Parmenter - Cookbook: All-Consuming Passions

Just twenty years ago, this terribly enthusiastic TV director/producer and desperately keen but thoroughly amateur cook was told to produce a series of short television cookery shows to go to air before the ABCs Sunday news bulletin. Always fond of doing what he was told, especially by the Corporations head of television, no less, he enquired if he had someone in mind to present the show, such as a skilled chef who could cook and talk at the same time. Yes, you, was the reply. And so it was that this shy and retiring person with 18 years spent in production behind-the-lenses and no time spent pan-handling in a restaurant kitchen was thrust in front of the camera on Consuming Passions . I had protested that my recipe collection comprised just 15 recipes. However, that didnt deter ABC management, which knew Id rustle up a few more.

And I did 450 recipes over ten years, many of them coming from top Australian chefs and food producers in whose debt I shall always be, and others that Id adapted from those featured in cookery books and among my mothers copious notes. In the early years there werent many of us so-called TV chefs. Id taken over the reins from Peter Russell-Clarke of Come and Get It! fame on ABC, Keith Floyd was over on SBS, and there were guest chefs on daytime shows. Before the widespread use of the internet, viewers interested in acquiring my recipes had to send in stamped addressed envelopes for them to be mailed out. Imagine my surprise when we were soon sending out tens of thousands per week Since the end of Consuming Passions in 2002, Ive been continuing to collect, develop and invent dishes, and to feature them in magazine articles and on radio. My day job mostly has been in events management, being festival director of Tasting Australia the biennial international food and wine festival in Adelaide and contributing to the early GDay LA promotional events in the United States.

These events, and touring the nation for Consuming Passions , have taught me the value of our chefs, apprentices, and above all our growers and food producers. Ive also been a proud WA ambassador of the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, trying to get kitchen garden programs into Australias primary schools. And Ive been working with a Perth hospital to try to make the food experience for patients and staff more rewarding. So, this All Consuming Passions collection is the culmination of more than six decades of eating some 72,000 dishes, and preparing some 17,000 meals. A somewhat spontaneous cook, Ive tried to keep most things as simple as possible, preferring dishes that can be made with a minimum of fuss and with little by way of equipment. In this collection, most dishes can be prepared without needing great accuracy with measurements, nor too many pots and pans.

Ive always maintained that cooking should be fun. Its always fun for me and I find it one of the best ways of relaxing. I hope this book helps make preparing meals fun for you too. Bon apptit!

It may surprise you to know that during ten years of making Consuming Passions for ABC Television some 450 episodes I never once used an electrical appliance. Was that intentional? Yes. While I possess a pretty comprehensive some may say geeky and hi-tech range of appliances, most people do not.

I felt that if the recipe I was cooking couldnt be done without a super-turbo V8 molecule-splitting gizmo with a chrome differential, then I shouldnt be featuring it on television. So, what is the simplest array of kitchen equipment that should be capable of allowing you to dish up beautiful food? I offer the following:

Apple corer	A friend of mine gave me a fancy apple corer. It bolts onto a bench, you put the apple onto a drive shaft, turn a handle, and it simultaneously peels and cores the fruit. Brilliant, especially if you want to do hundreds of apples however, a simple, cheap corer is quite adequate.
Baking trays	A couple of stainless steel or non-stick trays one deep, one shallow are all youll need for breads, roasts and cakes.
Bowls	Stainless steel bowls are inexpensive, multi-purpose utensils. You will need three: one large bowl for breads; a medium bowl for salads, whisking egg whites, and making mayonnaise and custard mixtures; and a small bowl for mixing salad dressings, pesto and spice mixtures. Copper bowls are best for beating egg whites, but food should not be left too long in them. I dont use plastic bowls at all.
Bread tins	A couple of non-stick bread tins are useful, although bread and rolls can be made on a pizza tray.
Brushes	I use two brushes, a good pastry brush (not a cheap paintbrush thats likely to moult) and a stiff wire brush for use with the wok. Avoid using a pastry brush on a hot pan, chances are the fibres are plastic and will melt this I know very well from experience.
Casserole dishes	I prefer a heavy, French range. They hold in the heat well after being taken out of the oven. Oven-tolerant glass dishes are ideal when youre cooking something which looks good all the way through, such as lasagne or eggplant parmigiana.
Chopping boards	Have at least two, and remember that cooked fish or meat should never be cut on the same board as raw food. Always cut on a surface which has some give in it, such as wood or plastic. Marble or glass will blunt knives. While many health authorities insist on plastic chopping boards, I dont like them. I dont believe theyre safer than wooden ones, which some say have built-in resistance to bacteria. Hardwood boards may be scrubbed after use. To stop chopping boards from sliding on the work bench, put a damp tea towel underneath or you could buy plastic mesh squares especially designed for this job.
Cleaver	While many Asian chefs and cooks can do miracles cutting with a cleaver, including boning tiny birds, I cant. However, a good wooden-handled cleaver is terrific for most jobs that would be done with a large knife.
Cook tops	Youll need a minimum of two burners or hobs. I prefer cooking with gas, although todays electric induction stove tops are good (you just need the right cookware). One of the most efficient cookers l use is a free-standing wok burner which is hooked up to a gas bottle. lts great for outdoor cooking. You can also buy inexpensive small camping gas cookers, which are great for outdoor use and far less expensive than the monster exterior barbecue/kitchen units for sale these days.
Electrical appliances	Alright, I confess, I do use a gadget. Its a sort of all-purpose food processor complete with scales and a heating element. And thats really it, apart from an ancient ice-cream maker.
Gloves	I hate oven mitts. I prefer to use a pair of leather gardening gloves or a thick tea towel when handling hot pans. Also, they should always be dry. Wet gloves and towels conduct the heat and can lead to burning.
Graters	I still prefer inexpensive cylindrical or rectangular graters which have a range of grating sizes. The Microplane (long thin fine grater with very sharp little teeth) is perfect for use on citrus and for grating ginger but its a bugger to clean!
Hand tools	Peelers, can openers, and so on should have solid grips for comfort and safety.
Knives	Good knives are worth the extra cost, but you need to look after them. Blunt knives are the curse of any cook. The best knives to buy are steel with a high carbon content, which can be sharpened at home. I avoid the so-called stay sharp knives, which appear to tear the food rather than cut it. I tend to use the same three knives, a long chefs knife with a 20cm blade, a vegetable knife with a 10cm blade, and a bread knife. There are many good knife sharpeners but highest price doesnt always mean they work much better. Carborundum stones and steels work best but take some skill. My favourite is one which looks like a toast rack: it is cheap and works just fine.