Three Canberrans who feature in The Great Australian Cookbook

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The Great Australian Cookbook takes us into the homes and kitchens of 100 of Australia's best loved and finest chefs, cooks and growers, including Neil Perry, Adriano Zumbo and Kylie Kwong.

And among them are three Canberrans who have shaped the city's food scene and are bringing it to national attention. Here they are and some of their fabulous recipes.

Leanne Gray

When Leanne Gray and her husband Graeme Hudson first opened their Parisian-style bakery and cafe in Kingston they rapidly gained cult status for their exquisite cakes and sourdough bread. The cafe became a bit of a brunch hotspot, where people sat at little tables in the sunshine with their newspapers and pastries. And it still got a loyal following.

"I arrive at the shop as the restaurants in our street are closing and it's dark and quiet. There's something lovely about the constant rhythmic whir of the dough hook in the machine. And after 12 years in this spot I still love filling up those glass cabinets with these pastries."

Susan Bruce

The Bruce family have helped make the Poachers Pantry a must-stop gourmet destination in Murrumbateman with their perfectly smoked meats, charcuterie platters and a pretty outdoor lawn for weekend lunches. They've also been instrumental in turning the region into a destination in its own right, pioneering the Poachers Way, a network of wineries, cafes, restaurants, and farms that allow visitors to assemble a fully Canberran rural experience.

"It's lovely seeing the second generation taking up the reins of the business. Rob's father saw this with us, we're seeing it with our kids and we've already got another generation that is knee-high to a grasshopper. Hopefully, in time, they too will take up the reins."

Sean McConnell

It was just a couple of weeks ago that Sean McConnell featured in these pages with the news that his cool yet elegant restaurant Monster at the trendy Hotel Hotel had won its first hat in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. McConnell's seasonal instincts are on full display in the cookbook.

"I go out every year to pick mushrooms. I even go out a month before they're ready, just to check. I'm really looking forward to taking my little boy and my new little one and passing on that knowledge. Hopefully they'll get as much of a kick out of it as I do."

Leanne Gray: Mum's Welsh pasty

Makes: 10

500g plain flour
120g mashed potato
120g butter or lard, diced
good pinch of salt
2 tsp baking powder
cold water to mix (about 150 ml)
250g lamb mince
300g diced swede
300g diced carrot
500g diced potato
½ small onion, diced
2 tsp salt flakes
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten

Pre-heat oven to 200C. Combine flour, mashed potato, butter or lard, salt and baking powder. Add water and gently mix or knead until the dough comes together. Roll to desired thickness and cut into 18-centimetre rounds.

Combine meat, vegetables and seasoning, and mix well so that the lamb mince binds the vegetables.

Brush edges of pastry rounds with beaten egg. Portion the meat and vegetable filling onto half of each pastry round, fold over the pastry to enclose the filling, seal, crimp the edges with your hands and paint top of pasties with remaining egg wash. Place on baking trays and bake for 45 minutes. Serve hot.

Leanne Gray: Tarte flamiche Flemish leek & cheese pastry

Servings: 6

600g good-quality puff pastry
3 leeks, cleaned and cut into 8cm lengths
fresh thyme leaves from 1 sprig
250g sour cream or mascarpone
300g washed-rind cheese (such as Jensen's Red, Epoisses de Bourgogne, Munster)

Roll pastry to about ¼ cm thick and cut into about six rectangles about 14cm x 8cm in size. Chill for about an hour.

Place leek sections into a little water in a saucepan, along with thyme. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes or so, until soft. Season with salt and pepper. Chill for another hour. Pre-heat the oven to 200C. To assemble the tartes, place a spoonful of sour cream or mascarpone in the centre of each pastry rectangle. Place one piece of leek on top, then a slice of cheese (the rind can be removed for a milder version). Fold in the narrow ends of the pastry to the centre, as if it were an envelope. The leek and cheese should be cradled in the middle of the tarte. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve hot.

Sean McConnell: Black barley and wild rice salad with candied almonds, barberry & shankleesh

Servings: 6

Candied almonds
2 tbsp sugar
splash of rose-water
1 cup slivered almonds

Grains
200g wild rice
200g black barley

Puffed rice

50g wild rice
1 litre (approx) vegetable oil for puffing rice

To serve

2 tbsp dried barberries
2 tbsp sumac
splash of olive oil
zest and juice of 1 lemon
100g shankleesh (Lebanese cheese)
2 tbsp dried rose petals

Make the candied almonds: pre-heat the oven to 180C. Combine the sugar with two tablespoons of water and the rose-water and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Add the almonds to the pan and mix to entirely coat the almonds. Lay the almonds out on a tray lined with baking paper and roast until lightly caramelised (about eight minutes). Set aside.

