Our food writer is inspired by the capital's food scene to create dishes with snapper and flounder.
Photo Elizabeth Clarkson/styling Kate Arbuthnot
I have Wellington envy. It’s not the capital’s weather, the political power or the proximity to the wine regions of Wairarapa, Nelson and Marlborough I’m jealous of, it’s the city’s exciting food scene. Wellington has a history of fine fare. Long before the current wave of gourmet foodstores, Moore Wilson Fresh showed us a business founded on boutique brands, artisan foods and seasonal fresh food was possible, while mainstream supermarkets around the country pushed home brands and loss-leaders.
Wellington arguably started the coffee revolution, too, with a plethora of coffee roasters and cafes, including Jeff Kennedy’s L’affare, a cafe ahead of its time. And well before the rest of the country woke up to the glory of continental cuisine, the capital’s Greeks and Italians were plying locals with food served with Mediterranean flair.
For the past three years the city has mounted an extraordinary culinary event, Wellington on a Plate, bringing restaurateurs, artisan producers, retailers and much more together in two whirlwind weeks of events to showcase what the region has to offer. I was lucky enough to attend, sitting in on a masterclass where local chefs Al Brown, Rex Morgan, Martin Bosley and former Wellingtonian Des Harris strutted their stuff in a cooking and tasting show.
To put such a celebration together needs a we’re-all-here-to-work-with-each-other attitude from the city’s chefs and foodies, with a fair slug of support from the city’s council, tourism and economic development offices. These groups get behind the programme and promotion of the event. Many other regions could look to emulate this culinary experience as a fine promotional tool.
But for me, the best of Wellington is the Sunday morning City Market held under cover of the Chaffers Dock atrium on the waterfront, next to the open-air Harbourside Market. Two years old, it is the brainchild of celebrated restaurateur and food writer Martin Bosley and entrepreneur and businesswoman Rachel Taulelei. The pair recognised the great stories and brands of many of the city’s food purveyors and producers and decided to bring them together each week.
Rachel explains, “Our point of difference from traditional farmers’ markets is that City Market showcases food people who are not just once-a-week hobbyists, but who have businesses producing excellent goods that can be found elsewhere. We want food enthusiasts to come, to hear the stories, to connect and to taste and buy the goods. Our people are really good people like Eric Heycoop who started the very successful Emporio coffee company. He’s here each week making hundreds of cups of coffee for visitors.”
The scene changes weekly, with market regulars selling alongside others who are specially invited to appear with their food. There’s a commercial kitchen for Wellington chefs to prepare samples of their restaurant food, and wineries offer tastings and sales. A recent innovation is a professional Gaggenau demonstration kitchen where chefs conduct 90-minute classes, with places prebooked. The morning I visited, I filled my bags with organic vegetables, free-range eggs, olive oil, handmade chocolate, Turkish delight, brezel bread, fine French linens, micro-greens and the freshest fish I’ve seen anywhere.
Both founders work the market, too. Martin offers preserves and products he makes in his eponymous restaurant, and his Marty’s Bacon Butties are not to be missed: a soft white bread roll stuffed with Randwick’s bacon, free-range eggs and his own Bulldog sauce. Through her Yellow Brick Road company, Rachel is a fish purveyor to New Zealand’s most discerning chefs. Each Sunday she offers a wide range of fresh fish and shellfish, and chunky seafood chowder by the cup. Rachel says her customers look at baby whole fish and puzzle about how to cook them. She was the inspiration for the following recipes that use snapper and flounder.
BAKED WHOLE BABY SNAPPER
- 2 baby snapper, scaled and gutted
- a handful of parsley leaves
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- sea salt and fresh black pepper
- 2 lemons
- 2 tbsp olives, pitted
- 12 ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cut 2 large 45cm pieces of baking paper. Trim the fins from the fish and make shallow slashes in the skin on either side. Stuff the cavity with parsley. Rub the sides with olive oil, then sprinkle with the fennel seeds, garlic, salt and pepper. Slice a lemon thinly, and place a couple of slices on each paper sheet. Scatter some of the olives and half of the tomatoes on each sheet, then top with the fish. Place the remaining olives and tomatoes on top and finish with the remaining lemon slices and a few parsley leaves. Seal the parcel by folding and pleating the edges together. Place the parcels on a baking tray and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes until the fish is just cooked through. To serve, open the parcels and serve the fish with lemon wedges and a little chopped parsley. Serves 2. Wine match: chilled rosé.
POACHED WHOLE FLOUNDER WITH ASIAN FLAVOURS
- 2 whole flounder
- 2 cups water
- 1 kaffir lime leaf, finely sliced
- 1 small knob fresh ginger, peeled and
- finely sliced
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Asian fish sauce
- 1 carrot, cut into thin julienne strips
- 2 spring onions, cut into thin strips
- 200g oyster mushrooms
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- ½ cup fresh coriander leaves
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Wipe the flounder carefully and set aside. Take a medium baking dish and add the water, lime leaf, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and fish sauce and mix well. Add the fish, and top each with the carrot, spring onion and mushrooms. Baste with the liquid, then cover the pan with foil. Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes or until the fish is just cooked right through. Serve immediately with the vegetables on top. Spoon a little of the liquid over the fish and place lime wedges and fresh coriander leaves at the side. Serves 2. Wine match: gewurztraminer.