Matt McConnell and Jo Gamvros’ new book, Eat at the Bar, presents recipes that would be right at home in their iconic Melbourne restaurant, Bar Lourinhã. From cooling cocktails to classics with a twist, it’s easy eats on another level.
This recipe is a favourite in Spain. The perfect summer drink, it's fizzy, fruity and refreshing. This is an edited extract from Eat at the Bar by Matt McConnell with Jo Gamvros (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $50). Available in stores nationally. Recipe by Matt McConnell and Jo Gamvros.
“We first served this when you could get tuna at a reasonable price – that’s hard to do now, which is good, because the price reflects the fact it’s being fished sustainably. The sauce is loosely based on an almond sauce we had in Cádiz, but that one was always served with meat. We thought it would be a great fit with the richness of the tuna.” This is an edited extract from Eat at the Bar by Matt McConnell with Jo Gamvros (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $50). Available in stores nationally. Recipe by Matt McConnell and Jo Gamvros.
“Matt’s never been a fan of pipis. They can be tough and sometimes sandy and not quite fresh enough. But you can get really good pipis now. We ate a plate of these on the beach in Portugal. They’d been cooked over fire in a mixture of oil and butter, which is unusual because they rarely cook with butter. There were also handfuls of torn coriander and some lemon. So simple but so good. If you can’t get pipis, clams will work just as well.”This is an edited extract from Eat at the Bar by Matt McConnell with Jo Gamvros (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $50). Available in stores nationally. Recipe by Matt McConnell and Jo Gamvros.
“This comes from Seville. We ate it the first time in Macarena, north of the city. Some of the places look a little scary to walk into, but there was this smell coming out of one of them, punchy and heady. We went in and they only had a couple of things so we ordered the chickpeas with spinach. Straight after, we walked to the market, bought the spices, dried chickpeas and a big bag of spinach leaves, and cooked it straight away. We wrote the recipe down and it has been on our menu since.” This is an edited extract from Eat at the Bar by Matt McConnell with Jo Gamvros (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $50). Available in stores nationally. Recipe by Matt McConnell and Jo Gamvros.
“This is a tribute to Jo’s grandmother, Lidia. When Matt was trying to work out this cooking thing, spending time with her in her backyard [garden] in Box Hill started to define how he wanted to go about it. There are great photos of Matt picking zucchini flowers with Lidia. We’ve refined the batter slightly, but the filling is exactly as Lidia would have done it.” This is an edited extract from Eat at the Bar by Matt McConnell with Jo Gamvros (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $50). Available in stores nationally. Recipe by Matt McConnell and Jo Gamvros.
“Often, when returning from Europe to Australia, we would stop somewhere in Asia. This recipe was inspired by those trips. It’s crunchy and refreshing, great for the warmer months when cucumbers are at their peak. Use these pickles as a garnish for cocktails. They lend a spicy, savoury twist to favourites such as a Bloody Mary.” This is an edited extract from Eat at the Bar by Matt McConnell with Jo Gamvros (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $50). Available in stores nationally. Recipe by Matt McConnell and Jo Gamvros.
Eggwhite and aperol are an unstoppable combination in this flavoursome cocktail twist. This is an edited extract from Eat at the Bar by Matt McConnell with Jo Gamvros (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $50). Available in stores nationally.
