The penultimate episode of Food Rescue Kitchen was such a treat (and not just because of the dessert) ! If you missed it, head on over to ThreeNow and Stream Free. We'll be sharing behind the scenes shots and recipes from the episode below.

In this episode, host Naomi is visiting NZFN Food Hub South Auckland Christian Foodbank. Naomi chats with Ian Foster while collecting select ingredients for beloved Chef Peter Gordon to prepare for guests at Papatūānuku Kōkiri marae. South Auckland Christian Foodbank offer a variety of programs to the South Auckland community including food rescue and food assistance,as well as providing and or facilitating budget advice. Check them out: https://www.sacfb.org.nz/

Check out the recipes below and some tips to rescue food at home.

Recipes

Starter

Serves 6-8

CORN RIBS WITH APRICOT CHILLI BUTTER & PICKLES

Ingredients
Apricot Chilli Butter
6 – 8 ripe apricots, halved, stone removed
2 Tablespoons sugar (any sugar)
1/8 teaspoon chilli flakes
1 lemon, zested and juiced
¼ teaspoon paprika or cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons flaky salt (or 1 teaspoon fine salt)
200g butter, at room temperature, diced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (we used sunflower oil – olive, canola or rice bran oils would also work)

Pickled Turnip / Daikon
1 turnip or round daikon the size of a tennis ball (or use a large carrot, a deseeded cucumber or 2 small - medium zucchini)
1 teaspoon flaky salt – or ½ teaspoon fine salt
40g white sugar (the whiter the less colour it will add to the pickles, but any sugar will work here)
75ml hot (not boiling) water
150 ml white / cider vinegar
½ teaspoon black peppercorns – or use ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
6 – 8 corn cobs, husks removed
2-3 radishes, very thinly sliced

Method
Oven 180*C.
Line a baking dish with baking parchment (to make it easier to clean). Lay the apricots cut side facing up in the dish. Mix the sugar, chilli flakes and lemon zest together and sprinkle over the apricots.
Drizzle over the lemon juice. Roast till there’s some golden colour on at least ¾ of the fruit. Take from the oven and cool for five minutes then place in a food processor.
Add the paprika, cumin and salt and puree smooth. Add half the butter and blitz till smooth, then add the rest of the butter and oil and puree smooth, scraping down the side of the machine twice.
Taste for seasoning and add more salt or paprika if needed. You need to serve this at room temperature as it will become quite firm if left in the fridge.

Peel the turnip / daikon and julienne it - cut into matchstick shapes. Toss with the salt and place in a jar just large enough to hold it all.
Dissolve the sugar in the hot water, then mix in the vinegar and black peppercorns and leave to cool five minutes. Pour the pickle over the turnip, seal with a lid, give a gentle shake and leave to pickle in a cool place for at least 18 hours. If you’re going to keep them longer, keep covered in the fridge.
Boil (in salty water) or steam the corn 3-5 minutes until the kernels taste cooked (pull one off and taste it) with no starchy taste. Leave to cool.
You can grill or roast them whole, but I cut mine lengthways into ribs – which can be tricky and a little dangerous.
(Best to watch a You-Tube channel to see the technique or look at my Insta and FB posts from 2 February 2023)
Brush the kernels with a little oil and either grill or BBQ until the kernels become golden brown. Sprinkle with a little salt while hot.
To serve, lay your corn on a plate, tuck in some pickles and sliced radish, then dollop the apricot chilli butter on the hot corn.

Main

FISH HEAD CHOWDER

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
3kg fish heads and frames (heads take about twice as long to cook as frames)
2 – 3 litres water – enough to cover the fish
2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
2 Tablespoons grated or chopped ginger
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 large carrot, peeled, then sliced, diced or coarsely grated
2 sticks celery, thinly sliced
2 cups rice
12 kawakawa leaves, washed and patted dry, shredded 5mm thick (or replace with 2 tsp thyme or oregano leaves)
2 x 400ml cans coconut milk
300g silverbeet, shredded 3-5mm thick
Lemon juice to taste
1 cucumber, peeled, deseeded and cut into 1cm dice or thereabouts

