JOSH SMALLWOOD’S CHAR GRILLED LOCAL SEAFOOD WITH MACADAMIA CREAM, CURRY LEAF AND HEIRLOOM TOMATOES

Ingredients:

1 Medium local squid cut into strips
80g Quinoa
250g Mooloolaba prawns cleaned with tails
1 Punnet heirloom tomatoes
250g Blanched macadamias
100ml Olive oil
1L Macadamia milk
1tbsp Mustard seeds
1 Tsp bi carb
1 Bunch curry leaf
1 Tbsp sherry vinegar
1 Tsp cumin seeds
1 Nob ginger
1 Lime – zest and juice
2 x Green chilli
1 x Pot baby parsley

Marinade Method:

1. Slice the green chili and place in a bowl with a half a nob of grated ginger and 50ml of olive oil.
2. Brush the above mix onto the seafood and leave in fridge for at least 4 hours.

Puffed Quinoa Method:

1. Add quinoa to boiling water and cook until tender.
2. Strain and rinse under cold water.
3. Drain well and spread on tray to dry in dehydrator for 24 hrs.
4. Fry at 220c until golden and puffed.  Place on absorbent paper.

BAKED PAVLOVA WITH CARAMELISED PLUMS, WHIPPED MASCARPONE & MACADAMIA PRALINE BY JOSH SMALLWOOD

Meringue:

90g whites
180g sugar castor
1tsp corn flour
1tsp white vinegar

Whisk whites until frothy, slowly add sugar bit by bit until all sugar is incorporated and the mix is not grainy, this should take approximately 5 mins. Make a slurry with the vinegar and corn flour, add to mix and whisk for a further 30 seconds until well combined. Bake several spoonful’s of meringue on grease proof paper at 120c for two hours. The meringues should be crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.

Plums:

500g blood plums
100g brown sugar
1 vanilla pod
50ml apple juice

Scrape vanilla pod and mix well with sugar and apple juice, toss halved plums in sugar mix and place on oven tray flesh side up. Bake at 180c for 10-15mins. Allow to cool.

Mascarpone:

250g mascarpone
125g Greek yogurt
100g cream thickened
50g castor sugar

Whisk together all ingredients until whipped and aerated, be careful not to over whip.

Praline:

150g macadamia
100g sugar

Make a caramel with sugar and pour over macadamias. When cool, blitz to crumb texture and keep in freezer.

To assemble:

Break up meringues and spoon dollops of the mascarpone over the top, place plums over cream and drizzle syrup over. Scatter macadamia praline all over and garnish with mint.

CHEF JOSH’S CHRISTMAS MERINGUE

MERINGUE ROULADE, BLACKBERRY, GINGER & ALMOND PRALINE

The humble meringue is an Aussie Christmas tradition, and Chef Josh has created this new twist on a classic. This is one of Josh’s favourite Christmas treats, and you will love this version with its delicious blackberries and crunchy almond praline. Another reason this dish is so special is the way it is served as a roulade, rather than the familiar ‘dollop’ shape.

Roulade
4 egg whites
185g sugar
1tsp cornflour
1tsp white vinegar
250ml thickened cream
1 vanilla bean

In a mixer whisk egg whites until frothy, slowly add sugar while continuing to whisk until all sugar has dissolved and you are left with a fluffy meringue mixture. Mix vinegar and cornflour to a paste and add to egg mix. Whisk for 30 seconds until well combined.

Line a 2cm deep baking tray with grease proof paper. A 30cm x 30cm tray should be fine. Spread the mix evenly over the tray and place into a pre-heated 160°c oven and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool. While cooling, whip the thickened cream and vanilla bean until medium peaks form.

On clean kitchen bench place a 40 x 30cm piece of cling wrap flat on bench. Dust the cling wrap with icing sugar. When meringue is cool, flip over onto cling wrap and spread whipped cream evenly over meringue. Use the cling wrap to start to roll the meringue up like rolling up a towel. When all rolled up, twist the ends and place in fridge to set.

Blackberry
250g blackberries
100g sugar
100ml water
1 star anise
½ vanilla bean
1 nob ginger julienned

Place sugar, water, star anise, vanilla and ginger in a pot and bring to boil. Let simmer for 5 mins.
Allow syrup to cool.

Almond Praline
200g castor sugar
200g slivered almonds

In a pot, bring the castor sugar and 50ml water to boil and simmer. Place slivered almonds on a tray lined with baking paper. when caramel colour has developed pour caramel over almonds and allow to cool at room temperature.
Break up caramel pieces and place in food processor and blend until coarse sand size. Store in freezer.

To plate, cut roulade to desired size and place in middle of plate. Toss the blackberries through the ginger syrup and spoon over roulade. Sprinkle praline over and garnish with baby mint.

COCKTAIL RECIPE: DR’S ORDERS

This crisp and refreshing cocktail is just what the doctor ordered. Simple and unique in its flavours, this could become your next pre-dinner favourite.

Ingredients:

60ml Hibiscus Tea
45ml Tanqueray Gin
15ml Dolin Bitters (Bitter Sweet Vermouth)
5 Drops Rhubarb Bitters (Actual Bitters)

Method:

Pour ingredients into cocktail shaker over ice, shake, and double strain into a coupe.
Serve with orange peel to garnish.

