Newsletter #3 – History Bites

From Refreshment Rooms to the Ghan

In 2023 I journeyed to Melbourne, overnight on the XPT to see our son and his partner. Chris and I repeated the same trip in 2024. The route takes you through a few towns that you would normally miss if you were driving to Melbourne directly.

The XPT appeared close to capacity and would stop at various towns along the way as it travelled to the southern capital. Whenever the train pulled into a station the odd passenger would alight with their luggage only to be quickly swallowed up by the inky blackness. At other times a hug from a loved one was waiting for the ticket holder. Occasionally a passenger boarded as silently as possible only to stumble in the dim interior light as the train left the warm glow of the station. You could pick the regular passengers – they were the ones who slept regardless of interruptions after consuming whatever food they brought with them. Others like myself, nodded intermittently as I tracked the progress of the train. The buffet car was located in my carriage and offered hot and cold beverages, snacks and a menu from which you could order hot food. I chose the Chicken Curry which was surprisingly good.

At many of the stops throughout the night, there was ample evidence of a by-gone era when many stations featured refreshment rooms for travellers. By modern standards the refreshment rooms or tea rooms as they were often referred to, were unglamorous and offered very basic fare, but they were popular and many were located within grand stations of Victorian design which today are heritage listed. While never centres of culinary excellence they were there for a reason.

The age of steam meant that locomotives had to stop regularly to take on water and coal and consequently it was thought that this would also be an opportunity to feed and water the passengers. In Australia from the mid eighteen hundreds, refreshment rooms started appearing at train stations and from then they seemed to sprout like mushrooms throughout Regional Australia and naturally in the Capital cities and larger suburban rail stations. Business was good for the better part of a century, but by the 1950’s things were changing.

As steam gave way to diesel the need for the train to stop for coal and water was eliminated. Personal motor vehicle ownership was also increasing and longer distance trains were offering catering facilities on board the train. The Victorian “Spirit of Progress” train had been offering a restaurant car since the late 1930’s, while the “Southern Aurora” offered unparalleled comforts from 1962. Many of the Railway Refreshment Rooms closed, others were leased out.

Fast-forward to the present day, the “Spirit”, the “Aurora” and others have all gone. The spaces once occupied by the Refreshment Rooms have been re-purposed or replaced by fast food outlets or remain empty. I lamented that fact as I gazed down at my scrapped clean cardboard container that had contained the curry. At the time I recalled a conversation with one of the teachers from my TAFE cooking school days.

When he arrived in Australia in the 1960’s from England one of his first jobs was in a Sydney restaurant as a second chef. His boss (the head chef) explained how he made his sauces. Basically it was one big pot of béchamel sauce – with additions. Cheese sauce naturally had cheese. Gravy had Parisienne essence (brown colouring) and a beef stock cube. The only addition for the curry sauce was curry powder. You get the idea – naturally my teacher was horrified and wondered what type of culinary back water he had migrated to.

Today Train travel in Australia is either viewed as a necessity as in the case of commuters within the suburban networks or as a “bucket list” highlight on a glamour train such as “The Ghan” or the “Indian Pacific”. These trains are regarded as world class visitor/ tourist orientated experiences and passengers have a full service dining car and a lounge car with a bar.  Travelling on either of these trains is still on our own bucket list, but I can say that Chris and I were fortunate in having travelled on “The Spirit”, the “Aurora” and the “Brisbane Limited” back in the day.

Lamb Madras

The first recipe reflects the heady days of the refreshment rooms in the 1930’s. It is a curry which hopefully you will find more appealing than the Madras Curry mentioned on the menu board.

In the 1970’s I worked at the Sydney Hilton Hotel. After a couple of promotions I became Chef Saucier and later Chef in Charge, lunch service, of the Hotels premier restaurant, The San Francisco Grill. While there we prepared our own curry powder, for “Major Grey’s Lamb Curry”, a feature item on the luncheon menu. The care we used in the preparation of this dish was a far cry from both the one advertised on the menu board and the curry sauce that my teacher was exposed to in the 1960’s.Keep in mind that back in 1930’s it was probably mutton not lamb.

I find the preparation of a single portion of any curry harder to do because it is difficult to get the flavour balance right. A Lamb Madras recipe (enough for four persons) follows. You will need a non stick frypan, a blender or stick blender and a lidded saucepan.

https://meandmybigmouth.com.au/tales-railway-refreshment-rooms/

Ingredients:

