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THAI SPANNER CRAB AND RICE OMELETTES WITH AVOCADO, CUCUMBER AND CHILLI

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked jasmine rice

• 50 gm golden shallots, finely diced

• 1 stalk lemongrass, finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

• 1 tbs ginger, grated

• 1 small red chilli, finely chopped

• stalks of ½ bunch coriander, finely chopped

• 2 tbs sesame oil

• 200 gm cooked spanner crab meat

• ½ cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped

• 8 eggs

• 50 ml cold water

• 4 tbs vegetable oil

• 1 avocado, finely sliced

• 1 Lebanese cucumber, finely shaved with a peeler or mandolin

• ½ cup mixed coriander leaves, Vietnamese mint and Thai basil

• 1 large red chilli, julienned

• 1 kaffir lime leaf, very finely sliced

• 75 ml fish sauce

• 50 ml lime juice

• 2 tbs palm sugar

• 2 tbs fried shallots

One of my favourite omelettes of all time, I could eat this for breakfast lunch or dinner every day. Cooked prawns or fish are a good alternative if you can’t get hold of crab meat. This is where using good eggs makes a big difference, both for colour and their ability to hold together when wrapping them up.

Method:

• Fry the shallots, garlic, ginger, lemon grass, chilli and coriander stalks in sesame oil until fragrant.

• Add the rice and fry for two minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the crab meat and chopped coriander. Season to taste with salt.

• Whisk together the fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar.

• Whisk together the eggs and water.

• In a non-stick pan heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and fry a quarter of the egg mixture until just set. Gently slide out of the pan onto a clean workbench.

• Repeat this process another 3 times so you have 4 omelettes.

• Place a quarter of the crab rice mixture on the front third of each omelette and roll up into a rectangular parcel.

• Carefully transfer to a baking tray.

• Gently mix the herbs, avocado, cucumber, julienned chilli and kaffir lime leaves.

• Warm the crab omelettes in a 180°C oven for 5 minutes.

• Transfer to plates using a wide palette knife and top with the salad mixture.

• Pour over the fish sauce dressing, sprinkle with the fried shallots and serve immediately.

GOAT’S CHEESE SOUFFLÉ WITH APPLE, RADISH AND PECANS

This is a great base recipe for any type of cheese soufflé. Cheddar, blue cheeses and gruyere all work well. The beauty of them is that you can make them in advance and reheat them just before you need them and they rise back up!

Ingredients:

• 60 gm butter

• 60 gm plain flour

• 350 ml milk

• 50 gm parmesan, grated

• 150 gm goat’s cheese

• 4 large free-range eggs, separated

• 2 tbs pecans, roughly chopped

• 100 gm breakfast radishes,

Method: shredded

• 1 gala apple, shredded

• ½ cup watercress

• 1 tbs white wine vinegar

• 2 tbs olive oil

• ½ tsp Dijon mustard

• 2 tbs apple balsamic vinegar

(optional)

• 2 tbs cream

• Salt and pepper

• Melt butter in a medium saucepan, add flour and cook over a low heat for one minute, stirring constantly.

• Slowly add milk, stirring well with each addition and cook until thick.

• Mix in parmesan and half of the goat’s cheese and scrape into a mixing bowl.

• Allow to cool for 10 minutes before mixing in the yolks.

• Season with salt and white pepper.

• Whisk whites to soft peaks using a whisk or electric beaters.

• Fold 1/3 of the whites through the mix to lighten it, and then gently fold in the rest.

• Three quarters fill four buttered and floured 120 mm soufflé dishes and bake in a water bath at 160 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

• Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tray.

• Turn the soufflés out of their moulds,

Roasted Broccolini And Brussels Sprouts With Sauce Noisette And Hazelnut Gratin

SERVES 4 place on a greased baking tray, drizzle with cream and reheat for 5-10 minutes just prior to serving.

• Stir the vinegar, olive oil and mustard together to make the dressing for the salad.

• Mix together the apple, radish, pecans, watercress and the dressing.

• Carefully transfer soufflés to plates, top with the salad, drizzle with the apple balsamic and serve immediately.

Sauce Noisette is a variation of Hollandaise sauce which uses butter that has been heated in a saucepan until the milk solids start to brown and become ‘nutty’. Great with vegetables, poached eggs, and particularly good with fish such as salmon and trout.

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches broccolini

• 500 gm brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

• 50ml olive oil

• 50 gm hazelnuts, roasted, peeled and roughly chopped

• 50 gm sourdough, roughly crumbed

• 50 gm parmesan, grated

• 3 egg yolks

• 20 gm Dijon mustard

• 50 ml white wine vinegar

• 50 ml water

• 150 gm butter

• 2 tbs lemon juice

• Salt and pepper

Method:

• In a large saucepan of salted boiling water, blanch the broccolini and brussels sprouts for 3 mins, refresh in iced water.

• Drain well, then toss with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper and spread out on a tray lined with baking paper.

• Mix together the hazelnuts, sourdough crumbs and parmesan and spread out on a tray lined with baking paper.

• Bake for 10 minutes at 160°C, then allow to cool on the tray.

• Turn the oven up to 200°C and roast the vegetables for 10 – 15 minutes or until they start to colour lightly.

• In a small saucepan, heat the butter until it starts to foam and smell slightly nutty. Remove from heat.

• Whisk the yolks, mustard, vinegar and water over a saucepan of simmering water until thick, remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the butter. Once all incorporated, whisk in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

• Spread the broccolini and brussels sprouts out on a serving platter, drizzle with the sauce and sprinkle over the hazelnut gratin.