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Five of a kind: Comfort food

Winter still has us in its grip, so unleash your inner warmth with these hearty unions of taste and tradition.

Lauren Wambach

Warm crumpets smeared with honey.
Warm crumpets smeared with honey.Supplied

Crumpets

Served warm and smeared with honey, crumpets will turn any frown upside down. Marty Beck began his business of handmade crumpets just a few months ago and has been staggered by the response so far. Each of his squidgy discs starts with organic flour that is leavened with a little yeast. They're cooked until the bottom is crisp and the top is pockmarked with tiny craters, perfect for soaking up lashings of melted butter. Grab a bag of Dr Marty's finest at Coburg farmers' market, or spy them on the menu at hot spots such as Pope Joan, the European and Demitri's Feast. Right now, it seems like everyone wants a bit of crumpet.
Dr Marty's Crumpets, 0434 028 302;
twitter.com/drmartyscrumpet

Lorne sausage

Lorne sausage - all-beef, seasoned sausage meat pressed into a square log.
Lorne sausage - all-beef, seasoned sausage meat pressed into a square log.Supplied
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Melbourne might lack a good deep-fried pizza, but homesick Scots know to trek to Rob's British and Irish Butchery to pick up coveted comfort foods from home. A firm favourite is Lorne sausage - all-beef, seasoned sausage meat pressed into a square log. Carve off a slice, fry it up and tuck it in a soft bap roll with a wedge of potato scone (a flat pancake made from mashed potato). The final touch is ''red sauce'' or ''brown sauce'' (ketchup or HP). Rob and Jill Boyle have been faithfully producing Lorne sausage, potato scones and other British classics for more than 20 years in Dandenong. The pork pies are also a standout, traditionally served cold and lovely with a bit of piccalilli pickle.
Rob's British and Irish Butchery, 177 Lonsdale Street, Dandenong, 9792 5188;
robsukproduce.com.au

Barley Gnocchi

As far as comfort food goes, deliciously squishy gnocchi presses all the right receptors. At African Taste, chef Ben Tesfation draws on his Ethiopian heritage to offer a unique take on an Italian classic. In Ethiopia, genfo or toasted barley flour is used to make a stiff dough that is served with hot spiced butter. Tesfation uses the same nutty flour to fashion small brown gnocchi nuggets, which have a texture that is delightfully fluffy but also curiously (and not unpleasantly) grainy. They come tucked up in a creamy red sauce infused with berbere, an Ethiopian spice blend heady with paprika, ginger and cumin. With warm, tender gnocchi and luscious sauce, the effect is like a hug from the inside.
African Taste, 124 Victoria Street, Seddon, 9687 0560

Pho

Sit down to a bowl of steaming pho and, as the slices of rare beef on top transmogrify from red to brown, feel your worries melt away. Pho Hien Saigon in Sunshine has expanded recently to house the crowds that flock in for its stellar pho. Each batch of broth bubbles for 12 hours, coaxing every ounce of goodness from chicken and beef bones, as well as aromatics such as fennel seed and cinnamon. The resulting stock is golden brown, clear and crisp, and every sip warms the cockles. Have it ladled over tender rice noodles and topped with mixed sliced chicken breast and wafer-thin rare beef. Be sure to add house-made sweet pickled onions, available in a jar on every table.
Pho Hien Saigon, 3/284 Hampshire Road, Sunshine, 9311 9532

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Jaffles

Long before the panino or even the focaccia sashayed onto the scene, the jaffle was Australia's sweetheart. School kids loved to load white bread with cheese or baked beans till bursting, secure in the knowledge the jaffle iron would clamp each edge down tight, sealing in all the steaming, comforting goodness. From his cafe cubby in the Banana Alley Vaults, Troy Brown defies fashion with his resolutely old-school jaffles. There's a tasty meat-fiend version with ham, salami, cheese and dijonnaise, while its sweet sister features Nutella, smashed banana and whipped peanut butter. Pull up a pew, dial up a jaffle and a silky Atomica brew, and let the strangely soothing ebb and flow of the busy city wash over you.
T-Roy Browns, 1/363-367 Flinders Street, city, 0421 489 588;
twitter.com/teeroybrowns

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