DEADLY NIGHTSHADES

a very brief history of

EARTH APPLES, LOVE APPLES, KANGAROO APPLES,

MAD APPLES

And

WOLF PEACHES

What keeps a cook cooking?

For me, it has always been a fascination with the produce.

In front of us we find a kaleidoscope of colour and flavour, a very small

selection of the diversity that is the Nightshades.

In my opinion no other group of plants has changed the way cooking has
evolved as significantly as these. From suspicion to seduction, from mad
apple to love apple, the story of the development and spread of these
wonderful food plants is a trip into the red zone, but beware one false
move and it’s the shades of night forever.

Whenever the question of fusion cooking has been discussed I have

usually sided with the reactionary ‘old fogey’ tribe that maintains that it is
risky to mix too many ingredients from different cultures. This is
probably because I grew up with only one type of cooking—Hungarian,
with its heart expressed by that vibrant spice Paprika.

Of course it was a bit of a shock as I started to read about food and its
origins to realise that Paprika had arrived in Hungary from Turkey via
Spain from the Americas in the sixteenth century but did not feature
prominently in Magyar kitchens and restaurant menus till the nineteenth
century!

How about Asia without the chilli? Italy without a tomato? Spain without
a pimento?

When the Spanish conquerors started to return to Europe in the late

fifteenth century with the looted treasures of the Americas, they also
brought back many edible nightshades, and with them, a wealth of new
foods that were to have a much more profound effect on the Old World
than mere gold.

If you think that telling a Hungarian that capsicums come from South
America is a challenge, how many Italians could care to admit that pasta
with tomato sauce is an Etruscan-American or Sino-American hybrid?

It is hard to imagine Irish, Russian or indeed any European cooking

without the potato? But of course these seemingly seminal ingredients
arrived in Europe only with the discovery of the New World.

Potatoes, Solanum tuberosum, native to the Andes, were feared and

deemed inedible by early religious fundamentalists as they were not
mentioned in the Bible.

Paradoxically, potatoes have been transformed in Europe from an anti-

famine food to one that caused one of the most devastating famines of all
in Ireland. A sad lesson as to the dangers of monoculture that is still
relevant today. The humble spud also changed the way that America was
populated with the vast numbers of Irish fleeing the effects of the famine.

Potatoes have sadly changed from being a healthy, naturally- nutritious

and inexpensive food into one of the most expensive processed foods and
universal carriers of fat in the form of fries. More please.

The potato was one of the first foods to be genetically engineered and it
may yet again seduce farmers by providing income from genetically
modified crops that will produce a type of plastic. It could be said that
that’s what some potato products taste like already.

Dried potato made its DEBut [sorry] high in the Andes several thousand
years ago in the form of chuño, where the sudden drop in overnight
temperature was used to freeze-dry potato that could be stored for years
providing insurance against famine. Chuño was also used to feed
the Spanish fleets on their return voyages.

When all these new plants first appeared it would have seemed like the
original “Attack of The Killer Tomatoes” as most nightshades or
solanaceae previously known or native to Europe were poisons
surrounded by superstition, black magic and witchcraft.

Wolf bane, Mandrake, Devil’s Apples, Sodom’s Apple, Henbane and of

course Deadly Nightshade all belong to a group dangerous enough to
frighten even the man who eats everything.

Deadly nightshade, Atropa belladonna [cruel and beautiful lady]: its

name comes from an early Italian practice where women would place a
drop of its juice into the eyes to dilate the pupils. A sign of beauty at the
time. One of its active ingredients is atropine, still used to dilate the pupil
for eye tests. Atropine was used as an antidote to a deadly nerve gas
during WW2; it also formed the basis of the legendary truth serum that
was used to extract confessions for many show trials hmmm. All
American journalists in Bagdad have phials of atropine in their press kit.
Please let’s not have a comeback here.

Huckleberries Solanum nigrum are an edible [when ripe] form of what we

often mistakenly call deadly nightshade, a weedy plant that finds its home
in any nook or cranny. It has a variable form but quite a useful friend,
when food is scarce for a poor man’s pie. The cooked leaves are also
eaten in India and Indonesia. Did Mark Twain allude to the sweet
blueberry or the black nightshade for that precocious rascal by naming
him Huck Finn?

