[ Back ] [ Home ] [ Next ] February 2004
I'm always a bit suspicious of red snapper back home, it's a bit of a 'fashion fish' in the same way as monkfish, but as with most fish here it's pretty bloody cheap hence the concern about disappointment is less. Here we decided to roast it with shallots and olive oil and this time the mango chutney was tempered by diluting it in yoghurt and coriander leaf, which worked a treat, a really delicious condiment and a means of transport for the chutney that may actually enable us to finish the pot. The snapper is a beautiful fleshy and flavourful fish, not to be avoided in future, but with 3000 fish around Australia to get through this could be tricky.
Another fish excursion this time with the old favourite of a soy, ginger, garlic reduction which I often use on mackerel and seemed appropriate to use on it's oily cousin the Bonito which seems underrated since it has a finer texture than mackerel and a superlative flavour. I think I grilled the fillets rare which allowed full appreciation of this meaty fish.
La Zona, marzemino (grape)- a departure from the usual , and a lovely meaty mouthful Shona prepared a delicious stew of shoulder of kid with tomato, onion and red pepper served with polenta- ummm. This was yet again prepared in the roasting tray ,which when covered with foil was a pretty effective casserole, not exactly Le Creuset, which goes to show the tools are not everything. 

Zilzie, sangiovese- sticking with the Italian theme, and not at all bad.

 I'm not entirely sure whether I balsamically deglazed or not, I hope not, as it really sounds passé, but it does cut through the richness of something like chicken livers, whose fat content must be inversely proportional to their level of exercise, akin to foie gras poultry, only they will have been fed shit not maize. This was served with smoked paprika roast potatoes and onions.
Orlando Fizz- pretty good for a 'budget' fizz The above picture is of blue swimmer crab, they really are wonderfully blue, with a bit of purple! Due to a lack of experience of the colour change upon cooking, poor Shona had to deal with these fellas by submersing them in a roasting tin as we were still without any kitchen gear. The resultant liquor had an odd aroma I think due to reaction with non-stainless steel. I don't know the chemical basis of this, the ammonia in fish must be involved. Anyway, they had quite a soft flesh but beautifully sweet and a great match for mango chutney mayonnaise, salad and potatoes.
At last we found a flat in the city, and a lovely one at that, totally furnished and equipped to the point of making us feel we had sent over far too much junk on the boat, due next month. Anyway, gas bbq in the courtyard- let the games commence.
A stroll up the road revealed a reasonable butcher in the more easily managed wee mall, whose T-bones looked inviting, a good covering of fat. Once our electricity was on we managed to bake some potatoes. The eastern European flavour delis supplied the best pre-grated horseradish encountered since the geriatric Polish street sellers of 'chran', which to me is a great steak condiment which I sometimes bolster with a bit of English mustard powder. Spinach on the side here.
As with most gas bbq's, our one has a hot plate which seems a particular fave of the Aussies and they have a particularly fine selection of scrapers to constantly remove the Maillard reacting juices. I had a great shot of the ingredients for this dish, but I lost the buggering camera at the fish market. Well, it may have been stolen, our guard having been lowered by a lunchtime beer, very soporific. Anyway, this study included a barramundi, prawns, fresh shitake, yellow chives and a red pepper whom I slowly grilled on top of the bbq plate. I do wonder how some things get to be revered the way they are, Baramundi being a case in point. Although pleasant, I don't see how it appears on à la carte menus at a premium price. The flavour was not memorable and the texture pappy, maybe it suffers from being farmed.
The t-bone above was trimmed of fat and now used in the interest of spreading the delivery of this saturated lethal agent. As in previous incarnations, it was fried with a little olive oil and used to lubricate a new combination of pea shoots and orrechiete pasta, cut by some balsamic vinegar. 
A forgettable sake Another trip to a Chinese roaster relieved them of half a duck and for good measure a couple of quail, which I accompanied with some warmed lettuce, fried garlic and rice.
Since the gas bbq fails to deliver that smoky hit wood does, I thought of adding some in the form of smoked paprika coating cubed potatoes which were slowly cooked on the bbq plate, reminiscent of an  American diner. With these I also slowly griddled some lamb gigot chops coated with lemon rind and thyme