Buy Local, Cook Global

Ingredients

Preparation

Chicken stock

1. Separate all chicken parts. Set aside the drumsticks, thighs, wings, and breasts for later, and place remaining neck and carcass in a 10 quart stockpot with cilantro stems and 2 litres of cold water.
2. Cut green onions into 3 inch sections, peel and smash the ginger piece, peel and quarter the onion, and peel and smash the garlic, then add everything to the pot. Remove the stalks from the shiitake mushrooms, and add to the stock, reserving the remainder for the main dish.
3. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 3 hours, removing foam from the surface as it cooks.

Chinese soy sauce braised chicken

1. Mix sea salt and white pepper, and sprinkle onto chicken parts.
2. Prepare the vegetables: rinse the dried mushrooms, then soak in hot water for 30 minutes, saving 200ml of the water for later. Remove the stalks and seeds from the dried chilies, and soak in hot water for 20 minutes. Peel and cut the carrots into 1/4 inch diagonal slices. Peel and chop the garlic. Peel the ginger, and cut into 1/4 inch slices. Remove the roots of the spring onions, and separate green and white ends. Halve the white parts in a cross section. Peel the brown onion and cut into 1/4 inch slices.
3. Heat wok, saucepot or Dutch oven, and add sesame oil. Brown the chicken in two lots, and set aside.
4. In the same cooking vessel, reduce heat to medium and heat cinnamon stick and star anise until aroma is released.
5. Add ginger slices and white part of spring onions, and continue to stir fry until aroma is released.
6. Add brown onion slices and hydrated red chili and stir fry for another 3 minutes, scraping the pan to release all the brown bits.
7. Add chicken and any juices back to the wok. Add hydrated shiitake mushrooms, dark and light soy sauce, oyster sauce, and rock sugar, and give it a good stir. Raise heat to high.
8. Add Shaoxing Chinese cooking wine and black vinegar, and allow 30 seconds to reduce.
9. Add mushroom liquid and chicken stock, and bring to boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring once.
10. Add ginkgo nuts and carrots and simmer covered for 10 minutes.
11. Mix the cornstarch and water into a slurry in a separate container, then add to the sauce, stirring well until it comes to a boil to thicken. Adjust the taste with salt. Sauce should be smooth and shiny.
12. Stir in brandy and the green parts of the spring onions.
13. Dish into a serving bowl and garnish with cilantro and more chopped spring onions. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Ingredients

Preparation

dukkah

1. Lightly toast spices, nuts and seeds in a dry frying pan.
2. Place in a mortar and pestle, and grind.

moroccan spiced squab

1. Separate the breasts and legs, French the leg, reserve and freeze the rest of the squab carcass for a rich and flavourful stock.
2. Dry rub the ras el hanout onto both sides of squab breasts.
3. Fry the breasts on medium high heat, with the skin side down for 2 minutes.
4. Flip, and fry for 1.5 more minutes.
5. Remove from pan and let rest. Slice each breast into two pieces and set aside.
6. Pour the Dukkah onto a plate or cutting board. Rub Harrisa paste on the squab legs, roll in dukkah to coat evenly.
7. Roast the squab legs on a baking sheet in oven at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest.

Harrisa soubise

1. Sauté the onion with butter on low heat with the Harrisa paste, and 1 tsp of ras el hanout.
2. When the onion begins to caramelize, add cream and let reduce slightly. Blend, and add salt to taste.
3. Spread this sauce on the bottom of each dish.

Beet Hummus

1. In a good quality food processor, add all ingredients except the vegetable oil. Process until it starts to incorporate, then slowly add oil until it forms a nice consistency. Add salt to taste. Hummus can be made ahead of time.

Crispy Brussel Sprouts

1. Combine the spices and Dijon in a bowl, then whisk in oil until it forms a paste consistency.
2. Trim the Brussel sprouts, and halve or quarter them. Coat in the spice paste to marinade for an hour.
3. Place on a baking tray, and roast in the oven at 420 degrees for 20 minutes. Flip sprouts, and continue to cook for 15 more minutes until the sprouts are slightly charred and crispy.

Ingredients

Preparation Instructions

duck confit

1. Remove the duck legs first. Remove the breasts from the crown, and score the skin in a crosshatch pattern with a sharp knife. Do not cut down to the flesh. Let the breasts air dry in the fridge on a tray lined with paper towel up to overnight. Set the remaining duck parts aside for the jus.
2. Rip up the bay leaf, mix along with all dry ingredients, and rub over the duck legs on all sides. Cover, and let sit in the fridge for 8 to 12 hours. Remove from the fridge and rinse under cold water to remove rub. Pat dry on both sides and place on a tray with paper towel to absorb excess moisture.
3. Preheat the oven at 250 degrees.
4. Place the legs in a baking dish or shallow pot. Melt the duck fat and pour it over, making sure it covers the legs entirely to avoid drying. Cover the dish with a piece of parchment, then cover with foil.
5. Cook for 2.5 to 3 hours until very tender, and the meat starts falling off the bone. Let sit in the fat until cool enough to handle with gloved hands. Carefully shred the meat with your fingers, being careful not to leave any small bones. Coarsely chop the meat and set it aside.

