The most fabulous festive feast
From his farm and road house in the NSW Blue Mountains, chef Sean Moran has created an exclusive Christmas menu for WISH full of flavour, colour, freshness – and a little glamour.
Sean Moran’s High Hopes Roadhouse at Bilpin in the Blue Mountains of NSW has
HAND-ROLLED NOODLES WITH GARLIC SCAPES, ROCKET, ASPARAGUS, PISTACHIOS AND PECORA SHEEP’S CHEESE
350g unbleached baker’s flour
175ml tepid water
25ml + 150 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 generous handfuls thin asparagus spears
2 handfuls garlic scapes (stems)
2 bunches rocket
1 clove garlic, minced to a paste with 1/2 tsp of salt flakes
1 lemon, juiced
Freshly cracked black pepper
100g pistachios, toasted for 1 hour at 100C
1 x 200g piece aged sheep’s cheese
Put the flour on a clean workbench, then drizzle it with water and 25 ml extra- virgin olive oil, using a pastry scraper to help catch liquids and ‘chop’ them into the flour. Use your fingers to bring the dough together just enough to incorporate; unlike other pasta doughs, with this one we don’t want to knead the gluten, otherwise the noodles will struggle when you roll them by jumping back. Wrap the dough in plastic film and refrigerate for about an hour.
Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Keeping the dough covered to prevent crusting, tear off a small blob and roll with both hands into thin noodles about 3-4ml thick, about 20-30cm long, pinching off each length and reusing excess dough until all dough has been used. Transfer noodles to a lightly floured board as you make them.
Throw a generous handful of cooking salt into boiling water, then slide in noodles, add asparagus and scapes. Cook for 5-6 minutes, or until al dente.
Meanwhile, wash, shake dry and coarsely shred rocket. Add remaining olive oil to large bowl with minced garlic, lemon juice and pepper. Pound pistachios in a mortar and pestle to a coarse paste.
When noodles are cooked, drain swiftly, catching a little of the pasta water to add to the bowl to emulsify the oil and lemon. Toss together with rocket and serve with pounded pistachios and coarsely grated sheep’s cheese.
MURRAY COD BAKED IN SALT DOUGH BURIED IN CHARCOAL
Serves 4-6
1kg plain flour
1kg flossy salt
About 1 litre water
1 small onion (whatever colour)
1 whole Murray Cod around 2kg, scaled, gutted, fins and tail snipped short
Few sprigs fennel fronds
1 lemon, sliced
Mayonnaise
3 egg yolks
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
25ml apple cider vinegar
1 pinch salt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
200ml sunflower oil & 100ml olive oil
Mix flour, salt and water on workbench surface, then with a pastry card, bring the dough together, chopping and scraping to form a rough mass, then knead together for several minutes to strengthen gluten, cover with a damp cloth and leave to rest for about an hour.
Peel and slice onion and lay inside cavity of fish with fennel fronds and lemon. Roll rested dough on a floured workbench until 0.5cm thick and large enough to wrap fish. Wrap fish as you would fish and chips, hugging the dough around the fish to seal any potential cracks.
Ignite a generous pile of charcoal in your chosen fire pit and once the flames have died off and the coals and are glowing white, carefully make room with a shovel to lay in your fish, then bury the fish entirely so it is encased in hot coals all over and leave to cook for 35 minutes. Once time is up, carefully brush away coals from fish then lift onto a serving platter and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Using a sharp, serrated knife, cut into the crust, about 1cm up from the bottom all the way around and when you can feel the fish is free from the crust, gently lift it.
To make mayonnaise: Whisk yolks, mustard, vinegar, lemon and salt in a suitable bowl until blended. Whisk continuously while slowly drizzling in oils until all has been absorbed. Whisk in a little boiling water for a slightly looser consistency, if you like.
Watch video:
TOMATO SALAD, BUFFALO MOZZARELLA, POUNDED BASIL, MARIE’S OLIVES
This hardly needs a recipe. Most of us know the secret to any sublime tomato salad is perfectly ripe, old-fashioned varieties of tomatoes served at room temperature. I like to dress mine with basil leaves pounded with Murray River salt flakes, a drizzle of apple cider vinegar, torn pieces of Australian buffalo mozzarella, crushed olives cured by my great friend and chef Marie, all drizzled with the best Australian olive oil. Sometimes I opt for a few thin slices of purple onion, and that’s what makes me happy.
