technique

makes about a dozen

200 g Coorong Wild Seafood mulloway pieces , skin off
Pinch sea salt
1 free range egg white
Big pinch coarsly pounded fresh white peppercorn.
50 ml chinese light soy
Pinch sea salt
2 small ( 1 large) spring onion, whites finely chopped , greens finely sliced on angle
3 garlic cloves chopped finely
Few drops sesame oil
12 dumpling wrapper ( gang gow pastry)
Place chunks of mulloway in food processor, salt lightly and pulse until the mix comes together ( do not over blend or it will be rubber). Place in bowl and all other ingredients, work together and recheck seasoning and add salt if needed.
Wrap in dumpling skins and steam 4 mins in a wooden steamer over a pot of simmering water.

Serve with a little black vinegar and soy as a dipper.

1 kg rock salt
12 whole green u/10 or u/8 MSC certified Spencer Gulf King Prawns
5 kaffir lime leaves
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
6 whole big red dried chili
2 cassia sticks
6 star anise
Method
Place / spread out the rock salt in a wok/ on a flat top bbq and heat on full tilt.
Stand back as the salt will pop and crackle as the moisture evaporates , a few pieces might launch themselves !
Once very very hot ( about 10 mins) dig a trench or hole in the salt, place the prawns and spices in cover over with rock salt . The heat of the salt cooks the prawns in about 5 mins.
When juice starts oozing out of the prawn is beyond ready.
Unbury the prawns, shake off excess salt
Dip the prawn completely in the dipping sauce ( below) , remove and eat ( starting at the head)

Nouc mam cham
60ml rice vinegar
60ml coconut water( sometimes called young coconut juice, its the pale "water" you get when you crack a fresh coconut but is available tinned in Asian grocers)
3 tablespoons caster sugar
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 bird's eye chilli, thinly sliced( remove seeds if you don't like it hot)
40 ml lime/ lemon juice
Combine all ingredients and whisk until sugar dissolved.

Soup
½ leek end , chopped
½ small daikon, chopped
3 dried shitake mushrooms
Mushroom stems from enoki (below used in garnish)
1 onion, halved
1 clove garlic
A 3cm piece Kombu Seaweed
1 tablespoon dried anchovy
800-1000ml water
3 tablespoons white miso paste

Miso Marinade for fish
1 large sea rover trap ocean jacket trunk or two small
3 tablespoon white miso paste
50ml sake
75ml mirin
1 teaspoon sugar

Soup 'garnish'
50g Soba noodles
2 tbl Grapeseed oil to fry mushrooms
50g enoki mushrooms
75g oyster mushrooms
Pinch wakami
1 stem spring onion greens cut on bias
1/2 sheet nori julienned ( roll it up and cut with scissors into 2mm wide"noodles")

Method
Miso Soup
Halve garlic and onion, roughly chop leek and daikon. Place in 1.5 ltr pot with dried shiitake mushrooms , mushroom stems and water.Simmer for 30 mins, add the anchovy and kombu, simmer a further 30 mins and strain, reserve the shiitake mushrooms.
Add the miso to the strained stock and whisk until dissolved, keep warm .

Miso Marinade/fish trunks
Heat sake and mirin with sugar. Flame, once flame has cooked out, stir in miso paste off the heat. Smear over fish.
Dip the fish segments into the miso marinade.
Place fish in 180C oven for about 12 minutes to cook through.

Soup 'Garnish'
Put soba noodles in a large pot of boiling water, add a cup of cold water and bring back to the boil, add another cup of cold water and bring to the boil again then simmer for 8 minutes. Strain and run under cold water until starch from noodles removed.

Rip oyster mushrooms apart, take ends off enoki mushrooms.
Remove shiitake mushrooms stems (from stock) and slice caps thinly.
In a hot pan saute briefly in the grapeseed oil, remove.

Heat soup with noodles, mushrooms and pinch of wakame.
Ladle hot soup over and place the noodles in the centre of the plate.
Put roasted ocean jackets on top

Garnish with spring onion curl, and nori julienne.

Makes 6 super big or 12 medium muffins

300g wholemeal Flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp lemon zest
150g sugar
1 tsp ground cinamon
240ml buttermilk
65 ml Australian extra virgin olive oil
1 free range egg
30g toasted australian almonds , skin on ,roasted and roughly chopped
100 g green apple , diced into 1 cm cubes and tossed in juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tbl pearl barley boiled in water and 1 cinnamon stick until soft, drain and discard cinnamon
Combine all ingredients gently in a bowl.
This is best done by gently cutting the ingredients with a pastry card so as not to work gluten in the flour (thus creating a lighter muffin).
Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake 180 for 10-15 mins.
Serve with extra olive oil or butter.

