Hayden Quinn - Hayden Cooks: Summer

Summer is here ...

... so it must mean that Im coming home from another overseas adventure to share some incredible stories with family and friends. This summer has been a little different though, because Ive been on an amazing adventure but this time everyone came along with me the story was presented on MasterChef nearly every night of the week

This is the first instalment of my three-part eBook, and it tells the story of my favourite summer dishes where they have come from and why they are special to me. They are all simple to create and all have fresh, punchy summer flavours to go with any outdoor entertaining you may be doing while the sun is shining.

These recipes, like most of my meals, are best shared with friends. So get together this summer, do some cooking and share some stories.

Live life, eat well, travel far

Hayden Quinn

CONTENTS

PRAWN AND AVOCADO ROLL WITH HOMEMADE SEAFOOD SAUCE

For me, these rolls are the ultimate summer snack. Theres nothing better than coming home from a surf with sand still on my feet and sitting down in the shade to tuck into a few of these things. These rolls are super simple to make and best with the freshest prawns you can buy. Make sure you get the flour top bap rolls and super ripe avocados. If youre feeling extravagant you could substitute the humble prawn for lobster.

PREPARATION TIME: 15 MINUTES

MAKES: 8 ROLLS

WHATS IN IT?

8 flour-top bap rolls

2 ripe avocados

32 cooked king prawns (shrimp) or 64 cooked school or bay prawns, peeled and deveined

Homemade seafood sauce:

300 g (101/2 oz/1 cup) Kewpie mayonnaise (see note)

11/2 tablespoons tomato sauce (ketchup)

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

11/2 teaspoons Sriracha chilli sauce (see note)

lemon juice, to taste

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

1. For the seafood sauce, simply combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Taste and add a squeeze of lemon if necessary, then refrigerate until needed.

2. For the rolls, you can assemble these as you please. I tear open the rolls, lay down a bed of avocado, then layer the prawns on top followed by a good drizzle of sauce and some freshly ground black pepper.

NOTES:

• Kewpie mayonnaise can be purchased at Asian grocers and some supermarkets. If you like, you can use freshly-made mayo but for some reason (I think its the sweetness) Kewpie works best here.
• You can pick up Sriracha chilli sauce at your local Asian supermarket.

DASHI SCALLOPS, PORK CRACKLING AND PEACH

Pork and scallops go together so well, and the best part of any type of pork is the crackling! Here they are combined like best friends, set off by the salty taste of the ocean from the dashi and the sweet, slightly tart flavour of the peach. You can serve the scallops as an entre or small canap.

PREPARATION TIME: 30 MINUTES

COOKING TIME: 30 MINUTES

MAKES: 12 CANAPES OR 4 ENTREES

WHATS IN IT?

12 scallops in the half shell, roe removed and shells cleaned

1 knob butter

1 yellow peach, halved, pip removed and thinly sliced

fennel or dill sprigs, to garnish

Pork crackling:

300 g (101/2 oz) piece of pork belly skin

1 tablespoon sea salt

Dashi:

250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) water

3 g dried bonito flakes (see note)

1 strip kombu (dried kelp), about 10 x 20 cm (4 x 8 inch)

1 teaspoon light soy sauce

30 ml (1 fl oz) mirin

30 ml (1 fl oz) sake

Tarragon and fennel oil:

60 ml (2 fl oz/1/4 cup) grapeseed oil

1/2 cup chopped tarragon leaves

1/2 cup chopped fennel fronds

2 teaspoons sea salt

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:

1. Preheat the oven to 250C (500F/Gas 9).

2. To make the pork crackling, score the pork skin using a sharp knife, then rub the skin all over with the sea salt. Place on a heavy-based oven tray and bake for 1520 minutes or until the skin has turned golden and beautifully crackled. Allow to cool, then chop into small 5 mm (1/4 inch) pieces.

3. To make the dashi stock, put the water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the remaining ingredients, then remove the pan from the heat and infuse for 20 minutes. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve lined with muslin (cheesecloth) into a clean bowl, discard the solids and set aside.

4. To make the tarragon and fennel oil, put the ingredients into a small blender (or use a stick blender) and blitz until you have a very fine pure. Season to taste, then blitz again briefly. Pass through a fine mesh sieve, twice if necessary. You want a bright green oil.

5. Season the scallops to taste. Heat a heavy-based frying pan over high heat. Add half the butter to the pan and when foaming, cook half the scallops for 45 seconds on each side or until just cooked and golden. Add 2 tablespoons of dashi to the pan and cook until nearly evaporated. Remove the scallops from the pan, wipe the pan clean and repeat with the remaining butter, scallops and another 2 tablespoons of dashi.

6. For a canap style dish, lay out scallop shells on serving plate. Place a slice of peach in each shell and top with a scallop. Drizzle over a small teaspoonful of the remaining hot dashi stock and a few small drops of the tarragon oil. Place pork crackling on and around the scallop and garnish with the fennel or dill sprig.

7. To serve this as an entre, be creative with your layout. Just go with how you feel and it should look great!

NOTES:

• Dried bonito flakes and dried kombu can be found at most good Asian grocers.
• Left over dashi stock can be frozen for up to 3 months or it could make the base of a perfect miso soup for breakfast the next day.

KINGFISH CEVICHE

The inspiration for this dish comes from time I spent in Central America, in particular when I was sailing in the Caribbean down the coast of Belize to Honduras. Anything we caught would generally end up being cooked that night for dinner and one of the favourite ways for the locals to cook their food was in citrus either lemon or lime juice. The acid works to slightly cure the fish, changing the texture and making it all the more enjoyable. Here is my version of a Caribbean ceviche.

PREPARATION TIME: 20 MINUTES

COOKING TIME: NIL

SERVES: 4

WHATS IN IT?

400 g (14 oz) sashimi-grade kingfish fillet (see note)

juice of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lime

1/2 long red chilli, seeds and membrane removed, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon caster (superfine) sugar

Garnish:

2 baby red radishes, thinly sliced with a mandolin

olive oil, for drizzling

coriander (cilantro) cress and purple basil cress, for sprinkling

30 g (1 oz/1/2 cup) shaved fresh coconut

11/2 tablespoons flying fish roe (see note)

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: