You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin from News Talks, EDB, News.

You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin from News Talks, EDB, News.

Talks, ey Bear and our resident chef is with us now, Mike vander Ellson. How are you?

Talks, ey Bear and our resident chef is with us now, Mike vander Ellson. How are you?

I am back?

I am back?

You're back?

You're back?

Sure?

Sure?

I love it, and you're sounding good. You're sounding relaxed.

I love it, and you're sounding good. You're sounding relaxed.

Break I know. Funny funny thing was I was over the holidays. I was listening to News Dogs Bear My name popped up and I was like, oh, what was that about? So I started listening and I actually really do like chip and veggie night sandwich.

Break I know. Funny funny thing was I was over the holidays. I was listening to News Dogs Bear My name popped up and I was like, oh, what was that about? So I started listening and I actually really do like chip and veggie night sandwich.

So you can't say anything in this town, can you. You know, you'll just you know, someone all here, get your ears will prick up. I love it. No, No, it was very funny. We were we were talking about the complete out of disrespect that was shown to New Zealand by the the marmite and Chips sandwich. I think hitting number seventeen on the Worst Foods in the World list. And one of my lovely texts just texted in is we were people were texting and up their favorite chip, marmite and various other things sandwiches. Someone did text in and go vand Elson would be appalled in this. I do. I don't mind lot. I have one about one a year. But on New Year's Day, ironically, I had had the green onion and marmite chip sandwich and orch. It was just what I needed.

So you can't say anything in this town, can you. You know, you'll just you know, someone all here, get your ears will prick up. I love it. No, No, it was very funny. We were we were talking about the complete out of disrespect that was shown to New Zealand by the the marmite and Chips sandwich. I think hitting number seventeen on the Worst Foods in the World list. And one of my lovely texts just texted in is we were people were texting and up their favorite chip, marmite and various other things sandwiches. Someone did text in and go vand Elson would be appalled in this. I do. I don't mind lot. I have one about one a year. But on New Year's Day, ironically, I had had the green onion and marmite chip sandwich and orch. It was just what I needed.

It's a great thing. But yes, we went away and we came back to an absolute jungle. So we've spent the last week clearing and cutting and kind of trying to find our farm again underneath all the weeds.

It's a great thing. But yes, we went away and we came back to an absolute jungle. So we've spent the last week clearing and cutting and kind of trying to find our farm again underneath all the weeds.

But we're getting there, and the plums are on fire.

But we're getting there, and the plums are on fire.

The plums are amazing. We've got an old orchard and there's like a whole about five different varieties of old plum trees. I know. One of them is black doris. I don't know what the others are, red flesh, yellow, yellow flesh, and they're all over the place. But there is nothing better than a juicy plum when they're in season. Yeah, it's kind of like a peach, you know. When they're there. We've got to embrace them. It's kind of like strawberries and cherries and asparagus because we can bring the stuff in from overseas in the middle of winter and it looks like a peach. But does it taste like a peach. It looks like a plum. Does it taste like a plum? No, So plums are out now, people, so let's go and embrace the plum. So you know so many things you can do with plums. You know, you can preserve them, obviously, you can make chucks out of them. I make it like a plum case Sunday. You can cut them up, freeze them, you can dry them, you can stew them down, or you can make a spiced plum. Crosstata fantastic, take us through us. So cristata is like an open I guess you could call it an open flan or an open an open pie. So the first thing you want to do is make up the pastry. So I've got one and a half cups of flour, Chuck it into a bowl, three tablespoons of cast of sugar, and then a pinch of salt. Mix it to get into its well combined. And then take one hundred and fifty graands of uns butter, cut that up into small pieces and then just start to rub that through your flower Maxian store until it starts to become a little bit crumbly, almost like pea size crumbs, and then I've got half teaspoon off either vanilla paste or essence either either. Add that in teaspoon of almond extract mix, add all through, and then we take half a cup or quarter of a cup, say, of cold water, and just slowly start to add that until that dough comes together. Once you've got a nice furt like not a firm dough, but once it's actually come together into a nice ball, wrap it up and clean film, set it aside, and then we make up our plum mix to go into this. So I've actually got some cranberries in here, So I've got a couple of dried cranberries. Pop those into a bowl along with a decent maybe three or four tablespoons of brandy and a little bit of warm water. Put that over the top of the cranberries, and then just set them aside and they're gonna absorb that delicious brandy water and just plump up and soft once while those are soaking your oven on to one hundred and eighty degrees, and then take your plums. I've got twelve delicious plums, cut them in half, remove the stones, mix them in a bowl with three tablespoons of brown sugar, A teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix that together, and then drain off the cranberries from the brandy water. Keep that water, don't throw that out. We're gonna do something with that right at the end. And then take your crostata dough, roll that out to the size of maybe a small dinner plate. Take your plumb mixture, place that into the center, and then you want to fold up those sides of that dough. And it's not going to fold all the way over. You're going to keep a center in the in the in the or apart from the center, that's going to be free of dough. So you basically just fold it up around the side, take a bit of water, maybe a pastry bush brush around the outside of that border, and then just sprinkle over a little bit of divice and sugar. Fire that in the oven. It's going to take about thirty five minutes on that one eighty and then once it's golden and you can see the plums are just starting to break down, pull it out, set that aside, and then you're reserved brandy.

