Catch of t he day. in love with living

Transcription

1 in love wih living Cach of he day OPPOSITE: Geoff Rope and Kyle Brown pull in a guaraneed cach of fish mere minues from heir dining-room able. THIS PAGE: Camille Rope and her husband Kyle share a passion for cooking. Come he weekend, he Ropes rerea o heir family bach on he Norhland coas where heir pleasures are fishing, cooking and eaing in equal measure words jane warwick PHOTOGRAPHs duncan innes producion janice kumar-ward recipes camille rope NZ Life & Leisure 101

2 IT WAS ONE OF THOSE endless childhood summers. The sky was high and blue over he grea sweep of sun-baked sand where he Pouo Peninsula skids ino he Tasman Sea and prey lile Camille Rope was crowned Miss Glinks Gully Junior Jus 11 years old, wih he winner s sash draped around her, she could be forgiven for hinking ha life simply couldn ge any beer bu oh, i did i did. Wih every summer of her life hus far and many, many days in beween spen a he family bach 15 minues souh-wes of Dargaville, she was ye o realize he exen of her good forune. This was jus how her life wen. Bu her faher Neville knew. Oh, he knew alrigh because Glinks Gully had been his childhood urf as well. He wached his children Camille, Ellio, Olivia and Aynsley scamper around, sicky wih sal, griy wih sand and prickly wih sunburn and saw he childhood shadows of his own brohers and sisers fli over he shore behind hem. When his grandfaher had se off from he less-ropical climes of Suffolk in England in 1879 he could never have imagined jus wha a legacy his grea-grandchildren would enjoy bu hen, who knows, perhaps he shade of ha firs Rope also lingers over he lile baches of Glinks Gully. Camille and Kyle enjoy a quie afernoon ea overlooking heir beloved Glinks Gully; grea-aun Bey Rope s nook has everyhing ha makes a ypical Kiwi bach, from old and well-loved furniure o bunks and candlewick bedspreads; Neville s face reveals how much he loves his coasal rerea. The lack of conac wih he ouside world is wha makes i so special NZ Life & Leisure 103

3 As is name suggess, he Rope family is made up of several srands braided ogeher for srengh. Enjoying each oher s company are: back row, Brian, Ted and Neville Rope; middle row, Kyle Brown, Chrisine, Geoff and Teresa Rope; fron row, Camille, Paula and Pam Rope. A he las family reunion, 250 of hem made he journey o Glinks Gully from all over New Zealand and he world. Beeroo are arin Acually i was a Te Kopuru on he upper Kaipara Harbour ha he firs Rope made his home bu i is Glinks Gully jus across he peninsula where he Ropes have really pu down heir roos. Alhough he search for work has dispersed hem all over New Zealand, i doesn ake much o bring hem all running home o ha clef on he wild wes coas and i is his lile selemen ha he adul Camille now recognizes for he prize i is. For Camille s branch of he family, he diaspora was merely o Auckland, hankfully close enough o reach Glinks regularly. Bu here are cerain formaliies ha dicae he journey. I is a familial undersanding ha a weekend does no even begin o coun as a weekend unless i is from under a Glinks Gully duve ha he sleeper saggers ou on a Saurday morning. And if ha firs cup of Saurday ea is no brewed in he Glinks Gully kichen, hen i is definiely no a proper weekend away. Neville is emphaic abou ha and i is a prerequisie ha makes perfec sense o his brood. If he ousider is somewha confused by he crieria, hey need only o see he affecion on he faces of he Rope family as hey alk abou heir beloved Glinks o undersand. So norh hey go on a Friday nigh and if hey ime i righ hey are a Dargaville by dinner-ime. There is a park bench in he ownship jus abou perfec for a meal of excellen fish and chips and he chance o open a box of beer. Mal and sal if ha isn a radiional Kiwi ake-away, hen wha is? Finally, almos 200 kilomeres from heir family aparmen in Auckland s CBD, hey roll ino Glinks Gully. They load up he wheelbarrow wih provisions and rundle i o he fron door of Ropes Roos: such a small door o open ono such a big par of heir lives. The wheelbarrow makes several rips o and from he car, laden no only wih provisions bu also wih a selecion of recipe books for, if Camille describes hose Dargaville fish and chips as excellen, hen i is cerain ha hey are because Camille s oher grea love is cooking. During he week she will have perused