PORK RACK, FENNEL & NECTARINES
Serves 6
4 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 x 6-cutlet, well marbled rack of free range pork (chine bone removed)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Salt
Olive oil
Freshly cracked pepper
6 ripe nectarines
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup stock – any kind i.e. chook, veal, pork (not fish)
2 fennel bulbs
Preheat oven to 200C. Peel garlic cloves and crush to a paste with fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle. Using a sharp knife, make several deep incisions through the skin of the pork cutlets and deep enough into the fat so as to cut through without reaching the meat. Push the fennel paste deeply into crevices to protect it from burning. Mix the vinegar and just enough salt to make a paste then rub outside of rack generously. Heat a heavy-based baking dish over a moderate flame, then carefully lower in rack, skin side down. Leave for several minutes to spit and colour up nicely, adjusting flame and rack as needed. When all the pork skin is golden, season well with cracked pepper then roast in hot oven for 50-60 minutes, or until juices run clear when meat is pierced with a cook’s fork or metal skewer. Once done, remove pork from oven, lift from roasting tray onto a platter, then leave to rest away from direct heat for 25-30 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut nectarines in halves and sit in roasting tray with all the fat and congealed meat juices, face down to absorb all the flavours. Roast nectarines for 10-15 minutes, turning as needed until nicely caramelised. Once ready, remove nectarines from oven and use a slotted spoon to lift each half onto the platter with the pork. Drain excess fat from roasting pan carefully so as not to add any cooking juice, and save the fat for another roasting of potatoes, pumpkin or whatever and return pan to stovetop. Deglaze with wine and stock over a high flame, using a flat-edged wooden spoon to emulsify, reducing for several minutes to sauce consistency.
When ready to serve, slice pork, and serve with nectarines, some shaved fennel, a spoonful of the reduced sauce and a scattering of crackling.
CANDIED PEEL TART
Serves 8
Pastry
150g unsalted butter
200g plain flour
1 large pinch salt
100g castor sugar
1 tablespoon cold water
Filling
Egg white or jam
850g Candied ruby grapefruit and candied Orange, sliced thinly
500g unsalted butter
6 egg yolks
250 g castor sugar
Remove butter for refrigerator 30 mins before you start. Sift flour, salt and castor sugar onto your workbench. Using a cheese grater, coarsely grate butter onto flour and rub it through the palms of your hands until ‘sandy’ in texture. Drizzle on cold water, then squeeze gently until massed together. Form a flat disc about 2cm thick, then wrap in plastic film or a damp cloth and refrigerate for about an hour.
Dust your workbench lightly with flour, then roll pastry to a rough 2-3mm thick round ( large enough to cover a tart shell (32cm wide x 3cm deep). Lower pastry into shell press well into edges. Run rolling pin over top of tin to cut pastry edges evenly, then press sides of pastry a couple of millimetres above rim. This allows for slight shrinkage when baking. Refrigerate shell on a baking tray for at least 30 mins.
Meanwhile preheat oven to 200C. Brush out excess flour from tart shell, stab pastry with a fork in several spots to avoid bubbling. To ‘ blind’ bake your tart shell, line it with aluminium foil and fill it with dried beans, rice or professional pastry weights, ensuring you fill adequately up the sides ( again to avoid shrinkage). Bake tart shell for 25 minutes, or until golden, then remove weights and foil after checking pastry is set down sides to base. The pastry will be paler and need to be baked for a further 7-10 minutes without weights or foil to colour up evenly. When pastry is deep golden, seal holes with lightly beaten egg white or jam – paint it over evenly, ensuring fork holes are filled and return to oven for a couple of minutes, then remove and cool to room temperature before filling.
Reduce oven to 140 Deg C. Melt butter over a low flame, lightly mix egg yolks and sugar with a whisk to just combine, then slowly whisk in melted butter until absorbed ( don’t over-beat ). Scatter baked pastry shell with sliced peel, pour egg mix evenly over peel, then bake for 25 minutes, or until golden. Remove tart from oven and allow to cool to room temperature before cutting. Serve with your favourite cream.
RASPBERRY MARSHMALLOWS
Makes 30 bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup cornflower
1/2 cup icing sugar
450g castor sugar
200ml water
1 tablespoon liquid glucose
5 gelatine leaves
2 large egg whites
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon rosewater
Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
400g raspberries
Sieve cornflour and icing sugar. Line a 30 x 20cm shallow cake tray with grease-proof paper then brush with oil and dust with some of the cornflour mix.
Place castor sugar, water and glucose into a small, heavy-based pan. Bring to boil and continue cooking over a high heat until it reaches 127C on a sugar thermometer. Meanwhile, soak gelatine in 150ml water. Beat egg whites with salt in an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. When syrup is up to temperature, remove from heat and slide in gelatine and soaking liquid, then swirl the pan to thoroughly dissolve it. Continue beating whites while slowly pouring in syrup. Add rosewater and vanilla bean seeds then continue whisking for 5-10 minutes, or until mixture is stiff. Dust raspberries in just enough cornflour mix to coat all over. Spoon and spread half the egg white mix into prepared tray, scatter with berries then spoon over remaining mix and spread evenly with a wet palette knife. Leave marshmallow for at least an hour, or until set.
When marshmallow is set, invert carefully to release from tray, and peel away paper. With a large, sharp knife, cut into 6 even lengths, then each into 5 pieces. Roll each piece in remaining cornflour mix (toasted coconut flakes is good too) and leave to dry a little on a wire rack before serving.