Five Wellington chefs used donated food to create a gourmet three-course meal at this year's Everybody Eats Cook-Off.
Tak Tanaka is a chef at Wellington restaurant Field & Green.
He's excited about this challenge because he thrives on competition.
"If there is competition involved, I will definitely be like 'oh yeah, alright. Let's go. Let's do it."
For Tak, the trickiest aspect of cooking a gourmet meal for a crowd in this situation - and also the most fun part - is not knowing in advance what ingredients he'll be given.
He's happy to provide a delicious meal for an eclectic Wellington crowd.
"Everyone has different problems nowadays. It's not like everyone can afford to spend hundreds of dollars per night. But Everybody Eats means everybody eats regardless of what their circumstances are. It's almost a family meal thing. That, to me, is Everybody Eats."
The Everybody Eats Cook-Off was held at Wellington's LTD. event space as part of the 2022 Visa Wellington On a Plate festival.
Three nights a week, Everybody Eats serves up a cooked meal for a koha donation in Wellington and Onehunga.
Tak served...
Entree: Cauliflower Soup
Main: Braised Lamb or Roast Carrots in Spiced Maple with Fresh Gnocchi and Sauteed Cabbage (the recipe is here)
Dessert: Meringue Roulade with Whipped Dulce de Leche, Hokey Pokey and Cherry Syrup
Ingredients
Braised lamb ragout
- 1 leg of lamb
- 2 brown onions, diced
- 2 carrots diced
- 1/4 bunch celery diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup rosemary
- 1/4 bunch thyme
- 100g tomato paste
- 500g tomato puree
- 250ml red wine
- 2lt beef stock
Potato gnocchi
- 500g mashed potatoes
- 125g of flour
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 50g parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
Method
Braised lamb ragout
Pre-heat oven to 180° fan-bake
Season the lamb well with salt and pepper
Sear the lamb in the large frying pan until it has a nice golden colour
Put the lamb into a deep baking dish preferably deep enough so the lamb can be submerged under the sauce
In the same pan, add onions, carrots, celery, garlic, herbs and tomato paste
Cook them until vegetables have a nice brown colour
Add red wine into the mix, and scrape the bottom of the pan with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to deglaze the pan
Add tomato purée and beef stock into the mix, and cook for 5 - 8mins
Add the mix into a baking dish with lamb, making sure to leave some room in the dish so the ragout won't overflow during braising
Place baking paper on top of the ragout then cover the top with aluminium foil
Poke a couple of holes in it to help release some of the steam
Place in the preheated oven and let them cook for 90 -120mins
While the lamb is cooking begin preparing the potato gnocchi
Potato gnocchi
Make roughly 500g of finely mashed potatoes
Season them well
Let it cool down for a bit
While the mash is still warm, add flour, eggs and cheese
Knead the dough until there are no lumps of flour and the eggs and cheese are fully incorporated into the dough
Once the dough is made, put a large pot of water with a generous amount of salt on the stove and begin to boil
Lightly dust the kitchen bench with flour
Divide the dough into workable sizes - roughly 5 small pieces
Take 1 portion of dough and cover the rest of the dough with a towel so it won't go dry
Gently roll the dough into a rope about 3/4 inch in diameter
Gently dust them with flour then cut them into 3/4-inch cubes
Line a tray with baking paper and place gnocchi on the tray - make sure you dust them with generous amounts of flour and don't place them too close to each other otherwise they will stick to each other repeat the process with the rest of the dough
When water is at a rolling boil, gently drop the gnocchi into water half of the tray at a time - not all at once
When the gnocchi float to the top of the pot, scoop them out onto a lightly oiled tray
Repeat with the rest.
Once gnocchi has cool down enough make sure to toss them around and lightly cover them with oil to prevent sticking
Go back to your ragout
If the meat is falling off from the bone, take it out from the oven and let it rest for 30 - 45mins
Shred the meat off the bone with a fork and remove the bone
You can mash the vegetables up with a whisk if you want them to be more like a sauce
Season to taste.
To assemble
Heat a large pan with a drizzle of oil
Fry the gnocchi until golden and crispy
Add a generous scoop of ragout to the gnocchi
Add a small knob of butter
Once the gnocchi is well-coated in sauce, place them in a dish
Add some more cheese on top
