A popular chef at Chef de Cuisine at Silvester’s, Sydney, and Guest Chef at JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru presents these Australian dishes for your next do.
Baby Beets with Plum Sorbet
Serves: 4
Prep time: 2 hours
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Calorie count: 533 calories (per serving)
Ingredients:
Pepper
Salt
10 ml olive oil
16 assorted baby beets, cleaned and washed
For the beetroot coulis:
Pepper
Salt
100 ml olive oil
20 ml raspberry vinegar
1 kg beetroot
For the plum sorbet:
100 g glucose
250 ml sugar syrup
250 g Davidson plums (or raspberries)
For the garnish:
20 g baby beet, sliced
50 g desert limes (or local lemons)
50 g mizuna leaves (or salad leaves)
50 g kiss peppers (or chillies)
Method:
- Cook the baby beets in salted boiling water over a medium-high flame until done. Remove from the flame, and refresh in iced water. Peel and season with pepper, salt and olive oil.
- To prepare the beetroot coulis, cook the beetroots in salted boiling water over a medium-high flame until done. Remove from the flame, drain, peel and blend with the raspberry vinegar and olive oil. Season to taste, and set aside.
- To prepare the plum sorbet, juice the plums. Add the sugar syrup and glucose to the juice, and place in an ice cream machine to churn.
- Spoon the best coulis on a platter, and arrange baby beets over. Garnish with baby beet slices, kiss peppers, mizuna leaves, and desert limes.
- Top with a quenelle of plum sorbet.
Tip: If you don’t have an ice cream machine, freeze the sorbet mixture till done, forking at intervals for texture.
Potato Gnocchi with Pumpkin and Miso
Serves: 4
Prep time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Calorie count: 714 calories (per serving)
Ingredients:
100 g baby spinach
50 g miso paste
50 g butter
1 egg
12 ml + 10 ml olive oil
Pepper
Salt
45 Parmesan cheese powder
180 g refined flour
600 g mashed potato
For the pumpkin puree:
15 olive oil
Pepper
Salt
300 g pumpkin (butternut squash)
For the garnish:
10 g sesame seeds, toasted
50 g Parmesan cheese powder
10 ml olive oil
Method:
Combine the potato mash with the pepper, salt, Parmesan cheese powder, and refined flour.
- Add the olive oil and egg, and knead to a firm dough.
- Roll out the gnocchi, and blanch in salted water for two minutes over a medium-high flame.
- Remove from the flame, and refresh the gnocchi in iced water. Drain, season with 10 ml olive oil, and set aside on a flat tray in the refrigerator.
- To prepare the pumpkin puree, cut the pumpkin in half. Remove the seeds but leave the skin on. Season pumpkin halves with olive oil, pepper and salt. Place on trays, skin side up, and roast in a preheated oven at 160°C for one hour. When the pumpkin is cooked, remove the flesh and mash. Set aside to cool.
- Heat a pan over a medium flame. Add the pumpkin puree, miso paste, and butter and stir to combine.
- Blanch the gnocchi and add to the pan.
- Add the baby spinach.
- Finish with Parmesan cheese powder and olive oil, and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
Tip: This gnocchi can be frozen for later use; boil for two minutes before using.
Mushroom Tart with Coffee
Serves: 4
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Calorie count: 696 calories (per serving)
Ingredients:
For the mushroom paste:
Pepper
Salt
20 g chives, finely chopped
100 g creme fraiche
500 g mixed mushrooms, washed and cleaned
50 g olive oil
For the tart:
50 ml water
1 egg yolk
125 g butter, softened
9 tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
150 g refined flour
For the garnish:
10 g instant coffee powder
5 ml olive oil
Pepper
Salt
1 lemon, juiced
8 button mushrooms, washed destemmed and thinly sliced
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- To prepare the tart, combine the sugar, salt and flour. Add the softened butter and knead for three minutes until you get a breadcrumbs consistency. Add the water and egg yolk, and shape into a bowl.
- Wrap the dough bowl in a cling film, and allow to rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Then roll out the dough to line a tart mould. Prick the dough with a fork, and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and cool.
- To prepare the mushroom paste, heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-high flame. Fry the mushrooms in batches until cooked. Blend the cooked mushrooms to a smooth paste. Set aside to cool. Once cool, combine the mushroom paste with the creme fraiche and chives. Season to taste with pepper and salt.
- Fill the cooled tart with the mushroom paste.
- Season the sliced mushrooms with the melon juice, olive oil, pepper and salt and arrange on top of the tart. Sprinkle with coffee powder over to finish.
Tip: Use fresh mushrooms for enhanced flavour.
