DEVELOPING N.Z. NATIONAL DISHES

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30442, 16 May 1964, Page 2

DEVELOPING N.Z. NATIONAL DISHES

[Specially written for “The Press” by ALAN TREMAIN, M.C.F.A., Catering Advisor to the Meat Board]

With more and more tourists coming to this country it is most important to develop some national dishes. This goes not only for the housewife, but for the catering industry as a whole. Catering for the public and especially to tourists is a complicated business. When people are on planned tours they travel long distances at a time and no matter how engrossed in our scenery, when the time comes for a meal, all eyes are turned towards the table. If well fed, the average tourist becomes an amiable fellow.

When all eyes are turned to the table, it is time to do some everlasting advertising. Why should we fill our menus with Continental and American dishes thinking they are the last word in “haute cuisine” and will impress the overseas visitor, I do not know.

over 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Turn the fish over again and bake for a further 25 minutes. Serve whole on ■ a large platter. So much for the fish dishes. Something else very popular with the week-end game shooter is venison, an excellent dish to serve as a main 1 course when entertaining overseas visitors, as it is not easily obtainable in many countries.

But set before overseas visitors a dish truly characteristic of New Zealand, then we give them something in taste as well as new scenerv and customs.

Later, when they are telling their friends about our scenery, it will bring to mind that wonderful dish at such and such a place, and they will remember food as much as the traditions and culture of a country, its buildings and countryside. We have an abundance of fine foods: some are peculiar only to New Zealand, others have been imported from the Pacific Islands or other countries. By combining all these we can produce some truly national dishes. I would like to offer some suggestions, firstly to the housewife. If your husband brings home an overseas visitor, give him a New Zealand dish and tell him about it. To the catering industry: make some New Zealand dishes the speciality of the house. WHITEBAIT As far as I know, the form [Of whitebait found in New {Zealand waters is peculiar to ■ New Zealand. Whitebait can be had in England and in the i United States, but it is a different species. The term I “whitebait” means, in the ’strict sense, the young of a fish under 2£in and transpari ent. It is usually referred Ito in the cooking world as (the young of the herring or i smelt.

future article. I would, however, like to give you a recipe for trout, as this is quite a common catch to be brought home at the week-end during the fishing season. Although without a doubt the New Zealand trout and salmon would be among the finest in the world, my opinion is that bpth are just a little overrated and it takes quite an art to bring out the true flavour, especially that of tinned salmon. Anyway, here is how I go about it. BAKED STUFFED TROUT OR SALMON

Basically there are three ways venison is best cooked.; One is roasting, the next potroasting and the third casseroling. Venison being in ■ dined to dryness, I would, recommend either a potroast or a casserole.

VENISON POT ROAST Ingredients: 1 small leg of venison 5-71 b 4oz butter Salt and black pepper ; Bayleaf 2 cups water s Method: Take a large; roasting dish with a tight < fitting lid, or if you do not! have a lid, a piece of tin-1 foil as big as the lid should! be able to cover the dish. I Rub the venison well all ■ over with - the butter, sprin-i kle with salt, pepper and a| crushed bayleaf and place inj a roasting dish with the I water. Cover the lid or tinfoil and roast at 325 degrees; for 30 minutes to the pound. Serve with a rich brown i gravy in which some red | currant jelly has been dis-1 solved. VENISON CASSEROLE Ingredients: Iflb venison cut into: steaks }in thick and about 3 x 3in 2 tablespoons flour 1 pinch of salt Black pepper and pap-: rika pepper 1 bay leaf 4oz butter 1 large onion 1 large carrot 1 stick celery roughly [ chopped 2 medium tomatoes skinned and sliced About 1 cup water

When the fish is brought home it will probably have been cleaned, but if not, here are some instructions for yourself or, perhaps, the fisherman.

Just make an Incision large enough to remove the entrails and no larger. Then once you get it home, rinse inside and out under the cold water tap and dry with a cloth. Mix together two teaspoons salt, one teaspoon pepper, a pinch of mono-sodium glutermate (obtainable from grocers) and season well inside, rubbing it well into the fish, and mix up the following stuffing or forcemeat: Forcemeat Ingredients: 4oz breadcrumbs 1 egg loz butter 1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley 1 pinch nutmeg Grated rind and juice of half lemon Half a finely chopped onion 14 teaspoons mixed herbs Method: Rub the butter into the breadcrumbs and mix in all the dry ingredients and finally bind well with the egg. Roll the stuffing into a roll and push into the trout or salmon, placing firstly two bay leaves into the fish. Take a dish large enough to hold the fish—a roasting dish is ideal—and place in it 2oz butter in small pieces, the other half of the onion roughly chopped, two bay leaves crushed up and some freshly ground pepper corns. Place the fish on top of this, put two or three small pieces of butter on top of the fish and cover with some greaseproof paper dampened slightly with water and bake in a moderate

So we have New Zealand whitebait for one national dish.

What is the best way to make these fritters?

There are so many variations. Some say use only beaten eggs: others say use a batter, but in most cases when you have them in an eating house they are far too fatty. So, here is my recipe. If you try it and it works and you like it, stick tp it and we shall try to develop a good national recipe. IN FRITTERS I find most New Zealanders like to eat with whitebait, more whitebait, which is not a bad idea. I think you should be able to taste the Whitebait, not flour, and for that matter not eggs. Method: Into a bowl place 1 tablespoon cornflour, a pinch of salt, a little ground black pepper. Whisk to a stiff batter with a little milk and whisk in two eggs. Into this put your whitebait and stir well. Personally I like to grate a potato into this, not to make the whitebait go further, but to make the fritter crisper. This is optional, however. Fry the fritters in hot oil. This really enhances the taste and you will find that they are not greasy. TOHEROAS

Method: Sift the flour and seasoning and dredge the venison steaks well with this. In a large pan heat the butter and brown the venisan steaks, add the vegetables, place on the lid and cook for 20 minutes, stirring to avoid sticking, add stock and bayleaf, stir and place in a moderate oven (325 degrees) or cook on top of stove with lid on for one hour and 15 minutes or until venison is tender. The sauce should need no thickening. Well, I have only just touched on our New Zealand dishes and will follow on with some more in my next article.

Well so much for the whitebait. and on to toheroas, one of the truly national dishes of New Zealand. Here again, as far as I can find out, they are peculiar to this country. When making up a menu for overseas guests, I find myself with mostly fish dishes, and so I pick out the nicest way of doing each dish and presenting the host with a list to chose from. He can start with fish soup and, say. a meat dish to follow, or he can start with a different soup and a fish dish to follow, and so on. Well to me, toheroas always mean toheroa soup. In the South Island we mostly get tinned toheroas so here is my recipe for tinned ones. TOHEROA SOUP Ingredients: 1 tin toheroas (approx. 160 z.) 1 bayleaf 3 oz. flour 2 medium-sized onions 3 oz butter 2 pints water and milk mixed A little whipped cream. Salt and pepper.

Method: Mince the toheroas and add the liquid to the milk and water. Add the bayleaf and roughly-chopped onions, bring to the boil, and simmer for about IJhrs Strain. Next, melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour until! smooth. Cook for two to three minutes, add the toheroa stock little by little until you get a nice soup consistency. Cook for about 30 minutes, just simmering Into your soup bowls put a little whipped cream and pour on the hot soup. We still have oysters, crayfish and muttonbirds, but these I will deal with in a