Author Archives: Home Cooked Heston

Varnish On King


Varnish On King 

To celebrate Home Cooked Heston and his girlfriends birthday (because we are a day apart :D), we decided on a bar in Perth named Varnish On King Whiskey Bar. King street is a tiny narrow street that runs through the middle of Perth’s CBD and is home to some very high end fashion shops and some amazing little bars. Varnish is down at the Wellington end. As you walk through the two big wooden doors and down two flights of stairs you are greeted to a very busy and happening bar. The walls are covered in all different types of whiskeys and the smell from the kitchen is just as exquisite.

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There was eleven of us in total and we all had a good go at covering the food menu. The four dishes that my girlfriend and I had were the scollops, the prawns, the beef short ribs and the duck. All dishes were cooked perfectly but the one stand out dish for us all was the smoked duck it really was an epic dish.

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About halfway though dinner I was told that there was an item you could order that involved bourbon and beer. I was wondering why I missed this on the menu I had to try and I did. Four great bourbons matched with four amazing rashers of bacon. Probably some of the best bacon I have ever tried ever.

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Thank you to everyone who came and Thank You Varnish for the great night.

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Chicken Cacciatore


CHICKEN CACCIATORE

One of my most favourite cookbooks is “Polpo – A Venetian Cookbook (of Sorts)”. There are some amazing recipes in it and not too hard to make either. This recipe, chicken cacciatore is very easy and is actually my adaptation as the original is is for rabbit (which I have made and is just as good). I can make this recipe without the book and with all the herbs I have in the garden it really makes this dish one of my favourites.

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INGREDIENTS

– 500g Chicken

– 3 Carrots, Finely Chopped

– 3 Celery Sticks, Finely Chopped

– 1 Large Onion, Finley Chopped

– 2 Garlic Cloves, Finely Chopped

– 2 Rosemary Sprigs, Leaves Roughly Chopped

– 4 Thyme Sprigs, Leaves Only

– Flakey Sea Salt and Black Pepper to Taste

– A Glass of White Wine

– 2 x 400g Tins of Tomatoes

– 1 Handful of Black Olives, Stoned

– 1 Handful of Flat Leaf Parsley Leaves, Chopped

– I added lemon thyme and sage also

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METHOD

Put the chicken into a plastic bag with enough seasoned flour to coat. Give it a good shake, place into a large pot with 150ml of olive oil and cook until they are nice and browned on all sides. Cook in batches, remove and place to one side. Next add the carrot, celery, onion, garlic, thyme and rosemary to the pot. Season with salt and pepper, turn down the heat and soften for 5 minutes or so.

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When the vegetables start to stick, add the glass of wine and while it sizzle and bubbles away scrape up all the flavour bits that are on the bottom of the pot. Add the tomatoes, a cup of water and the black olives then bring to the boil. Add the meat and bring back to the boil. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2hrs.

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Taste the sauce and season if necessary. Serve in a large bowel and top with parsley. This dish can be served with Molecular Mash or just with a nice crusty bread. Enjoy.

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