Mozzarella di Bufala

Buffalo Mozzarella, a staple of traditional Italian cuisine is rich in calcium and high in protein, vitamin and mineral salt content, low in cholesterol and is lactose free - the same as goat's milk.

Perfect on pizza, in salads, or with olive oil and good vinegar - its role is to provide texture as well as taste!

Located on the Atherton Tablelands (North Queensland), Mitch and Bridgette Humphries operate Australia's first water buffalo dairy farm. The buffalo are a Europen breed and the mozzarella is made using traditional Italian methods.

Vannella Cheese Factory in Cairns uses The Australian Dairy Buffalo Company's buffalo milk to create award-winning cheeses including ricotta, fetta, labneh and yoghurt.

Available onsite at the Vannella Cheese Factory Deli Shop. http://www.vannellacheesefactory.com/index.htm

Bundaberg Tomato Salad with Vanella Mozzarella and Grilled Onion Vinaigrette
Serves 6

Ingredients

Grilled Onion Vinaigrette
3 red onions, sliced 2cm thick
extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sherry vinegar

Salad
6 sun riped tomatoes, cored and sliced 1cm thick
18 fresh basil leaves
1 large red onion, sliced 1/2 cm thick
4 x buffalo mozzarella balls, sliced 1cm thick
1 dessertspoon baby capers, washed
12 marinated anchovies, cut in halves
18 kalamata olives

Method

Vinaigrette
Brush the onion slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
Either grill or BBQ on high heat until lightly charred on both sides (3-4 minutes)
Cool and chop finely.
In a bowl, mix chopped onion, balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar and 4 tbs olive oil.
Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.

To Assemble
Lay alternate pieces of tomato, onion and mozzarella on 6 plates.
Drape 4 pieces of anchovy on top, followed by a sprinkle of baby capers, 3 olives and 3 basil leaves.
Dress with the grilled onion vinaigrette. Serve with warm crusty bread.

Carrot-licious!

Carrots are an indispensable item in any kitchen. Grated raw, they make beautiful salads, cakes and muffins and in braises or stews - they transform to greater heights!

The Moors introduced the carrot, originally a purple colour to Europe. It was the Dutch who changed their colour to orange to honour their royal family.

Carrots contain more natural sugar than any other vegetable but are only 30 calories. They have high levels of vitamin A, potassium, calcium and phosphorus.

Rob Bauer is a pioneer of the certified organic industry. He farms a wide range of organic vegetables including carrots and potatoes on 363 hectares in the Lockyer Valley.

They sell through supermarkets and good organic fruit and vegetable retailers.

Check out what is in season at http://www.bauersorganicfarm.com.au/

Quail can be purchased at Black Pearl Epicure http://blackpearl.com.au/

Chefs tips:
Carrots are versatile. They can be boiled, steamed, roasted or mashed.
They can be used in savoury dishes or in puddings.
Organic carrots have a superior taste.
Choose carrots that are firm with no bend.
Don't peel baby carrots - just wash and scrub them.
Large carrots should always be peeled.

Grilled quail with carrot fritters and orange mayonnaise
Serves 6

Ingredients
6 deboned quails
6 carrots, grated
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 1 /2 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4 tbs spring onions, finely chopped
3 tbs coriander, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
150ml milk
140g plain flour
olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mayonnaise
150ml mayonnaise
1/2 orange, juice and zest
50ml sour cream
coriander

Method
Combine the grated carrots with all the ingredients except olive oil. Mix and season to taste.
Drop dessertspoons of the mixture into a non-stick pan on medium heat and cook for 3 minutes either side until nicely browned. Remove and keep warm.
Season the deboned quail with salt and freshly ground black pepper. In a preheated heavy based pan, place quail skin side down and cook for 3-4 minutes each side. Remove and drain.
Mix mayonnaise ingredients together. Season to taste.
Serve carrot fritters on 6 plates with grilled quail and orange mayonnaise.

Spring Lamb!

Sheep meat has long been a staple on Australian dinner plates and consumer demand for premium product is increasing in both domestic and international markets.

Domestic and international demand for Australian lamb is almost 50/50 - with the main export markets being the US, Europe, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

On average Australians eat 14kg of mutton and lamb per person per year!

Andrew and Maree King breed Dorper lambs, specifically for the quality of the meat. The lambs are 100% grass fed and 100% organic. Dorper lambs have the ability to graze at an early age due to their mother's abundant milk supply, resulting in a superior, tender meat.

Silverwood Organics sells organic lamb meat packs online and delivers them direct to the door in Brisbane and Toowoomba from Longreach, in western Queensland.

Visit http://www.silverwoodorganics.com.au/ for more information about Silverwood Organics and how to place an order for home delivery!

Rack of Silverwood Organic Lamb with roast organic vegetables and lamb sauce
Serves 6

Ingredients
3 x 8 boned lamb racks (french trimmed cap off)
olive oil
3 carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into rounds
1 pumpkin, peeled and cut into rounds
9 pontiac potatoes, peeled and cut in half
3 medium red onions, peeled and cut into quarters
3 medium beetroot, peeled and cut into quarters
18 cloves of garlic, skin on
6 sprigs of rosemary
6 sprigs of thyme

Sauce
500ml veal demi glaze
250ml veal or chicken stock
75g roasted lamb bone or trimming
2 shallots, sliced and browned
4 cloves of garlic
6 black peppercorns, crushed
1/2 bay leaf
sprig of thyme

Method
For Sauce: Bring all ingredients to the boil in a heavy based pot.

