Corner Inlet Calamari, Celeriac, Kohlrabi and Toasted Yeast - Chef Recipe by Daniel Snooks

Ingredients

1 whole calamari
2 whole celeriac
1 whole kohlrabi
1 L cream
500 g butter
4 shallots
500mL chicken stock
500mL white wine
10 g toasted yeast

Method

For the calamari – clean and score the body of the calamari, so that you can lay it flat on a BBQ or hibachi. Keep the tentacles and blanch them in salted water for about a minute and refresh.

For the celeriac puree:

Peel and dice one celeriac and cook it with 500mL cream, and 250 g of the butter. Simmer gently until the celeriac is soft. Strain the celeriac from the liquid, and blend on high speed, adding more of the cream back to the blender, until you have a smooth puree.

Season with salt and set aside.

For the charred celeriac:

Pierce the celeriac all over with a knife and steam it on high for about 45 minutes, or until soft. Check that it is soft in the middle with a knife. Once cool enough to handle, use a knife to peel the skin, and slice into 4 cm slices.

For the pickled kohlrabi:

Peel and slice the kohlrabi thinly on a mandolin. Mix with 50 g of salt and 50 g of sugar and leave to soften. When soft, cover with 200mL of white wine vinegar and 100mL water.

For the toasted yeast sauce:

Slice the 4 shallots and gently cook on low heat until softened. Add the white wine, and reduce until almost gone. Add the chicken stock and reduce until almost gone. Add the remaining 500mL of cream and cook gently for about 10 minutes, until the cream has started to thicken.

Strain the shallots from the cream and add the toasted yeast to the cream. Using a stick blender, mix the toasted yeast with the cream. Season with lemon juice and salt.

To toast yeast:

Place some fresh yeast on a tray, and roast in a 200 C oven for about 30 minutes, or until the yeast breaks down and becomes crumbly.

To serve:

Season and oil the calamari, and cook for about 1–2 minutes on the BBQ. Slice into chunks and season with lemon and salt. Place a spoon of the celeriac puree in the middle of the plate and scatter the calamari around.

In a pan, add some butter and cook the sliced celeriac, until it is caramelised and nutty. Cut the celeriac into chunks and place it around the calamari. Dress the plate with the toasted yeast sauce (you only need about 50mL) and pickled kohlrabi. Finish the dish with some burnt butter.

Recipe provided by Oakridge Restaurant