Selaks NZ Roast Day goes international
Thursday 20 June 2013, 12:03PM
By Pead PR
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Stand by your roast? They do in Portugal. There you pay less in a restaurant if you eat your meal at the counter instead of occupying valuable table real estate.
And next time you’re in Tangier or Casablanca, check out the boiler room under the local public bathhouse. That’s where you’ll find the tangia, a popular Moroccan meat dish roasting slowly over the coals that also heat the pools.
While roast traditions in New Zealand may be a little less outlandish, the fact is we do have some 200 different ethnic groups living here. And that means there’s bound to be a large reservoir of dishes to draw on for Selaks NZ Roast Day this year.
This year’s theme for the annual celebration of the roast is ‘international’ and Selaks NZ Roast Day ambassador Nici Wickes is leading the creative charge with several mouth-watering dishes inspired from her world travels.
Nici has created simple and delicious roast recipes with an international flavour for the everyday cook and they can be found on the Selaks NZ Roast Day website. The site also features an eCookbook available for free download showcasing selected recipes from Nici, as well as previous years’ ambassador chefs - Jonny Schwass, Julie Biuso and Paul Jobin.
“The diversity of cooking and eating practices around the world never ceases to intrigue me,” Nici says. “I love learning what traditions, cooking methods, ingredients and dishes are held most dear to the locals because it is these that offer the most interesting insights into a culture and meaning surrounding a place.”
This year, the annual celebration of New Zealand’s favourite Sunday meal is on Sunday 4 August 2013.
“It’s a great opportunity to explore new and different ways of serving your favourite roast. Most important, it’s a reminder to ourselves to celebrate the important things in life – friends, family, the art of conversation and a tradition of amazing food and wine,” Nici says.
“Cook your own or dine out with family and friends at roast day restaurants around the country. You never know what you may find considering the diverse range of cultures we have in New Zealand,” she says.
Selaks Brand Manager Maree Anthony says the event resonates with Kiwi cooks no matter what the ethnic background.
“Almost every New Zealander loves a great roast and we’re proud to bring the annual Selaks NZ Roast Day to friends and families and for the fourth consecutive year. Roll on August 4.”
And speaking of great roasts, did you know?
· The Chinese expect you to leave a small amount of food uneaten on your plate otherwise you are saying that not enough was served.
· In Morocco eating from shared platters of food is common but it is considered impolite to serve yourself from any part of the dish that isn’t directly in front of you – no swivelling the dish if you spy a tastier morsel on the other side.
· It is an insult to ask a French chef for ketchup because you are saying the food was not to your taste.
· In Poland, according to an old wives tale, if you turn over your fish it will bring bad luck and capsize a fisherman’s boat.
· In Japan it is a compliment to the cook if you slurp your noodles thereby demonstrating you are enjoying your meal.
· Eating is a sociable affair in Italy and you are expected to take as much time as possible to enjoy the food. Rushing through a meal is considered an insult to the chef.
There’s a list of participating restaurants serving Selaks Wines on the Selaks NZ Roast Day website. Local supermarkets are supporting Selaks NZ Roast Day with great specials on meats and Selaks wines to help New Zealanders celebrate the roast in fine style.
Selaks New Zealand Roast Day
Selaks is celebrating the New Zealand roast on August 4, 2013. Now in its fourth year, Selaks New Zealand Roast Day honours New Zealand’s most loved meal and all the fun and fanfare and good times that go with it. This year, Roast Day is going international to celebrate Selaks Croatian heritage and the various ethnic interpretations of the roast around the world. With a proud 79 year history of bringing family and friends together over good food and wine, Selaks is determined to ensure the roast retains its rightful place in our country’s rich epicurean history. In the process, Selaks believes New Zealand Roast Day can play a lead role in bonding families and highlight the importance of homemade food and family dining.
For recipe and wine-matching inspiration download your free eCookbook at www.selaks.co.nz/roastday.
NICI WICKES’ MOROCCAN SPICED ROAST CHICKEN
Wine match: Selaks Reserve Hawkes Bay Merlot Cabernet
What could be better than a perfectly roasted chicken imbued with the fantastically aromatic spices from Morocco? This is a simple and easy roast and, paired with cous cous and a fresh carrot salad, it will take your taste buds on a magical journey.
Serves 4-6
YOU WILL NEED:
1 whole chicken (buy the best quality you can afford)
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
1 heaped tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 heaped tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp each salt and pepper
½ preserved lemon – flesh & pith removed, roughly chopped
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes, roughly chopped
2 medium red onions – peeled and sliced
Olive oil
1.5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 Tbs honey
WHAT TO DO:
Preheat oven to 200 C.
Prepare the chicken by patting it dry inside and out and removing any excess fat from the cavity opening and tail end.