Shabu Shabu (Japanese hopot /steamboat)

Ingredients
Serves 6 to 8
Stock
2 free range chicken carcasses
9-10 cm piece dried kombu (seaweed)
1 thumb ginger
2 spring onions
Garnishes
500 g finely sliced Triple B organic grass fed beef *( see below)
1/4 Chinese cabbage, chopped
2 carrots,peeled and thinly sliced
200g block firm tofu, cut into bite-size pieces
2 large field mushroom sliced in chunks
8 spring onion cut into batons
Whatever other veggies ( and mushrooms) you fancy ( zucchini , squash etc)
Dipping Sauce
6 tablespoons white sesame seeds
3 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon grated garlic
4 cups cooked short grain rice to serve
Method
Stock
Remove excess skin and parsons nose from the chicken carcasses.
Chop chooks into walnut sized pieces.
Bruise ginger and tie spring onions in a knot, add to a 2 liter pot and cover with about 1.5 ltr of water.
Simmer for 1.5 hours,add kombu and simmer a further 30 mins , strain ,season VERY lightly with sea salt so that it still tastes under seasoned and reserve liquid.
This liquid will be used for your soup base.

Garnishes
*The best cuts for this dish in my opinion ...... topside, knuckle , D rump, striploin, brisket, oyster blade, chuck . Contrary to popular belief you do not need a prime cut like fillet so long as you follow the preparation instructions below. Go and have a chat to Madeline or Liam at the Willunga Farmers Market: organic beef from real pasture with absolutely no grain feeding. They will explain which cuts work best.
Denude ( remove all sinew and cap fat) from your chosen cut.
Portion into roughly candy bar ( i.e. 80 mm by 30 mm ) pieces. Roll tightly in plastic film and chuck in the freezer for 30 mins. This will enable you to slice the required 2 mm thick slices with ease. Look at which way the grain runs and ensure you slice across the grain ( i.e. Your knife needs to be cutting 90 degrees to the angle of the grain) . This will ensure that the beef will be tender after only the briefest swirl around in the hot stock.

Lay out on a serving plate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
Shave all veggies carrots, mushrooms very finely and lay on the plate. Slice spring onions into 30 cm batons and add to the plate. Finally add sliced tofu, cut the heart out of the cabbage and slice it into 4 sections.
Dipping sauce
Pound the sesame seeds in mortal and pestle with the garlic to form a smooth paste, mix all other ingredients in and add a smidge of water if you feel it is too strong.
Serving
Fill the chimney of the steam boat cooker with small pieces of preheated charcoal( I usually put them on a rack over an open gas flame). Add the stock.
If you don't have a steam boat, just use a cast iron pot and a table burner.
Place onto the table with bowls, chopsticks, cooked rice (in individual bowls) , the meat, vegetables and the dipping sauce .
Swish the beef / veg around in the stock using chopsticks , until lightly cooked, then dip into the dipping sauce and eat with the rice.
When all the garnishes have been swished & eaten, portion the stock into the bowls and drink.

more information

Serves 6

Sorbet

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
4 limes zested and juiced
2 big mild red chili seeded and brunoised Combine sugar and water in saucepan.
Method
Stir and cook over high heat until sugar is dissolved.
Boil without stirring for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and set aside.
Grate the zest and set aside.
Juice limes and stir into sugar syrup
Add extra water to make 3 1/2 cups total, churn until firm
Add zest and chili ( for a hotter sorbet add the chili to the sugar syrup at the start)

Syrup

125 g Beach Organics traditional ground coconut palm sugar
50 ml dark rum
150 to 200 ml pineapple juice (from 1 pineapple, just chuck peeled fruit in food processor and strain )
Pinch coarse ground dry chili flakes( seeded red chili)
4 star anise
2 pandan leaves tied in a knot ( or a couple of vanilla beans scraped or both!)
Juice of 1 lime and zest of lime
Method
Melt palm sugar in a fry pan with a touch of water. Bring to the boil, reduce slightly to a dark caramel and add some rum, the juice of 1 pineapple, a star anise and chilli powder, and pandan leaves. Reduce to a syrupy consistency. Add lime juice.

