mexican food is my weakness. my dirty little secret…i love it because the cuisine there is authentic, pure and healthy….. the realness and the minimalist ethic of its clean flavours keep my idea of amazing food with a easy honest approach going….. from moles to dirty chicken, through to the salsas and fish crudos….there are so few ingredients in the culture so it cool to be creative….ive added a touch of me in there…….
salads are my thing and this is a gorgeous chilled meal for all time….
…plus I’ve added a nasty little tipple to kick it off..
enjoy ….!!
a new frontier splash
shaved zucchini, cucumber and green apples, lime vinegared tomatoes, rosemary oil and boiled egg salad
chilled red mole, brined shredded chicken, lime ricotta, jalapeno oil, tortilla salad
chilled pulled beef shin, slow cooked carrot, avocado, dirty lemon risotto, pickled thyme salad
jellied berries, hard vanilla custard, lime leaf and sweet vodka salad
recipes for 4:
splash:
1 cup off good vodka, 1 jalapeno sliced into 1/4’s, 3 cups of grapefruit juice, 1 lemon sliced, 1 orange sliced, 2 tablespoons icing agave nectar, sprigs of thyme. mix and serve.
shaved salad:
shave 1 cucumber, 1 zucchini, 1 green apple into a bowl, mix with olive oil, a squeeze of lime juice salt and pepper. stir gently with 1/2 cup odf sliced baby tomatoes that have been mixed with white vinegar and a good squeeze of lime juice, and place on platter. place sliced apple on top with a perched boiled egg. drizzle with olive oil, that has been stored with rosemary in it overnight. sprinkle the plate with poppy seeds.
chicken, mole and ricotta salad:
mole: boil 1 can tomatoes, 1 cut jalapeño, 6 squares dark chocolate, 2 cloves chopped garlic, then add salt and pepper to taste. chill. soak 1 chicken in 1 cup white vinegar 1 tablespoon each of salt and sugar. roast on high for 20 mins and chill. flake into pieces. mix 1 cup ricotta with 1 squeezed lime. blend 1 jalapeño with 1 1/2 cup olive oil. make a circle on the plate with the mole, add shredded chicken, dollops of ricotta, add some jalapeños and tomatoes, top with coriander sprigs and a shard of tortilla.
shin, carrot, avocado and risotto salad:
pepper the outside of a piece of beef shin and place in a an oven dish. blend, 2 cups of chicken stock with 4 cloves of garlic. cover the beef with the stock and put 2 carrots in there as week. cook for 6 hours on 150C covered in greaseproof paper. chill down. in a chines cooker, cook 2 cups of lemon infused risotto with the stock from the beef. sit 4 sprigs of thyme in 2 cups of vinegar mixed with 2 tablespoons icing sugar. serve cut avocado with the skin on, a big spoonful of the cold risotto, shred the beef and place the carrot on top, finishing of with the thyme.
jellied berry salad:
mix 1 cup of cream mixed 1 tablespoon of vanilla essence and 2 egg yolks. mix 1 tablespoon gelatine with 2 teaspoons hot water until dissolved. gently mix with the vanilla custard. place in fridge for 3 hours until hardened. cut into small rectangles. in a bowl stir together 2 cups of cranberry juice with 1 cup of vodka and 4 teaspoons of gel tin mixed with 1/2 cup boiling water to dissolve. in a large ramekin or 4 small, distribute the juice with 2 cups of mixed berries and the rectangles of custard and 2 tablespoons of finely chopped kaffir lime leaf. place in refrigerator for 1/2 a day. serve cold.
enjoy my breakfast
luxury + salmon……
omega 3’s rock my world…… simple steamed, raw, smoked, poached, roasted. crispy skinned.
….. i like to surround with flavours that bring out, not hide. sweet kisses of sweet, sour, crunch, fleshy, smooth.
sweet smoked salmon, pears, pear emulsion, mirin soaked tuna belly, maple soy peanuts, fragrances
its great to think that the elements can shine in a refined salad….
…. home smoked salmon fillet finely sliced and soaked in white balsamic….but only just…
…. sweet pears whipped in my Brevile food processor with olive oil and white balsamic till smooth
…. some delicate tuna belly slow soaked in horseradish and mirin
…. the elegant crunch and snap of some maple soy nuts
…. gentle tickle with baby lettuces and parsley
…. drip some vinegar and olive oil to wet up the base of the plate
this salad…..is the essence of low-fi luxury.
