By Christine Salins.
As we head towards Australia Day, it’s worth reflecting on the influences that have shaped our food culture. The way Australians eat today is very different from even just a few decades ago. One chef whose influence has been profound, both on restaurants and on home cooking, is Neil Perry.
The Sydney restaurateur behind Rockpool and numerous other widely praised establishments entered our home kitchens through a long-running column in The Sydney Morning Herald Good Weekend.
He has produced 10 cookbooks, the most recent being Everything I Love to Cook, published by Murdoch Books ($59.99). His first book, 16 years ago, The Food I Love, was ground-breaking for home cooks, and you could consider this latest one as the bookend to that.
Over the years, Perry has inspired us to try new flavours and he has tirelessly supported the producers who sustainably grow the food we love to eat. In Everything I Love to Cook, he revisits legendary dishes from his flagship restaurants and modern classics from the Good Weekend column, as well as new favourites.
The recipes range from dishes as simple as the perfect steak sandwich and comforting bowls of pasta to southern Thai-style chicken curry and the beautiful salad here. This Prawn, tomato, nectarine and hazelnut salad is perfect for summer entertaining and would make a great addition to the Australia Day table.
In 2021, Perry opened a new restaurant in Sydney, Margaret, named after his mother, which showcases many of the dishes contained in Everything I Love to Cook. Perry is on a mission to boost kitchen know-how and hence he includes tips and techniques covering everything from basic knife skills to the art of barbecuing, dressing a salad and mastering a roast dinner.
Prawn, Tomato, Nectarine And Hazelnut Salad
Serves 4
16 large cooked prawns, peeled and deveined
2 heads of witlof – red, white or a combination – leaves separated, washed and dried
2 heads of baby cos lettuce, leaves separated, washed and dried
2 tablespoons hazelnut oil
Juice of 2 limes
2 yellow-fleshed nectarines
2 vine-ripened tomatoes, cored
½ cup (75 g) hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Small handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely shredded
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Place the prawns in a large bowl. Roughly tear the witlof and baby cos leaves and add to the bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Drizzle with the hazelnut oil and lime juice, adding a little at a time and tasting as you go to achieve the right balance.
Cut the cheeks off the nectarines and thinly slice each cheek. Cut the tomatoes into wedges.
Arrange the nectarines and tomatoes on four plates. Divide the salad leaves and prawns between the plates, placing them gently around the fruit. Sprinkle with the hazelnuts and parsley and serve.
Note: Any crustacean would work well here – crab, lobster or bug meat would be great.
Try this with fragrant white peaches or nectarines. When stone fruit is in season, it can be hard to choose!
Images and text from Everything I Love to Cook by Neil Perry, photography by Petrina Tinslay. Murdoch Books, RRP $59.99.
