About
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Masterchef - Pierre Khodja |
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There's an air of excitement at Canvas restaurant in Hawthorn. It's as though the place has been on cruise control but all of a sudden the turbocharge has kicked in. And all because chef Pierre Khodja has decided to focus on his native North African cuisine. "It's what I've always wanted to do," says Khodja, who was born in Algeria before moving to Marseilles, France, when he was 7. "It's my background and my passion. And now I'm confident our customers are ready for it." Khodja came to Canvas from the Albert Street Restaurant in Mornington; before that he'd been working in London with some of the best French chefs in Europe. He'd been preparing high-quality French-Mediterranean food with a Moroccan twist at the Hawthorn restaurant since it opened two years ago. But after numerous requests for more Moroccan he decided to orient the menu exclusively towards North African and Moroccan cuisine. Plenty of herbs and lemon feature alongside spices such as cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. Butter and cream don't get a look in. And the crowds love it. "It's very simple food but with a lot of clean, fresh flavour," he says. -- DAVID SUTHERLAND Pierre's snapper tagine with potatoes and chermoula This dish is traditionally cooked in a tagine but any ceramic or terracotta baking dish will work as well. INGREDIENTS For the chermoula: 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped 1/2 tsp sea salt 3 tbsp parsley, roughly chopped 3 tbsp coriander, roughly chopped 2 tsp paprika 2 tsp cumin, ground ? tbsp harissa* or chilli paste 1 tbsp lemon juice 3 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp water For the tagine: 500g whole snapper 500g potato, peeled and sliced 300g ripe tomatoes, sliced and marinated in chermoula (above) 1 green capsicum, cut into strips 2 tbsp tomato paste 200ml water 1/2 tsp sea salt black pepper to taste 1/2 tsp castor sugar 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp parsley, chopped 1 tbsp coriander, chopped 1 tbsp lemon juice METHOD For the chermoula: Pound garlic in a mortar and pestle with the sea salt to form a paste, then add all other ingredients, and pound together until combined into a paste. For the tagine: Preheat oven to 200C. Remove tomatoes from chermoula marinade and rub chermoula paste into both sides of the fish and marinate for 30 minutes. Oil the tagine, then lay the potatoes on the base and place the marinated fish on top. Spread marinated tomatoes and the capsicum strips over the fish, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix tomato paste with water, sea salt, black pepper, sugar and olive oil and pour over the fish. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and coriander, cover tagine with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove foil and rest for five minutes. Just before serving add lemon juice and serve with green salad. Serves 4 * Harissa paste is available at most good providores. |
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DEC 09 |
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Canvas awarded a Hat in the 2010 Age Good Food Guide |
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On August 30 the state's best restaurateurs gathered to celebrate the launch of the 30th anniversary edition of The Age Good Food Guide and to hear who had been awarded the guide's coveted chefs hats.
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