delicious Australia - May 2020

EXTRACT.
4 cups (1L) water
2 tbs rock salt
500g pickling cucumbers
2 garlic cloves, roughly sliced
1 /2 bunch dill, fronds picked
2-3 tsp caster sugar (optional)
To pickle the cucumbers, add the water
and salt to a large saucepan and bring
to the boil. Remove from the heat and
set aside to cool to room temperature.
Pack 2 wide-mouthed sterilised jars
tightly with the cucumbers. Divide the
garlic and dill between the jars, pour
over the cooled brine and seal tightly
with the lids. (If you like your pickles
a little sweet, you can add a few teaspoons
of caster sugar at this stage, too.)
Leave the jars somewhere cool and
dark for about 7 days, then give one
of the pickles a try. If it is salty and sour,
then transfer the jars to the fridge;
if not, leave the jars where they are
to keep pickling. Jars will keep in the
fridge until needed.
HOT CRAYFISH ROLL
SERVES 4
“I grew up on the coastline of
southern Australia, famous for its rock
lobster (aka crayfish), so it made sense
for me to include this take on the
famous New England lobster roll here
[at The Hot Chicken Project]”.
1 × 600g crayfish
4 store-bought brioche buns
80g unsalted butter, melted
2 baby cos lettuces, leaves separated
SAUCE
1 cup (250g) whole-egg mayonnaise
Juice of 1 /2 a lemon
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp tomato sauce
1 /2 cup (125ml) grapeseed oil
1 /2 tsp chilli powder
1 /2 bunch dill, finely chopped
DRESSING
100g unsalted butter
100ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to
the boil. Carefully add the crayfish to the
pan and boil for 7-8 minutes, then turn off
the heat, cover with the lid and leave to sit
for a further 2 minutes. Remove crayfish
from the pan and plunge it into a bowl of
iced water to stop the cooking process.
For the sauce, whisk together the
mayonnaise, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard,
tomato sauce, grapeseed oil and chilli
powder in a bowl. Season to taste, then
fold through the dill. Set aside.
For the dressing, melt the butter and oil
together in a small saucepan over a low
heat, then add the paprika and cayenne
and whisk together to combine. Set aside
and keep warm.
Remove the crayfish from the iced water
and cut off the tail. Cut lengthways down
the tail and break away the shell, then
chop the meat into rough pieces. Transfer
the chopped meat to a bowl, sprinkle with
a pinch of salt flakes, spoon over the sauce
and mix everything together well. Season
to taste.
Split the brioche buns down the middle
and brush the insides with melted butter.
Place a large frypan over high heat, then
add brioche to the pan, buttered-side
down, and leave for a few seconds until
lightly charred.
While the bun halves are still warm,
bring them together and pile them high
with the baby cos leaves and the sauced
crayfish meat. Spoon over the buttery
dressing to serve.
HAND PIES
MAKES 15
“I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, so
these are perfect. You can fill these with
anything you like, really – fresh berries,
stewed fruit, canned fruit – and they can
also be easily adapted to make them work
for savoury fillings, just omit the sugar from
the pastry. If you can’t get hold of cake
flour, just sift 1 tbs of cornflour with the
same quantity of plain (all-purpose) flour,
less 1 tbs.” Begin this recipe 1 day ahead.
You will need a kitchen thermometer.
600g seasonal fruit such as
blueberries or strawberries,
cut into small chunks
Vegetable oil or lard, to fry
Icing sugar, to serve
PASTRY
280g unsalted butter, chilled
90g lard, chilled
650g cake flour, sifted
1 1 /2 tbs caster sugar
2 tsp salt
235ml ice-cold water
For the pastry, cut the butter and lard
into 1cm cubes and place in the freezer
for 10 minutes or until firm.
Combine the flour, sugar and salt in
a bowl. Add half the butter and lard
cubes and toss to coat, then transfer
the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer
with the paddle attachment and beat
together on medium speed, gradually
adding the remaining butter and lard
as you go, until the mixture resembles
a coarse meal. Add the cold water and
beat again slowly until it forms a rough
dough. Remove from the mixer, wrap
the dough in plastic wrap and
refrigerate overnight.
On a lightly floured work bench,
roll the dough out to 4mm thick and
cut it into 13cm circles. You will have
approximately 15 circles.
Cover half of each pastry circle
with seasonal fruit, leaving a small border
around the edge, then fold the pastry
over to cover the fruit and press along
the edges, pinching and folding to seal.
Transfer the pies to the freezer for
20 minutes to firm up.
When ready to cook, half-fill a large
deep heavy-based, saucepan or
deep-fryer with oil or lard and heat
to 180°C. Working in batches of
2 or 3, carefully lower the pies into the
hot oil, shaking the pan gently so
they don’t stick together, and cook
for 8-10 minutes, turning every minute
or so, until golden and crisp all over.
Remove from the oil, drain on paper towel
and dust with icing sugar while hot,
to serve.