With a nose-to-tail approach and an eye on provenance Kylie Millar coaxes flavour from unexpected ingredients to create dishes that are smart in more ways than one.
The no-waste approach is a no-brainer for Kylie Millar. It’s easier on the wallet and enriches the repertoires of home cooks and chefs alike.
“You’re not throwing away food you paid good money for,” Millar says. “But it’s also a great way to add flavour. That may be through making preserves from ingredients you can’t use straight away – think ferments, jams, relishes and pickles – or using things you don’t usually use such as parmesan rind.”
A holistic approach to cooking has held Millar in good stead. The MasterChef alumna and newly crowned Josephine Pignolet Young Chef of the Year 2018 was working at Melbourne’s acclaimed Attica when her kitchen-garden duties introduced her to the Row 7 organic seeds of chef Dan Barber of New York’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns. The connection led to a stage at the renowned farm restaurant run on sustainable principles, where she has since held the position of lead line cook.
The dishes she has chosen here reflect a broader approach to food – “not just being limited to what you buy from the supermarket or what comes out of a box” – and they ramp up the all-important flavour factor. “They’re delicious and the sort of thing I cook at home,” she says. “I like to think outside the square – I’m excited by the unexpected and dishes that are different to what you’d normally make.”
That ethos is seen here where barley stands in for rice in the risotto-style dish with the cauliflower, while beetroot leaves star in a stir-fry, and leftover bread is turned into a knockout dessert.
When we spoke to Millar, she was working as a butcher in Sydney until she can get back to New York and the farm when the travel restrictions lift.
“I’ve learnt so much about agriculture and how it affects the food we eat and cook with. I’m just really keen to get back there and learn more.”
Market Basket
VEAL CUTLETS
“Veal is a byproduct of the dairy industry and it makes sense to use it. You can’t necessarily interchange it with regular beef – the meat hasn’t developed a lot of fat, but there’s good flavour. The cutlets are great with just a quick go in the pan or on the barbecue, or roasted and basted with brown butter, rosemary and garlic.”
CAULIFLOWER
“Buy cauliflower that hasn’t had the leaves trimmed off. They’re delicious and a great way to reduce waste. Plus, they look magnificent with all their leaves attached – I’d love a bouquet of them. Chuck them in a stir-fry or use them as you would spinach. They’re best cooked or use them in kimchi or sauerkraut.”
BEETROOT
“I love the earthy flavour of beetroot. I like to roast them in their skins, let them cool, then throw them in a salad with walnuts and cheese. I tend to over-buy in-season vegetables – they taste amazing and are cheaper. But if I can’t use them all, what to do? Preserve! I love pickled beets – my nanna gave me a tin for my birthday every year and I’d eat them in one go!”
GRAPEFRUIT
“It can be difficult to use the whole citrus – flesh, pith and skin – but grapefruit can be preserved in salt like lemons, say, and a lot of the flavour is in the oils of the skin. You can candy it in sugar syrup and use it in cakes or tarts. All citrus and seafood is a match made in heaven so you can chop up grapefruit peel really finely and add it to seafood curries. It mellows into the dish and adds a pop of acidity.”
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