Fare exchange
Recipes you’ve requested from Australia’s leading restaurants.
Chefs’ recipes you’ve requested.
SHOBOSHO Chicken and prawn wontons, chicken dashi and Chinese broccoli BANKSII Mussels with vermouth, green olives and nettle butter
ARIA BRISBANE Fried Brussels sprouts, parsnips and sherry
RAMBLR Baked muscat and brioche custards with quince
“The chicken and prawn wonton soup at Shobosho is the tastiest winter warmer. Would you print the recipe?” Carol Carpenter, Kensington Park, SA Chicken and prawn wontons, chicken dashi and Chinese broccoli Start this recipe a day ahead to steep the kombu. Prep time 45 mins, cook 5 hrs Serves 4 (pictured p32)
570 gm Chinese broccoli, stalks trimmed 100 gm fried shallots (see note), to serve 2-3 spring onions, thinly sliced
50 ml sesame oil, or to taste Chicken dashi 10 gm kombu (about 1 sheet)
1 kg chicken wings
500 gm chicken carcass
6 celery stalks, coarsely chopped 1 onion, thickly sliced
1 leek, thickly sliced
80 gm katsuobushi (see note)
150 ml light soy sauce
100 ml Shaoxing wine
Chicken and prawn wontons 300 gm coarsely minced fatty chicken 200 gm uncooked prawns, peeled and coarsely chopped
15 gm ginger, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp light soy sauce, or to taste 2 tsp sesame oil, or to taste 24 wonton wrappers
1 For dashi, refrigerate kombu in 1.5 litres cold water in a jug overnight to steep. Preheat oven to 200C and roast chicken wings and carcass in a roasting pan until browned (1-1¼ hours). Transfer to a large saucepan, add kombu water (discard kombu), celery, onion, leek and 1.5 litres cold water, bring to the boil, then simmer over low heat until stock is well flavoured (4 hours). Remove from heat, add katsuobushi and leave to steep for 1 hour. Strain, add soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and 1-2 tsp finely crushed white pepper to taste. Makes about 1.5 litres. Dashi can be made a few days in advance and kept refrigerated. 2 For wontons, mix ingredients except wrappers in a bowl to combine well. To check seasoning, boil a small ball of filling, then taste and adjust. Refrigerate filling to chill (1 hour). Lay out 4 wrappers and place a teaspoonful of filling in the centre of each. Brush edges lightly with water, bring corners together and pinch wrapper over filling to seal, pushing out any air bubbles. Place on a tray and cover with a tea towel while you make remaining wontons. They can be made 2 hours ahead and kept covered and refrigerated. 3 Bring dashi to the boil, add wontons in batches and simmer until they float (4-5 minutes). Transfer to warm bowls with a slotted spoon, then add Chinese broccoli to dashi and cook until wilted (2 minutes). Divide broccoli among bowls, ladle in dashi, garnish with fried shallots, sliced spring onion and a drizzle of sesame oil, and serve.
Note Fried shallots are available from Asian grocers; to make your own heat 300ml vegetable oil in a saucepan or wok over medium heat and fry 4 thinly sliced golden shallots in batches until golden and crisp (1-2 minutes). Drain on paper towels. Katsuobushi, dried bonito flakes, is available from Asian supermarkets. “I’m a big fan of the mussels in vermouth with nettle butter at Banksii. I’d love to know how to make it.” Hayden Winter, Bowral, NSW Mussels in vermouth with green olives and nettle butter In place of nettles, chef Hamish Ingham suggests using a mix of herbs such as parsley, coriander, chives, chervil, dill, sea parsley and basil. “Whatever I can get my hands on – the more the better,” says Ingham. Prep time 10 mins, cook 10 mins Serves 4
250 gm cherry tomatoes
60 ml olive oil, plus extra for drizzling 3 golden shallots, finely chopped
1 kg mussels, scrubbed and beards removed
150 ml dry vermouth (Banksii uses Maidenii) 150 gm green olives, cheeks removed, pits discarded
Watercress and bread, to serve Nettle butter
2 tbsp olive oil
200 gm nettles (see note) 200 gm softened butter
1 For nettle butter, heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, add nettles and sauté until wilted (2-3 minutes). Remove from pan and refrigerate to cool (30 minutes). Process butter and nettles in a food processor until smooth, then refrigerate until required. Nettle butter will keep for 7 days.
2 Preheat oven to 200C. Scatter cherry tomatoes on an oven tray, drizzle with half the olive oil, season to taste and roast until tomatoes are blistered (8-10 minutes).
