Category Archives: Recipes

Grilled Snapper Fillets with Spiced Sweet Potato Salad and Yoghurt

Serves 4

2 lemons
1 cup Greek-style yoghurt
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
4 x 200g snapper fillets
Olive oil

Sweet Potato Salad
500g sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm dice
Sea salt
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large brown onion, coarsely chopped
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground paprika
½ tsp chilli powder
Juice of ½ lemon
12 green olives, pitted and roughly chopped
2 tsp finely sliced flat-leaf parsley

To make the salad, place the sweet potato in a large pot and cover well with water. Bring to the boil, season with salt and cook until tender. Drain and carefully place on a plate lined with paper towel.

Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a pan. Sauté the onion until tender, then add the sweet potato, spices and a little salt, and toss to incorporate. Add the remaining oil, lemon juice, olives and parsley and toss again until evenly mixed. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Squeeze the juice from 1 lemon and cut the other lemon into quarters.

Place the yoghurt in a small bowl with salt, pepper and a little lemon juice, to taste.

Preheat a grill or pan to hot. Season the fish fillets with sea salt and drizzle with a little olive oil. Cook the fillets, skin side down, for 3 minutes, then turn over and cook for a further 2 minutes or until done to your liking.

Place the sweet potato salad on a serving platter, top with the fish and season with salt and pepper. Serve with yoghurt on the side and lemon quarters for squeezing.

This recipe appeared in the Good Weekend Magazine, Saturday January 14th

Crispy Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Serves 4

Vegetable oil, for frying
500ml buttermilk
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
8 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
Lemon wedges, to serve

Coating
4 cups flour
2 tbsp garlic powder
3 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Fill a deep pot with about 10cm oil (or fill a deep fryer to the fill line) and heat it to 180°C; use a kitchen thermometer.

Combine all the coating ingredients in a large bowl, then split it between 2 bowls. Pour the buttermilk into a third bowl and season with salt and pepper. Now place the bowls in a line with the milk in the middle and a tray or plate at the end of the line for the coated chicken.

Dip each chicken thigh in the first bowl of coating, patting off any excess, and then dip into the buttermilk, allowing the excess milk to run off back into the bowl, then dip into the second bowl of coating. Place on the plate and repeat with the remaining chicken.
Carefully lower the thighs into the oil. Make sure you adjust the temperature so it returns to 180°C as soon as possible. Fry the chicken pieces for 2-3 minutes, then carefully move them around in the oil and fry for a further 12-14 minutes. The chicken should be golden brown and very crisp.

Remove from the oil and drain chicken on paper towels.

To serve, place 2 thighs on each plate with a wedge of lemon and potato salad and coleslaw on the side.

This recipe appeared in the Good Weekend, January 7 2012

It’s Xmas in Australia – who wants to be drinking eggnog? Besides the odd refreshing ale or sparkling wine, we reckon this would be perfect for this time of year – a refreshing, tropical fruit punch, with a bit of a kick. Plus, think of the convenience – all you have to do is knock up a big batch of this, throw in some ice cubes and let everyone help themselves.

To get the low down on what makes a good punch, I went to the best mixologist I know – Will Oxenham, Bar Manager at The Waiting Room, Melbourne.

~~~

Quick Punch Masterclass

Classic Punch has a Ratio of 4 Parts Weak, 3 Parts Strong, 2 Parts Sour & 1 Part Sweet

So, What Does This Mean?

4 Parts:             Weak
Eg:       Juice (orange, pineapple, pink grapefruit), soda water or ginger beer/ale
3 Parts:             Strong
Eg:       Rum- look for Appleton V/X or 2 Year Old, Havana 7 Year Old
2 Parts:             Sour
Eg:       Lemon, lime, or white grapefruit juice.
1 Part:              Sweet
Eg:       Simple syrup (1:1 sugar to water)

Mix it all together in advance, to allow the flavours to bind, and leave in the fridge.

Now, taste it. Is it:     
Too sweet?      Add more sour
Too sour?        Add sugar
To intense and mouth coating (not refreshing)?        Try adding some ginger ale, ginger beer or sparkling water just as you serve it, this should add freshness.
To thin and boring?  Add a good 5-10 dashes of Angostura bitters or so and see how that works

Garnish it with heaps of fruit: small pineapple wedges, lemon and lime slices, orange slices – whatever you like. Add some mint if you want, and always use plenty of ice.

~~~

So, now that you have the know-how, get to mixing and try our Spiced Pisco Punch for your Xmas lunch/dinner.

