Full of Zest!

Sunday lunch was postponed this week in favour of a Wednesday dinner. I believe we will be having a chicken roast but you never know with Hamish! We often talk about the menu for next week’s lunch whilst consuming the current one, Hamish has so many ideas I’m never quite sure what he’s planning. Last week, inspired by my love of the radiccio lettuce in the salad (blogged about below), Hamish remembered a radiccio risotto he wants us to try.

I haven’t managed to get much of my own cooking in recently but I have had some very nice meals prepared for me. I seem to get lucky in that regard don’t I?

Last week, at a party, I was treated to a selection of yummys from caterer Stephen Randle, owner/director of Zest Kitchen .

Served up first was a medley of nibbles. I tried each one. You know I did.

In the serving spoons we had crab and papaya salad with Vietnamese mint. This was one of my favourites. It had a beautiful texture, sort of crunchy and creamy at the same time. The papaya was a lovely addition as it provided a nice sweet touch.

The black and white sesame crusted tuna loin with coriander pesto served on one of those cute little pikelet things called a blini was a winner. Tuna, when cooked and served like that, truly just melts in your mouth. Absolutely delicious, and so yummy when eaten cold as well. This particular canapé got me thinking about leftover cold tuna sandwiches or the tuna melts mum used to make with cheese and pickles when I was a kid.

I must check out the price of a tuna steak at the supermarket. Can anyone recommend the perfect way to cook it? Flick your methods through in an email to me. There may even be a few double pass Food Show tickets in it for ya.  

Another interesting canapé was the Peking duck. This was served in a mini tartlet, with spiced Baba Ganouche, cucumber and plum paste and complete with a raspberry on the top. Yum!

What I loved about all the canapés was the light, summery feel each one had. I loved the pairing of the fruit with the crab and the duck. Interesting, different and definitely memorable.

I’d love to hear your recommendations on pairing fruit with fish or meat.

And how could I forget the prawns? These were served on skewers in shot glasses that had a dash of coconut and lemon grass tea dipping sauce at the bottom. The prawns were dusted with coriander so the coconut and lemon grass was very complimentary.

Following the canapés, Stephen served up his famed mini meals. We had three options, I managed to get through two.

I had, salt and pepper squid served on a lovely Thai salad with a mini skewer of chilli and lime salmon and hummus. I must ask Stephen for the salad recipe as I’d really like to try it out. This salad would be perfect to bring along for a summer bbq. It’d certainly impress your buddies.

I also had the grilled prosciutto and lemon wrapped prawns with a rocket and crayfish cous cous salad. This had an accompanying cucumber and mango salsa.

The photo I’ve provided of one of the mini meals is of the roasted lamb cutlet dish that didn’t make its way into my belly. The lamb sat on a Parmesan potato salad and was topped off with a tasty tomato and mint salad.  

Thumbs up to Zest Kitchen! Stephen and his team helped make a great party gastronomically memorable. The two waiters that were on hand also did an especially fantastic job with their unfalteringly friendly faces.

Hamish left the party before me to go home for a Grappa. Not my cup of tea, I settled for peppermint and a good sleep.

Zest Kitchen - Highly recommend.

           

Say Cheese...

I’ve managed to munch my way through many a fine meal this weekend and it’s with just a dash of haughtiness that I’ll tell you about some of them now.

It wasn’t easy mind you. I suffered a horrible torture dream last night that I blame on the two cheese pasta I had for lunch and I’m still hiccupping from the BBQ’d lamb, kumara mash, ratatouille, Greek salad and potatoes I washed down with a delicious Sicilian Pinot Noir at dinner.

It’s a labour of love people.

I arrived early at Hamish’s on Sunday as I had a scheduled 2 o’clock detox appointment with my wonderful energy healer Rhonda Bayliss. After the party at our flat on Friday I was certainly in need of some TLC and Rhonda truly is a magic worker. I have a number of friends who have asked me about my energy healing sessions so here’s the link ! 

When I was in high school, my friend Gabrielle and I worked at the Italian Grocer on Ponsonby Road. I look back on that spell fondly as the time I discovered the pleasures of cheese, the honeymoon period if you like.

