luscious leeks

Photo: Marion van Dijk
Driving up the Appleby Straight, the farm paddocks opposite the Traveller's Rest were full of people harvesting leeks, rows and rows of them, the winter crop ready for people to enjoy.

It made me realise how versatile and robust leeks are, able to flourish and grow in the cold weather of the New Zealand winter, yet equally able to grow in summer.

A local farmer explained to me that there are two varieties - the winter one being harvested right now, and the other harvested in the summer months.

Leeks can be found year-round in New Zealand shops, and if you are fortunate enough to have your own garden or can source leeks direct from a market garden, you can experience baby leeks and discover how truly delicious they are.

This is not to say that a mature leek isn't delicious - it is - but there is something about fresh baby leeks, braised whole, steamed or gently sauteed in a little butter or extra virgin olive oil (local, of course). They melt in your mouth - rich, sweet, soft and fragrant.


When purchasing leeks, always buy them with their green leaves and roots intact. Without these, they deteriorate rapidly, and an old leek is not a good leek.

A good mature leek should have a clean white bulb around 20 centimetres in length and not be too fat. They can be stored for up to a week or so as they are - without being cut, in a plastic bag to keep moisture in and the odour out of the refrigerator.

Leeks are not cheap, retailing for around $1.50-$2 each, but one leek goes a long way. Two or three will serve four to five people as a side dish, and are ample for use in soups or other dishes.

Leeks are also really good for you - they are a great source of vitamin C, fibre, iron, folic acid, calcium and potassium. Like their relatives onions and garlic, they promote the healthy functioning of the blood and heart. Easier to digest than onions, leeks have diuretic, antiseptic and anti-arthritic properties.

Leeks, onions and garlic are members of the Alliaceae family, with leeks differing from onions and garlic in that instead of forming a tight bulb, they produce a long cylinder of bundled leaf sheaths.

Leeks can be prepared in many different ways. The first thing you have to do is wash them thoroughly, as dirt loves to cling between the outer layers of leaves.

Normally, you discard the top green leaves (unless you are making a soup - in that case, the green leaves will add flavour).
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Cut off the very tip of the bulb where the roots are attached, then either slice the leek into rounds or slice it lengthwise into fat fingers or strips, and away you go.

Leeks can be braised, roasted, baked, steamed or sauteed - you can even eat them raw, thinly sliced in salads with a good dressing (the younger the better for this, as they are more tender and delicate in the junior form).

They also flavour soups in the most wonderful way. Everyone has a recipe for leek and potato soup.

One tip, regardless of the method, is don't overcook them - if you do, they get slimy and soft if cooked in a liquid, and dry and hard if you are roasting or baking them.

They don't taste good undercooked either, as they can be tough and chewy. Perfectly cooked is the answer!

The recipes that follow describe different methods of cooking leeks. One of the great things about leeks is that they go with so many dishes - meat, fish and vegetarian meals will all benefit from a side dish of leeks. Here are two ways to create the side dish.

ROAST LEEKS

2 leeks
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
A handful of thyme (leeks and thyme are a lovely combination)
Salt and pepper

Cut the leeks in half and then slice lengthwise to make 4 large strips per leek.

Place in a roasting pan and sprinkle with sea salt and lots of freshly ground pepper. Sprinkle the olive oil over the leeks. Add the thyme. Roast at 160 degrees Celsius.

Turn the leeks after about 10 minutes. Cook until tender - be careful not to overcook or brown the leeks too much.

The cooking time will depend on the size of the leek - 20 minutes should be enough.

BRAISED LEEKS

2 leeks
1 Tbsp of butter and 1 Tbsp of olive oil
3/4 cup of vegetable stock

Slice the leeks into rounds and then gently saute in the butter and oil. Sweat the onions for about 5 minutes until they begin to wilt.

Add the stock. Cover and cook until the leeks are tender. Season and serve in the braising juices.

SNAPPER OVER LEEKS WITH RED PEPPERS AND SMOKED PAPRIKA

600g snapper
For the leeks:
2 Tbsp olive oil
5 cloves of garlic
6-8 baby leeks or 3 mature leeks cut into 8 long strips
A bunch of fresh lemon thyme or regular thyme
Bayleaf
1/2 cup of dry white wine
1 cup of vegetable stock

Heat the oil in a large, heavy frying pan. Add the leeks and garlic and sweat for five minutes over a gentle heat.

