My puffer jacket has well and truly been bought out of its summer hibernation. I’ve been trying to put it off. Once you start wearing it, there’s no turning back; it’s an acknowledgement that winter is here. We’ve had some cold mornings, and walking down to feed the sheep their morning hay requires more than a cardigan. That, and the early morning starts at the market. Once I’m set up and standing in the shade on the bitumen road, with the wind whistling down the street, the cold seeps in. It’s not quite scarf and glove weather, but it’s not far away.
The black puffer jacket is somewhat of a uniform in Tasmania, so much so that it is colloquially known as the Tassie Tuxedo. Lonely Planet puts it very eloquently:
A Tassie Tuxedo - aka a down-filled ‘puffer’ jacket - is mandatory Tasmanian garb in any season. Wear it to the pub, wear it to a barbecue, wear it on the Three Capes Track…Indeed it is fair to say that Tasmanians are casual when it comes to attire: clad in hiking boots and woollen beanies, many locals look as though they’re going to hurl themselves into the bush at any moment.
That the Tassie Tuxedo is worn seemingly everywhere, even in more formal settings, is, I think, a reflection of our disregard for convention. In 2018, the Hobart City Council wrote in a promotional publication
Many of us love how Hobart is not an arrogant or pretentious city. It is the type of place where we can wear a black puffer jacket, affectionately known as the Tassie Tuxedo, out to dinner.
The other end of the puffer jacket spectrum is the very Tasmanian thing of wearing shorts and thongs (aka flip-flops around most of the world, where thongs are something entirely different!) along with a woollen beanie and declaring that it really isn’t cold.
There are other things that are uniquely Tasmanian. Whinging about the traffic is a universal complaint, but in Tasmania, this seems to occur if you have to commute more than 15 minutes to work or if you are unable to find a car parking spot directly outside the CBD shop you want to visit. And even worse if you have to pay for it. Most new residents, many coming from congested large cities with long commutes and hefty inner-city parking fees, find this quite amusing. That is until you’ve lived here for a couple of years and realise that driving from Geeveston to Huonville, all of 20 minutes, let alone going to Hobart, 50 minutes, is really not worth the effort, and you’ll just make do.
These are a few other things that are uniquely Tasmanian. The flannelette curtain is the divide between Hobart and the northern suburbs, where there is a penchant for flannel shirts. A heat pump is an air conditioning unit. A turbo chook, a fast-moving native hen and a shack, a holiday house, anything from a falling down shed to an architecturally designed showpiece.
And then there’s potatoes. I’m unaware of any other place where people can conduct an argument centred around their potato preference. People here know their potatoes and even our local small IGA supermarket sells a myriad of varieties, many grown locally. Binjte, King Edwards, Up to Dates, Carlingfords, Kenebecs, La Ratte, Pink Fir, you’ll see them all at the markets or on roadside stalls. Familiarity with all these potato varieties is a legacy of Tasmania’s history of potato growing. The first potatoes were planted in 1803 and by 1900, Tasmania was growing 100,000 tonnes of potatoes. Today just over 30% of Australia’s potatoes are grown in Tasmania, most of which end up as frozen chips.
And while potato varieties abound most of the potato love is saved for either Dutch Creams or Pink Eyes, with preference often determined along a north/south of the state divide. The Pink Eye is uniquely Tasmanian, having first been recorded in the south of the state in 1944. It has a creamy-coloured skin with, as its name suggests, noticeable ‘pink eyes’. The Dutch Cream is a larger potato, both are waxy and generally good allrounders, particularly suitable for mashing or roasting, although a potato salad is best made with Pink Eyes.
Potatoes are the ultimate winter fare. Warming and comforting, they are infinitely versatile. This crostata is the epitome of comfort food with an abundance of carbs that really do require the addition of a side salad of bitter greens, radicchio or peppery rocket. I’ve added some cornmeal to the pastry to add texture and lightness. And the potatoes are paired with leek and an abundance of chervil. Our neighbour has great success in growing chervil, and I’m a fortunate recipient. It is a delicate herb both in looks and flavour. It has pretty feathery leaves and a grassy, aniseedy taste. It’s not always easy to find in the shops, so you could substitute a mix of parsley and tarragon. The potatoes need to be sliced thinly, so a mandolin is best (I try to avoid using mine, having been scarred both physically and mentally, but occasionally it really is the best option!).
