This week we came home to find our pantry in disarray. Jars were smashed, sugar and barley and pasta and other hard-to-clean-up things were strewn across the floor, appliances were knocked over and a shelf that had been holding my cookbooks was no longer on the wall.
I had overloaded that shelf with far too many books, and it crumbled under the weight. It was not the shelf’s fault. It had done a valiant job of holding the books up for almost three months, but it could take the strain no more, and politely waited until we were safely out of the house to collapse, sending all the books tumbling to the ground.
The pantry has been tidied, but the books need a new home. While I was stacking them in a temporary corner, I picked out my favourites to sit at the top, and thought I’d share them with you. I’ve created a page with my go-to cookbooks listed. If you like the recipes I post on Simple Provisions, then you may be interested to see my favourite books, as they are what influence my cooking.
There are some classics like Stephanie Alexander’s The Cook’s Companion, which nearly every Australian household has, and Jerusalem by Sami Tamimi and Yotam Ottolenghi, which everyone who likes food bought in 2012. But a relatively new book has rocketed to the top of my pile in the last few weeks.
I received Community, Salad Recipes from Arthur Street Kitchen by Hetty McKinnon as a birthday present. I have not stopped cooking out of it. With 60 main-course salad recipes, all packed with flavour, I’ve found it the perfect book to open at 3pm when my mind goes blank about what to cook for dinner. All the recipes are vegetable based and have helped me use up what’s in my crisper drawer, garden and the pulses that survived the pantry calamity. I make a big salad, serve it for dinner (maybe with a piece of chicken or steak if I’m feeling meaty, but the salads generally stand alone), and then eat the leftovers for lunch the next day.
Hetty has a way with flavour. She uses herbs, spices and nuts in interesting ways to make sure the salad is packed with flavour. One trick is to infuse olive oil with herbs and garlic to drizzle over a salad. This inspired me to make a batch of parsley oil to keep in the fridge, ready to add flavour to whatever needed brightening during the week.
So far I’ve used the parsley oil on:
- boiled and baked potatoes
- scrambled eggs
- grilled chicken
- a simple green salad
- avocado on toast
It’s added a burst of green, garlicky goodness to all of those meals, lifting them from quickie dinners to flavour-packed dishes. You can use any soft herb, like basil, coriander or mint, and it’s great for using up the end of a bunch that you bought for another recipe. This isn’t the sort of flavoured oil that you can store for months. The water in the fresh garlic and herbs is a nice place for bacteria to lurk, so store it in the fridge and use it within a week. If you’re like me, you’ll find yourself reaching for it whenever something basic needs a bit more flavour, and you’ll use it up quite quickly.
Parsley Oil
Inspired by Community, Salad Recipes from Arthur Street Kitchen by Hetty McKinnon
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 1 cup parsley leaves
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Method
Place the garlic, salt and pepper in a mortar and pound it with the pestle to make a paste. Add the parsley and continue to pound until you have a thick green paste. Slowly stir through the olive oil. Alternatively, you can do all of this in a blender if you’re not into pounding.
This oil can be stored in a clean jar for up to a week in the fridge. It will slightly solidify in the fridge, so take it out 10 minutes before you want to use it, to loosen everything up again.
Love love love the photography. Sorry about the shelf though.
Thanks Sarah!
I didn’t realize there was a cookbook from the Arthur Street Kitchen. I shall have to track it down.
It was photographed by the excellent Luisa Brimble, which is how I found out about it as I follow her on Instagram. Excellent recipes and beautiful photos is a winning combo!
I want that cook book and I want that parsley oil! Mmmmm
Both are very useful Emma!
I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve put this on my bookshelf only to find it living on my kitchen table again. Brilliant for giving you ideas for what to do with seasonal veggies and pantry items.
I don’t think we’re the lone rangers in this phenomenon Anna. I’ve had several friends say “I’ve also got that book” and then proceed to tell me the page numbers of their favourite recipes!
