saturday, may 5th, 2007

The second chapter of Sarah and Tyler's journey around the world finds them in New Zealand and Tasmania where I have traveled vicariously for the past month at their blog Strange and Benevolent. Their accounts of New Zealand wineries, cooking on the road and zipping around the country in a spaceship kept me laughing while learning and their gorgeous pictures had me drooling. For this entry, I cooked up a twist on the traditional meat pie of the region and paired it with a kiwi pepper chutney and a sweet potato brie risotto spiked with spicy cashews. As an ode to my friend, the intrepid traveler who was so taken with Hokey Pokey, I cooked up a batch of Hokey Pokey biscuits, crumbled them over goat cheese ice cream and drizzled it with a mango honey lime sauce. 

I chose to use sweet potato in the risotto because it has long been a staple of the cuisine of New Zealand. The indigenous Maori population call it kumara and brought it with them to the island when they arrived from Polynesia between 950-1130AD. The exact date of the Maori's arrival is debatable but it is known that along with the kumara, they introduced taro to New Zealand along with the rat and the dog, which had devastating consequences for the island's many flightless birds. The largest of these birds, the Moa, ranged in size, depending upon the species, from that of a small turkey upwards to 3.7 meters tall. By consuming their meat and collecting their large eggs, the Maori quickly hunted the moa to extinction. As a result, systems were implemented to protect native species and ensure their survival.

The traditional method of Maori food preparation is called a hangi. A pit is dug in the ground and layered with stones heated in a fire. Food is placed on top of the stones, then earth and brush are layered atop and the feast is cooked for several hours. Food is not considered sacred to the Maori and it is therefore taboo for it to come in contact with sacred sites such as temples and churches. Food preparation for individuals who are considered sacred such as high chiefs and Maori tattoo artists is a complicated process with many restrictions and rules governing what type of food sacred individuals may consume and who is allowed to prepare it.

The Maori are one of the only indigenous populations that did not produce alcohol and when it was introduced to them by the English who arrived in the late 18th century it was initially labeled by them as 'waipiro', or stinking water. Unfortunately, this has since changed and alcoholism is now a prevalent problem for the Maori population.  Along with alcohol, the British, or Pakeha, brought with them pork and potatoes along with other vegetables, including new varieties of sweet potatoes. The settlers attempted to reproduce English cooking methods, many of which were eventually incorporated by the Maori into their traditional way of preparing food. As a result, Maori cuisine has become a hybrid of their traditional cooking methods combined with techniques and ingredients introduced by the British.

Due to the high cost of meat in England in the 18th century, it was considered food for the wealthy and was generally not consumed by the middle and lower classes.  In New Zealand, animals such as cows and sheep were abundant and the new British arrivals consumed meat with relish, regardless of class standing. This practice is still a trend in contemporary New Zealand and has resulted in health problems such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Fortunately, New Zealanders began to travel more in the 1960s, exposing them to the healthier eating habits of regions such as southeast Asia, China and India. The incorporation of new ingredients and methods of food preparation resulted in a fusion cuisine that New Zealanders enthusiastically adopted.

A current trend taking hold in New Zealand is the use of avocado oil. It's a fabulous product that should be in everyone's pantry. Initially I used it exclusively for salads and as a dipping sauce but lately, I've begun to incorporate it into my dishes as I would olive oil, which is to say, I use it in everything! With a smoke point of 500 degrees, it's ideal for frying and sauteeing. It's also a healthy alternative to other oils as it is rich in mono saturated fats that help reduce cholesterol. The avocado flavor is not pronounced which makes it an ideal neutral oil for just about everything. In the following recipes, I used it exclusively, save for the butter in the risotto and cookies.

Taking a cue from Sarah, I used a Hawkes Bay Chardonnay for the risotto and for the steak and morel pie I used Marlbourough's Kim Crawford Pinot Noir. For the pie, I was going to use lamb but I'm such a fan of New Zealand grass-fed beef that I couldn't resist incorporating it into this recipe. For a fresh twist on the standard meat pie, I used phyllo which lended a lighter texture and buttery flakiness. Mushrooms are a popular ingredient in New Zealand cuisine and for this recipe, I used morels as it's the prime season for them now in the United States and I was fortunate enough to receive a package of dehydrated morels from a friend who picked them up fresh last week at a road side stand in Wisconsin. Now that's a wonderful friend! The kiwi pepper chutney adds a fiery zing and is is an ideal accompaniment to the beef.

Along with the sweet potatoes in the risotto, I added brie which I must admit I did not get from New Zealand. Brie, however, is popular in New Zealand, along with an enormous variety of other goat and cow's milk cheeses. While New Zealand does not have a large variety of indigenous nuts, cashews are now grown on the country and are a popular ingredient in the region's fusion cuisine. I spiked mine with spicy heat to add depth and spunk to the risotto.