Add the thyme, salt and pepper, bay leaf and wine. Reduce the wine by half and then add the stock. Cover tightly and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add 600g of snapper directly over the leeks and baste with some of the braising liquid.

Transfer to a hot oven (180degC) and bake until the snapper is cooked through (about 10 minutes).

Serve with peppers with smoked paprika:
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp smoked paprika
4 peppers, 2 red and 2 yellow (or all red)
2 cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp fresh marjoram
Salt and pepper

Heat the oil and add all the ingredients. Simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes over a low heat in a heavy-bottomed pot. The peppers will create their own juices. Delicious!

LEEK AND POTATO SOUP

4 agria potatoes, peeled and cut into dice
3 leeks, cut into round slices (use some of the green part of the leek, about half, discarding the hard top part)
1 bay leaf
A handful of fresh herbs such as thyme, parsley and marjoram
6 litres of good-quality stock - either vegetable or chicken
A little butter and/or oil

Heat the oil in a large pot and add the leeks. Sweat them gently over a medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the potatoes and continue the process for another 5-10 minutes.

Add the bay leaf and herbs and the stock and simmer for at least 30 minutes, until the potatoes are well cooked.

Remove from the heat and then in a food processor, blend the soup until smooth. Season well.

Reheat gently - it should be thick and creamy. Serve the soup with some chopped chives, some freshly ground pepper and a drizzle of your best extra virgin olive oil.

flat and fabulous turbot

photo: Marion van Dijk
For years, I would walk past turbot in the fish shop, giving it a sideways look, not convinced about it.

Its soft apricot colour with clinging roe and frilled edges confused me, and I would turn to a fish I was more familiar with.

One day, after endless hounding by my partner, who knew it well from his youth, and feeling emboldened from reading my Rick Stein bible Seafood, I bought a large fillet or two and used Stein's recipe for roasted turbot and sauce vierge.

It was absolutely divine, and now I scour the boards at Guyton's or Collingwood St Fresh Choice, and if I spy turbot, I am in to buy.

Stein has said that turbot is as good as lobster, and went so far as to say on Close Up a few weeks ago while visiting New Zealand that turbot is his favourite fish, and the simpler the better.

He recommends it served with a lemon hollandaise and a few new potatoes. Turbot is a delicate fish but it is also succulent and smooth, and flakes perfectly when cooked. Roasted, it is juicy and tender. The flesh turns white when it is cooked, by the way.

Turbot is a flatfish, and in New Zealand it is from the species Colistium nudipinnis, which differs from European turbot, which comes from the bothidae family.

Despite these differences, turbot in both places tastes very similar.

There are 11 species of flatfish found in New Zealand waters. Most Kiwis are familiar with flounder and sole, and are used to eating them whole. Increasingly, they are also learning about turbot and realising how fabulous it is.

Turbot is considerably bigger than flounder, and is sometimes confused with brill. It grows to about a metre in size with a deep body, twice that of its body length. It lives to a fine old age - around 16 years. It has a low oil content and is high in protein and low in fat, and has moderate amounts of omega 3.

Turbot is found on the west coast of both islands and in some pockets elsewhere, but the commercial harvest is off the West Coast in shallow waters by inshore trawling fleets. Talley's regularly catches turbot, and although it can be caught year-round, the fishing fleet concentrates on other fish for for some months of the year. This explains why turbot isn't always seen in the shops.

Talley's supplies fishmongers, supermarkets, cafes and restaurants throughout New Zealand. In local shops, turbot is almost always seen in fillet form, but Guyton's, for instance, will sell whole fish on request.
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I thoroughly recommend buying a whole turbot and trying the recipe below. Whole turbot, like most fish cooked whole, has its own special, splendid flavours.

Turbot sells for $14.90 a kilogram whole and $19.90 a kg in fillet form. Whole turbot range from 1kg to larger fish as requested. It can be cooked many different ways and it is always delicious. This recipe is one of the best fish dishes I have ever tasted.

