This takes a little preparation, so might be best for a special occasion, but serve it and feel proud. Read the recipe thoroughly first. The toasted buckwheat takes time but is a great item to have in your pantry for a crunchy topping. I suggest making it the day before.
Miso Hāpuku Broth, Black Garlic Crema, Toasted Buckwheat
Serves: 6
Prep time: 20mins, plus 6hrs to soak buckwheat
Cook time: 20mins
BUCKWHEAT
- ¼ cup buckwheat
- 1 cup canola oil
Cover the buckwheat with hot, not boiling, water and leave for 6 hours. Drain and leave to dry, spread out on paper towels. (Before frying you need to be sure the buckwheat is very dry.)
Bring canola oil to 150°C. Add drained buckwheat and stir gently until the grain stops sizzling and turns golden brown. Drain in a sieve and spread on baking paper. Sprinkle with salt and leave to cool.
BLACK GARLIC CREMA
- 6 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp black garlic paste
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine.
HĀPUKU BROTH
- 750ml fish stock
- 2 tbsp miso
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp Kikkoman soy sauce
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil before reducing to a simmer. Strain and keep warm.
HĀPUKU
- 4 tbsp canola oil
- 1 kg hāpuku (or hāpuka) fillets
- ½ cup rice flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
- 1 cup boiling water
- 100g butter
- bonito flakes for garnish
Cut fish into 6 serving-size portions. Dry with a paper towel.Heat oil in a large frypan. Dip one side only of the fish in the rice flour and place floured-side down in the hot pan – this will give one side of the fish a lovely crispy finish. Turn the fish over and add water and butter – the crisp side of the fish should be above the poaching liquid.
Reduce to a simmer and continue cooking until the fish is cooked through. (Use a small pointed knife to gently pierce open the thickest part of the fish to see if it is opaque.)
TO SERVE
Serve the fish on sautéed greens in a shallow bowl. Pour half a cup of broth around each serve. Garnish with a spoonful of black garlic crema, bonito flakes and crispy buckwheat.
TIP
• Toasted buckwheat can be made in advance and will keep for a couple of weeks in a screw-top jar.
Chipotle Chilli Chicken & Vegetable Bake
This is a super-easy recipe that uses chipotle chilli in adobo sauce, which is readily available in good supermarkets. A lovely combination of sweet and hot. It’s up to you if you want to use more chilli.
Serves: 4
Prep time: 10mins
Cook time: 35mins
- 4 whole chicken legs
- 500g kūmara, peeled
- 1 red capsicum, roughly chopped
- 1 green capsicum, roughly chopped
- 1 medium red onion, segmented
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp adobo sauce
- 1 tbsp chipotle chilli, chopped finely
- 1 tbsp molasses
Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a shallow baking dish with baking paper or a silicone sheet. Cut the chicken legs in half to get four thighs and four drumsticks.
Slice the kūmara into 1cm discs and spread on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle the capsicums and onion on top of the kūmara and season with the salt and pepper. Combine the oil with the adobo sauce and drizzle over the vegetables. Place in the oven and bake for 5 minutes.
While the vegetables are in the oven, brown the chicken on both sides in a large frypan and season with a little extra salt and pepper. Remove vegetables from the oven and place the chicken on top. Return to the oven for 20 minutes.
Combine chipotle chilli with molasses and brush the chicken with a pastry brush on both sides with the help of tongs. Return to the oven for a further 10 minutes. Temperature-check chicken to ensure it has reached 75°C.
TIPS
- Freeze remaining chipotle in adobo sauce in an ice cube tray for a quick flavour boost to other dishes.
- Molasses could be replaced with maple syrup.
Marmalade Toffeed Kūmara
I make huge amounts of marmalade – so much so that my daughter used to take marmalade sandwiches to school every day for her lunch. This is the perfect do-ahead dish for so many occasions and often makes it to our Christmas table.
Serves: 8
Prep time: 10mins
Cook time: 50mins
- 2 kg kūmara, peeled and cut into even chunks
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 25g butter
- ½ cup marmalade
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp brandy
- 25g butter, melted
In a lidded saucepan, cook kūmara in boiling salted water until tender. Remove from heat. Drain and scrunch a clean tea towel or paper towels on top of kūmara, replace lid and allow to steam dry.
Mash kūmara with the first measure of butter and season with salt and pepper.
Grease a shallow, 2-litre baking dish with butter. Spread mashed kūmara in dish and smooth the top.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over kūmara. Brush with melted butter.
Bake in oven until golden brown.
TIPS
• Gratin can be made up to 2 days in advance and then baked when required.
An edited extract from Plated: A lifetime love affair with food by Tina Duncan, (Camberdown Press, RRP $60).
