As the oranges of autumn surround neram harvest, come down and enjoy warming dishes like our house made dips, grilled banana prawns, lamb kofta and hillside 100 day dry rib eye.

We have also introduced some autumn egg dishes to our brunch menu. We’ve got ‘Mick’s Muffin’ with bacon, egg, cheese and your choice of sauce and we’ve got coddled eggs done two ways.

Read through our new autumn menu.

We are open Wednesday through Sunday from 10am for breakfast and open nights Thursday - Saturday.

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Dear all,

Thank you all for making this first year such an enjoyable challenge. We’ll be back on the 18th of January to do it all again. Summer sessions will kick of again on the 3rd of Feb.

For my holidays Nat and I will be taking a road trip down the east coast and cooking from an Ayurvedic cookbook, you can track our progress on the Neram harvest Facebook page.

Be good.

R

Summer Holidays Christmas Fun

2011 has been an exciting and memorable year, it has left my head spinning me a little giddy from the twists and turns the year has provided.  I feel like Armidale has quickly become ‘home’, in it’s comfortable surrounds I have found new friends, new love and support.  There are far too many people who deserve my thanks to list here but your generosity is not un-noticed.  Christmas is a time for giving and I feel that it is my opportunity to give a little back.

Friday marks our last lunch service for the year and final summer sessions gig. The BopKatz are going to swing us out in style and as my thank you to all of my customers past ans present, we will cook all of the remaining food that will not keep over our holidays and give it away to anyone down at harvest.

If anyone is full of christmas cheer and the spirit of giving a bucket for donations to the Armidale Community Garden will be present.  BobKatz will kick off at five and we’ll serve the food at six.

Christmas is a time for simple entertaining and this last recipe for 2011 is a restaurant favourite and a dish that I cook most years at home for chrissie.

Seared Banana Prawns with oven roasted tomato sugo

1kg banana prawns, peeled leaving head and tail intackt 

2kg vine-ripened tomatoes, halved

1 garlic bulb, broken into cloves (skin on)

1 rosemary sprig

2 sprigs each basil, oregano and thyme

1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 tsp caster sugar

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Place tomatoes on a large baking tray with garlic, herbs, oil and balsamic. Sprinkle with sugar, season with salt and pepper, then toss to coat. Turn tomatoes cut-side up, then roast for 1 hour or until tomatoes and garlic are softened.
3. Cool, then peel tomatoes and garlic (the skin will slip off easily). Discard herb stalks.
4. Whiz in a processor or blender to a coarse puree, then adjust seasoning.
5. BBQ prawns (prawns only need enough time to change colour, overcooking will turn them rubbery)
6. Place sugo on the bottom of serving platter arange prawns on top and season well.

Merry Christmas everyone, have a safe and happy holiday season.

Anonymous asked: Hello, I was wondering whether Neram harvest does gift cards. I'd like to give my brother and his wife a gift card for Xmas so they can have a nice dinner one night before they have a baby. Thankyou and regards, Rebecca Onslow.

Hi Rebecca,

Of course we can organise gift vouchers for you, give me a call at the restaurant on 67712907 or email me rowan@neramharvest.com.au and I’ll be happy to sort it out.

Rowan

nat’s mojito

this recipe was a gift from my good friend natalie mcshane, she can be found at any good party making the world’s best mojito

I have been meaning to write about the slow food movement for a long time, I have admired many of there ideals and after years of procrastinating have become a card carrying member.

This saturday in Turin, Italy Slow Food will be holding there biennial forum Terra Madre, people will gather from around the world to celebrate all things slow.  But what does slow food represent, I hear you ask?

Well; Slow food helps build networks between grower and eater, agriculture and market, community and world. They champion good, clean, fair and local food in ways that enhance knowledge, respect and passion. If that all sounds a little bit pie in the sky it’s about recognizing the food around us, about championing what is good, ethical and local.

Australia has 31 Slow Food chapters, called convivia, in every region of the country. We are part of a world network in 153 national communities. Our local convivia is led by Maureen Chapman who will happily espouse all things slow with you at the Sunday Farmers Market or over the interwebs maureen.chapman@slowfoodaustralia.com.au.

To honor Terra Madre and slow food, this weeks recipe is taken from my vertical garden at the restaurant which at three weeks old is now almost producing enough lettuce for me to put it on the menu. It’s very basic but nothing taste quite as good as produce you’ve grown yourself.