Spiced Pisco Punch, The Waiting Room Melbourne

100ml lime juice
500ml pineapple juice
200ml spiced pine syrup (see below)
10 dashes Absinthe or Pernod or Ricard
20 dashes Angostura bitters
400ml Pisco brandy
400ml sparkling wine

Garnishes
Plenty of oranges, limes and pineapples all cut into small enough chunks so that your guests can get a few pieces of garnish in their cups.

To make the spiced pine syrup, combine some pineapple juice with a little sugar, a few cardamom pods and cloves and a pinch of saffron. Reduce over the stove until syrupy and delicious.

Combine all the liquids in a bowl or jug, well in advance of your part arriving; mix, and leave to stand in the fridge. Taste before you serve and adjust accordingly.

When it comes to serving, pour the contents of the jug into a punch bowl, and add a couple of pieces of block ice and plenty of ice cubes.

Salad of King Prawns, Asparagus and Peas

Serves 4

2 bunches green asparagus
2 bunches white asparagus
500g fresh peas, podded
200ml olive oil, for frying
300g day-old sourdough, crusts removed and roughly torn into chunks
50ml extra virgin olive oil
50ml red wine vinegar (I like Forum)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
12 large cooked prawns, heads and shells removed, de-veined and tails intact
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, cut in half
2 baby cos lettuces, leaves separated
½ bunch basil, torn

Snap the ends off the green and white asparagus. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Blanch the green asparagus for 4-5 minutes, or until tender and sweet. Refresh in iced water. Repeat the process with the white asparagus, but blanch for 10 minutes or until tender, and then refresh. Slice each spear in half on the diagonal and set aside.

Blanch the peas for 5 minutes, then refresh in iced water. Set aside.

Heat the 200ml olive oil in a pan over a medium heat and fry the torn bread, stirring, until it is golden. Lift the bread out of the pan and drain on paper towels.

To make the dressing, whisk the extra virgin olive oil and vinegar together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the fried bread to the dressing and toss well, allowing the bread to soak up some of the dressing.

In a separate large bowl, combine the prawns, cooked asparagus and peas, cherry tomatoes, cos and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Add the dressing and bread, toss well and transfer to a large serving plate. Finish with a grind of pepper.

Fresh Fruit with Lime, Lemongrass and Mint

Serves 4

2 mangoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
500g lychees, peeled, cut in half and pitted
500g cherries, pitted
½ bunch mint leaves

Lime and Lemongrass Syrup
225g caster sugar
Zest of 1 lime
Juice of 5 limes
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 5cm lengths

To make the syrup, combine the sugar and 185ml water in a small, heavy based saucepan and stir over a low heat until the sugar is fully dissolved. Add the lime zest, lime juice and lemongrass, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 8 minutes. Strain.

Combine all the fruit in a large bowl. Toss with the syrup and place in the fridge for a couple of hours. Gently toss through the mint leaves and serve immediately.

This recipe appeared in the Good Weekend, December 17th 2011

We think of this as the perfect summer side – crisp, delicious and minimal preparation! Currently on the menu at all our Bar & Grill’s, this photo was taken for us by Earl Carter down at B&G Melbourne. Worth a look for your Xmas lunch/dinner we think…

Shredded Cabbage and Parmesan Salad

¼ Savoy cabbage
½ bunch flat leaf parsley
120ml extra virgin olive oil
40ml good quality red wine vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
50g freshly grated parmesan

Finely shred the cabbage using a knife or a Japanese slicer and transfer to a mixing bowl.

Cut the parsley into fine shreds and add to the cabbage in a bowl.

In a bowl whisk together the extra virgin olive oil and vinegar and add to the cabbage. Add just enough dressing to moisten the salad, not to drown it. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper, then transfer to a serving plate.

Scatter the grated parmesan over the top and serve.

Steamed Snapper with Ginger and Green Onions

Serves 4 as part of a shared banquet

1kg whole snapper, scaled and gutted
1 Chinese cabbage leaf
7 green (spring) onions, trimmed
2 tsp sea salt
125ml chicken stock
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine)
1 tbsp sugar
1 large knob ginger, peeled and julienned
3 tbsp peanut oil
1 large handful coriander leaves

Pat the fish dry with paper towel. With a sharp knife, make 3 diagonal cuts in the thickest part of the fish, then do the same in the other direction to make a diamond pattern. Repeat on the other side.

Place the cabbage leaf and 3 whole green onions in a shallow heatproof bowl that’s large enough to take the fish comfortably and fit into a bamboo steamer.

Rub the fish with salt and lay it on top of the onions.

Mix the stock, soy sauce, sesame oil, shaoxing wine and sugar, and pour this over the fish, then top with the ginger.

Place the bowl in a steamer over a pot or wok of rapidly boiling water, cover with the lid and steam for 10-15 minutes or until the flesh is just set on the bone.

