Looking for Christmas recipes with a difference? Try these from Martin Bosley, the new book by the Listener's Food columnist.
Food is an art form, an expression of a craft. Cooking itself is an art, and it should on occasion provoke and make you think, if even for just a minute, about what you are about to eat. My restaurant, Martin Bosley’s, in Wellington’s harbourfront environment, for example, plays a big part in the way we plate our food. Given the views we have over the harbour, back towards the city and the surrounding hills, a sense of movement has over the years gradually crept into the way in which we plate our dishes. And given the salty, ozone-rich freshness of the air around us, we’ve examined the role pepper had as a seasoning on seafood, eventually eliminating it entirely. Technology and technique may play a part, and the dishes may be ambitious, but they all taste good. In this recipe, the plum-cured salmon needs to be started a day ahead.
Plum-cured Salmon, Mandarin-fennel Slaw, Green Olive Paste & Green Olive Vinaigrette
PLUM-CURED SALMON
30g sugar
30g salt
15g ground freeze-dried plum powder*
200g pin-boned salmon fillet
Combine the sugar, salt and freeze-dried plum powder and rub into the salmon fillet. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, gently remove the curing mix with a paper towel and thinly slice the salmon.
MANDARIN-FENNEL SLAW
5 mandarins, segmented and pith removed
100g young fennel bulb, finely sliced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste
Place the mandarin segments in a small bowl. Add the fennel and gently toss with the oil and lemon juice. Season with salt.
GREEN OLIVE PASTE
250g green olives, pitted
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
In a blender, purée the olives with the olive oil until smooth.
GREEN OLIVE VINAIGRETTE
250g green olives, pitted
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp mustard powder
3 tbsp chardonnay vinegar
250ml grapeseed oil
In a blender, purée the olives, sugar, mustard powder and vinegar. With the motor running, slowly pour in the grapeseed oil. Refrigerate until required.
TO ASSEMBLE
pea shoots to garnish
Place a mound of slaw on each plate. Arrange 3 or 4 slices of the salmon on each portion with a teaspoonful of green olive paste alongside and spoon the vinaigrette over. Garnish with pea shoots.
Serves 4.
Desserts are the final flourish of any dining experience and can punctuate an entire evening. The dessert course is where we can have a little fun, and it presents an opportunity to enchant and delight with a moment of whimsy or a flight of fancy. This dessert started with the wine. Friends celebrating a birthday with a beautiful late-harvest gewürztraminer provided the inspiration. The saltiness of the ice-cream draws out the flavours of the wine, and the acidity of the elderflower provides a foil to the sweetness. You need to start the ice-cream a day ahead.
Elderflower Gelée with Flavours of Gewürztraminer
& Rock Salt Ice-cream
ROCK SALT ICE-CREAM
400ml milk
300ml cream
2 tbsp skimmed milk powder
400g sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp coarse rock salt
In a saucepan, scald the milk, cream and skimmed milk powder. Remove from the heat and add the condensed milk. Mix well then pass through a sieve into an ice-cream machine and churn following the manufacturer’s instructions. Add the salt then freeze overnight.
ELDERFLOWER GELÉE
100ml elderflower cordial
700ml water
7 leaves gelatine
In a saucepan, heat the elderflower cordial and water until warm. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until pliable (around 2 minutes). Drain, squeeze out the excess water and dissolve in the warm cordial mixture. Coat a swiss-roll tin with non-stick cooking spray, then pour in the cordial mixture to a depth of 5mm. Place the tray in the refrigerator for 30 minutes until set. Once cold, remove the gelée from the refrigerator and cut into 12cm x 3cm x 9cm rectangles. Refrigerate again.
FLAVOURS OF GEWÜRZTRAMINER
16 red grapes
2 calendula flowers
1 white peach
12 jasmine flowers
12 borage flowers
Slice the grapes into thin wedges, and remove the seeds. Pick the petals from the calendula flowers and finely chop the peach into 2mm dice. Leave the other flowers whole.
TO ASSEMBLE
2 tsp coarse rock salt
Place a portion of elderflower gelée in the centre of each plate. Arrange the grapes, flowers and diced peach across the top. Sprinkle a little rock salt next to the gelée and place a spoonful of the rock salt ice-cream alongside.
Serves 4.
Rich, dark, decadent – the magic of Valrhona chocolate gives the terrine a lingering depth of flavour. You need to make the terrine a day ahead.
