Tapping into those dormant writing talents,he’s pennedBaker Bleu:Bake It Till You Make It,which spills the secrets to making dark-crusted sourdough loaves and other baked goods,then putting them to use,right down to the last crumb.
“Fresh bread is undoubtedly one of life’s great joys but there pretty much always comes a time when you’ve got an awkward final sixth of a loaf sitting in your cupboard,” Russell writes.
Don’t worry. He’s shared one of his favourite uses for stale bread,panzanella salad,with Good Food readers.− Roslyn Grundy
English tapas (aka easy Welsh rarebit,or amazing cheese on toast)
The British answer to tapas might just be Welsh rarebit. I’ve cut a few corners here,keeping in mind that the time I most feel like eating rarebit is when I’ve had a few drinks. It’s so comforting,but there’s no way I’m pulling out saucepans to make a roux or waiting for things to cool. This is my shortcut. Enjoy it just before you hit the hay or as a light dinner to soak up you know what.
As essential as good bread is to this recipe,so is the grill setting of your oven. This allows you to toast the bread but also melt the cheese. If yours doesn’t have this capability,you may not enjoy this sandwich at its fullest. I recommend slicing your bread to about 2.5cm thick to best soak up the oil and butter.
Neil Perry’s curried egg sandwich
This sandwich filling is from the kitchen of Neil Perry. “It’s pretty hard to beat the combination of eggs,mayonnaise and rye bread. I love these curried egg sandwiches at any time of day,but if you wish to make them for breakfast and would like something less full-flavoured in the morning,leave the curry powder out,” Perry says.
INGREDIENTS
- 10 eggs
- 8 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise
- 2 tsp Keen’s curry powder
- 8 slices very fresh rye-caraway loaf (or high-quality sourdough of your choice)
- softened butter,as desired
- iceberg or baby cos lettuce,as desired,shredded finely
Panzanella
This could almost be called a baker’s salad – it takes your hard work baking a beautiful rustic loaf and showcases it,even when the bread might be past its prime. This recipe is made extra summery with the addition of ripe nectarines. To showcase the jumble of colours and textures in this salad,it’s best to use a big serving plate,rather than a deep bowl.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 slices day-old country loaf,2cm thick
- olive oil,for drizzling
- 3 ripe heirloom tomatoes
- 3 ripe nectarines (optional;they need to be in peak season)
- pinch of pink salt
- 100ml extra virgin olive oil (the highest quality you can afford)
- 80ml (⅓ cup) white balsamic vinegar (alternatively,white wine vinegar)
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 bunch of basil,leaves picked
- 47.5g can Ortiz anchovies
METHOD
- Heat a chargrill pan or an oven grill to high. Drizzle the bread liberally with olive oil and then grill it,turning once,for up to 1 minute a side until the bread is crisp but not burnt,with visible grill marks. Once it’s cool enough to handle,break up each slice into bite-sized chunks over your serving plate.
- Cut each tomato in half and place cut-side down on the chopping board,then cut the tomatoes into uneven segments (all the rough edges are going to accelerate the amalgamation of flavours). Scrape them,along with all their juices,onto the plate.
- Halve the nectarines,remove the stones,then cut the fruit lengthways into wedges. Scrape them and their juices onto the serving plate,too,then sprinkle everything with the pink salt.
- Combine the extra virgin olive oil,vinegar and honey in the bowl of a food processor,add most of the basil leaves (reserve some for garnish),and blitz to make a dressing. Avoid making this more than an hour before serving,or the dressing can discolour.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad and gently toss it all with care and love so you don’t squash your tomatoes and fruit. Finally,arrange the anchovies evenly over the salad,scatter with the remaining basil leaves and serve.
Serves4 as a side
Pistachio,white chocolate and cherry cookies
We love the pistachios that we get from Eric Wright at Go Just Nuts,grown on a farm in sunny Mildura,hundreds of kilometres north of Melbourne. He brines his pistachios so they’re super crunchy. These cookies show them off fabulously.