Sunday Kitchen: Tommy Hope’s grilled scampi and yoghurt flatbreads recipe

Chef Tommy Hope at Sid at the French Café on Symonds Street. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Tommy Hope is head chef at Sid at the French Cafe in Auckland. He has recently returned from Melbourne where he worked at world-renowned restaurant Attica. On Sundays he likes to spend time with family and friends and whip up some good food on the barbecue.

What do Sundays look like in your kitchen?

Sundays start slow, coffee in bed and then up to walk our dog Zahk around the neighbourhood (Sandringham).

I might head out to Kingsland Social for breakfast, then if the weather is good, I’ll often head over to the Westmere Butcher, grab something to go on the barbecue and invite some friends over for a beer in the afternoon.

I’ll light up the hibachi (a little coal-fired brazier) and throw on a tomahawk [steak] and a few skewers. Our garden is perfect for Sunday entertaining and long lunches.

Why have you chosen this dish?

Barbecues are all about catching up with friends and, without careful planning, you can find yourself stuck on grill duties and miss out on those moments. This dish has a couple of larger prep jobs that can done be the day before so you can spend more time by the pool and not on the tools. The flatbread recipe is versatile and on another occasion, you could mix it up and grill some steak, chicken or lamb skewers.

Photo / Jason Oxenham

Tommy Hope’s grilled scampi and yoghurt flatbreads

Makes 12 flatbread

12 x scampi (shells removed, or substitute for large prawns)

Softened salted butter, to serve

Yoghurt flatbread

170g warm water (30-32 degrees Celsius)

14g active dried yeast

500g plain flour

10g table salt

10g white sugar

10g olive oil

35g softened butter

180g Greek yoghurt

1 tsp sugar

1. First weigh the water and yeast, mix together and set aside for 10 minutes somewhere warm to activate.

2. In a kitchen aid or mixer, add to the mixing bowl the flour, salt and sugar and mix with dough hook for 20 seconds to combine. Then add the rest of the ingredients and the water and yeast mixture and mix with a dough hook on low speed for 10 minutes until smooth and shiny.

3. Place dough in the fridge in a covered container for at least 2 hours to rest and cool.

4. Once the dough is cool, weigh out 50g balls and roll into circles around 5mm thick, using fine semolina to prevent sticking to the bench. You can layer these between baking paper and keep in the fridge until ready to grill.

5. These will take around 30 seconds to a minute on each side, cooked over charcoal or on the grill side of a barbecue. When they start to bubble and colour you can flip them over and finish cooking the other side. Store between tea towels while you finish cooking the rest of the breads. Be careful not to overcook as they will become dry and crispy.

Sweet chilli jam (or use store-bought sweet chilli jam)

4 long red chillis, green ends removed, blackened slightly on the barbecue

40g shallots, peeled

15g galangal

2 garlic cloves, grilled on the barbecue

20g palm sugar

45g water

55g white wine vinegar

1 lime, zested and juiced

5g Squid Brand fish sauce

5g shrimp paste

130g white sugar

1. Add chillies, shallots, galangal, garlic, palm sugar and water to a blender and blend fine.

2. Add this to a pot with the rest of the ingredients and cook slowly until it has reduced to a jammy consistency, around half of its original volume. You can test this by spooning some of the jam on to a plate in the fridge.

3. Cool in fridge for an hour. If you are not great with heat, you can remove the seeds from the chilies beforehand.

Minted labne

250g Greek yoghurt

Handful of mint, chopped

Fine sea salt and pepper

Lemon juice, to taste

1. Strain the yoghurt through a cheesecloth

2. Mix the thickened yoghurt with the rest of the ingredients.

Cucumber, green apple and Thai basil salad

2 Lebanese cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced

2 red onions, peeled and thinly sliced

2 green apple, thinly sliced

1 bunch Thai basil

Olive oil

Lemon juice

1. Mix all ingredients lightly with a splash of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon, sea salt and cracked black pepper.

To finish

1. Grill scampi with a little olive oil and sea salt, then brush some softened salted butter on to your warm flatbreads and add a dollop of minted yoghurt. Add scampi, top with a drizzle of sweet chili sauce and top with salad. Serve immediately.