I've just returned from Australia and now I am full of ideas about modern Australian cuisine. This refers to the great products grown there, the wine and the Asian flavours that slip into so many recipes. It's spring in Australia right now and the country is brimming over with fabulous asparagus, rhubarb and young lamb. Australia is very focused on using local regional foods and the country is putting much effort into respecting the Earth as it deals with a four-year drought.
COCONUT CHICKEN
AND SHRIMP SALAD
We had this salad at Adelaide's Red Ochre restaurant as part of a beer dinner given by the James Squires Beer Company,
a large micro-brewery that is popular all over the country. The dish was matched with a wheat beer. The chef used crab instead of shrimp. If you want to make the substitution, buy good-quality fresh crabmeat, as opposed to the frozen variety.
What you need
1 400-millilitre can of coconut milk
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
¼teaspoon Asian chili sauce
1 lime leaf
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
3 ounces raw cleaned shrimp, chopped
½ long fresh red chili, slivered
1 shallot, thinly sliced
½ cup slivered snow pea pods
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper
4 Boston lettuce leaves or
other soft lettuce
¼ cup coriander leaves
1 teaspoon very finely chopped lemon grass
What you do
Combine coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice, lemon juice, sugar, chili sauce and lime leaf in a pot. Bring to a boil, and
reduce heat to a low simmer. Add chicken and poach for
7 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool.
Add shrimp to pot and poach for 2 minutes or until just cooked through. Remove shrimp and set aside.
Remove pot from heat. Add fresh chili, shallots and snow peas to broth and cool.
Pull chicken into shreds. Combine with cooked shrimp. Remove vegetables from broth (discarding lime leaf) with a slotted spoon and add to chicken. Add 3 tablespoons of broth to chicken and shrimp mixture to moisten, sprinkle with lemon juice and toss. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Place lettuce leaves on 4 small plates. Spoon salad onto leaves, sprinkle with coriander and lemon grass. Serves 4.
RACK OF LAMB
WITH PASSION FRUIT SALSA
Serve with slivered snow peas sautéed with a little slivered red pepper. Use ½ cup mango if passion fruit is unavailable.
What you need
2 racks of lamb, 8 chops each
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons honey mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Vinaigrette:
1 passion fruit, cut in half, seeds scooped out
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon chopped lime rind
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped mint
What you do
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Combine olive oil, honey mustard, mint and salt and pepper. Spread over lamb racks.
Place meat on a rack in a roasting pan and place in oven. Roast for 25 to 40 minutes
(depending on thickness)
or until lamb is pink.
Combine passion fruit pulp, honey, lime rind and juice and mint.
Remove lamb from oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Carve down between chops and serve 3 to 4 chops per person. Drizzle with a little salsa. Serves 4.
STAR ANISE POACHED PEARS
IN SPARKLING CIDER
This recipe is a happy mistake. I could not find apple cider and bought a sparkling cider instead. To my surprise, I found that it makes a brilliant syrup with no extra sugar.
What you need
3 cups sparkling apple cider
3 star anise
½ cinnamon stick
4 Bartlett pears, peeled, halved and cored
2 tablespoons red currant jelly
What you do
Combine cider, star anise and cinnamon stick in a pot over medium heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer and add pears. Cover and poach gently for 10 minutes or until pears are soft. Remove pears from poaching liquid.
Reduce poaching liquid over medium for 15 minute or until slightly thickened. Pour over pears and cool. Serves 4.
FRAGRANT COOKIES
Add another half-teaspoon lemon peel if you serve these cookies without the pears.
What you need
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup icing sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon 5-spice powder or ground cinnamon
¾ cup butter
What you do
Preheat oven to 300 F.
Mix together flour, icing sugar, cornstarch, lemon rind, salt and 5-spice powder in a large bowl.
Add butter and incorporate with your fingers or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Knead mixture into a ball. Pinch off small pieces and shape into 1-inch balls.
Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten balls slightly.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Makes about 20 cookies.
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