Cut the remaining onions into julienne.

Remove the bowl from the steamer and scatter the fish with the julienned onions. Heat the peanut oil in a small pot until it is just smoking, then douse the fish with the hot oil, being careful as it will spit. Top with coriander and serve immediately.

This recipe appeared in the Good Weekend, December 10th 2011

With cherry season in full swing, it’s time to make the most of them. And really, we can’t think of a better way than this – make this a feature on your table this Xmas perhaps??

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 the cakes that way. Those days has 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 chocolate? Good cooking is all about knowing when to stop. You’ll love where we have stopped.

White Forest Cake

Serves 8

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

Cake
225g unsalted butter, softened
225g caster sugar
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
½ teaspoon natural almond extract
9 eggs, separated
250g dark chocolate, coarsely grated
125g plain flour, sifted
3 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
100g ground almonds

Filling
180ml kirsch
375ml cream, whipped to soft peaks
 
Icing
750ml cream
125g 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 medium 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 23cm round cake tins, and line the bases and sides with baking paper. Put the butter, 170g 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 well 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 cook 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!

From “Good Food” by Neil Perry, Murdoch Books

Neil Perry

Neil Perry dispenses with hale and hearty tradition to prepare a different kind of Australian Christmas lunch on the barbie.

It’s interesting how traditionally minded people become about Christmas lunch. Often they’ll plump for turkey with all the trimmings – stuffing, gravy and so on – roast pork, ham and, to finish, a steamed pudding with brandy butter sauce. If it were the middle of winter, as in Europe, I would understand the thinking behind it. But Christmas Day in Australia is, more often than not, beautiful, sunny and topping 30 degrees. A temperate climate and the lure of the water – ocean, river or pool – is at odds with hearty Northern Hemisphere fare.

I have been lucky in that some of my Christmases have been fairly traditional and some not. When I was a youngster, we would spend most Christmases at Wisemans Ferry, north of Sydney, as we loved water-skiing on the Hawkesbury River. That brought certain limitations when it came to Christmas lunch, so they generally revolved around the barbecue. It was the easiest and best way to cater for the 20 or so people who turned up.

Dad would cook a large piece of pork on the barbecue for three or four hours, making the crackling crisp and the meat juicy, smoky and delicate; generally accompanied by Mum’s salads. There were some years when Dad would barbecue a whole turkey and some when he’d cook a large whole fish. The latter type of lunch – perhaps finished with a pavlova or fruit salad – seemed more sensible, given the climate and the fact that all we really wanted was to get back in the water and spend the afternoon swimming. And, of course, no Christmas would have been complete without a huge bowl of cherries. For me, a big bowl of summer fruit and ice-cream is the quintessential Aussie Christmas dessert.

These days I love to cook Chinese or South-East Asian for Christmas – a few tasty salads to share, a braise of some kind, barbecued meat with a terrific dipping sauce and a steamed whole fish. This year, I think my Christmas lunch will go like this: a tomato salad with a little salted chilli dressing, a salad of roast crispy pork with nam jim dressing, some red-braised chicken, stir-fried bok choy, and a fillet or two of steamed blue-eye with black beans, all served with steamed jasmine rice. And to finish, a bowl of summer fruit salad with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream. After all, some traditions should not be broken.

Steamed Blue-Eye With Black Beans

Serves 10 as part of a shared banquet

Ingredients
750g blue-eye fillet, cut into five pieces
5 tbsp fermented black beans, chopped
5 spring onions, trimmed and halved
2½ tbsp light soy sauce
2½ tsp sugar
1½ tsp sesame oil
5 tsp shaoxing cooking wine
3 tbsp peanut oil

Method
Put the spring onions in a large, shallow, heat-proof bowl and place the fish on top. Combine the black beans, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and shaoxing, and pour over the fish.

Put the bowl in a large bamboo steamer over a pot or a wok of rapidly boiling water, cover with the lid and steam for 7-8 minutes, until the fish is just cooked through. Carefully remove the bowl from the steamer.

Heat the peanut oil in a small pot until just smoking and douse the fish with the hot oil before serving.

Recipe from Balance & Harmony (Murdoch Books) by Neil Perry, photography by Earl Carter

Source Qantas The Australian Way December 2011

Roast Turkey with Ricotta Stuffing

Serves 10-12, with leftovers

Extra virgin olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
8 cloves garlic, crushed
50g spinach, trimmed
400g fresh ricotta, drained
2 tbsp chopped thyme
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
180g raisins, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes and drained
150g unsalted butter, finely diced
2 eggs
Sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
7.6kg whole turkey (medium to large)
Mustard fruits, to serve

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

To make the stuffing, heat a little olive oil in a frying pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes or until the onion is soft. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Blanch the spinach in boiling salted water until just wilted, then drain and rinse under cold water. Squeeze the excess water from the spinach. Chop coarsely.

