Sole Meunière

This post is for J.I., a very kind reader who, upon reading about my obsession with some of the food in the movie Julie and Julia in Critic (pg 33, or here), sent me his copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Thanks J.I.! Even though we still haven't tried anything from the definitive, preeminent cookbook (Boeuf Bourguignon is first on the list!), Sole Meunière should suffice as a tribute, temporarily. This was apparently the 'life changing' dish that Julia Child had in Paris that ignited her love for French food and cooking. And I can see why.

The Sole Meunière was wonderfully zesty and acidic and had a lovely, smooth, very subtle buttery flavour. It was not in the least bit sickeningly rich or greasy, as one might reasonably expect in dish with this amount of butter. The edges of the sole were nice and crispy and each bite of delicate, tangy sauce coated sole flesh melted in my mouth with an immediate rush of clean, slightly tart but still rich, full, flavours. Bliss! It's one of those dishes that does not immediately 'knock your socks off', but tastes better and better with each mouthful. Towards the end, in butter induced euphoria, I almost believed that it was the best fish that I had ever tasted. I can't wait to make this again. 

We, naughtily, did not use Julia Child's Brown Butter recipe because we couldn't be bothered clarifying the butter, so we used this recipe instead. Below is my simplified version, of an already very simple recipe:

Sole Meunière

Ingredients:

4 sole filets (6 - 8 ounces)

4 tablespoons butter (apprx 56g)

1/4 cup of dry white wine (Sauvignon Blanc)

juice from half of one lemon

flour to dust fish (1/4 cup)

1 teaspoon fresh minced parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat a large saute pan on a high setting, while the pan is heating season the flour with salt and pepper. 
2. Dust the sole with the seasoned flour. 
3. Add two tablespoons (28g) of butter to the saute pan and melt until slightly bubbly.
4. Add the sole filets to the saute pan making sure you do not over crowd the pan, or they won't brown. 
5. Fry each side until golden, then remove from pan.
6. Add the remaining butter and continue to cook until the butter begins to turn brown slightly. 
7. Once the butter begins to turn brown quickly add the white wine, lemon juice and parsley (you may premix the white wine, lemon juice and parsley so that it is ready when the butter browns).
8. Pour the butter sauce over the sole and serve.

The Palms $10 Lunch Menu

Critic Issue 21 - Food Column

Pumpkin Risotto

I have mixed feelings about The Palms Restaurant. Over the years, I’ve had several really good dishes but also several ‘so-so’ meals there. Still, The Palms has stayed on my ‘good’ list. So, when I heard about their $10 lunch menu, the prospect of having posh, cheap lunches was very appealing. My friends and I have lunched there twice and I have….mixed reviews.

Creme Brulee

Fish Cakes

At our first lunch, S had a delicious, elegant, beautifully balanced pumpkin risotto (it has a more elaborate description, but unfortunately, I neglected to record it) which she very generously shared with me because I was very disappointed with my order…and it was my birthday. You know you have a good friend if she’ll offer to swap half of her ‘something delicious’ for half of your ‘something bleh’. I, unluckily, ordered the ‘Fish and potato cakes infused with fennel, maryrose sauce and dressed greens’, which was altogether rather bland. We also indulged in an apricot (I think) crème brûlée with pistachio biscotti and a coconut and pineapple thing (the name escapes me, sorry!). The coconut and pineapple thing wasn’t bad but it was the crème brûlée that we had high hopes for because we once had a fantastic, luxuriously rich and smooth coffee crème brûlée here (for dinner). It (apricot crème brûlée) was pretty good, but not as luscious as that fabulous, coffee flavoured one.

Chicken Tortilla

Coconut and Pineapple Thing

Yesterday, on our second visit, I, thinking I couldn’t go wrong this time, ordered the ‘Rich tomato risotto, spicy chorizo and parmesan puff pastry twist’. I was wrong. I’ve had some amazing risotto in my time and this one was a little one dimensional in comparison. It was okay and wasn’t bland or anything like that but it didn’t have the depth of flavour that a risotto can have. S, two times lucky, had the ‘Chipotle braised chicken tortilla, cheese, capsicum, bean sprout salad and Greek yoghurt’, which was very, very good. The nicely sauced, succulent chicken pieces wrapped up in tortilla were not only incredibly tasty, but also beautifully presented. This time, I was not offered half of the ‘something delicious’!

Tomato Risotto

To be fair, I’m pretty sure I had higher expectations because it was The Palms, as opposed to any other normal restaurant in town with a $10 lunch menu. The portions were mid-sized, which is an understandable trade-off for the quality food and low price, and perfectly fine as an occasional treat. So you may be left wanting more if you only order a main, but that simply means you have room for some dessert after.