Reduce to simmer for 1/2 hour. Strain and reserve.
Preheat oven and roasting trays to 200 degrees.
Season lamb with table salt and place skin side down on roasting tray. Toss vegetables separately in a bowl with olive oil and seasalt. Place on roasting trays and then into the oven.
Turn lamb racks and vegetables after 12 minutes. Remove lamb racks after 18 minutes and keep in a warm place. Remove vegetables after 35 minutes; when golden and crisp.
Divide vegetables evenly between 6 plates. Carve lamb racks and rest over vegetables.
Pour sauce around.

Creamy custards

The custard apple, a native of South America is grown in Queensland and Northern New South Wales. The variety Pink Mammoth was selected and bred in Queensland with a large crop on the Atherton Tablelands.

Custard apples are nothing like apples at all. Although the outer green skin is not very pretty, inside is amazing - the delicate, creamy white flesh is really sweet with a fragrance a bit like custard.

Ros and Kerry Smerdon grow 2200 custard apple trees on their property in the Glasshouse Mountains. From picking to packing, the Smerdon family do the whole process by hand. This tropical fruit is quite fragile and despite its bumpy, irregular skin even a fingernail can scratch it!

Queensland custard apples are available February - August in supermarkets and good fruit shops.

Visit http://www.custardapple.com.au/

Chefs Tips:

Ripe custard apples give slightly when pressed - just like avocados.
Unripe fruit should be kept at room temperature until soft - then refrigerate for a day or two.

Custard apple icecream with five spice panna cotta
Serves 6

Ingredients

Icecream
750ml custard apple pulp
200g castor sugar
2 whole eggs
2 tbs lime juice
500ml whipping cream

Method
Cut open custard apples and scoop out flesh.
Remove pips and blend to a puree.
Measure 750ml of pulp and add to castor sugar.
Beat in eggs and add lime juice.
Lightly whip cream and fold into mixture.
Churn in an icecream machine.

Panna cotta
2 cinnamon sticks
4 star anise
6 cardamon pods
8 grates of nutmeg
3 cloves
400ml milk
400ml thickened cream
4 leaves gelatin
70g castor sugar
1 tbs honey

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees and roast spices on a tray (except for nutmeg) for 5 minutes or until fragrant. Let cool and pound roughly in a mortar and pestle with nutmeg.
Place spices in a small sauces pan with milk. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes to infuse.
Remove from the heat and let stand for 20 minutes. Add honey and sugar. Strain and pour into a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Soften gelatin leaves in a bowl of cold water for 1 minute. Remove gelatin and add to warm milk. Let cool. Whip cream to soft peaks in a medium sized bowl. Fold cream into cool milk and honey mixture and pour into 6 ramekins and refrigerate until set. Carefully unmould panna cottas into 6 bowls and serve with a scoop of the custard apple icecream.

More Tastes of Asia

The impact of Asian cultures on Australian cuisine is undeniable and it is a food trend that will no doubt continue in Queensland given our close proximity to Asia, our climate and the fact that so much of the produce used in Asian dishes is grown here - think tropical and exotic fruit like mangoes and lychees.

Pork of course is a staple in Asian cooking and increasingly we're seeing pork belly as a cut used on the menu in restaurants. Gooralie Free-range pork is the first pork farm in Queensland to be accredited by the RSPCA. The pigs wander happily around Mark and Charisse Ladners 160 hectare (400 acre) property near Goodiwindi in the south west of the state. They are fed a natural, nutritiously blended diet free of chemical residue, antibiotics and hormone growth promotants.

Buy Gooralie pork at:
Stuartholme Quality Meats - Bardon
The Meat-ting Place - Paddington & McDowall
Maleny Butchery - Maleny

Visit http://www.gooraliefreerangepork.com.au/ for a full list of outlets in Queensland.

Visit http://www.pork.com.au/ for more information about Australian Pork.

Crispy pork belly, asian salad with coconut dressing
Serves 6

Ingredients
100g soba noodles, cooked
1/4 medium daikon, peeled and julienned
1/2 continental cucumber, peeled and julienned
50g snow pea sprouts
50g bean sprouts
1/3 cup picked coriander
1/3 cup picked mint
1/3 cup picked Vietnamese mint
50g pickled ginger
1/2 medium salad onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup green pawpaw, peeled and julienned

Coconut Dressing
1 tbs palm sugar
250ml coconut cream
3 limes, juiced
1 tbs fish sauce
2 red chillis, deseeded and finely chopped

Pork
1500g pork belly, skin on
1 dessertspoon 5 spice powder
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbs pink salt flakes
1 dessertspoon castor sugar
6 lime cheeks

Method
Spike the skin on the pork belly with a wooden skewer at 1cm intervals.
Place the pork belly on a cake rack and pour boiling water over the skin, pat dry.
Mix 5 spice, black pepper, salt and sugar and rub into the pork flesh.
Place in the refrigerator uncovered overnight.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Place the pork, skin side up on a cake rack over a roasting tray of water.
Roast the pork for 15 minutes then lower the oven temperature to 160 degrees and cook for a further 2 hours, topping up the water when necessary.
Increase the temperature to 230 degrees and continue to roast for 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and keep warm.
Mix coconut dressing ingredients and, in a large bowl, combine salad ingredients with coconut dressing.
Toss gently and divide evenly between 6 plates.
Cut pork belly into 12 pieces, place on plates and finish with lime cheeks.