Butterflied prawns cooked hot and fast in generous amounts of Penang curry butter, with a sesame hoagie to soak up every last bit. Superb.

The prawns are opened up through the shell so they cook quickly and evenly, while giving the curry butter plenty of surface area to melt into. The intense heat of the Gozney brings a little char to the shell and caramelizes the butter around the edges.

The curry butter is made from toasted spices, guajillo chili, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaf, garlic, shallot, shrimp paste and roasted peanuts. It is rich, aromatic and slightly smokey, with enough acidity from lime to keep everything balanced.

Ingredients

Penang Curry Butter

• 450 g unsalted butter, softened

• 10 g dried guajillo chilies

• ¾ tsp cumin seeds

• 1½ tsp coriander seeds

• ¼ tsp black peppercorns

• 3 Tbsp lemongrass, bottom third only, finely chopped

• 1 Tbsp galangal, finely chopped

• 4–6 kaffir lime leaves, ribs removed and finely sliced

• 2 cilantro roots, or 6 cilantro stems

• 3 Tbsp garlic, roughly chopped

• ¼ cup shallots, roughly chopped

• 1 tsp shrimp paste

• 2 Tbsp roasted peanuts

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 1 tsp lime zest

• 1 tsp palm sugar

Prawns

• King prawns, shell-on

• Penang curry butter

• Fresh cilantro

• Roasted peanuts, crushed

• Curry leaves

• Lime wedges

• Sesame hoagie rolls

Method

Make the Penang Curry Butter

Toast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds and white peppercorns in a dry pan over medium heat until fragrant.

Meanwhile, cover the dried guajillo chilies with hot water and soak for 15 minutes, until softened. Drain and remove the stems and seeds.

Toast the shrimp paste briefly in a dry pan or wrapped in foil over a flame until fragrant.

Pound the ingredients in a mortor and pestle until it reaches a paste consistensy OR Add the chilies, toasted spices, lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, cilantro roots, garlic, shallots, shrimp paste and roasted peanuts to a blender.

Blend into a very smooth paste, adding a little neutral oil if needed to help everything move.

Season with salt, lime zest and palm sugar.

Whip the paste into the softened butter in a food processor. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Butterfly the Prawns

Using a sharp knife, cut down the back of each prawn, splitting it almost all the way through while keeping the shell and tail intact.

Open the prawn out flat and remove the vein.

Pat the prawns dry and season lightly.

Cook in the Gozney

Get the Gozney ripping hot. You want a very high cooking temperature so the prawns char quickly without overcooking.

Place the 7 butterflied prawns shell-side down on a sizzle tray and add 4 large tablespoons of Penang curry butter directly onto the hot prawns.

Let the butter melt and foam into the flesh, spooning the melted butter back over the prawns as they finish cooking.

The prawns should be just cooked through, with a little char around the edges and plenty of curry butter pooled in the shell.

To Finish

Transfer the prawns to a serving platter.

Finish with cilantro, crispy curry leaves.

Serve with plenty of lime wedges and toasted sesame hoagies.

The Curry Butter

The beauty of this recipe is that the butter can be made well ahead of time. Keep it refrigerated and bring it back to room temperature before cooking.

Any leftover butter is excellent on grilled fish, chicken, corn, vegetables or simply spread onto bread and toasted.

The combination of the smoky Gozney heat, sweet prawns and aromatic Penang curry butter is what makes the dish.

Note: if you don’t have a Gozney, simply use the grill in your oven.

ENJOY!

ARLO

Peri-Peri Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken, halved

• 1 red bell pepper

• ½ bunch spring onions

• 2 French shallots

• 5 garlic cloves

• 2 bird’s eye chilies (red or green)

• 4 Fresno chilies

• ½ orange

• ½ lemon

• 4 bay leaves, stems removed

• 5 sprigs thyme, leaves picked

• 1 tsp coriander seeds

• 1 heaped tsp smoked paprika

• 1 heaped tsp dried oregano

• 1 tsp tomato paste

• 1 tbsp good-quality vinegar (we used persimmon vinegar + a little pickled Thai chili but white wine vinegar will do the trick)

• 1 tsp fish sauce

• 1 tsp sugar

• Extra-virgin olive oil (a generous glug)

For the finishing drippings

• 1 tsp finely chopped coriander

• 1 tsp finely chopped parsley

Method

1. Char the base
Blister the bell pepper, spring onions, shallots, chilies and the cut sides of the citrus in a Gozney or under a very hot grill. You’re looking for deep char and softened flesh; smoky edges, tender centres.

