A Cook In Chef's Clothing

Caviar on Scallops with Lime Jalepeno Aioli

Scott-Bradley — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:08:02 +0000

Every now and then you have the opportunity to try something amazing. Caviar is one of those delicacies that we should serve for very special occasions. Crown St Grocer can order this caviar in for you with a few days notice. I had the opportunity to try it and work with it and after much research and deliberation I chose to make a ridiculously lavish starter to serve with drinks before a dinner party. The scallops work well with the caviar and the lime and jalepeno aioli really give it some kick.

So first lets start off with the caviar. To quote wikipedia, “Caviar, sometimes called black caviar, is a luxury delicacy, consisting of processed, salted, non-fertilized sturgeon roe. The roe can be “fresh” (non-pasteurized) or pasteurized, the latter having much less culinary and economic value.” Please don’t get this confused with Salmon roe it really isn’t the same thing, or in the same league in my opinion. And the connoisseurs among you all will also know that you should never use a metal spoon because it will taint the flavour. I don’t have the correct ‘mother of pearl’ spoon so I resort to a small plastic one that has been thoroughly cleaned and dried. I also encourage you to try it as is, so that you have some idea of the basic taste. It really is worth it. Okay then on to the recipe. I have done this the simple way, if you want to go all out and make your own fresh aioli then go for it.

: Caviar on Seared Scallops with Lime Jalepeno Aioli

: An wonderful starter or a great nibble at a drinks party.

Tin of caviar
Some good quality aioli
1 Lime zested
Fresh thyme
1 jalapeno pepper or a scoop of bottled peppers
Fresh sea scallops, one or two per person up to you

Start by cleaning the scallops and placing them with fresh thyme leaves and a very small amount of olive oil into a bowl covered in the fridge. Often good to do this 30 minutes before hand.
In the bowl of a small food processor combine 1 cup of aioli with the jalepeno and 1 teaspoon of lime zest. Process until smooth.
When you are ready to assemble get all of the ingredients ready to go by removing the thyme form the scallops and having the ailio in a bowl ready to go.
Sear the scallops quickly on both sides.
Top each scallop with a small amount of aioli making a small well.
Top each with a small burst of caviar.
Arrange on a warm plate and serve immediately with a stunning champagne.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 5 minute(s)

5 : ★★★★★ 1 review(s)

Iconic Birthday Cake – Iced Vovo

Scott-Bradley — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 02:59:52 +0000

What else do you make for someone’s 40th birthday but a giant version of a childhood favourite.

Italian Salsiccia Finocchietto (Fennel Sausage) Stew

Scott-Bradley — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 08:21:26 +0000

Okay I am being a smarty panster here. I am so lucky to have an incredible local grocer, Crown St Grocer, right near me and they source the most unbelievable italian fennel and pork sausage, Salsiccia Finocchietto, made with Berkshire pork that is hand reared. And a sausage this good deserves to be treated with respect and cooked with love. So a stew, you might think wait a second slow simmered for ages thats not love….but it is, long slow cooking to let the flavours develop. Try and get really good quality italian style pork sausage from a good deli or contact Salumi and see if they supply near you. Come on really, a pig raised in the amazing Northern Rivers of NSW. You know you want it.

Recipe: Italian Salsiccia Finocchietto Stew

Ingredients

500g (1 pack of Salumi Salsiccia Finocchietto) pork fennel sausage
Olive Oil
1 large brown onion chopped
1 small fennel bulb thinly sliced
2 cups chicken stock
2 200g tins of cannelloni beans drained and rinsed
2 200g tins of crushed tomatoes
5 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
10 good grids of black pepper
1 fresh bay leaf or two dried
3 cups chopped fresh baby spinach

Instructions

Cut the sausage into 10cm lengths and then gentle slit the sin down the length, remove the skin and then cut the sausage into small chunks, roll them into small balls and coat in olive oil
Gently fry the sauage meat balls on medium heat, keep them moving so they dont stick until they are coated on all sides and browned
In a casserole style pot gently fry the onion and fennel in some olive oil until soft
Add to the pot the stock, beans, tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme and pepper and stir gently to combine
As the mix comes to the boil return the sausage pieces to the mix and then gently simmer with a lid on for about 90 minutes
Then take the lid off and simmer to thicken the sauce for another 30 minutes
Remove bay leaf.
Add spinach and cook until wilted
Serve with some steamed new potatoes if you like

Quick Notes

You can actually do this in a slow cooker too, set it on low for about 6 hours.

