tamarillos with star anise

There is nobody quite like Peter Gordon, the New Zealand chef, for my money. With restaurants in London and Auckland, he is a class act and it was at his Sugar Club in London I first enjoyed tamarillos in red wine.

The following is an adaptation of his famous recipe. Sadly, the season for this beautiful fruit is short so snap them up when you spot them. The sauce is heavenly and if there is any over, I refer to it as ‘the mother sauce’.  Ready and waiting in the refrigerator, it is divine on ice cream or just poured over anything that needs sweetening up.

Ingredients:

6 tamarillos

750ml red wine

200g demerara sugar

2 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

1-2 drops rosewater

Method:

Bring the wine, sugar, star anise, rosewater and cinnamon to the boil in a medium saucepan. Lightly cut the pointed end of the tamarillos with a sharp knife to make an X and place them in the boiling liquid. Return to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes – test fruit is cooked with a skewer. Leave to cool in the liquid. Use any way you like – as it, at room temperature of cold from the fridge. Fabulous with vanilla bavarois.

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Octopus Oz

While I'm still on my favourite subject, the cooking of octopus, see previous octopus recipes under FISH, I thought I'd see what was available at the Sydney fish markets. They had plenty of octopus of varying size but not the kind we buy in France. In France they sell a completely different variety and it's sold by the kilo. In other words the fishmonger will happily chop a hunk off a very large octopus from where the head has already been removed. Buying large pieces of octopus where the cut pieces are the same size gives easier portion control and greater yield. However, the net result of my shopping trip was pretty much the same as far and taste and texture were concerned.  I chose pre-tenderised medium sized octopus and although the finished dish had many irregularities in size it was just as delicious only it did lack moisture. Overall it was good to know that it is possible to evoke the taste and flavours of Spain here in Australia.

baked pear and fennel salad

I spotted a variation of this salad in a magazine recently but instead of using peaches as suggested I thought pears would go just as well, if not better, with the other ingredients.

This is a truly mind blowing salad and one you will repeat again and again. It's fresh, crisp and deliciously tasty. The key is the use a mandoline to slice the cheese and fennel - there is simply no other way. Slicing finely with a knife will not do! So with that in mind combine the following ingredients in a large plain white salad bowl and drizzle over the top a little of your best extra virgin olive oil and a scattering of snipped fennels fronds.

Serves: 4

2 large Beurre Bosc pears, baked  at 180c until tender, cored and each sliced into 8 pieces
1 medium fennel sliced on a mandoline
1-2 packets of jamon cru or proscuitto depending on your appetite!
10-12 slices Gruyère cheese cut on a mandoline
Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
Fennel fronds for garnish

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tuna and mango refresher

This cheerful little starter refreshes the palate and lifts the spirits.

A set of ring moulds is worthwhile investing in especially one that includes a pusher. It is important to compress the stack in a gentle manner otherwise it is likely to topple over and that just will not do. Pretty up the plate with dots and trails of herb oil if you like. A good tip for making dots (see photo) is to buy a medicine measure from the chemist. It can be a risky business putting dots on a plate when all other ingredients are in place so a device that will not let you down is vital. This little measure has a squeeze top allowing greater control when dot size matters.

Serves: 4

1 slightly under ripe mango, peeled and finely diced

2 mini cucumbers, peeled and finely diced

200gm fresh, sashimi quality tuna, finely diced

4 teaspoons lump fish caviar

2 teaspoons Spanish sherry vinegar

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

few chives, finely chopped

Method:

Dice the mango, cucumber and tuna. Place in separate bowls. Mix the oil, vinegar and chives together, stir the dressing into the tuna.

Place each ring mould on a plate and spoon in the mango, the cucumber and lastly the tuna. Place teaspoon lumpfish caviar on top of each one and serve. Garnish the plate with a little herb oil.

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Padron with love

Sauté until soft in your best extra virgin olive oil for three to five minutes, sprinkle with lots of sea salt and ENJOY!

