Between study, work, and helping to organise a hens night, there's not been much time for blogging.
But don't worry, I've still been cooking, and taking pictures, and there is a big backlog of posts to come over the next week or two.
Here's just one to tempt your taste buds... cream of paua soup.
This is from Al Brown's book Go Fish (which I can't recommend enough, by the way). Matt saw this recipe, and was sold. I on the other hand was a little dubious. I mean, texturally, Paua is a bit touch and go for me. But if it's done well, and the flavours delicately balanced, it's something else.
We've tried Al Brown's paua fritters before, which are AMAZING - a far cry from the paua fritters at the fish and chips shop. So my faith was in Al's abilities when Matt announced his need (yes, need) to make this soup.
So this one's Matt's work. And it was really, really good. While I was dubious about a cream of paua soup to begin with, this turned out surprisingly amazing.
The base of this recipe has all the makings of a really good stock. There's not a lot more to it flavour-wise. Throw in a little chilli for kick, a touch of lemon to balance that paua flavour, and some tarragon. That's pretty much it.
This is a ridiculously good soup, and perfectly balanced, so it's not over-poweringly strong. But man is it filling. I served a ladle and a half per person, and between that and the garlic bread we were all pretty full by the end. This would be perfect as a small entrée.
Cream of Paua Soup from Al Brown's Go Fish (serves 4 as a meal, or 6 - 8 as a starter)
50g butter
2c roughly chopped onion
1/4c roughly chopped celery
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
zest of 1 lemon
pinch of dried chilli flakes
1 1/2T chopped fresh tarragon
5 paua (800g), beaten and roughly chopped
1 1/2 litres chicken or fish stock
1c cream
Squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and pepper
Start by sauteeing the onion, celery, garlic, lemon zest, chilli, and tarragon on a low heat, making sure you don't brown them too much (otherwise your soup might end up a particularly distinctive colour of 'baby poo green'). Let them cook for about half an hour, to really bring out all the flavours.
Add the paua and stock, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for at least 1 hour, topping up the stock with some water if it reduces too much.
The paua will never end up that fall apart soft which you can miraculously get from slow stewing tough cuts of meat. So when it's cooked for as long as you can leave it (1 1/2 - 2 hours preferably), pull it off the heat, add the cream, and blend using a food processor or blender. Blend. Then blend again. If you're like me and are put off by the paua texture, you want to make sure the paua is as puree'd as possible.
Finally, taste the soup, adjust the salt, pepper and lemon to suit your tastes.
I served this with a herby garlic bread to mop it up and make a meal of it.
Zomg, this is so quintessentially kiwi and looks amaaazing. Definitely doesn't look like it has paua in it either (except in the last photo). Had never thought to put paua in soup and puree, what an awesome way to get the flavour out without the texture being rubbery!
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