I draw a lot of inspiration from dining out, where other cooks and chefs have done all the thinking, presenting me with dishes that invigorate my palate and encourage me back into my kitchen to incorporate a little, or a lot, of what I have enjoyed into my home cooking.
Things are particularly hard at winter’s end, even for chefs with access to a wider range of produce and there are still budgets to consider. We’re souped out, but soup is still the best way to serve a decent amount of well-priced vegetables.
My green vegetable soup is inspired by the green soups and smoothies served at wellness retreats — our health being a consideration at this time with colds and flus still raging. This green goodness also fulfills our spring desire to lighten up, which brings my focus to meaty stews and braises.
Like changing out a heavy sweater for a finer vest, a seafood stew brings a lighter level of warmth and comfort and is a tad smarter than its meaty cousin, making this a good dish for entertaining. I am always delighted when cioppino, a traditional Italian fish stew made with few ingredients, is on the specials board at Giovi in Queenstown. But it’s The Headwaters Dining Room in Glenorchy that encouraged me to take my fish stew up a notch.
Chef Pete Gawron prefers a French bouillabaisse because of its deeper flavour, thanks to the addition of saffron and fennel, but the concept is the same. He describes it as a harmonious way of putting lots of seafood on to one plate with a tomato-based broth that marries it all together. He also champions the use of cheaper, under-utilised fish and the cuts we overlook, such as hapuku belly.
Rounding out this transitional trio of recipes is a carrot cake and ice cream combo that put the spring into my step following a languid lunch at one of Queenstown’s new openings, Sunfire, at Steamer Wharf. Theirs is beautifully crafted using a Pacojet ice cream machine. Mine is a no-churn, very little fuss rendition. Carrots are a reliable winter vegetable and, even though you’re not getting a lot in a slice of cake, it feels good to know their nutritional benefits are baked in. Don’t overlook the candied carrots. They are sprinkles of happiness.
Green vegetable soup
Use whatever greens you can get your hands on for this vibrant soup that packs a punch of flavour and nutrition while we await the arrival of spring greens. Canned white beans thicken the soup; chickpeas will do the same. I use home-made chicken stock for more flavour and nutrition. It can be swapped for vegetable stock or water if you find yourself without stock.
SERVES 4
1 onion
½ cup chopped leek
1 large celery stalk, including leaves, chopped
1 fennel bulb, chopped
1 head broccoli, florets and stalks chopped separately
1 small bunch parsley,
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
400g can white beans, drained
5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 tsp salt
120g bag baby spinach
Juice of ½ a large, juicy lemon
Extra virgin olive oil and natural yoghurt, to serve
Method
Cook onion, leek, celery, fennel, broccoli stalks, parsley stalks (about ½cup) and garlic in oil for 10-15 minutes in a large saucepan until soft. Keep the heat low to prevent browning.
Add the beans, stock, salt and a good grind of black pepper and bring to the boil.
Add broccoli florets and parsley leaves and simmer for 5 minutes until tender.
Turn heat off and mix through baby spinach.
Blend until smooth (a stick blender is good here), adjust seasoning and add more stock or water if you prefer a thinner consistency.
Bring back to the boil to serve, adding lemon juice to taste.
Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and dollops of natural yoghurt.
Italian-style fish stew
Being a cioppino/bouillabaisse mash-up — Italian/French — "Mediterranean" would perhaps be a better description for this flexible fish stew. I have added fennel bulb (grilling a few slices to garnish), and fennel seeds for an aniseed hit. If that is not your thing, leave them out and use more onion.
Put cheaper cuts of fish and shellfish such as mussels to good use here. Prawns take it up a level, but can be replaced with squid or a variety of fish. A great dish for early spring entertaining.
SERVES 4
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 small fennel bulb, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp toasted, ground fennel seeds
¼ tsp chilli flakes, optional
½ tsp salt
1 cup white wine
1 cup fish or chicken stock
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 tsp tomato paste
12 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
400g fish
12 prawns
Method
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and fennel and cook over a low heat until soft.
Turn up heat and stir in garlic, ground fennel, chilli and salt.
Pour in wine, letting it bubble for a minute, followed by stock, tomatoes and tomato paste.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add mussels, cover and steam for 5 minutes, shaking the pan a little, until they open.
Stir through lemon zest and juice, check for seasoning then press in fish and prawns, cover and leave to cook through.
Divide among 4 bowls, discarding any unopened mussels, and garnish with parsley and fennel fronds.
Serve with grilled bread rubbed with garlic and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.
Carrot cake ice cream
The team at Queenstown’s Sunfire restaurant encourage the ordering of their carrot cake ice cream dessert because of how much the ice cream, which has no carrot cake in it, tastes like carrot cake. It’s like a frozen cream cheese icing that’s unctuous and tangy. Those with ice cream machines will know how to adapt this no-fuss, no-churn recipe. It’s rich, so a little goes a long way when scooped into bowls or served, as they do at Sunfire, with a slice of carrot cake where the crunchy, nubbly texture balances the creamy, smooth ice cream.
SERVES 8
175ml whole milk
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 heaped tsp honey
Zest of 1 orange
Zest of ½ lemon
¾ cup caster sugar
125g cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg
300ml double cream, lightly whipped
Method
Heat the milk in a saucepan with star anise, cinnamon, honey and orange and lemon zests until just before boiling. Turn off heat and leave to infuse for 15 minutes. Strain through a sieve into a clean saucepan, pressing to release all the flavour from the zest and spices.
Beat sugar, cream cheese and egg in a bowl until creamy. Pour into the milk and cook over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly for about 10 minutes until a smooth custard consistency. Remove from heat, pour into a bowl and leave to cool.
Once cooled, fold in the whipped cream. Pour into a container with a lid and freeze for 3 hours then remove and give it a good beating. Place back in the freezer and beat again after 2 hours and then again after another 2 hours to ensure a creamy consistency.
Scoop into bowls to serve sprinkled with candied carrot.
CARROT CAKE
2 cups caster sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 cups grated carrot
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup sultanas
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
Method
Heat oven to 180°C fan bake. Grease and line an 18x23cm cake tin.
Beat sugar, oil and eggs until creamy.
Mix in carrot, walnuts and sultanas.
Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and mixed spice.
Pour into cake tin and bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in to the centre comes out clean.
Cool in the tin for 5minutes then turn out on to a rack.
CANDIED CARROT
½ cup caster sugar
½ cup water
2 carrots, grated
Method
Heat ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water, stirring to dissolve the sugar and bring to the boil. Add the grated carrots and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain and drain on paper towels. Spread out on a baking paper lined baking tray and bake in a 160°C oven for 10-15 minutes until dry but not brown. Remove from the oven, give them a stir and return to the turned-off oven for a few hours to continue drying.
Toss in a little extra caster sugar and store in an airtight container.