Potato, Leek and Chervil Crostata
Serves 6
Pastry:
210 g plain flour
50 g polenta, plus extra for rolling
½ teaspoon sea salt
85 g salted butter
40 ml olive oil
60 ml cold water, approx
Topping:
30 g salted butter
2 leeks, white and light green sections finely sliced
75 g creme fraiche
20 g chervil, finely chopped
1 large Dutch Cream potato, about 250 g, scrubbed
20 ml olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
few grinds of fresh black pepper
1 egg
To make the pastry, put the flour, polenta and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a couple of times before adding the butter and olive oil. Pulse a few more times until the dough is crumbly. Add the water gradually and continue mixing until the dough comes together in a ball. You might not need all of the water, so take care to add it a little at a time.
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead a couple of times and shape into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
To make the filling, melt the butter in a large pan. Add the leeks and cook them slowly over a low-medium heat until they are soft. Add ½ teaspoon of salt and several grinds of fresh pepper. Cool for a few minutes before stirring in the creme fraiche and three-quarters of the chervil.
Heat the oven to 180°C.
Remove the pastry from the fridge. Sprinkle a piece of baking paper with a little polenta. Sit the pastry on top and cover with a second sheet of baking paper. Roll out the pastry between the two pieces of baking paper into a round about 3 mm thick. Don’t worry if it isn’t perfectly shaped. The beauty of a crostata is its rustic appearance. Lift the pastry on the baking paper onto a baking tray.
Thinly slice the potatoes with a mandolin. Place them in a bowl and toss them gently with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread the leeks onto the pastry, leaving a 3 cm border around the outside. Layer the potatoes on top of the leek mixture, overlapping them as you go. Fold the edges of the pastry over the filling. Lightly beat the egg with a splash of water and brush over the pastry edges.
Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the potatoes are cooked and starting to brown at the edges. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the remaining chervil before serving.
Next week: Tassie gin + a grapefruit & gin drizzle cake
Each week, I share the latest instalment of the book I am writing here on Substack, Home Baked: a Year of Seasonal Baking. A subscription will ensure you don’t miss any of the stories and recipes. You might also want to consider a paid subscription, which, until the end of June, is 30% off. A paid subscription will give you access to previous recipes, as well as printer-friendly recipe cards and bonus material. There is also an additional newsletter on Friday, which is a mixed bag and touches on all manner of food topics. I’d love for you to be a part of it.
Paid subscribers will find the printer-friendly recipe card by clicking on the button, as well as grow your own potato suggestions - ones we’ve had some success with.
Tassie Tux!
I feel your knuckle pain! I have to use this with my mandolin AND my cheese grater. https://www.amazon.com/Stark-Safe-Resistant-Protection-Cutting/dp/B00N0UA71O/ref=sr_1_10?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3NFRixxQnzARgvNjQ0_vmd8EI-6v1XuEPWCN_EhMWxBLg8vHtgMDFt6jzpR_29qJ2oF17lwf2gCzdcb9i0ASj2UdknW4zxtHjZnanVoroZ44qrH0e6VjzbcQQ_MYEqM_TRL67iBp7X12P6Vi6L276cKLvri6nX1b2nbE54iqDDyW5Tg-yzjYn2jZ3IStnMDh7_HnKOfgiIbqqEdkE2nMI84zNX_JDA97mcO0ap2q6MBvmbO9vBX7fy1DdQ9hV7kzW1VvldH9MtBHjihe3EZzqDJxh7Z9h6WpkJ18f76qkHs.dK7hj6yZBB2h8fkxVJ5qnQbHJvxKnjK4IAb3uWQwuRo&dib_tag=se&keywords=mandolin%2Bgloves&qid=1717587674&sr=8-10&th=1