TOTALLY WILD
Cookbook celebrates the diversity of Nz’s game offerings
WILD KITCHEN CHEF Angelo Georgalli has teamed up with Fish and Game New Zealand to make wild cooking easy and interesting for everyone.
From tricks and tips for game-curious newbies to original and clever ways to excite the palate of the most seasoned adventurer, The Fish + Game Cookbook celebrates the amazing diversity of our game birds, water fowl and freshwater fish.
ROAST WHOLE SIDE OF SALMON with STRAWBERRY BALSAMIC GLAZE
I like to call this dish, ‘the party pleaser’! Take it to a ‘bring your own plate’ summer gathering and you’ll be sure to make the Christmas card list!
Ingredients
FISH
1 whole salmon side, deboned 1 Tbsp soft brown sugar
Fig balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp flaky sea salt
GLAZE
1 Tbsp soft brown sugar
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
10 strawberries, quartered 2 Tbsp fig balsamic vinegar Zest of 1 lemon
TO SERVE
Salads or greens
Method
Place salmon into a large oven dish and rub the brown sugar over the fillet. Next drizzle the fig balsamic and sprinkle the flaky sea salt evenly over the flesh. Cover the dish and place in the fridge overnight.
The next day, in a bowl, dissolve the brown sugar in the white wine vinegar and water. Add the strawberries to this pickling solution and allow to soak for 1 hour 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 170C. Place the salmon onto baking paper skin-side down. Drain the soaked strawberries and transfer them into a bowl and coat them with fig balsamic. Carefully place them over the salmon with a sprinkle of lemon zest. Place into the oven for 20 minutes.
Serve with an array of side salads.
STICKY DATE BROWNIE
No, there’s no chocolate in this recipe! But the dates give it a gorgeously rich sweetness in an otherwise savoury dish. It’s a must-try — trust me, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Ingredients
6 medjool dates, pitted
1 cup orange juice
1 whole brown trout, gutted, skin on and descaled
2 Tbsp date syrup
6 mint leaves
4 pinches of flaky salt
4 pinches of pepper
1 mandarin, sliced
Olive oil
Method
Grab a handful of medjool dates, place in a small bowl with the orange juice and soak in the fridge overnight.
Preheat the oven to 170C.
Keeping the whole fish intact, place on baking paper and score along one side of the fish using a sharp knife. Repeat on the other side.
Brush the whole fish with the date syrup, making sure the syrup soaks into the flesh of the fish through the scored incisions and brush inside the gut cavity.
Taking your orange soaked dates, quarter them and place the quarters with the mint leaves into the scored incisions along the body of the fish. Season with salt and pepper. Repeat on the other side. Now take the mandarin slices and stuff into the gut cavity.
Drizzle olive oil over the fish and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until cooked.
Serve as is, being mindful of bones.
TIP: Scoring the fish simply means to slice incisions along the body of the fish from the dorsal fin down to the belly, creating the look of gills along the whole body of the fish. A great technique for infusing flavour.