Ben's warm salad of grilled smoked eel

I absolutely love smoked eel, its rich oiliness is fantastic set against the sharp crispiness of this salad making it a fantastic light way to start a meal. If these devilish little creatures aren’t your cup of tea then try hot smoked trout or smoked salmon. Just don’t grill the stuff - serve it cold instead as their textures are less firm and not suitable for grilling.

Ingredients: (serves 4-6 people)
80gm smoked eel per person
1 bulb of Florence fennel plus the green top if still on the bulb (the tight round bulbs)
1 medium red onion
1 cup of flat leaf parsley (picked and washed)
1 bunch of sorrel
1/4 head of radicchio
1/2 cup of mint picked and washed
1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1. Prepare the salad by thinly slicing the fennel across the bulb and place in iced water to crispin, reserving the herb tops for the salad .Cut the onion in half and slice length ways, again slice thinly. Break the radicchio into shreds removing the larger parts of the white centre of each leaf as well as any yucky looking leaves.
2. Cut the smoked eel into fillets from which the skin and bones have been removed and into pieces about 80gm each. Heat a griddle pan to high heat and sear the eel on either side.
3. Toss the fennel, onion, mint, and parsley together in a bowl and season with the juice of half the lemon and salt and pepper and olive oil.
4. Then gently toss the sorrel and radicchio with the onion, mint and fennel
5. Remove the eel from the grill and place into a smaller bowl and squeeze a little lemon over it. Crumble into salad and serve

Ben's curried shoulder of lamb with kumara mash, fried garlic, chilli and cashews

Ingredients: (Serves 6 people)

Lamb shoulder curry

1 lamb shoulder trimmed of fat
3cm piece of root ginger grated
3 cloves of garlic crushed
Water

Dough to seal pot
500gm flour
Water

I bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
6-cardamom pods green crushed
2 onions sliced
400gm tin of chopped tin tomatoes
2 teaspoons of crushed cumin
3 teaspoons crushed coriander
2 green chillies halved
Large handful of coriander

Curry paste

50gm-desiccated coconut
3 table spoons of coriander seeds
5 table spoons of poppy seeds
2 table spoons of fennel seeds
1 tablespoon of black pepper corns
5 red chillies

Method:

1. Place the trimmed lamb shoulder in to a snug fitting pot and add the turmeric, garlic and ginger and three glasses of water. With the flour and water make dough and roll into a sausage and place around the rim of the pot and firmly fit a lid. Put into a pre-heated oven and cook at 150 degrees for 3 hours.
2. Place the curry paste ingredients into a spice grinder or food processor and blend until fine. Set aside.
3. Heat a little oil in a heavy bottom pot and add the bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom and fry until they release their aromas.
4. Add the sliced onion and cook until soft.
5. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5-10 minutes. Then add the ground cumin, coriander and halved chillies and cook for a further 5 minutes.
6. Add the curry paste and cook for a further 5 minutes.
7. Remove the lamb from the pot. Be careful of the steam inside. Remove the bones and excess fat from the lamb and add to the curry sauce along with the cooking liquid from the pot. Cook the lamb in the sauce for a further 30 minutes over a low heat.
8. Serve with chopped coriander and steamed jasmine rice.

Mark's Crayfish Souffle

Ingredients:

1 whole cray
50 g butter to grease
Flour to coat
3 Tlb fresh grated Parmesan
70g flour
70g butter
500ml milk
2 bay leaves
1 Tlb fennel leaves rough chopped
1garlic clove
5 egg yolks
8 egg whites
Pinch salt
Sea salt
White pepper
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1 lemon

Method:

1. Cook cray until 3/4 done (around 6 min for med size), rest, de-shell and finely cut meat reserve, keep the legs for garnish.
2. Grease & flour two large or 8 small soufflé dishes.
3. Heat milk with bay leaf & crushed garlic clove, 1 lemon's zest.
4. Make roux with flour and butter (gently cook until slightly whitened and bread crumb like), whisk in the milk in three additions, and simmer for 15-20 min covered, stir regularly. Cool. Mix in Parmesan and yolks.
5. Whisk the egg whites & salt until stiff.
6. Add 1/3 of the whites to the mix plus the cray meat, chopped fennel & paprika. Mix in.
7. Fold remaining whites in.
8. 3/4 fill the soufflé dishes, gently tap them on the bench, sprinkle a little extra parmesan and paprika on the tops.
9. Bake in a water bath at 180 c 15-20 min small, 30 min large.
10. Serve with legs and lemon wedge.