The Freshest Fish

So I've been spending a lot of time in fish markets recently, and have been buying the most beautiful fish. The fish market in Borneo was really impressive- going there early morning to stock up on fresh seafood was a real treat. I love that there's a fish-market sign language that seems to make sense all over the world. Just like the 'can I have the bill?' gesture in a restaurant, where you open one of your palms and do a quick scribble motion with the other hand, there are plenty to throw around at a fish market. Scaling and gutting ones are pretty standard, and I find pulling faces works very well too.

I thought I'd share a few tips on storing fresh fish so that it remains in it's best possible state for when you cook it. Ideally, we'd all go to a fish market on the day that we wanted to cook seafood. Just like on the cooking programs where people nip down to the local market 

to buy wonderfully fresh fish from a jolly fish monger who knows their name, and are back home in a matter of minutes with the fish filleted  and in the pan.  The reality is that it's not always that easy, and so we have to store things.

It goes without saying that the fish should be really fresh when it's bought, so make sure it smells like something you want to eat. Get in there- run your hand over the skin- it should be wet and almost slimy, but not at all sticky. Take a look at the gills- anything less than red or pink is not freshly caught. Smell your hands after this- it should smell like the sea and not 'fishy'. Check for bright eyes etc.

For storing: the best way to keep fish fresh for the longest possible time is to buy them with their scales on and their insides left intact. Keep them in the fridge lying on bags of ice, and covered with a wet kitchen towel. Fresh fish can last for up to 6 days in amazing condition if it's kept like this. If your not too keen on scaling and gutting the fish yourself, you can store the fish in the same way, but use it by day 3.

To freeze fish- dry if off well, inside and out and tightly wrap in a good amount of plastic wrap, making sure to that no air inside the plastic. Air is the enemy when it comes to freezing things. Then put in a couple of suitable sized ziploc bags, and fish can be kept in the freezer like this for a couple of months. If you have a vacuum pack machine, then that would be the ideal way freeze fish.

It's all pretty basic, and there's been some trial and error, but these are the best ways I've found to keep fish at it's best. Any questions?

It's been a little while since my last post, but that's not to say that I haven't been thinking about things I want to share.

I started a new job a couple of months ago, and it's been busy!

I've taken the job on the largest privately owned sailing yacht in the world! It's a spectacularly beautiful boat, and what's better is that it's traveling around S.E Asia at the moment, which means that I get to sample street food from Singapore to Bali. Something I've wanted to be able to do for a while. Besides the tasting, it also gives me a chance to try and re-create some of the things I've tried. 

Looking forward to posting some recipes that have been slightly adapted so that people at home can give it a try. 

On Lemons.

Lemons are a staple in my kitchen. I can't wait until I have my own home one day, and am able to have lemon trees in my garden. 

Besides using them in actual food preparation, they are a part of my everyday life. Each morning, before anything else, I have a cup of hot water with half a lemon in it. It's such a wonderfully natural way to cleanse your digestive system before it has to start it's work for the day. When I'm not at home and am not able to do this, it feels as though I'm going out without having had a shower- it's become a good habit. 

I also use lemon juice to clean my chef whites. I make a paste of dishwashing liquid and lemon juice, rub it on a food stain, leave it to sit for a while, and then put it through a regular wash.  I've tried so many different things over the years and this is my one full proof chef jacket cleaner. Besides the fact that it gets the stains out, it's also gentle on any material and a lot more inexpensive than buying chemicals.

Lemon's unique taste brings out the best in so many things. A gin and tonic without lemon, in my mind, is not worth drinking! Also, think of a simple beef carpaccio- one of my favorite things to eat. Without needing anything else, paper thin slices of beef with sea salt and black pepper, are brought alive by a squeeze of lemon juice.

(My mouth is actually watering as I write this)

Here's a really simple dressing that has lemon as a base. Yesterday I used one to dress a really simple vegetable salad of  green beans (blanched), asparagus (blanched), rocket, and watercress. It was served, at room temperature, with a beautifully fresh piece of grilled fish.

