Food for thought
The team at Mosmans wants to share our culinary secrets and cooking tips in this blog. We promise to provide you with handy hints, our very own recipes and will also talk you through seasonal produce. Feel free to ask us anything in regard to cooking.
Juniper Art Exhibition
We were lucky enough to host the annual Juniper Art Exhibition here at Mosmans. Artist Ben Juniper yet again exceeded everyone's expectations with his stunning arrangement of art pieces and Mosmans was left with a number of pieces from his latest collection in the restaurant for everyone to enjoy.
Click to find out more about Ben's work.
Duck Papadella with Pear Paste
Watch Brad cook up a storm in the Mosmans kitchen!
MasterChef lunch - a great success!
Well what a great experience I have had today cooking alongside 94.5's morning breakfast team 'The Bunch' for the MasterChef lunch held here at MOSMANS.
It's always a challenge preparing and cooking other peoples' food and today was no exception, however Fred, Lisa and Paul worked with me and the kitchen team in delivering their dishes to the best of their ability.
That's not to say we didn't have a few 'issues' during the course of the lunch with Captain Paul disappearing at crucial times and Fred only making an appearance minutes before service. And to top it off I caught Lisa eating her desserts before they were even out of the oven!
Nevertheless the show went on and with some coaching and counselling from me, The Bunch came through when I needed them most ... service time! Providing plenty of laughs all round making the MasterChef lunch truly a great success!
Chocolate Fondants
What you need
- 200gm good quality dark chocolate
- 200gm unsalted butter
- 100gm caster sugar
- 200gm plain flour
- 4 eggs
- 4 yolks
How to put it together
Place chocolate and butter in a stainless steel bowl and melt over a double boiler. Whisk eggs and sugar until pale, sift in flour and whisk together You then need to add the melted chocolate and combine well. The finished consistency should be like cake batter. Set aside.
Take your ramekins and grease with butter and dust with coco powder. Pour your batter equally into the ramekins and refrigerate for 10mins. Then place your fondants on a flat baking tray and cook in a hot oven, 190C, for 8-10 minutes. When they start to form a crust and come away from the sides you’ll know they are cooked.
Remove from the oven and let sit for a couple of minutes. To remove from the ramekin, gently shake in the palm of your hand, once they are loose just let them slip back into the mould until ready to serve. Place each fondant on a plate and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Makes approx 10 fondants using 150ml ramekins. Prep time about 35 mins.
Herb Marinated Snapper
What you need
- 2 x 100 gram Goldband Snapper fillets skinned with bones removed
- 1 medium green zucchini
- 1 ruby grapefruit
- 1 small bunch sage
- 1 small bunch lemon thyme
- 6 sprigs of parsley
- 1 small bunch chives
- Olive oil, sea salt and cracked white pepper
Potato crisps
- Royal blue potatoes peeled
- Sliced very thin on a mandolin
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Absorbent paper
- Sea salt
Parsley honey dressing
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley
- 250 ml honey
- 50 grams dark brown sugar
- 150 msl good olive oil
- 50 ml good red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Seasoning
To make dressing
Wash parsley in cold water to remove any dirt, pat dry. In a food processer or blender add all ingredients and blend on high for 2 mins or until smooth. Check for seasoning. Set aside.
For the fish
Take other herbs carefully picking leaves off the stems. Place on a chopping board with a pinch of sea salt and chop with a sharp knife. Once the herbs have been chopped place in a bowl with a decent drop of olive oil the fish and coat well. If you have the time, its best to leave for a couple of hours. Meanwhile cut the zucchini into 2 cm rounds, remove the skin from the grapefruit and segment then keep the grapefruit in a separate bowl.
Heat a heavy based skillet and add a good drop of olive oil. When pan is hot but not smoking add the fish, cook on one side for 3 to 4 mins and then turn allow to cook for a further 4 mins. The fish should be nice and brown. Season with sea salt and cracked pepper. Remove from the pan and keep warm, add the cut zucchini and brown both sides. Place cooked zucchini into a bowl with the grapefruit with a little of the pan juices and a teaspoon of the parsley dressing and mix.
To assemble the dish simply place the zucchini and grapefruit on to a plate and top with snapper. Finish with a drizzle of the parsley dressing and cracked pepper and potato crisps.
Fish and seafood preparation tips
With summer well and truly upon us, now is the time to take even greater care when preparing and cooking your fresh fish and seafood. So I thought I would share some use full tips and guidelines on how to prevent food bourne illness.
- When shopping for seafood try and buy these items last
- If possible carry your seafood in a cooler bag or similar and get it home fast
- When buying whole fish look for clear, bright eyes, bright red or pink gills
- Fish should have a mild smell
- Fillets should be firm with no signs of discolouration
- Store your fish in temp range 1-2 degrees
Wash your hands thoroughly with a detergent and dry them. They may not look grubby but don't take the risk - your family will love you for it.