It wasn’t love at first sight. Every two weeks a big square of Taleggio would arrive in the shop and we'd bicker over who would get the job of cutting it into small squares. The smell used to make us gag as we carefully but quickly sliced the soft cheese hoping it wouldn’t melt before us.

I don’t know who was first to try the Taleggio but it certainly kick started our love affair with cheese. A Danish feta called Domyati was a favourite of mine, and one that I’ve recently seen available at the supermarket.

We would spend hours stocking and restocking the cheese shelves. Much to the exasperation of our boss who knew we had merely our own interests at heart, we would set up tasting displays of rich and creamy Gorgonzola accompanied with pears and walnuts, sneaking bites for ourselves as we talked customers through our obsession.

Forbidden for tastings was the fortnight delivery of Buffalo Mozzarella. People would order the stuff in advance and we’d glumly dish it out, never really knowing what all the fuss was about. I really should try and get my hands on some Buffalo now… does anyone have any good recipes using it?

Ahh cheese!

Best get back to the recipe. This Sunday we made two-cheese pasta. Hamish told me that his wife Ngila who discovered it during a stay in Rome, adores this dish and that apparently it’s a staple on the lunch menus there.

I wish I could eat cheese every day. I’d have Feta and cucumber on toast for breakfast and decadent cheese platters every night.

We use Pecorino and Parmeggiano. We take a nibble of both and discuss the crunch in the Parmeggiano and the sweetness of the Pecorino. I’m in heaven. I love the crunchy bits in Parmeggiano. What are they exactly I wonder?

Two-Cheese Pasta

Iodised Salt

Butter

Basil Pesto

Spaghetti

Pecorino

Parmeggiano

Start by putting the water on to boil and add a very large portion of Iodised salt. Hamish explains that the salt is very important because it gives the pasta flavour. He also explains that iodised salt  is the way to go because we need Iodine in our diets and it's through salt that we get it. If you’re one of those people that prefers the fancier stuff, you can buy Iodised salt in flaky or rock form as well. Interesting article here ! Apparently it's World Salt Awareness Week?

While the water is heating, place a big knob of butter, and a large spoonful of pesto in the microwave until they melt together.

Hamish uses the basil pesto from Nosh.

If like me, you have trouble picking the right amount of pasta to feed two, Hamish's advice is to take a hand full the size of an index finger to the thumb.

Grate about a cup full of the Parmesan and the same amount of Pecorino.

When the pasta is cooked to al dente, drain and mix through the pesto and butter. “ You can over cook pasta and you can under cook pasta and both are appalling,” says Hamish. If you bite into the pasta and it has that floury taste it usually needs about 2 or 3 more minutes.

Slowly add half of each cheese to the pasta, mixing it in as you go. Save the rest for garnishing.

Simple huh? It was delicious, and not as heavy as I had imagined. Quite light and summery in fact!

To keep cheese fresh in the fridge Hamish uses waxy paper. I have tried to find out where to buy a good waxy cheese paper but to know avail! If you know, please tell me.

We accompanied the pasta with a deliciously crunchy herb infused salad. Here I learnt a good trick, the art of marinating lettuce…

Wash and spin the heart of an iceberg and the heart of a radiccio, throw in some basil, oregano, thyme and marjoram and put in the fridge to cool for a couple hours.

Drizzle with a balsamic, lemon zest and finally olive oil and you have yourself a delicious salad! Make sure to drizzle the olive oil on the salad last as it closes off the flavours. Over the time it spends in the fridge, the herbs infuse the salad with their smoky, herby goodness. It really is one of the best salads I’ve had in a long time!  

Hamish is a big advocate for New Zealand olive oils. He uses Village Press Extra Virgin Olive Oil and explains how nice it is to know where it was produced, pressed and packed. It was a mouth wateringly delicious olive oil and for the first time, I realised the true importance of it for a dish.

It was quite an amazing experience and I’d really like to do a tasting of some more oils to understand the flavour better. 

Food was definitely the order of the weekend. I've been left full to bursting, or as my grandmother would recommend I say, I've had ample sufficiency, any more would be a vulgar abundance. 

Until next week! ;-)