Blood Sausage & Bluebottles: Sydney Served Two Ways

From joyous, fire-kissed dining and my humble home-cooked dinner to salty ocean Island swims with the best of friends - this is Sydney served two deliciously different ways.

Lunch at ester

Fermented Potato Bread, dashi jelly, kefir (that's cultured dairy for the uninitiated, including me), crowned with salmon pearls. I’m so happy already. We’re here, just the two of us to celebrate James’s birthday.

Here's why this simple dish works so well: these are ingredients your great-grandmother would have used - fermented dairy, potato - but Ester's taken these building blocks of European cooking and turned them into something that feels, well, bang on.

As Sydney's bread-making savants, they've managed to make something so deeply familiar feel completely revolutionary. That's the sweet spot, right there and just the beginning of our lunch together, It's not just James's birthday it’s our 23-year wedding anniversary.

The real star: The Pork Chop. Charred, juicy and - surprise! - it came with a blood-sausage-stuffed onion (just like a Yamista!), dusted with leek charcoal. Like a smoky nod to James's childhood in England, where blood sausage was humble, peasant fare. Today, like other peasant foods, you'll find them cooked in the best restaurant kitchens around the globe.

"I'm like a fat kid in a lolly shop" James

Finally tried the Salted Yolk Tart we’d been eyeing on Instagram. Sweet, salty, buttery -worth the hype. The simplicity of it - we loved it.

A glass of Soave Classico with tasting notes of “slate & jasmine” this wine sipped like a bouquet pulled straight from the soil it grew in.

“Whoever writes their wine list is a player - they nail it” yelled James from the other room.

Everytime.

esta

Humble Birthday Dinner at Home

We kept the celebrations going with a home-cooked meal. Take the menu or enjoy each dish on their own, recipes to follow.

Eat

• BBQ calamari, rocket

• Fig, mint, fetta

• Yamista - Greek stuffed onions, potatoes, green beans

• Quick Peach Melba leftovers aka Peaches & Cream

Drink

• Billecart-Salmon Rosé to mark the milestone (less humble!)

  

  BBQ Calamari | Yamista second time around | Figs

But before you cook the recipes know this:

Kitchen Discoveries & Tips

• Stuffed vegetables revelation: Onions trump capsicums and bell peppers trump a capsicum. For the Yamista. I promise i’ve tried them all.

• Rocket - If you're not growing it, I'll judge you. If you have to buy it go for large leaf, not the small weedy ones that are a choking hazard. (I've grown it once and know everything! 😉)

• Fig season bargain: Scored a tray for $20 - buy them now

• Quick dessert hack: Tin of peaches + whipped cream = instant Peach Melba

• Leftover Passata sauce from the Yamista makes an excellent pizza or pasta sauce the next day

• Also, remember the crudité served around Hommus w honeyed yoghurt & spiced chicken peas here’s another element to add - boiled eggs cut in half.

Birthday Wish List Musings (for James)

After my latest tin opener disaster (RIP, it’s in the bin), I’m eyeing a Victorinox that actually works. Sorry, what a gift. Also, deep in the Paris Sabre website designing my, no his dream two-tone cutlery set - mixing handles, metals & colours. Pearly pink front? Camo print back? Maybe yellow? Impossible to decide, have a play. And those silver salt and pepper servers at The Devonshire in London? James would love them. Proper, weighty, upper-class vibes - exactly what our dinner table could do with!

Hey! My birthday wish list will never include household items.

Surprise Passata Making

Remember that Sydney couple we met in Bari, Puglia? Random text: "It’s wog day tomorrow!" (Ali Brandi movie vibes). They invited us over for a proper passata making session.

Hoping for the next text: "Your passata's ready!" Can't wait.

Passata Making

Ok here we go, let’s cook.

Birthday Yamista (Greek Stuffed Onions)

Prep Time: 45 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

• 5 large brown onions - the biggest you can find

• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped

• 3 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 3 1/2 tsp dried mint

• 1 x large red chilli (not the tiny hot ones) chopped keep seeds

• 1kg beef mince

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

• 100g fresh breadcrumbs

• 1/2 cup (100g) basmati rice, soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes, drained

• 1/2 bunch of dill roughly chopped

• 800ml tomato passata

• 600ml chicken stock

• 1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

Method:

1. Prepare the onions: Cut off the tops and peel just the outer layer of the onions. Boil for 30 minutes until slightly softened. Cool, then carefully remove the outer layers one at a time, these become your shells for the meat & rice.