When cutting your fish always use a clean dry cutting board. There are plenty of commercial grade sanitisers that you can use to make sure of this - if you don't have one, 1 teaspoon of home bleach to 500ml water will do the trick.
If you are not ready to cook your fish make sure you put it back into the refrigerator immediately. Bacteria that causes food poisoning grows rapidly at room temperature.
Vegetables or any other food prep should be done on another clean board, cross contamination is one of the key causes of food poisoning in this country. Don't let it happen to you!
We have a motto here at MOSMANS restaurant: "when in doubt, throw it out." So cook by this motto and follow the simple guidelines to seriously decrease your chances of food contamination.
When you finally get through all of that, it's time to cook your prize catch!
Christmas Ice cream Cassata
What a busy few weeks we've had at MOSMANS. Winning the 2010 Gold Plate for Best Seafood Restaurant has only added to an already fantastic vibe in the kitchen and restaurant - underlining the great job being done by the team.
With Christmas and warmer weather on their way I thought I'd share this simple frozen dessert with you. It's a great alternative to traditional Chrissie pud, so here goes...
What you need
- 15cm rectangle cake tin or similiar
- 1 nip of Galliano, rum or whatever tickles your fancy
- 1l vanilla ice cream
- 1l chocolate ice cream
- 1l strawberry ice cream
- 1/2 cup mixed fruit with peel
- 1/2 cup chopped glace cherries
- 1/2 cup chopped pistachio nuts
- 1 bar of Toblerone grated
- 15 minutes preparation time
- 2-3 hours freezing time
How to put it together
Place ice creams in separate bowls and allow to soften. Line your cake tin with plastic cling wrap draping over the sides. Marinate cherries, nuts and fruit peel with liquor.
Mix the chocolate ice cream with a whisk until smooth, then smooth it into the base of the cake tin (bottom layer). Add Toblerone and all the dry ingredients to the vanilla ice cream mixing well and repeat (middle layer). Repeat with the strawberry ice cream (top layer).
Gently fold the cling wrap over the top, protecting the ice cream. Place in freezer for 2-3 hours to allow to harden or until Chrissie day. Remove from the tin and cut into generous slices.
Shuck your own oysters
Now that summer is on our door step, there is no better time to sit back and enjoy freshly shucked oysters and a glass or two of your favourite beverage.
With plenty of fresh oysters readily available why not try shucking your own?
There are couple of things that everyone should know before tackling this slightly tricky task...
- Make sure the oysters you select are completely closed. This ensures they are still alive
- Give them a quick scrub under cold water to get any muck off them
- Hold the oyster in your hand with a tea towel, curved shell facing downwards
- Using a flat bladed knife (oyster knife) insert into the hinge
- Twist the knife loosening the shell
- The flat part of the oyster will come away leaving just the succulent meat
- Use your knife to cut the oyster from the bottom of the shell
- Voila you have just shucked your own oyster, congratulations!
Why not try them with finely chopped shallots and red wine vinegar or just with a squeeze of lemon, black pepper and freshly baked baguette (a favourite here at Mosmans)?
Pan Fried Red Emperor, Crab Omelette and Enoki Salad
- 200gm skin on red emperor ( or any white fish fish)
- 2 large eggs free range preferred
- 50 gm cooked crab meat
- 1 bunch Enoki mushrooms
- 1 tblsp of sesame seeds
- Olive oil
- Chardonnay vinegar
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Sea salt
- Ground white pepper
Spread sesame seeds on to a flat tray and brown in a moderate oven. Allow to cool.
Add 100ml olive oil and 20ml vinegar, salt and pepper, whisk until combined, set aside.
Heat a non-stick pan, add a drop of olive oil. Once the pan is hot add the fish, skin side down.
Cook for approx 3 minutes before turning and allow to cook on a gentle heat. Keep warm.
To make the omelette
Take another non-stick pan, preferably a small omelette pan.
Add a tblsp of oil. Allow the pan to get really hot.
Crack eggs into a bowl and season, beat thoroughly. Add egg mix into pan stirring consistently.
When the eggs start to set sprinkle with the crab mix and remove from heat, fold sides into the middle set aside.
Trim the bottoms off the Enoki and place in a bowl add dressing and sesame seeds.
How to pan fry the perfect fish
Always remember that the more delicate the fish the less cooking it will require. Fish such as pink snapper or Tassie salmon are fairly delicate and are great for cooking in the pan.
First thing is to get a non-stick pan and put it on a moderate heat. Next take your fish filet and season with salt and pepper.
Dash of olive oil in the pan. Place in the fish and allow it to cook for approx 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness.
Turn once to finish the process. Increase the heat and add 1 teaspoon of unsalted butter and a squeeze of lemon juice. Remove from the heat.
Voila! Perfectly cooked fish! Enjoy with a cheeky Sav Blanc, from WA of course!
Cheers, Brad