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Beach Burrito Co.

On September 15, 2011 in Bondi, brunch, food, lunch, Mexican, restaurants, reviews, spicy, spicy food, Sydney

Truth be told, one of the best perks about being a Sydneysider is the amazing variety of cuisine up for grabs. From Portuguese, Greek, Italian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Lebanese and Thai, this sprawling city has the global palate covered. Not surprising when you consider half our residents were born overseas. My only gripe is most cuisines tend to belong to specific suburbs making them a bit unaccessible if you don’t fancy journeying across the city.

Petersham, for example, is home to some of Sydney’s best Greek and Portuguese food, while Five Dock and Leichhardt in the west could be mistaken for Italy.  Chinatown dishes up some of the tastiest Chinese food this side of China while Cabramatta in Sydney’s south-west is the heartland of Vietnamese food.

Sydney’s east has a smattering of interesting cuisines up its sleeve, including some amazing Israeli food and a bar called The Rum Diaries which transports me to Cuba every time I step foot inside its funky doors. The east is also home to a little piece of Mexico by the name of Beach Burrito Co..

Burrito from Bondi Burrito Co.

Burrito from Bondi Burrito Co.

On our maiden voyage to Beach Burrito Co., Paul and I rocked up to their North Bondi premises, smack bang opposite the beach. They are also located in Coogee and Cronulla. An afternoon spent kicking back at this colourful cafe watching the world go by with a frozen Margarita in one hand and a chipotle chicken burrito in the other is my idea of a good time. Even if you’re not on holidays (which half of Bondi seems to permanently be on), it’s easy to pretend you are thanks to the ever-present holiday vibe that permeates the air.

There’s all manners of Mexicana food on the menu here – fajitas, quesadillas, tacos, taquitos, nachos, but Paul and I couldn’t look past the house speciality - burritos. I opted for a chipotle chicken burrito while Paul’s ordered a green chilli pig. We weren’t disappointed. The servings were seriously super-sized and the fillings were really fresh and generous. Not bad for $12.95 a pop. My tortilla was filled to the brim with chargrilled chicken, Mexican rice, black beans, blended cheese, smokey salsa, guacamole, sour cream and pico de gallo (diced tomatoes, coriander, spanish onion and garlic tossed in lemon juice and salt). Paul loved his too – slow roasted pork cooked in green chillies and spices then pulled apart, mexican rice, black beans, blended cheese, green chilli salsa, sour cream and shredded cabbage.

And here’s a bit of useless trivia for you. According to Old El Paso, the name ‘burrito’ translates as ‘little donkey’ and is thought to refer to the folded end of the tortilla, which looks a bit like a donkey’s ear. So, there you go!

I’ve heard the salads are the best thing on the menu (served in crispy tortilla bowls), so I’ll be sure to try that next time. And good news for coeliacs and gluten-sensitive people is they have gluten-free goodies on offer in the shape of corn tacos. Brilliant.

Beach Burrito Co.
252 Campbell Pde
Ph: 9130 7123

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Luke Nguyen’s crispy tofu cooked in tomato-pepper sauce

On February 9, 2011 in allergy-free, celiac, dairy-free, dinner, egg-free, food sensitivities, gluten-free, healthy recipes, recipes, spicy, spicy food, tofu, vegetarian, Vietnamese, wheat-free

Have you ever tracked down a long, lost friend and reconnected after years of silence? If you’re on Facebook, I’m guessing the answer is a resounding yes. Reunions can go one of two ways – you either pick up where you left off or you remember why you lost touch in the first place.

I reunited with tofu recently. We became well-acquainted during my 20′s. Admittedly, I was never very creative with it. I would mainly chuck it in stir-fries and gobble it up with lots or rice and soy sauce. At some point in my late 20′s, I dumped tofu. It was either a case of seeing too much of each other or not realising its true potential. Whatever the case, I haven’t really looked back since… until now.

Now that I’m forbidden to eat grains, eggs, shellfish and dairy (get out the violin), I’ve decided to put a positive spin on the situation by looking at what I can eat. And tofu just happens to be an Amy-safe food. Having recently deep-fried it and drowned it in spicy tomato-pepper sauce, I have to say that I’ve fallen back in love with the stuff. I would describe tofu as the chameleon of the food world – able to adapt to different dishes and take on different flavours with ease and flexibility. In fact, if it were a person, I dare say that I’d really like to meet it.

One of my favourite Australian chefs, Luke Nguyen is the reason behind my rediscovery of tofu. I saw him cook Crispy tofu cooked in tomato-pepper sauce on his awesome show, Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam. I’m not normally one for deep-fried food, but when you can’t have grains, dairy and eggs, you’ve gotta get your kicks somehow.

Luke Nguyen’s crisp tofu cooked in tomato-pepper sauce

This has become a regular mid-week meal in our house.

Think of this dish as a ragout or a bolognese sauce without meat and with lots of spice. The recipe calls for silken tofu, but you’re best to use the firm variety. I highly recommend using vine-ripened tomatoes as they really enhance the flavour of the dish. The sauce turns a nice orange colour after it’s been bubbling away for a while. In theory, you could probably serve four people with this recipe, but Paul and I easily polish off the whole dish between us (served on a bed of rice). I love it so much that I’ve cooked it four weeks in a row!

If you like Vietnamese food, check out Kylie Kwong’s chicken soup.

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Kedgeree

On February 4, 2011 in breakfast, brunch, celiac, dairy-free, food sensitivities, gluten-free, healthy recipes, Jamie Oliver, recipes, seafood, spicy food, wheat-free

Picture this. You’re a food blogger. You love to eat and you love to cook (in no particular order). You constantly think about cooking, eating and food blogging. One day, you go to the doctor and he says, “Your blood tests show you are sensitive to dairy, eggs, grains and shellfish. Stop eating them for at least three months.”

