Oysters with champagne sauce
Ingredients:
125ml (1/2 cup)
champagne or sparkling white wine
1 French shallot
(eschalot), finely chopped
125ml (1/2 cup)
thickened cream
Freshly ground
white pepper
Rock salt, to
serve
12 (1 dozen)
natural oysters (such as Sydney rock oysters), in the half shell
Chopped fresh
chives, to serve
Method:
Step 1
Place the
champagne and shallot in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until reduced by half.
Add the cream and season with white pepper. Simmer for 3-4 minutes or until
reduced by half and the sauce is thick and creamy.
Step 2
Preheat grill on
high. Scatter rock salt over the base of 2 small heatproof serving dishes.
Arrange the oysters on the rock salt. Pour the cream mixture evenly among the
oysters. Cook under grill for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Set aside for 2
minutes to cool slightly. Sprinkle with chives to serve.
Duck legs braised in pinot
noir
Ingredients:
1/2 onion, roughly
chopped
1 carrot, roughly
chopped
1 celery stalk,
roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves,
roughly chopped
1 cup (250ml)
pinot noir
150ml port
Zest and juice of
2 oranges
2 bay leaves
4 duck marylands
(see note)
1 tablespoon olive
oil
1/3 cup (80ml)
demiglaze (see note)
8 eschalots,
peeled
20g unsalted
butter
1 tablespoon
caster sugar
Steamed peas and
creamy mashed potato, to serve
Method:
Step 1
Place onion,
carrot, celery and garlic in a heavy-based saucepan with pinot, port, orange
zest and juice, and bay leaves. Bring to the boil, then remove from heat and
set aside to cool. Pour over duck legs in a bowl, cover and refrigerate
overnight.
Step 2
Preheat the oven
to 150°C.
Step 3
Drain the duck
legs, reserving the marinade and vegetables separately. Pat duck dry with paper
towel. Heat oil in a large ovenproof frypan over medium heat. Fry the duck legs
for 2-3 minutes each side until golden all over. Remove duck from pan and set
aside, then drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat.
Step 4
Place the reserved
vegetables in the frypan and cook for 3-4 minutes until golden. Add reserved
marinade, demiglaze and 1 cup (250ml) water and bring to the boil. Add the duck
legs and cover with a round piece of baking paper to keep in the moisture, then
cover with a lid or foil. Place in the oven and cook for 2 hours or until the
duck is tender. Remove the pan from the oven and strain the cooking liquid
through a fine sieve into a saucepan. Place the liquid over medium heat and
simmer for 3-4 minutes until mixture has reduced to a thick sauce.
Step 5
Meanwhile, cook
the eschalots in a small saucepan of lightly salted water over medium-low heat
for 3-5 minutes until tender. Drain well and pat dry with paper towel. Heat
butter in a small-heavy based frypan over medium-low heat. Add the eschalots
and swirl pan to coat in butter. Sprinkle with the sugar and cook, swirling the
pan occasionally, for 3-5 minutes until golden.
Step 6
Serve the duck
with the peas, mashed potato and caramelised eschalots.
Strawberries in cointreau
Ingredients:
250g (1 punnet)
strawberries, washed, hulled, halved
2 tablespoons
Cointreau liqueur
60g good-quality
dark chocolate
3 tablespoons
double thick cream
Method:
Step 1
Place the
strawberries and Cointreau in a medium bowl and stir until well combined. Cover
and place in the fridge for 1-2 hours to macerate.
Step 2
Run a vegetable
peeler to peel along the long edge of the block of chocolate to make chocolate
curls. Set aside until serving.
Step 3
To serve, spoon
the strawberry mixture into serving bowls. Top with cream and chocolate curls.
