New Zealand Beef Fillet in Ghana

I actually just wanted to write about our latest addition in the restaurant, the new 3 course menu. We have created a 3 course menu where the guest can as well eat the individual courses "a la carte" but basically if you order the whole menu you get the dessert for free. We will change this menu every week, so there are so many more recipes just waiting to be posted.

But then I thought about the menu, one of my suppliers came and said that he has beef fillet from New Zealand. Now I have to be honest, I have no idea how it got here. I know this supplier well....and you do too! It is my fish supplier with whom we went fishing in Krokobite. Yes he deals in many other things, Parma Ham, Parmesan, flour, cheese bacon....anything that sells.

He got the fillet through some dark corners and thought he would send me one to taste.....wow, this was nice. The color is really dark, not like the usual beef I have from South Africa. It is super tender, tasty and just simply great.

That is how my new menu should start. so I looked what else I have and found some lovely Salsifys....a root vegetable that is best eaten in a creamy sauce....just if you ask my humble opinion. Then we made some nice turned potatoes and some green beans on top of the fillet, yes, and believe me, it goes well.

So with no further ado and mumbling and long story, here is the recipe.....and I still wonder how he got it!!!!!!

Ingredients

2 Kg New Zealand Beef Fillet
0.05 Kg Salt
0.01 Kg Pepper

1 Kg Salsify
0.1 L Chicken stock
0.2 L Cream
0.05 L White wine
0.01 Kg Maizena

1.5 Kg Potatoes
0.05 Kg Parsley
0.05 Kg Oregano
0.05 Kg Butter

0.3 Kg Fine green beans
0.03 Kg Butter
0.005 Kg Garlic

0.1 L Demi Glace

Method
Season the fillet with salt and pepper
Fry in oil to the desired temperature
Saute the salsify, then add chicken stock and cream
Boil up, season and thicken with Maizena
Turn the potatoes and boil them in salt water till soft
Chop the herbs very finely, then toss potatoes with herbs and butter
Blanch the green beans, cool down in ice water
Saute in butter with a bit garlic, season to taste
Put the salsifys on the bottom of a deep plate
Place the meat on top, potatoes around, a little jus
Put one bundle of beans on top of the meat

Whitebait Fritters

While in New Zealand I got this amazing fresh Whitebait. Whitebait are tiny little fish, no really white, but see through and when they are cooked they turn white. They are best bought in season, but are available all year round, but only frozen. I tried out different Whitebait, from New Zealand and from China and have to say that there is nothing better than fresh one.

I like to prepare them as Fritters, even so Fritters are actually more little omelets. The taste is absolutely beautiful and here the locals serve it as Whitebait sandwich, which is simply the Whitebait omelet put between two freshly baked white bread slices. So simple and so delicious.

I like to serve the omelet with a fresh summer salad, loads of herbs to give it some extra color. It is then good as well for a Gluten free diet, which is especially nice

Here is the Recipe good enough for 8 friends as a light snack or starter

150 g (5 oz) Whitebait
5 ea Eggs
Salt
Pepper

Assorted Lettuce Leaves
Edible Flowers
16 ea slices of white bread

Balsamic
Honey
Sherry Vinegar

Beat the eggs, season and add the white bait, let it stand for a little while
Heat the oil and fry small omelets, the size of pan cakes, golden brown on each side
Dress the salad leaves nicely on a plate, and then with two slices of bread make a sandwich with the hot whitebait omelet.

New Zealand, Napier

Port of Napier

We are sailing along the Coast of New Zealand and have stopped in Napier, a beautiful and quiet town on the North Island. Napier is special because after a devastating earthquake in 1931 nearly the entire town was rebuilt, so now one can find one of the best collections of buildings of the Art Deco era. There are only two places on earth with such substance that is Miami South Beach and then here in Napier.

We were lucky that at this time of the year there are many cars exhibited from the same time, so it really gives a good feel, walking through the main road and seeing these vintage cars driving around and people dressed up in the clothes of that time.

Napier and the Art Deco Houses

We went to s little coffee shop for a nice bite to eat. It was vibrant and light, the food was very reasonably priced and very good.We had two sandwiches, a toasted chicken and cheese....ham was out and a pizza sandwich with mozzarella, tomato and basil. There are so many places one can eat, just lovely.

We loved walking along the beach and just explore this little town a bit, it has so much to offer, but mainly all these buildings are amazing, it is a bit like time stood still.

Tourism is big here in Napier, I have seen a lot of back packing and a lot of mini buses picking up and dropping off Backpackers. It is the ideal place to stay if you want to explore the wine region of Hawkes Bay a bit. The wines are absolutely amazing, not just the Sauvignon Blanc, for which New Zealand is so famous, but many more. I love the Pinot Noir here, a stunner, typical New World, but because the temperatures are so moderate, it is the perfect weather for these grapes

Two oldies, but both still looking very crisp!

