Barra, Barra, Barra!

Blog followers will know that Barramundi is beyond a shadow of a doubt my favourite fish! I have blogged about it before and written recipes. I've been buying in fresh wild caught barra from North Queensland for my restaurant but we all know that given Australians ever increasing appetite for fresh fish, aquaculture barramundi is critically important in order to satisy demand. The value of the aquaculture industry in Queensland grew by almost 20% last year and is worth an estimated 102 million dollars in 2009-2010 to the Queensland economy.

Bluewater Barramundi raises its fish in the pristine waters of the Hinchinbrook Channel, a World Heritage listed area. This is Queensland’s only fish cage farm - the fish are raised from fingerlings swimming freely in large sea water cages their entire lives. This ensures that they have great muscle tone and texture.

Noosa River Smokehouse is doing a lovely smoked Bluewater barra product. It is cured, dried and hard wood smoked. Once smoked it's then vacuum packed and has a very good shelf life - 28 days. Owner Greg Rassmussen says: "A good smoked white fish is so versatile that anyone can make up a a classy meal with a few boiled spuds, cauliflower, parsley and bit of blue cheese. In terms of taste and texture the smoked Bluewater Barramundi beats the best white fish available".

Here's my recipe below but if you want to get some product from Noosa River Smokehouse head to Jan Power's farmers market at the Powerhouse on Saturday or in George Street the city on Wednesdays.

I've also added the fast and simple Barra recipe I often do at home with the family - prepared this last weekend at the Noosa Food and Wine Festival.

Poached Noosa River Smokehouse barramundi with poached egg and cheese sauce
Serves 6

Ingredients
6 x 150g cold smoked barramundi fillets
600ml milk
200ml cream
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
2 tbs parsley, chopped
1 tbs chives, chopped
80g Gruyere cheese, grated
salt and pepper
6 soft poached eggs
100g unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely diced
1 stick celery, finely sliced
1/2 leek, finely sliced
1 carrot, peeled, finely diced
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1 clove
55g plain flour

Method
Heat 50g butter in a non-stick pan on medium heat. Add onion, celery, leek, carrot, thyme, bay leaf and clove and sweat for 12 minutes until vegetables are soft. Add flour. Lower heat and cook out for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place the barramundi and milk in a saucepan. Bring up to the boil and remove from heat. Remove barramundi from the milk after 6 minutes. Strain the milk onto the floured vegetables, stirring until the sauce is smooth. Fold in the cream. Fold in butter, chopped eggs, parsley, chives and half of the cheese. Heat until the cheese has melted. Check seasoning. Place barramundi into a lightly buttered shallow gratin dish. Place poached eggs on top and pour the sauce over. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and place under hot grill until golden. Remove and serve.

Grilled barramundi with hummus, herb salad and yoghurt
Serves 6

Ingredients
1/3 cup mint leaves
1/3 cup coriander leaves
1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup baby spinach leaves
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs sea salt mixed with 1 tsp ground cumin
6 x 150g barramundi fillets (with skin on)
6 lemon wedges

Hummus
200g cooked chickpeas
60ml lemon juice
2 tsp ground cumin
50ml extra virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
150g tahini
1/2 tsp paprika

Dressing
300g Greek-style yoghurt
1 tbs chopped mint
1 tbs chopped basil

Method
For the hummus, blend chickpeas, lemon, cumin, oil, garlic, tahini and paprika in a blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. For the dressing, combine yoghurt, mint, basil and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Set aside. Place mint, coriander, parsley, spinach, vinegar and 2 teaspoons oil in a bowl and toss to combine. Preheat a heavy-based or non-stick frypan. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil. Sprinkle cumin mixture over fish, then place in the pan, skin-side down and cook for 4 minutes on each side. Divide hummus among 6 plates. Place barramundi on top. Spoon yoghurt onto barramundi and top with salad, then garnish with lemon wedges and serve.

Bluewater Barramundi http://bluewaterbarramundi.com.au/

Want to know more about sea cage aquaculture and its environmental credentials visit Australian Institute of Marine Sciences http://www.aims.gov.au/seacage-aquaculture

For more information about the barramundi farming industry visit the Australian Barramundi Farmers Association www.abfa.org.au/

Positively pummelo

Again at the recent Feast of the Senses in NQ I enjoyed tasting and cooking with some of the different varieties of pummelo - Thai Pink and Carter Reds. The tropical climate around Innisfail is perfect for the pummelo originally grown in Malaysia and Thailand. The Pummelo is the largest of all the citrus fruits with segmented flesh containing hard white seeds.

