The Ultimate Mother's Day Menu

Instead of dining out this Mother’s Day, why not impress your Mum with some amazing food cooked right from your own kitchen. These dishes are light yet substantial containing several ingredients that you mother would more than likely consider favourites throughout the year. The dishes are designed to create amazing bursts of flavour throughout the courses while providing different textures and combinations that will sure to please anyone. They are simple to master but the result will definitely make you look like a professional.

Starters

Champagne Jelly Oysters
1 gelatine leaf
100ml champagne

Warm champagne in a saucepan and add gelatine leaf.
Remove from heat and stir until dissolved.
Pour into a mould and chill for 3-4 hours.
To make different colours add a shot of liqueur such as Midori, Blue Curacao, etc.
Roughly mix together some different colours with a fork.
Place a teaspoon of the jelly onto the fresh oyster and serve immediately.

Oysters Kilpatrick
This is a slightly altered recipe from the original Kilpatrick sauce. The bacon has been replaced with chorizo, a spicy pork sausage typically from Spain and the bbq sauce adds a more flavoursome background as opposed to the tomato sauce.

100g diced chorizo
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons bbq sauce
several drops of tobasco sauce (optional)

Combine the liquid ingredients.
Generously sprinkle a baking tray with rock salt and place oysters on the salt.
Top oyster with diced chorizo and then a drizzle of the sauce.
Place under the grill and grill until crisp. Serve with a wedge of lemon.

Entree

Cuttlefish Bouillabaisse
Cuttlefish are often mistaken for calamari or squid, and while they are all closely related, each has its own characteristics. The cuttlefish has shorter tentacles and a rather large, wide body and is distinguished by the calcified inner bone. This bone can be often found washed up on the beach and many people will feed these to their birds for a source of dietary calcium. They have more flavour than their cousins and their ink sacs are highly prized in Italy and Spain. The taste is richer than squid but lighter than octopus and is usually a lot more tender out of the 'Cephlapod' family.

This recipe combines the base of a bouillabaisse with the cuttlefish to create a variation of a classical dish providing a flavoursome meal great for an entree or a warming dish for the cooler months.

A bouillabaisse is traditionally a fish soup containing different kinds of cooked fish, shellfish and vegetables, flavoured with a variety of herbs and spices but this is a simplified version concentrating on bringing out the rich flavours of the dish and the delicate flavour of the cuttlefish.

2 large cuttlefish
100ml olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
3 sprigs thyme, stalks removed
4 large tomatoes, peeled then chopped
1/2 cup white wine
6 saffron threads
3 cups water
1 small carrot, cut into large julienne
1 celery stick, cut into large julienne
cracked black pepper
sea salt

Clean the cuttlefish removing the ink-sac and bone. Open up and score a diamond-shaped pattern on the inside. Cut into 1cm x 5cm strips.

Remove the core of the tomato with a small sharp knife and cut a small cross in the opposite end. Place into hot boiling water for 30 seconds then place straight into ice cold water. The skin will now easily peel off.

Sweat off onion with olive oil until transparent.
Add thyme leaves and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes then add the cuttlefish.
Add white wine and saffron and cook for a further 3 minutes before adding the water.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper then finally add the carrot and celery.
Toss the tentacles in some cornflour and deep-fry until crisp.
Serve immediately, garnished with the tentacles and flat-leaf parsley.
Serves 2-4.

Mains

Lamb Rump, Caramelised Peach and Sage Salad served with a Blue Cheese Panna Cotta
This dish is like a lightning strike on your taste buds. Every bite adds another taste sensation that keeps your palate excited and demanding more. The combination of the warm salad and the chilled panna cotta completes this wonderful dish.

Lamb Marinade
1 kg lamb rump
6-8 large sage leaves, finely sliced
1/4 peach, skin removed and pureed
100ml olive oil
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Combine all ingredients and marinade for 2-4 hours.

Blue Cheese Panna Cotta
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
2 cloved garlic, squashed with the back of a spoon
4 sprigs thyme
1 Tablespoon salt
6 peppercorns
100ml white wine
500ml full-cream milk
500ml cream
300g blue cheese
2 1/2 gelatine leaves

Lightly sweat onion, garlic and thyme in a saucepan until onion is transparent with no colour.
Add white wine and simmer until wine has almost disappeared.
Add milk, cream, salt and peppercorns and slowly bring to the boil.
Once it has boiled, remove from heat immediately and let sit for 5 minutes.
Strain and then add blue cheese and crushed gelatine leaves.
Stir in with a spoon until cheese and gelatine has completely melted.
Pour evenly into 4 lightly greased moulds and place in the fridge for 5 hours to set.
Take out of the fridge for 30-60 minutes before serving.

Caramalised Peach
Slice peach in half turning the stone over a knife. Twist both sides to separate.
Cut thin slices and place onto a baking tray.
Sprinkle lightly with castor sugar and place under the grill.
Leave for 5-10 minutes until the peach slices turn golden brown.

The Dish
Sear the lamb in a hot pan and cook for 5 minutes each side until medium.
Slice thin slices against the grain and toss with some peach slices and some fresh sage leaves.
Carefully tip the panna cotta onto a plate and top with the lamb, peach and sage salad.
Garnish with some extra fresh sage leaves.
Serves 4.

Dessert

Macadamia, White Chocolate and Malibu Cake
200g butter
1 ½ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup (200g) white chocolate buds
1 cup (150g) chopped roasted macadamias
1 ¾ cups SR flour
1 cup milk

Pre-heat oven to 180 C or 160 C for fan-forced ovens.
Cream butter and sugar until light.
Add eggs one at a time beating well.
Add white chocolate and macadamias and fold in flour and milk to make a smooth batter.
Pour mixture into a 25cm lined and greased cake tin.
Bake for approximately 1 hour.
Poke with a wooden skewer and it should come out clean.
Cool on a wire cake rack.

Malibu Ganache
A general guideline for making ganache is 1 part cream to 3 parts chocolate.

1 cup white chocolate
1/4 cup cream
2 shots of Malibu

Bring the cream and Malibu to the boil in a saucepan.
Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate until fully combined.
Let sit to cool down then spread over the cake.
Garnish with some melted white chocolate drizzled over the top.

Matt Clark Gourmet Catering, Food Photography and Freelance Food Writing