. 'EGGS .'

Slow poached hens egg yolk, sea urchin roe, lumpfish caviar, parsnip puree, sea urchin emulsion, toasted seaweed and freshwater cress.

              This dish come about from a lot of talk with kiwis and their love for paua and kina (abalone and sea urchin roe) in particular with a good mate of mine that I work with Joe.  He tells of diving stories for crays and paua. They would harvest the urchins in some times 2 foot of water, crack the shell open and suck the tongues (roe) out straight from the shell. The colder temperature of the water in NZ. makes a big difference to the taste of seafood as apposed to the water of the tropics and I can sort of understand this as I grew up in Melbourne, I can relate to the southern ocean taste. When I finally got around to trying kinas for the first time, some time last year . I tried them fresh straight out of the container wild caught from New Zealand and into the mouth avoiding the smell when opening the lid as advised by Joe as it might have deterred me from going on. Since then I know that smell he means. My first impressions, like most people it tastes like the ocean but without all that salt. It has taste elements from many of its seafood mates all intertwined in one 'the ocean'. For seafood enthusiasts this can't be missed , despite its appearance it is the ultimate tasting salt water creature I've tried .

           I began making this egg taster by boiling some parsnips and mashing them with a little buttter and some seasoning with salt. The mash was then placed into a blender adding a little cream while blending to a puree. This was then spooned on to the serving plate in an attempt to re-create the look of egg white, making a twenty cent piece size dent in the puree for the poached hens yolk to sit. I then boiled two eggs in their shells (one is a back up) in rapid boiling water with a touch of vinegar for three minutes before removing and placing into an ice bath to stop the cooking. I then cracked and peeled an egg, and carefully removed the white under cold barely running water just enough to help remove all the white leaving a slightly firmed yolk but still runny and very delicate to handle. I transfered the yolk on to a large open ladle before placing into position on the parsnip puree. The sea urchin emulsion was a combination of cream, rice wine vinegar, sea urchin roe and soy lecithin put into a tall large tumbler and mixed with a stick blender until foam begins to surface stopping when I had enough foam and chilling it before serving in dabs around the plate to accompany.. The seaweed came in sheets that I roasted a couple in the oven before trimming into strips with a pair of scissors. All other ingredients on the plate were plated as is, the caviar, the sea urchin roe and the freshwater cress another kiwi favourite.