Thanks for the heads up on the cookbook! It looks lovely, and my life revolves around salads as meals. I also make parsley oil, and other herbed oils. But parsley, I feel, is really under appreciated, so I’m so glad you wrote this post!
You’re welcome. At this time of year parsley is my go-to herb as it’s too early for basil, and I can never seem to grow coriander successfully.
This is so wonderful, thanks for sharing! Community sounds like a cookbook I need in my ever-expanding cookbook collection!
You’re welcome. I’m certainly enjoying cooking from it.
I agree with you about Community – quite an outstanding recipe book – very flavoursome. I’ll be making basil and corinder oil this afternoon.
I hope they turned out well Anne. I can imagine coriander oil being awesome on some fish tacos.
I love Arthur Street Kitchen and eat there often, it’s walking distance from home . I’m definitely adding ithe cookbook to my buckled and groaning shelves. I have a signed copy of Stephanie Alexander’s cooks Companion from the book launch way back when, received Jerusalem as a birthday present last year, have ab’day looming so am going to drop a very big hint.
Lucky you getting to sample the salads first hand! And I’m also particularly jealous of your signed cook’s companion, that’s an heirloom surely!
Ah, another cookbook to fill the over loaded shelves. Sounds good though, and it’s the second time I’ve come across the title this week, I must get my hands on it.
I see you have the same problem as me Michelle – I find it impossible to resist a good cookbook!
I love salad and will be looking for that cookbook. The photographs are great too!
I am from Pennsylvania in the US and was wondering where is Arthur Street Kitchen?
It’s in Sydney J Bird, a lovely little inner city suburb. I haven’t been there, as I live a plane ride away from Sydney. I hear on the grapevine that Hetty, the owner, is moving to Brooklyn, NY, so you may get to sample her wares before me!
you have a beautiful blog! great ethos – lovely gorgeous photos and everything looks delicious. Very inspirational!
Thank you so much.
Beautiful pictures.
Thanks Chaya!
When I read the first paragraph I totally thought the culprit was either going to be a burglar or some animal. I’m kind of glad for you that you weren’t there when it happened because that kind of crash totally sends your heart into your stomach. That kind of crash is just beyond comprehension. Thank you for the tip about left over herbs because that happens to me all the time. I get a bunch for something and stash it in the fridge, thinking I’ll use it for something else and I always forget about it until it basically liquifies.
Oh I would have totally freaked out! if we were home when the shelf crashed! I’m glad I’m not the only one who has had liquified herbs at the bottom of my fridge ;)
Oh dear sorry to hear about your shelf! Glad you’re enjoying the Community cookbook, it sounds like you’ve experimented with a few more recipes from it than I have, but the few I’ve tried have been delicious. Lovely post as usual!
Love this simple recipe and your photos are lovely!
NOW I know what to do with the last bit of parsley in my containers outside. We here in the US are enjoying the last gasps of summer but my parsley plants seem to be hanging on yet. Thanks for the great idea. I honestly have never thought to do this although I make basil oil all the time.
It makes me sad when parsley plants come to the end of their season, as I use it so often! Glad yours are hanging in there, enjoy those last gasps of sunshine (ours is just returning).
Amelia, I just came across this post and I wanted to say thank you, thank you for your extremely kind words. I am so overwhelmed by the reaction to Community and am delighted that so many people across Australia are enjoying these salad recipes. I’m just delighted. Thank you for sharing the salad love!! I will miss my Aussie ‘Community’ when we move to Brooklyn but it will just mean that my community will expand. Love your work, thanks again!
You are so welcome Hetty! All the best in Brooklyn – a most awesome place to be. Have a cocktail at the Wythe Hotel and a burger at Diner for me. x
My cousin, too was given this book as a present and I can confirm it is entirely beautiful. This parsley oil looks amazing! x x
Amazing! I really love it :)