Our next guest knows all about flavours and I thought we’d start there before we get into the two recipes he’s brought for us today. For 40 years beloved chef, restrauteur, writer and fusion pioneer Peter Gordon has gtathered ingredients, textures and techniques from the kitchens’ of the world, … eight books and award-winning restaurants. Most recently Peter hosted “Ocean of Flavours: One Ocean, Many Flavours” in the kitchen at AUT School of Hospitality and Tourism. Peter Gordon’s Recipes: Asparagus, soft-boiled eggs, pangrattato, cheese The only unfamiliar part of this is likely to be the pangrattato – Italian for ‘grated bread’. Its roots are in cucina povera / peasant cooking, where nothing would ever be wasted, especially stale bread. You want to toast coarse crumbs in oil until almost golden, then add garlic till it crisps up, before mixing it into the crumbs with salt and (my preference) smoked paprika. It gives great crunchy texture to dishes like pasta with a creamy sauce or even sprinkled on salads. It’s known as ‘poor man’s parmesan’ due to its punchy flavour character. Fine breadcrumbs won’t work – so I use panko crumbs or you could also grate firm stale bread with a coarse cheese grater or carefully blitz stale bread in a food processor. Make it in advance and it keeps in a cool airtight place for a week. This makes enough for 6 portions. For two brunch meals – just add more eggs or asparagus as needed 1 bunch asparagus (generally around 250g) 2 eggs 1 ½ Tbsp olive oil 2/3 cup coarse breadcrumbs – I use panko crumbs as described above 2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced 1/8 tsp smoked paprika 50g cheese – I used Clevedon Buffalo cheese marinated in oil and herbs, but crumbled feta or a grated firm cheese like parmesan, pecorino or gouda would also work well Fresh herbs – I used chives and basil from our deck 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil for garnishing Bring a pot half filled with lightly salted water to a boil Snap the fibrous ends of the asparagus off. Hold each spear about 2/3 down towards the base in both hands with a 5cm gap between your thumbs and bend the asparagus until it breaks in two. The break is where the spear becomes fibrous – you can discard the ends. Alternately – cut 2cm off each base and discard, then use a potato peeler to peel the skin from the lower 5-6cm of each spear, rotating after each peel. Add the asparagus to the pot and cook 1 – 2 minutes until it’s to your liking – just take the largest one out and cut the end off and taste it. If the asparagus is in varying thicknesses, add the fatter spears first, cook a minute, then add the thinner spears. Take from the pot using tongs and leave on a plate to one side while you prep the rest of the dish Add the eggs to the same boiling water and cook at a medium boil for 6 minutes – cook another 3-4 minutes for hard boiled. Take from the pot, put into a clean jug or bowl and run cold water over for 15 seconds, drain, then dump a cup or two of ice on, top up with cold water and leave to cool. If you don’t have ice you’ll just need to run cold tap water over for two minutes and then leave them. Once they’ve cooled 5-10 minutes peel them. Make the pangrattato. Bring a pan to medium heat. Add 2 tsp oil and swirl it around the base of the pan. Scatter in the breadcrumbs and give them a stir. Keep cooking and give it a stir every 30 seconds until the crumbs become golden. Move the crumbs to the outer rim of the pan and add the remaining oil to the centre. Tip the sliced garlic onto the oil and spread it out evenly. Let it cook and sizzle until the garlic becomes golden too. Add ½ tsp flaky salt ( ¼ tsp fine salt) and mix the crumbs back into the garlic, cooking another minute or so until the crumbs are golden brown, stirring gently as they cook to prevent them burning. Turn the heat off, sprinkle the smoked paprika over the crumbs, give it all a good stir then tip into a clean bowl or plate Divide the asparagus between two plates, sprinkle with a little salt and dollop or sprinkle on the cheese. Cut the eggs in half and lay on top, scatter with the herbs. Spoon the pangrattato over and finally drizzle with the EV olive oil Slow cooked spiced coconut lamb shoulder for Labour weekend I thought this would be good for Labour weekend as it takes almost no effort. Of course you need to marinate the lamb and cook it, but there’s 5-6 hours cooking time when you can sit back and relax. To make the meal even more effortless, serve with some boiled new potatoes tossed with butter and shredded mint, a green salad with diced tomatoes if they’re looking good and ripe, and a bowl of (room temperature) plain Greek-style yoghurt to dollop on top of each portion of lamb. All quite quick and simple to prepare. I marinated lamb in a handmade Thai style red curry paste earlier in the year for an event in Poneke Wellington, the inspiration for this dish. There are many spice pastes in the shops from many cuisines – use whatever takes your fancy – just read the ingredients. I like to cook lamb shoulder for 6 hours to get it perfectly tender, but if you’re running out of time then increase the heat by 10*C and you can cook it in 3 ½ – 4 hours – just check on it towards the end – the meat must come away from the bone easily. I like to slow-cook meats in a Dutch oven or heavy based oven-proof pot or casserole that has a tight-fitting lid and that’s at least 3cm deeper than the lamb is thick. Whatever you cook it in needs to comfortably hold the shoulder but not be so large that the lamb is taking up less than half the space as it could dry out – it’s the moisture that helps it become tender. A deep roasting dish tightly sealed with foil, with baking paper resting on the lamb, will also work, and it also cooks well in a slow cooker. One 2kg lamb shoulder with bone in (will feed 4-6 people) 4 Tbsp Thai style curry paste, more or less to taste 2 Tbsp soy sauce (or 1 Tbsp fish sauce or 2 tsp flaky salt) 2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced 2 medium carrots, sliced ½ cm thick 6 – 12 garlic cloves, unpeeled A small handful fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, bay leaves or 2 tsp dried herbs 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes 1 x 400g can coconut milk Ideally marinate the lamb overnight in the fridge, or for at least 2 hours in a cool place. Sit the lamb on a tray or plate and using a small sharp knife, poke the shoulder all over to the bone 20 times Mix the soy sauce and curry paste together and then rub this evenly all over the lamb, poking into the cuts. Cover and leave to marinate – turning it once and basting with any liquid in the tray Six to seven hours before you want to serve it, take it from the fridge. Turn the oven to 190*C fan-bake and place the rack in the middle of the oven In the dish you’ll be cooking the lamb in, place the onions, carrots, garlic and herbs and pour over the tomatoes. Fill the can with half a can of water and add that as well, mix. Turn the lamb over and sit it on the vegetables in the middle of the dish and drizzle with any juices from the marinade. Place the lid on the dish and put in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 135*C fan bake. After 3 hours cooking, take the dish out and sit it on a heatproof board. Carefully take the lid off, steam will come out so be careful, and check how it’s going, the meat will have begun to come away from the bones. Carefully turn the shoulder over using two pairs of tongs or a large fork and large spoon. Pour in the coconut milk, put the lid back on and continue to cook another 90 minutes. Check the lamb again and when it’s falling from the bone take the lid off, increase the temperature to 180*C and cook another 20 – 30 minutes until the lamb begins to caramelise Take the dish from the oven and leave in a warm place with the lid off for 20 minutes, then carefully lift the shoulder from the dish and place on a platter. Transfer the contents of the dish to a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil then reduce till you have a tasty ‘gravy’. If you’re cooking this in a cast iron Dutch oven you can just cook it on the stove Place the lamb platter on the table with your accompanying dishes and let people help themselves – and share the labour.
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