The Grounds Sydney

The Grounds, Alexandria, SydneyParmesan and Lemon Baked Chicken Goujons with Salsa Verde Dipping SauceButtermilk Chicken, Walnut, Tarragon and Watercress pizza Italian Sausage, Bacon, Roasted Tomato and Egg Pizza Chocolate Frangipane Plum TartLast week I did a shoot at a new coffee house in the suburb of Alexandria in Sydney. ‘The Grounds’ is opening next Monday (April 2nd) and what can I say about the building and fit-out other than it is utterly STUNNING...When I walked into the building last week early in the morning with all my gear, I was blown away at what an amazing job is being done here. There’s an incredible industrial feel to the place what with its beautiful sparkling subway tiles; pristine white glass and wood cabinets lining the walls in abundance; exposed vents and Edison light bulbs hanging over tables and perfectly positioned around the interior. Solid wood tabletops are treated with beautiful typography and overall there is a fabulous feeling of perfected attention to detail with a great contrast between the old and new; crumbling bricks from the old building sit alongside sumptuous leather banquettes, plants hang overflowing from exposed shelving alongside rows and rows of (gorgeous!!) vintage American milk bottles and old scales and lamps.Its always reassuring (and in most instances a rarity over commonplace) to see a business owner showing this level of respect for design, branding and marketing. I hope this business soars for him and his team. Ramzey Choker is the said entrepreneurial owner and food importer and hes teamed up with Jack Hanna ~ barista extraordinaire to build The Grounds. Never to-date have I witnesses (and enjoyed) coffee made with such passion.I was asked to take some food shots by Folke (the fab Communications firm in Paddington) before the grand opening as the team were still putting the finishing touches to the interior coffee-house and adjoining exterior gardens, so regretfully this time I was unable to get full shots of the building ~ ladders and workmen dont always make for the most beautiful photography ;) but what a stellar effort to all who are involved to get The Grounds ready and shining for its grand opening next week. Its going to be huge and from what I witnessed it’s going to be one of the hottest locations in Sydney once open, especially too did I mention the exterior garden area which is utterly lush with an abundance of veggies, flowers and fruit which is a perfect play area for kids; a stunning party venue or client function area (complete with bar area) and or a wonderous place to enjoy a Sunday brunch with friends. Overall its just a magnificent site which has been designed and fitted out to suit a plethora of events and needs. I cant wait until it opens to get back with friends to savour more scrummy food and superb coffee.A former warehouse and pie factory, The Grounds is now a coffee lovers heaven and venue for hire. Rater than me rambling on here, you can read all about The Grounds here and check out their website which will be going live very soon.One of the dishes I shot whilst there was an amazing chicken schnitzel with a tangy and vibrant salsa Verde dipping sauce. Taking on board some of your comments from my last post re. healthy options, I thought it would be a nice idea over the past weekend to rustle up my own version of this recipe – albeit, oven baked chicken to cut back on the calories. This is a healthy alternative to deep or shallow frying breaded chicken and a great mid-week dinner idea for kids. The salsa Verde is more of a take on a more traditional recipe as I added in some ingredients I found in my fridge which I had leftover from other recipes, i.e. the green capsicum etc.I’m also including this week some pizza recipes and a fab chocolate plum tart. These were all recipes I was considering to use in an upcoming editorial I am doing with a Sydney mag but felt they’d be good options for blog recipes. I could eat pizza every night – I adore it, and I love making them too, one of the best pieces of kitchen equipment I have ever bought is a pizza maker. Initially I balked at the notion of owning one as I saw them as very ‘gadgety’, but I find them one of the handiest and time saving pieces in the kitchen. They’re not expensive (approx. $120) and make pizza-making super quick and hassle-free. Obviously if you don’t have one, you can use a pizza stone in a regular oven.On an end note, thanks again SO much for all the wonderful, insightful comments on the blog from my last post re. what youd like to see from a functionality point of view on the blog when I start having it re-designed. All your words have been well read now and the re-design has started officially. I am going to draw a winner from a hat on Friday for the Christine Manfield Tasting India book (or which I now have a signed copy from Christine here at my studio :)Next months book is a signed copy of Kylie Kwongs Simple Chinese