“Our fruit and vegetable bill easily exceeds our butcher bill, I can tell you that,” says Linda Jones, co-owner of Brunswick Street Alimentari and Smith Street Alimentari, when asked how much produce they go through for their famous salads. “The quality has to be good. You can’t hide anything with fresh salads, and we really take pride in ours.”
The vibrant, Middle Eastern–inspired salads rotate daily and are responsible for the lunch rush at this Fitzroy institution, which hasn’t settled down since the Brunswick Street store opened in 1998.
The farro salad is Jones’ personal favourite. “It’s just divine and it’s lovely no matter how long it’s sitting on the table. It’s even nice the next day,” she says. “People love the salads because they’re actual meals; they’re made with grains and beautiful seasoning and just the right flavours.”
Recipe: Brunswick St Alimentari’s Cauliflower and Tahini Salad
Serves 6–8
Ingredients
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
2 cauliflowers, cut into florets, stalks discarded
1 cup chopped coriander leaves
1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
½ cup toasted pine nuts
3 tablespoons currants, soaked in water for 10–15 minutes and drained
Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
1 large Lebanese pita, toasted and broken into pieces
Dressing
250g Greek yoghurt
65g tahini
80ml lemon juice
80ml olive oil
Method
Heat a deep-fryer or saucepan of oil to 180°C.
Deep-fry the cauliflower in batches until golden, about 1 minute for each batch.
Drain on paper towel until cool.
To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.
Place the cooled cauliflower in a large bowl and pour over the dressing. Add the herbs, pine nuts and currants and season to taste. Mix through, scatter over the bread and serve.
This is an extract from the 2015 title The Broadsheet Melbourne Cookbook, which features 80 recipes from the city’s best cafes, restaurants and bars. Published by Plum, the book is available for $49.95 at shop.broadsheet.com.au
This salad makes an ace work lunch – for more ideas, check out our midweek lunch recipe collection. Looking for more cauli inspiration? Check out Broadsheet's cauliflower recipe collection.
