In this week’s column: hot cross buns with a difference, decadent chocolate, Central Market Easter specials, a new city laneway bar, and Jamie Oliver’s tips for feeding kids.

Easter buns and chocolate

InDaily has discovered an interesting take on hot cross buns made with fresh figs macerated in Muster Shiraz from the Barossa Valley.

Chefs Andy Thiele and Paul Gray produce a fresh batch each day at their Waymouth Street premises – Delicatessen Kitchen and Bar – and will continue making the “hearty” buns until Easter.

But some of the best sourdough fruit hot cross buns around Adelaide are being made by the Stirling Hotel Cellars and Patisserie each day up to and including the Easter weekend.

Stirling Hotel Cellars and Patisserie sourdough hot cross buns. Photo: supplied

In fact, if you’re packing a picnic, the Cellars and Patisserie is the perfect place to stop for house-made breads and pastries, dips, marinated cheese, rillettes, terrines, braised duck legs, confit salmon and a big range of boutique wines from the Adelaide Hills.

Another spot in the Adelaide Hills to pick up Easter treats is Chocolate @ No.5 at Hahndorf, which has handcrafted chocolate eggs (see their salted caramel popcorn egg cracked open and pictured at top) made with fresh butter, local cream and imported couverture chocolate produced from sustainable plantation cacao.

Chocolate @ No.5 Sage and Thyme Caramel.

But for a truly bucolic sensory experience, biting into Chocolate @ No.5’s new Sage and Thyme Caramel is like taking a walk through a fragrant herb garden.

In other chocolate news, a new Adelaide chocolatier – Chocolat by Daniela – launched last week. Daniela Rose makes chocolate at home, collaborating with established local brands, such as KiS gin from Kangaroo Island and Howard Vineyard tawny port from the Adelaide Hills to create decadent treats.

Chocolat by Daniela’s Dirty Mojito Lips. Photo: supplied

Daniela doesn’t yet have her own retail outlet, but a small selection of her chocolates – Dirty Mojito Lips (coconut white chocolate ganache infused with rum, tequila, lime and mint) and Stole My Heart (praline truffle infused with hazelnut, Frangelico and coffee) are currently available at St Louis House of Fine Ice Cream and Dessert in Glenelg.

Eggs for OzHarvest

Hundreds of eggs will be donated to local food rescue charity OzHarvest this Easter, as Prospect Farmers’ Market stallholder Murphy’s Crossing Free Range Eggs pledges to give a carton of free range eggs for every carton sold at the Prospect market tomorrow and next Thursday, April 9.

“We’re expecting to donate up to 300 dozen eggs per week to OzHarvest during the campaign, as families stock up ahead of the long weekend,” Murphy’s Crossing says.

Murphy’s Crossing eggs are produced by Trish and Stephen Simpson on their family owned and operated farm at Wasleys in the lower north region of South Australia.

The Prospect Farmers’ Market is open every Thursday from 3pm until 7pm at the Vine Court Plaza adjacent to the Prospect Town Hall.

This week at the Central Market

Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily

Strawberry season continues until early May in South Australia and the Adelaide Central Market has fresh Uraidla-grown strawberries available in 450g punnets (two for $5 or $3 each). Perfect for preserving or making desserts, they’re at Thompson’s Fruit and Veg, Stall 26-27, Adelaide Central Market.

Photo: Nat Rogers/InDaily

Also at the market are autumn vegetables such as beetroot, pumpkin and zucchini – ideal for roasting and tossing through salads or making a large pot of warming soup. Thompson’s Fruit and Veg  has SA-grown beetroot bunches for $3 this week.

The Adelaide Central Market is looking for people keen to help develop new food businesses that take the Market to the people around the city, suggesting that workers stuck in their offices might appreciate innovative new ways to gain access to fresh market produce via pop-up stalls and bicycle delivery.

Lindes Lane opening

Lindes Lane interior. Photo: supplied

Adelaide used to be known as a town with a pub on every street corner, but now it’s grown into a city with a bar up every laneway.

This weekend the much-anticipated Jason Jurecky-designed Lindes Lane bar, off Rundle Mall, will open with live music, local boutique wines and brews (cider, cold drip coffee and ginger beer) and a menu of pizzas and other dishes to share.

Oakbank pours exclusively Adelaide Hills wines

Somerled Wine’s Lucy Moody, Sidewood Estate’s Kathryn Tanner, jockey Krystal Bishop and Golding Wines’ Lucy Golding. Photo: supplied

For the first time in its 139-year history, the Oakbank Racing Club will pour only Adelaide Hills-produced wines at its Easter picnic race event this weekend.

Sidewood, Golding and Somerled wines have teamed up to ensure they have all punters covered at the biggest picnic race meeting in the world, with bars set up in The Paddock area and wines also selling by the bottle and glass at other bars around the venue.

“We have such a rich wine offering in this region, we want to really look at integrating Adelaide Hills events with regional wine,” said Owen Inglis, owner of Sidewood Estate.

“On average, 60,000 people attend this iconic event, which presents an amazing opportunity for us to showcase our award-winning wines.”

