HOT choco late
BEVAN SMITH opened Riverstone Kitchen in 2006 after a career that has taken him from Le Pont de la Tour and Michael Caine’s Canteen in London to the acclaimed e’cco bistro in Australia. Riverstone Kitchen, nestled in the North Otago countryside just north of Oamaru, has won numerous awards and lives by its motto: Think seasonal — buy local — eat well.
Smith’s latest cookbook mirrors just that, filled with recipes of honest food packed with flavour. It features a collection of more than 90 of the restaurant’s most popular and requested recipes.
He says food doesn’t go out of fashion when it is this delicious, and that customers naturally ask for many of the recipes to try themselves so a new book was definitely overdue.
CHOCOLATE SOUR CREAM CAKE
serves 14 | prep 10 mins | cook time 1 hr 30 mins
Ingredients
3 cups plain flour
3 cups caster sugar
1⁄2 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
3⁄4 tsp baking powder
3⁄4 tsp salt
3 free-range eggs, at room temperature 250ml lukewarm water
250g sour cream, warmed slightly 125g unsalted butter
650ml chocolate ganache
Method
Preheat oven to 160C. Sift dry ingredients into the bowl of an electric mixer before adding the remaining ingredients (except the ganache).
Mix with a whisk attachment on low speed for 3 minutes. Turn to high speed and mix for a further 30 seconds.
Pour cake batter into a baking paper-lined 28cm cake tin with a removable base. Bake for 11⁄2 hours or until cake is just cooked and a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before removing from cake tin and placing on a cake rack.
To ganache cake, place an oven tray under the rack which holds the cake and pour chocolate ganache, while still warm, over the centre of the cake.
The chocolate will spread and run over the sides. Cover any bare patches with spare ganache using a spatula, and place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes for the ganache to set.
Serve cake at room temperature.
SEARED SALMON with AVOCADO SALSA
serves 4 | prep time 10 mins | cook time 7 mins
Ingredients
150ml extra virgin olive oil zest and juice of 1 lime 2 tbsp mango or apricot chutney
1⁄2 tsp ground cumin
2 cups coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1⁄2 long red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped
1⁄4 small red onion, finely chopped 4 large ripe avocados, peeled, stone removed and cubed salt and pepper
4 x 180g pieces salmon fillet, skin on and pin-boned
100g baby rocket extra virgin olive oil
Method
Place 100ml olive oil, lime zest and juice, chutney, cumin, coriander, chilli and onion into a large bowl. Add avocado and gently mix together. Season salsa to taste with a little salt and pepper and refrigerate until ready to use.
Season salmon with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat remaining olive oil in a large heavybased frying pan over a high heat. When pan is very hot, fry salmon skin-side down, for 3 minutes. When salmon is two-thirds cooked, turn over and cook for a further minute before removing from the pan and allowing to rest in a warm place. Divide avocado salsa between four plates, top with rocket and place salmon on top. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve.