By Leigh O’Connor.
For Ellie Bouhadana, cooking is not about perfect technique or pristine presentation – it’s about the intimacy and pleasure of feeding friends and family and the little moments along the way.
Ellie’s debut cookbook, ‘Ellie’s Table’ is rich with storytelling, a celebration of her family and travels – inspired by her Moroccan and Eastern European Jewish heritage and her love of Mediterranean and North African cuisine.
An acclaimed, self-taught Chef who honed her skills in events and restaurants around Melbourne, Ellie gained popularity during the city’s two and a half years of lockdown by creating packages of fresh focaccia and handmade pasta, delivering them to 200 customers weekly.
This success led her to host Summer pop-up events and become the Head Chef at Hope St Radio, a wine bar and radio station named by Timeout Magazine as the ‘third coolest bar in the world’.
Ellie says her cookbook includes recipes she has learnt from her family, dishes from the wine bar menu and those she uncovered on her travels.
"Having people over and cooking for them is, I think, one of the most beautiful ways to spend time with and really get to know your loved ones,” she explains.
The chapters of the book are structured in the same way Ellie would serve her guests at a dinner party and she invites home cooks to do the same.
We have three classic recipes for you to recreate at home:
"I am not sure that there is anything cosier or more beautiful than a big pot of chicken soup simmering on the stove. The broth sits on the stove all day, gently warming your home with the scent of carrot, celery, onion and dill.”
Chicken necks are essential to this rich broth, along with onion skins, celery, carrots, bay leaves, peppercorns and garlic.
In this dish, known as mrouzia in Morocco, lamb is browned and cooked slowly with sautéed onions, toasted spices and a handful of prunes and apricots under a cartouche of baking paper, as if you are tucking it in for a short nap.
The result is a pot of very soft lamb, almost sweet from the dried fruit and coated in a thick, deeply spiced sauce.
"I remember eating this as a child on Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), as the honey and fruit in the dish symbolise a sweet New Year. You can make the dish with smaller chunks of lamb, or if like me you like the drama of serving a whole shoulder, buy the best quality cut and serve it in its entirety.
"I think this dish may be even better after a rest when the flavours have had time to relax deeper into both the meat and sauce.”
"This recipe for chraime feels like an heirloom. A staple in many North African Jewish homes, this fragrant dish of fish cooked in an oily tomato and chilli sauce is one I have eaten with my family at Friday night Shabbat dinners and on Jewish holidays throughout my life.
"Traditionally, the fish is poached in the red sauce, but I love getting a really crispy skin on the fillet by searing it hard in a very hot frying pan, then placing it skin side up in the sauce to finish cooking.”
Part recipe book, part journal, the simple and honest recipes reflect Ellie’s food ethos and for those home cooks who like to try new dishes a guide to adventurous meals.