2. Blend the sauce
Peel most of the pepper skin away. Roughly chop everything and transfer to a food processor. Add thyme, bay, spices, vinegar, fish sauce, sugar and a generous glug of olive oil.

Blitz for about 1 minute. It should look similar to a romesco sauce.
Taste. It should wake you up: spicy, smoky, salty, sweet and bright.

3. Roast the chicken
Coat the halved chicken generously with the sauce.

Roast at 200°C for 35 minutes (look for an internal temperature of 74°C), basting with extra sauce every 10 minutes.
Finish under a hot grill – or blast in a Gozney – for deep char and caramelised edges.

Rest before serving.

Soft Pita (Makes 6)

Best to start before the chicken.

Ingredients

• 300g flour

• 180g water

• 15g olive oil

• 2g yeast

• 12g sugar

• 6g salt

Method

Mix all ingredients until smooth. Cover and proof for 1–3 hours, or until doubled in size.

Divide the dough into 6 even pieces. Round each piece and let rest for 15 minutes.

Roll each piece into 10cm rounds that are not so thin — thick enough to allow the pita to puff beautifully.

Preheat the oven to 275°C with a baking stone inside. (If you prefer, you can cook on the stovetop, but a pizza oven works best.)

Bake each pita for 1–2 minutes, until fully puffed and lightly golden.

Butter Lettuce Salad

Cool, sharp and fresh. This cuts through the richness of the chicken.

Ingredients

• 1 head butter lettuce

• ½ onion, quick pickled

• ½ fennel bulb, thinly sliced

• Pinch of salt

• Juice of ½ lemon

Quick Pickled Onion
Thinly slice onion (mandolin works best). Add a pinch of salt, a slightly larger pinch of sugar, juice of ½ lemon and a splash of white wine vinegar. Massage and rest 30 minutes.

To assemble, gently toss lettuce, fennel and a handful of pickled onion with salt and lemon.

Garlic Labneh

Ingredients

• 200g labne

• 1 garlic clove, finely grated

• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 tsp lemon juice

• Salt and pepper

Mix and adjust seasoning to taste.

To Plate

Stir chopped coriander and parsley into the warm chicken drippings. Spoon onto the base of each plate.

Place the charred chicken on top. Serve with warm pita, crisp salad and a generous spoon of garlic labne on the side.

Eat with your hands.

ARLO

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Instead of dried chilli flakes, we use bird’s eye chillies. Instead of seasoning at the end, the pork is hit early with fish sauce so the savouriness runs all the way through. Thai basil replaces regular basil. And once everything is tossed together, it get’s a solid hit of pecorino and parm and goes into the Gozney to blister and caramelise. The cheese catching, the edges crisping, the sauce concentrating.

It’s a bit like if Holy basil and Vodka pasta came together.

Creamy in the middle. Crunch and char at the edges. Very tasty.

ARLO

Ingredients

Pasta & Protein

• 500g (1 lb) mezze rigatoni

• 250g (1/2 lb) pork mince

Fat & Aromatics

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter

• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 large shallot (approx. 80g), finely diced

• 4 garlic cloves, pureed

• 3 bird’s eye chillies, finely sliced

Seasoning & Tomato Base

• 1 tbsp fish sauce

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 150g passata

• A little salt and pepper

Alcohol

• A splash of Sake or Vodka

Herbs & Dairy

• 6 Thai basil leaves, torn

• 125ml (1/2 cup) heavy cream

• 60g Parmesan, finely grated

• 40g Pecorino, finely grated

To Finish

• Reserved pasta water, as needed

Method

1. Build the base

Place a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil and allow the butter to melt and foam gently.

Add the diced shallot, pureed garlic and sliced bird’s eye chillies. Cook slowly until softened and fragrant.

2. Cook and season the pork

Increase the heat slightly and add the pork mince. Break it up and cook until it begins to caramelise and render its fat.

