A Taste of Home
Fervor describe themselves as a ‘culinary experience’, committed to raising the profile of native ingredients whilst building community and cultural knowledge in WA’s regions. Founder, Paul Iskov, takes us on a photographic journey trough their exquisite and unique dining experiences.
After travelling across the world working in some of the world’s best restaurants, many of whom were using produce native to their regions, I started wondering why there wasn’t more Australian produce used in restaurants here. Surely there had to be something other than lemon myrtle and pepperberry. I returned home at the end of 2012, inspired. I found many ingredients that I’d never heard of or tasted. More importantly, I discovered this incredible culture that goes hand-in-hand with the food.
In March 2013, our very first event was held, and Fervor was established as a roaming restaurant to explore, learn and share what we have discovered with others. Some guests travel from afar and some guests are from five minutes down the road. Foodies, farmers and families are all part of the diverse group that join us at each dinner.
When we first started out, we had an old Tritan ute, which we were told wouldn’t go very far. It kept going for years, even after we upgraded it! Today we have Trev the Truck who takes us where we need to be.
Paul’s Macadamia with Youlk
Prep/Cook
40 mins
Serves
4 as a starter
Ingredients
400g macadamia nuts
250ml filtered water
1 tsp lemon myrtle oil
1 small youlk* or white radish
500ml grape seed or vegetable oil for frying
2 bunches sea celery (or parsley)
4 tsp lemon myrtle emulsion
Youlk, also known as Ravensthorpe radish, is an edible bushfood root. Naturally occurring, you can find it growing across Ravensthorpe, Newdegate and Jerramumgup in Western Australia.
Method
1 Preheat oven to 180C
2 Chop 50g of the macadamia nuts and roast in the oven at 180C for 6-8 minutes or until just golden brown. Set aside.
3 In a food processor, pulse 200g of the macadamia nuts until they’re the consistency of couscous. Don’t over puree or the nuts will turn to paste. Set aside.
4 Using a jug blender, process 120g of the macadamia nuts with the water for 2 minutes to form a macadamia nut milk.
5 Strain macadamia nut milk through muslin cloth or into a bowl or pot. Add the lemon myrtle oil. Set aside.
6 On a mandolin, carefully shave the remaining macadamia nuts into paper thin slices. Set aside.
7 Shave youlk into paper thin slices on a mandolin and set aside.
8 In a medium pot, heat oil to 200C.
9 Cut celery into 10cm long stalks and fry. Remember to stand back or cover the pot – oil will spit when sea celery goes into the pot because of the water content. Once it has stopped bubbling, remove from oil and place on paper towel to drain.
To serve: Place 1 tsp of lemon myrtle emulsion onto each plate. Cover with a quarter of the macadamia nut couscous. Add 1tbsp of roasted macadamia nuts. Now add the shaved youlk and shaved macadamia nuts. Place sea celery stalks on top.
Finish with 2 tbsp of the macadamia nut milk.
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