Australian Food by Bill Granger cookbook review
Australian Food by Bill Granger cookbook review
Sunny pages filled with all the things you want to eat
Australian Food by Bill Granger is a new cookbook dedicated to all things Aussie. It’s filled with beautiful photography, and the sort of sunny food you really want to eat.
And like Australia itself, the recipes feature a melting-pot of influences. There are Asian flavours with dashi and miso, Middle Eastern influences with pomegranate seeds and harissa, mixed with classic café fare with the likes of smashed avocado on sourdough. It’s the sort of food I’d readily order in a restaurant – so it’s nice to have the recipes to make it at home.
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What are the recipes like in Australian Food by Bill Granger?
I really like the layout of Australian Food by Bill Granger. Flicking through the cookbook, all the recipes have a full-page picture alongside, so you know exactly what you’re aiming for. What’s more, Ingredients and instructions are laid out nicely, and everything is easy to follow.
Save for a couple of the more niche ingredients like dashi powder and wakame seaweed, most things would be easy to find in a standard supermarket. There’s a Japanese food store close to my house where I get the rest of the ingredients from, but they’d be easy to source online. My go-to shop for that is Sous Chef.
Chia seed breakfast bowl
Chia seed breakfast pots are the kind of thing that seem exotic but are easy to make once you know how. The recipe is simple to follow, and the only faff-factor is letting the seeds rest in the liquid ingredients overnight. So it’s pretty straightforward to make, and very tasty too.
I also think you could sub in anything you have at hand, which makes this a very versatile recipe.
Brunch bowl with soba noodles, edamame and salmon
People say Japanese food is easy to make, but I’m always grateful for a bit of guidance. So, after reading Grangers’ recipe for brunch bowls with soba noodles, I dutifully buy all the ingredients I need – including a packet of dashi and white miso. I take these mysterious packets home, add the two together in simmering stock, and am amazed at how excellent it tastes.
To this, Granger builds a simple, but stunning supper. There are barely-cooked poached eggs, spilling their yolk into silky lengths of soba noodles. On the side are flaked pieces of hot-smoked salmon, and ribbons of easy-pickled cucumber. It’s *really* good food.
Green herb risotto with raw summer salad
Here’s another good looking recipe :) I instantly wanted to make it as soon as I clapped eyes on it, and am happy to report that the recipe works! I especially love the raw green salad on top, and am a convert to ribboning vegetables. I also used half the amount of butter in the risotto just to make it a little more weekday-friendly, and I don’t think it impaired the taste at all.
Roast chicken and fennel with buckwheat and parsley salad
What I really like about Australian Food by Bill Granger is how it gently introduces you to more niche ingredients. And to me, fennel is just that ingredient. Having never cooked with it before, this recipe does a great job of turning it from an unknown into a family favourite. It is spectacular under the roast chicken, and I really like the buckwheat, quinoa and pomegranate salad on the side too.
Miso caramel brownies
This is a recipe with even more firsts to get to grips with – making caramel and using miso in a dessert.
Although the instructions are quite clear, you’ve gotta watch the caramel like a hawk. A few seconds too much and it’ll turn into treacle rather than a smooth silky caramel. I say this from first-hand experience :D
Even though my caramel doesn’t quite work, I end up using it and the resulting brownie doesn’t seem to any the worse for wear. It’s got a very deep, malty, almost-rye flavor, and the caramel sort of becomes one with the brownie. The miso adds a savoury element, and the texture is light, but saturated, if you see what I mean.
Overall thoughts on the Australian Food by Bill Granger
Australian Food is an easy cookbook to like because it’s filled with things you really want to eat. And making them is fairly straightforward. I can fast see this becoming a favourite book on the shelf.
Buy Australian Food by Bill Granger here.
Have you tried the Australian Food by Bill Granger cookbook? Do you have any favourite recipes? Let us know :)
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