HOW TO COOK THE PERFECT MASH BY CHEF JOSH SMALLWOOD

Ingredients:

1kg Sebago potatoes or a light fluffy potato
200g Unsalted butter diced
100ml Thickened cream
Salt

Method:

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them roughly into 1-2 inch size pieces, make sure they are pretty close in size so they cook evenly.
2. Place in a heavy base pot and just cover with cold water. Add a decent amount of salt (potatoes love salt, don’t be shy!).
3. Bring them to boil, then turn down to a slow simmer. After roughly 20mins or until just tender, drain potatoes well in a colander.
4. Place the potatoes back into the pot and put back onto heat, stiring with a wooden spoon. This will let the potatoes dry and steam to remove any excess moisture. Do this for 1 minute.
5. Mash with a masher, if you have a drum sieve push through that as you will achieve a smoother result. Take care not to let your potato cool down too much as it can become lumpy.
6. Over heat, beat in the diced butter until all combined and then add hot cream. Season with a generous amount of salt and serve immediately.

DESSERT IN A COCKTAIL

That’s what this scrumptious Banana Meringue Cocktail is! This creamy and oh so delicious cocktail tastes like a slice of Meringue Pie – with a kick.

Banana Meringue Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients:

45ml Banana Rum
15ml Frangelico
10ml Applewood Limoncello
30ml Egg White

Method:

1. Pour all four ingredients into a shaker and dry shake.
2. Add ice and shake well.
3. Double strain into a coupe glass.
4. Garnish with a dry banana chip.
5. Enjoy!

COOL AS A COCKTAIL

This refreshing cocktail is perfect for crisp evenings by the river. The combination of gin, cucumber and elderflower is a classic and palate cleansing tipple.

Cool As A Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients:

45ml Tanquary gin
15ml St Germain elderflower liqueur
15ml Lime juice
4 Cubes Telegraph cucumber, use the rest for garnish
8 Mint leaves

Method:

1. Add all ingredients to a shaker
2. Muddle
3. Add ice
4. Shake
5. Double strain into a glass
6. Slice the remaining cucumber length ways and place in glass for garnish

JOSH’S GUIDE TO PICKLING VEGES

This is my go to recipe for pickling, I love the coriander seeds and sweetness of the rice wine vinegar, and you can use almost anything you like.

Simple Pickled Vegetables

Ingredients:

1kg vegetables (use anything you like such as cauliflower, zucchini, broccoli, sweet potato, onion, cucumber, cabbage, beetroot etc)
500ml rice wine vinegar
300ml water
120gm caster sugar
Pinch of salt
8 coriander seeds
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
10 white peppercorns

Method:

1. Cut the vegetables into small pieces.

2. Bring all the other ingredients to boil and pour over vegetables while hot. Allow to cool to room temperature before sealing in an airtight container.

3. Leave in fridge for at least a week to allow the pickle to do its thing. These vegetables will keep in the fridge for (almost) forever and the longer you leave them, the better they will taste.

WINTER WARMER

There are few dishes as satisfying as pasta on a cold Winter’s night. This Hand Rolled Orecchiette, Slow Cooked Calamari, Tomato, Lemon, Parsley and Squid Ink Pangrattato is rich and hearty.

Try this one at home for a fancy night in!

Slow Cooked Mooloolaba Squid Orecchiette

Ingredients:

2 White Anchovies
1 Diced Brown Onion
2 Diced Celery Sticks
1 Diced Fennel Bulb
4 Crushed Garlic
1 Tbsp Fennel Seeds
1 Pinch Saffron
1 Tbsp Baby Capers
2 Tbsp Pitted Ligurian Olives
250ml Dry White Wine
750g Mooloolaba Line Caught Squid (Cleaned)
880g Good Quality Tinned Crushed Tomato
250g Orecchiette Pasta
1 Bunch Flat Leaf Parsley
150g Squid Ink Focaccia
20g Butter
20g Parmesan
1 Lemon Zest
Olive Oil

Method:

1.    Start with the squid by removing wings and tentacles. Wash out the inside of the tube with cold water. Slice squid to roughly 1cm wide pieces about the length of your finger. Same with the tentacles. Put aside.

2.    Add 3 tbsp olive oil to a heavy based pot and sauté off onion, garlic, celery, fennel, capers, anchovies and fennel seeds. When just cooked add white wine and saffron threads, reduce till most of wine has gone. Add the prepped squid and tinned tomato. Bring to boil, turn down to a slow simmer and stir regularly as it cooks which should be 3-4 hours.

3.    To make the pangrattato, tear squid ink bread into rough pieces and place onto an oven tray with parmesan, butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil, toss together and bake in oven at 150°C until completely dry, approximately 30mins. When cool, break pieces into a coarse breadcrumb size and put aside.

4.    When squid is tender your sauce is ready. To finish the sauce off, add seasoning, butter, olives and chopped parsley, then add cooked pasta. Serve into bowls and top with panagrattato and freshly grated lemon zest.