tortellini filling

1. Place the butter and oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Sweat the thyme, shallots, and garlic in the pan until soft. Add the chopped duck and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture starts to brown. Deglaze the pan with the chicken stock and cook until liquid has almost evaporated.
2. Place in a mixing bowl and discard the thyme sprigs. Allow the mixture to cool 5 to 10 minutes. While the mixture is still warm, add Parmigiano, parsley and lemon juice. Mix thoroughly. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
3. Dump into a food processor, add the egg, and puree the mixture into a fine paste. The filling should be loose but not wet.
4. Transfer mixture to a piping bag (or spoon by hand) and set aside while you prepare pasta dough.

pasta dough

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. Pour onto a flat, clean countertop, and form a well.
2. Whisk the eggs and olive oil with a fork. Add to the middle of the well, and start mixing in with the tips of the fingers in a circular motion until all liquids are combined. Knead the dough by hand for 5 to 10 minutes until it is completely homogeneous and soft.
3. Wrap tightly in plastic film and let rest for one hour. Pull dough out of fridge at least 30 minutes prior to using.

tortellini assembly

1. Divide the pasta dough into quarters. Work with one piece at a time and keep the other pieces covered. Run the dough through a pasta roller on progressively thinner settings until you have a sheet of paper-thin pasta.
2. Cut the sheet into rounds using a 2 to 2.5 inch round cutter, spacing the rounds as close together as possible. Gather the scraps into a ball and put them with the remaining pieces of dough to re-roll later.
3. Place 1/2 teaspoon of filling in the middle of each round of pasta. Dip your finger in a bowl of water and run it along the edge of the round to moisten. Fold the dough over to form a half moon, then draw the two corners together to form a rounded bonnet shape. Press tightly to seal. Set aside on well-floured or semolina-dusted baking sheet, and cover. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough, re-rolling the scraps.
4. Prepare the duck breast while you bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil for the tortellinis. Drop the tortellinis in the water and cook for 5 minutes, until the dough is tender at the seal.

duck breasts

1. Preheat a frying pan on low heat, then place the duck breasts, skin side down. Season the meat with salt. Slow cook, pressing down the breast so they lay flat. Sear slowly for 5 to 7 minutes, draining the fat from time to time. Have a look at the skin, making sure it’s colouring evenly and rotate if need be, keeping the breast skin side down.
2. When the duck skin is nice and crispy, flip the breasts and remove pan from the heat. Allow breasts to continue cooking from the heat of the pan for 3 minutes, then remove from pan.
3. Slice the duck breast thinly, and place on a tray lined with paper towel.

cherry port jus

1. Preheat the oven to 380 degrees. Using a cleaver, cut the bones, wings, neck and carcasses into 2 inches pieces. Coat with a drizzle of canola oil. Place the bones in a roasting or frying pan, making sure not to overcrowd to achieve maximum caramelization.
2. Roast in the oven for approximately 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Place the bones in a colander to let the excess fat drain.
3. Heat up canola oil in a medium size, heavy bottom pot. Sweat the mushrooms, shallots, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf until soft for about 3 to 5 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Deglaze with red wine and port. Reduce until all alcohol is evaporated and syrupy.
4. Add the roasted bones. Cover with the stocks and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pushing the bones down for maximum extraction.
5. Return to heat, and continue reducing to a nice glossy, thicker sauce consistency. Pit and add the cherries. Whisk in the cold butter at the very last minute.

vegetables

1. Cut off the corn kernels, and set aside. Clean the mushrooms, and trim the stem. Pat dry with paper towel.
2. Using a heavy bottom pan, heat up the oil on medium-high. Add the chanterelles, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring from time to time for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the thyme, shallot, garlic and butter, and cook for 1 minute. Turn the heat back to high, deglaze with the white wine and reduce down until liquid has evaporated. Add the corn and cook for 1 minute. Adjust the seasoning, remove the thyme sprig, and set aside.

Preparation

YOUR chicken adobo

1. Slice the chicken into sections: thighs, wing, neck, and breasts.
2. Choose a pan or a pot large enough to be able to simmer all the chicken parts. Add enough sunflower oil to coat the surface area of the pan. Set to medium to high heat.
3. Lightly season the chicken (with hearts and livers if any) and place in the pan skin side down. Fry for 5 to 7 minutes, flip, and repeat until golden brown.
4. Add onions, garlic, bay leaves, and cracked black peppercorns. Turn down the heat to medium, and sweat for 5 to 10 minutes until caramelized.
5. Add white vinegar to deglaze, and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get all the extra bits in the sauce.
6. Add soy sauce, and enough water to almost submerge the chicken.
7. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer for 16 to 22 min until the chicken is fully cooked, and the sauce has reached your desired consistency.
8. Salt to taste, and finish with more cracked black pepper.  Serve over a bed of rice.