FRESH - the best of New Zealand from market to table

Fresh! (Hodder Moa $49.99 RRP) is a culinary journey around New Zealand, discovering regional ingredients. Each chapter represents one of 17 regions and explores three or four ingredients particular to that area, along with recipes using that produce. Stunning landscape photographs introduce each chapter and every recipe is photographed.

There are recipes to suit every taste, including a simple potato salad using Otago Jersey Bennes, barbequed Marlborough crayfish, Canterbury lamb shanks,chargrilled asparagus, mushroom tart and amazing Bay of Plenty avocado chocolate tart.

About the Authors

Award-winning professional chef Peter Blakeway (pic right) has almost twenty years’ experience in the hospitality industry, ten years of it spent running the critically acclaimed Kilcamb Lodge with his wife

Anne in the Scottish Highlands. Peter has also worked at the five-star Claridges Hotel in London, Michelin-starred Gidleigh Park in Devon, and the five-star, 1000 room Boca Raton Resort & Club in Florida. Peter and Anne immigrated to New Zealand in 2004 and opened the Deli on Devonport in
Tauranga in 2005 and, shortly after, the Plenti Cookschool.
Peter has appeared on several TV programmes, including Robson Green’s ‘Extreme Fishing’ for UK’s Channel 5 and the ‘New Zealand on a Plate’ series.

Here is a recipe from the book for you to try:
Barbecued Crayfish with Lime Aioli

I’d love to say I’d dived for these crayfish myself, but in this case it was our great friend Tony Burt, diver, hunter and all round good Kiwi. The best way to eat this is on an open fire on the beach, with a glass of Marlborough Pinot Gris. Cheers Tony!

2 crayfish
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon lime-infused avocado oil
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Aioli
Makes 600 ml
8 cloves garlic
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
a pinch of Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground white pepper
300 ml lime-infused avocado oil
1 teaspoon hot water
a few drops lime or lemon juice

Place live crayfi sh in the freezer for 20–30 minutes to anaesthetise them before you dispatch them. Then place the crayfish the right way up on a chopping board with their tails fully extended. Place the point of a large sharp knife between the eyes and push straight down towards the board. Once
the tip has reached the board, using the tip as a pivot, guide the blade down through the body, cutting the crayfish in half. Set aside on a tray.

To make the aioli
Peel and pound garlic with salt and pepper until smooth. Whisk the egg yolks, vinegar, mustard, pounded garlic and other seasonings together. Slowly add the lime avocado oil, whisking continuously. When all the oil is added, finish with the water and correct the seasoning. A few drops of lime or lemon juice can be added to enhance the taste.
Mix the melted butter, oil, garlic, herbs and seasoning in a small bowl.

Put the halved crayfish on a hot barbecue, shell side down to protect the delicate meat from the intense heat while still infusing wonderful barbecue flavours. Drizzle the melted butter mixture over the flesh and cook for 10–15 minutes, depending on the size of the crayfish. The flesh should change from soft and translucent to firm and white when cooked.

Transfer to a serving dish, cut side up. Place the aioli in a dish on the side for dipping.
Serves 4

Recipes and images reproduced from Fresh! by Peter & Anne Blakeway with permission from Hachette NZ Ltd, published by Hodder Moa, $49.99 RRP, available from booksellers nationwide.