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House smoked rainbow trout »

March 1, 2013

House smoked local rainbow trout over grapevine leaves with almond puree, black olive tapenade, puffed grains and watercress.

Kurt added this dish to the menu late last year and it proves to be one of the most popular. The natural earthy flavour of the fish lends itself beautifully to being smoked, add the saltiness of the tapenade and the creamy like texture of the almond puree and you are left wanting more.



Yield 6

Ingredients:

6 rainbow trout fillets, pin boned and skinned
300 g pitted black olives
300 g whole blanched almonds
60 g salt
2 anchovy fillets
½ zest lemon and juice
½ cup Chopped hard herbs (thyme, sage, oregano)
1 tbsp rinsed capers
½ clove garlic (germ removed)
Grapevine clippings or Smoking chips
½ clove garlic (germ removed)
100 mL extra virgin olive oil
½ zest lemon
Salt and ground white pepper
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
12 small Edible picked flowers
3 cups picked and washed watercress
9 tbsp puffed grains*
2 tbsp olive oil
Pinch salt


For the trout:

• Set a steamer to 50˚C
  
• Mix the chopped herbs and salt together. This will be used to cure the trout fillets. Take your cleaned fillets and dust with the herb salt in a non reactive dish. Allow to cure for 20 minutes then rinse off in cold water.
  
• Next lay a trout fillet skinned side down on a chopping board, taking a knife split the trout down the middle length ways. Take one half of the fillet and lay it skinned side up on the other half portion 'head to tail', then wrap with cling wrap and tie in a cylinder shape. Repeat process with remaining trout fillets.
  
• Steam the trout cylinders for 20 minutes at 50˚C. Remove from steamer and refrigerate.
  
• To smoke the trout set a fan forced oven to 50˚C. Double line a steel oven tray with aluminium foil and lay your dried vine clippings or smoking chips in it. Using a bruleé torch ignited the smoking fuel until it starts to smoulder, then place in the oven. Unwrap the trout fillets and lay them out on a tray. Place the tray in the chamber of the oven and smoke the trout fillets for 20 minutes. Once done plate the fillets and serve immediately or wrap and store in the fridge for later use.
  

For the tapenade:

• Rinse your pitted olives in fresh water and double check that they all have been pitted.
  
• Place all the ingredients for the tapenade in an upright blender and puree until smooth.
  
• Pass through a fine mesh sieve, adjust seasoning and set aside for later use.
  

For the almond puree:

• Place the almonds in a medium sized pot and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Strain the almonds reserving the hot water.
  
• Place the almonds with the garlic and lemon zest in an upright blender. Blend on high adding a little hot water at a time to loosen the almonds. Add enough water until the almonds are blending without catching. Add the olive oil and adjust the seasoning to taste.
  
• Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and place in a container for later use.
  

Assembly

• Using a pastry brush or spoon smear a line of tapenade on the bottom of a plate and repeat with the remaining serving platters. Lay the warm trout cylinder across the olive tapenade. Using the almond puree take a table spoon and ladle it over each trout cylinder.
  
• Dress the watercress or salad leaves with olive oil and salt, place next to the trout with 1 ½ tbsp of puffed grains*.
  

Serve with a glass of our wonderful Chardonnay Viognier

*puffed grains can be bought from any health food store or in the health food aisle of your supermarket. They ad some interesting crunch and a nutty flavour to compliment this dish.

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Are your oysters really natural?? »

January 31, 2013

Oyster connoisseurs will not want to miss February at our cellar door! Our amazing Oyster man will be delivering stunning South Coast Wapengo Lake oysters (described as the BEST oysters EVER!) direct to our cellar door where they will be freshly shucked and matched to chilled glasses of our beautiful wine.

Kingfisher Oysters are one of only 13 oyster farmers on beautiful Wapengo Lake. They are cleared by the NSW Food Safety Authority to direct harvest Sydney Rock Oysters, without the need for depuration - that is purification of the product in water cleansed by ultraviolet filters for a period of 36 hours. This process strips some of the flavour from the oyster and further stresses the product before it reaches the customer.

The oysters we are serving are approximately three years old and have spent some of their life in floating baskets, then finished in static baskets, fixed to a post and rail structure to harden the shell and adductor muscle. This process gives them a longer shelf life than if they had spent their entire life in floating baskets.

Kingfisher Oysters is a small operation covering 5.6 hectares, spread over 9 leases in different sections of the lake.