Pineapple and banana

1/2 baby pineapple cut into long wedges along poles, core removed
3 ripe lady finger banana cut in half down the length
Bamboo skewers soaked in water overnight
1/3 cup roasted crushed peanuts
5 sprigs of Vietnamese mint
2 kaffir lime leaf chiffonade
2 big red chili julienne
Coarse black pepper
Method
Skewer pineapple and mango with bamboo skewers, brush with a little of the palm sugar syrup
Place on barbecue plate. Turn and cook until slightly burnt.
Place on plate, coat with remaining syrup and sprinkle with mint leaves, pepper, chili julienne,kaffir lime and peanuts. Serve with sorbet.

more information

Serves 8
8 grass fed beef ribs , cap fat on
4 coriander roots
3cm piece galangal, roughly sliced
4cm piece ginger, roughly sliced
4 garlic cloves
3 star anise
2 cassia sticks
4 thai scud chillies (or use birdseyes if you can't get scuds)
1 red chilli
50g Beach Organics hand tapped fair trade small batch palm sugar
30ml fish sauce
1 lime juice and zest
2 lemongrass stalks bruised
2 by 440 ml tins good quality coconut cream
Method
Seperate ribs with a boning knife and place in a sniug fitting ovenproof dish.
Smash the washed coriander roots, galangal, ginger, garlic, star anise, and cassia in a mortar and place the mixture over the ribs. Bruise the chillies and add, then the palm sugar, lime zest and juice, fish sauce and finally pour the coconut cream over the top. Top with broken, bruised lemongrass stalks.
Bake 180C for about 2 to 3 hours hours, basting with juices. You may need to add half a tin more of coconut cream if the sauce cooks away and the meat dries. The ribs should be falling apart and the sugars and coconut cream should be a deep caramel. There should be rendered beef fat floating in the coconut cream on the tray, pour these juices and the sediment on the tray over the beef and serve with steamed jasmine rice

Crispy skin Berkshire free range pig belly
Serves 6 with rice as main

INGREDIENTS
PIG
1/2 free range pig belly , approx. 1 kg ( remove rib bone if still on)
2 to 3 tbl Salt
2 tbl Chinese 5 spice

DIPPING SAUCE
2cm ginger grated
Dry chilli flakes ( ground big dry red chilli)
60ml light soy sauce
60ml dry sherry or chinese cooking wine
20g brown sugar
Touch of water

EQUIPMENT
2 butchers hooks
Docking tool

METHOD
Hang the pork in the fridge for 3-4 days uncovered . This starts to dry out the skin so that you get a good crackling.

Put skin side up in a steamer and steam for 15-20 minutes.( core temp 20 C)
With a docking tool,prick skin side to depth of 1.5 cm to penetrate the skin and the top fat layer , try not to dock the flesh.
Rub salt into the skin at the ratio of 2 tablespoons per kg of pork.
Rub the 5 spice into the flesh of the pork

Preheat oven to 100C. With 500 ml boiling water in a baking tray at the bottom of the oven.
Hang the pork upright in front of the fan in the oven, the skin towards the fan and the pork hanging vertically so that the fat renders down through the piece and not into the skin. If the angle of the hang is such that the rendering fat drips into the skin, the skin will not crisp. Cook for about 40 minutes. In the last 10 minutes of cooking, increase the temp to 240C, this will give the skin a good crust. ( core temp 72 C)
Brush off the excess salt and rest for 30 mins .
Carve into 4 cm wide slices and then again in cubes (bread knife is good for this, always carve skin side up ).

Combine dipping sauce ingredients and serve on side.

