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

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.

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.

Mussels & Pipis

I was in the Bay of Plenty, Mt Maunganui last week. My timing was good and there where some fun little waves and great weather.
My buddy Tom was staying in a beautiful little beachfront home where i was lucky enough to cook this dish. Perfect setting for some bbq mussels and a cold beer I think. Cheers

Bbq Mussels & Pipis:

Green lipped Mussels
Pipis
garlic
lime
chili
corriander
grape seed oil


Method:
De-bead and clean the shell fish.
Place them on the flat plate of a bbq, drizzel a little oil over them. Add the sliced garlic, chili and limes.
Grill and turn while cooking, once the shell fish start opening add the choped corriander and some fresh lime juice. Serve with crusty bread and a nice larger or wine.

Scallops with sweet corn puree, almonds and truffle oil

Scallops with sweet corn puree, almonds and truffle oil:
Ocean and earth flavours, make the most of the end of season sweet corn.

Scallops:
12 large scallops
50g butter

Corn puree:
2 cobs of corn
1 garlic clove
1 spring of thyme
150ml chicken stock
1Tlbs creme fraiche

Salad:
1Tlbs capers
2Tlbs roasted almonds, chopped.
1Tlbs finely chopped chives
1-2tsp white truffle oil

Sea salt
Cracked black pepper


Method:

Corn puree:
Bring a salted pot of water to the boil; cook the corn for 4min, strain, cool. Cut the kernels from the cob and place in a sauce pan with the stock, smashed garlic clove and thyme, Simmer for 5-7 min. Remove the thyme and place every thing in a blender with the creme fraiche, blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Drain the capers and wash under running water, dry & reserve.

Scallops:
Rub the scallops in olive oil, season with salt & pepper. Heat a thick-bottomed pan to a medium heat; add the butter then place the scallops in the pan while the butter is still melting. Cook for 1min then turn the scallops and cook for another minute, add the capers to the pan and remove from heat.

To serve:
Spoon some corn puree down the centre of a plate. Place three or five scallops (depending on size) on the corn puree. Spoon over some capers and pan juices then sprinkle with the almonds, chives and lastly a small drizzle of truffle oil.
This recipe will serve 4 people a starter sized portion.