Monday, February 14, 2011

Me'a Kai - the food and flavours of the South Pacific

Robert Oliver with Dr.Tacy Berno and Shiri Ram
Godwit - $75
I have written about this simply gorgeous book before but now I have managed to source some photos and a recipe from the publishers and include them for your interest.


Top to bottom:
Page 138 - Lunch with Rangi, Mina and the Henderson family on a sunny Rarotongan day.
Page 324 - Cheryl Lal with her Cowpeas with Aubergine
Page 343 - Lydia Coffin with her Smoked Fish and Green Pawpaw in Lolo, recipe follows.

Smoked Fish and Green Pawpaw in Lolo
Serves 4 as a starter

Everything Lydia Coffin makes is brilliant. It’s as simple as that! Lydia
smokes her own fish for this simple baked coconut-sauce dish, but you
can use store-bought — thickish steaks or fillets, not thinly sliced pieces.

1 moderately green pawpaw (just before it begins maturing)
1 kg smoked walu, wahoo, mahimahi or marlin, bones removed
2 onions, thinly sliced
3 chillies, whole
2 lemon or lime leaves
6 cups coconut milk
lemon or lime slices

Preheat the oven to 190°C.

Peel and seed the pawpaw, then slice it into thin strips. In a saucepan, bring salted water to the boil. Blanch the pawpaw to remove gumminess. Drain and set aside.

Break the fish into chunks and place in a lightly oiled casserole dish. Top with the onions, chillies and citrus leaves.

Spread the pawpaw slices over the fish and cover the whole with coconut milk. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the coconut milk bubbles and a skewer poked into the centre shows the pawpaw is tender.

Let the baked dish mostly cool before serving with citrus slices and a green salad.

Footnote:
The Bookman say do be sure to look out for this stunning, truly spectacular book, you will soon understand why it has been shortlisted for the '2010 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards'.

No comments: