Ingredients
| 500g baby new potatoes, scrubbed | |
| 1 large handful mint | |
| 500g baby carrots, turnips or radishes, trimmed and halved if larger | |
| 200g beans, trimmed | |
| 2 small fennel bulbs, quartered | |
| 150g spring onions, trimmed | |
| 3-4 small zucchini, halved or quartered lengthwise | |
| 200g asparagus, trimmed | |
| 3 tablespoons olive oil | |
| 100g capers, drained | |
| zest of 1 lemon | |
| Aoraki Pōhutukawa Hot Smoked Salmon, half or whole fillet | |
| Vutter beurre blanc, to serve (see recipe) | |
| Native Bush hollandaise, to serve (see recipe) | |
| VUTTER BEURRE BLANC makes 250 ml / preparation 5 mins / cook 10 mins | |
| 2 shallots, finely chopped | |
| 250ml white wine | |
| 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar | |
| 10 peppercorns | |
| 200g Vutter, cold, scooped out into pieces | |
| 2 tablespoons finely chopped chervil or dill | |
| lemon juice | |
| NATIVE BUSH HOLLANDAISE makes 250 ml / preparation 5 mins / cook 10 mins | |
| 120g Bellefield Native Bush Cultured Butter | |
| 80g unsalted butter | |
| 3 egg yolks | |
| 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar | |
| juice of ½ lemon |
This spring-summer mix of vegetables – served with Aoraki pōhutukawa-smoked salmon and two sauces on the side – makes a wonderful celebration main course that suits many eating choices. Plant-based eaters can choose the beurre blanc made with Vutter, a plant-based ‘butter’ with a beautiful buttery taste – though its amazing butteriness will satisfy dairy eaters, too. Vegetarians can go for the hollandaise given a New Zealand twist using Bellefield Butter’s Native Bush Cultured Butter with horopito, kawakawa and pōhutukawa smoke. Pescatarians and everyone else can add a side of Aoraki pōhutukawa-smoked salmon – with its deep, rich and very local smoky flavour, it is the perfect centrepiece for a New Zealand Christmas.
The vegetables can all be blanched the day before, cooled and kept in the fridge, then braised just before serving. Feel free to swap out vegetables for your favourites or anything fresh from the garden. You want about 1.2kg vegetables in total (150g per person), plus the potatoes. The butter sauces can be made in advance and reheated gently over simmering water, whisking a little as you heat.
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Instructions
| 1. | Put the potatoes in a pot with the mint and cover with water. |
| 2. | Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes until just tender – do not overcook. Drain, refresh with cold water and set aside. |
| 3. | Bring a large pot of water to the boil and have a large bowl of iced water ready to refresh the vegetables. |
| 4. | Blanch all the vegetables one variety at a time, going from lighter colours through to darker (carrots, turnips and radishes need about 2 minutes, beans, fennel, spring onions and zucchini about 1 minute and asparagus will take about 30 seconds). Refresh in the iced water and set aside. |
| 5. | Separate the vegetables into those that need longer cooking (potato, carrot, radishes, turnips and fennel) and those that cook more quickly (asparagus, beans, spring onions and zucchini). |
| 6. | Heat the oil in a large sauté pan or casserole dish, add the capers and sizzle for a minute. |
| 7. | Add the lemon zest, the first group of vegetables and ¼ cup water along with a good sprinkle of salt and freshly ground pepper. |
| 8. | Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover and stir, add the rest of the veges, stir through, cover and cook for 2 minutes. |
| 9. | Pile onto a serving dish and serve with smoked salmon, beurre blanc and hollandaise sauce. |
| 10. | VUTTER BEURRE BLANC |
| 11. | Place the shallots, wine, vinegar and peppercorns in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. |
| 12. | Simmer until reduced by half. |
| 13. | Strain into a bowl and place over boiling water. |
| 14. | Quickly whisk in the Vutter, one piece at a time, until incorporated. |
| 15. | Stir through the chervil or dill, season to taste with a little lemon juice, salt and pepper. |
| 16. | NATIVE BUSH HOLLANDAISE |
| 17. | Melt the butters then set aside to cool a little. |
| 18. | Whisk the egg yolks in a heatproof bowl, put over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk in the vinegar. |
| 19. | Start drizzling in the butter in a very slow stream, whisking continuously. |
| 20. | You will end with a thick mayonnaise-like sauce, and you can add a squeeze of lemon to loosen. |
Recipes & food styling Fiona Smith / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Fiona Lascelles