Roasted Ocean Trout with Walnut and Coriander Salsa

*This recipe is from Gourmet Traveler's November 2008 issue.

Ingredients:
whole fillets of ocean trout - pinboned
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil

For the salsa:
140 g walnut halves
1/2 cup chopped coriander
3/4 of a whole preserved lemon, pith only, chopped
2 tbsp each of chopped flat-leaf parsley and mint
100 ml of extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp of sumac

lemon wedges to serve

Procedure:

1. To roast the ocean trout, pre-heat oven to 180 degrees C. Cook the fillets one at a time, unless you plan to serve both fillets at the same time. Sprinkle the fillet with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, then drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Roast for 30-35 mins or until the flesh flakes easily.
2. For the salsa, roast the walnuts first for 5-10 minutes until slightly golden. Chop finely by hand - don't be tempted to use the food processor as the walnuts will become crumbs or worse, powdery, and you do not want this. You want a chunky-ish texture to the salsa.
3. Mix the chopped walnuts with all the herbs, the olive oil and sumac. Season to taste with a bit more sea salt and ground pepper.
4. To serve, platter the fish, spoon the salsa down the centre, and serve lemon wedges on the side.

Most-Requested Couscous Salad #1

All right, all right, here it is. Probably next to the artichoke dip, this is one of the most requested recipes in my repertoire. I can't take the credit for it as I learned it from an old work colleague (hi Mandy!) years and years ago, and as you can tell, I haven't stopped making it! This recipe serves around 8 people so feel free to halve the recipe as needed.

Ingredients:

Salad:
2 cups couscous
1 to 2 avocados, cubed
2 to 3 tomatoes, cubed
(or use a punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered depending on size)
1 yellow or red capsicum, seeded and cubed
3-4 green spring onions, sliced
50 g slivered almonds, toasted
½ bunch coriander, chopped
½ bunch basil, chopped

Dressing:
2 tbsps olive oil
2 tsps seeded mustard
Juice of 1 lemon (a bit more if you like it lemony)
3 tsps honey
1-2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Salt and pepper

Procedure:

1. To make the couscous, place the couscous in a heat proof bowl and cover with 2 cups of boiling water (from the kettle is fine). Make sure the couscous is just covered with the water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and stand for 5 to 10 minutes (even longer if you need to, just keep it warm). Once done, pour a teaspoon or so of oil into the couscous and fluff it up with a fork or using your fingers.
2. Mix in all the chopped veggies and herbs in with the couscous (mix in the almonds just before serving). Be gentle to keep the soft stuff like avocado for mushing too much.
3. Mix all the dressing ingredients in a screwtop jar; give it a good shake then pour dressing over couscous. Give it one more mix, sprinkle the almonds in and serve.

Salsa Verde - Jamie Oliver Inspired

I've been making this sauce since it was featured in Jamie Oliver's "The Naked Chef" cookbook and is one of my all-time favourites. Fabulous with any roasted or grilled meat or seafood. Try it!

Ingredients
*amounts are indicative and based on what you have to hand and how herby/tarty/salty you want your salsa verde to be

basil - half bunch or so, leaves picked
flat leaf parsley - same as above
mint - around a quarter or a bunch or 3-5 sprigs
1-2 tsps salted capers, rinsed
1-2 flat anchovies, chopped roughly
1-2 pickled gherkins
1-2 tsps Dijon mustard
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
extra virgin olive oil - to taste and texture; I tend to put in anywhere from 2 tbsps to 1/4 cup
red wine vinegar - 2 tsps or so
sea salt an fresh ground black pepper to taste

Equipment
a small food processor or blender

Procedure
Place all ingredients in food processor or blender. Whizz until well mixed and incorporated. Add more olive oil to taste and for texture (the more olive oil, the runnier the sauce will be). Taste and season with salt and pepper. Best served immediately or up to 24 hours from making - keep in fridge.

Rachey's Mom's Christmas Ham Recipe

Okay Tom, here's the ham recipe you asked for tonight. And yes, it's fine to cook this even if it isn't Christmas!

Ingredients:

• 1 smoked ham, preferably on the bone, rind on
  (the size of the ham depends on the size of your pot; it's a good idea to measure your pan and take your tape measure when buying the ham - and yes, I have learned the hard way!)
• unsweetened pineapple juice in cans - around a litre per kilo of ham is a good measure
• lemonade softdrink - yes, the fizzy kind! I quite like the flavour of Sprite but any lemonade would work; again, around a litre per kilo of ham so it's the same amount as the juice
• 1 bottle of beer - a nice ale or even a porter would be lovely; try not to use a crap beer please!
• brown sugar for caramelising and glazing the ham
• cloves, pineapple rings or orange slices to decorate your ham

Equipment:

big pot (enough to fit the ham and liquids)
big tongs for taking out the ham of the pot (and an extra pair of strong hands and arms!)
kitchen blowtorch for glazing ham
serving tray for the ham


