Host a dinner party (and help asylum seekers at the same time)

When pastry chef Darren Purchese of Burch & Purchese Sweet Studio was asked to volunteer at a telethon last year to raise money for Melbourne's Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, it opened his eyes to the simple things he took for granted – a home, meaningful work, plenty of food on the table.

The experience also inspired him to get involved in the organisation's main annual fundraiser, Feast for Freedom.

The event encourages people to host a feast in their home or workplace using recipes donated by refugees, those with lived experience of seeking asylum, and the ASRC's two celebrity chefs, Purchese and Adam D'Sylva of Melbourne restaurants Tonka and Coda.

Participants can sign up to host a feast any time between now and the end of March but the event's focus is this weekend, March 19-22.

When you register, you receive recipes from Iran, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea or Greece, a gift pack that includes the key spice needed for their main dish, and a personal fundraising webpage where your guests can RSVP and donate toward your fundraising goal to support the work of the ASRC.

Register at feastforfreedom.org.au.

Adam D'Sylva's duck bolognese with gnocchetti sardi

At work, as the owner-chef of hatted Melbourne restaurants Tonka and Coda, Adam D'Sylva draws on the Indian part of his heritage. But when cooking for his family at home, it's his Italian side that comes to the fore. He makes bolognese in 12 kilogram batches, using minced duck. But as it can be difficult to buy, he says beef, pork or a combination of the two, or even chicken mince also work well.

INGREDIENTS

1kg duck mince

2 medium-size brown onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

4 x 450g whole peeled tomatoes

¼ bunch thyme, picked and chopped

3 fresh bay leaves

200g duck fat

500g packet gnocchetti sardi (malloreddus)

100g shredded mozzarella

100g freshly grated parmesan cheese

METHOD

1. In a heavy-based pot, cook off the duck mince over medium heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until it has a coarse grainy texture. Set aside.

2. In a large pot, gently fry the onion and garlic until soft and transparent. Add a splash of water to help with the sauteing. Do not colour the onions.

3. Add the tomatoes and cook for 30 minutes. Using a stick blender, puree the tomato mixture until smooth.

4. Add duck mince, thyme and bay leaves. Cook for another 30-40 minutes.

5. About 15 minutes before you're ready to serve, cook the pasta to al dente in plenty of salted water, according to packet instructions.

6. Drain the pasta, toss with the sauce, then divide among eight plates. Finish with a handful of mozzarella and parmesan.

Serves 8

Darren Purchese's rhubarb, raspberry and apple crumble with ginger ice-cream

I adore warm fruit crumble desserts, especially in winter. I remember being happiest as a child when Mum made a piping-hot crumble with homegrown fruits and berries inside. I recall I used to burn my tongue, as I couldn't wait to dig in! This dessert is so simple to make and the smells it produces while bubbling away in the oven are incredible. It's delicious with a big dollop of custard and a scoop of ice-cream.

INGREDIENTS

Salted oat and ginger crumble

200g (1⅓ cups) plain flour

200g (2 cups) rolled (porridge) oats

265g soft light brown sugar

300g butter, melted

2 tsp 10g bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp ground ginger

Rhubarb, raspberry and apple crumble

35g castor sugar

400g (about 2) apples (granny smith or golden delicious), peeled, cored and each one cut into about 8 wedges

50g unsalted butter, melted

6 rhubarb stalks, washed, trimmed and cut into 6cm pieces

finely grated zest of ½ a lemon

finely grated zest of ½ a orange

200ml raspberry puree

1-2 vanilla beans

250g frozen raspberries

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan-forced).

2. To make the crumble, mix all the ingredients together to form an irregular crumb. Measure out 500g of the crumble topping and refrigerate the rest for another use (see tip).

3. To make the rhubarb, raspberry and apple filling, put 100g of the castor sugar, the apple wedges and melted butter in a frying pan and cook over medium-high heat. Turn the apples regularly and cook until they are caramelised. Remove from the heat and allow them to cool.

4. Place the rhubarb in an ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the remaining sugar, the zests, raspberry puree, 100 ml (3½ fl oz) water and vanilla beans. Cover with foil and bake for 15–20 minutes. Remove from the oven and open the foil carefully to check the rhubarb. When it is soft and a knife is easily inserted then the rhubarb is done.

5. Spread the cooked rhubarb, then the frozen raspberries and finally the apple in even layers in an ovenproof crumble dish.

6. Scatter the uncooked crumble mix onto the fruit and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

7. Serve the crumble with the ginger ice-cream.

Serves 8

Tip: This makes enough crumble topping for two desserts. The excess topping will keep for two weeks in the fridge. To bake the crumble separately, line a tray with baking paper and bake at 160C for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow the crumble to cool and break it into smaller pieces to serve with ice-cream or fresh fruit.

Ginger ice-cream

INGREDIENTS

250ml (1 cup) full-cream milk

200ml thickened cream

30g grated fresh ginger

100g castor sugar

5 egg yolks

METHOD

1. Place the milk and cream in a saucepan over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat, add the ginger and set aside to infuse for 45 minutes.

2. Strain the infusion into a clean saucepan and re-boil. Remove from the heat.

3. Whisk the sugar and egg yolks together in a bowl until they start to thicken and pale.

4. Pour one-third of the hot milk mixture into the yolk mixture and whisk well to combine. Pour this mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining milk and cream and mix well with a spatula or wooden spoon. Cook, stirring constantly, until the ice-cream base reaches 82C.

5. Prepare a large bowl of iced water.

6. Remove the custard from the heat and strain it into a bowl. Set this bowl in the larger bowl of iced water to cool the custard down quickly. Stir regularly. Once cool, churn in an ice-cream machine following the manufacturer's instructions. Store the ice-cream in the freezer until needed.

Tip: You can make the ice-cream base up to 4 days in advance but try to churn the ice-cream on the day of serving for the best possible result.