ROASTED TURBOT WITH SAUCE VIERGE
Photo: Marion van Dijk

This is an adaptation of Rick Stein's recipe. I have substituted fillets for turbot steaks and changed the recipe slightly.
Buy two large fillets of turbot (larger is better) or four smaller fillets about 800g in total. This will serve four people.

Combine the following ingredients to rub over the fish:

1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp chopped fresh lemon thyme
1 bay leaf, finely chopped
1 tsp fennel seeds
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt

Grind all of this in a mortar and pestle to combine well, and mix with 75ml local extra virgin olive oil. Rub all over the fish and place the fish in a roasting pan. Leave for about 15 minutes while you make the sauce.

SAUCE VIERGE

75ml extra virgin olive oil (try using some Villa Grove lime oil)
2 Tbsp lemon or lime juice
2 tomatoes, preferably Italian plum tomatoes, cut into small dice
8-10 olives, pitted and sliced
2 anchovy fillets, diced
1 clove of garlic, sliced
A handful of parsley
Salt and pepper

Combine all the ingredients except the parsley and simmer gently for 5-10 minutes.

Heat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Roast the fish for about 5-8 minutes. The roasting time will depend on the thickness of the fillet. The fish should be just done.

Add the parsley to the sauce and serve the fish with the sauce either on the side or on top. This is delicious with agria mashed potatoes and some wilted spinach.

BRAISED WHOLE TURBOT

Heat the oven to 200deg C.

Season a whole turbot (1kg-1.5kg) with salt and pepper. Place in a roasting dish with just enough water to stop it sticking about 600ml. Braise uncovered for half an hour.

Transfer the fish to a serving tray and carefully remove the top skin. Keep warm. Reduce the cooking liquid to 3-4 Tbsp.

Melt 2-3 Tbsp of butter and add lots of fresh chopped herbs parsley, tarragon and chives are particularly good. Add the reduced cooking liquid. Pour this over the fish and serve immediately.

When the flesh is removed from the top half of the fish, carefully lift off the bones to access the bottom fillets.

Serve with braised leeks and slow-roasted halved tomatoes.

oysters

Photo: Rob Corlett
It is Grand Central Station, New York City. Go down the escalator to the lower floor, underground, and enter the Oyster Bar; a grand, cavernous space, giant chandeliers, gleaming tiles reflecting light.

Photo: Rob Corlett
People are everywhere, savouring oysters from the east and west coasts, from the top to the bottom of the country. Each oyster can be bought individually - Bluepoint, Boques Bay, Caraquet, Hood Canal, Little Skookum, Mecox, Meximoto, Pemaquid, Tatamoguche, Wellsfleet, to name a few.

You can sit at the counter and watch the experts shucking oysters and sliding them in front of you on ice, or you can be at any of four other sections in the restaurant and sample the same and more, such as its classic dish - a steaming bowl of bouillabaisse.

Even if you are not passionate about oysters, your curiosity has to be aroused by myriad options the menu holds. The menu of April 29, 2009, had 30 different oysters, named from the source - Boques Bay in Virginia, Caraquet in New Brunswick, Meximoto from Baja California, Tatamoguche in Nova Scotia, Little Skookum from Washington. Each is different in texture, size and taste, as well as variety.

The complexity of oysters is a little like that of different wine varieties. They are vastly different to the palate. Aficionados know the different varieties by name, and the qualities they will experience when tasting them.

All edible oysters are from the Ostreidae family. There are three principal genuses that feature in oyster eating. Members of the Ostrea genus live immersed in sea water, while Saccostrea and Crassostrea live in intertidal zones.

On the menu of the Oyster Bar, many of the oysters are either Crassostrea gigas (Pacific oysters) or Crassostrea virginica (Atlantic or Eastern oysters).
Photo: Rob Corlett

In New Zealand, we have all three of the principal genuses. Bluff oysters are in fact Ostrea chilensis, as are the oysters in Nelson and Marlborough. They are dredge oysters and are native to New Zealand and Chile, and have been commercially harvested here for more than 100 years.

New Zealand rock oysters are from the species Saccostrea commercialis, and are found in the intertidal zone in the north of the North Island. These oysters have been farmed commercially in the north of the country for about 40 years.

