Food History

More from Sharyn Lilley. I’m so going to make that entree when Passover is over!

“For a while in the 50s my father drove trucks for a living. The highway was tarmac, but most other roads weren’t, and air conditioning was of the ‘roll your window down for cool or up for warmth’ variety. This method was also used to control the dust intake.

Drive through service hadn’t been heard of, but there were a few twenty four hour cafes where they offered sit down meals of steak, eggs and onions; pies, chips and peas; fish, chips and salads; hearty soups and thick bakery bread. In Victoria, trucks were not permitted to drive between midnight Saturday night, and midnight Sunday night.

Today’s first recipe gives a nod to the cafes of old, with steak, onions and homemade bread.

Steak and Caramelized Onion Entree

Slice a whole loaf of wholegrain bread, I prefer it to be about as thick as toast loaf and cut each slice into quarters. Line a baking tray with silicone paper, lightly brush both sides of bread with oil, and toast under a grill. (The cheats version is to buy packets of mini toasts)

Heat a non-stick fry pan, add a tablespoon of oil. Add two thick pieces of rump steak, sear each side, and then add ½ cup red wine and mixed herbs to the pan, simmer until steak cooked to your preference. Set steaks aside, cover loosely with foil.

Slice two large red onions thinly. Fry gently in half a tablespoon of butter until soft, then add one tablespoon of brown sugar, and one tablespoon of red wine vinegar. Cook, stirring, until caramelized, remove from heat.

Spread toasts with seeded mustard. Slice steaks thinly, and cut to fit the toasts. Top each toast with half a teaspoon of onion; garnish with chopped fresh parsley leaves.

Makes roughly 40 toasts.

Smoked Salmon Tartlets

400 grams smoked salmon
1 tub cream cheese
Two spring onions thinly sliced
1 loaf white bread
Sprigs of fresh dill

Using a fluted biscuit cutter, cut rounds from the bread. Lightly grease two mini muffin trays. Line trays with the rounds of bread, and lightly toast in the oven. Set aside to cool.

Slice the spring onions finely, mix well into the cream cheese. Fill the bread cases with cream cheese mixture. Top with small amounts of the smoked salmon, and fresh dill.”