As the Australian sun warms our days and evenings stretch into pleasant twilight, there’s an undeniable urge for lighter, seasonal fare. For anyone looking to elevate their home cooking, particularly with the freshest produce the season has to offer, the insights of a seasoned chef are invaluable.
Paul Ainsworth, a name synonymous with culinary excellence, boasts an impressive pedigree, having honed his skills under the tutelage of culinary giants like Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing before establishing his own highly-regarded restaurant in Cornwall. Ainsworth champions the philosophy that exceptional ingredients and straightforward preparation are the cornerstones of a truly memorable meal. This approach is central to his debut cookbook, For the Love of Food, where he generously shares his techniques for creating restaurant-quality dishes in a home kitchen, with recipes that celebrate the bounty of the seasons and bring gourmet flavours to your table.
Here, we delve into some of Ainsworth’s favourite spring dishes, offering a taste of his celebrated culinary style.
Grilled Scallops with Café de Paris Butter
This dish is a testament to the beauty of simple, high-quality seafood elevated by a flavourful, homemade butter. The key is to source the freshest scallops possible, ideally hand-dived, for the best texture and taste.
Yields: 4 servings
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 12 fresh scallops (preferably hand-dived)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 12 x 20g slices of Café de Paris butter (recipe below)
- 1 lemon
- 1 lime
- Sea salt
- Cracked black pepper
For the Café de Paris Butter:
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 50ml brandy
- 250g salted butter, softened
- 35g capers
- 100g roasted red peppers (tinned or jarred), finely diced
- 10g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
- ½ teaspoon English mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Method:
- Prepare the Café de Paris Butter: Begin by making the star of the show, the Café de Paris butter. In a small saucepan, combine the diced shallot, lemon juice, and brandy. Heat over a medium flame and reduce the liquid until it has almost completely evaporated. This concentrates the flavours.
- In a separate bowl, combine the softened salted butter with the reduced shallot mixture. Add the remaining ingredients for the butter: capers, diced roasted red peppers, chopped parsley, thyme leaves, English mustard powder, curry powder, Dijon mustard, chopped garlic, and Worcestershire sauce.
- Mix everything thoroughly until well combined. To store, spoon the mixture onto parchment paper and roll it into logs, about three logs from this quantity. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm.
- Cook the Scallops: Preheat your grill to a high setting, or your oven to 200°C fan-forced.
- Gently place the white scallop meat and roe back into their cleaned shells. Season them lightly with sea salt and a grind of black pepper. Drizzle each scallop with a little olive oil.
- Top each scallop with a slice of the chilled Café de Paris butter. Arrange the scallop shells on an oven tray and place them under the hot grill or into the preheated oven.
- Cook for approximately four to five minutes. For perfect results, a digital meat probe is ideal; aim for an internal temperature of 45°C-47°C. The scallops should be opaque and just cooked through.
- Serve: Arrange the grilled scallops on a large platter. Finish by zesting fresh lemon and lime zest generously over the top. Cut the remaining lemon and lime into wedges for serving alongside. This dish pairs wonderfully with a crisp, cold Pilsner or a dry white wine.
Gypsy Eggs
This hearty and flavourful dish is perfect for a weekend brunch or a casual evening meal. It’s a delightful combination of Spanish-inspired ingredients baked together with eggs.
Yields: 4 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20-25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 100g raw chorizo, diced
- 40g onion, diced
- 8 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 200g tinned or cooked cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
- 400g quality tomato pasta sauce with basil
- 8 large basil leaves, torn
- 4 large eggs
- 30g feta cheese, crumbled
- Extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- Sea salt
- Cracked black pepper
- Toast, for serving
Method:
- Sauté the Base: Preheat your oven to 180°C fan-forced. Heat the olive oil in a large, ovenproof frying pan over a high heat. Add the diced chorizo and cook for two to three minutes, allowing its fat to render out.
- Add the diced onion and halved cherry tomatoes to the pan, along with a pinch of sea salt. Reduce the heat to medium and stir occasionally until the onions and tomatoes have softened.
- Stir in the cannellini beans. Pour in the red-wine vinegar and cook until the mixture becomes sticky and the vinegar has evaporated.
- Add Tomato and Basil: Now, add the tomato pasta sauce and stir well to combine. Add half of the torn basil leaves and stir again. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Cook for another two minutes, ensuring everything is heated through and has a stew-like consistency.
- Incorporate the Eggs: Create four wells in the mixture, one in each quarter of the pan. Carefully crack one egg into each well, ensuring the yolks remain intact.
- Season the eggs with sea salt and black pepper. Transfer the entire frying pan to the preheated oven.
- Bake for approximately eight to ten minutes, or until the whites of the eggs are set but the yolks are still wonderfully runny.
- Finish and Serve: Remove the pan from the oven. Once slightly cooled, crumble the feta cheese over the top and sprinkle with the remaining torn basil leaves.
- Drizzle with a few teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil. Serve the Gypsy Eggs directly from the pan, placed in the centre of the table, accompanied by crusty toast for dipping.
Nefali Garden Fried Feta
This dish offers a delightful textural contrast, with a crispy, spiced exterior encasing a warm, yielding centre of feta cheese. It’s an impressive starter or a moreish snack.
Yields: 4 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 200g block of feta cheese
- 20g sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 6g nigella seeds
- 25g dried breadcrumbs (panko is recommended for extra crispiness)
- 25g plain flour
- 2 egg whites, lightly whisked
- 150ml olive oil, for frying
- Sea salt
- Cracked black pepper
- Chestnut honey, for drizzling
Method:
- Prepare the Feta: Remove the feta block from its packaging and pat it thoroughly dry with kitchen paper. Allow it to sit for about 20 minutes to ensure it’s as dry as possible, which helps the coating adhere better.
- Create the Coating: In a medium bowl, combine the sesame seeds, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, nigella seeds, and breadcrumbs. Mix well to create a fragrant and colourful coating.
- Set Up Breading Stations: Season the plain flour with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper and place it on a plate. Put the lightly whisked egg whites into a shallow dish.
- Coat the Feta: Take the dried feta block and first coat it evenly in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Next, dip the floured feta into the egg whites, allowing any excess to drip off. Finally, press the feta firmly into the spiced breadcrumb mixture, ensuring it is completely and evenly coated.
- Fry the Feta: In a small frying pan, heat the olive oil to approximately 160°C. Using a food thermometer is the best way to ensure the oil is at the correct temperature for shallow-frying.
- Carefully place the coated feta into the hot oil. Shallow-fry on each side for about one minute, turning gently, until the coating is a beautiful golden-brown and crisp.
- Serve: Remove the fried feta from the oil and drain any excess on fresh kitchen paper. Serve immediately, with a generous drizzle of chestnut honey over the top. The contrast between the sweet honey and the savoury, crispy feta is exquisite.
These recipes, drawn from Paul Ainsworth’s For the Love of Food, offer a wonderful opportunity to bring fresh, seasonal flavours and a touch of gourmet flair into your own kitchen. They are a reminder that with quality ingredients and a thoughtful approach, truly delicious meals are well within reach.