Cook the grains: to separate saucepans, add 1 litre of cold water and add your wild rice and barley to each pot. Add a pinch of salt and place over a medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook at a gentle simmer until the grains are cooked through but not falling apart – between 20 and 30 minutes. When the grains are cooked, strain and set aside.

Puff the wild rice: heat the vegetable oil to 200C. Add the wild rice and cook for about 20 seconds, being very careful as the oil will spit as the grains puff up. Remove the puffed rice and drain on paper towel.

To serve: toss the grains with the almonds, barberries, sumac, olive oil, lemon zest and juice. Season with sea salt and place in a bowl or a large serving dish. Crumble the shankleesh over the top, then sprinkle the rose petals, and finish with the puffed wild rice.

Sean McConnell: Wood-roasted pine mushrooms
 and slippery jacks with loads of parmesan

Serves 8

1kg each medium
pine mushrooms
 and slippery jacks (available mid-autumn)
½ cup good-quality extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, crushed with the back of a large knife
50g butter
10 sprigs thyme
juice of 2 lemons
100g Parmesan
handful of chopped parsley

If you don't have a woodfire oven, pre-heat a domestic oven to 180C. If you do have a woodfire oven, get it cranking!

Brush any pine needles or grit from the pine mushrooms and slice in half. Peel the skin off the top of the slippery jack caps, brush off any dirt or pine needles and cut in half.

Heat a large, heavy baking tray in the oven until it's piping hot. Then, remove it from the oven, add the olive oil, garlic, butter, mushrooms and thyme, and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Return to the oven and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from the tray and arrange on a large serving dish. Pour the pan juices and lemon juice over. Grate the parmesan over the top as finely as you can. Scatter the parsley on top and serve.

The Bruce family: Smoked duck breast, duck liver mousse, butternut pumpkin, turnip and baby carrots with chocolate jus

Serves 4

4 x 180-250g smoked duck breasts
1 bunch baby turnips
1 bunch baby carrots
50g butter

Butternut pumpkin puree
1 medium butternut pumpkin
1 French shallot
100g butter
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
250ml cream

Chocolate jus
1 French shallot
40ml olive oil
50g butter
100ml port
100g chocolate powder
200ml beef stock

Duck liver mousse
300g duck liver
½ bunch thyme
1 red apple
1 onion
50g butter
5 tbsp apple juice
100ml fresh cream
2 tbsp lemon juice

Butternut pumpkin puree: peel pumpkin and cut into small cubes. Sauté shallot in butter until soft. Add pumpkin cubes and cook for about 10 minutes on a low heat. Add oregano and cream, and cook until pumpkin is soft (about 10–15 minutes). Blend the puree in a food processor and add salt and pepper to taste.

Chocolate jus: sauté shallot in olive oil and butter until soft. Add port and bring to the boil. Add chocolate powder and beef stock, and bring to the boil. Strain immediately through a fine sieve then reduce to thicken.

Duck liver mousse: clean liver and cut into small strips. Chop thyme and cut apple and onion into small cubes.

Over a low heat, cook apple and onion in butter until soft. Add liver and continue to cook over a low heat for 10 minutes. Add thyme and apple juice, cover and cook for another five minutes.

Whip cream. Place duck liver mixture in a food processor and blend until nice and smooth. Allow to cool down to 30C. Add lemon juice, salt, pepper and cream. Place in the fridge for two hours.

To finish: peel turnips and carrots, steam over water until tender (about 10 minutes) and toss in butter with salt to taste.

To serve: gently warm the duck breast in a low oven and then slice diagonally, keeping the pieces together. Spoon some of the pumpkin puree onto a warmed plate, followed by a few of the steamed turnips and carrots. Place a few pieces of the sliced duck meat onto the plate. Finish with a tablespoon of the duck liver mousse and a drizzle of the chocolate jus.

Great Australian Cookbook by Helen Greenwood and Melissa Leong is published by PQ Blackwell.