• 600g lamb shoulder, trimmed and diced (2cm dice) to give you about 600g net.
• I x large onion peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 x garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 ½ tsp minced ginger
• 40ml vegetable oil
• 40g ghee
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 ½ tbsp medium hot curry powder
• ¾ tsp tamarind paste
• ½ tsp ground fenugreek
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 10 ml lemon juice
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 medium size ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled and de-seeded, chopped
• 400ml of full fat coconut milk
• Coriander leaf, natural yoghurt and thinly sliced chillies, to garnish
• Boiled rice
• Add the onion, garlic, ginger and a little of the oil to your food processor and blend to a paste.
• Heat a little ghee in a frying pan over a high heat. Add the onion mixture and fry for approx. 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until starting to turn golden brown. Turn the onion mix out into a lidded saucepan. Turn the saucepan to a low heat setting
• Add the rest of the ghee to the pan and when sear the lamb. When the meat is sealed, add all the dry spices and salt to the pan. Stir and cook for a further minute. Add the meat and spices to the saucepan.
• Add the coconut milk, tomatoes, lemon juice and tomato paste the pan. Bring to the boil and add to the saucepan.
• All the ingredients are now in the saucepan. Give it a good stir. Turn up the heat and stir until simmering. Lid the pot and turn the heat down until it maintains a slow simmer.
• The lamb may take more than 2 hours until its tender. Give the pot an occasional stir. Add a little water if you feel it is too dry, but it shouldn’t need it.
• When ready serve with boiled rice. Top with garnishes.

           

Notes:

• I boned out a 1.2 kilo lamb shoulder to achieve a little over 600g of relatively lean meat. I would suggest you purchase the lamb already diced.
• This perfect dish to cook and freeze. While freshly cooked rice is best you can portion the curry with cooked rice and freeze. Don’t forget to label and date.
• You can extend the recipe by adding diced potatoes to the curry for the last hour of cooking.

 

The Ghan

The pre-prepared meals offered on the XPT, as you would expect are vastly different to the quality of the food on offer on The Ghan.

The menus on this famous train are compact, table d’hôte style and well balanced for the three day journey from Adelaide to Darwin.

Preparing tasty, well presented meals on a moving train is a quite a bit different to the kitchens on terra firma. Apart from the obvious fact that the train is moving, the true genius lies in the layout of the galley and its use of space plus the chef’s planning ability, for the chef has limited options in going to the shop if something has been forgotten.

Browsing through a few of The Ghan’s dinner menus I spied a dish that appealed to me – well everything looked good, but I liked this one because once the various sauces had been pre-prepared the final cooking and assembly was only two or three minutes. Perfect if you were working in the galley and have lots to do.

However, my trip to the shops for ingredients didn’t go according to plan and I had to change my interpretation from The Ghan dinner menu but in hind sight it is probably easier to prepare than my original thought.

This recipe, the second for today reflects how the modern customer’s tastes have changed and would be suitable as either a main course or an entree. Salsa Verde is a cold emulsion sauce and sounds more appealing than the English translation – green sauce. The Heirloom tomatoes are delicious and available in specialist fruit and veg shops. Get the market to portion the fish for you.

A non-stick fry pan and a blender or stick blender are required to prepare this dish.

 

             

Pan grilled Barramundi Fillet, Salsa Verde, heirloom tomatoes and green oak lettuce

Ingredients:

• 200g (per portion)Barramundi fillet, skin off
• One heirloom tomato. Firm, ripe, cold washed, gently cored. Sliced thinly
• Green oak or butter lettuce leafs. Washed, pat dried
• 70ml (per portion) Salsa Verdi
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Lemon wedge

 

 

Ingredients – Salsa Verde:

Makes about 2 cups

• One small bunch Continental Parsley picked and washed. Net about 40g
• 3 x Anchovy fillet
• 2 x Garlic cloves, peeled
• One x Egg yolk
• 10 ml Lemon juice
• 10 ml White wine vinegar
• Salt
• Pepper
• 170 ml extra virgin Olive oil
• Parmesan cheese (optional)
• Dijon mustard (optional)

Preparation method:

• Place all ingredients (except oil) in your blender or in a suitable container or jug and use a stick blender.
• Blend for a minute or two until you have a thin paste.
• Gradually add the oil and continue to mix with the blender.
• You should have sauce consistency.
• Check seasoning.
• Use immediately or seal and refrigerate. Good for one week in the fridge.

Notes:

• Parmesan can be added unless you want it dairy free.
• I added a teaspoon of Dijon mustard to my sauce.

           

Cooking the fish:

• Pre-heat your non-stick frypan with a little oil.
• Pat the fish fillet dry. Season very lightly.
• Place the presentation side of the fish fillet in the hot oil. (The inside, opposite the skin side).
• Leave for 2/3 minutes until it forms a golden crust. Turn the fillet.
• Cook for a further 2/3 minutes. Take the pan off the heat. Push the pan to the back of the stove. Cover the fish. There should be enough heat in the pan to finish cooking the fish, without overcooking. Leave for a further 1 ½ minutes, while you quickly finish the garniture.

Assembly:

• Some fish are served with the skin on. I think this dish works better skinless.
• The Salsa Verde can be used as both an accompaniment for the barramundi and also as a salad dressing.
• Plate the grilled fish with either the sauce on the side or separate and the lettuce and tomato also on the plate.
• For larger thinner fish fillets you might consider cutting the fish into three pieces and then layering them (lasagne style). i.e: three layers of barramundi interspersed with two tomato/lettuce layers, but you will need to work quickly before the lettuce wilts.