What are five ingredients you cant live without?
In no particular order: Salt, lemons, seafood of any and all descriptions, butter, bacon.
Any foods you just do not like?
I once ate a dish of fermented tofu in Shanghai. Swimming in hot, spicy oil. In more than 30 years of professional eating around the world, it remains the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten. Fermented tofu I do not like.
How would you describe your style of cooking?
I cook fresh, I cook seasonally and I always make sure I cook something nice every day.
What are you most proud of?
My work in prison, teaching long-term inmates how to cook to a restaurant standard then selling tickets to dinners for the general public to come along to. Rehabilitation and reducing reoffending is something I feel strongly about.
If you were a superhero what would your powers be?
Turning things into bacon!
What car did you learn to drive in?
Ha ha, I was spoilt. I was taught to drive in one of the first ever Holden Commodores. On achieving my licence, I promptly wrote it off in a ditch. After that I was reduced to a Morris 1100.
What is your go-to comfort meal?
A piece of grilled fish, a mound of potatoes pureed with enough butter to just hold the potatoes together, a pile of steamed spinach, and a wedge of lemon on the side.
-Bosley will be at the Wellington Food Show doing cooking demonstrations September 4-6 at Westpac Stadium. Tickets are available from foodshow.co.nz
RECIPE
Stuffed Groper Fillet Wrapped in Bacon with Lemon and Caper Sauce
INGREDIENTS
2 x 200g groper fillets
1 bunch spinach
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
juice and freshly grated zest of 1 lemon
6 rashers streaky bacon
The Village Press olive oil
leaves from 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley
2 tsp capers
juice of 1 large lemon
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200C. Using the tip of a sharp knife, cut into the side of each groper fillet and create a cavity in the centre.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and strip the spinach leaves from the stems. Drop the leaves into the boiling water and almost immediately, using a sieve, remove them to a bowl of iced water. Drain the spinach and squeeze dry using absorbent kitchen paper, then place in a mixing bowl.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan. Add the onion and garlic to the pan, cooking until soft and translucent. Add the spinach. Stir in the lemon juice and zest. Season with salt and pepper.
Stuff as much of the spinach mix as you can into the fish without tearing the flesh. Any remaining stuffing can be served alongside the fish. Season the fish with a little salt and wrap each fillet in 3 rashers of bacon. Brush with a little olive oil and bake for 15-20 minutes until the fish is cooked through.
To make the sauce, chop the parsley and rinse the capers. Scatter the parsley and capers into a small frying pan and squeeze in the lemon juice. Bring to the boil and briskly beat in the butter using a wire whisk. Season with a couple of twists of the peppermill and a touch of salt.
TIP: You could cook this on either a barbecue or in the oven. It's a robust dish with an eye-wateringly sharp lemon sauce that keeps everything lively.