3 Heat remaining oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add shallots and sauté for
1 minute. Add mussels and vermouth, cover with a lid and simmer, removing mussels as they open, until they’re all cooked (2-3 minutes). Bring liquid back to the boil, add olives, then whisk in nettle butter a spoonful at a time. Add cherry tomatoes and return mussels to sauce, stir to combine, then transfer to a serving dish, scatter with watercress and serve with bread.
Note Nettles can be ordered ahead from select greengrocers or can be found at farmers’ markets. Wash nettles well under cold running water, and wear rubber gloves when you handle them – contact will cause itchiness for up to a day. “Could you print the recipe for Aria Brisbane’s fried Brussels sprouts dish? It’s simply delicious.” Anjali Iyer, Burleigh Heads, Qld Fried Brussels sprouts, parsnips and sherry The team at Aria tell us this dish also works well with goat’s or buffalo curd in place of the parsnip purée. Prep time 30 mins, cook 10 mins Serves 4
2 parsnips, trimmed and peeled 80 gm caster sugar
220 ml sherry vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
200 ml pouring cream
50 gm chilled butter, diced
800 gm Brussels sprouts, trimmed 50 ml olive oil
500 ml vegetable oil
1 Shave 1 parsnip into ribbons with a peeler, toss with 1 tsp salt in a bowl, then stand for 10 minutes to soften and draw out moisture. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.
2 Meanwhile, in a saucepan bring sugar and 200ml sherry vinegar to the boil and cook until it begins to thicken (2-3 minutes). Remove from heat and leave at room temperature.
3 Grate remaining parsnip, place in a small saucepan with olive oil, cover with a lid and cook gently until softened (5 minutes). Add 400ml water, uncover and simmer until water evaporates (20-25 minutes). Add cream, bring back to the boil and season to taste. Transfer to a blender and blend to a smooth purée. With motor running, gradually add butter and blend until smooth.
4 Remove 20 outer leaves from 7 Brussels sprouts and blanch in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until bright green (1-2 minutes; see cook’s notes p177). Refresh in iced water and drain. Shave the same 7 sprouts on a mandolin into a bowl, season to taste and toss with remaining vinegar and olive oil to combine.
5 Heat vegetable oil in a deep frying pan to 170C. Fry shaved parsnip in batches, turning occasionally, until golden brown (2 minutes), then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Season to taste and leave the oil on the heat.
6 Halve remaining sprouts lengthways and fry in batches, turning occasionally, until crisp and deep golden brown (2-3 minutes). Transfer to a bowl and dress with sugar-vinegar reduction.
7 To serve, spoon parsnip purée onto plates, top with shaved and fried sprouts, and garnish with parsnip chips and blanched Brussels sprout leaves. “Ramblr’s muscat custard and quince is one of my all-time favourite desserts – can you please publish the recipe?” Antonio Rossi, Prahran, Vic Baked muscat and brioche custards with quince At Ramblr, the quince is puréed and spread on the custards. We’ve simply sliced the poached quince. Prep time 10 mins, cook 45 mins (plus cooling, setting) Serves 4 (pictured p33)
1 kg caster sugar, plus extra for dusting 1 cinnamon quill
2 star anise
2 quince, peeled and halved Muscat custard 160 gm brioche, torn into bite-sized pieces 520 ml pouring cream
130 ml milk
80 ml muscat
30 gm caster sugar
6 egg yolks 1 Bring sugar, cinnamon, star anise and 1.5 litres water to the boil in a large saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add quince to syrup, cover directly with a round of baking paper and simmer over low heat until quince turns a deep red colour (about 3 hours). Discard paper and cool quince in syrup (1 hour). Remove quince from syrup with a slotted spoon and remove seeds with a paring knife. Return to syrup and refrigerate to chill
(2-3 hours). Cut into thick slices before serving.
2 For muscat custard, preheat oven to 85C.
Stir ingredients except egg yolks in a saucepan to combine and bring to the boil. Transfer to a blender, and blend until smooth and creamy, then transfer to a bowl and cool (30 minutes). Whisk egg yolks into muscat mixture, then transfer to a jug and divide custard among four 125ml ramekins. Bake custards until set with barely any wobble (45 minutes). Cool custards and refrigerate to chill (4 hours).
3 To serve, sprinkle a thin layer of caster sugar over custards and carefully smooth out to an even 2mm layer. Caramelise sugar with a kitchen blowtorch on medium heat (see note), moving it over the surface evenly (1-2 minutes). Top with quince and a little syrup, and serve.
Note Caramelising the custards is best done with a kitchen blowtorch. Otherwise place them briefly under a very hot grill.