Cooking time (duration): 15

Number of servings (yield): 4

Meal type: dinner

Culinary tradition: Italian

My rating: 5 stars: ★★★★★ 1 review(s)

Potato Gnocchi With Prawns or Scampi

Scott-Bradley — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 08:58:17 +0000

Never throw out your left over mashed potato. Unless of course you lavish your mash with butter and cream, that simply wont work. But if you make fairly straight up mash its the ideal base for making gnocchi. Having said that who wants to make gnocchi….apart from me…..not many people. So buy a pre made one but please buy a decent one. Read the ingredients, get a brand that doesn’t have packs of preservatives and is made from real potato not reconstituted potato.

So this recipe combines two of my favourite things, prawns (preferably scampi, go get the frozen ones from the fish market) and cream. Mmmmmm cream. So many people I know think that seafood and cream are exclusive. Chowder, that is all. I will save the New England chowder recipe for another day. So lets make a lavish dish, this is not for the health concious but since when did healthy taste good.

Recipe: Potato Gnocchi With Prawns or Scampi

Ingredients

Gnocchi for 4 people
Olive Oil
400g of prawn or scampi meat chopped into bite size chunks
A small handful of flat leaf parsley chopped roughly
One cup of white wine
100Ml of cream
200g of cherry tomatoes quartered
1/2 cup of grated parmesan
salt and pepper

Instructions

Peel the prawns and place the heads and shells into a small saucepan with one cup of white wine
Simmer the shells for about 10 minutes and crush them in the wine with a large spoon
Strain the wine liquid thru a very fine seive, or a piece of kitchen paper in a strainer, you want semi clear liquid
In a pot of boiling water cook the gnocchi in batches, as the gnocchi rises to the top of the pot remove it with a slotted spoon and keep warm
In a large fry pan heat some olive oil and then toss in the prawn meat and flat leaf parsley and toss it to quickly sear the prawn meat
Add 4 tablespoons of the wine mixture to the prawns in the pan and reduce the liquid to 1/4 of its original volume over high heat stirring
Add the tomatoes and shake to combine
Add the cream and stir then simmer for a minute or so
Place the gnocchi on to warm plates and then spoon over the prawn sauce mix
Top with cracked pepper and some grated parmesan and serve immediately

Quick Notes

Scampi is a much better option for this dish however they can be hard to get. If you get prawns try to get them as fresh as possible. Watch out for black marks on the body and legs this means they have been frozen and defrosted more than once.

Cooking time (duration): 10

Number of servings (yield): 4

Meal type: dinner

Culinary tradition: Italian

My rating: 5 stars: ★★★★★ 1 review(s)

Fig and Blue Cheese Tart with Prosciutto

Scott-Bradley — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 06:37:32 +0000

Can I just start by talking about short crust pastry. Maggie Beer is famous for her sour cream short crust which I have made a few times but to be really frank when you have a lot going on there is nothing wrong with using a decent quality frozen short crust from the supermarket. I find that the frozen stuff is much better for smaller tarts like these. So honestly if you cant be bothered making shortcrust then don’t.

This recipe is for a fantastic tart I love to use as a starter. You can actually make it as one big tart but I bought these incredible little tart cases that are non-stick and perfect in size. Plus they have a push through removable base and they were only a few dollars each. One of the best things I have bought.

