Barramundi Parcels with Blood Orange and Spices

Incase you haven’t noticed, I have a thing for savory foods combined with sweet, fragrant flavours. This wasn’t always the case though. It has only been in the last couple of years that I’ve developed a taste for savory/sweet combination. I assume our palates are constantly changing. The same way that ours lives evolve, reflecting our mood and personality at the time. Who knows, maybe I have become a sweeter person in general and that’s reflective through my diet.
Anyway, that’s enough of the philosophical banter.
I thought it would be a nice idea to make use of the striking blood oranges that are available right now. The season for the fragrant and scarlet orange is rather fleeting, so I like to make to buy some whenever I see them.
I like to eat them the same way I like to eat tangelos- that is peeled and segmented with a very sharp knife to produce thin wedges, without any of the tough membrane that holds the fruit together. I squeeze over any of the juice from the carcass (which will be quite a bit). I then sweeten with homemade vanilla sugar, and leave them to sit for a few minutes, so all the components merge together. Whilst the blood orange (or tangelo) segments are macerating, I sweeten some crème fraiche with more vanilla sugar. I serve the oranges in huge amounts with some of the crème fraiche to dip each citrus segment, before eating. This combination is divine and I think it leaves strawberries and cream for dead.
This recipe is another excellent way of combining fragrantly sweet with salty. Barramundi is quite a popular fish here in Australia, however it can be on the pricey side. It is delicious though, with a sweet and delicate white flesh and I thought it would go well with blood oranges and spices. If you can find fillets from a small fish, by all means use those. I think they are much nicer, than fillets from a massive fish.
They are baked in a foil parcel and served at the table straight from the oven. There is a certain anticipation and thrill about ripping the parcel open at the table.
River Café London was the inspiration for the following recipe.

Components
2 Barramundi fillets or other white fish
1 Blood orange
A pinch of fennel seeds
A pinch of chili powder
Cinnamon
20g melted cultured butter (unsalted)
20ml vermouth
20ml extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
Foil

Process
Preheat the oven to 220c. Squeeze the orange juice. You only need a dash of juice- about 20ml. Remove 2 strips of orange zest and set aside. Crush the fennel seeds and a small piece of cinnamon, until you have a powder. Mix in a small bowl all the ingredients, minus the fish. Pour half of this over the fish fillets and allow it to marinade for a few minutes.
To make the parcels, use a length of foil 5 times the length of the fillet. Fold the foil in half, shiny side out. Place the fillet at one end and pour over half the remaining orange and spice mixture. Top with a strip of orange zest and season with salt and pepper, then fold the foil over the fillet and seal by folding the two ends together, three times, creating a very tight seal. Repeat with the other fish fillet.
Place both parcels on a baking dish. Bake in the preheated oven until both parcels have puffed up to their full capacity.
Serve immediately by placing the unopened parcels on a plate.
This dish goes well with a plate of wilted dark, leafy greens of whatever sort. Serves 2.

The Blind Gourmand.

I know it may seem that I have been lazy lately in the cyber world of food blogging. The truth is I can barely focus on words in a book, let alone those on a computer screen. My vision has become blurry in the past few weeks and as a result I have an appointment later this week to have my eyesight assessed.
By no means has this hindrance dampened my love of preparing delicious foods. Here are a few examples of the fine foods I have cooked in the past week. I am sorry I cannot give you recipes and instructions, but rest assured I will resume writing as soon as my vision is corrected. I hope you find these pictures tantalising. They certainly were divine to eat.

Chargrilled Scallops marinated in Chili and Garlic, with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, and Balsamic Vinegar.

Radicchio, Pancetta and Red Wine Risotto.

Barramundi Roasted with Greek Oregano, Lemon zest and Cherry Tomatoes.

Wild Hare Braised with Red Wine, Thyme, Cinnamon and Juniper served with Filei Calabresi.

Swordfish Steaks marinated with Anchovy, Capers, Lemon zest and Rosemary.