her collecion of more han 1000 cookbooks and come up wih menus for he weekend. She mus know a leas a lile bi of wha she will be cooking before she arrives because all he provisions mus be bough prior o Glinks if hey don wish o leave he Gully for he neares shop a Baylys Beach or Te Kopuru. I is no possible o garden a Glinks eiher as he soil is far oo sandy and plans would require consan aenion. The Ropes visi Glinks regularly bu a successful garden would need a permanen on-sie presence. One day hey collecively sigh. Mos of he dishes will include fish caugh sraigh off he shore below he bach. Ripiro Beach is he longes driveable srech of sand in New Zealand, longer even han he misnamed Niney Mile Beach (which is really only 88 kilomeres). Ripiro s 107-kilomere sweep runs far beyond he lengh of he Pouo Peninsula, from he Pouo lighhouse o Maunganui Bluff, pas Glinks Gully and Baylys Beach, Chadwicks, Mahua Gap, Chases Gorge and Omamari. A savoury ake on he radiional swee are arin. Perfec lunch fare (wih bread and a green salad) or as an accompanimen o roas beef or venison for dinner. For he ar: 50g buer 1 ablespoon olive oil 2 ablespoons cider or red wine vinegar 2 ablespoons brown sugar g beeroo, peeled and cu ino halves if small, quarers if large 300g all-buer puff pasry (I use Paneon or Sabao) For he dressing: 3 spring onions, rimmed and finely chopped 1 ablespoon capers, rinsed and chopped 1 easpoon Dijon musard 5 ablespoons olive oil 2 ablespoons red wine vinegar ½ easpoon brown sugar 1 ablespoon parsley, chopped To serve: 100g fea Prehea oven o 200 C. Mel buer and oil in a 28cm ovenproof frypan over medium hea. When buer sars o foam add cider or vinegar, brown sugar and seasoning. Sir o dissolve sugar and add beeroo, making sure i fis snugly in a single layer in he boom of he pan; oss beeroo in he mixure. Cover pan ighly wih infoil. Bake in he oven for minues unil he beeroo is ender. Meanwhile, roll ou puff pasry on a floured surface o abou ½cm hickness. Shake all dressing ingrediens in a screw-op jar and check seasoning, adjusing if necessary. Remove frypan from oven. Make sure he beeroo is arranged nicely, cu side up. Place pasry over pan, rimming edges o leave a couple of cenimeres hanging over he side. Tuck pasry edges down inside he pan. Reurn ar o oven and bake for a furher 20 minues unil pasry is puffed and golden. Leave ar o cool for 10 minues. Place a wooden board or fla serving dish over op of pan and ip over o urn ar ou. Spoon any escaped juices back over he ar. Drizzle wih he dressing and crumble fea over op. Cu ino slices o serve. Serves 6 400g (3 cups plus 3 ablespoons) wholemeal flour 400ml (1¾ cups) epid waer 2 easpoons runny honey 3½ easpoons dried yeas 2 easpoons sal 150g (abou 1 cup) seeds, wo or more of pumpkin, sunflower, sesame or poppy olive oil o grease in Easy no-knead seed bread Pu flour in a bowl and make a well in he cenre. Pour epid waer ino he well, drizzle honey over and sprinkle yeas over; sir o dissolve. Cover wih a ea owel and leave unil frohy, abou 10 minues. Add sal and seeds. Combine yeasy mixure wih flour; i will form a very hick, sicky dough. Spray or brush a loaf in liberally wih olive oil. Place dough in in and sprinkle wih a lile flour. Cover again wih he ea owel and leave o rise abou 50 minues. Dough will rise o he op of he in. Prehea oven o 200 C. Bake bread unil i has risen and a crus has formed, abou 45 minues. Turn loaf ou of in and bake, boom side up, for a furher 10 minues. When i sounds hollow when he underside is apped, he loaf is cooked. Cool on a wire rack. Serve sliced wih buer or a Duch-syle gouda cheese. Makes 1 loaf NZ Life & Leisure 105

4 Camille presides over a able where he cenrepiece is always a loaf of her newly baked bread. From lef: Teresa, Neville, Camille, Geoff, Paula, Kyle; he Ropes don need road signs o find heir way o Glinks Gully bu his sign shows how long his piece of he coas has been par of heir lives. Tomao & dae chuney This is bes afer having maured for a couple of monhs. Excellen wih cheese. 