BBQ Trout (or salmon), feijoa, herb and pine nut sandwich with wasabi mayo recipe:

BBQ Trout (or salmon), feijoa, herb and pine nut sandwich with wasabi mayo recipe:

It's feijoa time again and I'm loving it! What a iconic New Zealand fruit it is. Obviously not a native of NZ but still a favourite that is embraced by all.  A quick trip around the block in early winter and you should be able to find these little darlings under a tree on the edge of someones property. Hunt and gather people. If you haven't made or tasted feijoa crumble yet then you are missing out. 

This is one of my signature dishes; the strong flavour of the feijoa and its great acid balance mixed with the slightly muddy trout taste, smokey flavours from the BBQ and the aromatic kaffier lime leaves makes this recipe a real winner.

Trout:

1 whole trout, scaled and gutted

2-4 feijoas depending on size

1 bunch of mint

1 bunch flat leaf parsley

3 ripe limes

100g pine nuts

1 Tlb soft brown sugar or Manuka honey

Sea salt

Cracked black pepper

Olive oil

3 pieces of flax

4 kaffier lime leaves

Wasabi mayo:

1 small jar fresh grated wasabi – Coopers brand

Or

1 fresh root wasabi, grated

4 Free Range egg yolks

1tsp Dijon Mustard

5 limes juice

600ml grape seed oil

2 cloves of garlic

1 small bunch parsley

1 small bunch Mint

Method:

Trout:

Fillet the trout removing the head, using boning tweezers pin bone the fillets

(Remove the line of bones running down each fillet)

Lay the sides skin down, season, pour a little olive oil on and squeeze over the

lime juice.

Place one side of trout on 3 3cm wide, 30cm long strips of flax with a lime leaf in

the centre of each strip of flax

Peel and thinly slice the feijoas into strips, place them on top of the trout that’s on

the flax.

Rough chop the herbs and add.

Sprinkle with roasted nuts.

Place the other side on top.

Pull the flax around the trout fillets (sandwich together) tightly tie.

Slip another 3 lime leaves under the tied side of the trout.

Season heavily with sea salt and olive oil.

Fry in a med hot pan or bbq until crispy on the out side and moist in the middle

(about 10 min). Always rest your meat for at least 5-10 min.

Mayo:

Place eggs, wasabi, mustard, 1/2 lime juice and garlic in a blender and blend until

smooth. Add herbs and re-blend.

Gentle pour in the oil.

Season, check acidity and add more lime if needed.

Serve on a large platter with wasabi mayo and fresh limes.

Make this classic red wine beef casserole recipe

So winters almost here, cold, wet and dark early. But this gloom can by replaced by the warmth and joy of a good honest casserole gently simmering in your oven. 
Such was the day I made this one, cold southerlies and rain pouring down perfect conditions specially as I had time to hang around the kitchen for the afternoon.
Any red meat can be used for this recipe I actually prefer venison instead of the beef with the adition of a few juniper berries.
It's hard to beat a creamy mashed potato with this dish and I like some roasted brussel sprouts on the side.

Beef Casserole:
1.5 Kg   Blade or Chuck steak
              Flour
1            Carrot
2            Onions
1-2         Celery sticks
1            Bulb of garlic
5            Fresh bay leaves
6            Sprigs of thyme
2 Tlb      Tomato paste
.5           Bottle of red wine
500ml    Beef stock
1            tsp of honey or sugar
              Salt and pepper
              Italian parsley


Method:
Cut the meat into 4cm cubes and dust well with season flour.
In a hot pan with a little grape seed oil brown the meat off in 2-3 batches.
Cut the vegetables into quarters  and fry for a couple minutes with the tomato paste add them and the  meat to a casserole dish or a deep oven tray.
De glaze the meat and veg pan with the red wine by heating the liquid up to a boil then pour it into the casserole dish.
Lastly add the herbs, cover the dish and cook at 160c for 4hrs or until the meat is tender.
I remove the veg and herbs at this stage and reduce the sauce if it's a little thin. Season with salt and pepper, a little honey or sugar may be helpful to balance the sauce. sometimes tomato paste can be a little tart tasting.
Add the meat back to the sauce and serve over whipped potato and brussel sprouts sprinkled with chopped parsley.


Brussel sprouts:
Brussel sprouts
Sea salt
Cracked pepper
Butter
Olive oil
Bay leaves

Method:
Boil or steam the sprouts for 5min, strain, dry.
Place them in an oven tray with a couple knobs of butter a dash of olive oil, some sea salt and bay leaves.
Roast or grill in a hot oven until the outer leaves start to colour and crisp up around 5-10 min.

Great baked Hapuka recipe

The joy of having a buddy who is a fisherman! Last week I was asked what species of fish I wanted as he was heading out to sea. Tough choice but I decided on Hapuku, as it is one of my favourites with its dense moist flesh and large fillets. A few days later three massive super fresh puka fillets where delivered.

The weather is a little colder now so I wanted to do something more comforting and warming plus it was a Sunday after a fairly big Saturday night. This is a great no fuss recipe and is perfect for entertaining, guests or just a family feast.

Baked Hapuku:

2 fillets Hapuku

1 bunch Parsley

1 bunch Mint

1 bunch Basil

2 TLB Cappers

1-2 tsp Mustard

1-4 Anchovies

4 Lemons

Olive oil

Butter

S & P

Method: 
Straight forward here, what we are making is a basic salsa verde (green sauce).

Finely chop or blend the herbs, capers, mustard, anchovies, juice of two lemons and 100-200ml olive oil to form a pesto like consistence.

Lay the fish down on a drizzle of olive oil and a little salt and pepper in an oven tray, tuck the thinner tail ends under so the fish is a relatively even thickness.

Pour over the verde; add some knobs of butter and a couple of lemon slices or wedges.

Bake at 180c for about 15mins

Serve the fish with the pan juices and baked lemon. This dish went well with a little kumara puree.

Kumara Puree: 

5 Kumara

100g Butter

Milk or cream

Salt & Pepper

Method:

Boil in salted water, steam dry in the same pot (strain and place the kumara back in the pot on the element for a min or so) add the butter and a little milk or cream back to the pot and gently warm.

Place the lot in a food processor add more milk if needed and blend until silky smooth.