Episode 4. Recipes from Canterbury

Entree: Goat Cheese Tart w/ Crisp Walnuts and Salad Greens

Step 1. Caramelised Onion

Ingredients:

• 1 kg Onions (Julienne)
• 1 Tbl Thyme (finely chopped)
• 1/4 Cup Butter
• 1/4 Cup Canola Oil
• 2 Tbl Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 Tbl Brown Sugar
• Sea Salt and Fresh Black Pepper

Method:

Place a suitable sized saucepan on medium low heat. Add the sliced onion along with the thyme, butter and oil. Cook for 30 minutes stirring occasionally until the onions are golden and carmelised. Add the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar; cook down for another five minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat then season with sea salt and fresh black pepper. Once cooled, rough chop on a board, then hold or refrigerate until required.

Step 2. Walnut Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Cider Vinegar
• 2 Tbl Shallot (minced)
• 1/2 Tbl Dijon Mustard
• 1/2 Tbl Honey
• 1/2 cup Walnut Oil
• Sea Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

Method:

In a medium sized mixing bowl combine the vinegar, shallot, Dijon mustard and honey. Whisk together. Slowly incorporate the walnut oil by pouring as you continuously whisk. Once combined, season to taste. Refrigerate until required.

Step 3. Cooking and Serving

Ingredients:

• 250 gm Good Quality Puff Pastry
• Caramelised Onion
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 100 gm Gruff Junction Fromage Blanc Goat Cheese
• 2 handfuls Mixed Salad Greens
• 1/3 cup Red Onion (Thinly Sliced)
• 1/2 cup Crisp Walnuts
• Walnut Vinaigrette
• Sea Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
• Gruff Junction Selwyn Goat Cheese

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Roll pastry out into a 3mm thick, rectangular sheet on a floured bench. Dock with a fork or similar. Lay onto a baking tray, and cover evenly with 2 cups of caramelized onion. Break up the fromage blanc and arrange around the tart. Brush pastry edges with egg yolk and bake for 15 to 25 minutes until the bottom of the pastry begins to brown slightly. Remove from oven and hold.

In a mixing bowl, combine the salad greens, red onion and walnuts. Spoon in enough walnut vinaigrette to coat the leaves and toss. Season to taste.

To serve, cut 3cm thick slices of the tart. Lay across the centre of a warm plate. Top with walnut salad and finish with some freshly shaved Selwyn Goat Cheese and a drizzle of walnut oil. Serve now.

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Main: Duck Breast and Confit Duck Leg w/ Pumpkin Flan and Snake Beans

Step 1.

Ingredients: Duck Confit

• 6 x Duck Legs
• 3 Tbl Fresh Thyme (Finely Chopped)
• 2 Tbl Juniper Berries (Finely Chopped)
• 2 Tbl Garlic (Finely Chopped)
• 3 Bay Leaves
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper (Finely Ground)
• 3 Tbl Sea Salt
• 4-5 Cups Duck Fat (Rendered)

Method:

Trim excess fat off duck legs, and then place in a bowl. Rub in the chopped herbs, minced garlic, pepper and salt. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate for a couple of days in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 150 degrees.

Arrange the duck legs snuggly, skin side up in an ovenproof dish. Heat up the duck fat until it becomes liquid. Pour over the duck legs, and then cover tightly with tin foil. Cook legs in the oven for about 2 hours. Check at 10 minute intervals after 2 hours. The confit legs are ready when the duck comes away from the bone with ease.

Once cooked, remove the dish from the oven, let it cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate still submerged in the fat until required.

Step 2. Pumpkin Flan

Ingredients:

• 600 gm Pumpkin (skinned, seeded, cut into 2cm cubes)
• 2 Tbl Olive Oil
• 1 Tbl Rosemary (finely chopped)
• 1 Tbl Garlic (minced)
• 1 1/2 cup Cream
• 75 ml Maple Syrup
• 4 Eggs
• 2 Egg Yolks
• Sea Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees.

Place pumpkin, olive oil, rosemary and garlic in a large roasting dish and toss together. Bake pumpkin for 40 minutes until caramelized and tender. Remove from oven.

Pour cream and maple in a large saucepan and bring to a boil on the heat. Add the pumpkin and return to the boil, stirring occasionally.Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly. Combine pumpkin and cream mixture into a stand up blender, then puree until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the whole eggs and egg yolks. Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper.

Lower oven to 120 degrees.

Line a 30cm x 40cm oven proof dish with baking paper, and pour the pumpkin flan mixture into it to a depth of 2 cm. Place in the oven and bake for 14 minutes, turn the baking dish around and cook for a further 6 minutes until it no longer wobbles in the centre. Remove from the oven and cool. Refrigerate until required.

Step 3. Cooking and Serving

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin Flan
• Canola Oil
• 2 Pears (peeled and quartered, pips removed)
• 6 x Duck Breasts
• 3 x Duck Legs (removed from fat)
• 200 gm Snake Beans
• Demi Glaze (gravy)

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Place a saucepan of seasoned water on the heat.

