Hey Pesto! October/November 2010
In this issue •
Fiji Special
• Fijian Guest Chef
Bula! Bula! From Fijian fields to the best Pesto in New Zealand From our basil beginnings on a lush farm in Fiji all the way to you, we remain passionate about our delicious pesto creations, made from the finest ingredients and generations of Genoese know how. Still run by the founding family, our passion for fresh ingredients is what we’re all about, leading us to begin farming in Fiji to grow fresh basil and other herbs all year around so you can create delicious dishes for your menu. We fly fresh basil to NZ weekly to make small, handmade batches of Fresh Pesto, Tapenade and Chunky Pesto Dips. Our Kiwi farm manager John Kemp, born in NZ raised in Fiji is a close family friend and excellent horticulturist. Passionate about making sure the best tasting plants are used to enrich the pesto flavour, John runs the farm using biological farming methods to enrich the soil and is moving toward organic
• Lots of recipes
• Cafe Corner
• Competition
farming methods as much as possible to achieve healthier plants with longer lasting freshness and taste. The 18ha farm is 2 minutes from the Nadi International Airport, a staff of 17 hand pick and pack only the best herbs. “People need to know that Fiji has a wonderful climate for growing herbs. Lots of warm Fiji sunshine and good soils, the plants are so healthy the flavours in the herbs are so strong.”
Guest
Chef – Kupsami Gounder
Staying with our Fijian theme, our guest chef is Kupsami Gounder from Fiji. Kupsami is the Executive Chef at the Novotel Lakeside & Hotel, Rotorua. The Novotel & Ibis cover 7 function rooms, with the biggest having capacity of 400 seating, 140 seats a la carte and buffet restaurant, 80 seat Ibis restaurant and 180 seats Matariki Maori cultural centre. WOW. Kupsami does however find some time to ride motorbikes, play golf and come up with a delicious recipe for our newsletter!
Roast salmon fillet w Genoese Pesto gnocchi, baby turnips, olive salsa & hollandaise sauce – Serves 1 1. Salmon
2. Genoese pesto gnocchi
160g salmon fillet – scaled & pin boned 5g chopped chervil 10ml lemon juice 10ml olive oil To taste salt & pepper 30g cleaned baby turnips
75g potatoes 75g butter 20g flour 2 egg yolk 10g grated parmesan 10g melted butter 20g Genoese basil pesto 10g baby spinach
Method Mix lemon juice, olive oil, chopped chervil together with salt and pepper. Dip salmon in the mixture and marinate for 20 minutes. Roast in oven at 170 degrees Celsius for 5 to 7 minutes or until cooked through. Set aside to rest. Cook turnips in boiling water with touch of lemon juice and salt. Drain and set aside.
3. Hollandaise sauce 50ml butter Peppercorns crushed (4) 20ml Vinegar 2 Egg yolks Juice of 1 lemon
Method Place butter in a pan and melt in a Bain Marie. Separate butter milk from butter and keep warm. Place peppercorn, vinegar in a pan and reduce until ½ of the original amount. Allow to cool and add approx. 20 ml of water. Add egg yolk and whisk continuously in a Bain Marie to form a sabayon. Remove from Bain Marie and cool until Luke warm. Add melted butter gradually and whisking continuously. Pass through a fine strainer. Add seasoning. Finish with lemon juice and keep at 34 degrees Celsius.
Method Cook potatoes in boiling water, drain, dry and pass through a sieve and reheat in a pan. Add flour, butter and egg yolk to hot mashed potato and season with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and turn into a smooth texture. Mould into small balls, press gently with fork to give a flat shape. Dust with flour and cook in boiling water very gently for 6 minutes. Drain. Place gnocchi in a skillet with butter and colour light brown, add Genoese pesto, turnips and baby spinach till warm.
4. Olive salsa 5g green stuffed olives 5g pitted black olives 5g chopped tomato seeds discarded 5g Genoese basil pesto 10ml Olive oil To taste salt & pepper
Method Chop olives and mix all ingredients together. Plating Place warm gnocchi, turnip & spinach in a pasta bowl. Rest salmon over the Gnocchi and top up with hollandaise and olive salsa.
Inspiring recipes to transform a pot of Genoese Pesto into a memorable snack…..