Cooking photographed by Earl Carter. To win this signed copy simple leave a comment below letting me know your absolute favourite Asian dish - be it Chinese, Thai, Japanese etc etc, let me know your thoughts below. Also can you let me know your location and no Anonymous comment please :) I have an all Asian inspired theme coming up after my big USA posting (thatll be up end of May when I return from the States so all you photo contributors dont despair - I will be using piccies i havent forgotten about you or them :) and Ill have a wonderful giveaway from a top Japanese kitchenware company who supply the top restaurants of the world with knives and kitchenware - stay tuned!As ever thanks for reading.Katie xRecipes below. - - - - - - - - Parmesan and Lemon Baked Chicken Goujons with Salsa Verde Dipping SauceSalsa Verde Dipping Sauce:Large handful of fresh parsley leavesLarge handful of fresh basil leavesSmall handful watercress or rocket2 anchovy fillets4-5 leaves fresh tarragon1 tablespoon capers1 small green capsicum1 long green chilliJuice & zest 1 small lime3 teaspoons Dijon mustard1 tablespoon red wine vinegar1/3 cup light olive oil¼ cup pine nutsSalt and freshly ground black pepper2 x 200g free-range chicken breasts1 cup buttermilk1 eggFor the breaded coating:5 x (approx. 40g ea.) slices of multigrain breadZest 2 lemons50g Parmesan cheese, gratedSalt and freshly ground black pepperExtra lemon wedges to servePre-heat oven to 180˚C fan forced. Line two baking trays with non-stick parchment. Set aside.To make the Salsa Verde add all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and whizz until almost smooth, you want it still to have bit of texture. Transfer to a serving bowl and chill in the fridge until required.Remove any excess skin from the chicken breasts and cut into bite-sized strips (about 2cm thick x 10cm or so long, and you’ll probably get about 10 per breast).Place buttermilk and egg in a bowl and whisk. Set aside.To make the coating, whizz bread slices in a food processor into breadcrumbs, add the lemon zest, grated Parmesan and season with a pinch of salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Whizz once more to combine. Turn out into a medium-sized mixing bowl.Coat each chicken strip in the buttermilk then toss liberally in the breadcrumb mixture. Place chicken pieces onto the pre-lined baking sheets, bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and coating if golden and crunchy.Serve goujons warm with the Salsa Verde.- - - - - - - - Italian Sausage, Bacon, Roasted Tomato and Egg Pizza (Makes 2)I have a fab recipe for my own pizza dough in my book – I would love to mention it for this recipe but alas you’ll have to wait until October – only 7 months to go!! ;) For these recipes I used a good pre-made dough, I find most good gourmet groceries sell excellent pizza dough these days frozen in a packet of 2 or 4 which makes for easy and quick prep.2 x balls pre-made pizza dough or base Olive oil12-14 baby vine tomatoes500g Italian pork sausage½ teaspoon fennel seeds300g free-range (organic if poss.) lean bacon, very finely diced2 standard balls fresh mozzarella cheese2 eggsSalt and freshly ground black pepperExtra fresh basil leavesFor the pizza sauce:1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes2 teaspoons tomato paste2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar½ cup waterSmall handful (10-12 leaves) fresh basil Salt and freshly ground black pepper- - - - - - - - Pre heat oven to 180˚ fan-forced.Place tomatoes on a small baking sheet, drizzle with a little olive oil and roast in the pre-heated oven for 20-30 minutes until soft.Whilst tomatoes are roasting, to make the pizza sauce, add all ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes until reduced by half. Remove from heat and set aside until required.Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan, squeeze the inner sausage meat out of the casings and discard the latter. Break up the sausage meat in the frying pan using the edge of a wooden spatula.In a separate, smaller frying pan, dry-fry the fennel seeds over low-medium heat until they start to release their aromas then transfer to a mortar and pestle and grind to a powder, add to the sausage meat and combine thoroughly. Add the bacon and cook everything for 12-15 minutes of until bacon and sausage meat are golden brown. Remove from heat and spread out on kitchen paper.To assemble the pizzas, roll out dough to your desired thickness and place on pizza stone or pizza maker paddles. Divide tomato sauce evenly over both pizza bases and spread out leaving a 2cm border around the edge. Top pizzas with half the sausage and bacon crumble each then tear mozzarella into strips and dot over meat. Add the roasted tomatoes then finally crack an egg into the centre of the pizza. Scatter pizza with a few fresh basil leaves and season generously with freshly ground black pepper. Cook pizza in oven or in pizza maker for 10-15 minutes or until base is cooked through. If you are using a regular oven and pizza stone, turn oven temperature up to 200˚C to cook pizza.