SMOKED REEF COD & POTATO FRITTATA

A simple and quick school night dinner - well, simple because I had smoked this reef cod a few days ago. but then smoking isn't so hard, so even if I'd started from scratch it wouldn't have been a big deal. I used a smoking mix of rice grains, coriander seeds, sugar and peppercorns. If you haven't tried smoking foods, give it a go. You don't even need a smoker. Line a wok with foil (I fold two pieces together so they fit the wok and there's no gap), place the smoking mix in the lined wok and heat until the mix starts smoking. Meanwhile, place whatever you're smoking into a steaming basket. Turn the heat down, place the steaming basket on top and place wet tea towels around the basket to seal. Most fish fillets will take about 15 minutes.

SMOKED REEF COD & POTATO FRITTATA

CAJUN TUNA, BLACK BEANS WITH SMOKED GARLIC, STEAMED ASPARAGUS

By now you probably know I have a thing for smoky flavours. I also have a thing for sexy women. This is a different kind of thing. I was smoking some salmon and reef cod this afternoon and thought I'd add a few cloves of garlic to the smoker. Then I remembered I had these cooked black beans, so tonight I cooked these in a little olive oil along with a cup of black bean broth, two chopped smoked garlic cloves and some crushed roasted chillies. Once the broth had evaporated, I turned off the heat and let the beans rest until I needed them. I make a batch of Cajun spice mix every few months and rubbed some on this fat fillet of yellowfin tuna before searing it in a very hot pan - smoking hot, to keep the smoky theme going.

CAJUN TUNA, BLACK BEANS WITH SMOKED GARLIC, STEAMED ASPARAGUS

AGAVE SYRUP GLAZED CHICKEN WITH WARM PUMPKIN SALAD

Agave is brilliant. First, it produces tequila and mezcal. If that's all it produced, I'd be happy. It also produces miel de agave and agave syrup. The skin of the leaves is used to wrap food. Sisal is an agave that has traditionally been used to make twine. Anyway, I used some syrup on these supremes (the breast with half wing and skin). I steamed some pumpkin and mixed with roasted pine nuts, crisp speck, coriander, pecan oil and white wine vinegar. Served with a simple baby spinach salad.

AGAVE SYRUP GLAZED CHICKEN WITH WARM PUMPKIN SALAD

OCEAN TROUT WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES AND GARLIC JAM

I was in Brisbane yesterday morning, where I bought this gorgeous ocean trout at James Street Market. Two fat fillets with the skin on. These were seared in a very hot pan so the skin puffed up and crisped, but the flesh stayed basically raw, but warm. Some great pumpkin from our neighbours and beans from the local markets. I made this garlic jam with onions, a few spices and sugar. Fantastic condiment and a perfect foil for the fish. Talking of foil, I once studied fencing. I remember the fencing tutor suggested buying white cotton gloves. He suggested the inners that motorcyclists wear under their leather gloves. I found a bike shop and asked for a pair of inners. Something about my manner or appearance must have told the proprietor that I'm not a bike rider. He asked what I wanted the gloves for. I told him for fencing. He didn't seem surprised. He said he often got customers who wanted them for fencing - and bricklaying and concreting. I didn't have the courage to tell him that wasn't the kind of fencing I was doing.

OCEAN TROUT WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES AND GARLIC JAM

BARRAMUNDI WITH SNAKE BEANS

Noticed a few dishes with snake beans lately? They're in season here at the moment, they're young and haven't grown too thick and tasteless - which is how they seem to be late in the season. I gave them an Italian treatment with tomatoes and garlic. A simple dish - but then I'm a man of simple tastes.

BARRAMUNDI WITH SNAKE BEANS

TARRAGON CHICKEN WITH GRATIN DAUPHINOIS

Felt the need for something classically French - and it doesn't get much more classic than this. I bought a bunch of tarragon and some Dutch cream potatoes at the James Street Market in Brisbane this morning and this Alstonville chicken from Paul at Jack Sprat's Butchery yesterday. I know French women aren't supposed to get fat, but I can't see how they don't with all the butter in classic French cuisine. However, as they say, fat is good. Funny that potatoes are pommes de terre in France. All I can imagine is that the potatoes they first tasted must have been unusually sweet or the apples starchy and bland because otherwise I don't see they could see any similarity between pommes and pommes de terre.

TARRAGON CHICKEN WITH GRATIN DAUPHINOIS

SALMON WITH SPECK AND PARSNIP MASH

Lots of cuisines seem to do great things with pork belly. The Chinese do brilliant braises with soy sauce, star anise and other goodies. The Italians do pancetta. The English do streaky bacon, The Germans do speck. I like the subtle smokiness of speck. I roasted these lardons until they were crispy, which made a nice contrast to the parsnip/potato/parsley mash and the crisp/soft texture of the fish.

SALMON WITH SPECK AND PARSNIP MASH

BARBECUED CHICKEN WITH SALSA DE PASILLA DE OAXACA

Pasilla de Oaxaca chillies are a thin-skinned hot chilli that is smoked over fern fronds. Being a lover of all things smoked, I fell in love with them when I first tasted them during the month we spent in magic Oaxaca. I made this sauce using my basic salsa recipe of rehydrated chillies, tomatoes blistered over a gas flame, red onion, garlic and salt. I make variations on this salsa recipe with different chillies - guajillo, cascabel, serrano, mora - each with a unique flavour. I had some chimichurri left over from the other night, so used this as a marinade for the chicken. A bed a black beans, some local avocado and that was it.

BARBECUED CHICKEN WITH SALSA DE PASILLA DE OAXACA

SEARED TUNA SALAD

A vaguely middle eastern influence here. Tuna dusted with smoked paprika and seared. Chickpeas, steamed pumpkin, caramelised onion, baby capers, tomato and parsley. Lemon-infused olive oil and white wine vinegar.

SEARED TUNA SALAD

ADOBO TUNA WITH THAI BASIL CHIMICHURRI

Three parts Mexican, one part Argentine, one part Thai, one part French. The adobo is Mexican. So too the tomatoes. And the chillies in the adobo rub and the chimichurri originated in Mexico. Chimichurri is an Argentine concoction, often served with meat (what else in Argentina?). The green bean originates in France - which might explain why they're sometimes called French beans. Or maybe not. I made this version of chimichurri with Thai basil - for no other reason than there's a heap of it growing in the garden.

ADOBO TUNA WITH THAI BASIL CHIMICHURRI

DUCK CONFIT WITH ROASTED PUMPKIN AND SQUASH

The observant amongst you will have spotted duck confit from a couple of nights ago. I mentioned I bought this duck from the weekly markets. So, here is confit again. Did I buy a four-legged duck? A quadraduck? Or did I buy the back end of two ducks? Did I buy two left legs and two right legs? Are they pairs of legs off two ducks or four legs off four ducks? Are there now four one-legged ducks on the farm at Bangalow? Or two legless ducks? I'll ask the farmer on Saturday. In the meantime ...

DUCK CONFIT WITH ROASTED PUMPKIN AND SQUASH

YELLOW CURRY OF MACKEREL AND EGGPLANTS

The thing about mackerel is that it can dry out if overcooked - more so than most fish species. Tuna is another one. Cook it thoroughly and it's almost inedible. At least to me anyway. I was careful to cook the eggplant and reduce the sauce before turning the heat down and adding the fish so that it could cook really gently. As soon as it had lost its translucence, I turned off the heat. The result? Moist fish and a delicious Thai curry.

YELLOW CURRY OF MACKEREL AND EGGPLANTS