Recipes

Thon Mi-cuit au Sel Fumé, Salade du Sud serves 6

Half Cooked Tuna in Smoked Salt with Southern Salad - Road Show Recipe

For the salad

  • 100g dry coco beans
  • a bay leaf
  • a sprig of thyme
  • one capsicum, any colour you like
  • 200g cherry tomatoes
  • 50g pine nuts
  • 100g black olives
  • 1/2 preserved lemon
  • 1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
  • 3 medium courgettes, finely sliced lengthwise
  • avocado oil

For the vinaigrette

  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2/3 cup avocado oil
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped chives
  1. Soak the beans in plenty of water overnight then boil in fresh water with the bay leaf and thyme for half an hour. Add salt at the last minute. Drain.
  2. Make up the vinaigrette by whisking together the first 4 ingredients then gradually add the oil. Stir in the chives.
  3. Blacken capsicum, remove skin, core and dice finely.
  4. Halve or quarter tomatoes depending on how big they are.
  5. Fry the pine nuts in a little oil till golden.
  6. Stone and chop olives.
  7. Discard flesh from preserved lemon and chop skin finely.
  8. Toss all the salad ingredients together.
  9. Heat a little oil in a fry pan and quickly sauté the courgettes on a high heat.

For the tuna

  • 6 x 180g tuna steaks cut 21/2cm thick
  • smoked salt
  1. Remove fish from fridge half an hour before cooking.
  2. Heat a heavy based fry pan to very hot, sprinkle with smoked salt and place tuna on top.
  3. Cook for exactly six minutes on one side and remove from the pan.

To serve

  1. Place some courgettes on a plate, top with some salad and drench with a few tbsp of the vinaigrette. Place tuna on top.

Sardine Boulettes serves 6 (makes approx 60 little boulettes)

For the Boulettes

  • 1kg sardine filets or white fish fillets
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh coriander, chopped
  • a small onion, finely diced
  • 1/2 cup cooked rice or breadcrumbs
  • 4 tbsp lemon juice
  1. Cube fish and mince in a food processor.
  2. Place in a bowl and stir in all other ingredients.
  3. With wet hands, form into little balls.

For the Sauce

  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1kg ripe tomatoes, chopped
  • a capsicum, diced
  • 1/2 cup celery leaves, chopped
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • sea salt and freshly
    ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 4 pinches of saffron, soaked in 1 cup boiling water for half an hour
  1. In a large saucepan or tagine dish, sautée onions in olive oil till golden, then add all the other ingredients including the water the saffron has been soaking in.
  2. Simmer for half an hour, till everything is soft.
  3. Poach the sardine boulettes in the sauce for 10 mins.
  4. Serve in shallow bowls with pink olives, lemon wedges and chunks of bread.

Garnish with pink olives and lemon wedges.

sardine boulettes

Oriellettes makes 20-30

  • 2 1/2 cups (300g) flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 small eggs, beaten
  • 30g soft butter
  • grated rind of one orange
    and one lemon
  • 1 tsp orange flower water
  • 2L peanut oil
  • frying thermometre
  • caster sugar
  1. Sift the flour and salt onto the bench and make a well in the centre. Into this put the eggs, butter, grated rinds and orange flower water.
  2. Using fingers, gradually work in the flour till all is incorporated and you have a smooth, soft ball that comes away from your fingers. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 4 hrs.
  3. Divide pastry in four and roll out very thinly. With a pastry cutter, cut into 8 x 4cm rectangles.
  4. Heat the oil in a deep fryer to 190˚C and drop in pastry rectangles in batches. Fry till they are just golden then remove to a cake rack to drain onto paper towels. Sprinkle with lots of caster sugar and eat immediately.

Crispy Okra and Chickpea Saladserves 4 as a starter

For the okra

  • 200g okra
  • 2 tsp garlic & ginger paste
  • 1/3 cup besan (chickpea) flour
    found in Indian food shops
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp turmeric
  • 2 tsp chat masala

For the salad

  • fried okra
  • 180g cooked chickpeas
  • 100g fresh pommegranate seeds or 50g dried barberries or cranberries
  • small handful chopped, fresh coriander
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp chat masala
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 litre vegetable oil for deep frying
  • a little olive oil to dress (optional)
  1. Wash okra, trim ends and slice finely on the cross.
    Toss in the garlic & ginger paste.
  2. Mix dry ingredients together and toss the okra in.
  3. Place all the salad ingredients in a bowl.
  4. Heat the oil in a deep fryer and fry the okra in batches till crispy - takes a few minutes.
  5. Toss crispy okra in with the other salad ingredients. You can drizzle with a little olive oil if you wish.
[photo: peta mathias]