Procedure:

1. Put ham in pot.
2. Pour over the pineapple juice and lemonade. Bring to boil and simmer for 2.5 to 3 hours.
3. Take out ham of pot and put on serving tray.
4. Pour in beer into pot. Boil .liquid until well reduced to a syrup - this can take up to 2-3 more hours. Check the pot every half hour or so. Don't worry if it's taking too long - it really does take a while. Once the liquid turns into a deep brown molasses colour and coats the back of a wooden spoon, taste the syrup - it should be quite complex, and be quite sour, sweet and a tiny bit bitter from the beer. You can now turn off the hear and let the liquid cool in the pot. Transfer liquid into jars or other containers.
5. To glaze ham, carefully take off rind first and score fat in a diamond pattern. Pat brown sugar and paint on some of the reduced ham syrup, Glaze using kitchen blowtorch until nice and brown and shiny. Decorate ham with cloves, pineapple rings or orange slices.
6. To serve, heat ham syrup in a small pot - if the syrup still looks a bit runny, feel free to boil and further reduce the syrup prior to pouring into a gravy boat. Slice ham and pour some ham syrup over slices and have extra syrup handy. Enjoy!

Baked Whole Snapper with Blackbean & Garlic - 3 Ways!

This was our first dinner at our Byron Bay beach house - the whole snapper was so big, we ended up having it three ways.

Dinner: Baked Snapper with Blackbean & Garlic
This recipe is inspired by the original recipe featured in SBS's Food Safari (Series 1 - Chinese)

Ingredients:
1 whole snapper, cleaned (fillets are fine too) - we had a 3 kilo whopper!
1-2 lemons, sliced
1 cup or so of salted black beans (available it in Asian/Chinese stores), rinsed & drained
1 head of garlic, finely minced

Procedure:

1. First, make the black bean sauce. Simply saute the minced garlic in a little oil until aromatic, then add the black beans and toss around for3 to 4 minutes or until thoroughly mixed with the garlic. Leave to cool slightly.


2. Now for the fish. Pre-heat the oven to around 180 degrees C. Take your baking pan and line generously with foil - have plenty of overhang to enclose the fish. Spray lightly with oil then place the snapper on the baking tray. Make three or four slashes diagonally across the fish.


3. Take your sauteed black bean and garlic mixture and pat all over the fish. Press down a bit firmly to make the mixture stick to the fish. Then take your lemon slices and arrange over the black beans. Stuff the remaining lemon slices into the fish cavity. Sprinkle the fish with more oil (olive oil or sesame) then grind over some black pepper. Fully enclose the fish with foil and bake in oven for 30-45 minutes depending on the heat of your oven and whether it is fan forced or not (takes longer in a conventional oven).


4. To test the fish for doneness, take a small knife and gently prise the skin to see if the flesh is white and opaque, and flakes easily. To serve, either take the fish to the table and help yourself, or flake the fish and arrange on plates - we had a side dish of steamed long grain coral/red rice and stir-fried Asian greens with XO sauce and drizzled sweet soy sauce (kecap manis).

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Lunch: Snapper Pie with Mashed Sweet Potato with Ginger & Chili

Ingredients:

leftover baked snapper, flaked and all bones taken out
2 tbsps (or more) pouring cream - enough to nicely coat the fish
2 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded
small handful of coriander, mint and chives, finely chopped
juice of 1 lemon
2 small or 1 medium-sized sweet potato/kumara, peeled and cubed
small knob of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced finely
1/4 tsp dried chili flakes, or de-seed & finely slice 1 fresh bird's eye chili
sesame oil

Procedure:

1. First, pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C. For the fish, heat a small saucepan on the stovetop, pour in 1 tbsp of oil and saute the fish until warmed through. Add the cream, stir through, then add the chopped herbs. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground pepper, and place in a small Pyrex dish or similar container suitable for the oven.


2. For the sweet potato mash, boil the cubed potato in plenty of salted water until soft - around 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and mash to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.


3. In another small saucepan, saute the ginger in a little sesame oil for 1 minute, then add chili flakes/fresh chili. Mix this into the sweet potato mash.


4. Pile the mashed potato on top of the fish in the oven dish. Sprinkle some more sesame oil and bake in oven for 15-20 minutes or until completely warmed through and the mash browns a little. Serve with green salad.

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Breakfast: Snapper Omelette

Ingredients:
leftover snapper pie
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk, added to the eggs
chopped parsley
olive oil

Procedure:

1. Heat a frypan on medium heat. Add oil and add beaten eggs. Swirl around and using a spatula, lift the egg as it sets and move the pan to allow more egg to hit the pan and cook.


2. Once the egg is almost set, add the leftover snapper pie. Fold egg over to form omelette.


3. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with some Tabasco sauce for extra kick.