Latin American Style Ceviche

I was introduce to Pacific style ceviche here in New Zealand a few years ago and became addicted to it, it’s not a dish we Brits would eat back home, we like our fish dipped in batter and deep fried! If you gave me the choice now of both dishes I would always pick the ceviche over good old fashion fish and chips, ok..ok if it was cold, wet and windy I probably would take the sole warming battered and deep fried dish.

I was over at Cook the Books a few months ago where Grace and Felicity were introducing us to Latin American style ceviches, we sampled many and they were all delicious, they are my new favourite with lots of lime, chillies and no coconut milk. Unfortunately I have lost the recipes they gave me so I have cobbled this one together in Pacifc style but without the coconut milk. I really must get the prawn ceviche recipe off them, it was truly delicious.

We are fortunate out in Muriwai as we have many friends who go fishing and bring us fresh snapper only a fews hours old, this make the perfect ceviche. If you’re not as lucky as us do make sure you use the freshest fish available.

Ingredients
200g Snapper fillet, shinned
juice of 2 limes (approx 100ml)
Thumb size piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 hot chilli pepper, seeded and finely sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed or finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely sliced
Handful coriander, finely chopped
1 small cucumber
Salt to season

Method
Slice the cucumber down the centre and remove the seeds by running a teaspoon along the centre.
Then slice the cucumber into 1 cm thick pieces.
Slice the snapper into 2 cm thick slices.
Mix together all the ingredients except the snapper and cucumber and season the juice with salt to your taste.
Toss the snapper and cucumber through the juice and refrigerate for 15 minutes, this will start to ‘cook’ the snapper. It doesn’t need long but if you prefer it cooked through more leave it for 30 minutes.
Serve in small bowls or on clean banana leaves!

Soy Salmon with an Avocado, Lime, Wasabi Salsa

I hope you all enjoyed a long weekend break over Easter, for me it was nice to be home for four days and the sun shone all weekend long. The last of our summer days I think, the gannets have all but a few flown from the colony, leaving just me behind till they return next year.

We often cook this dish on the BBQ as part of several dishes but Easter weekend we decided to have it on it’s own for our Sunday brunch served on a piece of whole grain toast, very decadent. It’s a really versatile dish that can be served as an entree on its own, as a main with steam veg or even as a canapé on little crispy croutons

Salmon cooks well on the BBQ, you need to remove the skin though as it will stick to the BBQ grill. The method is the same if you decide to cook it on your barbie. The marinate of soy and sugar caramelizes beautifully on the flame grill but here I cooked it in my cast iron pan and it was almost as good, I wasn’t going to fire up our charcoal BBQ for just one fillet so it was a good compromise.

I usually only buy one 4inch wide salmon fillet between the two of us, although I really enjoy salmon it can be quite rich and a small amount goes a long way so I have based my recipe on one fillet but you can easily double the quantities if you are cooking for more.

Ingredients for two
1 Salmon filet, sliced in half length ways
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 ripe avocado
1 tsp wasabi paste
juice and zest of 1 lime
2 spring onions, finely sliced

Method
Remove the skin from the salmon, it marinates better this way.
Warm the soy and sugar together so that the sugar dissolves.
In a small flat bottom container pour the soy and sugar, add the skinned salmon.
Marinate for 15 minutes turning every couple of minutes.
While the salmon is marinating make the avocado salsa.
Cut the avocado in half and remove the stone and scoop out the flesh.
Place the avocado flesh in a bowl with the lime zest and juice and wasabi paste.
Mash together to a lumpy texture rather than smooth purée.
Add the sliced spring onions and season with salt and pepper to taste, put aside in fridge.
Heat a cast iron or heavy bottom frying pan with a tablespoon of veg oil and place over a medium heat.
Once the pan is hot put the salmon fillets in and cook for 1 minute, turn the fillets over.
Brush the cooked side with more marinate and cook the second side for 1 minute.
Turn the fillet over and repeat the process on both sides, brushing with marinate and cooking each side for another minute (cooking time altogether 4 minutes).
Test the fillets are cooked to your liking, I prefer them a little undercooked.
Serve with the avocado salsa.