The Palms Restaurant

18 Queens Gardens

Dunedin

In Betweens

Critic Issue 20 - Food Column

The reality is that fantastic food places are rare and far in between, particularly in a small(ish) city like Dunedin. We are lucky enough to have a few restaurants that serve exceptionally good, sometimes even outstanding, food but the rest mostly just fall in the “not bad”, “okay” or the “sometimes some things are good” categories. These “in betweens” are essential to our gastronomic happiness. We need to be familiar with “not bads” and “okays” of the world to preserve an un-jaded palate and to be able to identify the “fantastics” when we encounter them.

This week’s column is a tribute to the “in between”. These are the dishes that I order most frequently when I dine at these establishments and I think they’re pretty good. At Thai Over (388 George St), I always order the ‘Vietnamese Fried Fish Steak’, which is battered fish fillets with stir fried tomatoes, red onion and mushrooms in a mild garlic, chilli and black pepper sauce, served on a hot plate. It is the tasty, mildly peppery sauce that coats the fish and mushrooms that does it for me, and I wish there was more of it so I wouldn’t have to rub my fish pieces on the bottom of the plate to soak up more sauce, but it’s still good. I also like the ‘Tom Yum’ and ‘Green Curry’ at Thai Over and the excellent, efficient service provided by a petite staff member who has now memorised my approximately fortnightly ‘Vietnamese Fried Fish Steak’ order.

At Korea House (450 George St), my favourites are the ‘Bibimbap’ or ‘Kimchi Pork’. I really enjoy the spiciness and the variety of textures and flavours that you get from the nine or ten different toppings that go on the ‘Bibimbap’. The ‘Kimchi Pork’ is just stir fried pork and kimchi, which doesn’t sound very fancy but is nice and tasty (and slightly spicy), if you like kimchi. As a general rule, the barbecue meat dishes are also good choices. Most of their mains come with nice little side dishes of kimchi, mung beans and cubed potatoes (I think). Instead of the cubed potatoes, they used to include a type of seaweed, which I quite liked, but alas, not anymore.

And finally, whenever I have a hankering for ‘Kimchi Fried Rice’, I go to Tokyo House (367 George St), where the dish is not overly dry and the kimchi and beef pieces are juicy and succulent. Tokyo House also serves relatively cheap, fresh sushi and decent teriyaki and curry dishes. The biggest (no pun intended) plus point for Tokyo House is that the meal portions are quite large and the prices are reasonable, which enhances its appeal for those of us with healthy appetites and limited budgets.

Gordon Ramsay's Crepes Suzette

So we were eating paella and watching two French restaurants face off on F Word. When the dessert course came up, Gordon demonstrated how to make Crepes Suzette. I think, before the 30 second clip was even over, S was already on her laptop asking Google for the recipe. And, as soon as the show ended, S hopped off the couch and announced that we were making Crepes Suzette, "NOW"! I did not protest.

I, always her humble assistant, was put in charge of segmenting the oranges - which seemed daunting to begin with but was actually incredibly easy. When the job was completed, the segments looked as though they were quite professionally done, even if I do say so myself. After everything was put together, we decided to go one step further and got the blow torch out. We thought it would be a good idea to dust the oranges with sugar and caramelise (is that the right term?) them with the torch - hence the burnt bits in the pictures. It didn't really turn out exactly the way we wanted it to (think thin crème brûlée shell, S suspects that we should have used caster rather than icing sugar), but there were still tiny bits of caramelised sugar and it still tasted great.

Wonderfully soft, light crepes scattered with lovely juicy, citrusy sweet, sauce soaked orange segments, with faintly crisp edges. Absolutely mouth watering-ly, delicious.

Chili, Garlic & Prawn Vermicelli

NB: I recently edited this post/recipe (originally posted 28th October 2009) for a Critic article and am re-posting it because this version is cleaner. Plus this is one of my absolute favourite dishes, so I'm sharing it, again!

This is the dish that I am most proud of, even though I am not sure that I have the right to be proud of something that isn’t an original idea. I watched Jamie Oliver make something like it on TV once so I just followed the basic rules and added/changed whatever I felt like. Also, it isn’t a particularly unusual or novel dish. It is, however, absolutely delicious and that is why it is my favourite thing to make whenever I feel the urge to impress friends or family. Everyone I've ever made this for has loved it and has asked me to make it for them again.

I just love rich, nutty taste that you get when you bite into lovely golden brown slices of sautéed garlic. Combine that with tasty, springy grilled prawns, the zing of chilli flakes and the mellow, woody taste of shaved parmesan, and you have yourself a winner! Who cares about garlic breath when something tastes this amazing? Plus, as with everything else I cook, it is incredibly easy to throw together - so easy that I always keep a bag of frozen prawns in the freezer and a bottle of anchovies in the drawer just in case I feel the need to whip this up. Try it.

Chilli, Garlic Prawn & Vermicelli

Ingredients:

Prawns

Anchovies (80g, bottled in olive oil)

Garlic (Thinly sliced. Lots. There's no such thing as too much.)

