EPAZOTE-CRUSTED FLATHEAD WITH BLACK BEANS

Flathead is the fish I most closely associate with my childhood. It was what we most frequently caught during our May school holidays at Port Macquarie. They are one of those fish species with eyes on top of their heads rather than on the sides. They partly bury themselves in sand and wait for unsuspecting fish to swim by, then lunge up and swallow them in their gaping mouths. Of course, sometimes the hunted becomes the hunter and flathead find themselves being dragged out of the water by fish that seem to have superhuman powers. Next things they know, they are in a boat and a couple of hours later they are dinner. Thank you, Charles Darwin.

EPAZOTE-CRUSTED FLATHEAD WITH BLACK BEANS

SALMON CAKES WITH PRESERVED LEMON & CAPSICUM JAM

A second use for leftover salmon. This time the flaked salmon was mixed with preserved lemon, parsley, panko crumbs and egg and fried in ghee. Tangy capsicum jam was a nice foil. But foil does not make a nice jam.

SALMON CAKES WITH PRESERVED LEMON & CAPSICUM JAM

GAI XAO XA OT

According to Luke Nguyen of Sydney restaurant The Red Lantern, this is a classic of southern Vietnam. I can understand why. Easy to make, nice fresh flavours - what more could you want? Other than to be Hugh Heffner. Or an English cricketer right now. The chicken is marinated in sugar, lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce and pickled chilli, then flash cooked in a wok with onion, a little peanut oil, fresh chilli and finished with a little chicken stock. It would normally be decorated with coriander. However, I did not feel like battling local floods, so I made do with Vietnamese mint from the garden. Jasmine rice and a cabbage & ginger salad kept the gai xao xa ot company.

GAI XAO XA OT

SALMON, COCONUT & HOLY BASIL CAKES

Christmas lunch for twelve yesterday. One of the things I cooked was a whole salmon - baked with a pouch of jasmine tea leaves and sugar to give it a light smokiness. I had plenty left over, so decided to use some in these Thai-inspired salmon cakes. Salmon, fresh coconut flesh and coconut milk, chilli paste with holy basil, crispy prawn chilli, fish sauce, soy sauce and an egg. Shallow fried in peanut oil. Baby spinach & chicharron salad dressed with lime juice, sugar & fish sauce. On a base of kumera, caramelised eschallot & coriander salad.

SALMON, COCONUT & HOLY BASIL CAKES

RED EMPEROR WITH SLOW-ROASTED TOMATOES

Red emperor is a sweet-fleshed reef fish caught off the Queensland coast. Not as sweet as blue swimmer or mud crab. Not as sweet as chocolate. Not as sweet as Shirley Temple. But sweet enough. Ditto these small tomatoes bought at the weekly market. Drizzled with a little olive oil, a light sprinkle of sugar and salt and a few sprigs of thyme, then 6 hours in an 80C oven - which really concentrates the flavour. And intensifies the sweetness. Green beans with garlic to complete the dish.

RED EMPEROR WITH SLOW-ROASTED TOMATOES

SALMON ADOBADO, BLACK BEANS AND SALSA CRUDA

A summery 31C here today, so something cool and fresh seemed in order. Johnny Depp is about as cool as they come. But he was not available. So I settled for fresh. Great vibrant glistening deep orange salmon marinated in a classic Mexican adobo and orange juice, then seared in a hot skillet. Really wholesome black beans and a fresh tomato salsa. Served with a mesclun salad and a dressing of macadamia oil, agave syrup, and white wine vinegar.

SALMON ADOBADO, BLACK BEANS AND SALSA CRUDA

SEARED YELLOWFIN TUNA WITH A COMPOTE OF MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLES

When I was a kid we stayed once or twice in guesthouses in rural New South Wales. I remember one in the southern highland where a maid stood in the hall outside the dining room in the evening and hammered a small xylophone to announce that dinner was served. I recall another on the southern headland at Mollymook on the south coast. I mention these guesthouses because something I recall at breakfast in both establishments was a compote of fruit served for breakfast. These mixtures of sweet and gently stewed fruits usually included apricots, peaches and prunes - which my parents told me kept me regular. I thought of this when I decided to poach baby eggplants, yellow zucchini, spring onions and tomato in olive oil with some fresh thyme. I stuck with a southern French influence with a spoon of olive tapenade.

SEARED YELLOWFIN TUNA WITH A COMPOTE OF MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLES

BARBECUED MACKEREL WITH CABBAGE SALAD

Mackerel is not one of the most popular fish species. It sure is tasty. I marinated these steaks in roasted chilli oil, olive oil and lime juice and then barbecued them. A great cabbage salad recipe from Stephanie Alexander.

BARBECUED MACKEREL WITH CABBAGE SALAD

PENNE WITH ASPARAGUS

When a dish has just four ingredients, the difference between mundane and great really comes down to the quality of those ingredients. Apart from salt and pepper (and I will return to these in a moment), the ingredients here are the pasta, the asparagus, the parmesan and the oil used.

The pasta is a lovely organic penne from Gioie di Fattoria. The asparagus is from the local markets. The parmesan is a 2007 Reggiano. The oil is the sensational Colonna Granverde, made from olives and lemons crushed together. The salt is coarse grey sea salt hand harvested from Guerande. The pepper is Tellicherry from India - larger, fruitier and hotter than regular black pepper. You can make this dish with supermarket penne and asparagus, with grana padana in place of the Reggiano and with a pedestrian olive oil, salt and pepper. You will have a nice dish, but not a great one.

PENNE WITH ASPARAGUS

SNAPPER WITH LEMONGRASS AND GINGER

A quick and simple stir-fry. Peanut oil, light soy sauce and crispy prawn chilli paste heated to sizzling in a hot wok. Add finely sliced baby ginger, garlic, sliced lemongrass, chillies and eschallots. Mix through, then add fish cut into 3cm chunks and cook until opaque. Add some fried eschallot and serve. Really nice contrast of textures and no one flavour dominant.

SNAPPER WITH LEMONGRASS AND GINGER

2003 CASA FRESCHI LA SIGNORA

I had a delightful dinner with winemakers David Freschi and Tom Adams in Adelaide a couple of years ago. Apart from both being great human beings, they are both terrifically talented winemakers. I have had several bottles of wines produced by each of them over the years. This 2003 La Signora is an interesting blend of nebbiolo, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and malbec. I am not sure if it is his Italian heritage, but David has produced an Australian wine that has a lot of what I admire in the best Italian (and French, for that matter) reds - a savoury character that works in perfect harmony with food. Whilst I admire the rich fruitiness of some iconic Australia shirazes, I reckon they shine in wine shows, but not at the table. It is like trying to eat a steak and a bowl of Christmas pudding simultaneously. I am not sure what is the current vintage of this wine. If you can find some, buy some.

2003 CASA FRESCHI LA SIGNORA

SNAPPER WITH RED QUINOA, KUMERA AND PUMPKIN SEEDS

Here is a nice way to use sweet potato (which we know here in Oz by its Kiwi name, kumera) -

Dice a kumera and boil in salted water for about 5 minutes (until tender). Drain. Make a dressing of pecan oil, a small amount of pomegranate molasses and an equally small amount of a really good vinegar - I used a 50 year old Spanish sherry vinegar. Toss the drained kumera and the dressing together. Toast some hulled pumpkin seeds in a dry pan, then coarsely grind with mortar and pestle. Sprinkle over the kumera after plating up.

I used this with the red quinoa cooked in chicken stock and snapper cooked in ghee. A dollop of salsa verde on top.

SNAPPER WITH RED QUINOA, KUMERA AND PUMPKIN SEEDS