As the great Shakespeare once suggested, music is the food of love.

Songwriting and cooking are two art forms that operate on the same level – crafts that aim to bypass the head entirely, moving people in hard-to-define, nebulous ways.

For that reason, we reached out to some of our favourite Australian musicians and asked them to submit their go-to kitchen creations; recipes for the touring life or for songwriting in the confines of home. The submissions we got ended up being as varied as the artists we reached out to, so the following list contains both high cuisine and some deliciously lowbrow delights. Maybe Australia’s musicians would do OK on MasterChef after all. Bon appetit.

The Smith Street Band – Vegan Creamy Curry Pasta (For 4)

Ingredients:

250g Spiral pasta

3 x Medium size cloves garlic

1 x Onion

300g Mushroom

½ x Head of broccoli

8 x Cherry tomatoes

8 x Pieces of asparagus

400ml Coconut milk

2 x Tablespoons of olive oil

2 x Tablespoons of curry powder

1 x Tablespoon of vegetable stock powder

1 x Teaspoon of smoked paprika

½ x Teaspoon of chilli flakes

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees

2. Remove the woody ends of the asparagus and slice cherry tomatoes in half

3. Place them all on a baking tray and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and some smoked paprika

4. Place in the oven for around 30 mins

5. Bring some water to the boil for pasta and cook according to packet directions

6. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a deep large frypan. Cut up onion, mushroom, broccoli and garlic. Add onion, garlic, broccoli and chilli flakes to oil and sautee for 3mins. Add mushroom and cook for a further 2 minutes till they are just a bit browned

7. Add coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Then add curry powder, vegetable stock powder and smoked paprika

8. Simmer for 10 minutes and stir through pasta

9. Place pasta in a bowl and put tomatoes, asparagus on top and serve

Notes:

Me and our manager Bosma discovered our love for curry pasta in Germany. It seems like a bastardisation of Italian, Indian and British cuisines, but it tastes rad. When I got home I knew I needed to replicate this dish (minus the dairy), as it was coming into Mario Kart season and I really needed a meal that could sustain me through the rigorous training and subsequent competing. It’s a completely nutritious and well-rounded dish with the crunch of the broccoli for perfect powersliding, the sweetness of the tomato for composed cornering, the creaminess of the coconut milk for glorious gliding and the kick of the chilli and curry powder to make a great Mario Karter out of anybody!

Camp Cope – Porridge (For 2)

Ingredients:

2 x Handfuls of oats

1 x Generous sprinkle of chia seeds

1 x Table spoon of agave syrup

1 x Chopped up or mashed banana

1 x Tin of coconut milk

1 x Pinch of cinnamon

Method:

1. Put in a pot and cook on a medium heat until it becomes thick and delicious. Serve

Notes:

So I like porridge because it’s simple and delicious and warms the soul. I also like having people around for porridge because it reminds me of being a kid.

Tully On Tully – Ahi Poké

Ingredients:

1 x Yellow Fin Tuna Fillet, cut into 1cm cubes

1 x Teaspoon sesame oil

1 x Tablespoon soy sauce

1 x Tablespoon sesame seeds

1 x ½ Tablespoon sriracha garlic chilli sauce

1 x Teaspoon water

2 x Spring onions finely chopped

1 x ½ White onion sliced super thin and cut into 1cm strips

Dried Japanese Nori torn into small pieces.

Method:

1. Place the tuna in a large bowl and drizzle with sesame oil and soy sauce

2. Mix sesame seeds through

3. Stir in sriracha garlic chili sauce and the water then add spring onions, onion and Nori.

4. Mix and serve

Notes:

Ahi Poké is a traditional Hawaiian raw fish salad-esque dish. We discovered it in Hawaii at the end of 2015 and now whip it up heaps because A) it’s delish and B) it’s super easy to prep thanks to all the ingredients being uncooked. We travelled around Hawaii looking for the best Poké we could find and after visiting a bunch of restaurants we found an isolated little supermarket on the North Shore that a local referred us to. They served this premade Poké from their deli and it was killer.

If you wanna be proper about things you should probably pair this guy up with a good, dry vino blanco, but in Hawaii we just ate it on the beach with plastic forks and a few pilsners.

Scabz – The Scabz Martini

Ingredients:


1 x Bottle of VB

3 x Olives

Method:

Take one chilled schooner glass

Fill with fresh, golden Victoria Bitter.

Garnish with not one, not two but 3 Sicilian olives.

Notes:

Best enjoyed on a Sunday when you are feeling that little bit more fancy than usual.

