Slow Food Breakfast - February 29th,
2008
In an auspicious beginning to the Slow Food Noosa calendar
for 2008, a record turn out of 50 members and friends gathered
at the Blue Angel restaurant, Gympie Terrace Noosaville,
the new venue for our monthly Slow Food breakfasts.
Following a welcome from the incoming
President, Daniel Mosedale, the Slow crowd quickly settled
into breakfast, hosted by Daniel’s charming wife,
Angela.
Freshly made coffee accompanied generous
slabs of moist dense carrot cake topped with candied Pimientos
de Padron folded through a cream cheese frosting. The candied
pimientos added a subtle spicy note to the utterly delectable
carrot cake. Chef Daniel gave a brief outline of what to
expect from Slow Food Noosa this year before disappearing
into the kitchen to prepare our second breakfast dish in
which he again would use Richard Mohan’s Pimientos
de Padron in an entirely different application.
Over just baked individual sweetcorn frittata,
golden with free range eggs, cooked to wobbly perfection,
topped with a saute of chorizo, onion, those little Pimientos
de Padron, and served with a simple tomato salad, Matt Golinski,
the immediate past president of Slow Food Noosa, introduced
Richard Mohan, our guest speaker.
Travelling in Galicia, in the north west
of Spain, Richard a lover of all things Spanish, was captivated
by the taste of the unique small green peppers known as
‘Pimientos de Padron’. Richard regaled us with
stories of his early trials and tribulations as he first
tracked down the seeds and then set about growing these
little gems at Maleny on the Sunshine Coast. With a high
rainfall and lush green pastures Maleny is not dissimilar
to Galicia, however as the only person in Australia attempting
to grow these desirable little green pods, Richard’s
early efforts were most definitely a learning process.
Although an intensely hands on enterprise,
Richard has persevered with his organically grown Pimentos
de Padrones and weather conditions permitting, now produces
an abundant crop of these sweet, generally mild delicate
little peppers between November and May each year. As the
season progresses the heat of the peppers becomes more intense
and the likelihood of finding a wicked throat-searing little
bundle more frequent.
Delicious simply sauteed in olive oil
until smoky, then sprinkled with some good sea salt every
dish of these pimientos contains the possibility of a unique
culinary surprise. About one in ten of the deceptively mild
little peppers is extraordinarily hot! Often referred to
as the ‘Russian Roulette’ factor, there is no
physical clue to alert you to which ones are seriously,
screamingly spicy but for many people this is the entire
point of eating them and there is no better accompaniment
than an icy cold beer or chilled Spanish sherry.
Once Richard had mastered the growing
process, he set about introducing his peppers to a thoughtfully
chosen list of Sunshine Coast chefs. Matt Golinski became
one of the early devotees of this organically grown, flavour
packed and locally produced pepper, after sampling a dish
of the pimientos Richard prepared for him, splashed with
a little Spanish sherry vinegar. The Pimientos de Padron
were immediately welcomed as an authentic addition to Matt’s
tapas menu. A favourite in tapas bars all over Spain, the
Pimientos de Padron have now been eagerly taken up by chefs
around Australia.
Personally, I am addicted the taste,
texture and anticipation of a plate of Pimientos de Padron,
and feel most fortunate to have observed Richard’s
drive and fortitude in growing this unique business.
Medicinal properties, nutritional and
health benefits add to the appeal of these peppers, and
under the banner of Midyim Eco Resort, Richard’s website:
www.midyimeco.com.au
now offers a mail order service, further information and
recipes. The recipe for the frittata appears in the recipe
section of the Slow Food Noosa website and I am sure with
gentle persuasion Daniel would also post the recipe for
that wonderful carrot cake! I suggest it would be most worthwhile
to watch for any new produce from Midyim Eco Resort and
the passionate hands of Richard Mohan.
A warm welcome was extended to the returning
and newly elected committee members introduced by Anne Marshall,
our dedicated Slow Food Noosa Secretary.
Raffle winners: Anne Bourke’s lucky number came up
for the generously donated $50 voucher for Blue Angel and
Christian Nobel went home with 2 passes to the Noosa 5 Cinemas.
Leonie Palmer-Fisher |