Summer Sandwich Series – Hot Smoked Salmon with a Lime Kelp Cucumber Pickle

Here is the next sandwich in my series, smoked salmon with a fresh zingy pickle to go with it. The sharp zesty pickle compliments the richness of the salmon. I hadn’t eaten hot smoked fish much until I moved to New Zealand but the Kiwis are mad on hot smoking and living out by the beach there always seems to be someone out catching or smoking fish. We are very lucky, we have very generous friends who often drop off a fish or two, sometimes raw, sometimes already smoked. In fact our old electric oven which we were about to throw away got converted into an outdoor smoker by our neighbour, it’s very effective and you have to love the Kiwi ingenuity of it.

The salmon for the sandwich was bought from the local farmers market, smoked with lime and a local Horopito leaf. The Horopito has a peppery taste to it and has been used by the Maori as a medicinal and culinary herb for centuries.

Ingredients for Cucumber Pickle
1 cucumber, peeled
1 tsp Lime Kelp Seasoning – Pacific Harvest
1 inch fresh ginger, finely grated
Juice of one small lime
Handful coriander leaves, chopped
1tsp honey or brown sugar
Pinch of chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Use the peeling to peel the cucumber into ribbons.
Add all ingredients except cucumber to a bowl and combine.
Add cucumber ribbons and toss through dressing.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Assemble sandwiches immediately as you want the cucumber fresh and crisp
The rest of the sandwich is the hot smoke salmon and slices of avocado.

Harissa Sauce

At the farmers market last week there was a stall selling Harissa and giving out samples of it too. It’s not something I have tried before but as soon as I had sampled it I knew iI was hooked and this was going to be my new flavour of the season. I have to confess I didn’t buy any, instead it was like a red flag to a bull that challenged me to make my own. There are so many version of Harissa, with most regions in North Africa, where it originates, having their own version that I took a combination of several to produce what I thought would be similar to the one I had sampled. Not all Harissa contains sweet red peppers I discovered but the one I wanted the balance between the sweet and chilli peppers with the spices. The Harissa turned out exactly how I expected it to and I have a new bag of peppers in the fridge to make a new batch since we managed to consume two jars in ten days.

So what did I use the Harissa for? I tossed it through some stir fried vegetables. I used it in a vegan lasagna instead of a tomato base and I used it as a sauce over grilled fish. I have added a link if you would like to read more about the origins of Harissa and some more recipe ideas.

Ingredients – makes approx 400ml

• 6 red peppers/capsicum
• 1 medium chilli (the amount of chillies you use depends on how hot you want it, start with less then add more)
• juice of 1 lemon
• 3 tbsp olive oli
• 3 tsp cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp caraway seeds, ground
• 1 tsp coriander seeds, ground
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp sweet paprika powder

Method

1. Place the peppers and roast in the oven for 20 minutes or until the skins have started to blister and bubble.
2. Remove from the oven and place in a bowl with a plate on top so they sweat for 5 minutes (loosens the skin). Remove all the skin and seeds from the peppers and place in a blender or food processor.
3. Place all other ingredients in with the peppers and blend to a smooth paste.
4. Taste and season with salt & pepper and more chilli if required.
5. Pour into a jar, cover harissa with a little oil and store in the fridge, will keep up to 10 days. Or you can freeze it in batches if you want to make a larger quantity.

Baby Octopus & Fennel Risotto

With the temperatures dropping a wee bit at the beginning of this week it has encouraged me cook more ‘substantial’ meals, by this I mean risottos, pasta or roasted food which I have steered clear of for the past few months in preference for something lighter and refreshing. I’m not saying it has gone cold but after several months of hot humid weather even a drop to temperatures in their low 20s (centigrade) makes me excited about winter food and baking again. I think P has been craving winter food, he loves stodgy carb loaded food whereas I avoid them. As part of our European trip back home to Europe this year I am taking him to visit where I lived in Frankfurt in June and I just know he is going to be in heaven eating in the Keipern (Bistros) on plates of dumplings and pieces of meat that hardly fit on the plate.

This risotto is hardly stodgy, far from it, it is creamy and light with the fresh lemon and fennel coming through and it didn’t have me toiling for long over the stove top either. The sun is out again this morning though so I imagine we will be back to salads again tonight!