Huckleberries or Wonder berries provided one of the best food scandals

or hoaxes of the early 20th century, nearly ruining the reputation of that
great plant breeder Luther Burbank. Promoted to be a new miracle berry
it fizzled with much public embarrassment to become the Blunderberry

Mandrake has a history linked to debauchery and has been said to cure
anything except death, which it was also conveniently known to cause. It
was used to fool the Romans during Crucifixions and some have said that
because Jesus bled on the cross he was not dead but in a deep narcotic
sleep leading to a heretic’s view of the resurrection. Juliet may have taken
mandrake as her poison only to be resurrected later in a tomb. On
awakening she fears the shriek of the mandrake.

In the latest Harry Potter film, there is a nice episode where the students
are re-potting mandrakes. Because the shriek of a mandrake as it is being
pulled up causes madness and death, the old herbals show how to use a
dog to pull it up. In the film, all the students wear earmuffs.
Tobacco [that other infamous nightshade] has become the real
Montezuma’s or, to be more geographically accurate, the Mohican’s,
revenge.

Tomatoes, Lycopersicon esculentum [the name translates to edible wolf

peach], have had a very hard time getting to the dinner tables of Europe.
Even the exquisite aroma of the green leaves was abhorrent to the early
European sensibility.

Although native to South America around Ecuador and Chile, it was in

Mexico that the tomato was first widely developed for food. The common
name tomato also comes from the confusion between it and the name for
the Mexican husk tomato tomatl or tomatillo Physalis ixocarpa. The
tomatillo is itself often confused for green tomatoes in recipes. Tomatillos
and another physalis, the Cape gooseberry, have wonderful exotic scented
flavours that are slowly appearing in contemporary dishes: they hold
great promise in this climate.

From Mexico the tomato arrived in Spain where it initially attracted little
attention. The earliest botanical reference for tomato comes from the
herbal of Matthiolus in 1544 and historian Vernon Quinn[1942] records
its early passage from Seville to Morocco and then from Tangier to Italy.
Which might explain its first Italian name of Pomo dei mori or Moor’s
apple? Matthiolus named it pomi d’oro or golden apple, perhaps because
the early forms were orange and yellow? Pomi d’oro becomes pomodoro
and then pomme d’amour on its arrival into France. Sex is a sure seller
even back then.

Tomato seeds have even been to space and back in a seed promotion that
rivals Don Burke’s efforts. The seeds were sent up on the Columbia
spacecraft to see if zero gravity had any effect on germination. It didn’t.
But feeding tomato seed to tortoises has added to the theory that
Galapagos Island’s early forms of Wolf Peach were distributed by the
slow digestive qualities of the tortoise.

The most common mistake gardeners make in growing flavourful

tomatoes is to over-water them. Just as with grapes a little struggle adds a
lot of flavour.

Eggplants or melanzana [translating as mad apples] are the only

significant edible nightshades that did not originate in the Americas. They
have been in use in Europe for a very long time. Eggplants are native to
India, some research credits Africa as a source, but central Asia also have
naturalised or even native varieties. The form is so variable that it is hard
to pinpoint is true origins. The shorter white ones look just like eggs.

The crossover to Europe has been said to have come from Goa with the
Portuguese who incidentally are said to have introduced chillies, olive oil
and olives to the East. Fair swap I reckon. A good example of this
exchange is found in the kasoundi relish where 3 worlds meet with
eggplant, chilli and olives.

Until chillies were brought back from the Americas it was Pepper that
provided the spice that ‘hurts so good.’ Most of us like it hot, and of all
the new nightshades the chilli received the most enthusiastic welcome,
especially in Asia.

Columbus went out with pepper on his shopping list and came back with
the chilli that made it possible to provide a hot spice with a great variety
of flavour.

Pepper was hard and expensive to grow, but chillies requiring less
exacting climatic conditions brought the world a cheaper thrill.

The excitement of chillies is in the way that the active ingredient

capsaicin at first burns, then as our natural endorphins kick in they give
us the equivalent of an athlete’s high.

This excitement translates to a heightened sensation of taste. The flavours

of various chillies are also quite distinctive when you get past the pain
barrier. These subtle differences are what add to the nuances in cooking
of Mexico, Thailand and indeed any cuisine that has a strong tradition of
using chillies.

