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    A Day In A Plate

    A Day In A Plate: Julia Ostro - OSTRO

    Good quality produce, simple techniques and real food have always been respected in my family! I have really fond memories from when I was about 4 or 5 years old, collecting sea water from our local beach to make ricotta with my parents! This importance of making food from scratch has really stuck with me and plays a huge part in the way I think about food and our daily meals! We shop locally and seasonally, try to know exactly where our food came from (hopefully not too far away) and really savour our food. Food is a celebration!

     

    Being a new mum, I was told that I wouldn’t have time for food like before, and although it’s definitely no easy task looking after a small human, with a little planning and thought, the way we eat hasn’t really changed – I’ve just had to be slightly more organised than before. My husband, Nori, is a chef, so food is a major talking point between us and we’re constantly thinking about what we can create next – it’s a really lovely and creative space!

     

    Zucchini Toast

     

    Breakfast:

    Nori often works long hours so breakfast is the one meal that we know we are definitely together for. We alternate mainly between a few different meals. If I’ve made a loaf of bread or there’s some in the house, we’ll have it grilled and eat it with avocado or ricotta, sometimes with zucchini or tomato, always with an egg and topped with herbs from our garden. If there’s no bread, I love getting creative and making dough from scratch for gozleme or focaccia.

    If Nori is making breakfast, it’s a real treat! We’ll feast on brown rice, miso soup, pickles and sometimes, grilled fish – these are my favourite breakfasts! When we have left over rice, Nori will make Okayu, a Japanese rice porridge made with dashi and topped with spring onions, salted plum and shredded nori.

    We usually will make a pour over coffee after breakfast too!

     

    Fresh Salad

     

    Lunch:

    Our lunches vary depending on the season! In these warmer months we’re all about salads! Nori makes an amazing raw cavolo nero, apple and tahini salad that I absolutely love! Or I’ll make us pasta with a fresh cherry tomato and basil sauce or for a treat, spaghetti with garlic, chili and pipis.

    If it’s just me and the little one, I would probably have roasted some sweet potato in advance and then would add to this some cooked lentils or chickpeas, coriander, seeds and nuts! We often have chorizo in the fridge, which we buy from the Spanish deli, or poached chicken, which I’ll top the salad with and sometimes add an egg too! Just something I can throw together in between all things Haruki. Our salad dressings are almost always just extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice and pink salt – in fact I’m quite certain olive oil runs through my veins.

    In the cooler months, it will be more hearty fare like soft polenta with radicchio and walnuts or Ribollita, my favourite soup which I learned to make when I lived in Italy.

     

    polenta

     

    Dinner:

    I often make something for dinner that I can then have the following day. Before I had Haruki, I wouldn’t think in these terms, but when I can grab lunch is often unpredictable so it’s really great having things in the fridge I can quickly use! Something like a cavolo nero pie in olive oil pastry which we would eat with leafy greens or our favourite salad of radicchio, blood orange and fennel makes up a typical dinner!

    We don’t eat a lot of meat, but when we do it’s usually organic lamb (Nori’s favourite) from our local butcher. If I’ve got time, I’ll roast a lamb shoulder slowly that I’ve rubbed In olive oil and spices and eat it with a simple chopped salad of tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, a tonne of fresh herbs and a tahini sauce all wrapped up in home-made pita. Other times we’ll eat it just simply with some sautéed greens. We’ll eat the left over lamb the following day in banh mi style sandwiches or with home made tacos.

     

    cavolo-nero-pie

     

    Snacks:

    Since having Haruki, I snack a whole lot more, and at crazy hours! Typical snacks are raw almonds, spelt licorice, dark chocolate or what ever fruit is in season paired with a good sharp cheddar. I also bake a lot, testing new recipes for OSTRO, so an afternoon snack will sometimes be a piece of homemade cake or something similar.

     

    Cake

     

    I drink heaps of water throughout the day and sometimes add a swig of Japanese vinegar called Benímosu, which is made with purple sweet potato. It is the best pink colour and makes me feel really good too!

    My daily meals vary on the season, but also depend on what we feel like cooking on the day or what has inspired us at the market as we’re both pretty unstructured with our meal choices, although this is something that has had to change just a little since having Haruki! Basically my day is all about real, fresh and wholesome food cooked simply and with minimal fuss – good quality produce doesn’t need much work to taste amazing!

     

    Pie-&-Coffee

     

    Check out Julia's stunning Instagram and her website OSTRO  for beautiful wholefood style recipes.

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