Cuisine

MUSHROOM & KOMBU CONSOMMÉ, MUSHROOM MEATBALLS & SESAME OIL

You can see it in his Sugo menu – which includes a full plant-based component as well as an extensive Italianinspired selection – and in the dishes he made for Cuisine.

“The vegan menu is something like a quiz; it keeps my brain sharp,” he says, explaining that a lot more thought goes into composing a complete vegan dish than to, say, steak and mashed potato. And it’s proved a big success. “Customers love it. Some days we sell more vegan pasta [portobello mushroom bolognese, vegan tagliatelle, cashew parmesan and onion ash] than meat bolognese.”

Ian says he loves talking about himself. As far as his food goes, it speaks volumes. Consider, for example, some of the recipes featured in this issue. “The carrot cake is my Mum’s – but I’ve edited it; the idea of the burnt butter comes from Des [Harris]. The mandarin conserve [on the cheesecake] comes from Sean Marshall [ex-matterhorn].”

The point is, he says, that none of the recipes are exclusively his. “It’s places I’ve worked at, or people I’ve admired and things that I’ve picked up along the way. To me, that’s how I identify.”

Even on Ian’s days off he doesn’t stop cooking. His six-month-old daughter is developing a sophisticated palate, thanks to her dad. “I make my own baby purée,” he says with the same pride as he would of many of his award-winning restaurant dishes.

She has already become a critic in her own right. “I gave her a kale, broccoli and spinach purée, and her face was, like, ‘eeewww!’. She spat it out.” But he has had more luck with his “yummy” carrot, banana and date purée.

“She’s definitely in a food household. I want her to understand the value of food. And I expect her to be a complete food snob by the time she’s five.” By then, Tauranga may well be the go-to destination. “It’s definitely getting on the culinary map of New Zealand.” GERALDINE JOHNS

MUSHROOM & KOMBU CONSOMMÉ, MUSHROOM MEATBALLS & SESAME OIL SERVES 4-6 / PREPARATION 30 MINUTES / COOKING 2½ HOURS

CONSOMMÉ

5 tablespoons oil

2 red onions, thinly sliced

2 sticks celery, thinly sliced

20 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1kg button mushrooms, thinly sliced, plus extra to serve 2 pinches salt

100g butter (or replace with 30ml oil if vegan) 60ml black rice vinegar

50ml mushroom soy

40ml kecap manis sweet soy 150ml white wine 2½ litres vegetable stock 2 sticks kombu 30g Marmite

Heat the oil in a large 4-5 litre stock pot over a high heat, then sauté the onion and celery for 2-4 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms to the pot with the salt. Keep stirring every 2 minutes until the pan starts to become dry.

Add the butter or oil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the mushroom base until well toasted – this can take up to 20 minutes depending on the heat – remembering to stir and scrape the base of the pan every couple of minutes. You want the mushroom base to be a dark roasted colour as if you were browning meat for braising. There should be no liquid left in the pan. Increase the heat back to hot, add the black rice vinegar and cook until dry. Add the mushroom soy and cook until dry. Then add the sweet soy and the white wine and cook until dry.

Remove 120g of mix and set aside for the meatballs. Add the vegetable stock and kombu sticks and reduce the heat to low. Cook for 30-45 minutes. Remove the kombu and set aside, then pass the stock through a fine sieve, making sure to press every drop from the base. Season the stock with Marmite (just a little at a time) and salt. Keep warm.

MEATBALLS

100g Puy lentils

3 tablespoons ground flaxseeds

3 tablespoons breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

120g mushroom mix (from making the consommé) 50g flat-leafed parsley, chopped, plus extra leaves to serve sesame oil, to taste sesame seeds, to serve

Put the lentils in a pan with 500ml of water, but no salt. Simmer until al dente, about 15-20 minutes.

While they cook, put the ground flaxseeds in a bowl with 4 tablespoons water, mix to make a paste and leave for 5 minutes to thicken. Add the breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, reserved mushroom mix and chopped parsley and mix together.

Heat the oven to 160℃.

Once the lentils are cooked, drain and put in a food processor with the mushroom mixture. Blend until it comes together (about 30-60 seconds) and season with salt if needed. Roll into 20g balls and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes to seal. Cut the kombu into strips or dice. Season with sesame oil and salt to taste. Place the meatballs into bowls with the kombu, some sesame seeds, finely sliced raw mushrooms and scatter with parsley. Add the stock. Serve with some crunchy flatbread.

GUEST CHEF

en-nz

2022-07-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-07-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://cuisine.pressreader.com/article/282686165896222

Slick & Sassy Media Ltd