Portarlington Mussels in Creamy White Wine Sauce

 

Portarlington Mussels are renowned as some of the finest in the Australia. You can pick them up for around $5/kg direct from suppliers so they are a super affordable yet luxurious meal to share with loved ones. This recipe is a cream based, but the technique used for building the flavour base is universal, so if tomatoes are more your thing then just substitute out the cream for a tin of crushed tomatoes and you’ll be onto a winner.

RECIPE BY: Sam Goodwin
SERVES: 3-4 people
PREPARATION: 10 minutes
COOKING: 5 minutes 

INGREDIENTS

• 1kg Portarlington Mussels

• 1-2 tbsp Butter

• 1 large Shallot, finely sliced

• 1 clove Garlic, finely sliced or minced

• 250ml good quality Pinot Grigio, or dry white wine

• 125ml pure cream

• ½ bunch Dill, finely chopped

• ½ bunch Chives, finely chopped

TO SERVE;

• ½ lemon, zest of

• 1 loaf sourdough, thick sliced & toasted

HOW

1.    To start sauce, select heavy based 30-40cm pan with lid. Place over medium-low heat.

2.    Gentle melt butter. Add shallots & garlic, saute on over low heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring regularly, until soft & translucent.

3.    Add white wine, bring to gentle simmer, then allow to reduce until 1/3 volume.

4.    Add cream, bring to gentle simmer, then allow to reduce until 1/3 volume.

5.    Add mussels, top with herbs, then place lid on pan. Cook for 4-5 minutes, at which time most mussels should be open & will have release their juices creating a well seasoned broth. This usually doesn’t require added salt but you may season to taste.

Note: Don’t worry if they’re not open, they’re still fine to eat unless they smell off-putting when opened.

6.    Garnish with more fresh herbs, and fresh lemon zest.

7.    Serve with toasted sourdough.

Snapper Baja Fish Tacos, with White Lime Sauce

 

If you're after a quick crowd pleaser to serve a group after a day out on the boat then you cannot go past a crispy fried Baja Fish Taco. I’ve used Pink Snapper in this recipe as they’re in abundance over summer months, but any firm white flesh fish will work just as well. I urge you to find some good quality corn tortillas, they are the foundation of any great taco (see tips below). The punchy White Lime Sauce is so versatile & a handy recipe to have in your repertoire to amp up any taco, whether it's meat, vegetarian, or fish.

RECIPE BY: Sam Goodwin
MAKES: 12 Tacos
PREPARATION: 20 minutes
COOKING: 10 minutes 

INGREDIENTS

• 500g Snapper fillet, skinned, boned & trimmed

• 330mL ice-cold bottle of your favourite beer (lager or pale ale) 

• 1 cup self-raising flour

• 1/4 cup rice flour

• 1/4 corn flour

• 1 tsp salt

PICO DE GALLO (TOMATO SALSA)

• 4 tomatoes, deseeded & diced

• 1 red chilli, deseeded, finely diced

• 1 Small garlic clove, minced

• ½ Small red onion

• 6 coriander roots & stalks

• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• Salt flakes

WHITE LIME SAUCE

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1/2 cup whole egg mayonnaise

• 1 lime, zest & juice

• 1 tsp Tabasco sauce (optional)

TO SERVE;

• 12 no. small corn tortillas 

• ¼ Red cabbage, finely shredded

• Coriander leaves

• Red chilli, finely sliced

• Lime wedge

HOW

1. Preheat deep-fryer to 185 degrees.

2. Start by making the Tomato Salsa, combine all ingredients in mixing bowl & gently toss to combine.

3. Meanwhile, for the White Lime Sauce, combine all ingredients in small bowl. Set aside.

4. To prepare snapper, slice skinned & boned fillets into 1cm thick goujons. 

5. To make beer batter, firstly ensure your beer is ice cold – place in freezer for 15 minutes if required. Place flours in a large mixing bowl. Gradually pour in beer, whisking slowly, being careful not to overwork the batter. Individually dip each piece of fish in batter, then lay carefully into deep fryer. Cook fish in batches, being careful not to overcrowd fryer.

6. Warm tortillas in the microwave for 30 seconds.

7. To serve, top tortilla with cabbage, top with beer battered snapper, add tomato salsa & white lime sauce. Garnish with fresh red chilli & coriander.

TIPS

• For the best corn tortillas in the business hit up latortilleria.com.au - seriously world class for an affordable price, & they ship to your door!

• If you can't get your hands on snapper fillets then substitute with any firm white flesh fish - flathead or ling in Australia, cod or haddock if you're in the UK.

Chocolate + Blue Moon Beer Caramel Tart

 

This series of dishes is designed to get you out of your comfort zone & try something new, and the home kitchen is the perfect place to have fun & experiment with new dishes. Chocolate & beer are two of my favourite things, so I thought I’d try combining them in an unexpected twist on a good-old chocolate tart.

MAKES:  Serves 4

PREPARATION:  15 minutes

COOKING: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

1 sheet chocolate short-crust pastry (refer Tips)

BLUE MOON BEER CARAMEL:

330ml Blue Moon Beer

1 orange, sliced

250gr caster sugar

250ml thickened cream

1 teaspoon salt flakes

25 grams unsalted butter

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

150 ml thickened cream

125 grams dark chocolate

50 grams unsalted butter (diced)

TO GARNISH;

Honeycomb (refer Tips)

Crème fraiche

HOW:

1.     Preheat fan-forced oven to 170 degrees.

2.     To make the Blue Moon Beer caramel, first add beer & 4-5 orange slices to wide based pan over medium heat. Reduce until 1/3 of original volume, remove orange then gradually add the sugar, stir and continue to cook until the sugar has started to brown.

