Urban Forage in Spring

What a great day with Riki Bennett and our kai-cooker inspired urban forage. With a magnificent Auckland day, we started off the session with preparing Mala’s rēwena bread made at home from a mashed potato (Agria) starter.

The starter had been mixed with flour and left to rise overnight. Mala gave each bowl of bread a name. At 7.30am we started to knead and shape the loaves with some cooking in Le Creuset cast iron casseroles. The rēwena were then cooked at around 170C.

Later we served this with smoked eel and good old-fashioned butter!

In the kai-cooker, we smoked cauliflower with manuka chips and then poured in water to steam it. We repeated this with kumara. Pork shoulder had been brined over night and then smoked and steamed in the kai cooker along with stuffed lamb shoulder.

The watercress, cos and grapefruit salad was garnished with foraged nasturtium flowers.

Chef Marlene, helped by the Cookery Level 4 students, prepared Palusami from fresh taro leaves and coconut cream. Kawakawa pesto was made from blanched kawakawa leaves, spinach, garlic and oil.

Off we went to Auckland domain to walk through a track taking us past important native plants and trees with Riki providing a running commentary.

Along the way, he stopped to prepare a smoking ember from a mahoe stick rubbed on kaikomako and to play tunes on three types of flutes. Riki used the wood of Māhoe (Whiteywood) that he rubbed together to create sparks which in turn ignited a flame. He also explained how five trees hold the ability to make fire: Māhoe, the Tōtara, the Patete, the Pukatea and Kaikōmako.

On returning to the school we enjoyed a feast of all the foods.