' CHESTNUT & MAPLE CREME BRULEE .'

Chestnut & Maple Creme brulee, Spiced Pumpkin tuile, Callebaut Chocolate decor and Roasted chestnuts.

                    When I think of chestnuts, for me its very much a winter thing. With fond memories of the big chestnut trees in Melbourne and the aroma of roasting chestnuts from the street vendors, wafting through the main streets and side alleys of the inner city hub or the sunday markets. Its a very comforting aroma that instantly makes you feel warm inside, despite the weather. For me the aroma from roasting chestnuts is such an association trigger for the city streets of Melbourne, as popcorn is for the movies. When I moved up to Queensland, where the sub-tropical climate and low chill in winter doesn't allow chestnuts to grow I noticed that the nut of choice for street vendors was the macadamia nut. The macadamia nut was virtually unaffordable for people of Melbourne and the thought of it being sold by street vendors, is that similar to Queenslanders and chestnuts, it just doesn't happen. So when I saw these chestnuts on the shelf I just had to purchase them for the nostalgia. This is a very simple recipe and you could be sitting down to eat your rewards in just over an hour, so below I've added A scaled recipe and detailed method for those that would fancy trying the recipe. Both the chestnuts and the maple syrup give the custard a real lift to an otherwise plain vanilla flavour.                                      
                    Into a blender I added 75g of chestnuts peeled and chopped together with 120g of milk, 15g vanilla extract, 15g of maple syrup an a pinch of salt. This was blended to a puree and set aside. In a bowl I whisked together 105g of egg yolks and 105g of caster sugar vigorously but without aerating the mix. To this I added 270g of heavy cream and the puree, these were mixed to incorporate and then poured into ramekins, this recipe makes 6 serves. I then placed the ramekins on a tray filled with water and baked them at 160 degree C. for about 55 minutes or until the brulee no longer trembles when gently shaken. The brulee's were then removed from the water bath and in a small saucepan I melted some sugar until syrupy and amber in colour. This was poured thinly over each creme brulee and allowed to set, giving the custard a thin caramel crust as apposed to the traditional technique to brulee sugar with a blow torch.                                                                                                                            
                    To accompany the dessert I made a spiced pumpkin tuile by melting 50g of glucose in a small saucepan over a low heat. To this I added 60g of pumpkin puree and this was then poured into a mixing bowl with 75g of icing sugar, 60g of flour, 1tsp of mixed spice. This was mixed to form a stiff batter and spread organically over a lined baking tray, these were then baked for 5-6 minutes in a 190 degree oven until the edges of the tuile's start to brown. While they were still warm I was able to shape them and then allow them to cool. To make the callebaut decors I simply melted the good quality Belgium couverture chocolate in a bowl in the microwave in 30 second stints, checking each time. This was then poured into a decorative mould and placed in the fridge to set before being sliced into decors. Below I've shown a few variations of plating up, using different shaped ramekins, tuile's and decors.

' DIVER SCALLOP, WINTER CITRUS & CRESS .'

Pan seared Wild caught Diver Scallop, Parsnip puree, Kumquats, Meyer Lemon, Imperial Mandarin, Fresh Watercress and Horseradish bubbles.

               This little taster dish has zip and zest, tantalising your taste buds with each mouthful. Using the winter citrus fruits made available at this time of the year, to accompany the sweet tasting diver scallop paired up perfectly and that slight pungency from the horseradish bubbles along with the peppery notes from the cress gave the dish a great complexity of flavours. This dish was a bit of a throw together from the left over scallops from the other days ceviche and the fruit a ha picked up at the local markets to do the miracle berry tasting. I had seen similar pairings done before and more recently by a chef from the U.S.                                                                                                                                  
                 To put this together I made the puree first by boiling some parsnips in salted water until they were soft and tender. I then placed the parsnips with a little melted butter and some cream into a blender and blended to form a puree which was then corrected for seasoning and set aside. I prepared the citrus fruit next, by thinly slicing the cumquats and segmenting the other fruit these were then set aside. Just before plating I foraged the backyard garden for fresh water cress. The cress was washed and dressed in a little olive oil. I then prepared the horse radish bubbles by juicing some fresh horse radish placing into a wide mouth tumbler adding some rice wine vinegar, water, salt, sugar and soy lecithin. With a stick blender, I  then mixed the liquid on high to form the bubbles. Heating a small skillet on a medium high heat I seared the sea scallop on both sides in a little butter for 45 seconds or so, just long enough to turn the flesh opaque and form a caramelised crust.                                                                                  
                 To plate I made a swipe on the plate with the parsnip puree arranging the citrus on top. I then placed the scallop adjacent and top with the horse radish bubbles. I then garnished the dish using the dressed watercress and seasoned with smoked sea salt and cracked black pepper.