Cut pumpkin flan into 2cm x 10 cm portions (the flan is very delicate and should be treated accordingly). Flour lightly. Sauté in a non-stick pan for about one minute on either side until golden, then remove and place on an oven tray.

Sauté the pear quarters in the same non-stick pan with a little oil until golden brown on all sides. Place on the tray with the pumpkin flan.

Next take the duck breasts and trim off any excess fat and skin. Using a sharp pairing knife, score a crisscross pattern through the skin of the duck, being careful not to cut the actual breast meat.

Take a cast iron skillet or fry pan and heat up to medium low heat. Without adding any oil, place the duck breasts skin side down into the pan. Turn the heat down slightly and render the fat out of the duck breasts. As the fat renders in the pan, pour it off. Once you have achieved a crispy skin and rendered out much of the excess fat, turn the duck breast over and place the pan in a pre-heated oven for 5-7 minutes until the breast meat is medium and pink through the centre. Remove from the pan and let the duck breasts rest in a dish lightly covered with foil. Turn oven down to 130 degrees.

Place a skillet on medium high heat. Once hot place 3 duck legs skin side down in the pan. Leave for 2 to 3 minutes to make the skin caramelised and golden. Remove from the pan and place in an ovenproof dish.

While the duck is resting, place the pumpkin flan, pears and confit duck in the oven to heat through. Heat up the demi glaze and cook the snake beans in seasoned boiling water for 2 minutes.

To plate, place a pumpkin flan in the centre of the plate. Carve the duck breast on the diagonal and place beside the pumpkin. Cut the confit duck through the joint and position a piece beside the breast meat. Top the meat with some caramelized pear, and pour over a little hot demi glaze. Garnish each plate with a couple of snake beans. Serve now.

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Dessert: Watermelon Semifreddo w/ Blackberry and Watermelon Salad

Step 1. Watermelon Parfait

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup Cream
• 2/3 cup Watermelon Liqueur
• 2/3 cup Sugar
• 1/3 cup Water
• 6 Egg Yolks

Method:

Arrange dariole moulds on a tray and place in freezer to chill.

Whip cream to soft peaks, beat in the liqueur, and place in the fridge.

Beat yolks in mixer until pale and thick. (at least 7 minutes)

Combine sugar and water and boil to 115 degrees Celsius also known as ‘soft ball’ stage. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.

Slowly pour the hot, but not boiling syrup into yolks while whisking continuously. Beat until thick and cool.

Pour the cooled yolk and sugar mixture into a large mixing bowl.

Fold cream through yolk mixture thoroughly. Pour into moulds that have been in the freezer.

Freeze for 6 - 8 hrs, preferably overnight.

Step 2. Glass Cookie

Ingredients:

• 200 gm Soft Butter
• 200 gm Icing Sugar
• 50 gm Glucose
• 110 gm All Purpose Flour

Method:

Combine all the ingredients in a cake mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat till well combined and store in a fridge or freezer until required.

To cook, bring the batter up to room temperature. Spread thinly onto a paper-lined tray and bake at 180 degrees Celsius until golden (check after 5 minutes). Leave on the tray to cool. Snap cookie into shards, and store in an airtight container until required.

Step 3. Watermelon Jelly

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Watermelon (peeled and pips removed)
  This is used to make watermelon juice
• 500 ml Watermelon Juice
• 100 ml Watermelon Liqueur or similar
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 4 Gelatin Leaves

Method:

Place watermelon in food processor and blitz until pulped. Strain through a fine sieve into a medium sized bowl. Keep the juice and discard the pulp.

Place juice, liqueur and sugar in a saucepan and heat to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat. In a bowl of cold water, bloom your gelatin for 5 minutes. Remove from the water and squeeze off the excess liquid. Place the bloomed gelatin into the warm watermelon liquid. Stir through thoroughly. Pour cooled jelly liquid into glad wrap lined container measuring 12 cm x 16 cm x 4 cm or similar, until it is 1 ½ cm depth of liquid. Refrigerate until required.

Step 4. Mint and Melon Syrup

Ingredients:

• 375 ml Watermelon Juice
• 80 ml Watermelon Liqueur
• 150 gm Sugar
• 1 tsp Arrowroot
• 1 Tbl Mint Leaves (Finely Sliced)

Method:

Place juice, liqueur and sugar in a saucepan and heat to dissolve the sugar and reduce slightly.

Dissolve arrowroot in a little cold water and whisk into the syrup. Continue to cook out. Once syrup has desired thickness, remove from heat and cool completely before adding finely sliced mint leaves. Refrigerate until required.

Step 5. Plating and Serving

Ingredients:

• Watermelon Parfait
• Watermelon (cut to 1 1/2 cm cubes)
• 1 punnet Blackberries
• Watermelon Jelly (cut into 1 1/2 cm cubes)
• Watermelon and mint syrup
• Glass Cookie

Method:

Run a hot paring knife around the edge of the parfait and carefully release onto the centre of chilled plates. Arrange the watermelon cubes, jelly and blackberries around the parfait. Spoon a little melon syrup over the fruit and top the parfait with a shard of glass cookie.

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