Chilled avocado, kumara, coconut & ginger
soup with radish by Peter Gordon

Ingredients
300 g peeled kumara (or use white-fleshed sweet potatoes)
2 thumbs of ginger, peeled and sliced against the grain
400 ml coconut milk
10-cm pandan leaf, tied into a knot, or 2 lime leaves or 1 bay leaf
2 ripe avocados
30 ml (2 Tbsp) extra virgin avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra to garnish
20–30 ml (1–2 Tbsp) lime or lemon juice (to taste) a handful of radishes, sliced

Method

Slice the kumara thinly and place in a saucepan with the ginger, coconut milk and pandan leaf. Add 1 litre water and place over a moderate heat. Bring to the boil, stirring occasionally, then put a lid on and simmer until the kumara is cooked. Take off the heat and leave to cool, or to speed things up, transfer it into a clean wide bowl and leave it to cool. Run a knife around the avocados and twist them open, then remove the stones. Using a large spoon scoop out the flesh and add this to the mixture, reserving a quarter of an avocado to be used for garnish. Add the avocado oil to the mixture then purée it using either a stick blender or a bar blender. Season with salt and freshly ground white pepper.

Put the puréed soup in the fridge and leave it to chill for at least 3 hours.

Just before serving, stir in lime juice (to taste), the soup needs a little acidity to cut through the rich flavours. Add extra salt if needed as well. Cut the reserved avocado into chunks.

Serves 4

To serve: Pour into chilled bowls, scatter with sliced radishes and the reserved avocado then drizzle on the extra avocado oil.

Scallop sashimi with watermelon & feta dressing by Peter Gordon

Ingredients
4 large scallops, with coral attached (or 6–8 smaller
scallops)
¼ small watermelon
30 ml (2 Tbsp) soy sauce
30 ml (2 Tbsp) lemon juice
50 g feta, cut into small dice
15 ml (1 Tbsp) extra virgin olive oil
cress to garnish
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Method

Clean the scallops, removing the tough muscle, which sits opposite the coral and looks like white gristle, if it’s still attached. Remove the coral and cut roughly into dice – you’ll need 1 Tablespoon worth in total. Slice each scallop into three discs of even thickness, place on kitchen paper on a chilled plate, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.

Cut the rind and any white pith from the watermelon. Cut into 12 slices or wedges, removing as many pips as you can. Don’t butcher the melon in the process though – a few pips won’t hurt anyone. Place in the fridge to chill down for 20 minutes.

Mix the soy and lemon juice together in a small bowl and add the scallop slices. Leave to marinate for just 20 seconds then remove them and drain.

To serve: Lay a slice of watermelon on each plate, lay a scallop disc on top and repeat this until you have three slices of watermelon and the scallops are used up. Scatter the feta and coral on top. Sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt, drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with the cress and place a lemon wedge on each plate. Eat immediately.

Serves 4