…..THE BEST
i have returned to australia from the US to find it awash in auburn leaves mid Autumn – fall for all you northerners….
its inspiring to have the colour wash of tones of this gorgeous new season. …..i jumped at the opportunity to cook something tonal and delicious….a beautiful micro gnocchi with shrimp, asparagus and a yellow heirloom, saffron coral reduction. a warm salad for a soft opening to a beautiful season of colour and food….it felt real and perfect to jump into everything the season feels like…..warming up the tones and the temperature of the food we eat.. the freshness of this dish is very wildwithgarnish but also very australian.
the reduction is a favourite of mine. boiled shrimp shells with saffron….i use this a lot to start a dish. spaghetti with blue eyed cod and coral sauce and pureed leeks, open lasagne of lobster and dirty shell sauce, rich creamy crab soup with crab fritters and buttered shrimp….shall i go on….warm stack of buttered squid with prawn head butter sauce and walnut crumbs….
recipe: micro gnocchi with shrimp, asparagus and a yellow heirloom saffron coral reduction
20 shrimp, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 cloves garlic, 2 cups boiling water, 1 teaspoon saffron, 1 small yellow heirloom chopped small, 1/2 cup vegetable stock, celery salt, salt and pepper, 1 cup asparagus tips and shoots, 4 x snow peas, 1 tablespoon cold butter (unsalted)
in a pan place the peeled shrimp shells and fry them in olive oil, the yellow heirlooms and garlic. caramelise and cover the shells in boiling water and boil for 20 minutes whilst pressing down on the shells and heads with a masher. strain and reduce the liquid with saffron, and vegetable stock. a gentle sprinkle of celery salt and and some pepper works a treat. boil down to about 1 cup splashing and dashing with seasoning until you find your perfect taste. quickly whisk butter into the liquid to smooth it out…wow!
gnocchi:
4 potatoes peeled and cut into small pieces, 1 cup of ricotta, 2 eggs, 1 tablespoons plain organic flour, pinch parmesan, 1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper
boil the potatoes drain and bind in a magi mix with ricotta, flour, parmesan and a pinch of salt and pepper. roll into strings and cut and roll into tiny balls….boil in gentle salted water until they pop up to the top. strain
flash cook the shrimp and a cup of baby asparagus shoots and tips in the liquid. add the gnocchi a few snap peas and parsley….serve hot to warm with a splash of lime and maybe some chilli.
i love a cheeky smear…it underscores a dish and signatures flavour.pure and simple produce can be taken to the next level by just the addition of a cheeky smear of a pureed fresh ingredient.
i do a quick swipe with red miso underneath some gorgeous chilled lemon scented white blue eye cod and some micro watercress, lemon pieces and a gentle sprinkle of toasted hazelnuts….. or this dish….
beetroot essence, kingfish crudo, lemon myrtle mayonnaise, nasturnium radish, sprouts and crispy onion
you can tell how easy this dish is to make. a deconstructed salad. it requires, a fresh piece of kingfish, some pureed beetroots that have been steamed and pureed and strained, a mayo that has finely chopped lemon myrtle herbs ground into a good basic mayonnaise, slow oven roasted onions, and gorgeous fresh leaves, and lastly some fine discs of radish..how simple and how gorgeous is this dish
please check out my food website – www.susanstittfood.com. it is a body of work by me and covers all of what i do in food. (www.susanstitt.com.au is my general cinematography)
susanstittfood.com has my gorgeous pics, press, menus, books, tv commercials and all things MY food.
enjoy the journey – here is the video that i shot and directed for susanstittfoood that signatures the site. the beautiful karen and ruby cotton gave me their everything and for that i am very grateful……
a lovely soft meander through the fields of my asparagus and crooxetti, flavoured with sprinklings of white truffle oil and a fine shave of pecorino – delicious…love the video….
asparagus and white truffle corxetti
i bought these heavenly disks from Eataly in NYC the other day wanting an excuse to eat them….soft grated pecorino falls over these discs that are only flavoured with fresh asparagus stalks, white truffle oil olive oil, pepper and salt…all to taste
keep it personal
……too simple…..too much heaven….!!!
i am in new york and its just me to go to Eataly on 23rd and 5th and buy vegetables and shoot them….i actually start with the making and eating of buffalo mozzarella, i peruse the cookbooks and the incredible meat section (i have a piece of pork belly we are cooking tomorrow that is currently resting in spices – (more to come)…..anyway i then try really hard not to smash the pork sandwich in the rotisserie section……i buy weird pasta then i meander through the cheese and salumi, and settle into the vegetables…..
i did actually go for the purples and deep mauves because it was cold outside….and i was randomly thinking palette…..
i do love the way violets and purples caress my senses. being the highest chakra as a colour, it is a wellbeing creature of colour….. warmth, depth of mood, emotion value and common sense is how this colour makes me feel…. when i lifted my camera and shot the first frame, it was still set on daylight, and it made sense to continue in that vibe……i play and tinker bringing sense and reason to the vegetables ethic, but then i love to sway off and drive it into the sensual home of feeling and emotion that holds firm for me…
art for arts sake……
the humble oyster.
the metaphor for patience. a idea of perfection as a result of coercement, ebb and flow. such beauty.
embodies perfection in nurturing, sensuality and minimalism. all things important in life.
lifes breath in fact. only from the sea. water. the taste of the salt. the sea.
an oyster is male and female…has high levels of testosterone and provides also zinc iron calcium, selenium and vitamins A and B12……
which makes it even sexier.
i love purity. so for me off the rocks, on ice, lemon……done