Method
Boil the fish heads and frames in the water until the flesh is cooked – around 8 minutes for frames and 15-20 minutes for heads - so if you have a mix cook them separately.
Remove from the pot and strain the liquid – you’ll use this as the stock to make the soup from. Once the meat is cool enough to handle, pick the flesh from the bones and put to one side making sure no scales end up in the mix.
Sauté the onions, garlic and ginger in the oil till slightly caramelised

Add the carrot and celery and cook a few minutes to soften the veggies
Add the rice and kawakawa and cook a few minutes, stirring as it warms up
Add 2 litres of the reserved fish stock and the coconut milk and bring to the boil
Cook until the rice is almost fully cooked, then add the silverbeet and cook another few minutes
Taste the soup and adjust as needed – adding salt, freshly ground black pepper or lemon juice to taste
Ladle the soup into your warmed bowls, scatter on the fish flesh and then the cucumber.

Dessert

BAKERY & BUTTER PUDDING

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
50 - 80g butter at room temperature
500 – 700g mixed bakery, sliced 2cm thick (more layers help to give a good texture)
8 eggs
½ cup sugar (any colour), honey or golden syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla essence (or better still – use vanilla extract or paste for a more pure taste)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1.5 litres milk
An extra ½ cup sugar for the top of the pudding

Method
Oven 180*C.
Butter a deep-sided roasting dish (30 x 20 - 30cm) or tart tin (30cm diameter) using a pastry brush or use your fingers
Lay the bakery in – two or more layers is best, make sure the layers aren’t sitting perfectly on top of each other – you want to milky mixture to flow between the layers
Beat the eggs and sugar till foamy, about 30 seconds, then beat in the vanilla, cinnamon and ginger for 20 seconds
Slowly whisk in half the milk and once emulsified gently whisk in the rest
Pour over the bakery, and gently press it down to help the bakery absorb the liquid
Sprinkle with the extra sugar and rest for 20 minutes. Push the bakery into the milky mixture one last time
Bake 30 – 40 minutes in the middle of the oven until the top is crusty and the pudding is cooked in the middle – insert a skewer or small sharp knife – there shouldn’t be any wet uncooked mixture
Take from the oven and leave to rest for at least 10 minutes before serving

TIPS

Flavoured Butter

The apricot butter came about because there were enough perfectly ripe apricots for dessert and we’d have some left over, hence making the butter for the starter. Any stone fruit would work just as well. Apart from the pickles – we also served this with thinly sliced radishes for a peppery boost!

Fish heads

We were lucky to have Kingfish heads and snapper heads and frames (skeletons) to play with – and thankfully the gills had been taken out. The gills can sometimes add a bitterness – it’s the blood that does that. But honestly, just use what you have at hand. Avoid oily fish heads and frames unless they’ve been caught the same day as they can sometimes be way too ‘fishy’ in flavour. Whatever you have to play with, remember that bones and scales are not what you want in your meal – so spend a little time making sure the finished dish has none of those.

Bakery Pudding

Use up old bread or cakes to make a bread & butter pudding. What you use as your base will depend on what you have to use up. We had Hot Cross buns, pink iced cupcakes, chocolate biscuits, and some sweetened brioche. So long as nothing is too savoury (ie bacon and egg pie, spinach tart etc) most things should work well. And if nothing is sweet (ie you’re using sandwich bread or unsweetened brioche or plain croissants) then you’ll need to add extra sweetening to make it more like a dessert. Some dried fruit or chocolate is always good too! Serve with fresh or roast fruit (similar to the apricots used in the starter) and lightly whipped or runny cream or ice cream.

Reviving fruit

Use up old fruit by roasting. Sprinkle with sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice and roast in the oven until slightly browned. This will last a week in the fridge.

Pickled vegetables

Any vegetable that may be going off in your fridge can be pickled e.g. cauliflower, carrots, radishes etc.
Slice and dice the vegetables.
3 parts vinegar, 2 parts water and 1 part sugar. Mix together.
Sprinkle over the vegetables salt, garlic cloves and peppercorns for flavour. Pour vinegar mix over the vegetables, cover and leave for an hour.