Ingredients – makes 2

• 8 baby octopus
• 4 cups stock, approx (chicken, fish or vegetable)
• 2 cups Aborio rice
• 2 fennel bulbs, finely sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• salt and black pepper to season
• zest of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tbsp butter
• 50g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Method

• To cook the octopus I use my BBQ with an open flame which prevents the octopus from ‘stewing” and gets nice char grill but you can fry it on a very high heat.
• Season the octopus with salt & pepper and a little olive oil and slice in half if not very small pieces (for faster cooking). For BBQ cooking place on a skewer and grill on high for 2 minutes, just until cooked. For pan cooking, place a cast iron pan on a high heat and quickly fry the octopus for 2 minutes in batches. Do not put all the octopus in the pan at once as the heat will drop and the octopus will stew in it’s juice and be rubbery.
• Heat the stock in a pan.
• Remove the core and fronds from the fennel before slicing thinly.
• Add the olive oil to a large frying pan over a low heat then the garlic and fennel. Fry gently until the fennel is opaque and soft.
• Add the rice and turn the heat up to medium and stir the rice so it doesn’t stick to the pan. Add the wine and let the alcohol evaporate before starting to add the hot stock.
• Turn the heat down again and start adding the stock one ladle at a time, stirring the rice to release the creamy starch. Allowing each ladle of stock to be absorbed before adding the next ladle of stock.
• It will take about 15-18 minutes for this process, taste the rice to see if it is cooked and soft but still with a slight bite. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked add boiling water in place of the stock.
• Remove risotto pan from the heat and stir in the butter, lemon zest, Parmesan & char grilled octopus then place the lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes.
• Serve immediately with cracked pepper.

And for some exciting news this week, my blog along with a few other fab Kiwi bloggers was mentioned in the NEXT magazine this month. Here is the article and do visit the other bloggers mentioned.

Fennel, Cucumber, Seafood Salad

I’m having a fennel month and not because I have a glut in my garden either. I did have some that grew into five foot high triffids and I didn’t do anything with it so for my penance for not looking after and harvesting my fennel I have to buy it at $2.50 a bulb. Note to self, pay more attention to what’s growing in the garden next hear as it is likely that the fennel seeds have blown everywhere.

This is an Ottolenghi inspired salad, a book gifted to myself that arrived last week which I just adore and can honestly say every other page makes me swoon. After my previous post on fennel salad I just knew this would be to my taste also. We ate it as a light main in larger quantities than shown in the photo but this was all that was left for my photo shoot and I did have to sneak this bit away before it was all consumed. I’ll take that as a compliment?

Ingredients – 4 entree, 2 main

2 fennel bulbs

1 telegraph cucumber, halved down middle & sliced

3 spring onions, thinly sliced

juice and zest of one lemon

2 cloves garlic

2 tbsp dill, chopped

2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped

2 tbsp coriander, chopped

1 mild chili, chopped

4 tbsp olive oil

8-12 prawns depending on size

300g baby squid, cleaned

1 tbsp sumac spice

salt & pepper

pomegranate seed to garnish

Method

Trim base and tops of fennel then slice width ways as thinly as possible.

In a bowl mix the fennel, cucumber, chili, onion, lemon juice, garlic, dill, parsley and 2 tbsp of olive oil. Combine all the ingredients.

Place a heavy cast iron frying pan over a high heat and allow the pan to get pipping hot.

Mix the prawns and squid with the remaining oil and add to the pan in small batches. Cook them one minute on each side or until just cooked.

Transfer the squid to a chopping board and slice into rings. Add both prawns and squid to the salad and toss through.

Add the coriander and sumac, season with salt and pepper, toss through again and serve immediately.

You could also use the salad without the fish as a side dish to accompany ofncutsbof fish.

Smoked Snapper & Kelp Kedgeree

Happy New Year everyone!

Every New Years Day P and I make a list of goals we want to achieve in the coming twelve months and looking back on last years I have managed to achieve all of the ones I set so. I think it is important to make the goals visual, its amazing what the sub conscious mind can do, so we put our lists on the fridge door so we see them every day.

Do you set goals for the coming year? New Years resolutions?

A sneak preview of some of mine for 2011….

• Move to a four day week in my full time job (allowing me more time for foodie stuff)
• Increase classes in the school to one a week (last years was to open the school and I still can’t believe we did it)
• Open a B&B as part of the school
• Go to a Cordon Bleu class in London or Paris while in Europe
• Surf more!
• Read more (that seems to have taken a back burner last year which isn’t very useful when you are part of a book club)
• Learn more French

So what else do we do New Year? Eat of course and how about starting the day with a nice kedgeree for breakfast? I have used smoked snapper friends had caught and smoked, traditionally haddock would be used but you can replace this with any of your local smoked fish. I have added the smoked kelp to the recipe since home smoked fish is is often not as smokey as haddock and this is the perfect alternative as well as adding additional nutritional benefits.