Desiree Potatoes baked with Fennel and White Wine.

Banana with Lime, Passionfruit and Vanilla Syrup.

Roast Snapper with Duxelles and Potato

The inspiration for this dish came from The River Café in London. I have also seen Jamie Oliver do a similar dish, which is not surprising, as he worked at The River Café at some point during his illustrious career. However this recipe truly is my own version. I don’t copy the work of other chefs and I would not dream of reprinting recipes which have already been published elsewhere. I just don’t see ay merit in doing so.
This particular dish I am fond of because it goes straight from the oven to the table. I don’t think it requires anything else to go with it apart from bread, wine and a dinning partner of course!
Duxelles is chefs jargon for onion and mushrooms sautéed in butter, used to flavour dishes. I have used imported porcini mushrooms because Australia does not have native mushrooms that are of outstanding taste. I know porcini are an extravagant ingredient. If your budget doesn’t allow for such an indulgence, substitute with slices of fresh fennel instead.
If you are fussy about fish like I am, choose a whole fish at your fishmonger. Then have them fillet the fish for you. You are then certain of two equal sized fillets, of the freshest choice fish, along with the bonus of the bones and head for making stock.

Ingredients
500g waxy potato, unpeeled and thinly sliced
A ladle fish stock, or water
30g dried porcini, soaked, drained and rinsed of all grit
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped, plus extra
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (peppery), plus extra
100ml white wine
30g cultured butter
2 snapper fillets, about 400g
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper

Method
Preheat the oven to 200c.
Oil a baking pan. The size of the dish is important. It should be able to accommodate the potato slices along the base in one layer. Mine is 30cm by 35cm.
Layout the potato then drizzle some more oil over the potato slices and season with salt and pepper. Ladle in some fish stock-just enough to moisten the base of the pan.
Bake the potatoes for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Turn up the oven to 230c.
Prepare the duxelles- in a wide pan and over a low heat, sauté the porcini, onion, garlic, thyme and parsley with the butter and olive oil for 20 minutes.
When the mixture is quite dry add the white wine and allow to reduce for 2 minutes or so. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon the duxelles over the potato slices.
Place the snapper fillets on top of the potato slices and duxelles. Drizzle over with more extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast for about 15 minutes or until the fish is just cooked.
Sprinkle over parsley and serve straight from the baking dish. Serves 2.

Cannellini with Prawns, Mussels and Fish

I love the idea of combining pulses and beans to go with seafood and fish. I don’t know why, but they make a fabulous combination and the following dish demonstrates how well these elements complement each other.
Admittedly this dish can be a bit fussy and tricky to get right. The fish and seafood need to be cooked precisely, and they all need to "finish" together. And it is important to use real homemade stock in the recipe. Stock cubes, I am afraid, will result in a sauce too salty and lacking in body. Make your own, it is worth the effort.
I have used Flathead and King Dory, but obviously you can use any firm fleshed fish. This dish is a perfect size for 2 people. More than that and I would probably have a nervous breakdown- there is too much concentration and precision involved to get this stew perfect.
Devour this fishy stew with lots of crunchy bread.

