Lauraine’s blog
19 December 2013
Crack open an egg and there's a small miracle inside. A golden orb of deliciousness that's essential in the kitchen for making mayonnaise, custard, crème brulee and many more lovely things. The hardest thing in the world is to understand just why some on might feel the need to order an omelette made with egg whites only?
See the pic above? Eight eggs? No, just four. Last year I purchased some eggs and the recipe I was making at the time called for four eggs. I was delighted to see that each of those eggs had a double yolk. I didn't take a lotto ticket but I should have.
At this time of the year I imagine there's a bit of pavlova and meringue making going on in New Zealand kitchens. So it is probably helpful to post my 'pavlova' sponge recipe here. It is called that as it uses the four egg yolks left over from the pav/meringues - although in my case if I find four double yolkers again it will use 8 small yolks!
PAVLOVA SPONGE (YOLKS ONLY)
•4 egg yolks
•120g caster sugar
•75g flour
•half a tsp baking powder
•Pinch of salt
•1 tsp pure vanilla essence
•50g butter, melted
•4 tbsp boiling water
•1 lemon, grated rind only
Preheat the oven to 170�C. Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until very thick and light. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and fold this into the egg and sugar mixture with the vanilla essence. Melt the butter and fold this through with the boiling water and grated lemon rind. Spoon the mixture into paper baking cups. Bake for 15 minutes until risen and golden. Cool and decorate with cream or icing as follows. Makes 7-8 large cupcakes or 16 small cupcakes. Can also be made in a 20cm cake tin. Store for up to three days in an airtight tin.
18 December 2013
A few years ago I went on a fascinating food tour to China with the amazing Tony Tan of Melbourne. It was a wonderful experience in many ways as the foodies who went along were all passionate about food; Catherine Bell, Stephanie Alexander, Alexis Touchet of Gourmet, and other big names. Tony Tan is probably the most knowledgeable cook on any aspect of Asian food and a delightful tour leader with great connections, so we were in for a series of serious foodie treats.
One of the highlights came in Shanghai, where we ate at the famous dumpling house where locals queue for hours to take home a box of Xiao long bao ; the delicate soupy dumplings that are one of the taste sensations of the world. Place the hot dumpling in your mouth, and the savoury liquid explodes. Once you have sucked or swallowed the soup you're left with the delightful pastry and delicate minced pork and shrimp filling to chew on. Heaven.
You can find them on Dominion Rd here now but at that time it was a total revelation. But if you go to Oamaru, stay at Pen-Y-Bryn Lodge and the talented owner, James Glucksman will whip you up a batch on request.
17 December 2013
Here's the thing about Walnuts - they must be fresh and sweet. Too many people say they don't like walnuts and generally that is because they have had to endure rancid nuts; nuts, (usually imported) that have sat in storage and packaging for far too long.
New Zealand grows beautiful walnuts and my favourites are the fresh new season's crop from Jenny and Malcolm Horwell's Marlborough company, Uncle Joes. They also package and sell haze nuts and make some stunning nut oils and processed artisan products.
The other thing about walnuts is that, like all nuts, the flavour truly develops when they're lightly roasted. Nuts are like bread. I have never met a loaf yet that is not better when toasted and I feel the same way about nuts. But when you roast your nuts, always take them from the oven when they start to brown. They're such dense little things that they retain the heat for a while and it's possible you will turn around and realise you had no intention of letting your nuts go that brown! Take care and enjoy your nuts.
16 December 2013
In my formative years vanilla was an ingredient that the Rawleigh's man sold at the door. He'd come with his basket filled with an assortment of who knows what and my mother would chatter to him and always buy a large bottle of vanilla essence. I suspect it was artificial but it did the trick for her baking needs and especially added some flavour to her Pavlovas and her whipped cream.
Then about six years ago I went on a trip to the Island Kingdom of Tonga and in the far northern group of islands, Va'va'u, I discovered real vanilla growing there. It is grown in a co-operative with a visionary NZ family, and processed, packaged and marketed as Heilala Vanilla. Exported around the world it is a fabulous example of the innovation of Kiwi artisan producers.
Heilala Vanilla beans, sugar, paste and syrup are all in my pantry and I would not be without them. Every morning my husband stews fresh fruit ( apple, rhubarb and berries in season) and brings me a dish accompanied by yogurt and drizzled with Heilala Vanilla Syrup. The sweetest way to start the day!