Juice of 1 lemon (place it in the microwave for 20 secs before squeezing it, and you'll get more juice) 

1 teaspoon white sugar

1 inch fresh lemon grass (halved)

1 inch of a vanilla pod (halved)

1 star anise

1 tablespoon of really good extra virgin olive oil

In a saucepan over a low to med heat, stir the lemon juice and sugar together until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a simmer and add the lemon grass, vanilla pod and star anise and lower the heat. Let it sit for 5 minutes or so so that all the flavors are released, then remove it from the heat, strain it into a bowl and then whisk in the extra virgin olive oil.

You could make double the amount and leave it in your fridge in a jar, and it'll last up to about 7 days.

Feel free to play around with the things you put in it. Fresh chilli would also work well. 

Sweet!

Food At It's Best

Last night I went to Rust en Vrede (www.rustenvrede.com/restaurant/menus) in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Besides making some of the best wines in the South Africa, they also have, the one of the most incredible restaurants I've ever eaten at. 

Over the last few years, I've been a pretty fortunate eater: After receiving lots of special attention at the French Laundry, I was also given a tour of the immaculate kitchen; before eating at Michael Mina's exciting restaurant in San Francisco, I had the chance to meet the man himself and ask him about menu choices;  I've had a chat around the table with Jaques Pepin after he'd prepared dinner for a special book release that I attended; Alice Waters and Alain Ducasse's restaurants have been done a few times, and so many more special eating experiences. The meal I had last night is right up there with beautiful food. 

I might be seen to be a little bias- the executive chef, David Higgs, also happens to be the chef I trained under, but I don't think that has anything to do with the fact that I think he's one of the most talented chefs the world has. 

If you're in the Cape Town area, or planning a visit- this is the one restaurant I would recommend you visit. 

Keep an ear open for Rust en Vrede- I'm sure it'll be given lots of international recognition in the near future. 

I believe the best way to bond with people is through food.

I adore handpicking the freshest local ingredients. Seeking advice from the local cheese man, speaking with the village fishmonger about the morning’s fresh catch or spending time discussing the best farms with the butcher are all ways to celebrate organic seasonal ingredients and prepare them using time-honored techniques. I love to find ways to create great memories through food.

Halibut with Root Vegetables and Butternut Sauce

Serves 4-6

FOR THE ROOT TIAN
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 shallot, finely chopped
½ fennel bulb, finely sliced
tablespoon butter (unsalted)
1 lbs mixed beets – scrubbed
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 lbs Yukon Gold potato- peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick
1 lbs celery root- peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick
1 lbs rutabaga- peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick
¾ cup whole cream
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1) With some aluminum kitchen foil make a type of bag and place the beets, thyme sprig, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil inside it. The fold close it up and place on a tray in the oven (pre-heated at 400F) for 1-½ hours, until soft to the touch, but not fully cooked.
2) Meanwhile, in a pan on the stove, sweat down the shallot, garlic and fennel bulb in butter, over a low heat for about 10 minutes until soft and opaque. Pour the cream over and move around for another couple of minutes on low heat. Remove from heat, season with sea salt and black pepper, and set aside.
3) In salted boiling water, parboil the potatoes, celery root, and rutabaga slices for about 4-5 minutes. Drain them; let them steam dry for a few minutes.
4) When the beets are ready, remove them from the oven and allow to cool for a bit before slicing them ¼ inch thick
5) Place ¾ of the amount of slices into a well greased baking dish, and then pour the cream, shallot, garlic, and fennel mix evenly over the roots. Give the vegetables a light push down, just to compact them.
6) Toss the remaining ¼ of the slices in some extra virgin olive oil and place them on top the other veg in the baking dish. Again, giving it a little push down to further compact it. Place in the oven for 20 minutes.
7) After 20 minutes, remove the baking dish from the oven. Find a clean kitchen towel that you don’t mind staining red from the beetroot, and lay it over the root veg and press down slightly to remove any excess moisture and further compact them, them place back into the over for another 20 minutes.

FOR THE BUTTERNUT SAUCE:
½ shallot- chopped
1 teaspoon ginger
1 clove garlic- minced
1 cups butternut
Pinch or two of cinnamon
2 cups vegetable broth
Pinch of brown sugar
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper

1) In a pot on the stove sweat down onions, over a low heat with a little extra virgin olive oil. Then add the garlic and ginger and continue to move around for a few more minutes before adding the butternut and the broth to the pot.
2) Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 10 minutes or until the butternut is soft.
3) Put all contents of pot in a blender and blend until completely smooth. You can pass the sauce through a sieve if you’d like.
4) Now add a pinch of cinnamon, and season with Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper. Check the seasoning and add sugar if necessary. Add a squeeze of lemon as the last step.

