Coming Together by Clementine Day
Self-published author Clementine Day’s new cookbook Coming Together proves that anything is possible where there’s passion.
Words: Hande Renshaw | Photography: Clementine Day
Clementine Day’s peach tart from her new self-published cookbook Coming Together. Photo - Clementine Day.
Rhubarb cake from Coming Together by Clementine Day. Photo - Clementine Day.
During the recent lockdown in Melbourne, self-taught cook Clementine Day found herself daydreaming of reuniting with her friends, sharing long lunches in her sunny backyard and cooking for her guests. It was during this time that the cook started her Instagram account Some Thing I Like To Cook.
“The idea for the book was born out of a longing for spending time with my friends so I decided to make a cookbook around this premise,” says Clementine.
Being a self-published book, budget constraints meant that Clementine couldn’t work with a team: “I ended up doing almost everything, recipes, photos, the graphic design, typesetting, the list goes on and on. It’s been a lot to juggle, especially with a full-time job, but I’ve truly loved it.”
Clementine makes food that is unfussy and uncomplicated, creating recipes that have a refreshing realness.
“Cooking at home is the best place to experiment; the stakes are low, mistakes won’t cost you a job and you can play around and have fun with it.”
Coming Together chronicles six long lunches, each cooked in Clementine’s friends’ kitchens and enjoyed in their inner-city backyards. The book contains her own recipes as well as recipes from each of the households.
“My good friend, Mike Chambers, put together some suggested wine pairings. He has a very lovely and approachable way of talking about wine. I also worked with each household to create a playlist to accompany their lunch.”
Pre-orders for Coming Together are open until December 10th.
Avocado dip in an Ella Reweti dish. Photo – Clementine Day.
Clementine serving up some dishes in her backyard. Photo – Clementine Day.
“I don’t want people to stress while they cook [my food], just have fun, drink wine and spend time with your loved ones. ”
Clementine Day’s new self-published cookbook Coming Together. Photo - Clementine Day.
CANELLI BEANS HUMMUS
This one is easy and the ingredients are simple to swap. Literally any canned beans will work. Sometimes I use a half-half cannellini and chickpea combo. The parsley can be swapped for any soft herb you have around, or skipped completely if you’ve got nothing available.
You can play around with the amount of cayenne pepper, obviously to suit your taste. The raw garlic in this is going to add some significant heat so if you’re not into that you can drop your cloves into the hot water with your beans for the last few mins of cooking to cut some of the heat out. If you don’t have pistachio butter, you could use almost any nut butter, or just double the amount of tahini. If using nut butters, just be aware that super flavoursome nuts like hazelnuts and peanuts will have a significant impact on the flavour of your dip.
INGREDIENTS
Hummus:
1 can of cannellini beans
4 large cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of pistachio butter
1 tablespoon of tahini
1 handful of parsley
1 lemon
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper (or to taste)
To serve:
Handful of baby radishes
1/2 head of fennel
½ cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon of sugar
Small handful of herbs of choice
METHOD
Bring a pot of water to the boil. Drain your beans and rinse them off, add them to the pot and cook until tender.
The above step is optional, it will just help to make your dip a bit creamier, but it’s not necessary and will work just fine straight from the can too if you’re short on time.
In a food processor, blitz all of your hummus ingredients until super smooth.
Using a mandoline, shave your fennel. Set the fennel aside in a bowl with the apple cider vinegar and sugar, top up with a little water if you need to make sure it’s all submerged.
Depending on the size of your radishes, cut them in half or keep them whole. Keep your radishes in a little bowl of ice water to keep it fresh.
To serve, add your hummus to a bowl or plate, top with pickled fennel, radishes and herbs, I used fennel fronds here.
Pre-orders for Coming Together are open until December 10th.