1.5kg omaoes, peeled and sliced 300g pied daes, chopped 200g sulanas 100g crysallized ginger, finely chopped 250g brown sugar 1 ablespoon sal ½ easpoon chilli powder 1 lire (4 cups) mal vinegar Combine all ingrediens in a large saucepan. Bring o he boil hen lower hea o a genle simmer. Cook for 3-4 hours, depending on he omaoes, unil hickened. Serilize preserving jars wih lids by placing in boiling waer or a warm oven for 30 minues. Pour mixure ino serilized jars and seal. Makes abou 2 lires Pouo means he floa of a fishing ne and he nes of hose who cas hem on his coas are never empy. The Rope ne is soon ou, one end being held ches-deep in he ide and he oher by someone merely up o heir knees. I is span enough and Neville and his helpmae of he momen can feel he fish slamming ino he ne: mulle, kahawai and flounder pile up in a angle of gills, a haul ha is really way oo easy for he neers. They also spear flounder and Neville sends ou his Torpedo Koniki for revally, gurnard and snapper. So i s hard o believe he Ropes never ire of fish, bu Camille sees o i ha hey don. Even in his land of abundan kai moana and good cooks, i would be hard o find someone as invenive wih fish as Camille, reckons her family. Alhough, i mus be confessed, here is he mos amazing bucher in Dargaville. The Ropes fish all day. They cach, hey gu, hey fille, hey cook, hey smoke and hen sar all over again. They ea off Nana s collecion of Crown Lynn and drink waer fed from a lake in he hills above. They ea shellfish and smoked fish wih a horseradish and beeroo dip. They ea awesome fish pies, smoked-fish soup and kahawai sashimi. They ea on he deck because Glinks is srangely and joyfully mozzie free. Camille surprises hem wih her curren dish du jour which will be deermined by her laes favourie books a he momen Al Brown s Soked and a perennial favourie, Jerusalem by chef Yoam Oolenghi who uses his Israeli heriage for he gasronomic good of mankind. Camille s husband Kyle is her righ-hand person. Alhough he is an engineer he has a firm love of cooking. Neville does he dishes, now helped by a newly purchased dishwasher which, he says, has changed heir lives. Camille s moher Teresa mus surely be one of he luckies women in Glinks Gully. Camille spends a leas half of her Glinks Gully days cooking. She forbids mere sandwiches for lunch and frowns on eaing beween meals, so her family is suiably hungry a he dinner-able. Chocolae & walnu bread Brioche, chocolae, walnus wha more could you wan in a bread? Serve for breakfas or warmed wih frui and ice cream for desser. Based on he delicious Chocolae Kranz Cakes from Jerusalem by London s Yoam Oolenghi and Sami Tamimi. For he dough: 260g (2 cups) plain flour 50g (¼ cup) caser sugar 1 easpoon dried yeas 2 eggs 60ml (¼ cup) epid waer ½ easpoon sal 75g buer, a room emperaure a lile olive oil o grease he in For he filling: 25g (2 heaped ablespoons) icing sugar 15g (2 ablespoons) cocoa powder 60g dark chocolae, meled 60g buer, meled 50g (abou ¼3 cup) walnus, roughly chopped For he syrup: 90g ( ¼3 cup) caser sugar 60ml (¼ cup) waer You need o begin his recipe he nigh before. In a mixer bowl combine flour, sugar and yeas; sir o combine. Using he dough hook add eggs and waer. Mix for 3 minues on medium speed. Add sal and buer. Knead mixure on medium speed for 10 minues unil buer has meled ino he dough; i should be smooh and elasic. Place in a greased bowl overnigh in he fridge. Remove dough from he fridge. Combine all filling ingrediens excep walnus o make a spreadable pase. Roll ou dough on a floured surface o a recangle abou 30 x 40cm. Spread wih chocolae filling, leaving a 2cm border. Sprinkle walnus over. Roll he recangle like a roulade, saring from he end closes o you o make a hick log. Cu he log in half lenghways o give 2 long logs wih he filling showing. Twis he wo logs and lif ino a greased and lined loaf in. You may have o squash hem in on each side o fi. Cover wih a ea owel and leave o rise for 1-1½ hours. Prehea oven o 180 C and bake loaf for 30 minues or unil a skewer insered ino he middle comes ou clean. While he bread is baking, boil sugar and waer o make a hick syrup. Leave o cool. Pour syrup over ho bread and leave o soak in. Cool bread before serving. Makes 1 loaf CAMILLE THE COOK Camille s penchan for recipe books burs ino a full-blown love affair when she landed a job a he famous Books for Cooks sore in London s Noing Hill. For wo years she worked in he shop before moving o he sore s demonsraion kichen where for four years she cooked a daily lunch and hen augh children in he upsairs cookery school. On her reurn o New Zealand wih crae-loads of recipe books in ow she compleed he one-year posgraduae eaching diploma on he back of her food science degree and now eaches a an Auckland primary school. She and Kyle cook for enjoymen as well as providing caering and food consuling for a couple of companies. Camille s caering prowess in London was so prized ha one of her cliens flew her all he way back from New Zealand o caer for her son s bar mizvah. She also cooked for her moher-in-law s wedding in a casle in Ireland and caered her own wedding breakfas NZ Life & Leisure 107