The combination of chocolate and chilli goes back to the very ancient
times and finds its peak in the Moles of Mexico.

It is possible to date dishes by charting the spread of this rather tasty

form of ‘global warming.’ Pepper crab and Chilli crab provide a clear
example.

In Australia we have more than 130 varieties of native Solanaceae and

more than 60 varieties that have been naturalised.

There was widespread use of native solanaceae by Australian Aborigines

for food as well as for hunting and ceremonial use. The most widely
known is Pituri, a confusing name as it refers to many different native
tobaccos: one of these Pituri, Duboisia hopwoodii, contains a very potent
form of nicotine. It is rarely smoked but is used as a type of patch and is
highly addictive; it is sometimes used to stun prey while hunting as is
another native tobacco, Duboisia myoporoides. Less potent forms of
naturalised nicotiana are preferred for stimulation.

I have seen eggplants grafted to Australian native tobaccos to produce

vigorous and also perennial forms. Talk about fusion...

Those of us that subscribe to the Gondwanaland theory can put Australia

right into the middle of the spread of this family of plants.

Many native nightshades resemble the early forms of tomato, eggplant

and peppers and may yield some exciting new vegetables in the future.
With the popularity of bush tucker native solanaceae like bush tomatoes
have started to appear on our menus. Bush tomatoes are the original sun
dried tomato as they are only edible after drying. We may find it hard to
grow a really good tomato because the right variety has yet to be bred for
Australia, and it may come naturally from a native stock.

Two other native nightshades the Kangaroo apple Solanum laciniatum

and the closely related S. aviculare are only edible when perfectly ripe
and should not be tried by the amateur. These native plants, from which
we receive the least benefit, are among the world’s major sources of
steroids used in the manufacture of oral contraceptives.

Like the macadamia nut they are mainly grown overseas. We do not have
a local industry that utilises their properties that include pharmaceuticals
used in the treatment of menopausal disorders and infertility.

The pomme d’ amour may yet become true blue as the kangaroo apple
also contains alkaloids that are used to treat impotence.

But what does this historical trivia mean in the context of modern
Australian cooking?

I believe that because we are in the middle of it, we cannot see

that Australians are developing a really new way of looking at food. This
new movement is not just coming from the frontline big time restaurants.
There is a very fine sense of balance emerging.

Coriander and parmesan cheese type combinations are giving way to fine
simple dishes. But while we have access to some quite good ingredients, I
believe we have to face some hard facts.
Most of the produce in our mainstream markets is of a very mediocre
standard if judged by its taste. While Australian produce may not be
radioactive as in some parts of Europe, the flavours just do not come up
to scratch. Unless you are plugged into the top of the food sourcing chain
you may never know what a tomato tastes like.

Figs, melons peaches indeed almost any fruit are accepted under- ripe and
tasteless. We would never accept a warm beer in a pub but why do we put
up with flavourless food? All of our first quality produce is exported.
Ripe food should not be a luxury item but try to get a banana that tastes
like a banana, a simple cheese that has been matured properly. These
foods are only for the wealthy, the home producer or the gardener.

In Europe we find a different dilemma. The markets are full of some great
flavours, ripe cheeses and well grown and graded vegetables but inside
the restaurant, that is often, right behind the market, time has stood still.
The same old dishes without regard to season are monotonously offered.
In Europe home cooking still rules.

Surreal jelly fluffs and prawn brain juice coming out of dada
restaurant/laboratories are sexy enough for young cooks to include the
foam gas bottle and pipette into the kitchen kit, but where are the role
models for the next generation of growers without whom cooks are
stranded?

Self righteous Sermon? maybe so, but if we can encourage young people
to question the origins and pathways that give us flavour, this exciting
free movement that is Australian cuisine can develop; if not, the ideas and
cooks will go to where the flavour grows.

Once you have tasted home grown and in season, there is no turning
back.

Anyone for a wolf peach sanger?