Combine the onion mixture with the spinach, ricotta, herbs, raisins and butter in a medium bowl. Add the eggs, season with salt and pepper and mix well.

Press the stuffing under the skin of the turkey on the breasts and legs, until it’s firmly packed in. Rub the skin with plenty of olive oil and season the turkey inside and out.

Place the turkey in a large baking tray and roast for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 150°C and cook the turkey for 4-5 hours or until cooked. (The best way to ensure the turkey is cooked through is with a meat thermometer. If the bird is larger add 20-30 minutes for every 500g over 7.6kg. When cooked, the internal temperature of the breast should be 74°C and the legs 80°C.)

Reduce the oven temperature to 50°C, cover the turkey with foil and allow it to rest in the oven for about 20 minutes.

To serve, remove the drumsticks, thighs and wings at the second joint. Slice the breasts into 1-2cm thick slices, being careful not to rip the skin. Serve on a platter with green beans and hazelnuts with burnt butter (see green beans recipe) and mustard fruits on the side.

Pumpkin Puree

Serves 4-6

600g peeled pumpkin, cut into 2-3cm dice
3 ½ tsp sea salt
75g unsalted butter
½ brown onion, finely diced
Freshly ground pepper

Place the pumpkin in a saucepan and add enough cold water to almost cover. Add 2 tsp sea salt and simmer gently for 20 minutes, or until the pumpkin is soft. Set aside.

Meanwhile, dice 50g butter and place it in a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat. Add the onion and remaining salt and sauté for about 5 minutes or until the onion is very soft. Add the pumpkin and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Pass the mixture through a mouli or blend it in a food processor or blender. Finely dice the remaining butter and stir it into the puree unmelted. Check the seasoning.

Boiled Corn with Butter and Maple Syrup

Serves 4

4 cobs corn
50g butter, diced
2 tsp maple syrup
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add enough salt so it tastes like sea water.

Boil the corn for 6-8 minutes or until cooked and drain.

In a small bowl, combine the butter and maple syrup and season with sea salt and pepper.

Sprinkle sea salt over the corn and serve it with the maple butter on the side.

Green Beans and Hazelnuts with Burnt Butter

Serves 4-6

500g green beans, toped and tailed
60g butter
40g roasted hazelnuts, skinned and lightly crushed
Juice of ½ lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add enough salt so it tastes like sea water.

Blanch the beans for 7-8 minutes or until tender, then drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the butter in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat until it begins to turn nut-brown. Add the beans, hazelnuts and lemon juice to the butter and toss well. Season with a pinch of salt and ground pepper and serve.

These recipes appeared in the Good Weekend, December 3 2011

So by now most of you know that we have ceased making our Neil Perry Fresh range… this was a sad moment for us too, but we thought we could ease the pain a bit by giving you a few recipes that might help you on your way. The below recipes formed the basis of our products – you may need to do a bit of tinkering with the amounts depending on the type of oil or vinegar you use, but hey – that’s the fun of cooking isn’t it?!

These recipes are adapted from Neil’s book, The Food I Love, Murdoch Books.

Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

2 whole heads of garlic
2 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon caster sugar
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
125ml extra virgin olive oil

Preheat an oven to 150°C. Slowly roast the garlic for about 1 ½ – 2 hours, or until very soft and caramelised. When cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool. Once cool, cut the garlic through the equator and squeeze the garlic bulbs to release the flesh. Discard the skins.

Combine the roasted garlic with both vinegars, mustard and the sugar in a bowl. Whisk together, then season with a little salt and pepper. Whisk in the extra virgin olive oil until well combined. Check the balance – it may need a little more sugar, salt or vinegar to balance.

Aioli

Making mayonnaise or aioli for the first time can be a bit daunting – just remember to add the oil very slowly at the start..

3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
185ml pure olive oil
185ml extra virgin olive oil
5-6 tablespoons roasted garlic puree (see above recipe for roasting garlic)

Put a saucepan large enough to hold a stainless steel bowl on a bench. Place a tea towel around the inside edge of the pan and place the bowl on top of the pan, which will hold it steady while you whisk.

Put the eggs in the bowl and whisk. Add the sea salt and lemon juice and while whisking, drizzle in the oil very slowly. As the emulsion starts to form, add the oil in a steady stream. Don’t let the oil sit on the surface as this can cause the mayonnaise to split. Add a grind of pepper and check for salt and lemon juice. Thin out with a little water if it gets too thick. Stir in the roasted garlic puree to your liking and check the seasoning.