I like the sweetness and juiciness - less bitter than grapefruit. They are best eaten fresh, after removing and peeling the individual segments but I think they're perfect for Asian style salads. The salad (pictured above) was made to complement some Spanish Mackeral supplied by local fisherman Shaun Hansen.

Peak pummleo season is coming up from May through to August. If you're in Cairns or travelling to Cairns you'll find them at Rusty's market. Look for fruit that has a bright smooth evenly coloured skin with no obvious blemishes. It can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

I'm fortunate enough to have a copy of Tropical Tastes, a book published by the former Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries that has been invaluable to my education about Pummelo and other Queensland tropical fruit.

For more information on pummelo and other tropical fruits visit: http://www.australiantropicalfruits.org.au/ or http://www.tefa.com.au/

Spanish Mackerel steaks with pummelo and mango salad
Serves 6

Ingredients
6 x 150g spanish mackerel fillets (skin on)
1 pummelo, peeled and segmented (keep any juice)
1 mango, diced into 1cm portions
120g green beans, thinly sliced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
1 salad onion, thinly sliced
1 red chilli, thinly sliced
1/4 cup thai basil leaves
2 cups bean sprouts, picked
1/2 sugar loaf cabbage, thinly sliced
2 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced
salt
freshly ground pepper
extra virgin olive oil

Method
Lightly salt mackerel fillets.
Cook in a preheated heavy based pan, on medium heat, with 50ml olive oil for 3-4 minutes either side until nicely coloured. Remove.
In a medium sized bowl, lightly toss pummelo, mango, beans, shallots, capsicum, salad onion, chilli, thai basil, bean sprouts, cabbage and lime leaves.
Add pummelo juice, 20ml olive oil and 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper.
Divide salad evenly between 6 plates, place fish fillet beside salad and serve.

Tantalising tastes in the tropics

I was in North Queensland recently - yes in the middle of cyclone season! Why? Well it is peak season for Queensland's iconic tropical fruit - 89 different varieties were on show at the Innisfail Feast of the Senses Festival. I ate way too many rambutans, mangosteens, breadfruit, duku and longan to name a few - it was extraordinary. Sadly, those of us in the South East rarely get to see these exotics in our local fruit stores.

For those food adventurers looking for something new and different head to Darra or Oxley in Brisbane where Asian fruit stores may stock tropicals. For many, chefs included, the key thing to note when experimenting with exotic fruit is to try not to do something equally exotic with your recipe.

Chef's Tips:
- keep it simple
- look at Asian influenced recipes for inspiration
- alternatively, when you do find them, eat fresh; completely unadulterated!

I built the recipe below around breadfruit (pictured). This is a staple food in South Pacific countries. Samoan missionaries introduced it into Queensland in the 1800s. It is sweet when eaten ripe but has a breadlike texture when baked or fried. Excellent as a replacement for potato chips.

Jervoise organic steak with native Davidson plum sauce, fried breadfruit and avocado salad
Serves 6

Ingredients
6 200g sirloin steaks
1 medium breadfruit, sliced 1cm thick
2 cups beansprouts, picked
1 red chilli, finely sliced
1 shepard avocado
1/2 red capsicum, sliced
1/4 cup lemon basil leaves
2 spring onions, sliced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
30ml white wine vinegar
davidson plum sauce
extra virgin olive oil
salt
freshly ground pepper

Method
Place breadfruit in a heavy based pan, on medium heat.
Add 100ml of extra virgin olive oil. Cook until golden brown on both sides.
Remove and drain on paper. Season.
On a high heat, place sirloin steaks in pan and add 30ml of extra virgin olive oil.
Colour on both sides for 3 minutes.
Remove from heat. Keep warm.
Cut avocado in half, remove seed and peel. Slice in 1cm pieces.
In a medium stainless bowl, toss bean sprouts, chilli, avocado, capsicum, basil leaves, spring onion and red onion.
Add white wine vinegar and 60ml extra virgin olive oil. Lightly season.
Place breadfruit slices onto plates. Add salad and steaks.
Finish with davidson plum sauce and serve.

To purchase Davidson plum sauce visit: http://www.rainforestbounty.com.au/

To find out more about Jervoise Organic Meats visit:
http://www.jervoiseorganics.com/

For more information on tropical fruits visit: http://www.tefa.com.au/

For more information on the celebration of tropical fruit at the Feast of the Senses festival visit: http://www.feastofthesenses.com.au/