Ingredients
125g King Dory fillets
125g Flathead fillets
2 large king prawns
6 live mussels
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Red chilli to taste
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley, plus extra to garnish
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander, plus extra to garnish
100ml white wine
700ml real homemade chicken stock
400g can Italian cannellini beans, drained and rinsed well
Fresh black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Method
Trim the fish fillets into chunks about 6 cm long.
Remove the shells from the king prawns. Reserve the shells. I don’t bother removing the intestinal tract- I detest fiddly jobs and my name is not Cinderella...Let the eaters do it themselves at the table. A bit of DIY wont do any harm.
Remove the beards from the mussels.
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan and gently sauté the prawn shells until they are pink. Add the stock and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and discard the shells.
Over a gentle heat, use the remaining tbsp of olive oil and sauté the garlic, chilli and herbs for a minute or so. Throw in the stock and wine and reduce for about 15 minutes.
Now you can begin to cook the seafood. Add the king prawns to the reduced stock, cover the pan and braise for 2 minutes or until pink. Using a slotted spoon remove to a bowl and keep warm.
Add the mussels and cook the same way, until they have opened. Remove the mussels to the bowl with prawns and keep warm.
Finish with the fish, just as described above. The fish should take 1-2 minutes. Place the fish, once cooked to the bowl containing the other seafoods.
To the remaining juices in the pan, add the cannellini beans, turn the heat to high and cook until the liquid has reduced to a soupy/stew consistency.
Season with black pepper.
Serve the seafood on a large platter with the beans, cooking juices, herbs and a drizzle of olive oil. Serves 2.

Angela's Arroz

This dish is what I call Latino comfort food and I ate this more than anything else when I was growing up. Well okay, my mother didn’t use Spanish calasparra rice or fresh fish. She used Australian long grain rice and tinned tuna, but I guess she had more mouths to feed than I do and it was cheap that way. Actually tinned tuna is delicious stirred through this rice at the last minute, so don’t hesitate to do that if you are down on time and cash. Feel free to substitute beans or chickpeas for the fish too, they work just as well
I love this peasant-style dish. This just goes to show that food doesn’t have to be posh to be fabulous.

Ingredients
1 onion (red or brown), finely chopped
1 celery stalk (optional), finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp dried greek oregano
About 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
A pinch chili flakes
1 tsp Spanish paprika (not smoked)
200g calasparra rice (buy from Spanish delis)
75ml rose wine
30g tomato paste
Fish stock (I used Spanish fish stock cubes and water)
200g fish fillets (any type)
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
Freshly chopped parsley
Thyme sprigs, to garnish

Method
Begin with the sofrito-that is gently cook the onion, celery, garlic and herbs in the olive oil very gently for about 30 minutes, or until beginning to caramelize.
In the meantime, poach the fish in the stock. Remove the fish to a plate and reserve the stock.
When the fish is cool enough to handle, break it into small chunks.
Add the chili and paprika to the onion mixture. Stir well. Bring the heat to medium and throw in the rice. Toss the rice in the pan for a minute or so. Splash in the wine and tomato paste, then allow to evaporate.
Now I begin to add the stock bit by bit, just as you would for risotto. My mother never did this, she added all the liquid at once and cooked it by absorption. I prefer my method only because I have become so accustomed to cooking risotto and because I have a crazy obsession with perfectly cooked rice. Please yourself. When the rice is cooked al dente, stir in the fish and parsley.
Add salt and pepper, if you haven’t already done so. If you have gone the tinned tuna route, adding a garnish of thyme will prevent you feeling like a pauper. Either way, I always add a touch of glamour.
Serves 2.

Barramundi

I love eating this fish with its sweet, delicate flesh. This “poisson” is typical of Northern Australia and was a favorite amongst the indigenous people of Australia The Aborigines like to wrap barramundi in bark and native Australian herbs and spices and bake it in the ground
I much prefer to roast the fish whole at a high temperature, so the skin becomes crispy, and the flesh sweeter. Here is my recipe-

Roast Barramundi with Savory and Lemon


Ingredients
Per person:
1 Barramundi, whole, gutted and scaled (about 300g)
1 tsp of dried summer savory
1tsp finely chopped lemon zest
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
A squeeze of lemon juice
A splash of cream, 35% milk fat (about 50ml)
10g butter
A pinch sugar

Method
Rinse the fish under running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Place on a raoasting pan.
Rub all over with savory, lemon zest, oil and pepper. If you add lemon juice and salt at this stage, it will begin to “cook” the fish. So I add these those just before roasting.
Leave at room temperature for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 230c. Use an oven thermometer (by placing the thermometer exactly where you plan to roast the fish) to ensure a correct oven temperature.
When you are ready to roast, season the fish with salt and lemon juice.
Roast for 10 minutes. Remove to a serving plate.
Place the roasting pan on the stove. Deglaze the pan with a splash of water. Add the cream and lemon juice to taste. Allow to reduce. Taste, add lots of pepper and a pinch of sugar (I add julienned lemon zest too). Remove from heat and whisk in the butter. Serve the barramundi and the lemon cream sauce on the side.