Rowan’s vertical garden salad

Ingredients

Big handful of lettuce from the garden (mesclun, radicchio and cos)
Oregano
Parsley
Basil
Chives
*Vinaigrette

Method

1. Place all ingredients except the vinaigrette is a large bowl, season with salt and pepper

2. Add a little vinaigrette around the edge of the bowl (rather than directly on the leaves)

3. Gently turn the leaves through the vinaigrette making sure to just coat each of the leaves

*Vinaigrette in an mixture of acid and oil at the ratio of one part acid to three parts oil (with plenty of added seasoning).  I prefer to use a good quality wine vinegar as the acid.  Once the basic vinaigrette is made it is easy to flavour it with additional herbs or a little mustard.  I make a bottle of vinaigrette and keep it in the fridge at home until needed.

Happiness is a warm paintbrush.

I remember the first time I saw a artichoke growing, it was a late spring afternoon much like today; I was in the Royal Botanical Gardens playing frisbee with some friends when while trying to catch a long throw I was running backward and fell backward over a low fence into a monstrous plant.  It reared like a monster from the deep over me all scratchy and unforgiving.  Let’s just say it left its mark.

The globe artichoke is perrenial thistle of the cynara genus originating in Southern  Europe around the Mediterranean.  In Italy they make it into a aperitif called cynar.  Artichokes are in season locally and available readily at the farmers market.

My favourite way of taking revenge on this vicious grass (eating) is to trim it down cook in simmering water and serve with a beurre blanc (butter sauce).  As I slowly peel the petals of the artichoke down scraping of tender flesh off with my teeth I can’t help remembering though long past spring day and remember that he who laughs last laughs hardest.

Ingredients

2 Globe Artichokes per person

60ml (1/4 cup) white wine vinegar

60ml (1/4 cup) dry white wine

4 whole black peppercorns

180g chilled unsalted butter, cubed

2 tbs fresh lemon juice

Salt & freshly ground white pepper

Method

1. Using a sharp knife trim the end of the artichokes, then using a pair of kitchen shear cut the spikes of the petals.
2. Cut a lemon in half and add to large pot of water (big enough to comfortably hold the artichokes, bring the water to a gentle simmer and then cook the artichokes while you make the beurre blanc
3. Place the vinegar, wine, eschalot and peppercorns in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil. Boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until the liquid is reduced to about 2 tbs. (This mixture is called a reduction. The volume of the liquid is reduced by evaporation, leaving a mixture that is slightly thicker with a more intense flavour.)
4. Strain the vinegar mixture through a fine sieve into a small frying pan. Discard peppercorns.
5. Place the frying pan over low heat. Add the butter, 1 cube at a time, whisking constantly and adding another cube only when the previous cube has been completely incorporated. (It’s important to chill the butter before adding it to the vinegar reduction. If the butter is warm it may melt too quickly, making it harder to incorporate into the liquid and causing the mixture to split.)
6. Once all the butter is incorporated (this will take about 8 minutes), remove from heat. Whisk in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. (We used unsalted butter for this recipe as it is easier to taste and season the sauce to your liking at the end.)

radishes

photo taken by my dear friend thomas, like me he’s been out in the garden; unlike me he’s kinda good at it.

lunch with a friend

local artist, nerida boesler is my green thumbs for hire, she is the person I turn to for advice in all things horticultural and has been instrumental in getting my vertical garden planted at the restaurant.  I invited her around for lunch and wanted to have a simple but indulgent lunch using local produce.

Originally I wanted to be able to use produce from our vertical garden but as it’s only a week old it might be a little premature. (If you want to see how the vertical garden is progressing check it out on the website www.neramharvest.com.au).  Despite being only a week old some of our tomatoes are already fruiting.

Trish from happi hens (my egg supplier) had brought me in some duck eggs so I though an omelette would do the trick nicely.  Add some leeks from the farmers market, a little local goats cheese (Sunhill) and some sorrel plus a crisp bottle of white wine and there you have it.

Sorrel for the uninitiated is actually poisonous in large quantities, it contains oxalic acid (like rhubarb), however in small quantities it has a wonderful refreshing bite.

Duck egg omelette with braised leek, goats cheese and sorrel

Ingredients

4 duck eggs

1 medium sized leek (white and light green part only)

50g goats cheese 

a couple of sorrel leaves (torn)

splash on white wine

extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

goldfish bowl cracked rye sourdough

Method

1. Wash the leek, trim the ends, cut into half lengthwise, cut into baton lengths and slice finely
2. Gently fry the leek with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, once it has softened add a splash of white wine and let it collapse
3. Because duck eggs are larger and richer than chicken eggs two eggs per person is enough.  Crack them into a bowl, whisk together with a splash of water, season.
4. In a hot pan add a little olive oil, add the eggs, using a spatula gently move the eggs in the pan until curds begin to form
5. Add goats cheese, leek and torn sorrel
6. Serve on toast with a glass of wine

Delicious.