It took her about 13 minutes to finish the dish and I was about to stop the clock when she said, "Let me just analyse this situation with these walnuts." So it went on.
She was just back from leading a 19-day food-based tour of Spain and Portugal, so was probably quite relaxed, or maybe still a bit tired. She had brought home a fair amount of olive oil from Spain, which is not to take away from the fact she is some sort of brand ambassador - or possibly just a shill - for outstanding New Zealand olive oil producer The Village Press, which she mentioned multiple times during our time together.
As I ate the two monster fillets of powdery-soft butter-snapper and the small bucket of asparagus, I never thought it was a dish that could do with a dessert, but Winter had done a delightful fruit-laden pastry and she brought it out of the oven and served it with icecream. She also plied me with chardonnay and sent me home with a bottle of The Village Press' industry-leading cask olive oil. She had read this column before; she knew how to play the game.
While we sat eating, she rotated the music. For a while we listened to Nirvana, then she asked me if I liked John Denver, which was a question I had never seriously thought about. While I wondered, she sang me a little bit of Rocky Mountain High.
Eventually, she told me I had to leave because she had scheduled a massage and hadn't anticipated me spending nearly two hours at her place. That was totally fair. I don't know how it happened either.
Chelsea Winter's scores (out of five):
Amount of singing: 2
Amount of shilling: 4
Cardiac risk: 5
Dessert bonus (Y/N): 5
Booze bonus (Y/N): 1.5
Recipe: Barrier-style pan-fried fish
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Serves: 4-5
750g fresh white fish fillets (such as snapper, tarakihi or gurnard)
salt and freshly cracked black pepper
ground white pepper
¾ cup plain flour
butter for frying
rice bran or grapeseed oil for frying
squeeze of lemon to serve
When you're lucky enough to have super-fresh fish (especially if you've caught it yourself) - there's really only one way to have it, and it's like this. This is what we do at Great Barrier, and it's simple and stunningly delicious. Butter simply must be used - nothing else will do.
If you're filleting your own fish, ensure that it is free of bones, skin and scales. A paper towel or clean, dry hands are good for brushing off any scales. (If you must rinse them, use salt water not fresh water.)
Lay the fillets out on a clean board and season both sides generously with the salt and peppers.
Place the flour in a mixing bowl. Take a fish fillet and dredge it in the flour so that the whole surface is covered. Dust the excess flour off and lay the coated fish back on the board. Repeat with the remaining fish.
Place a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. When it's hot, add 50 grams butter and 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and wait for it to melt and go foamy, then start to turn a nice golden brown colour. Only then should you add a few fillets of fish, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Leave the fish to fry for 1-3 minutes until one side is golden brown and crispy. Turn over and cook the other side, but not for as long - only one side needs to be browned. Cook the other side only until it's almost cooked through (it will finish cooking as you serve it). Transfer to a warmed plate and, if you like, serve it straight away while you cook the rest - I hate leaving it to sit there getting cold. The cook gets to eat theirs last (but you can always sneak some!).
Tip out the excess oil/butter and wipe clean between each batch - this stops the dregs burning. Use fresh butter and oil for each batch. If at any stage you think there's not enough butter, you can add some more to the pan while it's cooking.
Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and extra salt and pepper. The leftover fish (if you're lucky) is amazing cold the next day in a sandwich or a salad.
Recipe: Fresh Green Salad with Vinaigrette
Prep time: 15 minutes Serves: 6
Vinaigrette
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1½ tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
Salad
1 iceberg lettuce, washed and leaves torn (or 2 baby cos lettuces)
3 stalks celery, finely sliced (I like to use some of the baby leaves too)
1-2 avocados, sliced
½ cup roughly chopped mixed fresh herbs (such as parsley, dill, mint, coriander, chives, basil)
2 spring onions, sliced
handful snow peas
½ cucumber, sliced (optional)
There's something special about a green salad done right. Fresh, crunchy and drizzled with delicious homemade vinaigrette. You can forget about store-bought salad dressings - it takes 2 minutes to whip one up at home with simple, quality ingredients.
To make the vinaigrette, stir everything together to combine. If you have a little jar, use this and shake it all up. Keep at room temperature until ready to serve.
To make the salad, add the ingredients to a serving bowl. Just before people tuck in, drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of the dressing and toss to combine.
Leftover dressing can be kept in the fridge for a couple of weeks (feel free to double or triple the recipe so you always have some on hand). Bring to room temperature before using.