Kedgeree

Great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

This is what happened to me at the end of last year. I think I experienced the five stages of grief within five minutes flat – shock, denial, anger, sadness and a deep sense of loss for all the buttermilk and ricotta pancakes that I would no longer be able to wolf down on a Sunday morning.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for the silver lining of this dark cloud to emerge. A new focus for my blog was born – recipes for people with food sensitivities. Now there’s a niche in the market but is there a market in the niche? Well, we’ll soon find out. Whatever the case, from now on Food Crush will be posting recipes that are free of wheat, dairy, eggs and shellfish. Think vegan minus the grains, with some meat thrown in for good measure. Before you throw your hands in the air and say, “How boring!”, stay with me while I show you how yummy food-sensitivity recipes can be!

I’ve been on this good health crusade for two months now (yes, I did it over Christmas). All things considered, it’s going pretty well, apart from breakfast which is no longer worth getting out of bed for. Try going to a cafe for breakfast and ordering something that doesn’t contain grains, eggs or dairy. Not possible!

To shake up the daily grind of corn flakes with soy milk and sliced banana, I recently whipped up a kedgeree. “A what?” I hear you say. Kedgeree is a Scottish dish made with smoked fish, rice, eggs (I left these out), tomatoes and spices. Not exactly what westerners like me have developed a palate for first thing in the morning, but who said we can’t have spicy food for breakfast?

I first cooked Jamie Oliver’s kedgeree recipe when I was living in Edinburgh about 10 years ago. I used smoked haddock over there, but since we can’t get it here in Australia, I used trout instead (you could also try smoked cod). Other adjustments include replacing the butter ghee with a good glug of olive oil and giving the yoghurt dressing a miss. Jamie’s recipe calls for basmati rice, but I recommend using brown rice to create extra nuttiness and texture. It’s also a handy way to use up left over boiled rice. I served it with lots of cracked pepper and fresh coriander, and a nice cuppa tea. As Jamie Oliver would say, “it’s pucker”.

If you like Jamie Oliver, you might also enjoy his chilli con carne recipe.

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Fish pie

On November 25, 2010 in Baking, comfort food, dinner, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, seafood, spicy food, winter warmers

What’s your favourite comfort food? Hot chips, chocolate, peanut butter on toast, sticky date pudding, Tim Tams. For me, nothing defines comfort food better than fish pie. It’s hot, fishy, creamy, fattening and encased in golden pastry. Give me a glass of wine and a piping hot ramekin filled with fish pie and all my worries just fade away.

Fish pies

Fish pies are the quintessence of comfort food.

We’re on the crest of summer here in the southern hemisphere, so this recipe goes out to all my readers in the northern hemisphere. As well as warming the cockles of your heart, fish pie is economical to make as you can get away with using cheaper cuts of fish, such as cod or ling. Just don’t make the mistake I once made and use snapper fillets as it turns out to be a very expensive exercise!

This recipe is yet another winner from the English chef with a really long surname, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. We’ve been cooking up a few of his recipes lately and they all work out perfectly.

We gave the dish an Aussie twist by using ling fillets and smoked trout in place of the rather odd-sounding fish suggested in the recipe. I’ve never heard of pollack… wasn’t he a painter? As for the curry paste, we cheated and used one from our grocer rather than making it from scratch. Instead of making one big pie, we opted for ramekins so we could have individual servings. We served the beloved pies with steamed green beans and jacket potatoes, but I would give the potatoes a miss as the pie is really filling.

Without further ado, I hereby present you with Hugh’s recipe for fish pie.

If you like pie, why not try my chicken pie recipe?

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Salsa

On October 19, 2010 in celiac, dairy-free, dips, gluten-free, healthy recipes, Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, recipes, snacks, spicy, spicy food, tomatoes, vegetarian, wheat-free

Today, I’d like to take my hat off to salsa. It is the kitchen’s equivalent to the little black dress – it’s versatile, looks great and never goes out of fashion. You can serve it as a dip, throw it on some brushetta, dress it up as a side dish or serve it as a salad.

Salsa

Salsa goes nicely with barbecued meats or topped on grilled sourdough or ciabatta.

Salsa’s virtues don’t stop at its versatility. It also happens to be a cinch to make. Let’s face it, it’s hard to stuff this one up. The trick is buying good-quality tomatoes (not those dodgy half-ripe ones at your supermarket). Spend the extra cash and find some vine-ripened tomatoes that an Italian wouldn’t turn their nose up at.

For this tomato salsa, I went with cherry tomatoes, but only because that’s all I had in the fridge. For those of you who don’t like capers, you can leave them out. If you want to serve this as a salad, just cut the tomatoes a little bit thicker and Bob’s your uncle.

Recipe adapted from the wonderful Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall:
Serves 4

Ingredients:
500g ripe, tasty tomatoes
1/2 small red onion, very finely chopped
1-2 tbs capers, rinsed
a small squeeze of lemon juice
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 pinch of sugar
a few torn mint or basil leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:
Cut the tomatoes into quarters, then halve each quarter widthways.

Place in a bowl and lightly stir in the onion and capers.

Put the lemon juice and oil in a small jug or bottle, season well and add the sugar. Whisk together (or shake it together), then trickle over the tomatoes. Scatter over the torn mint or basil leave and serve with some grilled sourdough bread (or rice crackers if you’re wheat/gluten sensitive like me). Yum!

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