As for the dessert, I had no idea just how beloved the hokey pokey tradition is in New Zealand. While I try to avoid the use of corn syrup, it simply can't be avoided in this recipe. The use of "golden syrup" as it is commonly referred to in many hokey pokey biscuit recipes, was included in every recipe I found. The recipe here was posted at recipezaar from a woman named Evie living in Christchurch New Zealand. While my goat's milk ice cream is not from New Zealand, it does incorporate a cheese that is incredibly popular in the country. Much like avocado oil, goat's milk ice cream is becoming my new favorite. It's ridiculously creamy and delicious yet lower in fat, calories and cholesterol than cow's milk ice cream. I've included a resource list at the end of Sarah's entry for items such as avocado oil, New Zealand grass fed beef and goat's milk ice cream.  

Now let's get to the heart of the matter. Here is Sarah's entry covering the food and drink of New Zealand and Tasmania which she was generous enough to send to me before heading off to the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. If you missed her first entry from South America, it can be found here.

On The Road With Sarah and Tyler Part Two: New Zealand and Tasmania (recipes follow)

When the 2006 World Cup started last summer, my husband embraced it whole-heartedly.  He had a longstanding interest in soccer, but we had no cable television with which to watch any international games.  Plus, it seemed a good way to gear up for our trip around the world where most people care quite a bit about “futbol.”  We got cable, he started a betting pool, and on many weekends we got up early to watch the games at a Seattle Aussie bar, The Kangaroo and Kiwi.  Starting at 7AM, we could have a pint, an Aussie brekkie, and cheer on one of the teams.  The "brekkie" mostly contained lots of baked beans, lots of meat, and a meat pie.  If we were still around for the third consecutive game, we were usually looking for a second meal, which ranged from baked beans on toast to spaghetti on toast to a toastie, a grilled cheese with a thin layer of marmite to add a yeasty, salty zing to the usual standby.

This was my main introduction to food from this region and pretty much what I expected of New Zealand, with the addition of some lamb and good wine.  And while we did see a lot of people eating a lot of baked beans at all times of day, there was more to be seen.

For full disclosure, I do have to admit that my perspective on New Zealand food is of a totally different variety from our experiences in South America.  Because of the higher cost of living, Tyler and I did a lot of cooking at holiday parks, or campgrounds, across the country.  However, I do think that food is an integral part of travel and a culture, so we decided that rather than eating a lot of OK but still pricey food (it's hard to get out of a meal for less than $15-20 a person at a typical restaurant) we would rather have fewer, better meals.  This mostly meant eating at restaurants at wineries when in wine country, though we did have a few other lazy evenings for burgers, fish and chips or things we otherwise didn't normally prepare.

Based on that background, here are a few observations on Kiwi cuisine:

Wine and Beer:

In our travels, we managed to visit wineries in several regions: Waiheke Island,  Hawke's Bay, Martinborough and Central Otago. Far beyond the Sauvignon Blancs I knew about before traveling, New Zealand had incredible wines of wide-ranging varietals.

While on our honeymoon in Alaska, we spent some time in Haines, where they brewed some incredibly good local beer. We spent most evenings at our hotel, having a pint or two, and before we left, we trekked out to the small brewery where it was made to buy a big brown glass jug to drink in our last hours in town (and surreptitiously on the ferry to Juneau). When we raved to the brewer about how good the beer was and how we’d love to see it in Seattle, he politely let us know that he had no interest in expanding. He thought that each region or area should have it’s own specialties, it’s own “brands” rather than necessarily always trying to grow and expand more broadly. New Zealand, consciously or not, seems to have adopted a similar approach to beer. There are lots of regional beers. Even in a country only about the size of Colorado, there are beers in the south you don’t see in the north. Waiheke Island Brewery had some great beers that are only on a small island a 30-minute ferry ride away from Auckland. People mostly seemed to drink the local beer, whether it was Monteith’s, Mac’s, Speights, Tui, or Canterbury Draught, which made it fun to ride around in our camper and try new brews in each town.

Flavored Chips:

Because campground cooking has some inherent limitations and led to some slightly repetitious meals on the road, we often had our fun in grocery store trips by buying all the wild flavors of chips available in New Zealand. Roasted onion and balsamic vinegar, chorizo and bell pepper, prosciutto and brie, sour cream and sweet chili, roasted lamb and mint—they definitely upped the ante on store brand flavors you normally see in the States.