' 54 deg .C KALE ASH encrusted RIB EYE .'

Grain-fed Beef Eye fillet cooked 54 deg.c sous vide & encrusted with Kale ash seasoning served with Potato & horseradish puree , Mushroom & Malt/Rice beer reduction , Green onion , Nasturtium leaves & kale ash seasoning . 

                   This dish has been inspired by the purchase of our new sous vide & vacuum sealer, we got a great deal on the relatively new Sunbeam package with the two machines in one deal. The actual dish is an adaption of the chefs at Food Republic, who use a short rib which is slow cooked sous vide for 3 days. I've opted for the one hour version using a quality cut of grain-fed beef. This dish has only taste in mind from the smoky, barbecue-esque flavour imparted by the burnt kale nestled in a thick veloute of potato and horseradish. Encircled by a sweet, earthy, umami mushroom syrup that almost smells like a faux miso paste its so umami. Even the young nasturtium leaves with a peppery flavour serve its purpose on this plate. And of course it starts from the thirteenth method of cookery 'sous vide'. This type of cooking was adapted in 1974 from commercial packaging applications, by Georges Pralus for use in his french restaurant. The method requires food to be vacuum sealed in food grade plastic and cooked at a constant temperature usually between 50.c and 60.c and for veggies higher, over longer periods of time ranging from 1 hour and in some cases 72 hours. This process allows the item to cook evenly without overcooking the outside and as the juices are trapped while cooking the item becomes more flavoursome and more tender. As this method never reaches the point of 'maillard reaction' or browning which occurs at temperatures well above boiling point. This has been done in a hot pan once cooked in the sous vide bath, to give the cut of meat the caramelised proteins that you get from searing.
                    To make this dish I started by preparing the food pouch by trimming the cut of beef of any fat and seasoned with salt and pepper before placing into the food grade plastic pouch along with a little butter, minced garlic and sprigs of fresh thyme. I then vacuum sealed the package and placed into the fridge until ready to use. Once the water bath had reached 54 degrees c. I submerged the package into the bath and set the timer for 1 hour. During this time I prepared all the other elements to the dish beginning with the Kale ash seasoning. For this I simply laid out kale leaves on to a baking paper lined flat tray and placed into a 180 degree c. oven until blackened and burnt. I then removed the kale and allowed to cool before blending with salt and pepper in a coffee grinder to a powder. Next I boiled some yukon gold potatoes and drained before blending with some melted butter, cream and a little minced horseradish to for a rich, creamy velvety (veloute) puree or sauce. This was reheated before plating. To make the reduction I caramelised some sliced field mushrooms in a heavy based pan before deglazing with some Budweiser beer, as the syrup thickened, I added a few sprigs of fresh thyme and some glucose syrup. The green onion was pan seared quickly all over before being steamed with sprigs of thyme until soft, sweet and tender. Once the meat was ready I cut open the bag and seared both sides of the steak quickly about 45-50 seconds each side to give the meat the crusty caramelised exterior. The meat was then allowed to rest for 2-3 minutes before coating both sides with the kale ash seasoning.
                    To plate I reheated the puree and syrup and spooned some puree in the centre of the plate, encircling this with the caramelised mushroom and malt/rice beer reduction. I then placed the 54 deg.c. rib eye on top of the bed of potato and horseradish veloute. The green onion then crowned the steak with nasturtium leaves scattered around and to finish a ring of kale ash seasoning.

' QUAIL , poached PEAR & SWEET POTATO .'

De-boned double breast of Quail roasted , Sweet potato & pear puree , Brandy Poached mini Pear , Quail jus , fresh pear salad , pea greens and micro sage leaves.