5 xra on he web Granola cups wih labne & berries Exra recipe For Camille s Poao & Chive Rosi wih Chilli Roas Tomaoes, go o nzlifeandleisure.co.nz Many people like o sar he day wih cereal and frui. Include his as par of a brunch buffe more a serving idea han an acual recipe. You need o sar his he nigh before. 300g Greek yoghur 2 punnes fresh berries (blueberries, srawberries, raspberries), rimmed and sliced if necessary 2 handfuls home-made or your favourie granola or muesli Spoon yoghur ino a large double layer of muslin. Bring corners ogeher and secure wih a rubber band. Using he rubber band and a wooden spoon, hang he bag over a bowl, ensuring he bowl is deep enough so he bag is suspended and does no ouch he boom. Leave in he fridge overnigh. The liquid will drip ou of he yoghur, leaving a hick labne. Place some berries in he boom of each of 10 sho glasses. Top wih 1 easpoon labne and fill glasses wih granola. For a sweeer finish or if he berries are a lile ar, sir your favourie honey (J. Friend and Co Pohuukawa Honey is delicious) hrough he labne. Rainy days are never a problem in he Gully. There are books o read, recipes o consider, board games o play and perhaps a DVD o wach, especially if i s a concer recording. The remoeness is grand, reckons Neville. No mobile phone, no elevision signal, no shops. The lack of conac wih he ouside world is wha makes i so special, he says. For all ha, he Ropes are no he pioneers heir grea-grandfaher had o be and from ime o ime he call of coffee sends hem sculing back o Baylys Beach and The Funky Fish café. And someimes, a five o clock and if he ide is righ, heir special Glinks Gully car akes hem down he beach o The Funky Fish again for a cooling beer. Their dear old reliable Hyundai is jus beginning o feel he firs winges of vehicular lumbago; when i gives up i will be like a deah in he family. One hing ha will never die, however, is he Rope s undersanding of how, in an already exraordinarily lucky counry, hey are so wonderfully forunae. How graeful hey are o a young man who se off o live in a remoe counry in an even more isolaed spo and found Glinks Gully. And even more hankful ha he son of ha firs advenuring Rope one day managed o somehow scrape ogeher $1750 for a lile bach ha has had such a huge and reasured influence on his descendans. Poao & chive rosi Serve wih scrambled eggs, bacon, chilli roas omaoes and guacamole a meal o se you up for he day ahead of huning-and-gahering aciviies a he beach. Chilli roas omaoes: 4 vine-ripened omaoes, sliced in half 2 garlic cloves, hinly sliced 1 red chilli, hinly sliced 2 easpoons balsamic vinegar olive oil 1 easpoon brown sugar Poao rosi: 600g poaoes (abou 4), peeled and graed bunch of chives, finely snipped 2 eggs knob of buer and rice bran oil for frying To serve: crispy bacon for 4 scrambled eggs for 4 guacamole (1 mashed avocado, juice of 1 lime, few drops of Tabasco and sal) To slow-roas omaoes, prehea oven o 130 C. Place omaoes, cu side up, in a single layer in a baking dish. Slide garlic and chilli slices amongs he omao seeds. Drizzle each omao wih a lile balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Sprinkle brown sugar over and season well. Roas for 40 minues. To prepare rosi, use your hands o squeeze as much waer as possible ou of he poaoes; spread hem ou on a clean ea owel o dry. In a bowl, combine poaoes, chives, eggs, sal and a generous amoun of black pepper. Hea buer and oil in a frypan over medium hea. Divide rosi mixure ino four; cook in baches if required. Fry for 3-5 minues on each side unil nicely browned and cooked hrough. Place on kichen owels and keep warm in he oven wih he omaoes. Prepare bacon and scrambled eggs. To serve, place each rosi on a warmed dinner plae. Top wih a rasher of bacon, scrambled egg and a spoonful of guacamole. Serve wih roas omaoes on he side. Serves 4 NZ Life & Leisure 109