Food ideas with a real summer flavour
A new chef tutor shares tips, tales and tastes with writer Virginia Winder.
When Witt chef tutor Paul ‘‘Sully’’ Sullivan thinks of summer he turns to preserved memories of a childhood packed with picnics.
‘‘For me, in season was watching mum in the kitchen making preserves and pickles which would go on any lunch or evening meal,’’ he says.
‘‘Also, summer time is getting that barbecue going, with a homemade sausage smoking away,’’ says the trained butcher, chef and primary school teacher.
For this session he has cooked salmon in pickling spice, created his own sausages, made a bread and butter pickle starring fresh cherries, put together a roastedeverything tomato chutney and made a spicy helping of kimchi.
He says pickling is still a practice used in many cultures and households around the world, including Korea, which is where the health-giving ‘‘super food’’ kimchi is from.
Preserving and fermenting helps families save money on groceries, allowing them to grow fresh vegetables in the garden during the summer and safely preserve them for the winter.
‘‘It was this time of year that us three boys were in the garden – well mostly me. By the end of summer, the pantry was full. Mum was a brilliant cook.’’
He remembers his family – six kids and two parents – packed into the Morris Oxford and heading for Spencer Park to meet Aunty Shona and Uncle Len and their 10 kids. There was always a spread of pickles, bread, cheese and sausages.
The boys would play rugby or cricket on particularly hot days and they would shovel down as many sausages as possible between games.
Sully finished his butchery training in 1987 with the thirdhighest grade in the country and he turned to cooking soon after.
‘‘The reason I shifted was because people kept asking me how to cook something and I wanted to get it right.’’
But butchery has stayed with him, which is why he chose to make sausages for this In Season.
‘‘Get your local butcher to
In season
grind all meat up, mix all together with ice cold water, herbs and spices, and onion dice (small).’’
The mix is made up of 500g pork shoulder meat, 125g pork fat, 300g beef mince lean, 3g mustard powder, 3g marjoram,
6g mace, 4g ground coriander,
10g paprika, 2 sausage casings (usually available from a local butcher), 20g wood chips, 1 finely diced onion, 15g of minced garlic, and 125ml ice cold water.
‘‘Use a piping bag to fill the sausage casing, tying the ends.’’
He recommends keeping the sausage casing wet and using cold water to make it easier to use.
Sully cautions to not over-fill the sausage casing in case it bursts. ‘‘Once made, twist the sausage to desired shape and prick any air bubbles to help avoid bursting on the barbecue.’’
After his butchery and cheffing years, Sully decided primary school teaching would best fit his role as a single parent. He also moved north.
Born in Balclutha, he grew up in Christchurch. ‘‘After the earthquakes, Christchurch wasn’t the same. Dad died just after the first earthquake.’’
He spent three years teaching in Ha¯ wera, is now teaching at Witt and says he loves Taranaki.
‘‘It’s the people. Everyone is really friendly.’’
Pickling Spices Mix
5cm piece cinnamon stick 1/2 small dried red chilli 1cm dried fresh ginger 1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds 1 Tbsp coriander seed 1 Tbsp allspice berries 1 Tbsp black peppercorns 1/2 Tbsp dill seeds 1/2 Tbsp fennel seed 1 tsp whole cloves 1 tsp celery seed 1 tsp mace blades, crushed 4 bay leaves. Bring water, vinegar, sugar, salt and 30g of pickling spices to the boil then set aside to let flavours fuse together.
Tomato Chutney
50g red onion 5g garlic fresh 0.5g thyme 25ml red wine vinegar 15g brown sugar 25g fresh basil 150g tomatoes 20ml olive oil. Cut tomatoes in half, then peel and halve the onion and garlic. Place the onion, garlic, thyme leaves, tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, half the basil and olive oil on an oven tray.
Slow cook in oven for 90 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients into a pot with the diced tomatoes, adjust seasoning and cook on low for 10 minutes, add chopped remaining fresh basil to finish.
Once cool, place in blender and whiz to the consistency you prefer – chunky, smooth or in between.
Kimchi
75g kosher salt 40g rice flour
25ml fish sauce 1 cabbage (Chinese best) 150g daikon radish
1 white onion 30g fresh ginger
60g Korean chilli paste 20g sugar
30g fresh garlic 30g chives Rinse and cut the cabbage. Wearing white gloves, gently add salt into leaves and place into a bowl. Pour in water until cabbage is just covered. Set aside for 3 hours turning the cabbage every
30 minutes. Pour cabbage into strainer and rinse under cool water. Allow cabbage to drain. Bring 2 cups of water to the boil with 2 tbsp of rice flour and sugar to make a rice soup, stirring the mixture to avoid lumps. Wash and prepare all other ingredients by peeling and washing daikon and carrot and cutting into matchsticks.
Peel and dice the ginger, peel the garlic and blend together the garlic, ginger, onion, fish sauce, shrimp paste and chilli, with cooled rice soup.
Mix blended ingredients with carrots, daikon, chopped chives and spring onions. Massage and spread blended mixture on to the cabbage and place into prepared jars and seal. Label, date and refrigerate. Turn kimchi every day. Kimchi can be eaten 90 hours later but for best results let ferment longer – this pickled specialty can last up to one year. Kimchi is regarded as a super food and is eaten by Koreans daily.
1 whole cucumber 1/2 whole sliced red capsicum 100g daikon 1⁄2 red onion 30g pickling salt 125ml apple cider vinegar 100g sugar 1/2 tsp mustard seeds 1/2 tsp celery seeds 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes 1/4 tsp whole chillies 6 cloves 125g cherry tomatoes 125g cherries. Prepare a jar by sterilising it in the oven, then cool on rack upside down.
Wash all vegetables and fruit discarding any blemishes or dirt. Slice cucumber, capsicum, daikon, radish, red onion, whole cherry tomatoes, and cherries.
Set in a large bowl refrigerate for 1 hour with diluted-down pickling salts then remove and discard excess liquid and rinse vegetables. Combine vinegar and sugar in a large pot. Heat over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, add the pickling spices, increase the heat and bring the brine to boil. Add the drained vegetables and stir to combine for about 2 minutes, until vegetables are fully heated through.
Use tongs to fill the sterilised jar with vegetables and fruit. Slowly pour the hot brine over, covering all contents right to the top of the jar.
Allow for any air bubbles to escape by topping up with hot brine before sealing the lid. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Let these pickles cure for
48 hours before eating.