Season the pork with fish sauce at this stage. This is important — seasoning the meat early ensures the savouriness runs through the entire dish, not just the sauce.

Cook until lightly browned and fully cooked.

3. Concentrate the tomato and add the alcohol

Add the tomato paste directly into the pan and cook it out in the fat for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly. It should darken slightly and lose its raw edge.

Add the Thai basil and allow it to wilt into the sauce.

Add the sake or vodka and flambé or cook out completely.

Add the passata and simmer briefly until cohesive and slightly reduced.

4. Enrich with cream

Lower the heat and pour in the cream. Stir to combine and simmer gently until the sauce thickens and becomes glossy.

Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. It should be savoury, lightly sweet, aromatic and warm with chilli heat.

5. Cook and toss the mezze rigatoni

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the mezze rigatoni until just shy of al dente.

Transfer the pasta directly into the sauce with a small splash of pasta water. Toss thoroughly so the sauce coats and fills each piece.

Adjust consistency with additional pasta water if needed.

6. Finish in the Gozney or broiler

Transfer the dressed pasta into a tray or pan suitable for your Gozney oven. Add a heap of the parmesan, pecorino and a touch of olive oil to the tray.

Place into a hot oven and cook until the cheese and sauce begin to caramelise. The edges should blister and catch slightly, creating crisp, charred bits while the centre remains creamy.

Serve immediately and enjoy.

ARLO

At its core, it’s steak and fries. But the curry alongside is built the proper way: coconut milk cooked down first until it begins to caramelise. Only then does the paste go in, frying in that rendered coconut fat until aromatic, nutty and deeply savoury.

What you’re left with is something rich but balanced, sweet from palm sugar, sharp with tamarind, salty with fish sauce, and grounded by roasted spice and peanut.

Steak. Curry. Frites.

ARLO

Ingredients

Protein

• 1lb Steak (skirt, ribeye, sirloin or flank)

Curry Paste (you will have left over)

Spices & Nuts

• 2 Cardamom pods (1/4 tsp powder)

• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

• 1 tsp Coriander seed

• 3 Cloves

• 1/4 tsp Cumin seeds

• 1/2 tsp Mace

• A couple cranks Black pepper

• 1 tbsp Peanuts

Read more

We spent the day with Carmen roaming through Bushwick, hunting down the ingredients. We moved through the La Villa Produce and Deli as she pointed out dried chiles by name, picking out dried herbs and plantains, explaining how every element in mole has its place and purpose.

Carmen’s journey started in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, where she sold her violin to open a tamales business. That led her to the kitchens of some of the world’s best restaurants and eventually to winning MasterChef Mexico, Season 5. Carmen is kind, humble, and full of heart. Total gangsta.

Enjoy this recipe and thank you Carmen!

Note: half this recipe for smaller crowds.

Ingredients

For the Mole:

• 50 g Pasilla chili

• 100 g Guajillo chili

• 50 g Ancho chili

• 50 g Mulato chili

• 100 g Sesame seeds

• 100 g Walnuts

• 100 g Almonds

• 100 g Peanuts

• 20 g Whole cinnamon

• 70 g Pitted prunes

• 70 g Raisins

• 2 plantains (plátano macho), sliced

• 3 Mexican chocolate discs (chocolate de metate)

• 1 tsp whole black pepper

• 1 tsp allspice (sweet pepper)

• 5 cloves

• 1 bunch dried thyme

• 1 bunch dried marjoram

• 8 bay leaves

• 2 pcs star anise

• 1 piece of piloncillo (unrefined sugar cone)

• 1 piece of lard bread or Maria’s cookies / animal-shaped cookies

• 2 liters chicken or pork broth

• Salt to taste

• 100 g sugar

Procedure

Step 1: Prep the Chiles

Clean all your dried chiles with a damp cloth-make sure they’re dust-free. Then remove the stems and seeds.

In a large cast iron or steel pot, heat a bit of oil or preferably pork lard. Once hot, toast the chiles one by one-but be careful not to burn them. Remove and set aside.

Place the toasted chiles in your chicken or pork broth to soften while you prep the rest.

