Rural dreams come to life in agrarian kitchen

If nothing else, The Agrarian Kitchen cookbook is one hell of a good ad for Rodney Dunn's business.

Rural dreams come to life

The Agrarian Kitchen

By Rodney Dunn Penguin, $59.99

If nothing else, The Agrarian Kitchen is one hell of a good ad for Rodney Dunn's business, a farm-based cooking school in an idyllic setting near Hobart. It's the stuff of rural foodie dreams: foraging for mushrooms, building winter bonfires for spit-roasting lamb, smoking your own fish and making fizzy drinks from the rhubarb in your kitchen garden and the roses near the back door of your 19th-century schoolhouse. Dunn is no country bumpkin but a serious talent, ex-chef (Tetsuya's, Sydney) and food editor (Gourmet Traveller), perfect credentials for writing a cookbook. This is his first, and it really is close to perfect. Photographs - suitably Nigel Slater in style - are by Dunn's friend Luke Burgess, chef at Hobart's Garagistes, who's done a great job of bringing the Tasmanian countryside and all its bounty to life.

RECIPE

GRILLED MACKEREL WITH BARLEY, EGGPLANT AND GARLIC YOGHURT

Mackerel would have to be one of the most underrated fish in Australia. Ironically, most of the catch is ground into food for farmed fish, which end up with nowhere near the incredible flavour and texture of mackerel. Grilled slowly over coals,

it offers a wonderful eating experience: the natural oils in the fish mean it stays juicy and succulent, and the flesh absorbs the smokiness from the grill.

INGREDIENTS

200 g (1 cup) pearl barley

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 Japanese eggplants (aubergines), halved lengthways

3 roma (plum) tomatoes, halved lengthways olive oil, for brushing

2 whole mackerel (about 700 g in total) large handful flat-leaf parsley leaves handful mint leaves

GARLIC YOGHURT

140 g ( cup) plain yoghurt

2 teaspoons tahini

2 cloves garlic, finely grated

50 ml extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

1. Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil over high heat. Add barley, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until just tender, about 810 minutes. Drain barley and spread over a tray or large plate to cool.

2. For garlic yoghurt, combine yoghurt, tahini and garlic in a bowl, then whisk in olive oil in a thin, steady stream. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Preheat a chargrill pan or barbecue grillplate over high heat. Brush eggplant and tomato with olive oil and season with salt. Place vegetables cut-side down on grill and cook for 34 minutes, then turn and cook for another 34 minutes or until tender. Remove and set aside on a plate covered with foil.

4. Brush fish with olive oil and season with salt. Make sure grill is very hot this will prevent fish from sticking then place fish carefully on grill and leave untouched for 45 minutes. Turn and cook for another 45 minutes or until fish is just cooked through but remains juicy.

5. To serve, scatter barley over a plate, season with salt and pepper, then arrange grilled eggplant and tomato on top. Lay fish on plate, drizzle with garlic yoghurt and scatter with herbs.

Serves 4