Italian Herbs

Chili Flakes

Vermicelli (or any pasta of your choice, IMO it goes best with vermicelli)

Olive Oil and Salt

Parmesan (shaved)

Method:

1. Pat dry prawns and marinate in minced garlic (mince some of the slices), salt and olive oil to coat. Mix well.
2. Boil water with salt and oil in pot to cook pasta. Monitor as you cook.
3. ‘Grill’ prawns in hot dry pan until golden on each side. Prawns cook quite quickly, so be careful not to overcook them.
4. Remove cooked prawns from pan and reduce the heat to medium.
5. Pour in all the oil from the bottle of anchovies (it is important to use the oil from the anchovies), then when pan has cooled a little, add the anchovies too (if you add them immediately, the pan may still be too hot and they may burn). Add more olive oil if required.
6. Sauté anchovies for a while then toss in all the sliced garlic and sauté until soft and golden brown. Most of the anchovies will dissolve.
7. As soon as garlic slices start to brown, reduce heat to low. Add chilli flakes and Italian herbs and salt and mix well. You have to a bit more salt that you usually would, otherwise it will be bland.
8. Drain vermicelli, add to pan and toss well with other ingredients. Taste to see if it needs more salt. Add as necessary.
9. Serve topped with shaved parmesan.
10. Take one bite, widen your eyes and exclaim "OMG this is SO good!", then gobble it up and go for seconds.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Critic Issue 18

NB: If you're wondering what happened to issues 16-17, I had to use some of the material already posted on this blog and didn't want to repeat myself. I have/will post the new bits that were tacked on in those articles.

I’m a big fan of FoodWishes.com. Every recipe of Chef John’s that we’ve tried has turned out perfectly, and that is not something I can say about any of the current celebrity chefs. I’ve always wanted to have a typical ‘Southern’ meal, which to me, having been influenced by pop TV, equals fried chicken, cornbread and sweet potato pie. I have never been to the southern American states and have no idea whether any of this is actually ‘southern’, but regardless, this week's theme is (loosely) Southern food. Naturally we turned to our favourite authority on American food, and found a great ‘Buttermilk Fried Chicken’ recipe. The chicken turned out beautifully with a nice crispy, crunchy coating and deliciously tender, juicy, tasty flesh. It pays to invest in a proper thermometer to get the temperature of the oil right, but not critical if you make sure the oil is very hot before frying. We also made some corn bread, which was pretty good and really easy to make, and blanched green beans, for the full southern experience. All in all, it was a really good, satisfying meal, which is the ethos of Southern food (according to my TV).

I know (or hope) you're thinking, "Where are the mashed potatoes?!!". We contemplated making stock standard mashed potatoes or trying our friend E's Parsnip and Cauliflower puree recipe, and ended up doing the latter (it's the bed that the green beans are on, in the picture). It didn't turn out as 'mashed-potato-like' as I would have liked (maybe we added too much water because the damn thing wouldn't blend properly) but it was a little too airy/watery for my liking. It had a nice garlicky flavour, but there was just no bite to it. I might be tempted to try this again (will adhere strictly to the recipe if I do try it again) if I get a flash blender sometime in the future.

If you're going to try making the corn bread, click on the link to the original recipe and read the comments from people who have tried this recipe. Most people prefer it a little sweeter (so add a bit more sugar) and some added a can of corn. We forgot to add more sugar this time around so it wasn't as good as the first time we made it. Also, if you leave it in the oven for too long, it will dry out, so don't.

Corn Bread
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar (will taste better if you use a bit more sugar, see comments on original site)
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup shortening

Method
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the milk, eggs and shortening; beat for 1 minute. Pour into a greased 9-in. square baking pan. Bake at 220˚C for 20-25 minutes or until bread is golden brown and tests done.

On a separate occasion, I had an insane craving for Lemon Bars after watching an episode of Las Vegas, where the chef made lemon bars. I had never tasted them before but I knew I had to have them, so I found the easiest recipe online and….got D and S to make them. Even though they were not exactly like I imagined they would be (I thought they would be more custardy) they were still very good – soft, sweet, satisfying, lemony filling with a nice chewy crust. This recipe is a keeper.

Lemon Bars

Ingredients:

250 g sifted all-purpose flour

120 g confectioners' sugar

225 g butter, melted

4 eggs

400 g white sugar

3 g baking powder

30 g all-purpose flour

150 ml lemon juice

Method:

Preheat oven to 175˚C. Grease a 9x13 inch pan. In a medium bowl, stir together 2 cups flour and confectioners' sugar. Blend in the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Combine the sugar, baking powder and 1/4 cup of flour so there will be no flour lumps. Stir the sugar mixture into the eggs. Finally, stir in the lemon juice. Pour over the prepared crust and return to the oven. Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until bars are set. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars. Dust with icing sugar (optional).