Lemon & Lime Pudding

This is another dish which, I think, is lovely during the springtime. The texture is delicate and light, the flavours are pure and intense, making it absolutely beautiful to eat.
It is actually a soufflé but don’t let that put you off from making it. Its not supposed to be a big, puffy number. The recipe contains baking powder, and is baked in a wide dish, rather than the traditional ramekin, making it pretty much foolproof. Made this way the texture remains like chiffon- airy and fragile.
The amount of sugar you use will depend on how acidic your lemons and limes are. I use homemade vanilla sugar, because I have a huge jar of it. It’s fine to use caster sugar too, if that’s what you’ve have available.

Components
10g flour
10g cultured, unsalted butter
125ml milk
50- 100g real vanilla sugar
2 free range eggs, separated
5g baking powder
Enough lemons and limes to make 125ml juice
½ tsp each finely chopped lemon and lime zest

Process
Preheat the oven to 180c. Butter a baking dish. Mine is 26cm by 18cm.
Make a roux with the butter and flour, but do not allow it to brown.
Add the milk and 50g sugar. Cook, stirring all the time it until it has thickened.
Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool a little.
Beat in the egg yolks and baking powder, followed by the citrus juices and zests. Taste the mixture, and add more sugar if you think it needs it (the lemons and limes I used were quiet acidic, I needed close to 100g sugar all up).
Beat the whites until they are white and fluffy.
Fold the egg whites into the lemon/lime mixture.
Pour into the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes, or until just set and lightly golden on top.
Dust with icing sugar and serve with unsweetened cream.
Makes 2 generous serves.

Chargrilled Pork with Herbs and Lemon

Have you ever cooked pork steaks on the grill and ended up with pieces of pork that tasted of cardboard? I most definitely have and I was determined to find a solution to this frustrating problem. I presented the dilemma to my butcher, and she had a solution. I had been cooking with the wrong cut of pork. Her recommendation was to use pork neck. She promised me it was the juiciest and tastiest cut. And she was absolutely right. Pork neck certainly surpasses all other cuts of pork for succulence and flavour and is perfect for grilling. I like to marinate my pork with fresh rosemary and lemon zest and serve it with a very simple sauce made with fresh herbs from my garden and a peppery extra virgin olive oil. Clean, fresh and simple flavours.

Ingredients
500g pork neck, cut into 4 steaks
1-2 sprigs rosemary
The zest of 1 lemon, julienned
Fresh black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil (peppery)
Sea salt
Lemon wedges, to serve

For the herb sauce
Spring onion (or scallion), very finely chopped
Fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Fresh sage, finely chopped
Fresh thyme, finely chopped
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper

Method
Lightly bash the pork steaks with a rolling pin.
Rub them with the lemon zest, rosemary needles, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Do not add salt at this stage.
Allow them to marinate overnight, covered in the fridge.
Preheat a grill pan to very hot.
Remove the lemon zest and rosemary needles from the pork steaks.
Season with salt and grill them until cooked to your liking. I like my pork pink in the center- well done pork is vile.
Allow the steaks to rest, while you prepare the sauce.
Combine all the herbs for the sauce, with the spring onion, salt, pepper and olive oil to taste.
Drizzle over the pork steaks, and serve with lemon wedges.
These steaks are fabulous with a salad of radicchio and borlotti beans tossed with a mustard and red wine vinegar vinaigrette. Serves 2.

Spiced Prawns with Coriander and Lemon

I have done this particular dish a few times now. I like it to eat this for dinner, after the gym. I am always ravenous after my workout and I like this because it takes minutes to cook (literally), when I get home. I prepare everything in advance, so all that is left to do is fry the prawns. That means, cleaning the prawns and seasoning the flour prior to leaving for the gym. For top efficiency, I even cook the rice beforehand, and have it waiting in the rice cooker.
I know deep fried prawns may seem a bit weird with an oil based dressing (and after the gym, but that’s another story). However, the brief cooking time means the prawns don’t really absorb that much oil, and the acidity from the lemon will cut through any remaining oil. And I don’t bother to serve any vegetables. I honestly cannot be bothered after all that weight lifting!