- - - - - - - - Buttermilk Chicken, Walnut, Tarragon and Watercress pizza 2 x balls pre-made pizza dough or base – as before above.Buttermilk marinade:1 cup buttermilk2 teaspoons Dijon mustardSalt and freshly ground black pepperJuice of small half a lemon2 x 200g (average sized) free-range chicken breasts For the pizza sauce:3 tablespoons light olive oilHandful of fresh parsley leavesHandful of fresh basil leaves2 teaspoons Dijon mustard2 tablespoons sour creamJuice of half a small lemonSmall pinch of tarragon (approx. 4-5 leaves)Salt and freshly ground black pepper1 cup walnuts, roughly choppedHandful or two watercress leaves50g Parmesan cheese, gratedLemon wedges for serving- - - - - - - - Pre heat oven to 200˚ fan-forced (if using a regular oven to bake pizzas)To make the marinade, add buttermilk, Dijon mustard and lemon juice into a medium-sized bowl, season with salt and pepper whisk together to combine.Remove excess fat from the chicken breasts and cut the chicken crossway into ½ cm thick strips. Add the chicken to the marinade, cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for 3 hours. After chilling, cook chicken pieces on a hot griddle pan until almost cooked through. Allow to rest on paper towel.To make the pizza sauce, add all ingredients into a food processor and whizz until smooth.To assemble the pizzas; roll out dough to your desired thickness and place on pizza stone or pizza maker paddles. Divide sauce evenly over both pizza bases and spread out leaving a 2cm border around the pizza edge (if you have any sauce remaining, retain to serve with the pizzas). Top pizzas with pre-cooked chicken strips, scatter with walnuts then bake in pizza maker or in standard oven on a stone until base is cooked through (12-15 mins). To serve, drizzle any remaining sauce over the pizzas (you can add a little EVOO to make it go further and to allow it to drizzle easier), top with a handful torn watercress leaves, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over pizza when cut and freshly ground black pepper.- - - - - - - - Chocolate Frangipane Plum TartFor the chocolate pastry:225g pastry flour20g cocoa75g caster sugar75g cold butter, cubed1 tablespoons light sour cream50g dark chocolate, melted over a double boiler and cooled1 eggFor the chocolate frangipane:150g unsalted Butter130g caster sugar165g almond meal4 egg yolks1 teaspoon vanilla essence100g dark chocolate, melted over a double boiler, cooled9-10 plums, halved and stones removed.Pre-heat oven to 200˚C fan-forcedTo make the chocolate pastry, add flour, cocoa, caster sugar and butter into the bowl of a food processor and whizz until breadcrumbs form. Add the sour cream and egg and cooled milted chocolate and whizz again until combined and a dough forms in the bowl. Add a little more flour if you feel the dough is too sticky. Remove from bowl, form into a smooth ball, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30-40 minutes.While pastry is chilling, make the chocolate frangipane. To do this, add all ingredients into a stand mixer bowl and beat until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and cover with cling film, chill in the fridge for 20-30 mins along with the pastry.Remove pastry from fridge and roll out in-between 2 pieces of non-stick baking parchment until approx. .5cm thick – note this pastry will still be a little soft so you may need to piece it together in some parts in the pie tin, to aid in the rolling stage, roll in between the paper as opposed to rolling on a floured surface as when you go to transfer it to the pie tin it’ll probably break apart if you skip the paper rolling method.Line a greased spring form tin (mine measured a rather whopping 28cm x 5cm!) with the pastry patching any parts you have to. Don’t worry too much about patching pastry, I don’t, no one notices anything once it’s cooked and at the end of the day it’s all about the actual taste and texture of the pastry. Prick the base of the pastry all over with a fork, then line the case with a flattened piece of baking paper (I find if you crumple it up then spread it back out flat again, it makes for easier lining), fill with pie weights or – like I use – rice, and press down firmly to spread rice into the full pie cavity, then blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and rice/weights and allow to cool for 10 minutes.Spread the frangipane all over the partially cooked base, and then push the pre-cut plum halves cut side up into the mixture. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the frangipane has risen and is cooked through.Serve hot with good quality vanilla bean ice-cream and a sprinkling of Amaretto liqueur (latter optional).- - - - - - - -P.S. This months Aussie Delicious editorial. Subscriptions available here to any non-Aussie readers.