End

George Biron

Many thanks to my assistants, the extremely talented and delightful hot

Tomatoes Diane Garrett, Deborah Saunders who can be found at
www.culinarywizrd.com.au and Mary Koch who is a little harder to peel.
Thanks also to Dr. Beth Gott, Dr. Tom May, Clive Blazey and Talei
Kenyon from Herenswood, Mr. Keith Richards, Jill Norman, Cherry Ripe
Tony Tan, Ian Barlow, Dr. Louis Glowinski, Bruce Fry, A. Bone and
Sons Kennedy’s Creek for the 20 varieties of potatoes Paul Simon, Alan
Saunders, The Chilli Press www.chillipress.com.au , Fiery Foods
www.fieryfoods.com.au Disaster Bay Chillie,s,
disasterbay@bigpond.com.au

and all the gardeners who came good at the last moment.

Bibliography

A Modern Herbal by Mrs M Grieve 1931

Penguin Books

Nightshades by Charles B Heiser. Jr.

Freeman and Company Indiana 1969

Bush Food by Jennifer Isaacs

Weldons 1987

Plants in the Service of Man by Edward Hymans

J. M Dent ands Sons London 1971

The Origin of Fruits and Vegetables by Jonathan Roberts

Harper Collins 2001

Vegetables by Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix

Pan Books 1993

Frida’s Fiestas by Guadalupe Riviere and Marie-Pierre Colle

Pavilion Books 1994

The Potato by Larry Zuckerman

Macmillan 1999

Aboriginal uses of Australian Solanaceae

Nicolas Peterson A. N. U Canberra

Flora of Australia Vol 29 Solanaceae

Australian Government Publishing Service 1982
Goodbye Culinary Cringe by Cherry Ripe
Allen and Unwin 1993

Ripe Enough by Cherry Ripe

Allen and Unwin 1999

The Oxford Companion to Food edited by Alan Davidson

Oxford University Press 1999

The Cuisine of Hungary by George Lang

Penguin 1971

The Great Food Almanac by Irena Chalmers

Collins 1994

Part 2
Demonstration and Tastings.

POTATOES
Where wheat starch meets potato starch and both are improved. But when
the ratio of flour to potato is reversed and no kneading is done we get
feather light Gnocchi

POTATO BREAD FROM PUGLIA

The use of potato in bread is very common in Eastern Europe but this
recipe comes from Puglia on the heel of the boot in southern Italy. We
used to specialise in very crusty breads at Sunnybrae but often made this
loaf as a contrast for its soft and chewy texture. The taste of the potato is
quite hearty well suited to mopping up those tasty juices and the added
bonus is that it keeps well for many days.

Makes 2 loaves

2 teaspoons of dried yeast- Fermipan or Saf [Both available at

Supermarkets]
500g Unbleached bakers’ flour
250g potato a white starchy variety is good.
140g water
10g salt
Extra sea salt and olive oil for the top

Steam or boil the potatoes and pass them through a moulli or a sieve cool.
Gently incorporate the flour, yeast, salt and ¾ of the water
Knead gently; it will be sticky but not too wet. Add some more the water
if it is too dry.
The potatoes will have different moisture contents so the exact amount is
a matter of practice. If the dough is too wet the bread will be very airy
and if too dry it will be a bit dense--- both are acceptable.
Let the dough rise in a warm spot covered with a cloth.
Heat the oven to 220C
When the dough has doubled in size, knock it back and make into a round
flat disk about 2 inches deep. Let it rise again in a warm spot uncovered.
When it’s about 3 inches high use your finger to indent holes all over the
top. This will allow the bread to rise evenly giving you a good focaccia
shape.
Brush liberally with olive oil you can let the wholes fill up if you like lots
of oil.
Sprinkle the top with sea salt and bake for about 45 mins
Cool on a wire rack.
Notes.
..
4 lines
.
LEMON GNOCCHI

I always use Desirees [acute over first e please editor] or Toolangi

delights for gnocchi. Light airy gnocchi is easy if you don’t over work
the mixture this is exactly the opposite of the bread above.

Serves 6

500g of cooked “riced” potato. I.e. passed through a food mill or sieve.
This is essential to keep the mixture light.
250g of baker’s flour
100g grated Italian Parmesan
10g butter or olive oil 3 tablespoons of single cream [optional].
10g salt
1 egg yolk
Grated ring of 3 lemons

Lightly mix the potato, flour and 2/3 of the grated lemon rind with the
tips of your fingers. Don’t knead at all.
Roll out into a tubular shape about 3cm round. The mixture will make 6
strips about 250cm long
Cut into 3cm pieces. Lightly roll each into a ball and roll off the end of a
fork to mark the surface. This will help any sauce to adhere.
Warm the butter and cream in the pan that you will use to coat the
gnocchi
Poach the little gnocchi a large pot of salty water. They are ready 30
seconds or so after they come to the top. Don’t worry they will rise if you
have not overworked the mixture.
Add to the butter and garnish with the Parmesan, parsley and the rest of
the lemon rind.