The interloper is Crassostrea gigas, the Pacific oyster, which appeared in our waters in the 1950s, and is suspected to have arrived via Japan. They now form the majority of our farmed oyster crop. They are vigorous and grow much faster than our native species, and are established in a range of places, including the Marlborough Sounds.

Photo: Rob Corlett

The latest commercial venture here in Nelson is the Cawthron Institute's oyster hatchery at the Glen, soon to be officially opened with an event featuring celebrity chef Peta Mathias creating an oyster dish to be prepared and served by NMIT hospitality staff and students.

Olin Pilcher, of Cawthron, says rearing Pacific oysters is like handling gravel or farming rocks. He explains that the beauty of hatchery-raised spat is that you get a much more uniform product.

Three-quarters of industry spat comes from the wild, sourced mainly from the Kaipara Harbour. From the wild, you get what you get, and the spat is variable in terms of numbers and quality. Hatchery spat can be bred for colour, shell shape and growth rate.

The Cawthron initiative has the capacity to grow up to 20 million spat a year. They are grown to about the size of a fingernail before being shipped to oyster farms, where they will be raised for another nine to 12 months.

New Zealand is a small player on the world oyster scene, with the industry producing about 45 million oysters a year.

Photo: Marion van Dijk
Oysters can be eaten raw, smoked, baked, fried, roasted, grilled, steamed or pickled. True oyster lovers consider it sacrilege to cook an oyster, and believe that the only way to eat them is raw.

The species and the place they grow greatly influence their taste. Pacific oysters are often described as being creamy with a mineral ocean taste, whereas an Atlantic oyster is described as saltier.

Each ocean, sea, bay or inlet has different conditions and water qualities, and this is reflected in the taste of the oyster. Each has its own degree of saltiness, and tastes are varied, with descriptors such as a fruit or almond finish.

Oysters are good for you - they are an excellent source of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, C and D. Four to five oysters a day will supply you with the recommended daily allowance of iron, copper, iodine, magnesium, calcium, zinc, manganese and phosphorus.

Here are a few recipes.

OYSTER SHOT: Make a bloody mary mix by adding to tomato juice a dash or three of worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce. Add some celery salt and black pepper. Add vodka to taste. Mix well. In a shot glass, add an oyster and pour over the bloody mary mix. Have 3 or 4.

OYSTERS WITH NOBU'S THREE SALSAS: From Nobu the Cookbook by Nobuyuki Matsuhisa (visiting the Nobu restaurant in New York is an amazing culinary experience)
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Photo: Marion van Dijk

12 fresh oysters in the shell

4 Tbsp matsuhisa salsa

4 Tbsp maui onion salsa

4 Tbsp jalapeno salsa

Finely chopped chives for garnish Remove the oysters from their shells and rinse under cold water. Drain. Arrange the oysters in their shells and top with a little of each salsa - use four oysters per salsa. Sprinkle the chives over the maui onion salsa.

MATSUHISA SALSA: 1/2cup (60g) finely chopped onion

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp garlic

1/4 tsp chilli oil

1/4 tsp finely grated ginger

1 Tbsp oil

Combine and add 1/2 cup (10g) finely chopped parsley before use.

JALAPENO SALSA: finely chopped jalapeno chillis

1 1/4 cups (125g) finely chopped onion

1 tsp sea salt

5 tsp extra virgin olive oil

5 Tbsp lemon juice

Combine.

MAUI ONION SALSA

1 cup (100g) finely chopped maui onion

3/4 cup (105g) finely chopped tomato

6 Tbsp Ponzu (Japanese citrus-based sauce)

2 tsp orange juice (freshly squeezed)

1 tsp hot chilli sauce. Combine.

ANGELS ON HORSEBACK:
This is a classic canape that was a party favourite decades ago and may be enjoying a comeback.

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 clove garlic, chopped

12 oysters

6 slices lean bacon

Salt and pepper

Mix the wine, garlic, salt and pepper together. Add the oysters and marinate for 10 to 20 minutes. Preheat the grill. Cut each bacon slice in half and wrap around an oyster, securing with a toothpick. Grill on both sides until the bacon is crisp. Serve while still warm.