2. Make the filling: Heat a glug of olive oil and fry the garlic and chilli for 2-3 minutes. Add the ground cinnamon and dried mint, then remove from heat.

3. Transfer garlic mixture to a large bowl. Add beef, eggs, breadcrumbs, rice, and dill. Season generously and mix well with your hands - get in there!

4. Stuff the onions: Fill each onion shell with the meat mixture, forming little torpedos.

5. Prepare the sauce: Combine tomato sauce, broth, and olive oil.

6. Cook Part 1: Place stuffed onions in a large pot, add olive oil, and bake for 15 minutes until lightly browned.

7. Cook Part 2: Remove from oven, pour sauce over onions, cover with baking paper and foil, then return to oven for 45 minutes.

For a complete meal, add air fryer potatoes, or boil potatoes, quarter them, place on top of the baking dish, and bake for another 15 minutes.

Top with freshly cooked green beans.

peel the layers back | add the mixture | roll

BBQ Calamari

Ingredients:

• 1.2 kg calamari, cleaned and scored (ask the Fishmoner to do this)

• 1 medium red chilli, finely chopped

• 5-6 cloves garlic, finely sliced

• Fresh rocket for serving

• High-quality extra virgin olive oil

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Detailed Instructions:

1. Clean the calamari thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels

2. Score the calamari in a diagonal pattern on one side (do not cut all the way through)

3. Prepare the marinade by combining:

   • Finely chopped red chilli

   • Minced garlic

   • A generous amount of extra virgin olive oil

   • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

4. Place calamari in a shallow dish and pour marinade over, ensuring even coating

5. Let marinate at room temperature for 1 hour

6. Preheat BBQ to high heat (it needs to be very hot)

7. Cook calamari for 2-3 minutes on each side until:

   • Lightly charred on the outside

   • Just cooked through - should still be tender

   • The scored parts start to curl slightly

8. Arrange rocket on a large serving platter and add the calamari

9. Finish with:

   • A drizzle of high-quality extra virgin olive oil

   • An extra sprinkle of sea salt

Chef's Tips:

• The BBQ must be extremely hot before cooking begins

• Do not move the calamari around while cooking - let it char properly on each side

• Cooking time is crucial - overcooked calamari becomes tough and rubbery

• Serve immediately while hot for the best texture and flavour

• Save the marinade: After removing the calamari, fry the leftover marinade in a pan until crispy and crunchy, then pour over the calamari - this eliminates the need for additional olive oil and adds extra flavour and texture. Yum.

Late Summer Fig Salad

Ingredients:

• Fresh figs, quartered

• Garden mint, roughly torn

• Fetta, crumbled

• Vino cotto for drizzling

• Extra virgin olive oil

• Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method:

1. Arrange hand torn or quartered figs on a serving plate

2. Scatter torn mint leaves and crumbled salted ricotta over figs

3. Drizzle generously with vino cotto and extra virgin olive oil

4. Finish with salt & freshly ground black pepper

Weekend Water Tales: Get Salty With Us

Bondi Salties

I love ocean swimming.

Made an early morning dash with Cronulla swim buddies to Bondi Beach, diving in with the Bondi Salties for their Point to Point swim. Bondi in the morning is alive and pumping - still pinching myself that this place is basically my backyard.

But the real adventure came with our 10th Three Island Swims in a single day.

2.1km - First up was Wedding Cake Island at Coogee, where we had an unexpected encounter with the ocean's electric fence - Bluebottles. Imagine long tentacles wrapping around your body, then zapping you like live wires, you’re on fire! But I was on cloud 9 high on adrenaline and pure joy. When you're surrounded by your favourite people and a resident sea turtle is hanging out nearby, pain becomes just another sensation in the mix. Usually, I'd stop and scream. This time? Kept swimming, couldn't stop smiling. Almost, no - absolutely glad for the encounter.

1.2km - Next came Bare Island at La Perouse - a swim that always makes my heart race. The water is brown & murky and with cargo ships crossing the shipping channel nearby you're acutely aware of the deep waters surrounding the island. It's the perfect blend of exhilarating, a little terrifying, and raw wild swimming.

1.6km - Finally, we returned to familiar waters for a slow lap around Shark Island at Cronulla then walked up to the RSL to celebrate.

Best day this year so far—and yes, I'm counting the bluebottles as a highlight.

“the dinner table becomes a place where new traditions are born, where conventional manners are reimagined, and where inhibitions fade away in favour of genuine connection” Doza our Bulldog

woof! x

Credits: Cover photo by Nick Mullen :-) legend.