VEGETABLE, FETA & FRESH BASIL PESTO PARCELS Ingredients
Serves 2
10g butter 2 cloves garlic crushed 155g asparagus spears trimmed & cut into 2cm squares 1 carrot cut into julienne strips 1 zucchini cut into julienne strips 1 red capsicum cut into julienne strips 6 spring onions thinly sliced on diagonal 80g mild feta cheese crumbled 8 sheets filo pastry 60g butter melted 1/3 cup Genoese Fresh Basil Pesto 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
Method Preheat oven to 200°C.
Café Corner Our cafe is situated in the old Oddfellows Hall in Addington, Christchurch. A colonial building with native timber floor and high ceiling, some 125 years old. The adjoining Hummingbird Coffee roastery supplies freshly roasted beans each day. We’re a very busy cafe, open for breakfast and lunch serving simple food using good fresh ingredients. We’ve been using Genoese Pesto for 10 years and daren’t change as the customers love it. Jenny who manages the cafe lived in Levin for 27 years so knew it would be a good product coming out of the Horowhenua district. We use it in our ever-popular toasted ficelles, bagels and panini’s. Our cafe is a nice relaxed place to meet friends or to start the day with a coffee or breakfast. We have some large tables so work groups are well catered for. 5 Disraeli Street Sydenham, Christchurch. mon-fri: 7am – 4pm SATURDAY: 8am – 4pm SUNDAY: Closed
Genoses Fresh Basil Pesto Bread Ingredients
1 French stick 2 tablespoons Genoese Fresh Basil Pesto 2 tablespoons butter softened
Heat butter in large frying pan, then add garlic & vegetables. Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, or until just tender. Cool completely and fold in feta. Divide the mixture into four equal portions.
Method Mix any Genoese Pesto and butter together. Cut bread on an angle at 2cm thickness, but not right through.
Work with four sheets of pastry at a time, keeping the rest covered with a damp cloth. Brush each sheet with melted butter and lay them on top of each other.
Serve while warm.
Put pesto mixture in each cut, wrap in foil and heat for a few minutes.
Savoury Muffins
Cut in half width ways and spread 1 tablespoon of Genoese Fresh Basil Pesto in the centre of each half, leaving a 2cm border lengthways. Place one portion of the vegetable feta mixture on top of the Genoese Fresh Basil Pesto.
Ingredients
Repeat the process with the remaining pastry, Genoese Fresh Basil Pesto and filling. Brush the edges of the filo with a little butter, tuck in the sides and fold over the ends to make four parcels. Place on a greased tray seam side down, brush with the remaining butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. Cut in half diagonally and serve hot with tomato chutney.
Method
Serves 12
2 cups flour 4 teaspoons baking powder 1 cup milk 1 egg beaten 100g Genoese Pesto of your choice Salt Preheat oven to 200°C. Sieve together flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Mix egg, Genoese Pesto and milk together and then mix with the dry ingredients. Do not over mix. Spoon into greased muffin tins. Cook for 10-15 minutes - and sprinkle with grated cheese 5 minutes before removal from oven. Serve with soup. Cheese and/or bacon may be added to the mixture.
‘Win an Indulgent Picnic with Genoese Pesto’ To celebrate the end of winter, enjoy a whole host of Genoese’ deliciousness, along with some Italian goodies. We’ve got 3 Hampers to give away to 3 lucky winners. For your chance to win, simply email your name, business and phone number to: pesto@genoese.co.nz
Hey Pesto News Bites 2010 Culinary Fare August saw the 2010 Annual Culinary Fare, a fiercely contested industry showdown with close to 1000 chef’s taking part in 74 competitions across 3 days. It provides a platform for hospitality participants to match themselves against their peers and to compete for prestigious industry awards and prizes. Genoese sponsored the ‘Fish & Seafood’ class, which this year was won by Amanulla Khan, Novotel, Ellerslie. Congratulations to all of the participants, the level this year was outstanding.
Competition winners Toop’s Tradeshow in Palmerston North - Winner of $100 worth of Genoese products was: Alan Windle, The Horseman’s Café – Shannon.
Be the next ‘Guest chef’ or ‘cafe corner’ profile We are always looking for articles to include in our Hey Pesto newsletter from any chef or cafe in New Zealand, have your say, send us a Genoese Pesto recipe, a topic you want covered or if you want to be featured in our cafe corner.
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