Clay pots, martinis and starting intentional fires
In which the breathless foodie fanaticism isn't even worth denying.
Hello, it’s great to
see you again.
Editor – Phoebe Tully
—
This edition wasn’t supposed to be solely devoted to food and drink, but as with many things in my life, this is the direction it naturally took.
One of the first articles I ever had published in a mainstream magazine was a short piece about the history of the aperitif. I thought at the time this may have been Peak Aperitif for me, but my love for the tradition continues to this day.
What I still find so fascinating is the ritual we build around food and drink – from the British afternoon tea to Chinese mooncakes in mid-Autumn to ANZAC bikkies on 25 April. You can literally set your clock – or your oven – by the small traditions we bake, barbecue and braise to.
There is comfort in the familiarity of our own rituals, as well as inspiration and adventure in exploring other people’s. One of the many joys of travel is in uncovering these small gems and bringing them home as a souvenir – the French aperitif, the Swedish fika, the Turkish hammam, the Argentinian mate. So it’s my hope that you find some inspiration and adventure in the ideas below, because these really are the wonderful small things in life.
Cooking with clay.
As someone who spends a considerable amount of time either in the kitchen or thinking about what I’ll do next in the kitchen, the search for a donabe is less about buying a new pot and more about discovering a new way of cooking.
(One paragraph in and I’m already breathy with decadent foodist drama – but I’m not done yet, there’s talk of terroir ahead.)
A Japanese donabe (literally “clay pot”) distributes heat evenly and cools down slowly – ideal for anything cooked gently. Clay pots are used throughout the world for exactly this reason, often for dishes that can’t be replicated with stainless steel: Mexican mole, Indian biryani, French daube, North African tagine, Brazilian barreado. I loved watching Niki Nakayama’s Masterclass on Modern Japanese Cooking, in which she uses her donabe throughout for cooking perfect rice.
As well as gaining a patina over the years, a donabe is known to impart a specific flavour – the terroir of the clay, if you will. Food & Wine found that literally everything they cooked in clay tasted better than the same recipes cooked in metal pans. And there’s something about the traditional Japanese design – that goes perfectly from stove to table – that makes anything elegant.
Naoko Takei Moore, author of Donabe: Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking, recommends this simple dish as an introduction: soak rice plus dashi/stock/water in your donabe for about 20 minutes. Turn the stove on to medium-high heat and top the rice with whatever you want – vegetables and/or meat – and just cook everything together with the lid on. Take it off heat after 15 minutes, let it rest for 20, and serve straight from the pot.
Here are some donabe I’ve had my eye on:
The Ginpo Kikka ($$$) donabe in green is currently sold out, because green is clearly the best colour, but I’m keeping watch for a restock. (Also available in other colours).
The Daikoku donabe ($$$) has a double lid, which is ideal for perfectly steaming rice.
This Perth-based Etsy store sources beautiful handmade pieces from Japan, including these smaller donabe ($$$), perfect for serving 1-2 people.
A One While Changing.
At Miami Beach's Soho Beach House, guests may order a "One While Changing": an early-evening, in-room aperitif to be sipped as a farewell to the day and an invitation to the evening. Mix it yourself, or order from room service and a professional bartender will arrive on-site to prepare you a cocktail.
This is just the sort of ridiculous thing I love.
And I may never have occasion to be at the Soho Beach House, but I do love a new tradition. Now, a martini is obviously the cocktailiest cocktail there is, and there’s something about a dirty martini that sends out major Bette Davis Fasten-Your-Seatbelts vibes.
A martini becomes a dirty martini with the addition of olive brine, which lends a delicious salinity to the affair. To make two, to share or not:
4-6 green olives, pitted, plus 25ml of the brine
150ml London dry gin
25ml dry vermouth
Put two martini glasses in the fridge to chill. Thread olives onto two cocktail sticks and set aside. Fill a mixing glass with ice, then pour in the gin, vermouth and olive brine. Stir until the outside of the glass feels cold. Taste to make sure that it's icy cold and that you’re happy with the dilution.
Strain the mix into the chilled glasses and garnish with the olive skewers. Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.
Something to nibble on.
Question: What’s something super simple (but chic) to serve alongside everyone’s first drink? I don’t want to do a cheese board or dips for people to fill up on – but I do want to offer something to nibble.
You know those game shows where participants self-elect their field of expertise? Apéro snacks may well be mine.
Presumably we’re not talking here about gougères or pissaladières or pâtés – nothing that needs making ahead of time. We’re really talking about taking something out of a jar, right?
Continuing with the theme of olives, have you tried gordals, which are from the Seville region in Spain? They are extra fat and delicious when given a touch of spice, as Perelló does here ($). The ultimate snacking olive; keep a few tins stocked in the pantry.
I also love a simple plate of saucisson sec, sliced very thinly, or excellent-quality chorizo, sliced less thinly. And a small dish of roasted or smoked almonds – just make sure they are super fresh. At Supernatural, they serve a small bowl of lightly salted canchita (Peruvian popcorn), which was perfect.
And there is nothing wrong and everything right with thinly sliced chips/crisps served alongside Champagne – salty, crunchy, bubbly, acidic. Incredible.
Email me your questions – apéro-related or otherwise – for inclusion in next week’s newsletter. Just hit reply and ask away. I have strong opinions about many things.
DO | Host an afternoon of flower arranging and cocktails with your newfound love of dirty martinis. Cover your dining table with butcher’s paper and provide everyone with some op-shop vases, flower frogs, pruning shears and buckets of garden roses, dahlias, sweet peas and foliage from the markets.
MAKE | fragrant fire starters for nights around the fire pit – wrap bundles of strongly-scented herbs (such as rosemary, sage, lavender and mint) in natural twine and leave to air-dry completely. The dried stems will help kindling to catch easily while releasing their fragrance.
READ | Middlemarch – George Eliot
WATCH | Before Sunrise (1995)
LISTEN | Time Out – Dave Brubeck