The plums are amazing. We've got an old orchard and there's like a whole about five different varieties of old plum trees. I know. One of them is black doris. I don't know what the others are, red flesh, yellow, yellow flesh, and they're all over the place. But there is nothing better than a juicy plum when they're in season. Yeah, it's kind of like a peach, you know. When they're there. We've got to embrace them. It's kind of like strawberries and cherries and asparagus because we can bring the stuff in from overseas in the middle of winter and it looks like a peach. But does it taste like a peach. It looks like a plum. Does it taste like a plum? No, So plums are out now, people, so let's go and embrace the plum. So you know so many things you can do with plums. You know, you can preserve them, obviously, you can make chucks out of them. I make it like a plum case Sunday. You can cut them up, freeze them, you can dry them, you can stew them down, or you can make a spiced plum. Crosstata fantastic, take us through us. So cristata is like an open I guess you could call it an open flan or an open an open pie. So the first thing you want to do is make up the pastry. So I've got one and a half cups of flour, Chuck it into a bowl, three tablespoons of cast of sugar, and then a pinch of salt. Mix it to get into its well combined. And then take one hundred and fifty graands of uns butter, cut that up into small pieces and then just start to rub that through your flower Maxian store until it starts to become a little bit crumbly, almost like pea size crumbs, and then I've got half teaspoon off either vanilla paste or essence either either. Add that in teaspoon of almond extract mix, add all through, and then we take half a cup or quarter of a cup, say, of cold water, and just slowly start to add that until that dough comes together. Once you've got a nice furt like not a firm dough, but once it's actually come together into a nice ball, wrap it up and clean film, set it aside, and then we make up our plum mix to go into this. So I've actually got some cranberries in here, So I've got a couple of dried cranberries. Pop those into a bowl along with a decent maybe three or four tablespoons of brandy and a little bit of warm water. Put that over the top of the cranberries, and then just set them aside and they're gonna absorb that delicious brandy water and just plump up and soft once while those are soaking your oven on to one hundred and eighty degrees, and then take your plums. I've got twelve delicious plums, cut them in half, remove the stones, mix them in a bowl with three tablespoons of brown sugar, A teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix that together, and then drain off the cranberries from the brandy water. Keep that water, don't throw that out. We're gonna do something with that right at the end. And then take your crostata dough, roll that out to the size of maybe a small dinner plate. Take your plumb mixture, place that into the center, and then you want to fold up those sides of that dough. And it's not going to fold all the way over. You're going to keep a center in the in the in the or apart from the center, that's going to be free of dough. So you basically just fold it up around the side, take a bit of water, maybe a pastry bush brush around the outside of that border, and then just sprinkle over a little bit of divice and sugar. Fire that in the oven. It's going to take about thirty five minutes on that one eighty and then once it's golden and you can see the plums are just starting to break down, pull it out, set that aside, and then you're reserved brandy.

Like cranberry brandy water.

Like cranberry brandy water.

Chuck them into a little saucepan and just reduce it down until it becomes just syrupy, and then cut your plumb cross starter, serve it maybe with some soft cream or some vanilla ice cream, and then take that cranberry brandy liquor and just pour that over the top and it's delicious.

Chuck them into a little saucepan and just reduce it down until it becomes just syrupy, and then cut your plumb cross starter, serve it maybe with some soft cream or some vanilla ice cream, and then take that cranberry brandy liquor and just pour that over the top and it's delicious.

Oh it sounds divine. But look, Mike, what would you put in a chip sandwich?

Oh it sounds divine. But look, Mike, what would you put in a chip sandwich?

I just go when I was a foundation or a founding student of don Bucks Primary. This is going back to nineteen eighty one and Henderson, and my favorite was Friday because Friday, I.

I just go when I was a foundation or a founding student of don Bucks Primary. This is going back to nineteen eighty one and Henderson, and my favorite was Friday because Friday, I.

Was allowed to buy my lunch and I'd get a long soft roll and it was already pre pre marmite or ven You might either either either, and then you buy a packet crisp and you just shove those and so it's just.

Was allowed to buy my lunch and I'd get a long soft roll and it was already pre pre marmite or ven You might either either either, and then you buy a packet crisp and you just shove those and so it's just.

Got to be just the ready salts. Okay, a classic. Love it, Thanks so much, Mike. Talk next week.

Got to be just the ready salts. Okay, a classic. Love it, Thanks so much, Mike. Talk next week.

For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin. Listen live to News Talks there'd be from nine am Sunday, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.

For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin. Listen live to News Talks there'd be from nine am Sunday, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.