Episode 6. Recipes from Dunedin

Entree: Clam and Crab Chowder

Step 1. Preparing the Clams

Ingredients:

• 60 Clams (About 2.5 kg)
• 1 Cup White Wine

Method:

Scrub the clams under cold water to rid any remaining sand clinging to the shells.

Place the clams in a large saucepan, pour over the wine and place on the lid. Put the saucepan on high heat, then check on the clams after about five minutes. Remove the clams as soon as they begin to open. Remove with a slotted spoon. Once cooled extract the clam meat from the shells and keep the precious liquor/juice they have given up.

Step 2. Clam and Crab Chowder

Ingredients:

• 1/4 Cup Canola Oil
• 1 Cup Bacon (Finely Chopped)
• 2 Cups Onion (Fine Dice)
• 1 Cup Celery (Fine Dice)
• 1 Cup Carrot (Fine Dice)
• 2 Tbl Garlic (Minced Fine)
• 2 Tbl Fresh Thyme (Minced Fine)
• 1/2 tsp Chili Flakes
• Liquor from the Cooked Clams
• 1 1/2 Litres Fish or Chicken Stock
• 2 Cups Potato (small dice)
• 2 Cups Kumara (small dice)
• 1 1/2 Cups Cream
• Juice of a lemon
• Cooked Clams
• 1 Cup Crab Meat
• 1/2 Cup Parsley (finely chopped)
• Salt and Pepper

Method:

Place a large saucepan on medium heat, once hot add the oil followed by the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally until the bacon is golden. Now add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, fresh thyme and chili flakes. Stir to combine, then turn down the heat and sweat the vegetables for 20 minutes until soft.

Now add the reserved cooking liquor from the clams along with the stock, plus the diced potato and kumara. Bring up to a slow boil and simmer for 15 minutes until the potato and kumara are cooked, then add the cream and the juice of a lemon.

Bring back up to the boil, remove from the heat and lastly add back the clams, crab meat and the finely chopped parsley. Check the seasoning, it will only need a little salt if at all, as the clam juice will have added natural saltiness to the chowder. A grind of fresh black pepper to finish.

Serve immediately with fresh crusty bread from the oven.

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Main: Roasted Pork Hock w/ Black Pudding, Parsnip Puree and Caramelized Apple

Step 1. Parsnip Puree

Ingredients:

• 600 gm Parsnips (peeled, quartered, sliced thin)
• 80 gm Unsalted Butter
• 1/3 Cup Water
• 2 Cup Cream
• Sea Salt and Freshly Cracked Black Pepper

Method:

Place a medium sized saucepan on the heat. Add the parsnips, butter and water and bring up to a low simmer. Place a cover over the saucepan and cook without colouring for 30 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the parsnips softened and begin to break up. Add a little more water during the cooking process if the parsnips are beginning to catch to the base of the saucepan.

In a separate saucepan, heat your cream to simmering.

Place hot parsnip in a kitchen blender or similar. Add 1 cup of the hot cream and puree until smooth and velvety. Add more cream depending on how thin you want your puree. Pass through a fine sieve to remove parsnip fibres and season with flakey salt and cracked black pepper. Refrigerate until required.

Step 2. Roasting Pork Hocks

Ingredients:

• 4 x Pork Shoulder Hocks
• Sea Salt and Fresh Black Pepper
• 1 Cup Water

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

Score the pork hocks skin with a sharp knife every half centimetre or so. (I always use a Stanley Knife for scoring tough pork skin)

Rub liberal amounts of sea salt into scored hocks and season with a bit of black pepper. Place the hocks in a roasting dish and add a cup of water

Cook in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes until the skin begins to bubble and crackle. Turn the heat down to 140, and then continue to cook for 2 hours. The hocks are ready when the meat pulls away from the bone with little or no resistance.

If the crackling hasn’t done its thing, give them another blast at high heat for ten minutes until crisp and golden. Remove and let the hocks cool slightly. Hold.

