Green 'n' gold popcorn

Green and gold lend themselves to some very tasty flavours: parmesan, mustard and sage. We're calling this popcorn the unofficial* snack of the Australian soccer team (and it kinda looks like wattle, to boot!). Cheer on the Socceroos during #Qatar2022.

Credit: Amanda McLauchlan

• serves

  4

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• canola or vegetable oil
• 1 cup sage leaves
• 110 g (½ cup) popcorn kernels

Gold seasoning

• 3 tsp mild mustard powder
• 2 tsp table salt
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 40 g parmesan or other hard cheese, finely grated (see Note)

Makes 10 cups

Read our tips on how not to screw up stovetop popcorn.

Instructions

To make the gold seasoning, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir well.

Fill a 3 or 4-litre saucepan with 1 cm of oil and heat over medium heat. When hot, fry the sage leaves for about 15 seconds or until crisp but not too coloured. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.

Remove all but 3 tbsp (¼ cup) of oil in the saucepan and heat over medium-high heat until just before it smokes. Add a popcorn kernel to the oil to test if it is hot enough; if it spins, then the oil is ready (see Note).

Add all the popcorn kernels, swirl to cover the kernels with the oil, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, for 1 minute 45 seconds or until the popping sounds have stopped.

Tip the popcorn into a large wide bowl, add the sage and immediately toss with half of the seasoning until all the popcorn is well coated, then add the remaining seasoning and toss again.

Note

• Make the effort to freshly grate parmesan rather than using pre-grated stuff as it’s fluffier and will do a much better job of sticking to your popcorn.

• The oil shouldn’t be smoking; if it is, remove from the heat until it stops smoking, then return to the heat.

* Totally made up.

Photography by Amanda McLauchlan, styling by Aimee Jones.

View more ridiculously tasty recipes from our Popcorn Cup collection to celebrate the World Cup.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.