Recipe: Fig and Blue Cheese Tarts with Prosciutto

Ingredients

1 package-about 10 oz Prepared puff pastry, thawed
150 grams of decent blue cheese, I use stilton, at room temperature
1/2 Tbsp of cream
1/2 Tbsp of milk, full cream
1/2 Tsp freshly ground pepper
4 figs stemmed and cut in quarters lengthwise. If you are making one big tart you will need a few more.
1/2 Tsp fresh thyme leaves finely chopped
Olive oil
4 thin slices of prosciutto, julienned into strips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius.
Trace around the tart tins on your pastry and carefully fit them into the tine. Don’t cut the excess off with a knife, use a rolling pin you will get a better result.
Chill the pastry cases for 10 minutes in the freezer
Place baking paper in each case adn then cover the inside with rice or baking weights
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, remove the weights then bake another 5 minutes to dry the bases out
Combine cheese, milk, cream and pepper in a bowl, mash with a fork.
Spread the cheese mix evenly in pastry cases.
Arrange figs over cheese, alternating cut side up and cut side down, or get creative.
Sprinkle with thyme and olive oil.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until crust is lightly golden and figs are shiny and a little puffed up.
Let them stand for about 15 minutes to settle then serve with proscuitto on top.

Quick Notes

A crisp chardonay works great with this.

Number of servings (yield): 4

Meal type: dinner

My rating: 5 stars: ★★★★★ 1 review(s)

Base Tomato Sauce for Pasta

Scott-Bradley — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 01:05:07 +0000

I have had quite a few people asking me lately about tomato sauces for pasta. Generally everyone wants to know if there is a basic and failsafe recipe for a pasta sauce and the answer is absolutely. So this post I want to run through the basics the way I was taught and to be frank the rules are pretty simple and quite easy to remember. First of all lets start with some basic rules and facts.

If you can not get fresh tomatoes then tinned tomatoes are fantastic. Look for the type that are tinned very quickly after they have been picked and remember that a single 400g tin is perfect for two people.
If you are buying tinned then choose the style carefully. Crushed are great for fast sauces. Whole cherry or peeled are great if you want the sauce to retain some of the tomato pulp.
When you use fresh preferable use Roma and when you do this six (6) roma tomatoes are the perfect amount for two people.
The simplest proportions for a basic two person sauce are, 6 roma tomatoes, 2 garlic cloves crushed and a small red onion diced. Thats it.

Okay then now we have the basic rules in place lets work through putting it together. This couldn’t be easier. This sauce can be enhanced with fresh herbs, always at the end, meats like bacon or the filling from italian sausage, even a chilli or some olives. The variation is entirely up to you. But remember the basis of a tomato sauce is to carry the pasta, the pasta should always be the star so choose your pasta carefully as well.

Recipe: Base Tomato Sauce for Pasta

Ingredients

6 roma tomatoes with the stem core removed and then diced
1 small red onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed

Instructions

Over medium heat in a fry pan soften the onion and garlic, you dont want it to colour
Turn up the heat and toss in the chopped tomatoes and stir frequently
As the tomato starts to break down lower the heat and simmer for 5 or 10 minutes and a sauce will form
Add some of the pasta water before serving to loosen the sauce

Quick Notes

This is simple and quick and you can add your own ingredients for variations.

Variations

Add some chopped bacon while frying the onions and garlic Add fresh herbs like basil at the end just before serving Add a chilli for some spice

Cooking time (duration): 10

Diet type: Vegetarian

Diet (other): Low calorie

Number of servings (yield): 2

Meal type: dinner

Culinary tradition: Italian

My rating: 4 stars: ★★★★☆ 1 review(s)

Herb Chicken Stuffing

Scott-Bradley — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 03:12:03 +0000

I have to say that I am a big fan of chicken. But when you get a really good quality chicken there is simply nothing to compare. We spend quite a bit of time in Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. And Wenty has a brilliant butcher Megalong Beef, named after the Megalong Valley. But they don’t just do beef. They source the most extraordinary open range chickens. They are grown naturally, mature to full size without artificial chemicals and taste like nothing else. So it seemed fitting this year that for Christmas day lunch we should have this brilliant bird on our table.

Roasting a chicken is fairly straight forward but one thing I have noticed is that the better quality the bird the more it adapts to external flavours and the best way to bring extra flavour has got to be stuffing. The most important tip here is around the bread crumbs. I am not talking about those boxed dry things that you could probably plug a hole in the wall with I am talking about makeing your own and it couldn’t be simpler.