In a small bowl, combine the dry spices (cinnamon, coriander, cumin, ginger, salt and pepper), preserved lemon and oil and mix to a paste. Add the prunes.
Ease the skin of each breast away from the flesh, without tearing it. Using a spoon, or your hands, tuck about 2-3 tablespoons of the spice and prune mix under each side, pushing it down until the area is full. No need to get too fussy.
The remaining spice and prune mixture can be packed into the main cavity and then, whilst there’s no need to fully “truss” the chook, I do recommend securing the legs together, with either string, toothpicks or skewers, to aid in even cooking and so that the spice mix doesn’t fall out.
Scatter the sliced red onions into a roasting dish, or ovenproof casserole dish and place the chicken on top.
Mix together the stock, honey and a slug of olive oil and pour this around the chicken. Cover with tinfoil or the casserole dish lid and cook for one hour.
Remove the cover, reduce the temperature to 180 C and cook for a further 20-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and dark golden on top.
Before serving, baste the chicken well with the juices. Serve on a bed of cous cous with the roasting pan juices drizzled over it.
FLUFFY COMFORTING COUSCOUS
Serves 4-6
The trick to making great tasting couscous is to use a decent stock and make sure you steam it more than boiling it to end up with a glorious pile of the fluffy, light grains. It is an ideal dish to soak up the lovely juices from the roasting pan.
YOU WILL NEED:
2 Tbs olive oil
2 cups stock (or 2 cups water simmered for 15 minutes with cut onion, half carrot, stick of celery, a bay leaf, ½ tsp salt & pepper)
1 cup uncooked couscous
¼ tsp salt
Dash of olive oil
Fresh parsley to garnish, roughly chopped (optional)
WHAT TO DO:
Heat the stock until a rolling boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Add the couscous in a steady stream and stir to ensure that it doesn’t clump. Put the lid on, turn the heat off and allow to sit for 10-15 minutes, enough time for the grains to fully absorb the stock.
Lift the lid, and fluff the cous cous gently with a fork and add a splash of olive oil.
Transfer to an ovenproof serving dish, cover with foil and bake at 160 C for a further 15 minutes. This extra steaming step allows the grains to become truly light and fluffy and vastly improves the texture.
Transfer to a serving dish, add the parsley if desired and serve immediately.
RIBBONED CARROT, ORANGE & PINE NUT SALAD
Serves 4-6
Carrot salads are commonly served as part of a meal on Morocco. This one changes out grated carrot for the more visually pleasing ribbons of carrot, adding pine nuts and pieces of orange for little surprises of texture and flavour.
YOU WILL NEED:
4 carrots
2 oranges
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
3 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of one lemon
WHAT TO DO:
Peel the carrots and then ribbon each with a peeler, taking each one down as far as you can (and saving the leftovers for stock) until you have a lovely big pile or carrot ribbons.
Transfer to a large bowl and, with your hands, proceed to roughly scrunch and squeeze the carrot ribbons. This breaks them down enough to ensure that they will absorb the dressing and other flavours.
Peel the oranges with a small paring knife, being sure to remove all pith as you do, then cut into small chunks. Add this, and the juice that will be all over your chopping board, to the carrots.
Dry toast the pine nuts in a pan until light golden. Watch them closely as they will burn quickly. Add these to the salad, along with the olive oil and lemon juice.
Toss well, taste (check for balance of flavours and add more oil/lemon if required) and set aside until ready to serve.
NICI WICKES’ ITALIAN RICOTTA & SULTANA DESSERT
Wine match: Selaks Reserve Gisborne Waipara Gewurztraminer Riesling
I love this honey-scented cake because it is so easy to make and can be served warm, or made ahead and served at room temperature, paired with whatever fruits are in season.
Serves 6-8
YOU WILL NEED:
1 cup sultanas
4 eggs
5 Tbs sugar
3 heaped Tbs plain flour
2 heaped Tbs liquid honey (or any honey warmed slightly to liquid)
Zest of one lemon
250 g ricotta cheese
1 cup thick yoghurt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbs sugar, to serve
WHAT TO DO:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Line a loose-bottomed cake tin with baking paper.
Toss the sultanas in ONE tablespoon of flour to coat. This stops them from sinking to the bottom of the cake batter mixture.
In a large bowl beat the eggs and sugar until pale, light and creamy.
Stir in the remaining flour, honey, lemon zest , ricotta, yoghurt and cinnamon. Stir until well combined. Lastly, stir through the floured sultanas.
Pour into the prepared the baking dish and bake for 30 – 40 minutes to ‘wobble stage’ (i.e. set around the outside but with a slight wobble in the centre) and golden on the top.
Serve warm or cold, sprinkled with extra sugar.