flavours.
The prestigious Gourmand World Cookbook Awards were held recently and Lyndey Milan was named top Australian cookbook author in two categories. Lyndey took home the top Australian award for Best Culinary Travel Book in Australia and Best TV Series Cookbook in Australia for her wonderful cookbook Taste of Australia. She was then short-listed for the Best TV cookbook in English for the global awards in Yantai, China and was announced the global winner.
Today we bring you one of the delicious recipes from the book.
A pork shoulder is the usual cut choice for pulled pork. However, it can take three or more hours to cook. My method uses pork scotch steaks, which are slices of pork neck. Cooked this way the pork is just as delicious, with a guarantee that tangy, spicy shreds of melt-in-your-mouth pork will be ready to eat in just over 1 hour. I cooked this in front of the fire at the Carrington Hotel, Katoomba in the Blue Mountains.
Serves 4
Preparation 15 minutes
Cooking 1 hour
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried red chilli flakes
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon salt flakes
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 x 700 g pork scotch or neck steaks
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
500 ml (2 cups) chicken stock
60 ml (1/4 cup) apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
4 thick slices sourdough bread or rolls to serve
1/2 cup coriander leaves (optional)
Apple and brussels sprout slaw
1 apple, quartered and cored
1 small bulb fennel, trimmed and fronds reserved
210 g (about 7) brussels sprouts, blanched, refreshed and leaves separated
2 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
60 ml (1/4 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Combine the cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, chilli flakes, mustard powder, salt and garlic in a shallow bowl. Press both sides of each pork steak into the spice mixture.
Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish, cook the pork steaks with the remaining spice mixture for 2 minutes on each side until browned. Add the sliced onion, stock, apple cider vinegar and brown sugar and bring to the boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour or until the pork is very tender. Carefully remove the pork steaks from the liquid and set aside. Bring the remaining sauce to the boil over medium heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened.
Shred the pork using two forks, add to the reduced sauce and stir gently, being careful not to break up the meat further.
For the apple and brussels sprout slaw, shred the apple and fennel using a sharp knife or mandolin, add the reserved fennel fronds, brussels sprouts leaves, spring onions, lemon juice, oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
To serve, spoon the pulled pork onto the bread, top with slaw and sprinkle with coriander leaves.
Wine: The spice in this dish calls for a peppery shiraz from a cool climate, or even a tempranillo.
Recipe from Best TV Chef Book in the World at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, Lyndey Milan’s Taste of Australia (Hardie Grant 2014). Available online now at the Flame Distribution store (RRP $39.95).
The TV Series Lyndey Milan’s Taste of Australia is currently airing 6:30pm Sundays (encore sessions 8:30am Saturdays & 2 hours after each broadcast on Lifestyle +2) on Foxtel’s Lifestyle Food Channel.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!