Scallops on Potato Crisps with Pea Puree

Prep Time: 45 mins

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Cook Time: 45 mins

Serves 12.

Ingredients

2 slices mild pancetta, finely chopped

2 floury potatoes (we used Russet Burbank)

Vegetable oil, for deep frying

12 small scallops

Shredded mint, to garnish

½ cup steamed peas, to garnish

Pea Puree

1 tbs butter

1 tsp olive oil

1 eschallot, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

150g frozen peas

60ml chicken stock

Method

1. To make pea puree, heat the butter and oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add eschallot and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until eschallot is soft but not coloured.

2. Add the peas and stock. Simmer, covered, stirring often, until peas are very tender and stock as been absorbed. Transfer mixture to a small blender or processor. Blend until smooth. Season.

3. Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over medium heat. Cook pancetta until golden and crisp. Chop finely.

4. To make potato crisp, cut twelve 5mm-thick slices from the potatoes.

5. Deep fry potato slices, in batches, until golden and crisp. Drain on absorbent paper. Season.

6. Season scallops. Heat a large non-stick lightly greased frying pan until very hot. Add scallops and cook for 1 minute. Turn and cook for a further 15 seconds.

7. To assemble, place potato crisps on serving platter. Top with pea puree, pancetta and scallops. Season. Garnish with mint and whole peas.

Tips

Our scallops were quite large, so we halved them horizontally and served half per canape, to ensure they remained bite-size.

Pork Cotoletta Tonnato with Fennel Salad

Prep Time: 1 hr

Cook Time: 20 mins

Serves 4.

Ingredients

Thinly sliced red onion and flat leaf parsley, to garnish

Lemon cheeks, to serve

Tonnato Sauce

250g mayonnaise

95g can tuna in oil

6 anchovy fillets

2 tbs baby capers, drained

2 boiled egg yolks, halved

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 tsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley

Juice of 1 lemon

pinch cayenne pepper, plus extra to garnish

Fennel Salad

1 baby fennel

2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs white wine vinegar

pinch caster sugar

½ tsp finely grated lemon zest

1 small red capsicum, finely chopped

Cotoletta

100g panko breadcrumbs

100g finely grated parmesan

150g plain flour

1 tsp garlic powder

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

1 tsp ground fennel seeds

4 x 300g bone-in pork cutlets, trimmed, pounded to even thickness

2 eggs, lightly beaten

vegetable oil, for shallow frying

Method

1. To make tonnato sauce, place all ingredients in a small processor. Process to form a smooth silky sauce. Season.

2. To make fennel salad, thinly sliced fennel and pick fronds. Whisk oil, vinegar, sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl. Season. Add fennel slices and fronds and capsicum. Toss to combine. Refrigerate until required.

3. To prepare cotoletta, combine breadcrumbs and parmesan in a large shallow bowl. Season.

4. Combine flour, garlic powder, lemon zest and fennel seeds in another shallow bowl.

5. Season pork all over and dust with flour mixture. Dip in egg and then breadcrumb mixture.

6. Heat oil in a large deep frying pan over medium heat. Cook cottoletta until golden and crisp on each side, but still pink in the middle. Drain on absorbent paper.

7. Serve pork cotoletta with tonnato sauce and fennel salad. Garnish with red onion and flat leaf parsley. Serve with lemon cheeks.

Tips

Exact cooking time of pork will depend on the size and thickness of the cutlet. If they are quite thick, finish them in the oven for a few minutes or until internal temperature reaches 68-70C on a thermometer.

For whisper thin sliced fennel, try using a mandolin.

Hazelnut Chocolate Dacquoise

Prep Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

Serves 6.

Ingredients

Sifted cocoa powder, to dust

Toasted hazelnuts, to decorate

Hazelnut Dacquoise

6 egg whites

75g icing sugar

85g ground hazelnuts

80g caster sugar

Chocolate Mousse

150g chopped dark chocolate, chopped

60ml milk

2 tsp powdered gelatine

30ml hazelnut-flavoured liqueur

200ml thickened cream, whipped to soft peaks

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line two oven trays with baking paper. Lightly grease twelve 7.5cm x 2.5cm round tart rings.

2. To make dacquoise sponge, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add icing sugar, beating until mixture is thick and glossy and sugar has dissolved. Fold in combined ground hazelnuts and sugar. Spoon or pipe into prepared tart rings. Bake for about 15 minutes or until firm to touch. Cool 2 minutes. Run a sharp knife around edge of tart rings to release dacquoise rounds.

3. To make chocolate mousse, melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

4. Place milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and sprinkle over gelatine. Whisk until melted and combined. Add to the melted chocolate with the liqueur and stir to combine. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Fold in cream. Transfer to a piping bag.

5. To assemble, place half the dacquoise rounds onto serving plates. Pipe on the mousse. Sandwich with remaining rounds. Dust with sifted cocoa and decorate with toasted hazelnuts.

Tips

If you don’t have tart rings, you can bake the dacquoise in a slice pan, then cut into rounds using a cookie cutter.