Grilled Seafood Skewers

This one is easy (like me) and takes minutes to cook. So it is good for hot days when you do not wish to be slaving over a stove. Make sure you use a firm fish. Delicate fish will cook too quickly, dry out and fall off the skewer
I like to serve this with a rocket salad and lemon wedges.

Ingredients
200g scallops
200g firm fish fillet (boneless)
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Fresh black pepper

Method
Cut the fish fillets into as many pieces as you have scallops. Make sure they are of an even size, so everything cooks evenly.
Put the scallops and fish into a bowl and combine with all the other ingredients. You won’t need salt, because the anchovy will provide this. Cover, refrigerate and allow to marinate for as long as you like.
When you are ready to cook, make sure your grill is beyond hot.
Thread your scallop and fish cubes onto metal skewers (forget about bamboo skewers, they look ugly, are too small and can burn).
Grill on each side for about 3 minutes or until just cooked.
Makes 4 skewers or enough for 2 people.

Whitebait & Flowers

I have gone on a deep frying mission during this week of Hannukah. And, can you believe, I have actually lost weight! I can offer no scientific explanation for this and I am going to just enjoy this fried food feast while it lasts!
I think the best oil for deep-frying is peanut oil, but I sometimes use dripping as well. Dripping will smoke much easier than peanut oil, so make sure you have your exhaust fan on, or else you are going to smoke the whole house out.
Always heat your chosen fat over a medium heat (rather than a high heat). A medium heat will ensure it heats more evenly and will prevent “cool spots” in the fat. Once the oil is hot then you can turn up the heat to high and fry away. Have everything ready to go. Fried food is meant to be eaten immediately. So make sure everything is organized: hot fat; whatever ingredient you are frying; batter if using; tongs and draining paper; lemon wedges; salt etc. And of course, eager mouths to feed!

A Feast of Deep Fried Whitebait and Zucchini Flowers.

Ingredients
Zucchihi flowers, as many as you can afford (they are pricey)
Sea salt
500g whitebait (tiny, baby fish)
1 egg (free range of course)
1 tbsp of cornflour
1 tbsp of flour
Fresh sage leaves
Lemon wedges, to serve
Plenty of peanut oil for deep frying

Method
Heat the peanut oil in a wide pan, as described above.
In the meantime, place the whitebait in a large bowl.
Add the egg and combine well with your hands.
Sift in the cornflour and combine well again.
Sift in the flour and mix again. The egg and two flours will combine to form a light batter, which should sufficiently coat the fish.
When the oil is hot, turn up the heat slightly. You want the oil to be very, very hot. Ideally everything will cook in seconds.

I would start with the zucchini flowers. Fry them until crisp and golden, drain on absorbent paper, sprinkle with salt and offer them to hungry mouths.
Next fry the little fish. They will be in small clumps, because of the batter.
Cook the fish in batches, until all are done and crisp. Drain on paper.
Finally fry a handful of sage leaves until crispy and scatter all over the golden fish
Serve with lemon wedges and lots of cold beer. 500g whitebait should be enough for 4 people.

Summery Roast Fish

I love the idea of “one pan cooking”. It is practical and does not require much effort and you get a fantastic exchange of flavours throughout the final dish. It is good too, because there is only one dish to wash after (not that I do the washing around here!)
Because it is Summer now, I am using summery flavours, and this combination works really well. But you could use any herbs or vegetables. Use whatever is in season or whatever looks good. The best fish for roasting are the oily ones. You could use cutlets, fillets or whole fish. The thicker the fish, the longer the cooking time-adjust accordingly.
For a vegetarian version, just leave out the fish altogether, it will still taste delicious.