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Bonnet

This is the delicious dessert, Bonnet, from the Hotel Villa Rita www.villarita.it on the island of Elba. I'm posting the recipe as it came to me from their chef, Vincenzo.

Preheat oven to 160C

Serves: 10

Ingredients:

6 eggs

100g white sugar

1-tablespoon cocoa powder

125m1-cup filter coffee

125ml Amaretto liqueur

350g caster sugar and 4 tablespoons water to make up a caramel

Amaretti biscuits to garnish

 10 ramekins, greased

Method:

Combine all the above ingredients.  Make up the caramel by placing the sugar in a heavy based pan and slowly melt and cook until it turns a golden honey colour. Remove from the heat and very carefully add 4 tablespoons water. Stir and pour a little caramel into the bottom of each ramekin. Pour in the rest of the mixture.

Place the ramekins in an oven proof dish lined with a tea towel and pour enough boiling water to come half way up the sides of the ramekins. Cook for one hour or until set. Remove and chill under ready to serve.

Unmould each ramekin and turn upside down on individual serving plates. Scatter a little crushed Amaretti biscuits over the top and serve with fresh cream or ice cream.

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Magret with a duxelles farce

I like to stuff duck breast (magret) even though it is a moist meat with many layers of fat. The inclusion of stuffing just adds to the succulence and even more so when the stuffing is a mushroom, eschallot and herb duxelles.  Technically the duxelles mixture should be moisture free but I think it works better here if the mixture is a tiny bit moist.

To make a pocket in the duck breast: lay the breast fat side down on a board on a non-slip surface. Place one hand in the centre of the breast to ensure full control, take a very sharp knife in the other and make an incision at the fattest end of the breast. Using your steady hand as a guide, to feel the point of the knife inside the breast, carefully work the knife through the meat by edging it into the corners until you have achieved a large cavity. Care is required not to pierce the fat or flesh. Remove the knife. Turn the breast over and score the fat very lightly. It is most important not to score too deeply. The breast is now ready for stuffing and salting. Cover and refrigerate until required.

Duxelles – for two thick duck breasts

500g mushrooms, wiped clean

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons finely chopped eschallot

2 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley

Salt and ground black pepper to taste

100ml dry white wine

Whiz the mushrooms in a food processor. Turn out onto a clean cloth or paper towels and ring the moisture out. Place the mushrooms, butter and eschallots in a small saucepan and cook until the eschallots are soft. Add the wine and continue cooking until the liquid has completely reduced. Add the chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper.

I have just given you the method for preparing traditional duxelles but I tend not to be too particular about the mixture being very dry. As I said, I think it works better if the mixture is still a little moist. Cool the duxelles and fill each duck breasts cavity. Lightly salt the fat side of each breast with sea salt.

Cook the breasts as follows: 

The breasts are delicious served rare. Set your fire early and burn the charcoal down to the glowing red ember stage. Place the breasts fat side down and slowly cook melting the thick fat during the process but be prepared for flare-ups. Once the fat is reduced, turn each breast over and cook for another four or so minutes. Remove the breasts from the heat, cover to keep warm and rest for five to ten minutes. Slice across each breast into thick slices and serve. 

Breast served this way do not need a sauce.

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Octopus tapas

I seem to be cooking octopus on a weekly basis at the moment. In fact I can't get enough of it. See my recipe from last summer www.thefoodvine.com/2009/07/octopus.html it's as easy as pie but there is another way to prepare octopus. Just place the washed octopus in a large shallow pan and place a lid on top. Gently cook on a low heat for about an hour and a quarter until tender when pierced with the point of a sharp knife. The octopus will release its own juice and in this juice it slowly cooks and it just as delicious without the use of herbs, spices and vinegar. Remove from the heat when cooked, cool down completely in its own juice then clean it up under a running tap. The loose dark skin will fall away leaving soft pink flesh ready for slicing. 

Cut the octopus into small rings, hold two or three rings together with a toothpick. Drizzle over some olive oil, a sprinkling of pink sea salt and a little paprika.

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