A lovely chilled starter for dinner or a light, feel-good lunch. Adding some soba noodles to this wouldn’t be a bad shout, either.
Prawn and avocado salad with basil and green chilli sambal
Serves 2
Ingredients
• 10-12 cooked prawns
• 2 ripe avocados
• 125ml basil and green chilli sambal (see recipe)
• 1 butter lettuce, washed and trimmed, leaves separated
Method
Peel, clean and dice the prawns, then dice the avocado. Put them both in a salad bowl with the basil and green chilli sambal and stir to combine. To serve, toss the lettuce into the salad or arrange the lettuce on a dish and tumble the salad on top.
Basil and green chilli sambal
There’s a sambal from the Manado region of Sulawesi, called dabu-dabu, that I somewhat reference in this sauce. This sauce has big salsa energy and is a brilliant accompaniment to anything that could do with some freshness. The lashings of Thai basil and green basil here really bring this sauce to life, and a serious glug of rich olive oil pulls it all together. This sambal is sensational on grilled chicken or fish (even better on skewers) or as a dressing for delicate raw seafood.
Ingredients
• 2 long green chillies, sliced
• 1 green bird’s eye chilli, sliced
• 4 Asian shallots (or 2 French shallots), thinly sliced
• 12 cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp good-quality extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp sugar
• Black pepper, to taste
• ½ bunch green basil, picked and roughly chopped
• ½ bunch Thai basil, picked and roughly chopped
Method
Combine the chillies, shallots and cherry tomatoes in a medium bowl with the fish sauce, lime juice, olive oil, sugar and a couple of cracks of black pepper. Stir and taste, adjusting as you like. Leave to marinate for at least 15 minutes to let the flavours come together with the tomato juices. Add the herbs just before serving. This sambal will keep for a day or two in an airtight container in the fridge, but will lose its punch pretty quickly. It’s best to eat it on the same day.
Grilled broccolini with ‘everything bagel’ chilli oil
Beautiful things happen to brassicas when you grill them over high heat. The ample sugars in the vegetables caramelise to delicious effect, concentrating their natural sweetness. You can replace the labneh with goat’s cheese or feta if you’re short on time – just whisk or blend in a food processor with a little olive oil until smooth.
Makes 1½-2 cups
Ingredients
• 1 cup Greek-style yoghurt
• 2 pinches salt
• 1 clove garlic, finely grated
• 2 bunches broccolini (approx 400g)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp “Everything bagel” chilli oil (see recipe)
Method
Mix the yoghurt with a pinch of the salt. Line a strainer with a cheesecloth and place inside a large bowl. Add the yoghurt mixture to the cheesecloth and tie it up tightly. Allow the yoghurt to hang in the strainer for 10-12 hours or overnight, then transfer into a bowl and stir the garlic through. Toss the broccolini in the olive oil and grill on a barbecue or under a grill for 2-3 minutes, turning halfway through to char both sides. Spread the labneh on a plate, arrange the broccolini on top and dress with the chilli oil and the remaining pinch of salt. Serve immediately.
‘Everything bagel’ chilli oil
• 1 tbsp everything bagel seasoning (available at supermarkets or combine sesame seeds, poppy seeds with onion and garlic powder and pinch a salt.
• ¼ cup (approx 30g) minced garlic
• 1 tbsp Korean chilli flakes (gochugaru)
• 1 spring onion (scallion), white part only, sliced into rounds
• ½ tsp chicken bouillon powder
• ¾ cup neutral oil
• ½ tsp light soy sauce
Method
Combine the bagel seasoning, garlic, chilli flakes, spring onion and bouillon powder into a heat-proof bowl. Heat the oil in a pan until smoking (approx 170°C), then carefully pour it over the ingredients in the bowl. Allow to cool completely before adding the soy sauce. This oil will last 2-3 days before it loses its flavour, so it’s best used immediately, but can be stored in a glass jar in the fridge.
An edited extract from Secret Sauce, by Rosheen Kaul (Murdoch Books RRP $45).
