I Love You Cantonese Cuisine

Lemon Curd, Tart, Shortbread ... reading this blog you would never suspect my favourite cuisine is actually Cantonese Cuisine. Cantonese cuisine comprises of classic dishes such as fish steamed in soy sauce, dressed with ginger and shallot, summer melon in clear broth and mountains of snowy white rice. It is a clean cuisine full of balanced sweet and savoury flavours and I often describe this experience as akin to a sour cream and onion chip. I also love how it strives to use all parts of the animal. Prince Philip famously commented, "if it has got four legs and is not a chair, if it has two wings and it flies but is not an aeroplane, and if it swims and is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it."

Ah Prince Philip, you saucy old fart, you make me laugh and my heart swell with pride. But I've veered off on a tangent and point of this story was to inform you all (a) how much I LOVE Cantonese cuisine and (b) due to the majority of my family specialising in this type of cuisine, I've never had a need to cook it and as a result I've gone a bit wild in the land of dessert. However there comes a time when you do crave that lightness and balance and this where Bill Granger comes and answers my prayers. Bill Granger's 'Simply Bill' features the most divine Chicken Noodle Soup recipe. Though you can purchase great stock these days I recommend you go through the process of making the stock yourself. Behold the result of my craving:

Old Faithful: Potato Salad

There is something extremely comforting about potato salad. It can be served hot or cold, takes only minutes to prepare and is always a crowd pleaser. My Mother asked me to whip up a potato salad for tomorrow's traditional Christmas food-a-rama so here is one of my quick and easy variations. This recipe is extremely flexible so feel free to exchange the whole egg mayonnaise for sour cream or add finely slice spring onions for some extra zing. I personally can't abide cold eggs so I always leave them out.

Ingredients:

• 2.5kg of washed baby potatoes
• 440g whole egg mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 3 rashers of bacon, diced
• chives.

Method:

Roughly slice all your baby potatoes in half (or quarters if they are a little larger), place in a large stockpot and add enough cold water to cover. Boil the potatoes until tender, drain using a strainer and place back into the stockpot.

Pan fry your diced bacon and once the fat is translucent, remove from fry pan and place in a large bowl.

In a large bowl, combine the bacon, mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, seeded and dijon mustard. Once the potatoes are warm, pour the contents of the large bowl into the stock pot and combine. Prior to serving the salad, sprinkle some finely dice chives. This salad can be served either hot or cold.

'When I Get Home' - Matt Moran

Super star chefs are today's celebrities and Matt Moran is no different with two restaurants, a string of media engagements and two published cook books. Following the super star chef mould Moran's first cook book was a compilation of his signature dishes and largely unusable for the average home cook. However his second foray into the world of cook books is far more user friendly and comes beautifully presented with a die cut hard cover and tactile spine. 209 pages of modern Australian cuisine which includes recipes such as Haloumi with Watermelon and Mint and Smoked Trout and Asparagus Tart. I've recently made this tart twice and it is just outstanding. It's delicious, presents well but a word of warning ... do not try unless you have a spring form tart pan. It's a must have piece of equipment.

Smoked Trout and Asparagus Tart
Serves six.

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
• 3 eggs
• 300ml cream
• 100ml milk
• 1/4 bunch dill, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 300g piece hot-smoked rainbow trout
• 50g parmesan (preferably reggiano)

Shortcrust pastry

• 250g plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• pinch caster sugar
• 160g butter, slightly softened
• 1 egg
• 20ml milk

Method:

To prepare the shortcrust pastry, rub the flour, salt and sugar with the butter until you form a crumb consistency. Mix in the egg and milk and knead gently two or three times. Wrap the pastry in plastic film and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Remove from the fridge and allow the pastry to come back to room temperature before rolling.

Roll out the pastry to a thickness of about 5 mm and line a 25cm tart tin. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork, several times, then return to the fridge for about an hour to rest.

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Cut out a round piece of baking paper about 5cm larger in diameter than the tart tin. Line the pastry case with the paper and weigh down with some dried beans or rice. Bake for about 12 minutes, then remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 10 minutes. Brush the inside of the tart case with some beaten egg and return to the oven for 2 minutes (this will prevent the pastry from becoming soggy). Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Slice each asparagus spear into three pieces. Blanch in boiling salted water for 10-20 seconds, then drain and cool in iced water. When the asparagus is cold, drain off the water.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, cream, milk, dill, salt and pepper. Remove the skin from the trout and carefully flake the flesh, taking care to remove any bones you find in the process. Scatter the trout and asparagus inside the cooled tart case, the pour on the custard. Finely grate some parmesan over the top and bake for 15 minutes or until the custard is set. Allow the tart to cool for 15 minutes, then remove from the tin and cut into wedges to serve.

Source: 'When I Get Home' - Matt Moran.