Sweets:

In addition to exotic chip flavors, another favorite was the biscuit (aka “cookie”) aisle. I can’t remember the last time I got excited about grocery store brand cookies or candy bars in the States, but “exotic” cookies like Tim Tams (a chocolate-coated chocolate biscuit, with chocolate cream filling) and Toffee Pops (a cookie base topped with caramel and covered with chocolate) kept grocery trips from becoming too mundane.

But my true love was discovered by utter chance.  At a campground in the North Island, Tyler and I were reading, writing postcards and otherwise relaxing when I got a strong urge for some chocolate.  The reception area also has a small grocery selection, and Tyler returned with a Crunchie, which he purchased because it said it contained “Golden Hokey-Pokey,” something he couldn’t pass up.  At first bite, it was a bit surprising—golden as its name suggested, but a firmer texture like pumice and a taste reminiscent of toasted marshmallows.  We looked at each other with a little surprise and kept eating.  Since then I’ve learned that Hokey Pokey is a bit of “kiwiana,” or a nostalgic cultural icon.  You can find the candy bars, Hokey Pokey ice cream, Hokey Pokey fudge, and cookies flavored like Hokey Pokey with bits of Hokey Pokey sprinkled on top.  I can’t remember the last time I bought a grocery store candy bar, but I bought a Crunchie almost every time we saw them, just in case it would be my last encounter with Hokey Pokey, a strangely addictive sweet.

Seafood and Meat:

As an island nation, it comes as no surprise to encounter lots of delicious seafood.  Two of most memorable meals in New Zealand included fresh snapper.  Even better, the second time I had snapper topped with scallops.  Unlike in the US, all the scallops still had their pink roe cooked and attached to the white, meaty body.  I remember first seeing a whole scallop on British cooking shows in the past and wondering what it tasted like.  Except for a different texture (fluffier might be the best word), it tasted the same as the main body.  I don’t know why they always discard this in the US;  seems like quite a waste.  There were also fantastic green-lipped mussels, especially on the north end of the south island.  Though I never was lucky enough to stumble upon some to gather for myself, I did get a couple chances to eat a few and they lived up to their reputation—tender, flavorful, fairly mild.

Then there was the meat.  In less than an hour outside of Auckland, the biggest city in the country, we were surrounded by verdant green hills populated by huge cows and herds of sheep.  Unlike the US, Kiwis still prefer to pasture their animals on grass.  In Eastern Washington, there are lots of dairy cows and you know it a few miles away from the almost unbearable stench of cow dung and animals grouped together.  We never encountered that in New Zealand.  In addition, Kiwis also farm deer, something I didn’t know was possible, under the brand name “Cervena.”  Apparently, they created the appellation of the New Zealand version to boost sales, similar to how the moniker of champagne stands out above of sparkling wine varieties.  We made venison burgers one night, and they were quite good—tender, not too gamey, but meatier and different from beef.  We also ate a lot of great beef and lamb as they were half the price of the same meat in the US (and pork and chicken, our usual standbys, were twice as much!), including great steaks on the “Barbie”, which in New Zealand is actually a gas-powered griddle at campsites rather than the grated versions we’re used to.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by New Zealand food.  While still straight-forward and with a British backbone, we did see restaurants focusing on the local produce, meats, cheeses, and other food bounty.  And, of course, the canned baked beans were surprisingly good, as they should be since they do still seem to form somewhat of a staple of the Kiwi diet.

Sweet Potato Brie Risotto With Spiced Cashews

1/2 cup whole cashews, plus additional 1/4 cups for garnish
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon avocado oil

1 onion, small dice
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cups arborio rice
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons finely grated ginger
2 sweet potatoes, roasted and skinned
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup brie
salt and pepper, to taste 

For the cashews

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Toss cashews in 1 tablespoon oil and cayenne until completely coated. Roast on a small sheet tray for about twenty minutes or until cashews are toasty brown. Toss a few times while they roast. Remove from oven. Once cool, finely chop 1/2 cup. Reserve about 1/4 cup whole cashews for garnish.

For the risotto 

1. In a sauce pan, bring chicken stock to a boil. Reduce heat to low and reserve.

2. Puree the sweet potato with 1 tablespoon butter. Add salt to taste. Reserve.

3. In a second, deep sided sauce pan, heat butter and oil. Add the onion along with salt and pepper and sauté until the onion is translucent. Add the rice and cook until the rice is hot and coated in the butter and oil. Do not allow to brown. Add the wine and ginger and cook until the wine has reduced completely. Begin adding the chicken stock in small batches, about 1 cup at a time. Stir the rice continuously until it has completely absorbed the stock. Do not add the next addition until each batch of stock has been completely absorbed by the rice. Continue this process until all the stock has been used or the rice is soft, yet still firm to the bite.