Step 3. Cooking and Plating

Ingredients:

• Roasted Pork Hocks
• 1 bunch Cavalo Nero (stalks removed and discarded)
• 1 bunch Kale (stalks removed and discarded)
• 2 Garlic Cloves (fine dice)
• 30 gms Butter
• 1/2 cup Chicken Stock
• Parsnip Puree
• 1 Cup Jus, Demi Glaze or Gravy
• Canola Oil
• 12 slices Black Pudding (1cm thick slices)
• 2 Apples (peeled and cut into wedges)

Method:

Preheat oven to 130 degrees.

Heat a large saucepan to medium temperature. Rough chop the kale and cavalo nero and place in saucepan with garlic, butter and chicken stock. Cover with a lid, turn down the heat and cook for ten minutes until the greens are just cooked through. Strain of the cooking liquid, then season greens. Hold.

Reheat parsnip puree in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Likewise with the jus or gravy. Hold.

Put a large skillet on medium heat. Pour in a little canola oil and fry the black pudding until crisp and golden on both sides. Remove from skillet and rest on absorbent paper towel to remove excess oil. Hold.

Now sauté your apple wedges for a minute or two in the hot skillet until golden on both sides. Hold.

Place the roasted pork hocks into the oven until hot through. Cut the crackling away with some kitchen shares and extract the meat away from the bone. Rough chop into good-sized chunks and hold in warm place.

Spoon a little parsnip puree into the centre of each warm plate then add some of the cooked kale and cavalo nero. Divide your hock meat into portions and place on top of the puree. Finish the plates with 2 slices of black pudding, some apple and pour a little jus or gravy over and around. Garnish with crackling and serve.

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Dessert: Summer Berry Pudding

Step 1. Preparing the Fruit

Ingredients:

• 2 Cups Raspberries
• 2 Cups Blackberries
• 3 Cups Strawberries
• 3/4 Cup Castor Sugar
• 1/3 Cup Chamborg Raspberry Liqueur

Method:

Rinse the berries and remove any stalks and the strawberry hulls. Cut the strawberries to match the size of the other berries.

Mix berries, sugar and chamborg together in large mixing bowl. Transfer to a large saucepan or skillet and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved, and the berries have plumped and released their juices. Stir occasionally but be careful not to stew the fruit. Remove from heat and cool.

Remove from heat and cool.

Strain the fruit in a large sieve, collecting the juices in a bowl underneath. Do so until the juice stops running. Refrigerate the fruit and juice separately until required.

Step 2. Runny Custard

Ingredients:

• 500 ml Cream
• 1/4 tsp Vanilla Paste
• 3 Egg Yolks
• 1/2 cup Sugar

Method:

Place cream and vanilla in a medium sized saucepan and heat until simmering. Remove from heat.

In a bowl, whisk your egg yolks with sugar until creamy and pale. Slowly pour the hot cream into the yolk mix whilst whisking constantly, until all is incorporated. Pour back into the saucepan and place on low heat. Take a wooden spoon and stir continuously until the custard begins to thicken slightly, enough to coat the back of the spoon. Remove immediately and strain through a sieve. Once cool, store in the refrigerator until required.

Step 3. Making the Pudding

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf White Toast Bread (crusts removed)
• Cooked Berries
• Berry Liquor

Method:

Line a 10cm x 20cm loaf tin with a generous amount of glad wrap. Brush 16 pieces of bread with the berry juice. Lay the bread slices in a single layer around the inside of the terrine mould, making sure there are no holes or gaps. The bread slices should overlap slightly. Come right up the sides so there is a little excess overhanging at the top of the mould. Spoon a layer of cooked fruit into the tin and place another layer of soaked bread on top of that. Repeat this process until you have built up 3 layers of fruit.

Finish the pudding off by topping the last layer of fruit with bread then fold over the excess bread that is sticking up from the sides. Likewise, the overlapping cling wrap can be folded over to cover the pudding. Finally press the terrine using a flat object that covers the top of the terrine with a heavy weight. Refrigerate overnight.

Step 4. Serving

Ingredients:

• Summer Berry Pudding
• Soft Whipped Cream
• Runny Custard

Method:

Gently slice portions of the bread pudding with a sharp and clean knife. Serve on chilled plates with a dollop of soft whipped cream and a healthy pour of runny custard.

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