Taste of Elizabeth

He’s now back and he’s in charge of the kitchen this time. It’s a dynamic team, with George Gibson and Connie Richards the owners since 2019. Andre and George worked together back when George opened Henry & Ted, so it’s a tested team when it comes to running a great café. Andre says, “I love working at Elizabeth Café because of the great history. Elizabeth is still one of the best cafés in the Bay and my goal is to keep this great reputation going.” Andre is Brazilian, his mum is part Italian and his dad is part Portuguese, which might explain the variety of cuisines you’ll find on Elizabeth’s menu. What’s for sure is his family is where Andre gets his passion for cooking. “My family have always been passionate about cooking. They taught me to cook with passion or not at all.”

We managed to persuade Andre to share a couple of his current favourite recipes with us. Give them a whirl yourself at home and then check how well you did by popping into Elizabeth Café.

The full dish on Elizabeth’s menu includes an eggplant schnitzel and blackberry jus. For the full recipe including these components head to www.nourishmagazine.co.nz.

600g lamb loin 300ml grapeseed oil 5 cloves garlic, chopped 4–5 drops liquid smoke (available from Vetro) small handful thyme

500–600g portobello mushrooms

1 big celeriac 200g butter 25ml fresh cream

In a medium bowl mix grapeseed oil, liquid smoke, chopped garlic and thyme together and marinate lamb loin, ideally overnight or for at least 2 hours. Save some of the marinade and drizzle over the mushrooms then bake for about 15–20 minutes at 180°C. To cook the lamb, heat a cast iron pan and pan fry for about 2½ minutes each side for medium rare. Cover with tin foil and rest for 5–10 minutes.

For the puree, peel and chop celeriac as thin as possible then place in a deep tray with butter and about a third of a cup of water (the water prevents contents burning on the bottom of the tray). Cover tray with tin foil and bake for 30–40 minutes at 180˚C or until celeriac is soft. Place cooked celeriac in a blender with the cream and salt to taste. Blend to a smooth consistency. Place a swipe of the puree on the plate, arrange the mushrooms and lamb on top, then drizzle with the blackberry jus (recipe on our website) or a cabernet reduction or balsamic glaze.

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Andre’s take on salt and pepper squid uses kosher salt. Kosher salt is a coarser salt than table salt (can be found at Vetro but you can also replace it with a flaky sea salt).

1kg squid tube ½–1 cup tapioca flour 1–2 tsp kosher salt 1–2 tsp Szechuan peppercorn, crushed 1 daikon 2 green pears (unpeeled) 2 green apples (unpeeled) 2 carrots (peeled) Juice of 2 limes Kewpie mayo Okonomiyaki sauce (Asian store) ½ cup peanuts, crushed 2 tbsp mixed sesame seeds

¾ cup ponzu (Asian store) 3 tbsp pure sesame oil 5 tbsp soy sauce 2 tsp mirin

Mix of spring onion, mint, Thai basil, coriander, Vietnamese mint 2 red chillies, finely sliced

Cut squid down one side to open out flat, with the inside of the tube facing up. Score the squid with a knife at 45 degree angles, making sure not to cut through squid. Cut squid into strips of about 3cm wide. Set aside. Julienne daikon, unpeeled pears and apples and peeled carrots and then squeeze lime juice over salad to prevent fruit from browning. Set aside.

For ponzu dressing simply add all ingredients in a bowl and mix it thoroughly. To assemble the dish, start by spooning kewpie mayo on the plate. In a salad bowl, mix all julienne salad and dress it with the ponzu dressing. Put a handful on each plate. Coat squid in a dusting of tapioca flour, then deep fry for about 2 minutes at 175˚C. Season squid with Szechuan pepper and kosher salt, then place on top of the daikon salad. Garnish salad with a drizzle of Okonomiyaki sauce, peanuts, mixed herbs and chilli. Bon appetit!

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