3.     Meanwhile, in a separate small saucepan bring the cream to the boil. Remove the caramel from the heat and carefully add the cream to the caramel. Stir carefully over a low heat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Remove from the heat, add the salt & diced butter and stir. Allow to cool slightly before pouring caramel into the cooled pastry case up to 1/3 of height of tart.

4.     To make the chocolate tart shell, first grease 15cm tart shell with butter. Carefully lay or press in pastry ensuring no tears or holes. Set back in freezer for 15-20 minutes to chill & relax. Remove from freezer, blind-bake the pastry by lining it with greaseproof paper, filling with baking beans and cooking for about 15-20mins. Remove the beans and paper and continue to cook the pastry case for a further 5-10mins or until it is a light golden colour. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

5.     For the chocolate ganache, bring the cream just to the boil and pour over the chopped chocolate. Mix carefully with a spatula until well combine. Once the mixture has cooled a little add the butter and stir gently until the mixture is smooth. Pour on top of the caramel and leave in a cool place for about 4-6 hours.

6.     Just prior to serving garnish with pieces of honeycomb & spoonful of crème fraiche.

7.     Slice & serve.

TIPS:

·      Pastry - If you don’t want to make your own pastry that’s fine, in fact I didn’t… Try to find Careme Pastry are your nearest boutique grocer – it’s the bees knees of store-bought pastry. I used their Dark Chocolate Shortcrust.

·      Honeycomb – Pastry Chef Lauren Elridge towelled me up in an Immunity Challenge with the best honeycomb I’ve ever seen so it’s now my go-to recipe. Find it here;

https://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/masterchef/recipes/honeycomb-with-creme-fraiche-ice-cream

Pink Snapper + Vanilla Butter

 

This series of dishes is designed to get you out of your comfort zone & try something new, and the home kitchen is the perfect place to have fun & experiment with new dishes. Vanilla has long been paired with seafood across Caribbean & European cuisines; today I’m bringing it home & pairing it with a beautiful piece of local Victorian Pink Snapper, but you can do it with any firm white flesh fish.

MAKES:  Serves 4

PREPARATION: 20 minutes

COOKING: 5-10 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

4 portions of Pink Snapper, or firm white fish, with skin on
Salt flakes
Extra-virgin Olive Oil

VANILLA BUTTER:

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
250gr Salted Butter

BITTER LEAF SALAD:

1 radicchio, washed & trimmed
½ bunch baby endive, washed & trimmed
2 oranges, segmented, plus 1 for juicing
2 tbsp orange juice
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt flakes
Cracked pepper 

HOW:

1.     First, make vanilla butter by softening butter slightly, then combine with scraped vanilla seeds. Mix well. Transfer butter onto double sheet of cling film, then carefully roll into a log and secure ends. Place in fridge or freezer until ready to serve. This can be done ahead of time.

2.     To prepare fish, wipe skin dry with paper towel. Generously sprinkle skin with salt and set aside for at least 15 minutes, or up to 2 hours to allow salt to dry skin.

3.     Meanwhile, to make the salad, place the radicchio, baby endive, and orange segments into large bowl. Make the vinaigrette dressing by putting the orange juice into a small bowl. Slowly pour in oil whilst continually whisking vigorously. Season with salt & pepper. Pour dressing over salad and toss to combined. Set aside.

4.     To cook fish, first brush of excess salt & dry skin with paper towel. Season fish again with salt flakes. Heat heavy based frying pan over medium-high heat with 2-3 tbsp oil until hot. Cooking two pieces of fish at a time, place fish skin side down for 2-3 minutes on first side until skin is golden & crisp. Flip & cook for another 1 minute until fish is almost cooked through (the residual heat will continue to cook fish once removed from pan).

5.     To serve, place fish on plate with small handful of salad. Unwrap vanilla butter & slice to 5-10mm thick. Place slice of butter on top of hot fish to dress it.

6.     Enjoy.

Waffles with Mascarpone, Figs, & Honey

Growing up our favourite breakfast was Mum’s freshly made waffles hot out of the waffle-iron with our choice of toppings. Here’s a simple yet luxurious flavour combination that you can treat yourself to, and bring back the nostalgia of Mum’s brekkie.

RECIPE BY: Sam Goodwin
MAKES: 8-10 waffles
PREPARATION: 10 minutes
COOKING: 20 minutes 

INGREDIENTS

WAFFLES

• 1 cup Self-raising flour

• 1 tbsp Caster sugar

• Pinch salt

• 1/2 cup Thickened cream, or natural yoghurt

• 1/2 cup Full cream milk

• 60gr Butter, melted

• 2 eggs, seperated

TO SERVE

• Marscapone

• Fresh figs, halved or quartered

• Honey, or Maple Syrup

• Flaked almonds

HOW

1. Preheat waffle iron

2. Sift dry ingredients into large bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together cream, milk, melted butter, & egg yolks

4. Place egg whites in a separate bowl & beat until stiff peaks are formed.

5. Add dry ingredients to cream mixture & mix well

6. Gently fold egg whites into mixture

7. Lightly grease waffle iron. Spoon batter into waffle iron and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until golden brown.

8. Serve hot, topped with a spoonful of mascarpone, fresh figs, flaked almonds, and a
   drizzle of honey or maple syrup.