My Italian Kitchen launch

MasterChef success story McLaren Vale’s Laura Cassai launched her cookbook, My Italian Kitchen, in Adelaide this week.

In 2014 Cassai was the youngest runner-up ever on the reality cooking show. She currently works as a junior chef at Jock Zonfrillo’s Orana and StreetADL restaurants.

The book showcases the Tuscan and Sicilian recipes she learned to cook with her Italian grandmothers, Nonna Maria and Nonna Rosa, as well as her MasterChef recipes: lobster and scallops with herb butter; mushroom panzanella; fennel and orange; and rolled gnocchi with porcini mushrooms, caramelised onions and crispy sage.

My Italian Kitchen, $39.95, is published by Hardie Grant Books.

Jamie Oliver’s best tip for parents

Chef and food activist Jamie Oliver made a whistle-stop visit to Adelaide last week, and InDaily was fortunate to snaffle a one-on-one interview with him.

We traversed plenty of ground in our half hour – mostly reported here – but we did feel the following advice was smart.

Jamie Oliver in Adelaide. Photos: Nat Rogers/InDaily

While Oliver is very focused on governments and schools helping to provide children with better food education, InDaily asked him about his best tips for parents.

“The one thing they can do – and they don’t have to spend any money – just take them once a month to a farmers’ market and walk up and down it three times,” he said.

“The people there are growing it and involved in it and they’re really attuned to people who aren’t buying and may be new – and they’ll give you tasters and maybe explain what’s going on. If you do that once a month, basically 90 per cent of the work is done, because it’s about exposure. Just go there and have a cup of coffee and meet some incredibly lovely people.

“At the same time, when you go to a supermarket, you can still make it exciting for kids – get them involved in choosing between a good choice and a good choice. So I’m not talking about the Haribos, I’m talking about what fruit you want today.”

Oliver, a father of four, also conceded that even he struggles sometimes to keep his children eating healthy food.

“Kids change and their tastes change – and know that their job in life is to mess with you,” he said.

“And also, don’t focus on what they don’t like, but on what they could like. Don’t stress too much. And when you do a little cook-up – before you’ve even started, sign off the mess, so that when you make mess you don’t get stressed and pissed off about it.

“But ultimately, here’s the thing: if you talk to people like Stephanie Alexander – one of my heroes – I have never ever seen a kid, when they grow stuff and eat stuff, they don’t like it.

“Kids are not genetically programmed to love burgers and nuggets.”
– David Washington

What’s on…

Belle’s Hot Chicken and natural wine at Africola –  April 5

Melbourne institution Belle’s Hot Chicken is taking over the kitchen at Duncan Welgemoed’s Africola this Easter Sunday from 4-9pm accompanied wines from some of SA’s progressive natural wines producers including Jauma, Shobbrook, Lucy Margaux, Gareth Belton and Michael Downer. Booking recommended.

Festival Fleurieu – April 11 to 19

Formerly known as The Leafy Sea Dragon Festival, Festival Fleurieu now promises more than 90 events in 50 venues across the Western Fleurieu region under the leadership of Greg Mackie. Starting with Fiesta Fleurieu, a street party in Normanville, the festival will see poets, painters, photographers and “posers du-culinaire” presenting events as diverse as “High Camp – gourmet grazing at the Jetty Camp Kitchen” (booked out) and a beer-matching degustation at Smiling Samoyed Brewery.

Bottega Rotolo Cheese Experience Evenings – April 16 & 30

Let fine cheese purveyor Rosalie Rotolo-Hassan and Bottega Rotolo’s resident sommelier take you on a journey around French and Italian cheeses with matching wines at the King William Road store.  Cost is $50 per person and seats are limited to a maximum of 12 guests per experience. Private tastings can also be made by arrangement. Bookings: 1300 2688 3422

Barossa Vintage Festival – April 15 to 19

Barossa Wine Chapters auction. Photo: supplied

The 2015 program for the Barossa Vintage Festival offers 95 events celebrating the region’s rich heritage and gastronomic pleasures over five days. A highlight of the festival is the exclusive Barossa Wine Chapters Auction, which offers a fantastic range of wines and experiences for anyone interested in Barossa wines. The online auction opens for bidding tomorrow with the live auction and lunch on Friday, April 17.

The future of food – April 22

Some of the world’s greatest thinkers on food and food innovators will converge on the Festival Centre on April 22 for the Food South Australia Summit: Looking Ahead to discuss emerging food trends and how they can be converted into new food products and business models.

Dinner at the Oval – April 23

InDaily has partnered with the Hill of Grace Restaurant at Adelaide Oval to offer readers an exclusive preview of the new autumn/winter menu with dishes presented by head chef Dennis Leslie. The dinner will be accompanied by premium Henschke wines and hosted by InDaily editor David Washington and publisher Amanda Pepe. Tickets are $195 per head for a five-course menu with matched wines. Individual or group bookings welcome. Numbers strictly limited. For bookings call 8205 4777.

How to make table olives with Rossa Matto – June 14

Following on from her Tasting Olive Oil workshop last year, chef Rosa Matto is running part two of the olive oil story – how to make table olives. The workshop will cover curing, pickling and cooking with olives and will be held at Angas Street WEA.