Sunday Kitchen: chef Peter Gordon + One-pot Aotearoa recipe

Chef Peter Gordon. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Peter Gordon (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa and Ngāi Tahu) wears many hats: pioneer of fusion cuisine, celebrity chef, cookbook writer and co-owner with partner Alastair of dining room and cooking school Homeland, among them. His relationship with te reo comes with a mixed bag of emotions, having had little interaction with it in his schooling or 31 years living in London. These days, though, he celebrates the increasing use of the language in Aotearoa and cherishes the Māori world. “It’s our heritage and we should all happily embrace it,” he says. Here, Peter cooks up a one-pot dish that symbolises our nation’s evolving cuisine from the past 800 years – and most importantly is absolutely reka (delicious).

What does Sunday look like in your kitchen?

They are our busiest brunch day at Homeland so I’ll likely be working in the kitchen or on the floor. In an ideal world, I’d finish at Homeland just after lunch and head out to our place in Piha with my partner, Al, and our dogs, Pixie and Fiver. It’d be an early dinner, a one-pot meal, something low-key and low-effort. If the weather isn’t too fierce and not pouring with rain then a walk along North Piha beach to tire out the dogs is a great start to the weekend. Monday morning is likely to be toasted cheese scones from Homeland slathered with butter, marmalade or marmite, strong coffee and catching up on the news. The views over the ocean and Lion Rock are captivating and you can find yourself sitting in the same place for hours just watching the weather, waves and birdlife.

Why have you chosen this recipe?

This is a hearty dish that is a combo of soup and stew. It’s perfect at this time of the year as it’s comforting and warming, can be mopped up with toast or served with rice, noodles or mashed kūmara. You can stretch it out if friends drop over by adding other bits and pieces. This dish is one I’ve been teaching at Homeland – it’s my take on the evolving food culture of Aotearoa since just before my Māori ancestors arrived around 800 years ago: what was here before them, what they brought, what Europeans brought and now what our recent migrants have contributed. All mixed up in one pot!

Photo / Jason Oxenham

One-pot Aotearoa

Serves 2

1 onion, peeled and diced

4 cloves garlic, sliced

½ tsp fennel seeds

1 Tbsp olive oil

500g Cloudy Bay clams, (or use 12 kūtai/green-lipped mussels with barnacles and seaweed removed)

½ cup sauvignon blanc

1 medium kūmara, skin scrubbed and cut into 1½ cm dice

150g hāngī poaka (pork) belly cut into large chunks, or use smoked belly bacon

5g dried or 20g fresh or frozen karengo/wakame seaweed

2 Tbsp miso paste

½ tsp smoked paprika

200ml coconut milk

1 large handful kōwhitiwhiti/watercress, chopped into 2cm lengths, including stalk

Small handful coriander and Vietnamese mint leaves

½ lemon, cut into wedges

Fry bread or toast, to serve

Saute onion, garlic and fennel seeds in oil until softened.

Add the clams and wine and cook with lid on till all clams open – remove to a plate as they open.

Add kūmara, hāngī poaka, seaweed, miso, smoked paprika, coconut milk and 200ml water, then cook on a gentle boil with lid on until kūmara is cooked.

Return clams to the pot, add kōwhitiwhiti and simmer 30 seconds, then taste for seasoning and divide between two bowls.

Sprinkle on the coriander and Vietnamese mint, add a lemon wedge and serve with the bread.