15 December 2013
I had to admit I was pretty stumped when it came to U is for ?
I asked a few Facebook friends and they came up with umeboshi plums (well I haven't got any of those in my pantry currently), udon noodles (did N for noodles already), uni (love that but had no pictures of that delicious delicacy from the sea), and ugli fruit (don't like them much). So thanks for the help, but I was not inspired.
So I turned to the instigator of this challenge; Stephanie Alexander. In her Cooks Companion book she has a wonderful recipe for Unpeeled summer pepper salad. It is the only entry in the index starting with U. So in honour of Stephanie I posted these delicious crisp red peppers (Unpeeled) from the Alexander family farm in Omaha.
But why is U for Umbrella today? Well that's a little mystery that only Laura Faire can answer and anyone who has her gorgeous self-published book, Limited Edition Cookery. Turn to her index is my clue.
14 December 2013
In March this year I was served a tomato salad. At the time I posted a story about that here. (Scroll back to 11 March if you must.) I wrote that the salad was "almost life-changing."
Thanks Darren Lovell for sharing your tomatoes from the Fishbone Farm. There were about fifteen varieties of tomato, all chopped up and dressed with a mixture of pounded basil, some salt-cured anchovies and some fine extra virgin olive oil. Absolute bliss, and if anyone, anywhere, anytime has ever had a finer tomato salad I don't believe them!
Look for his tomatoes on the menu at Fishbone in Queenstown later this summer. They are worth the plane fare to Queenstown, I guarantee.
13 December 2013
Yesterday I hosted a Japanese food writer and her photographer from the Japanese magazine ELLE AT TABLE. We ate lunch at Soul Bar on the terrace, underneath those amazing baskets of hanging flowers, overlooking the Viaduct Basin on a calm summery day. I cannot think of a better way to show Auckland's finest attributes.
We ate omakase style; the owner Judith Tabron picked the dishes for us and sent out kingfish, tuna, snapper, salt and pepper squid, goat cheese ravioli and whitebait fritters. But the star of the show (despite the fact that the Soul kitchen churns out more than 450 portions of that squid a week) was the dish pictured above.
Scampi on squid ink pasta with salmon roe and micro greens. Perfection! if you're headed to Soul over the next few days, do not miss this delicate and yet tasty dish. I really lucked out for the S Day! Squid ink pasta, Scampi and Soul. Very sibilant.
12 December 2013
My spinach roulade has been a saviour on many occasions. It is the perfect dish to serve vegetarian guests, it is a light and easy entrée to rustle up. We made something similar way back during my Cordon Bleu training and I have made it one of my regular repertoire recipes. (All r's note.) The recipe is in my book, Everlasting Feast and also online at The Food Hub.
The other roulade I could not do with out is a fancy chocolate roulade, filled with whipped cream, iced with rich chocolate icing and served with seasonal berries. It's a must at our family Christmas Table and my mother makes it for us every year. That recipe is also on the Food Hub and in my book.
the other roul
11 December 2013
Queen Scallops are rarely found outside restaurants but they're so good they are exported to several markets around the world .
Harvested wild off the coast in the chilly waters of the southern of the two main islands of New Zealand they are generally available in 1 kg bags of free flow frozen form. This doesn't change the flavour at all.
To prepare them simply place the queen scallops in their shells (no need to clean or purge them) on a grill or add them to a seafood stew. They are a real delicacy with a subtle sweet flavour.
To purchase try the frozen section of a good seafood retail store or send enquiries to Southern Clams.
10 December 2013
This is the stunning rosewater and pomegranate pavlova which won the 'alternative' section of the NOSH gourmet store pavlova competition last week. It was absolutely superb; I know as I was one of the judges and was stunned to learn it had been made by Claudia Frew, a pupil of Epsom Girls Grammar. She beat over forty other contestants, some of whom were up to four times her age.
The Aussies may think the pavlova is their invention but former professor of anthropology at University of Otago, Helen Leach meticulously researched hundreds of community and professional cookbooks and proved conclusively the pavlova was being made in New Zealand well before Anna Pavolva ever danced for Bert Sachse in Western Australia.
The ideal pavlova has a crunchy exterior, while the middle must be marshmallow-like. Needless to say, whipped cream is an essential topping and some fruit, maybe passionfruit, kiwi fruit or fresh berries finish it off.