I would like to wish everyone a great Christmas and New Year. 

Rockpool Group employees, thanks heaps for an amazing year, particularly the last few weeks. You slaved away and made the restaurants better.

To all our wonderful customers out there, thanks so much for all your support, I hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow.

To all those tuning into the blog have the best time, I know I will be relaxing, so hopefully you will be doing the same.

 Lots of love to everyone this holiday season!!!

~ Neil

Here at Rockpool 5pm is an extremely popular time of day for that is when staff dinner is served!

Feeding  about 40 starving staff members is no mean feat and our Chefs take it in turn to whip up something delicious and filling to keep the Crew satiated until the last customer waves goodbye at the end of a busy service.

This recipe for Fragrant lamb tagine with potatoes and olives, served with pine nut and currant couscous and mint yoghurt is a real crowd pleaser. 
Many thanks to Will Cowan-Lunn for the recipe too.

Fragrant Lamb Tagine with Potatoes and Olives
Serves 40

3kg lamb shoulder, cut into 3cm chunks
8 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons finely ground black pepper
2 ½ teaspoons powdered ginger
2 pinches pulverised saffron
1 ½ teaspoons turmeric
8 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, minced
2.5kg Desiree potatoes
4 preserved lemons, rinsed
400g Gaetas olives
350ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 bunch coriander, chopped
sea salt, to taste

Trim excess fat from lamb.  In a large casserole dish toss the lamb chunks with the garlic, salt, spices, oil, herbs and onion.  Cover with 1 litre water and bring to the boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer over moderate heat for 2 hours, turning the meat often in the sauce.
Peel and quarter potatoes, when meat is almost perfectly tender add potatoes and continue cooking until both meat and potatoes are done.
Quarter preserved lemons and discard pulp.  Rinse and stone the olives.  Add both to the casserole for the last 10 minutes of cooking.  Stir in lemon juice and adjust seasoning as necessary using sea salt.

Pine Nut and Currant Couscous
Olive oil
500g couscous
300g pine nuts, toasted
300g currants
1 bunch mint, chopped
1 bunch coriander, chopped
6 eschalots, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
150g preserved lemon, minced
500ml chicken stock

Place couscous in a large boil.  Boil chicken stock and pour over couscous to just cover.  Tightly wrap bowl with cling film and let stand for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, sweat eschalot and garlic in olive oil until soft.  Add pine nuts, stir for 2 minutes to toast, add currants.  Remove pan from heat and add mint, coriander and preserved lemon.
Run a fork through the couscous to separate the grains.  Add pine nut mixture to couscous and season to taste.

Mint Yoghurt
1kg natural yoghurt
1 bunch mint, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
pinch of ground cumin
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Combine all ingredients and season to taste.

Lunch with the girls at Sydney Madang just off Pitt Street.

Macy loves the BBQ marinated Short ribs and Indy is  a big fan of the fried Dumplings.

I love it all, but the Squid stir fried with hot Korean bean paste and all the kimchi sides are great. I love anything with Korean bean paste really!

The Ultimate Team

Neil Perry

Tetsuya and Guillaume

 140 fantastic generous guests and the next thing you know we have a fab night and the Starlight Children’s Foundation is more than $200,000 better off.

We are doing this great event again with the help of Qantas.  Heston and Thomas have also agreed to another date in March 2011, can’t wait!

Ultimate Dinner Samples

Rockpool Bar & Grill Melbourne and Crown Spa Weekday Escape Package

Indulge with friends this summer and book our luxurious $150.00 Weekday Escape Package available Monday through until Thursday between 11.00am and 3.00pm.
*Available Monday – Thursday 11.00am – 3.00pm for a limited time, subject to availability.

Featuring your choice of a 30 minute pampering massage, facial or manicure at Crown Spa followed by a relaxing two course lunch and glass of wine at Rockpool Bar and Grill and valet parking, this package provides all the elements you are looking for this summer, including lunch, a relaxing and restorative spa treatment, the ease and luxury of valet parking and excellent value*.

To make a booking or for further information please contact Crown Spa on 61 3 9292 6182.

For the last few years Sam and I have visited our favourite cheap and cheerful place in Paris is Le Comptoir religiously, the food is simple and really well cooked.  There is a more sophisticated set dinner menu, but we love to sit there at lunch, watch Paris go by and eat beautiful well crafted food. The terrines and other charcutrie are amazing. Suckling pig with lentils and lamb rack with peppers are also simple perfectly cooked and wonderful.

Drink simple wine and relax, then after lunch go for a walk in the nearby Luxemburg gardens…plus the shopping is great in the area as well. In a city where not everywhere you eat is going to be good, this is highly recommended. I believe if you stay in house the breakfasts are delicious and the rooms comfortable, it certainly is in a smart part of town.  

Heston Blumenthal is not only one of the greatest and most curious cooks on earth, but he is also one of the best guys on the planet. Along with Thomas Keller, we do “The Ultimate Dinner” together in Sydney for The Starlight Children’s Foundation and the last two have been a blast. I have been to his wonderful restaurant just outside of London, in Bray, three times, I have been lucky and had the guided tour of the lab where lots of experiments take place. Here is a restaurant where every detail is looked after. It is a charming 1500′s building with a very Heston feel inside, by that I mean comfortable and really hospitable, the staff are full of his enthusiasm and you get the feeling that you are sitting down to something really exciting and rare the minute you arrive….and you are!

