• 4 pork chops, skin removed, about 1.5cm thick
• 1 tsp olive oil

Pickled spring onions

• 1 bunch spring onions with bulbs, tops trimmed
• 250ml (1 cup) apple cider vinegar
• 500ml (2 cups) water
• 250g castor sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tsp black peppercorns
• 5 cloves
• 1 tsp sea salt

Lemon garlic sauce

• 50g stale bread, crusts removed
• 125ml (½ cup) milk
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed and roughly chopped
• 2 tsp lemon juice, plus more if needed
• 150ml mild olive oil
• white pepper, for seasoning

METHOD

1. The day you plan to cook, take the pork chops from the fridge, pat dry with paper towel and season both sides of each chop with a good pinch of salt. Return the pork to the fridge for up to 6 hours, uncovered.
2. To make the pickled spring onions, place the spring onions in a snug, shallow plastic tray or container. Place the remaining pickling ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. When it reaches a simmer, remove from heat and immediately pour the hot pickling liquid over the spring onions. Refrigerate for a few hours until you are ready to serve.
3. To make the lemon garlic sauce, soak the bread in milk for a few minutes. Squeeze bread to remove excess milk and place in a blender (a stick blender will also work), along with the garlic, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of water. With the blender running slowly, gradually add the oil to emulsify to a smooth paste, stopping from time to time to scrape down the inside of the blender with a spatula. The finished paste should be a mayonnaise-like consistency. When all the oil has emulsified, continue to blend until the sauce is smooth. Add a touch more lemon if necessary and a little more water if it's too thick. Scrape the sauce into a bowl and add a good pinch of salt and white pepper to taste. Set aside.
4. To cook the pork, remove the chops from the fridge and bring to room temperature. Heat the barbecue or a chargrill pan until very hot. Pat the chops dry with paper towel again and rub a few drops of oil onto each chop. Place the pork on the hot grill and move about from time to time to ensure even heat distribution. When the chop has caramelised nicely, flip over; 5-6 minutes in total. Remove from heat and set aside to rest.
5. While the pork is resting, remove the spring onion from the pickling liquid. (Keep the liquid in the fridge to reuse.) Pat dry and place evenly across a cooler section of the barbecue. Take care: if the barbecue is too hot, they will burn quickly. Cook the spring onions for 2-3 minutes or until caramelised, shuffling them about from time to time as they cook.
6. To serve, return the pork to the barbecue for a minute or so to reheat. Serve each chop on a plate with a tablespoon of the lemon garlic sauce, randomly draping a few charred pickled spring onions across the pork. Serve with the remaining garlic sauce.

Serves 4

Tips

• When grilling meat, it's important to bring it to room temperature before cooking for an even and juicy result.
• Use regular mild olive oil for the sauce. The flavour of extra virgin olive oil will be too strong.
• If you don't have a blender to make the sauce, a simple wire whisk will do the trick.

Grilled green bean and hazelnut salad with mustard dressing

This is based on a dish I serve at Marion in Melbourne. If you can find yellow (butter) beans, use them instead of green or use a combination of the two.

INGREDIENTS

• 400g green beans, trimmed
• 30g hazelnuts
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 shallot (French eschalots), finely diced
• ½ bunch tarragon, roughly chopped
• 50g manchego

Mustard dressing

• 25g dijon mustard
• 30ml white wine vinegar
• 30ml olive oil
• 50ml grapeseed oil

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 160C (140C fan-forced).
2. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and season with a pinch of salt. Prepare a bowl of iced water on the side for cooling the beans. Blanch the beans for 60 seconds in the boiling water. Remove and place in the ice bath to arrest the cooking process. Once cold, remove from the ice bath and drain on paper towels.
3. Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast for 8 minutes or until lightly golden (you should see the skin beginning to crack). Allow to cool slightly. While the nuts are still warm, rub the hazelnuts with a clean tea towel to remove the skins. Chop coarsely and set aside.
4. Heat a barbecue or chargrill pan to medium heat. Toss the blanched beans in the olive oil. Place the beans on the barbecue and cook, moving constantly with your tongs, until they are well charred (not black) and smoky. Remove from heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.
5. To make the dressing, put the mustard and vinegar in a bowl and whisk to combine. Slowly add the olive and grapeseed oils while whisking to create an emulsion. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Combine the beans, hazelnut, shallot, tarragon and dressing in a bowl. Season to taste. Arrange the bean salad on a platter. Using a vegetable peeler, shave curls of the manchego across the top of the salad. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

Blood plum crostata

I like to use blood plums when they're in season but this recipe can easily adapt as the year evolves. Apricots work a treat, perfectly ripe figs and blackberries are great together, and in the colder months a quick compote of apples and prunes is delicious.

INGREDIENTS

• 8 ripe blood plums
• 3 tbsp coarse raw sugar
• 1 egg, whisked
• 250ml (1 cup) thickened cream
• 2 tbsp castor sugar

Pastry

• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp chilled water
• 500g (3⅓ cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 50g castor sugar
• pinch of salt
• 375g salted butter, cut into 1cm cubes and frozen for 30 minutes

METHOD

1. To make the pastry, crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk with the cold water.
2. Place the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the beaten eggs, and pulse until just combined. Place on a clean bench and bring the mix together with your hands (there should still be some lumps of butter) to make a smooth dough. Shape into a disc, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
3. Remove dough from fridge. Lightly flour and roll into a large round about 3mm thick. Place on a lined baking tray and refrigerate until needed.
4. Cut plums into 6-8 wedges and toss gently with 1 tablespoon of the raw sugar in a medium bowl. Remove pastry from fridge, place plums into the centre of the pastry leaving a 2cm border all around.
5. Working quickly, fold the pastry over the fruit, pleating as you go, leaving a large opening at the top. Refrigerate on the tray for at least half an hour before baking.
6. When you are ready to cook the crostata, preheat oven to 200C (180C fan-forced).
7. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle pastry and exposed plums with the remaining raw sugar. Bake for 40 minutes or until the pastry is golden. If the pastry is getting too dark, reduce temperature to 170C (150C fan-forced). When you think the pastry is ready, remove from oven and, using a spatula, lift slightly and gently. If the base has not coloured or crisped up, return to oven for another 10 minutes and check again. It is key that the base is golden to prevent it becoming soggy.
8. Whip cream and sugar in a small bowl until thick. Serve warm crostata sliced with a dollop of cream.

Serves 6-8

Tips

• You can whip the cream without sugar, if you prefer, or add a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
• You can make the dough in advance – keep it wrapped in the fridge for up to two days.