Eat & Drink with Tatyana Leonov
Get to know Curtis stone
This Aussie chef, bestselling author and TV personality released his fifth cookbook, What’s for Dinner?: Recipes for a Busy Life, in April
My favourite food in the world is my mum’s roast pork dinner with crackling. It tastes so damn good and reminds me of family dinners. My favourite dish to make at the moment would have to be my caramel pot de crème from my latest cookbook What’s For Dinner? because it makes everyone smile. My cooking philosophy is to cook as Mother Nature intended and treat ingredients simply. Mother Nature did such a fine job why tamper with her good work? When I’m in Australia I love to eat at so many places! Australia is brimming with interesting restaurants, but my favourite place would have to be my mum’s place! I’m inspired by Marco Pierre White. He was my mentor for so many years and really shaped my appreciation for French cuisine – and taught me so much! The one dish I can’t live without is a spring lamb roast. I miss Aussie lamb! You’d be surprised to find ice cubes laced with summer berries in my freezer. The culinary tool everyone needs is a good knife. You don’t need a selection of 20, just a nice sharp chef’s knife and a solid chopping board and you’re halfway there. For fun I get out in my veggie garden with my son Hudson and our golden retriever. curtisstone.com
Curtis Stone’s Asian crab cakes with mango chutney
• serves 6 • Prep time: 45 minutes • Cooking time: 15 minutes • make-ahead: The chutney can be made up to one week ahead. Up to step 3, the crab cakes can be made up to 8 hours ahead, covered and refrigerated.
INGREDIENTS
Mango chutney
• 1⁄2 cup sugar • mango, pitted, peeled, and cut into 5mm dice • 1⁄4 cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice • sea salt
Crab cakes
• 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise • 1 large egg • 2 tablespoons Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce • 1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh coriander • 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil • 1-2 teaspoons seeded and finely chopped medium red chilli • 1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt • Finely grated zest of 1 lime • 1⁄4 cup finely chopped spring onions, whiteand green parts • 500g crabmeat, picked over for cartilageand shells, well drained • 11⁄2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs) • 6 tablespoons canola oil • 60g unsalted butter • 1⁄2 Lebanese cucumber, sliced into thinrounds, and then into matchstick-size strips • Fresh coriander sprigs, for garnish • Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon or fleur desel, for garnish
METHOD
1. To make the chutney: Heat a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the sugar and cook without stirring, tilting the pan as needed so that the sugar cooks evenly for about 5 minutes or until it melts into an amber caramel. Do not stir or the caramel will crystallise. Remove from heat and stir in the mango (the caramel will seize), then the rice vinegar and lime juice. Return to medium heat and stir constantly for about 5 minutes, or until the mango is translucent and the caramel is dissolved and syrupy. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Season with salt.
2. To prepare the crab cakes: In a large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, egg, fish sauce, ginger, coriander, sesame oil, chilli, salt, and lime zest together, then whisk in the spring onions. Add the crabmeat and stir to coat, breaking it apart coarsely to leave small whole chunks in the mixture. Fold in the panko. Cover and refrigerate the crab mixture for 30 minutes so that the mixture is easier to form. Using about 1/3 cup of the crab mixture for each cake, shape into 12 x 2cm-thick crab cakes and place on a baking tray.
3. To cook the crab cakes: Preheat the oven to 95°C/75°C fan-forced. Line a baking tray with paper towels. Heat a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons of the canola oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter and heat until hot but not smoking. Working in 2 batches, fry 6 crab cakes for about 2 minutes on each side, or until crisp and golden, adjusting the heat as needed to brown evenly without scorching. Transfer to the baking tray and keep warm in the oven. Wipe out the pan with paper towels and repeat with the remaining canola oil, butter, and 6 crab cakes.
4. To serve: Place 2 crab cakes on each plate. Spoon some mango chutney over and beside crab cakes. Top each with the cucumber and garnish with the coriander sprigs and sea salt.