Oyster Menu - February Summerside Festival

* Oysters in the nude (a la natural) - $18 dozen/$10 half doz

Try with Sauvignon Blanc

* Blue Nudes topped with just melted St Agur blue & garden chives $20 dozen/$11 half doz

Try with Riesling

* Oysters with soy, mirin and Doodles Creek Wasabi Mayonnaise $20 dozen/$11 half doz

Try with Rose

* Oysters Kilpatrick with Bungendore bacon and La Barre Worcestershire sauce $22 dozen/$12 half doz

Try with sparkling Shiraz

* Oysters "carpet bag" with Bungendore beef and herb Sausages $22 dozen/$12 half doz

Try with a glass of merlot

* Oysters topped with Eden smoked salmon & creme fraiche $24 dozen/$13 half doz

Try with Chardonnay

Oyster Epicurean Tasting - $40

A dozen oysters different ways matched to tastes of wine

2 x Nudes with sauvignon blanc
2 x Blue nudes with riesling
2 x Soy, Mirin & Wasabi Mayonnaise with rose
2 x Eden smoked salmon & creme fraiche with chardonnay
2 x Kilpatrick with sparkling shiraz
2 x Sausage "carpet bag" with merlot

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Frozen Christmas fruit custard with toasted meringue and maple roasted cherries »

December 17, 2012

We are celebrating the Christmas spirit at Grazing with our Christmas Bombe Alaska.

Chef Kurt has macerated a mixture of dried fruit and citrus for six months in port, red wine, Muscat, vanilla and spices. Traditionally the macerated fruits would be used in the baking or steaming of Christmas puddings and mince tarts, however we have folded it through a delicate clove semifreddo (Italian style frozen custard), piped meringue on top and served it with maple roasted cherries. This is a beautiful festive dessert.

Serve with a glass of our amazing sparkling shiraz

This recipe makes 12 coffee cup sized desserts

For the clove semifreddo

• 225 grams caster sugar
  
• 120 mL water
  
• 15 egg yolks
  
• ¾ tsp ground clove
  
• 450 ml whipping cream
  
• 250 grams macerated dried fruits
  

This portion of the recipe can be done a day in advance.

Line 12 coffee cups with double wrapped cling film, leaving some over hanging to aid in removing the custard once frozen.

In a pot place the sugar and water over high heat with a sugar thermometer. Place the egg yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer attached with the whisking attachment. Begin to aerate the egg yolks on the lowest setting. Once the sugar syrup has reached 121˚C on a sugar thermometer remove from the heat, slowly increase the speed of the mixer to medium pouring the hot syrup over the egg yolks in a steady stream. Once all the syrup has been poured into the bowl turn the mixer up to high and whisk until the egg yolks are cool and tripled in volume. While the yolks are mixing add the ground clove. Whisk the cream to medium stiff peaks (when the cream just holds a peak on itself) in a clean chilled bowl.

Remove the aerated egg yolks from the mixing bowl and pour into a larger bowl. Fold through the weighed out macerated fruit, than carefully fold in one third of the whipped cream. Once combined add the remaining whipped cream till just combined. Now ladle into the prepared cups and allow to freeze for 6-10 hours.

For the Italian meringue

*40 mL water
*240 grams caster sugar
*3 egg whites


Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer attached with the whisking attachment. It is vital at this stage that the bowl of the mixer is clean, wiped clean of any fat or detergent residue otherwise the egg whites will not whisk properly. In a pot place the sugar and water over high heat with a sugar thermometer. Set the electric mixer to its lowest setting and whisk the egg whites until they are slightly aerated. Once the sugar syrup has reached 121˚C on a sugar thermometer remove from the heat. Slowly increase the speed of the mixer to medium, pouring the hot syrup over the egg whites in a steady stream. Once all the syrup has been poured into the bowl, turn the mixer up to high and whisk until the egg whites are cool and have tripled in volume.

Turn the frozen custard out onto pieces of parchment paper cut into squares which will help in handling the semifreddo. Fit a medium sized piping nozzle to a piping bag and fill with the meringue. Working with speed, quickly pipe the meringue around the frozen custard in a fashion of 'tear drops' that creates a spiky effect. Then refreeze until use.

For the cherries

• 500 grams fresh pitted cherries
  
• 1 cup caster sugar
  
• ½ cup maple syrup
  
• ½ cup red wine vinegar
  

Pre heat a fan forced oven to 190˚C

Place the cherries in a heat proof dish.

Place the sugar in a pan over high heat. Using a wooden spoon carefully stir the sugar until the sugar has turned a deep auburn colour. Once achieved remove from the heat and add the maple syrup, then add the red wine vinegar. Stir and once it has all been incorporated pour over the cherries and roast in the oven for 15 minutes. When the time has elapsed remove from the oven and pour into a container reserving the roasting liquor until use.

Assembly

Remove the meringue covered Christmas custards from the freezer and using a blow torch toast the meringue all over. Remove the paper base and place in a serving bowl. Scatter the base with the roasted cherries and cherry/maple syrup left from the roasting pan, garnish with fresh lemon balm and indulge...

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