36 0

Life & Style Food & Wine Food & Wine

Photo: John Cosgrove

Photo: John Cosgrove

Ask a Chef reveals the secrets of those superb dishes you ate in cafes and restaurants and wanted to try yourself.

Picasso’s seafood chowder

Ingredients

4 Tbsp plain four

4 Tbsp butter

1 tsp smoked paprika

500ml milk

500ml cream

1 litre fish stock

1 carrot

1 stick celery

1 onion

1 capsicum (we use a mixture of colours)

1 lemon

4 cloves garlic, crushed

40ml fish sauce

chopped parsley

chopped dill

300g marinara mix

300g mussel meat

300g surimi

200g shrimp

500g fresh white fish fillets

salt and pepper.

pinch of cayenne pepper

Method

1. Cut onion, carrot, celery and capsicum into small dice.

2. Melt butter in pot on medium heat and sweat off the vegetables and garlic, dill and smoked paprika until onion is translucent, not brown.

3. Remove from heat and stir in flour to create roux.

4. Return to heat and slowly add the stock, milk and cream stirring constantly until the sauce starts to thicken, reduce heat and slowly simmer.

5. Cut shellfish up into chunky pieces and add to sauce. Cook another 10 minutes.

6. Add chunky cut fish near the end so the fish does not break up.

7. Zest lemon and squeeze its juice into sauce.

8. Add fish sauce and cayenne pepper. Season with salt and pepper.

9. Adjust consistency with a dash of milk.

10. Add chopped parsley and stir through close to serving so parsley keeps its vibrant green colour.

11. Garnish with two steamed mussels, a sprig of Italian parsley and micro herbs.

Recipe provided by Picasso’s at Rosebank Lodge. Recipe requested by Julia Monaghan, of New South Wales, Australia.