A scenic trip down the Kaikoura coast provides the key ingredient for a simple summer salad.
Summer is here and I intend to hold onto it as long as I can. This means cooking as little as possible, and eating simply. When the weather is hot, I try to keep my food calm, so that I remain calm, and my meals revolve around lunchtime more than dinnertime. I like to eat outdoors, with the kitchen door open onto the small courtyard – the cooling green of the ivy forming a backdrop to the table – sheltered from the inevitable wind that has plagued Wellington’s summer. For a while it seemed that if you wanted any sun, a road trip was required.
One of my favourite journeys is along the Kaikoura coast, partly for its rugged and terrifying beauty, but mostly for the caravans dotted along the highway with vendors selling cooked crays. To stand at the side of the road, breath deeply and take in the ozone freshness of the sea air is a rare joy that just has to be experienced. It brings on a raging hunger, and if ever there was a salad to take the edge off it, this is the one. It has clean flavours with just a hint of spice.
Crayfish Salad with Spicy Dressing
Dressing
1 red onion
1 red capsicum
2 cloves garlic
2cm piece of ginger
2 tbsp peanut oil
2 tsp dry sherry
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
100ml chicken stock
½ tsp sesame oil
Crayfish Salad
450g cooked crayfish meat
2 spring onions
1 red capsicum
1 small cucumber
small handful of coriander leaves, chopped
2 tbsp salmon caviar (optional)
Cut the onion into wedges and place in a bowl. Seed and chop the capsicum into chunks, then peel and smash the garlic with a knife. Scrape off the ginger skin, then slice the flesh as thinly as possible. Combine these ingredients with the onion. Heat the oil in a wok and fry the vegetables until fragrant – about 3-5 minutes. Pour in the remaining dressing ingredients. Simmer for about 15 minutes until slightly reduced. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve, discarding the vege-tables, and cool before refrigerating. It will keep for up to 2 weeks. Chop the crayfish meat into thick pieces and place in a deep bowl. Slice the spring onions on a thin diagonal and add to the crayfish. Seed and finely chop the capsicum, then chop the cucumber into 1cm cubes. Mix both with the crayfish. Bruise the coriander leaves with a knife, then gently toss through the salad. Divide between 4 plates and spoon the dressing over and around the salad. Garnish with the caviar.
Enough for 4.
Mix ALL THE salad ingredients with the potatoes while they are still warm, as this will allow the dressing to soak in and the heat to soften the cheese.
Jersey Benne Potatoes with Peas, Feta and Avocado
500g jersey benne potatoes
juice of ½ lemon
4 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
200g feta cheese
1 cup of cooked fresh peas
a small bunch of pea shoots
1 avocado
Scrub the potatoes and steam in a basket or colander over a saucepan of boiling water until tender – when the point of a sharp knife will easily reach the centre. Drain and set aside. Do not rinse under cold running water as this will make them soggy and waterlogged. Put the lemon juice and oil in a bowl, add a little salt and pepper and mix well. Cut the cheese into 2cm pieces and add to the dressing with the peas. Cut each potato in half and add to the bowl with the pea shoots, tossing gently. Halve the avocado and remove the stone. Cut each half in half again, then arrange on serving plates. Pile the salad next to the avocado and serve.
Enough for 2.
Caponata featured on one of my –?first menus at Brasserie Flipp nearly 20 years ago. It astonished me then with its bright flavours, and I still love making it for this reason. Make the caponata at least a day ahead, as this will allow some ingredients to get to know each other better, which improves the flavour. Unfortunately, you have to do this recipe in stages, otherwise the aubergine will absorb all the oil.
Grilled Chicken with Caponata
1 large aubergine
1 red onion
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
1 stalk celery
1 red capsicum
2 tomatoes
1 cup tomato passata
2 tbsp raisins
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp capers
2 tbsp sliced green olives
salt and pepper
3-4 basil leaves, finely shredded
2 large chicken breasts
Remove the aubergine stalk and cut the flesh into 3cm pieces. Place in a bowl. Thinly slice the onion and chop the garlic. Heat a thin layer of oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion until softened, adding the garlic just before the onion colours. Cook for a couple of minutes, then remove the onion and garlic to a bowl. Place the pan back on the heat. Slice the celery thinly, remove the seeds from the capsicum and cut into 1cm pieces, then fry both in the oil until soft. Add to the onion. Peel, seed and chop the tomato and gently toss with the vege-tables. You may need to add more oil to the pan before adding the aubergine. Once the oil is hot, cook the aubergine until soft – about 10 minutes. Return the bowl of vege-tables to the pan and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the passata, raisins, vinegar, sugar, capers and olives. Bring to a simmer. If it is too thick, add half a cup of water. Simmer for 30 minutes, then check for salt and pepper and gently toss the basil through it. Refrigerate overnight.
To cook the chicken, oil the meat and season with salt and pepper. Grill on both sides until golden. I use the oven grill, a ridged grill pan, or the grill bars on a barbecue if I can be bothered. Lift the chicken from the pan and rest it for about 10 minutes. Divide the caponata between 2 large plates. Slice each chicken breast in half and place the pieces on top.
Serves 2.