Servers 6-8
300g chicken thigh fillet skin-off
300g pork neck
2 tbs Zest Sri Lankan Spice Paste
Sliced onion
Chopped tomato
Flat bread
Tzatziki home-made or store bought
Cut meats into strips and marinate separately in 1 tbs of Sri Lankan Spice Paste. Thread onto skewers and refrigerate for an hour.
Turn on the BBQ and when ready, BBQ the skewers.
Grill the flat bread on the BBQ and fill with ingredients of your choice.
East Meets West
Created by: Zest Byron Bay
Serves 4
4 free-range chicken breasts
175g Zest Kerala Blend
1 cup Japanese (panko) breadcrumbs
4 tbs sunflower/peanut Oil
4 crusty bread rolls
Coleslaw
1 cup finely shredded red cabbage
½ cup finely shredded white cabbage
½ cup finely shredded carrot
¼ cup flat-leafed parsley
2-3 tbs whole egg mayonnaise
½ lemon juiced
Salt and Pepper
To “butterfly” chicken: place breast on cutting board. With one hand lying flat on top of it and using a sharp knife in the other, slice to cut from the long side almost all of the way through, leaving a ‘hinge’. Open like a book and press down flat. Hammer with a meat mallet if you want a thinner schnitzel. Repeat with other 3 breasts.
In a bowl, marinate the chicken in Kerala Blend for at least 2 hours, covered, in the fridge.
Once marinated, put breadcrumbs into a large bowl. Drain excess marinade from each breast and then push well into breadcrumbs, turning to coat evenly.
Put on a plate in the fridge for 30 minutes for the crumb to set.
In a large frying pan, heat the oil to about 170°C and fry the schnitzels for about 5-8 minutes on each side or until golden and the chicken is cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper.
For Coleslaw: mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl and season to your liking.
Warm rolls if you like, cut open and fill with crispy schnitzel and crunchy coleslaw.
East Meets West
Created by: Zest Byron Bay
Serves 6
1-2 Racks of Pork Ribs (16-20 Ribs)
175g Zest Massaman Blend
1 heaped tbs crunchy natural peanut butter
1 cup chicken/veg stock
Oil for basting
Wash and pat dry the ribs. Remove the thin membrane on the underside. To do this, slip a knife between the membrane and bones, hold it with a paper towel and pull away.
In a large, deep tray, marinate the ribs in Massaman Blend for at least 4 hours (overnight is best).
Heat oven to 160°C, cover tray tightly with foil and roast in the oven for 2 hours or until fork-tender. Cool.
Once cooked, drain juices into a small pot and add peanut butter and stock. Stir well and simmer until sauce thickens to form a paste.
Heat BBQ to medium, then cook ribs for 20 minutes, turning and basting with oil every 5 minutes.
Once the ribs have good markings from the BBQ, spread the paste well over and cut between the bones. Serve.
East Meets West
Created by: Zest Byron Bay
Serves 6-8
500g cauliflower cut into florets
2 tbs Zest Indian Spice Paste
1 cup mint finely chopped
1 cup coriander finely chopped
½ cup raisins
½ cup toasted pinenuts
½ cup toasted flaked almonds
¼ cup orange juice
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Heat oven to 200°C.
Pulse cauliflower in food processor until rice sized.
Toss cauliflower with Zest Indian Spice Paste until coated then spread out in a thin layer across a lined baking sheet.
Bake in oven for 12 minutes, turning half way through.
Once cooled, add other ingredients, season and serve on it’s own or as an accompaniment.
East Meets West
Created by: Zest Byron Bay
Serves 4-6
1.5kg Lamb Rib racks
110g Zest Nepalese Spice Paste
2 tsp oil
Eggplant Cloud
2 medium eggplants
2 cloves garlic
2 tbs Zest Nepalese Spice Paste
1 tbs sesame seeds toasted
2 tbs natural yoghurt
Blend Zest spice paste and oil, then marinate lamb in a baking tray for a couple of hours in fridge.
Roast at 165°C, uncovered, until the meat is very tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. (The lamb can be finished on a BBQ if you want more colour.)
During this roasting phase, char the eggplants on all sides over a gas burner, turning for about 15 minutes.
Then transfer the eggplant, whole garlic and spice paste to a baking tray and put in the oven for 30 minutes until soft. Take out and cool.
Peel garlic and remove blackened skin from eggplant. Blend with sesame and yoghurt until smooth. Season if necessary.
Serve with lamb and Greek-style salad.
East Meets West
Created by: Zest Byron Bay
Serves 6-8
Pob’s Mole
175g Zest Butter Chicken
1 tbs macadamia oil
½ cup raw unsalted cashews
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ cup pepitas, toasted
½ cup raisins
50g 90% dark chocolate, melted in bowl over water
1 tomato
3 cloves garlic
4 chicken ‘Marylands’
Sesame seeds
Heat macadamia oil in small pan and colour the cashews.