The 4 to 5 hour dining experience starts out with a beautiful turn of lime meringue frozen in liquid nitrogen and dusted with green tea. You are instructed to pop the whole thing in your mouth and it explodes with flavour and smoke comes out your nose…your palate is awake and ready for more. Nothing on this long journey is what it seems, but what is wonderful is not only is it entertaining and exciting, but importantly it tastes great. From the lime grove to the red cabbage gazpacho, the snail porridge, the jelly of quail and crayfish crème – it is amazing and delicious, then foie gras and the crazily good mock turtle soup.

From there, onto sounds of the sea – an i-pod is given to each guest to listen to the sea and gulls to get you more in the mood for your raw seafood plate complete with beach! Salmon poached in liquorice is delicate and at the same time very complex as is the Anjou pigeon.

Dessert is a blast and the flavour great and the gags keep coming with the “not so full English breakfast” – parsnips masquerading as corn flakes, the famous and rightly so bacon and egg ice cream and finishing with the hot and cold tea. This is Heston at his most whimsical and playful. The meal doesn’t stop there. It is truly a fantastic experience, take the wine match and let the somms do their stuff.

Rockpool News – December 2009 – Christmas Edition

Serves 8

This is an absolute cracker. Easy to make and it looks fabulous all white. There is something really alluring about fresh cake and cream — it takes me back to my childhood, when the local cake shop made all their cakes that way. Those days have long passed, sadly. Don’t look at this recipe and say ‘this is too long for me’. It involves just making a cake, stewing some fruit and whipping cream. It started out life as a quick version of Black Forest Cake, but once you have perfection, why add more cherries and lots of chocolate? Good cooking is all about knowing when to stop. You’ll love where we have stopped.

Cherries in brandy
750 g fresh cherries, pitted
250 ml brandy
2 tablespoons caster sugar

Cake
225 g unsalted butter, softened
225 g caster sugar
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon natural almond extract
9 eggs, separated
250 g dark chocolate, coarsely grated
125 g plain flour, sifted
3 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
100 g ground almonds

Filling
180 ml kirsch
375ml single cream, whipped to stiff peaks

Icing
750 ml single cream
125 g icing sugar, sifted

To make the cherries in brandy, put the brandy and sugar in a pan over low heat and stir continuously, until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and bring the mixture to the boil. Add the cherries, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes, or until the cherries are quite tender, but still holding their shape. Remove the cherries from the liquid using a slotted spoon, and set them aside. Increase the heat to medium and simmer the liquid for 5–10 minutes, or until almost all the liquid has evaporated and you have a syrup (be sure to watch the syrup towards the end of the cooking time so it doesn’t burn). Toss the syrup with the cherries and set aside to cool completely.

Meanwhile, to make the cake, preheat the oven to 160°C. Grease three 23 cm round cake tins, and line the bases and sides with baking paper. Put the butter, 170 g of the sugar and the vanilla and almond extracts into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the egg yolks, beating until incorporated. Fold in the combined chocolate, flour, baking powder, salt and ground almonds. Beat the egg whites in a bowl with an electric mixer until frothy. Add the remaining sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the cake mixture in three or four batches. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cake tins, and smooth out the surfaces with a spatula.

Bake the cakes for 20 minutes, or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow the cakes to cool briefly, then turn out onto wire racks lined with baking paper. Cool completely.

To assemble, place one cake upside down on a cake plate. Drizzle with one-third of the kirsch, then spread with half the cream and sprinkle with half the cherries. Place another cake on top and repeat the process. Place the last cake on top, and drizzle with the remaining kirsch. For the icing, whip the cream and sugar together until soft peaks form, then frost the top and sides of the cake. You now have a big beautiful white cake. Yum!

Rockpool News – December 2009 – Christmas Edition

Serves 4 

This is a yummy, simple dish that relies on the quality of the prosciutto. The salsa also goes well with other meats like salami or ham, and you can make a mixed plate as well, which is nice, or serve on a  plate with a couple of other salads to make a lovely antipasto. To prepare the breadcrumbs, use a piece of stale sourdough with the crust on and chop it coarsely in a food processor – the texture of the crumbs is integral to the final dish.

16 thin slices prosciutto
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground pepper

Salsa
250g cherry tomatoes, halved
70g sourdough breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
3 tablespoons tomato juice
Extra virgin olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Sea slat and freshly ground pepper

To make the tomato and bread salsa, mix the tomato with the breadcrumbs, parsley and tomato juice. Add a little oil and red wine vinegar, then season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Place four thin slices of prosciutto on each serving plate, overlapping them so most of the plate is covered. Spoon some salsa in the centre, drizzle with a little oil and give a good grind of fresh pepper. This is great served with crusty sourdough bread.

Rockpool News – December 2009 – Christmas Edition

Serves 4

4kg live mud crabs
Extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
½ cup chopped Italian parsley

Place your mud crabs in the freezer. This puts them to sleep and is the most humane way to kill them (it will take about 2 hours). Remove the string, turn the crab upside down in the sink, pull the ‘v’ shaped flap at the back up and remove the whole shell. Remove the lungs by scraping them off with a spoon and clean the crab under running water. Snap off the flap. Chop the crab in half and clean out any remaining internal organs. Cut the crab in half again, between the claw and legs. Using the back of a knife or a meat mallet, crack the claws a couple of times from the nippers down to the elbow and what we like to call the forearm. Remove any excess cartilage from around the head.

Put each crab and top shell in a bamboo steamer basket and layer them up (it is a good idea to have a plate sitting under the baskets to catch all the liquid). Place the stacked baskets over a pot of boiling water and steam for 6 to 8 minutes, rotating the baskets so they all cook evenly. When done, the flesh will be white (check the thick part of the claw).

Add all the crab pieces to a large bowl and toss with extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Serve with freshly made aioli (or the Neil Perry fresh version available at Woolworths), a finger bowl, a strong napkin and a good glass of Riesling or Champagne.