Valrhona Chocolate Terrine with Coffee Bean Anglaise
VALRHONA CHOCOLATE TERRINE WITH COFFEE BEAN ANGLAISE
250g unsalted butter, chopped
250g caster sugar
250g Valrhona Guanaja chocolate, chopped
5 eggs
1 tbsp flour
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the butter in a deep bowl. Pour the sugar over the butter, then place the chocolate on top (this is so the butter and sugar dissolve and line the bowl, preventing the chocolate from sticking). Place the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water, ensuring the bowl doesn’t touch the water, until the chocolate has melted, then remove from the heat.
Transfer the mixture to an electric mixer with the whisk attachment fitted. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the flour. With the mixer running, pour the egg mixture into the chocolate and continue to whisk until the mixture becomes smooth and shiny. Line a terrine or loaf tin with baking paper and pour in the chocolate mixture. Cover with a lid or tinfoil and place in a deep roasting dish. Pour in water to halfway up the sides of the terrine or tin and place in the oven for 1½ hours, until it is slightly glossy in the centre. Refrigerate overnight to set.
COFFEE BEAN ANGLAISE
500ml cream
5 egg yolks
100g sugar
30ml espresso
½ tbsp finely ground fresh coffee beans
In a saucepan, bring the cream to the boil, then set aside. Beat the egg yolks and sugar together until pale. Slowly add the cream to the sugar and yolk mixture while whisking continuously. Return to a moderate heat and cook, stirring continuously, until the custard coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from the heat and add the espresso and coffee beans. Cool in the refrigerator.
TO ASSEMBLE
icing sugar for dusting
whipped cream
1 tsp freeze-dried plum powder*
Remove the terrine from the tin, dust with icing sugar and cut into wedges. Serve with the coffee bean anglaise and whipped cream. Sprinkle with plum powder before serving.
Serves 13.
Strawberries take savoury seasonings so well. This is perhaps one of the simplest desserts we’ve ever served; its revelation comes in the form of cracking the isomalt to release the heady aroma of the strawberries and ginger. The crème fromage comes from the French dessert coeur à la crème and makes a stonkingly good marriage with berryfruit. You need to make the crème fromage a day ahead.
Strawberries & Black Pepper, Crème Fromage, Preserved Ginger & Strawberry Ginger Coulis
CRÉME FROMAGE
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
150g mascarpone
100g cream cheese
250g cream
125g icing sugar
125g plain unsweetened yoghurt
Scrape out the vanilla bean seeds and stir into the mascarpone. Add the cream cheese and beat together until smooth.Whip the cream to soft peaks with the icing sugar, then fold in the yoghurt. Gently fold the cream mixture into the mascarpone mixture.
Rinse and wring out a large piece of muslin. Place the mixture in the cloth, gather the edges together, tie and suspend over a bowl to drain. Refrigerate overnight.
STRAWBERRIES AND BLACK PEPPER
200g strawberries
freshly ground black pepper
Wash and hull the strawberries. Drain on paper towels and cut into quarters. Place in a bowl and season with a couple of healthy grinds of black pepper. Set aside.
PRESERVED GINGER
125g caster sugar
125ml water
100g crystallised ginger
In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and water to the boil for 2 minutes, then add the crystallised ginger. Leave to simmer until the ginger is soft. Drain, reserving the ginger-infused syrup for another use. Set aside the ginger to cool. Once cool, cut into 5mm dice.
STRAWBERRY GINGER COULIS
125g caster sugar
125ml water
300g strawberries, washed, hulled and roughly chopped
grated zest and juice of 2 lemons
200g crystallised ginger
In a small saucepan, bring the sugar and water to the boil for 2 minutes. Place the strawberries in a deep saucepan with the sugar syrup and remaining ingredients. Simmer for 20 minutes then transfer to a blender. Purée until smooth, then pass through a fine sieve. Refrigerate.
ISOMALT
75g isomalt
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Lightly coat a Silpat Mat** or piece of baking paper with non-stick spray and place on a flat baking sheet. Sprinkle the isomalt over the mat and melt in the oven for 3 minutes until it liquefies. Remove from the oven and leave to set.
TO ASSEMBLE
Place 2 tablespoons of crème fromage in the base of each glass. Top with the peppered strawberries and cover with the coulis. Sprinkle with the preserved ginger. Break the isomalt into pieces big enough to cover a glass, then place a piece on top of each glass. Using a brûlée torch, apply just enough heat for the isomalt to soften and melt down the sides of the glasses, sealing the tops.
Serves 4.