Luxury lodge-inspired lockdown dining
Turn up the dial on your lockdown dining with these easy recipes
One of the best things about a stay at a New Zealand luxury lodge — aside from the ultimate comfort, impeccable service and exclusivity — is the food. Fine-dining, multi-course degustation menus at every turn. And, even more desirable for us while we’re stuck in lockdown — someone else to cook it for you, serve you and clear away the dishes.
Although we can’t help with the latter right now, we can offer you a taste of luxury lodge dining thanks to the chefs from two of the country’s top properties — Queenstown’s Matakauri and Hawke’s Bay’s The Farm at Cape Kidnappers.
All should be easy enough to recreate at home, and will inspire you for post-lockdown luxury lodge visits to come.
JONATHAN ROGERS
Head chef, Matakauri Lodge, Queenstown
Baked eggs, caramelised onion, feta, tomato (shakshouka)
Serves 4
8 organic eggs
80g sofrito (see recipe below)
60g Clevedon Valley Buffalo feta, diced (or sheep’s feta)
20 red cherry tomatoes
Pea shoots
Italian parsley, chopped
Crispy chickpeas
Clevedon Valley buffalo yoghurt (or Greek yoghurt) Sea salt
Preheat an oven to 180C. Oil four small ovenproof pans. Crack two eggs into each pan. Divide the sofrito, feta and cherry tomatoes between each pan.
Bake the eggs for 8 to 10 minutes or until the whites are cooked and the yolks set.
Remove from the oven and garnish with the pea shoots, Italian parsley, crispy chickpeas and drizzle with the buffalo yoghurt.
Season to taste with sea salt.
Sofrito
1 red capsicum
20ml olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced 8 cloves garlic, finely sliced 1tsp tomato paste 200g chopped tomatoes Sea salt
Char the capsicum over an open flame or roast in a oven until the skin is blackened. Place the capsicum in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let the capsicum sit at room temperature for 30 minutes and peel the blackened skin. Remove the skin and seeds and finely slice.
Heat a medium-size pot over high heat. Add the oil, onion and garlic and turn the heat to low. Stirring regularly, cook the onion for 2 hours until golden brown and caramelised.
Add the tomato paste and fry for two minutes. Add the capsicum and chopped tomatoes and simmer until all the liquid has reduced. Season with sea salt.
JAMES HONORE
Head chef at The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, Hawke’s Bay
Quick mixed citrus marmalade
1kg mixed citrus (lemon, lime, grapefruit, orange) 8 cups water
7 cups caster sugar
1tsp salt
3⁄ c glace ginger, chopped 4
Slice the citrus, removing the seeds. Put into a large pot and add the water, boil until the rind is tender. Add the sugar and salt, bring to a rolling boil for about 15 minutes or until the mixture sets on a cold plate. Add the ginger and let stand for about 10 minutes.
Pour into hot sterilised jars and seal.
Tempura oysters & shitake mushroom Serves 2
12 oysters
6 shitake mushrooms, cut in half
1⁄ cup plain flour
2
1⁄ cup cornflour
2
170ml chilled sparkling water Half a lemon juiced
1tsp salt
Salad:
2 spring onions
1 daikon radish
1⁄ cup coriander
2
Small bunch chives
Dressing:
1⁄ cup mayonnaise
2
2Tbsp siracha sauce
1Tbsp soy sauce
Juice half lemon
1⁄ tsp sesame oil
2
Prepare the salad, cutting the radish and spring onion finely, cut the chives into batons and pick the coriander leaf from the stem.
Mix and set aside in a bowl to serve.
Gently remove the oysters from their shells and dry on a clean tea towel.
Put all the dry ingredients for the batter into a bowl and add the lemon and ice cold water, mix to form a thin batter (tip: should just coat the back of a spoon when dipped). Heat oil to 170C in pot or deep fryer.
Dip the oysters and mushrooms into the batter to coat. Fry in small batches in the heated oil until crisp.
Season with salt and serve while hot.
Note: Many seafood companies, such as Oceanz, Harbourfish, Clevedon Coast Oysters, Moana New Zealand and more, are operating at levels 3 and 4 for contactless home deliveries.