What does a region taste like? For celebrity chef Alastair McLeod, Moreton Bay comes down to one plate: beer-battered Moreton Bay bugs with charred pineapple salsa and yoghurt tartare.
The Samford local went looking for the dish in his own backyard. He brought back bugs fresh from the bay that gave them their name, pineapples from a Wamuran farm in the foothills of the Glass House Mountains, and a Samford Sessions beer brewed in Brendale for the batter.
The recipe is Moreton Bay’s entry in A Shared Table, the Local Government Association of Queensland’s statewide cookbook marking the association’s 130th anniversary, which launched yesterday.
“The Moreton Bay bug is named after this bay, so it had to be the hero. Everything else on the plate comes from just up the road – pineapples from Wamuran at their sweetest, and a Samford beer in the batter. The producers are the real stars here. I just get to cook with what they grow, catch and brew.” Alastair said.
The pineapples come from Piñata Farms at Wamuran, where the Scurr family has grown them since the 1960s. Spring is one of the farm’s two peak seasons, so the fruit on Alastair’s plate is at its best right now.
The beer is Samford Sessions from Hip Hop Brewers in Brendale, named for the valley Alastair calls home.
Alastair is also the driving force behind Samford Harvest, a quarterly event in the Samford Valley that puts local producers in front of diners.
“I’m proud to call Moreton Bay home. Samford Harvest is my way of sharing it – putting the people who grow, catch and brew our food at the same table as the people eating it. I want everyone to leave knowing how much good stuff is happening on Brisbane’s doorstep,” Alastair said.
Tourism & Events Moreton Bay CEO Luke Edwards said the dish showed how close Brisbane is to the region’s paddocks and waterways.
“Everything on this plate comes from within about an hour of the Brisbane. You can cook it at home this weekend, or make a day of it and come up the road to meet the people who grow, catch and brew it,” Edwards said.
“Moreton Bay bugs carry our name around the country. It’s good to see a chef of Alastair’s standing put them back on home turf, alongside the farmers and brewers who make this region such a good place to visit for a meal or two.”
The dish is also a starting point for a weekend away. Within an hour of Brisbane, visitors can follow the region’s food trail to farm gates, roadside stalls and pick-your-own farms up in the hills, try a tasting paddle at local breweries, and book a seafood lunch by the water on the Redcliffe Peninsula or Bribie Island.
Between meals, there are rainforest walks in D’Aguilar National Park, paddles on Pumicestone Passage, and country markets and cafes in the Samford Valley and around Woodford and Dayboro. Moreton Bay’s growing agri-tourism scene means more growers and makers are opening their doors to visitors, so the best way to taste the region is to come and meet them.
