Recipe #23: Smoked oyster omelette with silken egg tofu & mushroom

So I found this lovely copper pan, with brass fittings, and thought it would be great to cook omelettes. Since copper distributes heat so evenly, it would be ideal. I invented this weirdly wonderful meal because I found this pan, just as I sometimes concoct dishes based on a specific wine in mind.

Although I have called this smoked oyster omelette, it is really the silken egg tofu that imparts a particularly unique texture. In fact, you could omit the oysters in you wish.

Ingredients

• Smoked oysters
• Silken egg tofu (usually in a vacuum-sealed cylindrical plastic wrapper)
• Mushroom
• Egg
• Milk
• Garlic
• White onion
• Black pepper (coarse ground)
• Sea-salt (coarse ground)
• Za'atar
• Parsley
• Celery
• Capsicum

Preparation
Sauté finely chopped garlic and onions in butter in a large fry-pan. Once they begin to turn golden brown, remove from pan. Place on base of copper pan, spreading them evenly.
While fry-pan is still hot, toss in sliced mushrooms and sauté quickly until nicely brown. Then remove and place aside.
Slice half a block of silken egg tofu into pieces about 1 to 2 cm thick. Gently place in fry-pan and slowly cook until bottom surface turns golden. Turn over and do likewise. Remove from pan and place with mushrooms.
In a bowl, whisk eggs, gently adding milk while doing so. Break remaining half of tofu block into very small pieces then add to egg-milk mixture. Keep whisking until tofu-egg-milk mixture is light and frothy. Add smoked oysters, followed by black pepper and sea-salt to taste. Pour contents into copper pan and spread ingredients evenly. Heat pan gently over low-to-medium heat until bottom of omelette begins to brown.
Place sautéed mushrooms over top of omelette, followed by fried tofu pieces and arrange nicely. Sprinkle a dash of za'atar, finely chopped parsley, celery and capsicums.
Place entire copper pan into pre-heated oven and bake omelette briefly until it turns completely golden brown.

To Serve
Remove from oven, allow to cool slightly and serve meal in the pan!

Complement with a light, zesty white wine.

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Recipe #17: Truffled barramundi sautéed in olive oil on macaroni

This is a remarkably simple dish combining some of my favourite ingredients: barramundi, truffle and mushroom, resulting in a meal that is subtly complex with delicate, mouth-watering aromas.

Ingredients

• Fillet of barramundi
• Black summer truffle paste or sliced
• Mushroom
• Extra-virgin olive oil infused with truffle or concentrated truffle oil
• Garlic
• Onion
• Spring onion
• Sea-salt
• Black pepper
• Macaroni

Preparation
Boil water in a saucepan then add olive oil, salt and macaroni. Simmer until macaroni is cooked, then drain water.
Heat truffle-infused olive oil or concentrated truffle oil in fry-pan.
Sauté chopped garlic, onions and mushrooms until golden brown, then place aside on a plate.
Place barramundi fillets in fry-pan. Be sure to dry meat with a paper towel; otherwise, they won't brown properly. When bottom of fillets turn golden, turn them over and cook other side. Gently spread a generous layer of truffle paste or sliced truffles over top of fillets. Allow fish to fully cook.

To Serve
Toss sautéed garlic, onions and mushrooms into saucepan with macaroni and mix ingredients. Place on serving plate, then top with fillets of barramundi.

Complement with an aromatic complex white such as a Condrieu.

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Next> Recipe #18: Australian lamb shank stewed with veal, pork spare ribs, wine & herbs