Julia Busuttil Nishimura
From fresh pasta to baked cheesecake, Julia Busuttil Nishimura transforms everyday meals into special occasions — celebrating living every moment.
Words: Emma-Kate Wilson | Photography: Armelle Habib
Julia Busuttil Nishimura in her Melbourne home with her husband Nori Nishimura and elder son, Haruki.
Julia Busuttil Nishimura is a name familiar to most Australian food lovers. Renowned for her fusion of Italian, Japanese, and Australian home cooking that honours the family kitchen and the memories made alongside producing nourishing dishes.
For Julia’s latest book, A Year of Simple Family Food, she explores the seasons and how meals can bring families together. “Food and family are so intertwined,” Julia writes in the introduction to her book. In one example, she mentions the exciting moment, early spring, when broad beans come into season. “I have many memories of preparing them with my family as a child, so they have a sense of nostalgia for me,” she reflects. “I usually make them into a simple salad with mint and pecorino.”
Cooking with the seasons plays into this, with Julia confessing she never goes to the market with a shopping list. Instead, she picks out what’s in season and is looking it’s best. Because of this, when a favourite is in season is it celebrated, enhanced by quality pantry ingredients. “Cooking beautifully simple meals with amazing fresh produce makes me so happy in the kitchen,” Julia muses. “I love going to the farmer’s market, coming home with a bag full of things and spending the afternoon cooking.”
Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s incredible Raspberry Ripple Cake from her new cookbook A Year of Simple Family Food. Photo - Armelle Habib.
“With simple food, there is nothing to hide behind, so buying produce when it is at its best is key,” says Julia Busuttil Nishimura. Photo - Armelle Habib.
In her book, she mentions ichi-go ichi-e—a Japanese concept that represents the unrepeatable moments of everyday life. A philosophy that anchors Julia in cherishing each facet of life. “Cooking simply is all about not overcomplicating things too much; letting the ingredients taste of themselves,” she shares.
“With simple food, there is nothing to hide behind, so buying produce when it is at its best is key,” Julia emphasizes. “Produce is at its best when it is in season—the taste and flavour is incentive enough to buy fruits and vegetables in season, but affordability and sustainability also comes into play.”
“It brings me so much joy being able to cook for my family, I especially enjoy making things that require me to use my hands – fresh pasta, tarts with rustic pastry, focaccia and simple cakes.”
Julia’s advice to families hoping to mirror these philosophies of nourishing, sustainable meals every day is always having a well-stocked pantry. “It means that once you have your fresh fruit and vegetables, perhaps meat and dairy too, you can really create what you please without having to rush out to the shops every day,” she thoughtfully considers.
Something that appears at least once a year, and anchors cooking and family, is Julia’s Classic Baked Cheesecake recipe—mostly thanks to cheesecake being husband Nori’s favourite kind of cake. “I make one for him every birthday and over the years I have just developed my own recipe in the way we like to eat it,” Julia adds. “A crunchy biscuit base with a creamy not-too-sweet filling and eaten with whatever fruit is in season—fresh berries in spring, poached peaches in summer, in autumn stewed plums and winter, beautiful citrus.”
Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s Apricot Yeasted Cake from her new cookbook A Year of Simple Family Food. Photo - Armelle Habib.
Julia Busuttil Nishimura’s Pavlovas with Figs, Plums and Almonds. Photo - Armelle Habib.
“I would love ‘A Year of Simple Family Food’ to inspire people to pay closer attention to the seasons and how the comings and goings of produce can punctuate the year wonderfully.”
CLASSIC BAKED CHEESECAKE
Serves 8–10
INGREDIENTS
750 g full-fat cream cheese, softened
400 g sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
3 eggs lightly beaten
BISCUIT BASE
250 g Granita or other plain semi-sweet biscuits
1 tablespoon caster sugar
Pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
125 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 170°C.
To make the base, place the biscuits, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a food processor and blitz until you have a fine crumb. Tip the mixture into a bowl and pour over the melted butter. Mix to combine. Press the mixture evenly into the base of a 26 cm round cake tin (not springform) and bake for
10 minutes. Remove from the oven and place in a deep baking tray.
Meanwhile, mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and lemon zest until very well combined. You can use a stand
mixer fitted with a whisk attachment for ease. Gently mix in the egg until just combined. Pour the cheesecake mixture over the biscuit base, then fill the baking tray with enough boiling water to come halfway up the side of the cake tin. Carefully place in the oven and bake for 35–40 minutes until just set. The centre will still be wobbly, but will firm up as it cools. If you want, you can continue to cook the cheesecake a little longer, until it really puffs up and colours – this will give you an entirely different cake, more like the style of cheesecake you’d find in Spain. It will be less creamy and have more texture.
Allow the cheesecake to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours. When ready to serve, run a sharp knife around the edge of the tin and invert the cheesecake onto a flat board or plate, then flip back onto a serving plate or cake stand. To help release the cheesecake, I usually sit the tin in hot water for 30 seconds, or warm with a kitchen blowtorch or carefully over a gas stovetop. This will melt the butter in the base ever so slightly. Top with your choice of fruit.
A Year of Simple Family Food by Julia Busuttil Nishimura, published by Plum, RRP $39.99, is available where all good books are sold and also online.