Step 2: Toast, Fry & Build the Flavor Base

Using the same pot where you fried the chiles, gently fry the nuts (walnuts, almonds, peanuts), seeds, and spices-cinnamon, star anise, black pepper, cloves.

Add your dried fruit: raisins and prunes. Add plantain slices. Finish with your cookies or bread and chocolate.

Stir constantly, letting everything toast and brown without burning. Add a splash of broth if it gets too dry. Let this mixture cook gently for about 5 minutes until fragrant.

Step 3: Blend and Simmer

In batches, blend the toasted mixture with broth and the softened chiles until smooth in a high speed blender. Gradually add everything into a large pot or cazuela.

Taste and adjust for salt, sweetness (with sugar).

Simmer the mole low and slow, stirring often (in one direction!) with a wooden spoon to avoid sticking. Let it reduce until it’s thick, glossy, and deeply aromatic.

Total Time

• Prep: 40 min

• Cook: 40 min

• Serves: 10 people

A Note from Carmen

This mole carries the weight of tradition - it is about patience, care, and sharing. Serve it with rice, tamales, tortillas, pork, chicken, or however you please. Cook with happiness! Food is a vessel for emotion! Enjoy!

7am last Sunday whilst in this space, I listened to Dorothy Ashby’s 1984 album Django/Misty play softly over my speakers and I don’t think I’ll ever forget hearing it again. It inspired me to learn more about the artist and listen deeper to her other recordings, and I encourage people to do the same.

To me, the harp is undoubtedly the most beautiful sounding instrument out there and Dorothy Ashby’s catalogue is a treasure-trove of warmth and feeling - it transcends categorisation. As an African-American women in Jazz she was a trailblazer, working her way through the Detroit club scene in the the 50s and 60s whilst simultaneously releasing highly-acclaimed albums as a band leader. Dorothy may have even been the first harpist to incorporate improvisation into her music.

Her 1958 record ‘In a Minor Groove’ stands out as the pivotal album in her early works and serves as an excellent entry point for listeners. With a bright tone, she leads the band with gusto and by this point, has settled into her playing style. Within this style, you can sense she’s been influenced by jazz guitarists like Wes Montgomery - playing up-tempo with lots of arpeggios and octaves. Bohemia After Dark is my pick off the album and you can listen here.

Fast forward to 1968, Dorothy began to forge her own unique fusion style on 'Afro-Harping’ - pushing the boundaries of Jazz by infusing elements of Afro, Soul and Funk. This subsequently led to session work with more popular artists like Bill Withers on his 1974 classic '+’Justments' and Stevie Wonder’s ’Songs in the Key of Life,’ which paved the way for a fruitful few years as a session musician.

The particular album I put on last Sunday was released in her twilight hour and has carries a playful yet meditative energy. Compared to her 70s solo work, It’s wonderfully easy to digest as it contains 8 covers of contemporary pop songs and jazz standards with melodies you should recognise almost immediately. I love the way she approaches every phrase particularly on ‘My Favourite Things’. Her touch is so light and expressive and it shows her mastery over the ‘Jazz Harp’ style - I think this version is right up there with Coltrane’s soprano sax opus! 

Unfortunately the album is not on streaming and costs an arm and a leg for an original vinyl copy but the whole thing lives happily on Youtube and you can listen here.

Dorothy sadly passed away from cancer two years after releasing this record. She was only 55 years old but left behind a beautiful body of work.

Writing this also got me thinking how my music choice tends to move with the seasons. For instance during the renewal of Spring, there’s a tendency to put on uplifting sounds that echo the blossoming energy of the season. Artists like Neil Young and the French duo ‘Air’ are the most likely to hog my speakers. For those based in Sydney, these guys were just announced to play the opera house as part of Vivid and I definitely wouldn’t miss it! And to place us now, where the days are longer and warmer - summer invites a shift towards music that evokes both relaxation and all-around carefree vibes. Dub lords like King Tubby push me to more tropical locales, whereas the hazy slide guitar work of Ry Cooder sends me straight to the Arizona desert. His 'Paris, Texas' soundtrack is the perfect accompaniment to those hot westerlies that blow through Sydney a handful of times each summer - here’s a link to one of my favourite scenes from the film that incorporates the stunning track ‘Houston in Two Seconds’.

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