Primitive Calculators – Pasta Al Burro

Ingredients:

1 x Pack of the really fucking high quality spaghetti. The one with the rough surface texture that holds the sauce really well and often comes in a brown bag

1 x Big lump of really fucking expensive unsalted butter cut into small cubes

1 x Big lump of the best and oldest Parmigiano Reggiano you can get your hands on, grated coarsely

1 x Whole bunch of roughly chopped parsley

Method:

1. Cook the pasta in rapidly boiling salted water

2. Drain it

3. Put it on a big plate

4. Add the butter, parsley and cheese

5. Mix at the table and serve

6. Serve with the cheapest red wine in the world

Notes:

I first had this in Nicholson Street, North Fitzroy in 1978 when you couldn’t get a legal drink in Melbourne after 10pm. There was this pizza joint that used to sell red wine in small Coke bottles for $1 – it was called ‘special Coke’. We used to go there after gigs for the special Coke and eat this pasta.

I tell you, God invented this fucking pasta.

Geoffrey O’Connor – Eggplant Burger 

Ingredients:

1 x Burger buns – ideally the whitest, cheapest kind

1 x Eggplant

2 x Mushrooms

1 x Tomato

1 x Fistful of lettuce

Pickles

Tomato relish

Olive oil

1 x Bottle of wine – ideally the whitest, cheapest kind

Method:

1. Turn fire alarm on.

2. Fry 3 thick slices of eggplant in olive oil until they are slightly charred.

3. Fry each side of the burger bun for a few seconds.

4. Spread the relish and pickles on the lower bun.

5. Layer the charred eggplant with the thinly sliced mushrooms and tomatoes on to the bun in whichever order you like, then throw a fistful of lettuce and the top bun on to that. Easy!

Notes:

The eggplant burger is an absolute mess to eat. It’s definitely a meal for one – unless you want to get rid of an unwanted guest. It goes well with a bottle of white wine and can be prepared in about as much time as it takes to torrent Clueless.

Obviously I’m no Nigella Lawson and this recipe is hardly going to get me a retweet from Jamie Oliver, but then again my lazy cooking motto has always been ‘no meal that takes longer to cook than it does to eat can be truly delicious’.

Jackie Brown Jr – Banana Bug

Ingredients:

1x Banana

Peanut Butter

Method:

1. Slice the banana in half down its length, being careful not to break it (otherwise, the dish is ruined)

2. Arrange the two perfect halves on a plate in the shape of a butterfly

3. Spread peanut butter along the top of each piece, with the aim of being as sensual as possible. Smooth

4. Microwave your banana bug for however long you wish, depending on desired consistency. A minute and a half may be sufficient

5. Enjoy your hot sticky mess on a plate.

Notes:

This dish can be served for dessert, breakfast, snack, or for whenever you wish, I don’t know, I’m not your mum. I haven’t seen this spectacular recipe anywhere else, possibly because of its immensely complicated and tasty nature, so I may quite possibly be the pioneer of this game-changer.

It works well with a good red. Come to think, any red is a good red. Actually everything goes with red.

Major Leagues – Nam Chim

Ingredients:

2 x red cayenne chillies

A few bunches of coriander roots, cleaned

A couple of coriander leaves if you have them

A small handful of peeled garlic

A small thumb of ginger skinned

A couple of limes

Fish sauce

Light soy sauce

Palm sugar, honey or even maple syrup

Method:

1. Throw in your chillies and blend them up good

2. Little by little throw in your garlic, ginger, coriander roots and leaves and keep blending until it’s begging for some liquid to keep going

3. Add in a bit of soy sauce and a couple of good squirts of fish sauce and then hit it with the sugar

4. From here is where you start tasting. Get the balance right between sweet and salt and spice and sour by adjusting those elements

5. Serve with big pieces of fried chicken. It’s also amazing in a salad, with dumplings or anything really. Go nuts

Notes by Jake (drummer of Major Leagues/owner of Lucky Egg in Brisbane):

I’m not very good at following recipes. When I opened Lucky Egg almost a year ago I forced myself to have everything down to the most mundane sauces written out gram for gram so my staff who had no cooking experience could follow them. But it never worked, they wouldn’t taste anything, and half the time I don’t either when I’m following a recipe too closely. I think it’s better people learn techniques and apply them everywhere.

Loose Tooth – Totally Nuts Granola

Ingredients:

Rolled oats

Buckwheat kernels

Coconut flakes

Loads of unsalted mixed nuts (macadamias, brazils, almonds etc.)

Loads of seeds (chia, pepitas, sunflower, sesame etc)

Ground cinnamon

Coconut oil

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 120C and line a baking tray with baking paper

2. Combine all ingredients, chuck on the tray

3. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden, turning halfway through the cooking time

4. Remove from the oven to cool

5. Store it in an airtight container in the pantry and enjoy

Notes:

Breakfast is the most important meal for the day for rock dogs. Whether eaten at 7am or 4pm, this granola will give you the energy to shred all night long. Adapted from the Coco Nutty Granola recipe found on I Quit Sugar, there is no need to ‘rot any teeth’ (har har har!)

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