Take some old white bread, again real bread, not the stuff in the bag at the supermarket. A few days old is ideal. It should be just starting to feel stale. Cut the crusts off and then roughly chop it with a knife. The pieces should be around half a centimetre in size. You can use a food processor if you wish but my rustic herbed stuffing will benefit from some decent sized bread pieces soaked in the flavours, You can also dry them on a baking sheet in a very low oven and seal in a container. So on to the stuffing.

Recipe: Herbed Chicken Stuffing

Ingredients

25 g butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks (top 2/3rds), finely chopped
1¼ cups fresh breadcrumbs
1½ tablespoons chopped fresh mixed herbs (such as thyme, sage, parsley and tarragon)
1 egg, beaten
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Gently heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan over a moderate heat and cook the onion and celery for 10 minutes until soft. Remove from the heat and tip into a bowl. Stir in the breadcrumbs, herbs, beaten egg and salt and pepper, and mix well to bind the mixture together. Allow the stuffing to cool completely before use. You can do this early in the morning and refrigerate in a sealed container.

Quick Notes

When using the stuffing do not pack it into the bird. Use around half in the chickens cavity along with a few lemon quarters. Put the rest into a buttered baking dish and bake in the over with the chicken for the last 30 minutes. This lets you serve a great piece of stuffing without ripping the chicken apart.

Variations

If you want a little more flavour pour some good quality chicken stock over the stuffing in the baking dish and bake a little longer, this will give you a monster boot of chicken flavour.

Cooking time (duration): 10

Number of servings (yield): 6

Meal type: dinner

My rating: 4 stars: ★★★★☆ 1 review(s)

Chicken Breast with Mushroom and Garlic Cream Sauce

Scott-Bradley — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:23:33 +0000

Another blustery day in the Blue Mountains, well Blackheath to be specific. We wandered past the pub this morning and I started thinking about a really tasty chicken dish I first ate at a pub years ago. It was pretty good but it definitely needed some work to lift it up. Inspired I decided to recreate it my way. It has its roots in Italian cuisine and it its fairly strong on the garlic front but it really is a sensational dish. Especially if you have a little bit of decent white wine left in a bottle from last night. The real star of this dish is the mushrooms so do make an effort to find good quality fresh Swiss Browns. Take a look at the stalks if they are hard and woody forget them. Find the mushies with the soft fresh stalks. And don’t even think about making this with anything other that real butter. If you don’t want to use real butter then make something else.

Recipe: Chicken with Creamy Mushroom and Garlic Sauce

Ingredients

Two single chicken breasts, sliced horizontally to make two flat pieces each
150g of swiss brown mushrooms, dice half of them and finely slice the other half
One shallot peeled and finely sliced
Two large garlic cloves cut in half and finely sliced
150ml of white wine at room temperature
150ml of thick cream at room temperature
Eight small new potatoes
A large handful of parsley chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil

Instructions

Gently simmer the potatoes in water and as little salt while you make the rest of the dish. I normally cook them for about 10 minutes on a gentle boil then turn off the heat and leave them in the water to stay warm
Put about two tablespoons of butter and a splash of olive oil into a hot pan and toss in the mushrooms. Saute quickly on high heat till they brown and return them to a small bowl
In a little more butter and oil fry the chicken pieces until gently brown on each side and then remove to a plate and keep warm
Now with a little more oil toss into the pan the garlic and onion and fry gently, you dont want them to brown but simply cook until soft
Now toss in the white wine and deglaze the pan, reduce the wine by half
Toss the mushrooms back into the wine mixture and stir well
Now add the cream and as soon as it returns to a simmer place the chicken pieces back into the mixture and simmer gently
Reduce the cream mixture by half and turn the chicken pieces over during the process
Now place the cooked chicken pieces on to plates with 4 new potatoes each
Stir the chopped parsley into the sauce in the pan and turn off the heat
Spoon the sauce mixture over the chicken, season with ground pepper and serve immediately

Quick Notes

This dis is great with a crusty bread roll to soak up the remaining sauce.