Notes
4 lines
.
.
 TOMATOES

Tasting Varieties
6 lines
.
.

Pan Con Tomate

.
3 lines
.

.
Essence of White Tomato Soup with Basil

An old technique with a history from Persia to Budapest to Charlie

Trotter and Beyond.
Wonderful as a stock for a Risotto that looks white, but tastes red.

For the soup

In a non reactive heavy based pot place tomatoes with the skins scored as
if you were peeling them. Slowly heat with the lid on tightly be careful
not to let it catch (you can start with a little water to ensure it does not
catch). After about 10 mins the tomatoes will be cooking in a clear liquid.
Resist the temptation to stir and allow to cook for about 40 mins on low
heat just simmering. Strain through a very fine sieve taking care not to
press or crush the tomatoes, use their weight to allow them to drain. (This
is a little like white wine is made) The resulting liquid will be a clear
broth with an intense tomato flavour .Resist the temptation to reduce this
it will alter the flavour and you will lose the freshness of its’ taste. Set
aside

Notes
.
4 lines

Tomatillos
Tasting Fresh Tomatillos
2 lines
.
.
Salsa Verde

Quite different from Italian version this classic hot sauce brings out the
wonderful flavour of the tomatillo.
Tomatillos, Garlic, Serrano chillies, coriander, onions, lime juice.
Method

2 Lines

Cape Gooseberries
A delicious condiment where Vanilla enters the savoury spectrum.

Cape gooseberry and Chilli sauce

Cape gooseberries, caramelised onions, vanilla, fresh jalapeno chillies,

fresh ginger.

Method
4 lines
.
.
.

EGGPLANTS

SMOKED EGGPLANT
Eggplant is a very important vegetable in Japanese cooking.
This is a technique used for many of the delicious Middle Eastern dips
like Babaganoushe, but this case we use it with white miso or yellow
miso to prepare a very simple starter, you can also use it as part of a
vegetable antipasto.
Serves 6 as a starter
3 medium sized eggplants plus 2 to charr
150ml olive oil plus a touch of sesame oil
50g white or yellow miso paste
Poppy seeds
Charr the 2 eggplants according to the demonstration
Cut the eggplants into segments and fry until golden brown.
Drain on kitchen paper
Mix the miso with the smoky eggplant pulp and spread onto the
fried eggplant slices. Garnish with the poppy seeds.

TASTING KASOUNDI
4 lines.
.
.
.
.

CHILLIES

Black Mole of Oaxaca

Chillies Roasted in Oil or Fat and soaked

Where chocolate enters the hot tub.
Chillies used are Chihuacle, Mulato, Passilla
Spice Mix Includes Cumin seeds, dried thyme, anise, dried marjoram,
dried oregano, coriander seeds, cinnamon, and cloves

Demonstration and tasting

4 lines

Ceviche of Fresh Seafood

To leave the palate excited and ready for the delights of rest of the
festival.
For 6 First courses
500g of seriously fresh fillets of fish or scallops
½ cup of lime juice
Marinade.
1 shot of Tequila
1onion finely sliced, 4 Serrano chillies finely sliced, 2 jalapeno chillies
finely sliced a little habanera finely sliced.
½ cup p chopped parsley, coriander leaf,
3 medium peeled tomatoes chopped
A touch of sea salt, cane sugar, smoked paprika
Garnish Rock samphire and Purslane or Cactus Pad or Iceberg Lettuce.
Don’t use a soft lettuce.

Marinate the fish in the lime juice for 15 Minutes. Drain.

Crush a little of the chillies with the salt, sugar and paprika. Combine all
the rest of the ingredients. Taste and adjust seasoning of salt.
Gentle mix the now “cooked fish with the rest of the ingredients.
Dress leaves with some of the marinade and a touch of olive oil.
Serve marinated fish on the leaves with a little extra lime sprinkled with
smoked paprika.

Really Deadly
10 lines
End