...A Word on New Zealand

The following is a dish I used to cook as a good mid-week supper. For a nice romantic dinner, cook in individual oven proof dishes. Obviously, I cannot use the fish I have included in this recipe as this particular variety of marine dweller is something like 15,000 miles away from me, but any firm smoked fish or even salmon or tuna will be just as good. Whenever I make it, I slip back into a nostalgia of weekends spent in Pauanui in the Coromandel, New Zealand, where we would pick up fish from the local fish shop, which had just been caught, grab a kilo of fresh green lipped mussels and literally eat fish from morning to night. Bliss.

New Zealand is an island nation comprising of three main islands - North Island, South Island and Stewart Island, but also has many smaller populated islands including the Chatham Islands, which are roughly 800 kilometres (500 mi) east of Christchurch. New Zealand sits in the south west of the Pacific Ocean and the "Realm of New Zealand" includes the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau and the Ross Dependency - which is New Zealand's territorial claim in Antarctica.

The Head of State is Elizabeth II, the Queen of New Zealand and in her absence she is represented by an appointed non-partisan Governor General. The Queen's role in New Zealand is purely symbolic and does not carry any political power or influence. New Zealand operates under a democratically elected parliament and is headed by a Prime Minister. It has an open economy and is well known for having one of the world's largest free market capitalist economies.

Australia is our closest neighbour and sits roughly 2000km (1250 miles) to the west across the Tasmin Sea. To the north are Fiji, Tonga, New Caledonia and Samoa.

Kahawai is a fish found in the marine waters of the Tasmin Sea and are found off the coast of New Zealand, and along the southern coast of Australia. It is a fish from the Arripidae family and has four species within the genus Arripis. Kahawai is the Maori name for the fish but is also known as Australian Salmon. They are not related to the Northern Hemisphere Salmonidae family (Salmon to you and me), but were actually named by the early European settlers for their resemblance.

Smoked Fish Pie (with local NZ fish)

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

Prepare the fish

1 whole smoked kahawai (or a firm smoked white fish)
5 pepper corns
two bay leaves
1 cup of milk

1. Carefully remove all the flesh from the fish, omitting any bones and place in a large microwavable dish
2. Add pepper corns, bay leaves and milk
3. Cook on high for 4 minutes
4. Remove fish, strain liquid and set aside

Prepare the Sauce

50grams butter
1 heaped tablespoon flour
Strained flavoured milk from the fish preparation
50grams grated cheddar cheese

1. Heat butter in a saucepan until melted.
2. Add flour, stirring constantly until it foams.
3. Slowly, stirring as you go, add flavoured milk.
4. Bring to the boil and stir until thickened.
5. Add cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.
   
6. Add more milk if too thick.

Prepare the Pie

2 cups pre cooked rice, of which 1 tsp tumeric was added to water while cooking
3 desert spoons oilive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
2 celery ribs, sliced
4 hard boiled eggs, halved
1 cup of cooked shellfish of your choice e.g. shrimp, scallops, muscles
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1. Heat olive oil in large frying pan and add onion, garlic and celery. Cook until onion has turned opaque.
2. In a large bowl combine the sauce, flaked smoked fish, vegetables and shellfish.
3. Spread rice across the bottom of an oven proof dish then spoon the sauce mixture on top of it.
   
4. Carefully insert the boiled eggs so that they are covered by the sauce.
5. Sprinkle with the cheddar cheese and place back in a pre heated oven on 170c for 30 mins.
6. After 30 mins turn oven to grill mode and grill off the top of the pie until golden.
   
7. Serve with mixed green leaf salad.
   

...A Word on Satay's

Satay is a method of cooking whereby cubes or strips of meat are threaded onto a bamboo skewer, for more even cooking, and then char-grilled. In Thailand, the traditional accompaniment to satay is a sweet and spicy peanut dipping sauce called nam jim tua.

The jury appears to still be out with food historians as to whether it originated in Indonesia - where it is considered a national dish, south east Asia, middle east, or India . Japan has a similar dish called yakitori, Turkey has shish kebab, China has chuanr and even South Africa has sosatie, which are all similar to satay. Satay also features in many European countries, including Holland where Indonesian specialities have influenced Dutch cooking since their occupation areas of Indonesia from the 17th-19th centuries. Needless to say, they all have their own special version that are as equally addictive to the palet!

Thai Satays

Peanut Sauce (nam jim tua)

Ingredients

1 cup unsalted roasted peanut
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 red chillies - medium strength
1/2 teaspoon of your favourite curry powder
2 teaspoons tamarind paste or lemon juice
1 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon fish sauce

1. Blend peanuts until finely chopped.
2. Heat oil in a wok or sauce pan and add onion, garlic, chillies, tumeric and stir until onion is soft (do not over cook or brown the onions).
3. Add crushed peanuts, tamarind or lemon and gently mix in the coconut milk.
4. Add sugar and fish sauce and stir through until hot.
5. Serve with satays.
6. The sauce will thicken as it sits so you can thin it out by adding a little more coconut milk or even water. Store in an air tight container in fridge for up to two weeks. This can also be frozen.

Chicken Satays

Ingredients

1 dozen or so bamboo skewers
700g chicken breast cut into long strips 2cm wide
3 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon corriander
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespon oil
2 tablespon brown sugar
1 tablespon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped chillie or sambal oelek

1. Soak bamboo skewers in a shallow dish long enough to accommodate them and weigh down with something to keep them submerged. Soak for a minimum of 1 hour or over night if possible.
2. Push the chicken onto the skewers, trying to keep the meat centred and skewer running up the middle of the chicken.
3. Mix together the remaining ingredients to form a paste.
4. Pour paste over chicken and massage into the meat so it is evenly coated.
5. Cover and marinade for a minimum of 1 hour or over night if possible.
6. Cook over a bbq, or in a heavy based frying pan with a little oil until tender.
   
7. Serve with peanut sauce.