Ingredients – 4 people

• 2 large free-range eggs, boiled
• 500g smoked cooked fish
• 1 cup Pacific Harvest Sea lettuce kelp
• 2 cups long grain or basmati rice
• salt & pepper
• 1 tsp cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp coriander seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp cardamom seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2tsp Pacific Harvest smoked kelp granuals
• 200g chopped tomatoes (fresh or tinned)
• Juice of one lemon
• 100g butter
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• Handful chopped fresh parsley to garnish

Method

1. Cook the rice in salted water or rice cooker till al dente. Refresh in cold water, drain again, and leave in the fridge until needed.
2. In a small pan boil some water for the kelp, soak the kelp in boiled water for one minute then drain. Divide sea lettuce leave up into smaller pieces.
3. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a low heat and add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 mins on a low heat.
4. Add all the spices and cook for a further few minutes
5. Add the chopped tomatoes and lemon juice.
6. Remove any skin from fish and flake into chunks and set aside.
7. Quarter the eggs.
8. Add the fish, smoked kelp, sea lettuce and rice to a pan and gently stir through until all is coated with spice and the rice is hot.
9. Add the eggs and garnish with parsley and serve warm.

Lime Kelp Prawns with Sea Lettuce Soba Noodle Salad

For something a little lighter after all that Christmas food! Although this is probably more appealing to those in the Southern Hemisphere enjoying sunny warm days rather than those in the Northern Hemisphere. If like my family in the UK you are snowed in you will probably prefer something heartier than a noodle salad but perhaps keep it in mind for next summer. I image many people in the UK will be whipping up a turkey meal from the leftovers of the monster bird cooked on Christmas day? I have only attempted once to cook a turkey in NZ for Christmas after feeling rather homesick for a traditional dinner… never again, it was so hot in the kitchen baking the dam bird I just didn’t feel like eating it afterwards. This year we had Rick Steins scallops on a smoked pepper salad, rabbit in a sherry sauce and for dessert a black forest trifle. What did you all have for Christmas lunch?

Ingredients – serves 4 main or 6 entree

• 200g soba noodles
• 16-18 large prawns
• 1 cup Pacific Harvest Sea Lettuce
• 1 tsp Pacific Harvest Lime Kelp
• 1 tbsp Pacific Harvest Dulse Flakes
• 3 spring onions
• 1 red pepper
• 100g needle mushrooms or any readily available mushroom (thinly sliced if not using needle mushrooms)
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• handful fresh parsley leaves
• handful fresh coriander leaves
• salt & pepper for seasoning
• 4 tbsp olive oil

Method

1. Half fill a medium size pan with water then bring to the boil.
2. Place sea lettuce & dulse flakes in a sift and dip into the boiled water and allow to soak for 2 minutes. Remove from water then strain and cool. Place in a large bowl.
3. Add the soba noodles to the boiling water and cook for 4-6 minutes or until al dente, on a low simmer. Drain noodles, then run briefly under cold water to cool them and drain again. Place in same bowl as sea lettuce.
4. Thinly slice the red pepper and spring onion and add to the bowl with noodles, sea lettuce & dulse.
5. Briefly fry the mushrooms in a frying pan with a little oil, then add to the bowl with above ingredients.
6. To make the salad dressing take a large mortar & pestle and grind the parsley & coriander leaves. Add the lemon juice, sesame oil and 2 tbsp olive oil. Season with a pinch of salt & pepper and grind further until you get a lovely green paste. Add 2 more tbsp olive oil and grind again. If you don’t have a mortar & pestle you can use a blender, whiz stick.
7. Add the dressing to the bowl with the noodles and toss through to coat all the ingredients. Divide the noodle salad between four serving bowls/plates.
8. In a small bowl add 1 tbsp olive oil & 1 tsp lime kelp. Coat the prawns with this mixture.
9. In a cast iron or non stick frying pan fry the prawns on each side till pink and just cooked through (approx 1 min each side). Arrange prawns on top of the cold noodle salad and serve.

Note, the salad can be prepared in advance and kept in the fridge several hours prior to serving. The prawns can be served hot or cold.

Creole Quinoa Jambalaya

The first bag of quinoa I had in the cupboard was almost up to it’s expiry before I got around to using it but once I got into the swing I was pretty well hooked. I love the texture and the nutty flavour it offers a dish, it’s perfect for warm salads and works perfectly as an alternative to rice in Jambalaya. I’d seen the recipe on a product advertisement for Ceres Quinoa and decided to try it. I have changed the method slightly and added a few more ingredients like paprika and tumeric which I associate with Paella. I found that rather than cook it all in one pot which is typical for Jambalaya the quinoa is better cooked on it’s own to help it ‘sprout’ then added to the rest of the dish for the final stages of cooking.