Ingredients
25g flour
25g cornflour
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
Fresh black pepper
Fresh white pepper
A pinch of sea salt
1 kilo of large prawns, shells removed (my favorite is the Banana prawn)
30ml mild extra virgin olive oil
10ml fish sauce
Juice from half a lemon, or to taste
1 tsp very finely ground lemon zest
A big handful coriander, finely chopped
Oil for deep frying (peanut is the best)
White rice, to accompany
Lemon wedges, to garnish

Method
Combine the flour, cornflour, cumin, chilli powder, salt and two peppers. I use a whisk to remove any small lumps of cornflour.
Mix together the olive oil, fish sauce and lemon zest. I add the lemon juice and the coriander at the last minute to the dressing. I find the flavour of these ingredients changes rapidly upon standing, but do as you wish.
Toss the prawns in the seasoned flour, to coat.
Heat enough oil in a wok, to deep fry the prawns. When the oil is hot, fry the prawns until cooked in batches. They should only take 1 minute. I probably don’t need to tell you this, but you know when they are ready, because they turn pink.
Drain the prawns on kitchen paper, to remove excess oil.
Drizzle over with the prepared lemon dressing and serve immediately, with extra lemon wedges.
Under normal circumstances this amount of prawns would probably serve four people. However after lifting weights at the gym, it will only serve two.

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.

Roast Squab Pigeons with Spinach, Olive and Lemon Sauce

There are moments when I experience severe technical difficulties. Some times they occur in the kitchen (overcooked meat, burnt vegetables etc). But other times (like now) the problem seems to be mainly in my brain. And to make matters worse, I am the one to blame. I do not need to explain the universal law (or effects) of excessive partying, so for the next few weeks of this festive season, do not expect much from me in terms of eloquence. I mean, the food will still be good- when I finally stumble into the kitchen…

Ingredients per person

1 squab pigeon, spatchcocked (keep the heads and backbones for stock)
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp of brandy
A generous pinch of ground cardamom
Fresh black pepper
Sea salt

Method

Combine the oil, garlic, brandy, cardamom and seasonings.
Pour the marinade over the pigeons and massage into the skin.
Cover, refrigerate and marinade for at least 24 hours
Bring back to room temperature, before roasting.
Preheat the oven to 230c. Roast the birds skin side up for 8 minutes. Turn them over and roast for another 8 minutes. They are perfect when cooked to the medium stage.
Cover the birds and allow to rest, for 10 minutes.
Serve each bird on individual plates, drizzled over with any juices from the roasting dish.

Spinach, Green olive and Lemon Sauce

Ingredients

70g baby spinach leaves
10 large green olives, pitted and very finely chopped
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped
1 tsp finely chopped lemon zest
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
Juice from half a lemon, or to taste
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper

Wilt the spinach leaves in a saucepan. Add a few drops of water to prevent scorching.
Drain the spinach over a sieve until the liquid has drained away and the spinach is cool. Finely chop the spinach by hand.
Mix in a bowl with the olives, garlic, lemon zest, rosemary, salt and pepper.
Add enough olive oil to create a fluid consistency. Allow to sit at this stage, until ready to serve.
At the last moment, stir in the lemon juice to taste and check for salt and pepper.
Serve immediately with the roast pigeons. This will make enough sauce for 4 pigeons

Braised Octopus with Lemon and Mint

This is a lovely little dish for the warmer weather. Already prepared baby octopus are cheap and cheerful. All that needs doing is cutting away the head from the body and slicing off the beak. This only takes minutes so don’t be put offa preparing this. The fishmonger has done the dirty work for you. Note that in this recipe I only use the woody stalks of the rosemary and not the leaves. This imparts a soft rosemary flavour and doesn’t compete with the mint.

Ingredients
500g Baby octopus, prepared as above
Extra virgin olive oil
6 baby onions, peeled & left whole
1 dried chilli , crumbled
2 garlic cloves, whole but crushed
1 tsp dried oregano
2 rosemary stalks, leaves removed and discarded
Fresh mint
Fresh parsley
Lemon
Fresh pepper

Method
Place the octopus, onions, chilli, garlic, oregano, rosemary stalks and a splash of olive oil into a pan.
Turn the heat to low and cover the pan. Cook this slowly for about 1 hour. The octopus will cook in its own juices and will be tender and very tasty.
Fish out and discard the rosemary stalks.
At this point I take of the lid ,season lightly, and allow it to cool.
When ready to serve I add lots of fresh herbs, a squeeze of lemon and a splash more of oil.
I serve this at room temperature as a sort of cold stew/salad thing. Accompany with steamed saffron rice and steamed asparagus.
Variation- I haven’t tried it but I imagine some currants and roasted pinenuts at the end would make a nice addition.
Serves 2