Blue eye and king prawn bourride : Chef Justin North

This recipe was one of three demonstrated by Chef Justin North at Tasting Australia 2012: Miele Celebrity Class Acts. While others attended a media dinner, I had my itinerary swapped to catch up with one of my favourite Sydney chefs (but this time in Adelaide) in an intimate cookery demonstration and dinner. And! Bonus! Chef sat next to me while we ate. Here’s one of recipes from the evening: Blue eye and king prawn bourride : Chef Justin North

Blue eye and king prawn bourride : Chef Justin North

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Herb dressing
1/2 cup basil leaves
1/2 cup coriander leaves
1/2 cup chervil
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
pinch of salt flakes

for the bourride
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 cloves sliced garlic
1 cup sliced brown onion
1/2 cup sliced fennel
pinch of salt flakes
pinch of saffron threads
1 cup chopped ripe jiucy vine tomatoes
1 strip orange peel
1/2 large chilli
1 cup white wine
2 cups fish stock
4 x 80g pieces of blue eye fillets (skin off, pin-boned, blood line removed)
12 large king prawns (tail on, heads off, shell removed, intestinal track removed)

To finish
1 cup mixed baby herbs such as coriander and basil

Method:

Herb dressing – finely chop or blitz together the herbs, olive oil and salt.

For the bourride

Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Heat the olive oil in an oven proof casserole dish. Add the seeds, garlic, onion, fennel, salt, saffron and cook gently over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes until the vegetables are soft, juicy and aromatic.

Add the tomatoes, orange peel, chilli and white wine and continue to cook for a few minutes until pulpy, then add the fish stock, bring to the boil and add the fish fillets and prawns, season with a pinch of salt flakes, cover with a lid and place in the oven for 5 minutes to cook the fish and the prawns.

Remove from oven, take the seafood out of the pan and blitz the pulpy sauce for a few seconds to a rustic chunky sauce consistency.

To finish
Spoon the bourride sauce into warm serving bowls, top with the seafood, drizzle over the herb dressing and decorate with the baby herbs and serve.

Rebecca Varidel was a guest at this event of Tasting Australia. Many thanks to Chef Justin North for kind permission to publish his recipe.