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Only the food Gods will ever know why, but sometimes the most stunning feats of sharehouse gastronomy erupt in a ham-handed late night throw-together: some sort of hazy improvisation loaded on too many white wines at the tail end of a hair of the dog weekend, when a sluggish, incipient hunger insists, despite bollocked protestation, that a meal in some shape or form be concocted and gorged upon.
Our mate Sarah came to visit from Australia a few weeks back. We’d been through some consecutive and appropriately loaded Berlin nights and, rueing any suggestion of bread-related mealtime fillers after such a wheaty beerfest, inspiration for nourishing culinary fusion had fizzled to an all time low. What to whip up that didn’t bloat one further, or reek of effort (if not a dirty kebab)?
‘Round midnight, eye-ringed on Vinho Verde, I summoned the refrigerator deities to give up all known edibles, at which point I knocked together some rogue vegies, bacon slices, pureed tomatoes and mozzarella, and inadvertently brought forth genesis of a new all time (and surprisingly healthy) favourite: the Late Night Stack, savoury sister to sh.k’s Uncle Buck pancakes, and new contender for ‘best meal in stack form’ in the entire Sharehouse Kitchen board of fare.
Needless to say it went down well. Get acquainted with a stack like you’ve never gorged on before.
- For the stack
- 1 large eggplant, sliced into 8 even pieces
- 1 large zucchini, sliced into 1cm pieces
- 1 red capsicum, sliced into quarters, seeds and stem removed
- 4 Swiss brown mushrooms
- 1 ball of mozzarella, sliced
- 4 rashers of bacon
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small red onion, finely diced
- 3 tbls extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the sauce
- 1 can diced tomato
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- Tsp of dried oregano, or equivalent of the fresh herb
- Tsp of anchovy paste
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees. In a large roasting tray, place the eggplant, zucchini, capsicum and mushrooms.
- In a mortar and pestle, place, garlic, onion, and 2 tbls of oil, and combine into a paste.
- Score the eggplant diagonally, and smear the garlic mixture into the gaps.
- Splash the vegetables in the tray with a little more olive oil, and place in the oven for approx. 20 minutes. (Time will vary depending on your oven. You want them soft, cooked, but still stiff enough to be stacked.)
- While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the sauce. Heat a small frying pan with a little more oil, add the clove of garlic, some dried or fresh oregano, and anchovy paste. Fry until fragrant, and then add the diced tomatoes. Simmer until the mixture has thickened and reduced into the consistency of sauce. Season to taste. Wash the frying pan, and cook the bacon until very crispy
- Once cooked, remove the vegetables from the oven.
- Make roast vegetable stacks, by assembling the layers as follows:
- Eggplant, zucchini, capsicum, tomato sauce, eggplant, zucchini, mushroom, zucchini, and topped with cheese. Make 4 stacks.
- Place back into the oven, and grill until the cheese is browned.
- Serve topped with crumbled bacon, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a drizzle of oil.
After years of living in gritty share houses—some wonderful, some pitiful—Honor Kennedy and Cam Hassard met each other in one.
Now living together in a Berlin apartment, they reflect on the gritty traditions of their sharehouse past, an homage to all the good bits of shared life—the camaraderie, the community, the meals and the wine.
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