Local Food at Smart Living Ballarat's Launch

What better way to celebrate the official launch of Smart Living Ballarat (last Friday the 20th of April) than with a delicious morning tea featuring lovely local food and produce. Along with The Home,The Environment, Transport and Water - Local Food is one of the five key elements represented at Smart Living Ballarat, with plenty of ideas on how to make 
more sustainable choices in these aspects of your life. 

Pumpkins from local grower Max the Amazing Pumpkin Man of Ballarat

When it comes to food - there's nothing quite like freshly prepared seasonal produce sourced from local producers where ever possible and having a local restaurant and cafe hand deliver (on foot) their contributions for this special morning tea certainly helped to keep those food miles in check. 

From chef Damien Jones just across the road at the Lydiard Wine Bar - sensational carrot muffins with a lemon and Meredith Goat's Cheese icing and a leek and goat's cheese tart. 

From the Swallow's Nest Cafe just next door - flavoursome open sandwiches using Ballarat's Basilio Sour Dough and locally sourced toppings including Tuki Smoked Trout and vibrant local eggs. 

                                 

From Nadia and Andrew at Goldfields Farmhouse Cheese a platter of local cheese served with Jenny Schmidt's tomatoes and lettuce and my home made quince paste and feijoa relish. 

From my home kitchen a couple of batches of mini scones topped with feijoa, plum and quince jam from last years preserving efforts. 

And finally the dips. Roasted beetroot and horseradish using Spring Creek Organics phenomenal beetroots and horseradish picked from my mate Paul's garden in North Ballarat. And something new for me - a roasted mushroom and walnut pate / dip made with Ballarat Mushroom Farm mushrooms and walnuts from Jenny's tree. 


All in all a very fitting morning tea to celebrate the opening of Smart Living Ballarat - pop in for a visit next time you're in Lydiard Street for plenty more Local Food ideas.


And for those who have asked me for the recipes for the dips and the relish. . .enjoy. 

FEIJOA RELISH

Ingredients
1.2kg (appx 4-5 cups) feijoa pulp (peeled and chopped or just scoop out the flesh with a spoon and chop roughly)

2 large red onions

3 large brown onions (appx 650g)

1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil

6 tsp (or 6 cloves) of crushed garlic

3 medium granny smith apples

2 cups malt vinegar

2 cups sultanas

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 tsp mixed spice

1-2 tsp curry powder (to taste)

2 tsp ginger powder

1 tsp crushed chilli (or powdered equivalent)

Method

Finely slice onions (a V Slicer saves time and tears).

·         Heat oil in a large heavy based saucepan and gently caramelize the onions, adding a splash 

o    of water when needed to avoid them sticking or burning. You can skip this step but it certainly

      adds depth of flavor.

·         Add garlic and brown.

·         Finely dice peeled apples and add them and the chopped feijoa pulp to the pan.

·         Add all remaining ingredients and bring to the boil, stirring frequently.

·         Then allow to simmer for at least one hour, stirring often. If you have the time allow to simmer 

      for around 2 hours until chutney mixture is thick and has darkened to a rich colour.

      Sterilize glass jars and pour hot mixture into them and seal while hot.

ROASTED BEETROOT AND HORSERADISH DIP

Ingredients

Fresh beetroots

Onions

Garlic

Horseradish

Olive oil

Cream Cheese

Salt

Method

Don't be too concerned about measurements for this dip - I generally just work with whatever amount of beetroot I have on hand and adjust other ingredients to suit.

Peel and chop beetroots into medium sized chunks and toss with olive oil and roast in a hot oven until tender (turning often to avoid burning).

Chop onions into large chunks (roughly half and onion per medium beetroot) and roast in a little olive oil. When the onion is half cooked - add the garlic cloves (to taste) as they will cook more quickly than the onions.

Allow roasted ingredients to cool. 

In a food processor or blender, blitz the beetroots, onion and garlic adding the olive oil used for roasting. Add additional oil or water (for a lighter mix) and blend until smooth. 

Add a tablespoon of softened cream cheese and continue to blend. Add as much or as little cream cheese as you like to taste. 

Add freshly grated horseradish to taste (or creamed horseradish from a jar) and blend -  tasting frequently so as not to overpower the beetroot flavour. Add salt to taste if required.

Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. This dip keeps well in and airtight container 

for several days.

ROASTED MUSHROOM AND WALNUT DIP

Ingredients

Mushrooms (approx 500gms). I used button mushrooms but any type of mushroom is fine.

Walnuts (approx 1 cup per 500gms of mushrooms)

Onions

Garlic

Olive Oil

Cream Cheese

Fresh thyme

Pedro Ximenez Sherry (or any good quality sherry) 

Salt

Method

Drizzle mushrooms, onions and garlic with a little olive oil and roast in a moderate oven until the juice from the mushrooms begins to release and the onions and garlic have begun to caramelise. Towards the end of the roasting time add sprigs of fresh thyme. Allow to cool.

Lightly toast or roast the walnuts being careful not to scorch them.

In a blender or food processor blitz the above ingredients adding the pan juices and oil. Add extra olive oil or water to aid the blending process. 

Add cream cheese (as much as you desire) and blend until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Add a splash of sherry and salt to taste. 

Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving - but overnight is best to allow the flavours to develop. If you'd like to serve as a pate make the mixture thicker and spoon into small tins or pate sized containers (lined with cling wrap) and allow to set overnight.