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Passionfruit

Posted on March 31, 2016

Wow what an amazing fruit. One of natures treasures. Fruits from mid Summer, about late January in Tauranga, through till early April. The most simple vine to grow.

  • plant, seed or seedlings
  • run up a trellis, fence or tree for support
  •  forget
  • then harvest off the ground

passionfruit vine

The harvest is the most delicious, semi sweet seed that has a very pleasant textural crunch to it. Scoop out the seed pulp

  • pour over Muesli or breakfast cereal
  • have with good vanilla ice cream
  • add to cheesecake  mixture
  • set into a  good parfait recipe
  • fold into yogurt and serve with shortbread biscuits
  • mix into lemon curd and have with meringues

passionfruit opened

Or add to this recipe to create healthy, nutritious raw treat

Raw coconut  and passionfruit treat

  • 70gm shredded coconut
  • 20gm honey
  • 30ml olive oil or cocnut oil
  • 80gm passion fruit pulp
  • 50gm almond powder
  • ½ tsp vanilla paste
  • Pinch of sea salt

Combine all together. Press into moulds. Chill to set, turn out and serve.

 

A good knife

Posted on February 25, 2016

 

It is probably a chef thing to go on an on about the importance of a good quality sharp knife. The truth, i think even some chefs don’t have  good sharp knives, and more importantly, realize how important it is to have one. A good knife starts with quality hard steel, that has been forged in one piece, creating a full tang knife. The handle is then attached to it. The steel is very hard, which makes it difficult to sharpen when the knife  gets really blunt, but the hardness means the honed knife edge stays sharp for a longer period. Maintaining a sharp knife will prevent this
The smarts of a sharp knife are many

  • A blunt knife bruises the food before it cuts the food
  • Less pressure is needed to cut with a sharp knife
  • A sharp knife makes cutting, slicing boning etc way more accurate
  • A sharp knife makes tasks quicker and easier
  • More pleasure and satisfaction from the cook using a sharp knife

A suggestion would be to start with one, good quality cooks knife. Learn the skill of use and maintenance, and grow a small collection of task specific knives from there

knives on rack

  • Don’t share them
  • Always cut on a wooden or nylon cutting board
  • look after them
  • Store and and look after them propley
  • maintain the edge all the time

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Get in touch with James from Cuisine Concepts for everything knives.. including

  • Advice
  • purchasing
  • sharpening
  • knife  skill lessons

 

Hass Avocado

Posted on June 8, 2014

WOW…..What a super food. Avocado in winter are scarce, but if you can get your hands on some of last seasons crop they are amazing. Packed full of flavor and goodness. Hass is the main commercial variety.

I am very lucky to have a small orchard with a good supply of organically grown avocado.

Hass Avocado

To check Avocado and ripe and ready to eat, gently push the stalk, and when it easily pushes into the flesh of the avocado, the fruit is rip and ready to eat. Eat now or store in the fridge. Do not squeeze the bottom of the fruit, as this will cause an unnecessary bruise and create a  brown mark on the flesh of the fruit.

Top eating tips

  • add good soy to the cavity and spoon out
  • spread thickly over good wholegrain toast and season well with salt , pepper and lemon juice
  • mix avocado with good french mayonnaise, good amount of seasoning and use as a dip
  • mash together with feta, mix in some yoghurt and lemon juice and season
  • works well with brown rice, soy, sprouts in a rice salad
  • goes well with seafood
  • partner with bacon in a sandwich

Marinated fish with avocado

  • 2 ripe avocado diced
  • chopped chives
  • 10 diced cherry tomatoes
  • coriander leaves
  • good splash of good olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 400gm firm white fish, sliced into gourjons
  • 50mls lemon juice
  • 50mls lime juice

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Marinate the fish in lemon and lime juice for an hour or more. The longer the marination, the more ‘cooked’ the fish will be. Drain off excess juice, then combine with all other ingredients. Taste season and taste again.

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Mold onto plate, garnish with cherry tomatoes, coriander and olive oil.

Jerusalem Artichokes

Posted on May 20, 2014

A wonderful addition to the Late Autumn harvest. Jerusalem Artichokes.

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Native to eastern north America. From the sunflower family also called sunchoke and sunroot.

Jerusalem Artichokes

  • Prepare and cook as for potatoes
  • wash and scrub or wash and peel
  • slice thin and make into a gratin
  • slice into small wedges and roast with sea salt for earthy chips
  • make into cream soup and finish with truffle oil
  • rough chop, pan roast till coloured the add to a frittata
  • and many many more ways

Jerusalem artichoke soup with truffle oil

  • 1kg scrubbed Jerusalem artichokes
  • 100gm dice onion
  • 100gm dice carrots
  • 2 cloves Garlic crushed
  • Cooking oil
  • 1.5 litre chicken stock
  • Small bunch fresh thyme
  • Parsley stalks
  • 200ml cream
  • Salt and pepper
  • Few drops of lemon juice
  • Truffle oil to finish

Sweat off onions, carrots and garlic in a little oil. Add chicken stock, artichokes, thyme and parsley stalks. Bring to the boil and simmer till artichokes are soft. Remove thyme and parsley stalks and purée till smooth. Return to sauce pan and bring to the boil. Add cream and lemon juice. Taste and season. Serve and garnish with a few drops of truffle oil.