                  While out browsing the deli shops and Italian grocers the other day I made a special trip to this particular store that sells a small range of gourmet products and quail was what I was after. They never let me down and I walked out with some white asparagus six birds at $4 AUS. each. The pears in this dish are a mini variety I purchased while doing the weekly groceries. They were labeled 'paradise pears' by Zahra farms, Yenda NSW. I'm suggesting they are some kind of new season pear variety.      
                  The preparations for this dish are listed by name below and are in no order to follow as I prepared all the elements first and cooked them all at the same time its harder to explain in writing.
  QUAIL - The quail was first cut down the breast plate and turned over back side up and flattened. The legs from the top of thighs were removed as to the wings, leaving just the the double breast or torso. Using a sharp knife I ran the blade between the breast fillet and the rib cage and cut the meat away from the ribs up to the back bone and doing the same to the other breast fillet. Once I had achieved this I flipped the quail over so it was on its back and with the rib cage now free but the back bone still attached I used a pair of scissors to cut between the backbone and the skin and little flesh their is. I now removed the whole backbone and ribs from the bird leaving behind a de-boned perfect, skin on double breast fillet of fresh quail meat. This was then rinsed under cold water and checked for remaining bones before being pat dry. I then filled the pocket between the two breasts with sage leaves, folding the breasts back together I placed three toothpicks at the base of the meat to hold the the two fillets together while cooking. In a hot pan with some olive oil I placed the seasoned quail skin side down and cooked to brown the skin and seal the meat. Once the meat lifted easily without force and was browned I turned it over and cooked for a further 5-6 minutes. I then placed the quail into a roasting dish with a wire rack with water at the bottom of the pan and into a 160 deg.c. oven and baked the quail until the juices changed from running red to running brown, well I like mine with no blood anyway the cooking is preferential. The quail was then removed and allowed to rest before pulling the toothpicks out. I retained the juices from the roasting pan to make the jus.        
   JUS - I placed the cooking liquid, skimmed of fat retained from roasting in to a saucepan and simply brought the stock or jus ( juice from itself ) to a gently simmer and reduced the sauce to a thick syrup.    
  PUREE - I made the puree by simply placing cooked sweet potato, chopped fresh pear and a little cream in a blender and processing to a smooth consistency before being reheated when served.                    
  SALAD - The pear salad is a simple brunoise of summer pear dressed with extra virgin cold pressed olive oil and lemon juice with a seasoning of cracked pepper medley and smoked sea salt.                      
  PEAR - I poached the pear by first bringing some Cretan white sweet brandy made of honey, thyme and distilled grape must, a little water, sugar, honey, thyme and lemon juice and zest to the boil and then removed from the heat while I prepared the pear by peeling and trimming a slice from the bottom of the pear so it can stand freely. This was then placed into the brandy syrup and returned back to the stove and brought to a simmer . The pear was then ladled with the syrup and poached with a lid on the saucepan until tender and translucent, spooning syrup over the pear at regular intervals during the poaching, for a pear of this size it only took about 15-20 minutes. The pear was then removed and set aside and allowed to cool before being plated.

 

' GARLIC & GINGER SCAMPI with AVOCADO .'

Grilled garlic & ginger Scampi , Smoked salmon mousse , Avocado & Ginger mint puree , Edible sand , dried nori and pea greens.    

                   Summer inspired seafood entree of garlic and ginger grilled scampi accompanied by a smoked salmon mousse and avocado puree. Keeping with flavour of the sea I served an edible sand made from crumbs and other goodies of sea nature such as salts, dried fish, seaweed etc. The avocado puree remains fresh on the palette with a hint of ginger mint to lift it as well as lime juice, instead of the ever so popular guacamole pairing of avocado and garlic.                                                                        
                   Halving an avocado and removing the seed, I scooped the flesh from the skin into a blender with a little cream, lime juice, fresh ginger mint and a little seasoning. This was bended to form a smooth lime green puree nice and creamy. I then split a large scampi in half lengthways and cleaned the head cavities of the scampi halves. Making a basting sauce from butter, minced garlic and ginger I coated the flesh of the tail meat and filled the head cavity. I then placed the scampi flesh side up on a flat tray and placed the tray under the grill to cook for around 8-10 minutes, basting the meat every 2 minutes while their cooking. Once their cooked I removed the tray from under the grill and let them rest. In the meantime I placed some cream cheese, cream and smoked salmon in a blender and blended the mixture to a mousse consistency. To make the edible sand I mixed in a bowl some panko crumb, bread crumb, black and white sea salt, pink salt, ground dried fish, ground dried nori seaweed, evaporated sugar cane juice and wakame miso oil. The miso oil is simply sesame oil mixed with wakame miso paste and is rubbed through the crumb mix just before serving.                                                                
                    I plated this by swiping the top half of the plate with chilled avocado and ginger mint puree. I then arranged the scampi halves on the plate showing the succulent tail meat to the diner. With the salmon mousse I made four quenelles and arranged them between everything else on the plate and garnishing them with a slim strand of dried nori seaweed. With a spoon I carefully placed mounds randomly on the plate of the edible sand  and then finished the plate off with some fresh pea greens.