Goodwin chefs take on Nestle challenge

Proud Goodwin chefs Sandeep Vaid (General Manager Catering Services) and Gehan Wadigasinghe (Head Chef) are the only aged care chefs from ACT to participate in Nestle’s Chefs@Home Challenge.

Open to all chefs for a cash prize, the challenge provided Sandeep and Gehan with mystery boxes containing a selection of Nestle products. They were required to create three recipes each using any one product from the box as the basis of a creation, film the recipes and share them on social media.

“My favourite ingredient in the box was dark chocolate that I used for my chocolate brownie with raspberry coulis and vanilla bean ice cream”, said Gehan.

For Sandeep, who won the mystery box challenge at Maggie Beer’s aged care masterclass last year and was referred by an industry colleague to the Nestle challenge, it was all about enjoying the ingredients.

“I don’t like calling it a mystery box. To me, it’s a box full of surprises that I can use to make wonderful dishes.”

Sandeep and Gehan’s signature creations

1. Nestle chocolate tartlets

Ingredients

• Nestle dark chocolate 150 gms
• Butter 50gms
• Cream 50ml
• Strawberries 4 each
• Tartlets 4 each
• Macadamia nut crumbs 2 tbsp

Method

• Combine chocolate, butter and cream in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water
• Stir with a metal spoon until smooth. Remove bowl from heat and set aside till it thicken stirring occasionally
• Once cool pour in tart and let it sit for few mins
• Arrange compressed strawberries in a fan shapes and sprinkle with macadamia crumbs

2. Maggi Salsa Tartlets

Ingredients

• Tortilla 1
• Avocado diced 1 each
• Spanish onion finely diced 1 each
• Fresh coriander chopped 3 tbsp
• Red and green capsicum finely diced 50gms
• Maggi salsa Roja 100 gms
• Whipped ricotta 65 gms
• Olive oil 30ml
• Lemon juice 2 tbsp
• Micro herbs as garnish
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Cut the tortilla in small discs with a cookie cutter
• Place the disc in a muffin tray and bake at 160 degrees for 5 min or until nice and crisp
• Take the tartlets out and cool them down on wire rack
• Add all the chopped ingredients and add to the Maggi salsa Roja add lemon juice
• Adjust seasoning and add olive oil
• Fill the tartlets with salsa and top up with ricotta and garnish with micro herbs

3. Grilled salmon with Maggi laksa broth

Ingredients

• Tasmanian Salmon fillet 180 gms
• Maggi Laksa paste 75 gms
• Maggi coconut milk powder 100ml
• Veg stock 50ml
• Lemon 1 each
• Green asparagus 5 spears peeled
• Zucchini ribbons 3 each
• Carrots ribbons 3 each

Method

To make laksa broth

• Put Maggi laksa paste in a pan
• Add veg stock and coconut milk with the Maggi laksa paste and cook it till it becomes a nice rice broth
• Adjust the seasoning and squeeze lemon juice

Salmon

• In a pan heat some olive oil, once heated put the salmon fillet skin side down
• Cook for 3 min until skin crisp up
• Turn the fish and cook for another 2 min for medium rare
• Once all components are ready plate up the fish with veg accompaniments and drizzle the Maggi laksa broth

4. Nestle Panna cotta with watermelon consommé

Ingredients

• Nestle panna cotta mix
• Fresh milk
• Fresh cream
• 1 pod vanilla beans
• Watermelon 100gms
• Basil few leaves
• Olive oil 1 cup
• Dariole moulds
• Canola spray

Watermelon consommé

• ½ cup water
• 1oogms watermelon pureed and passed through a sieve
• ½ cup sugar
• Half lemon grass
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Method

• Heat water, sugar, lime juice in pot until it boils. Slightly cool mixture and then add cups watermelon juice. Strain and chill until ready to serve.
• Add basil and olive oil and blend together and pass through a sieve
• Bring milk and cream to boil
• Add Nestle Docello panna cotta mix and stir well
• Scrape the vanilla bean pod and add to the mixture
• Pour in the greased dariole moulds and set in fridge for few hours
• Demould the panna cotta in a round plate add chilled watermelon consommé and garnish with basil oil

5. Nestle dark chocolate brownie

Ingredients

• 100gms unsalted butter,
• chopped 125g nestle plaistowe dark chocolate,
• 2 eggs, lightly whisked
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup plain flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch of salt
• Kit Kat for chocolate crumb

Method

• Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Grease a rectangle tray lined with baking paper
• Place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water).
• Stir with a metal spoon until melted. Remove from heat.
• Quickly stir in egg, sugar, flour, vanilla and salt until just combined.
• Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Set aside to cool completely.
• Cut in rectangle shape and plate up with berry compote and quenelle cream and Kit Kat crumbs

6. Chilli mussels

Ingredients

• NZ half shell mussels 200gms
• Julienne Green bell pepper 50gm
• Julienne Red bell pepper 50gms
• Julienne Red onion 40gms
• Julienne Carrot 50gms
• Maggi fiery hot sauce 75 ml
• Basil few leaves
• Coriander few leaves
• Lemon 1 each

Method

• Heat a heavy based pan until smokey
• Add all the prepared veg and sauté for few minutes leaving them crunchy
• Add mussels and Maggi hot sauce and cook on high heat for 5 min
• Once all mussels have been coated with the sauce, add the herbs and squeeze some lemon juice
• Plate the dish up and garnish with some coriander and fresh basil leaves