TO SERVE:
4 X 6-8oz fish fillets (Halibut, Californian Bass etc) to be cooked at the last minute in some extra virgin olive oil in a hot pan.
Put a dollop of the butternut sauce on the plate and top with the root vegetables and place fish on plate.
As the pictures shows, I just quickly sautéed off some baby spinach in a pan. Even better would be to use the beet leaves if they came with the beetroot for the tian.
Also served some steamed baby carrots as an extra.

Don't be afraid to experiment with flavor

Healthy fare pays homage to the brilliance of the perfect ingredients, paired in an extraordinary way.

Beef Fillet resting on Cauliflower with Roasted Garlic and Corn Sauce and Chunky Basil Oil

SERVES 4

FOR THE CAKES/ PUREE:
1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped into florets
1 russet potato, thinly sliced
2 cups whole milk
1 cup whole cream
1 bay leaf
3 pepper corns
1 clove garlic, skin on, lightly crushed
salt and white pepper
1) Place the cauliflower and potato in a heavy bottomed saucepan, then add cream and milk until just covering and place over a medium heat. To that, add the garlic clove, bay leaf, peppercorns and a pinch of salt and slowly bring to a simmer. Watch very closely as it’ll easily boil over!
2) Cook until tender, (about 15 minutes) and remove from the heat
3) Drain and allow to steam dry. Then place in a blender and pulse until smooth
4) Season as necessary

FOR THE ROASTED GARLIC AND CORN SAUCE
1 corn on the cob, kernels removed and set aside
I head of garlic,
1 shallot, chopped
¼ teaspoon curry powder
¼ cup whole cream
1 cup chicken broth
½ Meyer lemon
Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper
1) Wrap the garlic head in kitchen foil and place in a pre-heated (350F) oven to roast for about 45 minutes
2) Meanwhile, in a pot on the stove cook the onions with a small lug of olive oil over a low- medium heat until glassy. To that, add the curry powder and and the corn kernels and move around for another couple of minutes to release the flavors and remove from the heat
3) Remove the garlic when ready (it’ll be soft) and remove the foil, and set aside for a couple of minutes to allow it to cool.
4) Squeeze the roasted garlic flesh from the head of garlic and add it to the shallot and corn mix, put it back over a medium heat and add the cream and chicken broth
5) Bring to a simmer and let simmer for 5 minutes to reduce the liquid by about a third
6) Pour the contents into a blender and blend until silky and smooth
7) Season with Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper and finish with a squeeze of Meyer lemon juice
FOR THE CHUNKY BASIL OIL:
1 handful of fresh basil
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1. Submerge the basil leaves in a small pot of boiling water, remove after 5 seconds and immediately plunge them into a bowl of ice water.
2. When the leaves are completely cool , remove them from the ice water and place in a cloth. Wring the cloth until all the water is removed from the leaves
3. Place the leaves and oil into a blender and pulse until the leaves are the equivilant of being roughly chopped
4. Remove and place in a cup

FOR THE FILLET:
4 X 70oz fillet steaks
Virgin olive oil for cooking
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Preheat your griddle/pan with the oil until it’s just smoking hot
2. Cook the steaks depending on how you like it done. For medium, it’ll take about 3 minutes on each side. You can increase/ decrease the time as you wish.
3. Remove from the heat, season both sides and allow it to sit for 2 minutes before serving.

TO SERVE:
Place the cauliflower mash into the middle of the plate and top it with the fillet.Drizzle the 2 sauces around the plate and serve straight away.

Fresh Crisp Salad

Salads are one of my favorite things to make because there really aren't any rules. The easiest way to create a great salad is to walk through a market and grab the items that get your attention --and the best way to start pairing different tastes & ingredients to see how they work together.

Creating the perfect meal

Whether you're lovingly cutting the crusts off your 3-year old's peanut butter & jelly or creating a five course gourmet meal, food should be enjoyable to make and wonderful to eat.