A word from Greg Malouf

"since heading up my own kitchen, I have been able to synthesise the various influences of my culinary life and to produce the sort of food that I have always wanted to cook: not traditional Lebanese dishes, but rather food which, for me, captures the essence of the Middle East and expresses it in the best western tradition."

This is not one of those loss of inspiration, 'a word from ...' posts. I have been meaning to do something about Greg Malouf ever since I bought his beautiful book Saraban - he is on my list of potential subjects for a post. And today I have decided to make his date and lemon chutney - to use up some of those lemons I talked about the other day. So I thought I would look into him a little bit and also provide some words from the man himself.

I have been intrigued by him ever since I dined at O'Connell's - the restaurant he ran in South Melbourne somewhere - way back. It was Middle-Eastern food but with a light touch and a little bit different. It was, put simply, beautiful food. He has had several other sorties into Melbourne restaurants - Mo-Mo being the most famous and I now find that he also worked at the Petersham Nursery Restaurant in England where he earned a Michelin star. Now he is in his second restaurant in Dubai and not looking to return to Australia anytime soon, if ever, but has his eyes on London in conjunction with Dubai. A sad loss for Australia. Mind you he has become increasingly upmarket and I am sure his restaurant in Dubai will be very high end, producing elaborate dishes such as this pigeon bisteeya shown below - a work of art and not for the ordinary cook.

He was born here to Lebanese parents and has been a champion of Lebanese and Middle-Eastern food throughout his cooking life.

"When my classmates were munching their lunchtime sandwiches of Strasbourg and tomato sauce, I was tucking into a garlic-laden falafel."

In partnership with his then wife, now ex-wife, Lucy, he has written several beautiful cookery books. He does the recipes, she does the writing. I think they are currently working on one on vegetarian food. And in spite of him producing somewhat complicated dishes in his restaurants, most of the recipes in his books are pretty attainable by the ordinary person.

He has also had heart problems, a heart attack even I think - culminating in a heart transplant, so watches what he eats pretty carefully these days.

"Today I simply have to be conscious of my cholesterol intake, but I am firmly against the sort of food fascism which dictates many people's eating habits these days. For a healthy constitution, there must be balance. Don't banish all fats from your diet, but make sure, instead, that you eat 'healthier' fats such as olive oil, rather than saturated animal fats. Dairy foods are critical for bone and teeth strength - but make sure you don't eat a full-fat triple-cream cheese every day. You might opt instead for yoghurt."

I only have two of his books - Arabesque and Saraban, which I wrote about before I think. Arabesque, which was written when he was at O'Connell's and may have been his first book, is organised around ingredients. I have not used it a lot, but I have used it, as I will today, and the results have always been good. And I keep my eye out for the others on Readings bargain table. They pop up every now and then.

"There have always been fads and fashions in food. Over the centuries, as new ingredients spread to different regions they were quickly adopted and used ad nauseam until they found their own place and level in local culinary tradition. Without this eternal quest for new and different ideas we would still be munching on lentils and cabbage."

And when I looked for a picture of the chutney I am about to make I found it on Stephanie Alexander's website where she also was talking about lemon gluts and what to do with them. This was one of the recipes she recommended. She describes it thus:

"It is beautifully spiced and has some of the salty tang one associates with long-preserved lemons. The dates add a richness and a gorgeous texture."

Greg Malouf recommends using it for a barbecue glaze - simply mix a spoonful with some olive oil and brush it on to the meat or chicken for the last part of the cooking. He also suggest adding a spoonful to a vinaigrette intended for a bitter greens salad. The glaze idea sounds good. You could use it on a roast too. Maybe on a ham.

DATE-LEMON CHUTNEY

6 medium lemons, zest and flesh finely chopped

2 tablespoons salt

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

100ml extra virgin olive oil

100ml extra lemon juice

100ml cider vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely grated

1 teaspoon cardamom seeds, finely ground

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, finely ground

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes

225g brown sugar

200g fresh dates, stoned and chopped small

Mix the chopped lemon, lemon zest and juice with the salt and leave overnight. The next day place the lemon mixture in a heavy pan with all other ingredients except the sugar and dates. Bring slowly to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Then add the sugar and dates and simmer gently for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until thick and well reduced. Stir from time to time so it doesn't stick and burn. Pour into sterilised jars and store for at least 6 weeks before eating.

Now what could be simpler than that?

He does have a website but I cannot get it to load. You might have better luck.