New Zealand, Lyttleton

Lyttleton, a quiet, lovely town

Nobody really knows about Lyttleton, it is just a sleepy little town that suffered like the rest of the region from the devastating earth quake last year. But maybe you know better where I am when I tell you for which city this town is the main port.....Christchurch. Now everybody knows where I am, we sailed up the coast of New Zealand and are now in Christchurch....sorry Lyttleton. Christchurch is actually just on the other side of the mountain, 20 minutes drive from here.

Being a turn around day, we had of course loading. So for a couple of hours everybody helps with carrying the boxes, loads of them as after Antarctica the ship is pretty empty in the stores. Even so we have now only a 8 day golf cruises ahead, there is still a lot to be loaded. Being on such a small ship, everything is done by hand, there are no folk lifts putting whole pallets in the ship like on the big ones I was on before, no, here the chef stands outside and we inspect the quality and then the boxes get handed over in a long line all the way to the stores,

Winsome and me, she is my favorite supplier

One of our best suppliers, and by far my favorite one, is based here in Lyttleton. It is Winsome Dormer from Independent Providores. I have never seen someone more dedicated and really going out of the way to find the best products for us, looking after us and being there basically 24/7. Winsome has a fantastic team and we all went out for dinner that night, something I have rarely time, but as the guest only embarked the next day, we took the time and were treated royally

Winsome is our supplier since many years and I have never seen anybody working so hard to make sure we get exactly what we need. Her and her team have sourced organic edible flowers, Kiwi Berries, even Ice Carvings for us. It has been such a pleasure to have her and her team making sure that we only got the best quality ingredients

We went to a restaurant called Freeman's. It has just been re opened after the earth quake and has been beautifully decorated. The food was up to par with the rest of the restaurant, it was beautifully presented and tasted fantastic. We had some Antipasti for the table, one of them was stuffed and deep fried Zucchini Flowers filled with Ratatouille and Ricotta.

Then the main course was either the slow braised pork cheeks with creamed potatoes or roasted Akaroa Salmon with Tortellini, both dishes were delicious.

 We had a fantastic evening, it is just great to get to meet your supplier, as the whole office team came as well, so now there is not just a cold email, but there is a face and a voice behind it. We visited the offices too, so now I even know where the email comes from, it makes the purchasing so much easier, to know the person and to have a real personal contact, something that is very difficult to have on ships

Oysters from Bluff, New Zealand and Nam Jim Dressing

Not everybody likes Oysters, it is that either you love them or you hate them, there is nothing between, straight forward. I love them, I really do. Yes they are glibbery and wobbly things, but boy, a really fresh oyster is something amazing to eat.. Now being in Bluff, I had to get the local Oysters for our ship, there is just no way around it. Bluff is the Mecca of Oysters in New Zealand, they are highly priced and absolutely delicious.

But now, where is Bluff? If you take a New Zealand map and go all the way south, so far that there is nothing else to come.....that is where Bluff is, at the end of New Zealand. Even so the residents of Bluff will certainly disagree as Bluff is actually the oldest European settlement in New Zealand

We have just come back from Antarctica and are now on the way north, just dropping off all our passengers. We will have a charter cruise now and everybody will arrive in Christchurch, so we have 2 days time to clean and scrub every little part of the galley clean

Bluff from the ship

Many years ago the Bluff Oyster was like raked up from the bottom of the sea and lots of nature had been destroyed, but since many years there are strict regulations and the oyster farming is now strictly monitored. A lot of damage had been done, but now nature has slowly time to recover, but it will still take a long time till everything is back the way it was

The tiny town of Bluff

The Bluff Oyster is more of a round oyster, sand colored and nice and fleshy. The taste is.....a little salty, fresh and fantastic. It has some lovely creaminess, is just a little chewy and delicious

There are many ways to serve an oyster. I like them raw, but with a little additional flavor, so here we serve them with a little cucumber salad and then of course the lemon and some Nam Jim Dressing, a Vietnamese dressing

Here is the recipe for the Nam Jim, a very nice dressing, it is really complementing the Oysters

1	knob	Ginger
3	ea	Gloves Garlic
3	ea	Chili red
3	ea	Shallots
1	knob	Galangal or Ginger
3	ea	Coriander roots
5	ea	Lime juice
3	tblsp	Fish sauce
3	tblsp	Palm Sugar, light

With a mortar and pestle pound all the roots and herbs

till a fine paste

Gradually add lime juice, fish sauce and palm sugar

When combined, pass liquid through a fine strainer

and check balance of sweetness, saltiness and spice

adjust if necessary