CLEAN AND GREEN Is the industry commitment to see businesses continue to prosper with sustainable fishing in some of the world’s most pristine waters. Clean Green Program Update — Certified Sustainable Wild Caught At Southern Rocklobster Limited we are constantly working to stay abreast of the most innovative scientific developments. This interest in science is not just about sustainability by preserving our generational fishing industry with careful observance of quotas and ensuring that we have something to pass to our children. State–of–the art green meat extraction on a commercial scale and packaging has been our focus for some time now and the recent release in Australia of our revolutionary CLEAN GREEN fresh and frozen green rocklobster products has rapidly found a place in the market.

Our land. Our Plan. Our Future

Rocklobster Stock Using Crushed Shell and Tomalley makes approximately 2.5L 200g onion, peeled weight, finely diced 150g carrot, peeled weight, finely chopped 100g unsalted butter 75g celery, finely diced 1kg Southern Rocklobster Limited crushed shell and tomalley 600g very ripe heritage tomato, peeled with a tomato peeler and chopped 4L cold water 10g whole white pepper 2 fresh bay leaves ½ bunch parsley ½ bunch oregano Method Sauté the onion and carrot in the butter until it is caramelised, then add the celery and cook until it is just softened. Stir through the crushed shell and tomalley and when it appears to be cooked, add the tomato. Add the water, pepper, bay leaves and herbs and set the heat to the lowest point. Allow to come to a simmer and immediately set a timer for 30 minutes. The shell and tomalley will crust at the top. When the timer goes turn off the heat and set a timer for 1 hour. Taking great care not to stir the stock, skim the crushed shell from the top and filter. click here for print friendly version

Vacuum packing and sous–vide cooking is the safest way to ensure not just maximum shelf life, but also that the product is kept in premium condition without flavour contamination. We hold leg and knuckle sashimi packs for two days and cook them whilst they are still in perfect condition, to use in salads or move them through as a gallette, usually topped with finely sliced scallops and simply served with a lime beurre blanc and some salmon caviar. We recently used the sashimi packs (on the end of the second day) as meat for a fabulous Southern Rocklobster Tom Yum, which out sold the sashimi on the menu three to one. The Tom Yum, inspired after working with chef David Thompson (Nahm, London), was made with crushed shell and tomalley and delivered absolutely brilliant flavours.
The importance of proper chilling cannot be emphasised strongly enough. Service fridge drawers should not be used to store more than what will be sold in a single night, and bulk prep should be held in the chiller/cool room where temperatures do not exceed 3°C/37.4°F and are preferably mostly maintained at about 1°C/33.8°F. When cooking at 60°C the balance is fine and each kitchen should determine their cooking time accurately as it can vary depending on the core temperature of the pack.

The Real Food Companion
Matthew Evans
Photography Alan Benson
Published by Murdock Books, H/B $80 AUD,

approx $115.95 USD on Amazon

It’s not often that we have such a great Australian cookbook to review. Evan’s cookbook The Real Food Companion is money well spent. A gorgeous publication superbly embellished with the stunning photography of Alan Benson, The Real Food Companion is a book to treasure for its reality check. This book is a reminder of what food and cooking is really about. Evans might live an idyllic lifestyle in a unique area, the Huon Valley in Tasmania, and sure his lifestyle is something that we city slickers cannot accurately recreate, but what it does do is drive cooks and chefs to good city and nearby farmers’ markets. Great chefs have always had a close association with the people who grow the food they cook. They want to know how it is grown, how it is killed and how long it takes from the time it is ’wild caught’ till it lands at their kitchen door. This book is a proper reminder of the fundamental principles of good food production that ultimately equates on the restaurant and domestic plate. Know your growers and producers, be prepared to put your money on the table to buy decent food grown naturally without chemicals, and if even then you don’t get it, go buy hydroponic dill at your nearest supermarket and then go buy the same at your local organic store. The supermarket purchase will be eight bucks wasted, but not really because you will be utterly convinced as to why the extra 50 cents at your local organic is worth it.

main course serves 4, entrée 6

300g Southern Rocklobster leg and knuckle meat, or for individual serves divided into 4 x 75g portions
sea salt
white pepper, freshly ground
50g mild flavoured EV olive oil without residual bitterness or pungency

100g black lentils, soaked for 2 hours in cold water, drained, rinsed and cooked in 300g seasoned Rocklobster stock until just tender

other ingredients
50g shallot, peeled weight, mixed with 25g strained fresh lemon juice
100g shallots, peeled weight, finely sliced and crisped in clean corn oil
sea salt
white pepper, freshly ground
12 slices of flat fatty pancetta, crisped in a slow oven
60g blanched and peeled pistachios, roughly chopped
20g citron, diced
chervil sprigs

Method
pre heat sous–vide bath to 60°C/140°F
Wearing food service gloves, season the leg and knuckle meat and put it into a vac bag or individually pack the portions. Add the oil vac and seal. straight from fridge — 6 minutes; killed, prepared and cooked — 5 minutes. Rest for 10 minutes to allow to moisture to be reabsorbed, then rapidly chill in ice.

to serve
Roll the lentils in the shallot and lemon juice and season if required. Assemble the salad, finishing it with the pancetta, diced citron, pistachios and chervil sprigs and a tiny drizzle of your favourite EV olive oil or Rocklobster oil.