South Melbourne Market

Alex explores how La Cucina Romana influenced Middle Eastern cuisine, with a menu featuring his own, easy take on traditional dishes. Recipes include: pistachio, capsicum and Parmesan cheese pesto with spicy Turkish beef sucuk sausage on crunchy pide bread; bulgur, fresh mint, parsley, cucumber, tomato salad with baked spiced pistachio kernels and crisp Italian prosciutto shards; kavurma shakshuka, a delicious combination of baked eggs with pan fried lamb in a rich tomato, onion; capsicum sauce spiced with cumin and coriander seeds; lamb and beef Turkish-style koftas (meat balls) slowly cooked in a lemon chickpea broth, served with sucuk sausage and fennel yoghurt; and finally for an easy dessert, sugar syrup poached pumpkin, tahini, finely crushed walnut-almond  dust and creamy homemade pistachio ice cream.