4. Add the sweet potato puree and incorporate completely. Add the brie and stir until melted then fold in the chopped spiced cashews. Serve in four warm bowls and garnish with whole spiced cashews.

Yield: 4 servings

Notes

*Olive oil can be used as a substitute for the avocado oil. 

 
New Zealand Steak & Morel Pie With Kiwi Pepper Chutney

1 cup fresh kiwi, medium dice
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
1 teaspoon  grated lemon rind
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon port
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 Thai red or green chili, minced finely
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoons water 

2 tablespoons avocado oil*
1 1/2 pound New Zealand grass-fed (if available) sirloin tips
1 cup red wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 shallots, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 pound morels, or other wild mushrooms, rehydrated if necessary
1 tablespoon thyme, picked
3-4 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter
16-20 - 1/2 sized sheets phyllo dough (11X9), cut down full size sheets if necessary
melted butter, fir wash
egg yolk, for wash

For the chutney

1. Bring all ingredients except for the corn starch and water to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan, stirring frequently. Combine the corn starch and water together to make a slurry. Add to the pan and simmer the sauce for five minutes, stirring continuously, until the sauce is thick. Remove from the heat and cool down. Once cool, the sauce can be kept refrigerated for up to a week.

For the steak and morel pies 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large sauté pan, heat avocado oil then add sirloin tips in batches, so as not to over crowd the pan. Brown the tips on all sides. Remove to a rack and reserve. Turning once while they cool.

2. Degrease the pan with the lemon juice and about 1 tablespoon of the red wine, scraping up all of the fond at the bottom of the pan and incorporating it into the sauce. Add the shallots and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for about thirty seconds more. Do not brown. Add the remaining wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add the mushrooms. Simmer until the wine has reduced by half, then return the steak tips to the pan and cook until the wine has reduced completely. Fold in the thyme. Remove the mixture from the pan and allow to cool down.

To assemble

3.  On a clean work surface, lay out four or five sheets of phyllo. Be sure to keep the phyllo not in use covered with a damp towel to prevent it from drying out. Scoop one quarter of the steak mixture into the center of the phyllo. Configure it to resemble the shape of an envelope but leave at least three inches of exposed phyllo on all sides. Fold opposite edges of the phyllo over the steak filling. Brush with a little melted butter. Fold the two remaining opposing sides over the filling and brush with butter to seal. Turn over and brush the top of the pie with egg yolk. Continue to assemble the remaining three pies. On a sheet tray, bake for twenty minutes in the preheated oven for twenty minutes. Turn the pies over, reduce the temperature to 325 degrees and bake for an additional ten minutes in order to brown on all sides. Remove the pies from the oven and serve seam side down garnished with the kiwi pepper chutney.

Yield: 4 pies

Notes

*An oil with a high smoke point such as peanut oil can be substituted for the avocado oil. 

 
Goat's Milk Ice Cream With Hokey Pokey Coconut Biscuit Crumble & Mango Honey Lime Sauce

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 tablespoon milk
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut (optional) 

2 mangoes, skinned, pitted and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger

goat's milk ice cream (or other)

For the biscuits

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter, sugar, corn syrup and milk together. Cool to lukewarm and sift in flour and baking soda. Fold in coconut. Roll into one inch balls, place on an ungreased cookie sheet and flatten with a fork. Bake 15-20 minutes. Place on a rack to cool.

For the mango honey lime sauce

1. Combine mango, honey, lime juice and ginger in a food processor. Puree until smooth.

To serve

Crumble a cookie atop ice cream and top with mango sauce.

Yield: The cookie recipe yields about 18 cookies, the mango sauce about 1 cup.

Resources

Avocado Oil: My avocado oil is from the New Zealand company Olivado. It can be purchased in many grocery stores and gourmet food stores but if you're having trouble finding it, they have a great informational resource at their site.

Goat's Milk Ice Cream: The goat's milk ice cream I served is from the wonderful company Laloo's out of Petaluma, California. I bought mine at Whole Foods but many stores across the country carry it. They have a store locator at their site.

New Zealand Grass-Fed Beef: There is a wealth of information about New Zealand Beef and Lamb here. I picked mine up at Whole Foods.

New Zealand Wine: A great resource about New Zealand Wine can be found here.  

Wild Foods Festival: To sample the famed Huhu Grub, attend the Wild Foods Festival in Hokitika, New Zealand on March 8th, 2008.  

Edmonds Cookbook: The Edmonds Cookbook is the classic cookbook of New Zealand and is the best selling book (not just cooking related) in the country.  It can be purchased here.