Creole Jambalaya originates from the French Quarter of New Orleans. It evolved by the Spanish attempting to make paella in the New World, where saffron was not readily available due to import costs and tomatoes became the substitute for saffron. As time went on, French influence became strong in New Orleans, and spices from the Caribbean changed this New World paella into a unique dish.

Ingredients – serves 4

• 1.5 cups Quinoa (I used the red variety)
• 4 chicken legs (thigh and drum separated)
• 12 large prawns
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, de-seeded and sliced
• 1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and sliced
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes
• 2 cups of stock
• Handful of fresh oregano or thyme, chopped
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes or 1 fresh chilli, chopped
• handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• salt & pepper to season
• Olive oil for frying

Method

1. Rinse quinoa in cold water, then drain. Add grain to a pan with 4 cups of water and bring to the boil then simmer for 8 minutes until the grain has ‘sprouted’. Drain in a colander and put aside.
2. Place a little oil in a large frying pan and add the chicken, browning on all sides.
3. Remove the chicken from the pan and add the onion, garlic and peppers and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes until the onions are opaque, stirring constantly.
4. Return the chicken to the pan and add the tomatoes, stock, oregano, paprika, chilli and turmeric.
5. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes.
6. Stir in the prawns and the quinoa and return the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes. The dish should still have some liquid, if it doesn’t add a little water.
7. Check the chicken and prawns are cooked, add chopped parsley and serve immediately.

It does re-heat well if you want to make it in advance, the quinoa holds better and doesn’t absorb all the liquid liek rice would.

Upcoming Classes & Events at the Gourmet Gannet – 2011

Cheese Making – Halloumi, Mozzarella & Ricotta

Cake Decorating – learn how to decorate a kids novelty 3D birthday cake

Tapas – Make and enjoy a range of Tapas

Creative Salads – How about a Moroccan Quinoa Salad? Or Mediterranean Lentil Salad?

Creole Cooking with a Twist – Quinoa Jambalaya, Pineapple & Mango Ice cream

Savoury Pie Workshop – Come and make traditional pork pies or gala pies with a hot water pastry crust.

Homemade Sausages – No additives or fillers, just great taste!

Chocolate & Plain Croissant – Ever wanted to make your own croissants?

Green Lipped Thai Style Mussel Fritters

Sorry photo didn’t come out too clear!

Mussel fritters are one of those traditional Kiwi icon dishes that seem to have been around forever, probably because mussels have always been easily accessible and cheap and because of their size a very substantial meal too. I decided to jazz them up a bit for pre- dinner canapés I was taking to friends by adding some Thai spices to them and it worked a treat. The sauce in the middle is a spicy peach but unfortunately I did not note the ingredients down for this but just kept adding a bit of this and that while they were cooking. I do intend to re do once the stone fruit is in season and I will certainly share it with you then.

Ingredients

• 300g green lipped mussel meat (about 24 mussels)
• 2 Spring onions, finely chopped
• Handful coriander, chopped
• 1 tsp Lemongrass paste
• 1 chilli, chopped
• 2 egg whites (you could make a aoli with the yolks to dip in)
• 1tbsp plain flour
• Salt & pepper to season

Method

• In a large pan place 2 cups of water and bring to the boil. Put as many mussels into the pan as possible and cover with a lid. Steam mussels until the shells open fully (about 5-8 mins). Discard and that do not open. Repeat until all mussels are cooked.
• Remove mussel meat from shell and pull off ‘the beard’ which is the hairy bit that attaches the shell to the rock, discard these.
• Finely chop the mussels and place in a large bowl.
• Add the spring onions, coriander, lemongrass & chilli to the mussels and combine.
• Sift the flour over the mussels and combine.
• Season with salt & pepper.
• Whisk the egg white till fluffy and the.
• Fold the egg whites into the mixture.
• In a non stick or cast iron frying pan add a tablespoon of oil.
• Add a small bit to taste test and cook on both sides, check taste for flavour and re-season if required.
• Use a teaspoon to measure canapé size fritters into the frying pan, flatten them slightly and cook on both sides till golden. Don’t forget your mussels have already been cooked so they will not take too long. Leave enough space in between fritters so you can flip them over.
• You can always make burger size too and enjoy this in between a burger bun with salad!