Soak raisins in enough boiling water to cover.
Scorch tomato on an open flame and take out core.
Roast garlic in foil in the oven until soft.
Take all Mole ingredients and blend until very smooth.
Push through a strainer and cook slowly in a heavy based pot for a further 10 minutes.
Roast seasoned Chicken Marylands in the oven at 175°C for 25-30 minutes or until cooked.
Spoon over the Mole and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Serve with a “dirty” rice (eg, add finely chopped coriander and black sesame seeds) and corn tortillas.
East Meets West
Created by: Zest Byron Bay
Serves 6-8
1kg beef brisket
1 tbs oil
175g Zest Butter Chicken
1 brown onion sliced
1 stick cinnamon
1 cup veg/chicken/beef stock
Sides
8 corn tortillas (we love Doña Cholita brand)
Shredded lettuce
2 corn on cob
2 shallots, sliced
3 tbs sour cream
8 drops Tabasco
1 tsp chopped chives
2 avocados
1 Lebanese cucumber, deseeded and chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 tbs chopped coriander
Grated cheese (Ricotta Salata)
Pickled jalapeños
Turn on oven to 160°C.
In a heavy based pot with a tight fitting lid, seal the brisket in hot oil.
Mix other ingredients and pour over brisket. Cover with lid and braise in the oven for 3 hours or until very tender, turning every 30 minutes.
Chargrill corn until black spots appear. Slice off kernels. Mix with shallots and a splash of lime juice.
Mix sour cream with shallots and Tabasco.
Fork avocado, cucumber, coriander, lime juice and pinch of salt until combined but not too smooth.
Chargrill tortillas until marked and keep warm in a dry tea towel.
Serve tortillas with accompaniments and let everyone create their own combos.
East Meets West
Created by: Zest Byron Bay
Serves 4
400g lamb mince
3 tbs Zest Moroccan Spice Paste
1 tbs olive oil
1 onion finely crushed
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tbs chopped parsley
1 tbs tomato paste
1 tin whole plum tomatoes
plain flour for dusting meatballs
300-400g spaghetti
grated Parmesan for serving
In a heavy based pan, sauté onion and garlic in oil until soft. Put one half in a bowl and keep the other half in the pan.
To this, add mince, 2 tbs Spice Paste, parsley and mix. Shape into 50g balls and refrigerate.
Into the pan with the onion/garlic mix, add tomato paste, 1 tbs Spice Paste and fry off for 1 minute. Then add tinned tomatoes and crush with your hand as they go in. Season and simmer sauce for 10 minutes.
Dust a little flour over the meatballs and then in a frying pan, seal off until brown. Once this is done, put the meatballs in the tomato sauce and simmer gently for another 10 minutes.
Cook spaghetti and serve topped with sauce and Parmesan.
East Meets West
Created by: Zest Byron Bay
Serves 4 (start the cure a day ahead)
4 duck ‘Marylands’
175g Zest Rendang Blend
300g coconut oil
100ml coconut milk
½ tbs palm sugar
½ tbs fish sauce
Wash and pat-dry duck. In a dish pour Rendang Blend over duck and massage. Lay the duck out flat, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
After 24 hours, scrape all the Rendang Blend off the duck and reserve with juices collected from the cure.
Heat oven to 105°C.
Pat dry the duck and arrange in a snug, single layer in a shallow oven dish. Heat coconut oil until it’s just liquid and pour over duck making sure it’s submerged.
Cook for 1½-2 hours (until meat comes away easily) then remove and rest for 10 minutes until oil cools.
You can store duck in the oil for 3-5 days or if using straight away pour off oil and reserve for other uses.
Heat a heavy based fry pan to medium and put the duck skin side down to crispen. ‘Finish off’ for 7-10mins in the oven at 180°C.
Whilst duck is in the oven, put reserved Rendang Blend, juices, coconut milk, palm sugar and fish sauce into a pot and reduce to desired thickness.
Serve with sauce and a simple red cabbage/apple salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.
East Meets West
Created by: Zest Byron Bay
Makes 15 small Croquettes
1 kg floury potatoes
1 smoked trout prepared
2 tbs Zest Sri Lankan Spice Paste
Handful chopped parsley
2 egg yolks
For Crumbing
Plain flour
Breadcrumbs or “Panko”
1 egg mixed with 1 tbs milk
Oil for frying
Bake potatoes in their skins at 160°C for about an hour or until soft and then cool.
Spoon potato out of skins into a bowl and add all other ingredients. Mix lightly to combine and then shape into croquettes. Set them in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
For crumbing, put each ingredient into separate bowls. Take croquettes and firstly coat lightly with flour, then egg wash, then breadcrumbs.
Bring oil for frying to 170°C and cook croquettes in batches until crisp and golden. Drain on paper.
Serve with paprika mayo and lettuce for a light lunch or great as canapés.
East Meets West
Created by: Zest Byron Bay