Ingredients
400g fish fillets
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp finely chopped lemon zest
Fresh black pepper
Sea salt
200g kipfler potatoes, or other small waxy potato
200g ripe cherry tomatoes
200g small onions
200g olives, black and green
1 whole head of garlic, unpeeled but separated into cloves
Zest of 1 lemon, finely julienned
Fresh thyme, left on the branch
Fresh black pepper
Sea salt
Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
50ml white wine

Method
Marinate the fish with the first 6 ingredients. Leave for as long as you like, covered in the fridge. Bring to room temperature, before roasting.
Place all the remaining ingredients, except the wine, in a roasting pan. It should all fit snugly, so choose an appropriate size pan. Give it a light mix, so everything is slicked with a bit of oil and bake at 180c for 1 hour. From time to time check the pan is not burning. Add a touch of water if it seems to be drying out.
Remove the pan from the oven, and leave for a while. Turn the oven to 230c and allow it to heat for a few minutes.
Lay the fish fillets over the roasted veggies and splash over the white wine.
Roast for another 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked through.
Serve straight from the pan with lots of crunchy bread. This will serve 2 people, but this recipe will double or triple very easily. Cooking times will be the same (give or take).

Time for a Quickie?

This is a dish for those days when you just do not have the time to spend in the kitchen. Very quick and very tasty (and inexpensive too).

Blue Grenadier with Olives and Thyme

Ingredients.
1 whole side fillet of Blue Grenadier
Fresh thyme
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
About 50ml white wine
Extra virgin olive oil
200g black and green marinated olives
Lemon wedges, to serve

Method
Preheat your oven to 220c.
Lay out the fillet on a baking dish skin side up. Strew over thyme branches. Season with salt and pepper. Leave it to come to room temperature-about 15minutes.
Splash over the white wine and drizzle generously with olive oil. A chef friend once told me that roast fish needs a lot of oil or butter to keep moist and I heed to his advice.
Scatter the olives around the fish and roast for about 10 minutes. Blue Grenadier is a delicate fleshed fish, so careful to not overcook. It is better to have underdone fish, than overdone fish. It is ready as soon a you can just flake the flesh with a spoon.
Serve with lemon wedges and a dish of braised silverbeet with tomatoes (if you like). Serves 2-3 people.

Black Olive Sauce

This is a versatile sauce. Use it to accompany grilled fish. Or have it with bread. Or toss it through pasta with flaked salmon as I did for my lunch today. I haven’t tried it but I would imagine it would marry well with chicken, lamb and rabbit. This sauce was part of lasts nights dinner- grilled salmon with roast asparagus and roast artichokes.

Ingredients
20g slivered almonds, lightly roasted
1 garlic clove
200g Kalamata olives
1 dried red chilli
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried greek oregano
1 tsp fresh chopped thyme
Fresh black pepper
Freshly squeezed lemon juice (about ½ a lemon)
Extra virgin olive oil

Method
Finely chop the slivered almonds with a sharp knife. Place them into a mixing bowl.
Pitt the olives. This is done easily enough with one of those gadgets. If you don’t own one, then go and buy one. It will make life a lot easier in the kitchen.
Now you can chop your olives. Do this by hand just as you have done the almonds. Don’t chop them too fine. This sauce is good with a bit of texture.
Add the chopped olives to the mixing bowl.
Lightly crush the garlic clove keeping it whole and peel it. Add to the bowl also with the chilli, cumin, herbs and pepper.
Add to it as much olive oil as you desire- I added about ¼ of a cup. Keep it at room temperature until you are ready to eat.
Discard the garlic clove.
Add as much lemon juice as you like and serve.
Leftovers can be refridgerated for another meal.(and see above for suggestions)