Otago Farmers Market - 10 birthday

We are celebrating today as the Otago Farmers Market is officially 10 years old!  I would like to thank the Farmers Market Trust and all the great people behind the scenes who make our market so wonderful. 

I would also like to thank all the outstanding producers who work so hard to provide us with endless inspiration and ingredients week after week and of course I would like to thank you all for supporting the market and appreciating fantastic ingredients.

ONION TART

This is the perfect tart for autumn, with its sweet-smoky flavours and comforting pastry it makes for a very satisfying lunch or simple supper with a good salad.

Serves 6

For the pastry

250g flour

175g butter, cold and cut into small pieces

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

Beans for baking blind

For the filling

50g butter

2 Tbsp olive oil

400g onions, finely sliced (a mandolin works well)

120ml cream

2 eggs

¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

Method

To make the pastry, put the flour in a bowl, add the butter and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Using a bread and butter knife in a cutting motion, combine the egg yolks with the mix until the pastry comes together, if it is a little crumbly add one teaspoon of cold water at a time until you get a firm, yet moist dough.   Turn out onto a lightly floured bench and quickly knead until the pastry is even and smooth, then wrap and place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.

While the pastry is resting make the filling.  Melt the butter with the oil in a large-heavy based pot or fry pan.  Add the finely sliced onion and cook over a low heat for 30 minutes.  Cooking the onions long and slow is essential as the natural sweetness comes out of them and the texture becomes soft and they almost melt together. Cool slightly.

Heat the oven to 200C

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and line a 30cm push up bottom flan tin or something similar, making sure there are no cracks.  Return to the fridge and rest for another 30 minutes, then line with baking paper and fill with baking beans.  Bake for 20 minutes, reduce the heat to 160C and cook for a further 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and set.

FANTASTIC FISH KEBABS WITH GRILLED CHILLI DRESSING

This dish can be eaten with or without the chilli dressing but if you are feeling a little daring then I highly recommend it as it will make these kebabs taste out of this world.

Serves 6-8

500 g monkfish tail, trimmed of all skin and bone and cut into 2.5cm cubes

6-8 skewers or sticks fresh rosemary, lower leaves removed, tips kept on

255 g waxy potatoes, boiled lightly and cut into bite sized pieces

2 bulbs fennel, cut into 4mm wedges

For the marinade

2 thumb-sized pieces fresh ginger, thinly sliced

juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 cloves garlic

2 dried chillies, crumbled

1 handful fresh mint

4 tablespoons natural yoghurt

Method

Put all the marinade ingredients except the yoghurt into a food processor and blitz until smooth. Stir in the yoghurt. Using the skewers or rosemary sticks, skewer the fish alternately with the new potatoes and fennel. Drizzle with the marinade and grill for 2 minutes each side.

GRILLED CHIILI DRESSING

Serves 6

3 fresh red chillies

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

3½ Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 small bunch fresh mint, leaves picked and finely chopped

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

Method

Prick the chillies with the tip of a sharp knife – this stops them popping or exploding when they are cooked. The best way to blacken the chillies is to hold them with a metal pair of tongs directly into a gas flame obviously if that isn’t possible pop them uder a hot grill. You want the skin to blacken and blister all over.  Place the chillies in a small bowl, cover with cling film and leave for 15 minutes. This way they will steam in their own heat and the skins will peel off very easily. First this stage I would recommend using gloves at this stage to peel the chillies, open them up and scrape out all the white seeds. Discard these, then finely chop the flesh of the chillies. Put in a mixing bowl, add the oil, lemon juice and mint, and mix well. Season to taste and serve.

You can omit the mint and add coriander or flat leaf parsley if desired.

SIMPLY COOKED SILVER BEET WITH GARLIC

Serves 4

1 bunch of silver beet

3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

Pinch chilli flakes (optional)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Olive oil

Method

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.

Separate the green leaves from the stalk of the silver beet by either running a knife along outline of stalk or hold the stalk close to the green and slide your hand down the stalk and it should pull the leaves off easily. Put the stalks in one pile and the leaves in another as they take different times to cook.

When the water has come to the boil add the stalks and cook for a couple of minutes before adding the leaves.  Continue to cook for a further 2 minutes or until tender.

Whilst the silver beet is cooking place a clean tea towel onto a tray and set aside.  Once the silver beet is cooked carefully drain and place the stalks and leaves flat onto tray to cool and drain.  This may seem an odd way to do this them but it works brilliantly.

Heat a large fry pan over a medium heat and add a couple of generous glugs of olive oil, add the garlic slivers and allow these to turn a light golden colour and you will notice a wonderful nutty smells, add a pinch of chilli flakes if using and add the silver beet and cook quickly so that everything is nicely coated in the fragrant oil and the sliver beet has got a lovely saute look. Serve immediately!

 QUINCE MARMALADE

Quince are inedibly tannic in their raw state. When they are cooked, the same chemicals that cause this astringency on our tongues break down and bond with oxygen chemicals to form anthocyanins, the plant pigments that cause fruit and vegetable to appear red.

Make 500ml

4 cups chopped cored peeled quince (about 4 quinces)

3 cups water

2 cups sugar

¼ cup 3mm thick julienne(sliced)-cut lemon rind

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

Method

Combine all ingredients in a large heavy based saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook 1 hour and 15 minutes or until thick. (Mixture will continue to thicken as it cools.) Stir frequently and watch closely for catching on the bottom!

When thick and set pour carefully into sterilsed jars and seal or store in fridge.

 Alison would like to thank the following

WAITAKI BACON AND HAM – selection of bacon and pork products

BRYDONE ORGANICS – onions

JANEFIELD HYDROPONICS  - rocket

EDMONDS FRESH FISH – scallops

WAIRUNA ORGANICS – beetroot

ROSEDALE ORCHARDS – quince and corn

THE BOAT SHED – smoked fish and salmon pate

WHITESTONE CHEESE – selection of cheese

HARBOUR FISH – monkfish

GILBERTS FINE FOOD/LIEVITO BAKERY – freshly baked bread

KAKANUI PRODUCE – chiilies

KUTASH ORGANICS – onions and garlic

JUDGE ROCK WINES – central otago wines

AFIFE – hummus

MCARTHURS BERRY FARM – silverbeet