Minestra Di Mare - Chef Recipe by Biagio Biuso

Ingredients

Vegetables and herbs:

50mL extra virgin olive oil
1/2 white onion
750g washed white potatoes
1/4 leek
1/4 yellow capsicum
1 whole baby carrot
200g butternut pumpkin
2 cloves garlic
1 pod cardamon
1 pinch turmeric
0.5g saffron
1/2 bunch organic silver beet
Flake sea salt
White pepper


Seafood:

150g fresh salmon
4 scampi
4 scallops
12 black lip mussels
8 prawns
4 tsp Oscietra caviar


Other:

2 Tbs creme fraiche

Method

Prepare a light vegetable stock and put aside.

Roast the butternut pumpkin until it is soft, once cooled cut into cubes.

Peel potato and cut into cubes and put under cold water.

Cut yellow capsicum into small pieces and thinly slice leek, onion and carrot.

Place the saffron inside a piece of aluminium foil and toast lightly in a frypan, 20 seconds per side. Toast the cardamon pod.

Crush the cardamon after removing the shell, in a mortar and pestle and then repeat this with the saffron, until you have both in a powder form.

Mix the saffron, cardamon and turmeric together and add to the vegetable stock. Simmer at a low heat.

With a large pot, add the olive oil, garlic, carrot, white onion, yellow capsicum, cook until soft and golden. Add leek last.

Strain the potatoes and add to the pot and add the vegetable stock, scoop by scoop, in a risotto style.

When the potato is half cooked, add the roasted butternut pumpkin to the pot.

Continue this process until the potato and pumpkin are soft .

Taste for seasoning, then put into the thermomix, or use a stick blender and blend at high speed for one minute until velvety smooth.

Seafood and fish:

Clean all seafood, season to your liking and cook all seafood separately.

Boil blacklip mussels and remove the meat from the shells.

Remove scampi meat from shell and cook lightly in a frypan, do the same with the prawns.

Sear both sides of scallop in frypan on high heat, leave to rest.

Slice salmon into small pieces and cook in frypan and serve rare.

Cook silverbeet in frypan with extra virgin olive oil.

Warm the potato puree and add 2 tablespoons crème fraiche and pour onto plate; add cooked seafood and organic silver beet,
finish with a dollop of crème fraiche and Oscietra caviar and serve.

Credits: Chef Biagio Biuso

Photo Credits: Chef Biagio Biuso