Haven Extras – Autumn 2019

Greenthumb
Add some mid-century aesthetic to your pad with this Australian-made pot plant stand. Fashioned from a single piece of powder coated iron wire, it’s affordable and comes in white, black and copper.
www.bendo.com.au

Hey bud
You’ll never have to untangle earbuds again. Cableyoyo is a clever earbud cord spool with a magnetic centre. That’s solved the eternal problem of keeping earphones tangle-free while enabling quick winding and unwinding.
www.bluelounge.com

Eggcellent egg hacks

• If pesky broken eggshell ends up in your bowl of eggs, use half of the egg shell you’ve just cracked to scoop out the rogue piece of shell – it acts as a magnet to draw up shell bits.
• Worried you have a bad egg? Pop it into a bowl of water: if an egg is fresh it will sink in water, if it’s off it will float.
• For a speedy breakfast: crack an egg into a ramekin and microwave for 60 seconds for the fastest baked egg ever.

Paul Hogan knew it when he threw a prawn on the barbie, and our readers know it too – Australians just love to cook their grub on the barbecue. Thank you to everyone that sent their favourite barbie recipes in for us to salivate over. It was such a tough one to pick, we’ve awarded a winner and runner up. Taking out first prize is Ryan, with his grandfather’s steak and soubise (onion sauce) recipe. Not only does it sound delicious, we love that the recipe is regaled straight from his grandfather’s mouth! And in runner up position, congratulations to Tim for his yum whole roasted cauliflower recipe. We reckon these two dishes would accompany each other perfectly. In the words of Ryan’s grandfather – get stuck in!
Below are the winning barbecue recipes from our readers Ryan and Tim. We haven’t yet had a chance to test these recipes here at Haven, but we can’t wait to the next time we crank the barbie up!
Ryan says: This recipe is relayed straight from my grandfather’s mouth. The origin of this recipe is unknown, but has been passed from generation to generation in my family. My grandfather never stood in the kitchen unless he was fetching another XXXX, but I do know that his father (my great grandfather) was the first butcher in Buderim and Mooloolabah.

The Mitchell family mitch-steak
Artillery:

• 4 steaks of Australian Wagyu, Angus, sirloin or porterhouse
• 1kg white onions, thinly sliced
• 40mls Cobram Estate extra virgin olive oil, classic flavour
• 50mls Paul’s thickened cream
• 200mls XXXX Bitter
• 50gm Western Star unsalted butter (at room temp)
• 1tbsp Vegemite
• 2tsp Masterfoods Australian mustard
• 1 clove garlic (crushed)

Chuck on the barbie at low – medium temperature, add the olive oil to the plate. Chuck on the onions and toss to coat in oil, put the lid on, and cook them gently on a low heat for 35-odd minutes or until the onions are clear and soft.
While the onions are doing their thing, grab the XXXX – take a swig for yourself, and put the remainder into a small pot. Place the pot on the BBQ ring on high heat. Bring the beer to a rapid boil, and let it boil for 3 – 4 minutes. Set aside and leave to cool.
Put the butter, Vegemite, mustard and garlic in a mixing bowl and combine well. This butter will be used to cook your steak, as well as brushed on top once cooked.
When your onions are done, remove the lid and allow some of the liquid to evaporate for 5 minutes. Place onions into a blender, and blend until smooth. While the blender is running, carefully add the cream and two thirds of the XXXX and a pinch of salt. Stop the blender and check the seasoning. If you can taste the beer clearly, don’t add any more. If the beer isn’t an attribute of the soubise (onion sauce) continue adding the remainder of the beer until you are happy with the taste.
Pass the onion and beer soubise through a sieve into a small pot and keep it warm while you are cooking the steak.
Heat your barbie to medium – high heat, brush your steak with the Vegemite butter using a brush (not a paint brush). Cook your steak to your liking, occasionally brushing with the butter. Once your steaks are done, brush again with the butter, and let them rest for 5 minutes, and then serve with the onion soubise. You little ripper – get stuck in!

Whole roasted cauliflower

What you need:

• 1 cauliflower head, whole
• 80g butter, softened
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1tsp of salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground pepper
• 40gm parmesan, finely grated
• 2 sprigs of rosemary leaves, finely chopped
• 6 sprigs of thyme, leaves only
• 2 tbsp dukkha

How to prepare:
Prepare the barbecue for indirect cooking over medium heat (190C to 230C).
Wash the cauliflower. Remove any unwanted leaves and if needed, cut the base of the stalk to create a flat surface.
In a bowl, mix together the butter, garlic, salt, pepper, parmesan, rosemary and thyme. Spread the butter mixture over the cauliflower. Sprinkle the dukkha evenly over the cauliflower.
Roast the cauliflower over indirect medium heat for 1 – 1.5 hours. If the cauliflower has started to darken, cover with aluminium foil until cooked through to your liking.