If you're a little hesitant to try pickling your own veggies, take Matthew's word for just how easy it is "it's just salted cabbage allowed to ferment" - simples! As well as giving you a delicious accompaniment, making this cabbage is a great stress-reliever “even if you don’t like pickled cabbage, it’s worth doing this because, after a bad day at the office, you can take out all your frustrations on this humble leaf!”
The idea of using whatever they can from their garden, because it’s in season and regardless of city menus, means Matthew Evans and Sadie can look beyond the usual greens for things as delicious as Japanese turnip tops.
Turnip and goat's cheese frittata Source: Alan Benson
“The thing that’s going to send these mushrooms off if you’re pickling them is too much water.” Matthew also impresses the benefit of using local, quality garlic. Look for a bulb that has stripes of purple and the roots still on the bottom.
Celebrating Australia’s love of rhyming slang, my family only ever calls this sauce “dead horse”. I inherited my grandparents’ handwritten cookbook and in it was this recipe, dated 1933 and written in neat copperplate. The original recipe was written in pounds and ounces and was just a list of ingredients and quantities without a method. I usually make this is in a 6-litre batch but you can easily scale the recipe down. 
Homemade tomato sauce Source: Alan Benson
Packed full of veggies and spices, this simple curry makes for great winter comfort food. Use the recipe as base for your own curry creation, it's so versatile!
This organisation has been prepping potato curries and other meals to feed the local population. Source: Alan Benson
A simple cabbage can become lovely sauerkraut when fermented. The aim is to shred and crush the cabbage and let the lactobacillus bacteria naturally present in the vegetable turn it into something far more complex, (and purportedly health-giving) than the raw ingredient. Ideally, you’ll have a container such as a crock with an airlock to make the best sauerkraut, as too much air getting in can make things go bad.
This is a fantastic one-pot dinner for all those vegetarians out there, but it's so good that even avid meat eaters will be asking for seconds. Watch the dish doesn't dry out by keeping an eye on the liquid levels during cooking, and topping up as needed.
Chickpea, pumpkin and cavalo nero cassoulet Source: Alan Benson
Not as dry or sharp as sundried tomatoes, these preserved beauties are still a bit juicy and plump. What's best - the oil you preserve them in is perfect to add to a pasta dish, elevating the flavour and texture.
Matthew Evan's preserved roast tomatoes Source: The Gourmet Farmer Deli Book
This paste is perfect to serve at a BBQ on the side, and the silverbeet is a great way to get kids to eat their greens! Keeping it simple is the key here; "the idea is just to have good, honest flavours in there, the flavour of good produce". Tuck in!
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