Smoked Gem fish on Vogels

After a bit of a night out in Mt Maunganui we returning home with the munchies, this was our late night feast.

The combination was a real winner and I want to pass the recipe on to you. We had limited ingredients but what we had was really good thanks to the local farmers market.

If you haven't tried gem fish it is super good! especially smoked. It's a deep sea fish that hangs out with blue nose and hapuka.

Yes the curd is a little sweet but the one we had was full of zest and had a nice balance that worked well the the creamy cheese.

The smoked salt was the icing on the cake so to speak, what a tasty product.

Smoked Gem Fish with Brie and lime curd on vogels:

Smoked Gem fish

Brie

Lime curd

Vogel's toast

Smoked salt

Cracked black pepper

Crispy skinned confit wild duck recipe

Here in New Zealand it is duck shooting season and everybody is looking for the best recipes for there duck.
This is a very tasty way to eat duck and even the tough parts will become moist and tender.
The key to cooking duck especially wild stuff is to use a moist slow method of cookery.
If you are game literally, confit the legs as below but keep the breasts separate. Rub some salt and ground juniper berries into the scored fat. Sear the breasts in a hot pan fat side down for 5min then finish them in a hot oven for another 5min. They should be med rare/ med, rest and slice thinly. It’s nice to enjoy two different cuts of meat from the same bird and two different methods of cookery. A good option for a dinner party as the confit can be done well in advance.

Crispy skinned confit duck with orange jus:
6  duck legs or one whole duck cut in half and flattened
500ml duck fat or goose fat or chicken fat
4  Bay leaves
1  orange, zest and 1/2 juice
5  slices fresh ginger
2  cinnamon quills
5 Pepper corns
1  tsp sichuan pepper
Method:
The duck can be done 1-5 days ahead of time if stored in the fat.
Trim the duck legs keeping all the trim to add to the duck fat.
Or cut the duck down the center between the breasts, open it up and firmly press it flat. You should here some bone crunching sounds.
Rub the Sichuan pepper into the duck then add all the ingredients to a tray
that just fits the duck, cook at 160 c for 2.5 hrs, cool in the fat.
Then gently remove the duck.
Strain the fat and juices, set the fat in the fridge then scoop off the fat when
set (saving it) to access the juices under the fat for the sauce.
The left over fat is great to use when cooking i.e. roasted potatoes.
To finish the duck place it on a wire rack in a tray, season well with salt then
into a hot oven 200-220 c roast until the skin is crispy about 10min.
Jus:
Cooking juices from duck
2  shallots
1  clove garlic
200ml red vere juice
200ml fresh orange juice
1  bay leaf
50g butter
Gently sweet the shallots and garlic (no coloured they should be glossy and
transparent) place all other ingredients in the pan, Reduce by 2/3 or until the
sauce has thickened. Take off the heat and strain, taste season with salt and
pepper, then whisk in the cold butter to give the sauce some body and shine.

Feijoa tart

Feijoa Tarte Tatin:
A classic. Traditionally made with apples but I think the Feijoas work really well here. The main point is to use seasonal fruit, just be careful of the fruits water content. To wet is not good for this dish. Some slice apple can be added to give a little more structure.
Pastry:
240g   flour
1Tlbs  sugar
1tsp     baking powder
180g   butter, cold cubed
Pinch  of salt
20 Feijoas not over ripe, firm is best
Caramel:
2cups caster sugar
100ml + 1Tlbs water
100g   butter
1          cinnamon stick
1          vanilla pod
Method:
Pastry:
Pre heat over to 220c.
Mix all dry ingredients together in a cake mixer with a whisk attachment, add the butter and whisk until crumb like. Remove the bowl and tip the mix onto a clean bench. Make a well and pour in the water, gently mix into soft dough. Wrap the dough and chill.
Caramel:
Place sugar and water in a thick-bottomed pan (it need’s to be oven proof, I like cast iron) turn to high and boil until the sugar turns a caramel colour. At this stage remove it from the heat quickly add the butter and tablespoon of water. Be careful, as it is very hot and will spit and bubble when the liquid is added. Whisk until smooth then add the split scrapped vanilla pod and seeds plus the cinnamon stick, cool.
Assembly:
Cut the feijoas in half and carefully scoop out the flesh, make sure to cut around the fruit as close to the outer skin as possible; it’s fine if the caramel has set up just place the Feijoa on top of it with the cut side facing down. Spread them around the pan, tightly squeezing them in.
Roll the pastry out keeping in quiet thick about 5mm. Cut in into a round slightly bigger than the pan top. Roll the pastry over your rolling pin and then roll in over the fruit. Press the edges in with a crimping motion.
Place the pan into the oven, turn it down to 200c cook for 15 min or until the pastry is golden.
To Serve:
The tart can then be flipped upside down by placing a lipped tray over the pan and then flipping the tart and tray over making sure to catch any syrup. Then using two large fish slices transfer the tart to a serving tray, pour over any extra syrup.
Alternately using a large spoon scoop individual portions into bowls, turning them pastry side down as you go.
Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy the comfort of this awesome upside down tart.
This tart should easily feed 8-12 people.

Feijoa Crumble recipe

I’ve had a lot of requests for more feijoa recipes so I thought I’d start off with a really easy yummy recipe and a kiwi favourite.
As Tamarillo are also in season and work really well in this recipe I’ve included an option for them also. I like to add the apples as they provide more structure and mellow the stronger flavours of the other fruit.

    
Feijoa or Tamarillo and Apple Crumble:
4 granny smith apples
12 Feijoas or 6 tamarillo
1/2-3/4 c sugar the tamarillo will need more sugar as they are tart tasting
1/2 tsp pure vanilla essence
1 cinnamon quill for Feijoas
Or
1 star anise for Tamarillo
2/3 c soft brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 – 2/3 c rolled oats
1/2 c flour
1/2 c very soft butter
Pinch salt
 
Method:
Peel and core the apples, slice into quarters then slice the quarters into 1-2 cm slices.
Place the apple sugar and cinnamon or anise in a saucepan cover and cook on med for 4-5 min, stirring occasionally until the apple starts to soften but is still firm in the centre.
At this stage add the peeled and thickly sliced feijoas or tamarillo to the apples and cook for a further 2 min uncovered.
Spoon the fruit mix into a bake proof ceramic or glass dish or individual ramekins.
Crumble:
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix until a desired crumbly consistence is reached. It needs to be moist enough that if squeezed in your hand the crumble will hold together in a clump. But dry enough that it can be crumbled into smaller clusters. Add more oats if to wet and more butter if to dry.
Crumble the mix over the fruit and bake for 10-12 min on 200c.
Serve with custard or ice cream.

Izzy's 10th Birthday cake

I'm by no means a cake decorating expert but I'm up for it. This is by lovely daughters Izzy's 10th Bday cake, it's club penguin themed. No recipe included for this one it's just classic vanilla sponge and butter frosting made with creamed butter and icing sugar.