Alisa explores a 500m radius around her house to see what food joys she can find in a very small space. Ironically, this episode was recorded before the Stage 4 restrictions that see Melbournians restricted to a 5km radius. This episode also features a short story read by S M Monteith, and recipes for the best ever orange cake, baked donuts, and pickled melon.
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Best Ever Buttery Orange Cake
INGREDIENTS
Cake
250g butter, softened
2 tbsp finely grated orange rind
300g castor sugar
4 eggs
225g self-raising flour
180ml orange juice
150g frozen raspberries (optional)
Glaze Icing
240g icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp soft butter
2 tbsp orange juice
METHOD
Preheat the oven to moderately slow. Grease a 22cm round cake tin, and line it with baking paper.
Beat the butter, rind, and sugar in a large bowl with electric beaters until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined between additions. Fold in combined sifted flours and juice in two batches. Spread mixture into prepared pan.
Bake cake for about 1 hour. Stand in pan for 5 minutes before cooling on a wire rack.
Stir sifted icing sugar, butter and juice until smooth and combined. Top cake with icing.
Orange & Cinnamon Baked Donuts
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk or natural yoghurt
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
finely grated rind of one large orange
Sugar coating
50g butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Spray donut pan with nonstick spray.
2. Mix together oil, buttermilk, eggs, sugar, salt, baking powder, rind and vanilla until combined.
3. Stir in flour and continue to mix until smooth. Fill the donut pans up about 3/4 of the way.
4. Bake donuts for 15 minutes.Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes, then remove donuts from pan.
5. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Brush butter onto donuts with a pastry brush, coating the entire surface area. Dip into the sugar and cinnamon mix.
Pickled Melon
INGREDIENTS
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup spring or filtered water
3/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tsp. fine sea salt
1 tsp. crushed chilli flakes OR whole dried chilli
3 sprigs fresh mint
1 small melon (canteloupe or honey dew)
METHOD
1. Be sure to sterilise your jars before you begin.
2. Seed, peel and chop the melon into small cubes
3. Combine the sugar, water, vinegar, salt, and chilli in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt completely.
4. While the brine is heating, pack the melon into the jars as tightly as you can without crushing them. Pour the hot brine into the jars, leaving a 1cm headspace and making sure the melon pieces are completely submerged. Insert 1 mint sprig into each jar, pushing down along the side of the jar with the handle of a spoon to submerge in the brine. Cool to room temperature.
5. Screw the lids on tightly, and let the melon cure in the refrigerator for 4 days before serving. The melon will keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 month, though it will continue to soften over time.
Illustration from The Feast by S M Monteith.