One of the things I like most about settling down again is being able to indulge in my passion for cooking and creating food. There is a limit to how creative you can be in a caravan with limited cooking tools and space, and although I was able get a bit more creative during our house sits, it’s not the same as being in your own kitchen with your own cooking equipment. I have always wanted to go to an Italian Passata making day. Ever since I worked in North Queensland with Sicilian cane farmers, I loved the way they talked about their big family “tomato days”, where the family all got together and made their annual supply of tomato sauce. Tomato days were immortalised in the Aussie movie “Looking for Alibrandi”, the story of a young Italian/Aussie girl who had to endure what she called “national wog day” as she was growing up.
One Table Farm is a local farm cooking school near Cowaramup. Tim and Cree built the farm from scratch in 2014 using permaculture principals and now offer cooking classes and instruction in higher welfare, locally produced food. Check out the link to their farm: One Table Farm. Cree is a vet who has specialised in animal ethics and welfare and has also studied French Cookery at the prestigious Cordon Bleu Cookery School in Paris. She runs a half day course during tomato season for aspiring cooks like me who want to learn the secrets of Tomato Day! I had to make the most of this opportunity!
The class was held in a lovely rustic building, with views across the pretty farm. There was a full kitchen, work tables, communal eating area and lounge. My class had five other students including two local mother/daughter pairs and another local budding chef. Cree took us through the process of selecting, washing and preparing the tomatoes, before we were let loose on two big boxes of locally produced tomatoes. After preparing them, we were shown how to use the various types of mouli or vegetable mills Tim had set up for us. We all enjoyed using the electric powered one, but the small hand mouli felt the most authentic to me! After milling all our tomatoes, we filled the passata into clean jars, ready to take home and sterilise.
Ready for blanching
Blanched and prepped for the mill
The “Clik Clak” mill
Everone’s favourite, the electric mill
Filled jars
While all this activity was going on, Cree also showed us her special recipe for pasta sauce and we watched as this bubbled away on the stove top, getting redder and redder as it reduced down, filling the room with delightful tomato and garlic aromas. She also made up a batch of delicious fresh pasta and the two young girls had a ball rolling it out into fettucine. The morning ended with a communal lunch of fresh pasta, tomato sauce and Tim’s extra special sourdough foccacia with cherry tomatoes. And to finish off, Cree served a beautiful lemon cake for desert.
Lunch
I had a great day. I find it very rewarding turning beautiful, fresh local produce into a delicious ingredient. Not only did I learn the art of making passata, but I also met and networked with some lovely locals. And when Tim next runs a sourdough making course, I’m going to have to get along and learn how to make his magnificant foccacia.
My finished passata
Bob's Big Idea 