WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Blue Ridge marron with Americaine sauce, finger lime & nashi pear

Prep: 10 mins. Cooking: 30 mins. Serves 6.

250g Blue Ridge marron, killed humanely

40ml olive oil

½ cup whole-egg mayonnaise

1 nashi pear, sliced

Finger limes, to serve

Geraldton wax or endive, for garnish

Brown butter

150g unsalted butter

10 fresh sage leaves

10 sprigs fresh thyme

Juice of ½ lemon

Americaine sauce

Reserved marron shells

1 onion, coarsely chopped

1 stalk celery

1 carrot, peeled

1 celeriac, peeled

2 star anise

2 bay leaves

1 whole red chilli

1 tbsp tomato paste

100ml Noilly Prat dry vermouth

2 cups (500ml) fish stock

1 To make brown butter, heat a saucepan over high heat. Add butter and cook, swirling pan occasionally, for 8-10 mins or until starting to brown. Add sage, thyme and lemon juice. Strain, set aside.

2 Cook marron in boiling salted water for 5 mins, then remove to a bowl of iced water. Once cold, peel shell from body and reserve to make sauce. Separate claws from body and carefully remove claw meat from shell in one piece (take your time).

3 To make sauce, place olive oil and reserved marron shells in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat; cook until well coloured. Add all vegetables and spices and cook until coloured, about 10 mins. When vegetables start to stick, add tomato paste and cook a further 5 mins. Add vermouth to deglaze, add fish stock and cook, covered, a further 45 mins, then strain and refrigerate until needed.

4 Just before serving, warm prepared brown butter in a sauté pan, add marron tail and claw meat and cook, turning gently, for

5-7 mins or until just cooked through.

5 Slice marron and serve with Americaine sauce and mayonnaise. Arrange slices of nashi pear on plate and garnish with finger lime. Finish with sprigs of Geraldton wax or endive. Recipe by Nick Trezise ihg.com