Pick me Rick!

Did you know that Rick Stein is here in Australia right now?
Rick Stein, celebrity chef, is the co-owner of four restaurants in Padstow, an olde worlde fishing port in North Cornwall, England, and has also written eleven cookery books, recorded several cookery TV series' and a couple of one off documentaries.
Rick Stein has more recently put his name to the lovely boutique hotel and restaurant, Bannisters in Mollymook, on the picturesque NSW South Coast. We recently visited Bannisters on our NSW South Coast road trip and mentioned our visit in a recent post Foodie Highlights on the NSW South Coast.
Rick Stein's Food Odyssey live on stage, will allow you to see Rick cooking live on stage, across Australia for the first time. He is in Perth this week, then travels to Melbourne, Brisbane and finally arrives at the Sydney Opera House, for one show on April 18th.


As part of the tour promotion, Rick is giving Australia's top food bloggers a chance to present to him their "Ultimate Australian dish"! The only requirement being, "If you're based in Australia and love to cook, and write about it, you will want to be a part of this."
The winner receives;
•Your blog post and recipe inserted in the program of your nearest city for Rick Stein's Food Odyssey Australian tour - a chance to have your words printed alongside one of the world's top chefs, and read by some of the country's biggest foodies! We'll also include the address of your blog – a great way to promote it and increase your readers.
•Two tickets to see Rick Stein's Food Odyssey on stage in the Australian city closest to you (airfare and accommodation not included)
•1x Signed program
•Rick Stein cookery book
•Special sponsor gifts

So I thought I would have a go!
I mean win it or not, I'll be grabbing tickets to be at the Opera House on April 18th to enjoy the show. I'll definitely follow up with a post to share with you the highlights!
Now, the big question for me.... what to cook?
On Rick's website it says, "His passion is still for seafood; as he says, “nothing is more exhilarating than fresh fish simply cooked.”"
I wondered, would I dare cook seafood, fresh fish simply cooked, for the master of seafood Rick Stein? For those readers who do know me, you know I do love a challenge and so YES, if that's Rick's passion, Australian produce can certainly present him with some amazing seafood.
The competition does not require you to cook your own recipe, but rather any recipe that you consider ultimately Australian and then blog about it! Although I do write the recipes for eighty percent of what I cook these days, I never stop learning and do love to try new recipes that catch my attention.
I currently subscribe to ABC delicious, they have some great fresh simple recipes, utilising seasonal produce.
I came across this simple fish recipe in their February 2011 edition of the mag, in the "tuesday night cooking" section; a recipe from Valli Little, Jessica Brook & Phoebe Wood on page 114.
I have cooked this dish a couple of times now and to me, it is a great combination of Australian produce and flavours. So I contacted Valli Little, Food Director at Delicious and asked if I could use this recipe for my entry in the "Ultimate Australian dish".


(Photography Ben Dearley, Styling David Morgan, taken from Delicious magazine February 2011 page 115)

Macadamia-crusted fish with herb salad (gluten free)
Serves 4
2 cups (300g) unsalted macadamia nuts
1 garlic clove, chopped
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon, plus wedges to serve
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 bunch each flat leaf parsley and chives
4 x 160g skinless barramundi fillets
50g mixed salad leaves

Preheat oven to 200 deg C and line a tray with baking paper. Place nuts, garlic, zest, half the juice and 1 tbs oil into a small food processor and whiz into a coarse paste. Transfer to a bowl and season. Finely chop 2 tbs each parsley & chives and stir in.
Place fish on tray and press nut mixture onto top.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until the crust is golden and the fish is opaque.
Pick the remaining parsley leaves and halve chives.
Toss with salad leaves, remaining oil and lemon juice.
Season, then serve with fish and lemon wedges.

This is such a simple recipe that boasts Australia!
Barramundi, Macadamia Nuts, Lemons and fresh salad greens and herbs.
I asked a few family and friends the question this week, "If you were thinking Australia and I said fish, what's the first thought that comes to your head?"
Barramundi was the unanimous answer!
"What about nuts?"
Macadamia won the vote!
"If I was to ask you what citrus tree would most Aussies have growing in their backyard, what would you say?"
Of course, a Lemon tree next to the Hills Hoist was most popular!
This dish is definitely the "Ultimate Australian Dish"
When cooking this dish I used salad greens and herbs from my little vege patch at home!



My addition to this already amazing dish, was some chunky hand cut potato chips! For me, fish and chips go together; always have, always will!
I used 6 large potatoes, peeled them, cut them into chunky chips, and then steamed them.


Then I tossed them in a little extra virgin olive oil and baked them in a 200 deg C oven, in a heavy baking tray for 30 minutes.
Seasoned with some Murray River Salt flakes.


So I made this "Ultimate Australian Dish" for lunch today, photographed it for the blog post and then ate a serve as a taste test!


The combination of the crunch of the macadamias, the zest and tang of the lemon & herbs, with the succulent barramundi was luscious . The salad and herb leaves with lemon juice and a little Rylstone Olive Press Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil plus the piping hot, crunchy, chunky chips made the perfect accompaniment to the fish.
I served up the "Ultimate Australian dish" on some old style brown paper, grabbed a fork and headed out to the back deck to photograph and then taste.
For me Australian produce, locally grown, freshly harvested and simply cooked is unbeatable. When I cook I want to do as little to the food as possible, as I firmly believe, when you are utilising wholefoods in season "you should let the food do the talking".


I took some shots and then tucked in, it was so delicious, that I ended up devouring the lot!


I cooked and served the remaining three portions for the family dinner tonight and asked for their descriptive words as feedback.
"Fresh, "juicy", "vibrant", "flavoursome", "crunchy", "sweet",
"melt in your mouth" and "so nice" were amongst the comments.
The best comment of all came from my husband, who is a big fan of both barramundi and macadamias, it's "Bloody Beautiful" he said, which only confirms it is the "Ultimate Australian dish".
Pick me Rick!