500 g pack san remo hollow spaghetti
50 g grated Alexandrina Romano *
100 g Woodside Cheese Wrights Mclaren cut into 4 mm thick slices
60 ml olive oil
30 g b.-d. Farm Paris Creek butter
40 g Laukes plain flour
350 ml good pasture fed (happy roaming cow !) milk
5 South Australian free range eggs, separate yolks from whites
1 cup roughly chopped italian parsley
1/3 a nutmeg grated
Extra 80 g Alexandrina Romano ,grated
80 g b.-d. Farm Paris Creek Gouda, grated
Coarsely ground black pepper
Sea salt
3 liter oven proof bowl
A little extra chopped parsley , sea salt , olive oil and nutmeg for serving
Cook Spaghetti for about 6 mins ( half the usual al dente time) or until it is just bendy
Drain and toss in the grated 50 g of romana cheese and 40 ml of the olive oil
Grease a 3 liter oven proof bowl with the remaining olive oil
Set all this aside for a minute.
Melt butter and add flour in a 1 ltr pot. Cook out a few minutes and gradually add milk whisking to keep smooth. Cook over low heat until thick. Season heavily with sea salt and lots of cracked pepper, add nutmeg and remove from heat, cool down to 60 odd degrees or less.
Add egg yolks one at a time and beat into the sauce, add Gouda and remaining Romano.
Add chopped parsley.
Whisk egg whites to a soft peak. Fold half of the whites into the cheese sauce above, combine well , add remaining half of whites and gently mix through trying to keep the trapped volume of air in the egg whites( do NOT whisk, use a pastry card to chop the mixture through or gently fold with your hand)
Line the greased pasta bowl with 1/5 Th of the par cooked spaghetti, place woodside Mclaren slices around . Fold the remaining pasta into the souffle cheese mix and dump into the middle of the bowl, it will look a bit wet and sloppy but remember the par cooked pasta will absorb excess moisture during cooking.
Cook at 140 c for a bout 50 mins until set , cool for 5 mins. Slide a spatula down sides of bowl to release and turn out onto platter, sprinkle with extra chopped parsley, a little EVOO , sea salt and cracked black pepper and freshly grated nutmeg for oomph!

• 1 pre baked tart shell ( 6 inch)
• 1 leek, sliced
• 20g paris creek butter
• 10ml Coriole olive oil
• 2 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
• 30g parmesan cheese, grated
• 200g Alexandrian Fleurieu Feta cheese cubed
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 200ml Alexandrina cream
• 3 eggs
• Salt and pepper
• Baby Spinach leaves
• Parsley
• 1 buddhas hand lemon , zest 2 tbl spoons
• Balsamic vinegar or vincotto
• Evoo

Method

Melt butter and oil in a frypan. Add the leeks and saute for a few minutes, and add the potatoes, salt pepper bay leaf and fresh thyme. Cook for a few minutes until the potatoes are tender. Set aside
Mix the cream and eggs together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Remove the bayleaf and thyme stalks from the mix and place in the tart shell. Pour over egg mix and bake. Drop pieces of the feta cheese on the top and bake at 180C for 15 - 20 minutes until set.

Toss some baby spinach leaves and parsley leaves with some vincotto or balsamic vinegar, zest and olive oil and serve the tarts warm or cold on top of salad or you can bake them in baby tart shells as a canape

Honeycomb Ingredients

This one needs adult supervision because boiling sugar syrup can be dangerous to little hands! You will need a candy thermometer for this recipe (available from $10 at shops that sell cooking equipment).

• Makes approx 500g
• 325 grams of sugar
• 175 grams of Australian honey
• 60ml water
• 125 grams glucose
• 15 grams Bi-carb soda
• Prepare a 30mm deep tray by lining it with non-stick baking paper and
• lightly coat with cooking spray. Cut the paper long and wide to line the
• sides of the tray.

Honeycomb Method

Put everything except bi-carb in a pot and boil until the temp reaches 136C to 140C. Take pot of heat and immediately sprinkle in bi-carb and mix through.

Pour mix onto prepared tray and leave at room temp to set (it will take around 30 minutes). Break into the size you like (or use a knife dipped into boiling water to cut into bars if you want them perfect but I never bother).

Chocolate Coating Ingredients

• 400 grams fair trade covertures chocolate (The real stuff with min 32% coco butter)

Chocolate Coating Method

You don't have to temper the chocolate to coat the bars, you can just melt it is a microwave or over a double boiler but tempering will give your final product a nice snap when you bite into it and a great gloss. It also prevents the chocolate from blooming (going powdery white over time).

Don't forget to buy fair trade chocolate, some of the chocolate producers treat their workers (some of them kids) pretty nasty!

Grate or chop the chocolate so it will melt easily. Place two thirds in the top pan of a double boiler.
Be sure no liquid gets into the chocolate, this will cause clumping or seizing.

Then heat over hot, not boiling, water until the chocolate reaches 43C to 46C. Itʼs really important not to exceed this tempreture. Chocolate is very sensitive to heat, so a good thermometer is useful here.

Remove the top pan of the double boiler and allow it cool to 35C to 38C. Then add the remaining chocolate and stir until it s melted. If you lose too much heat at this stage and not all the chocolate melts, then return the bowl briefly to the double boiler.

Once all the remaining chocolate is melted, use a spatula to smear over the honeycomb to coat and allow chocolate to set.

Enjoy!