Variations

If you want a little more punch in this one try adding finely ground lemon zest at the same time as the wine.

Cooking time (duration): 25

Number of servings (yield): 2

Meal type: lunch

Culinary tradition: Italian

My rating: 5 stars: ★★★★★ 1 review(s)

Spaghetti with Prawns, Scallops Tomatoes and Cream

Scott-Bradley — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 04:38:24 +0000

I wonder what else you would do, sitting in a 1908 cottage in Blackheath on a holiday long weekend. You cook. The weather is bleak, chilly, windy and I love it. The kitchen is warmed by an old Kooka gas stove top. I struggle to get the water hot enough to boil on the old girl yet the outcome is truly worthwhile. I first cooked this a week or so ago and it tasted pretty good, but today Stew suggested it again only because by chance we discovered a fantastic seafood and specialist food supplier in the coles car park in Katoomba. So with a bunch of fresh prawns, some South Australian scallop meat and other supplies in the bag we headed back to the cottage for Saturday lunch.

Recipe: Spaghetti with Prawn, Scallop and Tomato in Cream Sauce

Ingredients

16 Green Prawns, peeled and cut in half
10 Fresh scallops, white meat only
500g of good quality dried spaghetti
Three small spring onions or french shallots, sliced very finely. I cut them in half then slice them One garlic clove finely chopped
One small birds eye chilli chopped including seeds
600g of vine ripe cherry tomatoes or baby romas. (the quality of the tomatoes is a deal breaker in this dish
100ml of good quality double cream
6 large basil leaves shredded
Freshly ground black or white pepper

Instructions

Put the water on the heat for the pasta keep it just below boiling so that you can bring it to boil on demand
Heat olive oil in a very heavy fry pan making sure there is a few mm of oil across the whole pan
Sear the scallops on both sides then sear the prawn meat and transfer to a warm dish or some foil. Keep them moving so they don’t stick, don’t over cook them they will finish in the final step
Bring the pasta water to the boil toss in a small handful of seasalt and as soon as it returns to a vigourous boil drop the sphagetti in and gently move it around to keep it from sticking, start your timer (based on the packs directions for cooking time) from the moment the water returns to the boil, this should be around 10 mins
In the same pan you cooked the prawns toss in the onion, garlic and chilli and the whole tomatoes. Stir them to coat them in oil and drop the heat to medium
Gently shake the pan and keep them moving and turning, you don’t want to brown the onions
After about 10 minutes you will find the tomatoes are starting to soften, keeping them hot and whole is a key tactic here
The pasta should just be ready
Pour in the cream to the pan and gently stir together, then add the prawn and scallop meat, gentle stir and let it warm through
Grind in plenty of fresh pepper
Drain the pasta and add it to the pan, or vice versa
Stir the lot together, toss in the basil and another quick stir
I like to serve this on a big platter on the table and let everyone dig in

Quick Notes

Enjoy this dish with a crisp white wine for a weekend lunch. A Sauvignon Blanc would wash it down a treat.

Variations

If you want to really kick this one up a notch replace the prawns with scampi, you can buy totally awesome scampi from New Zealand from most fish markets.

Cooking time (duration): 25

Number of servings (yield): 4

Meal type: lunch

Culinary tradition: Italian

My rating: 5 stars: ★★★★★ 1 review(s)

Huon Smoked Salmon in Creamy Pea and Dill Sauce

Scott-Bradley — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:39:16 +0000

My friend Joe’s local grocer Crown St Grocer is about to stock Tasmanian Huon Salmon. So I decided that I should test cook some of the Huon product and figure out a recipe to launch the range in store. I have already done parmesan, lemon and salmon linguine so tonight was a competitive option. Stunning smoked salmon in a creamy sauce with fresh peas and dill and linguine. Jury is out. Stew loves the parmesan and lemon, I loved tonights. I think the other one might win though it just has an edge.

Either way I have to tell you that the Huon Valley in Tasmania is one of the most incredible places I have ever been to. I can see myself owing a pub on the river near Huonville, awesome. Anyway stay tuned and I will write up the winning recipe and give you more info on the most extraordinary smoked salmon.