The best restaurants in Sydney’s east have shared recipes for their most popular dishes to get you through lockdown. So if you are craving SoCal’s fish ceviche or Esteban’s grilled prawn tacos then look no further.
Step away from the two minute noodles. If you’ve been dreaming of Bopp & Tone’s king prawns or D. O. C Pizza’s tiramisu have we got good news for you. Our favourite restaurants from the city and east have shared their recipes to kick start your lockdown cooking inspo. There are even a stack of mocktails to get your Dry July started. And if culinary misadventure strikes, we’ve got you covered with details on how you can order the real deal straight from the source.
D. O. C Pizza
Sweet goat’s cheese tiramisu with traditional savoiardi & Montenegro
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
5 eggs
500g mascarpone
100g sugar
120g goat cheese
1 x 300g Packet Savoiardi Biscuits
Freshly brewed coffee
20ml Montenegro (optional)
Cocoa powder (for dusting)
METHOD
Whipping the egg white, slowly add the sugar in until soft peaks appear and it is nice and spongy.
In another bowl, whip the egg yolk with mascarpone and goat cheese to combine.
Using a spatula, mix the white and yolk together.
Once you have the tiramisu cream, compose the dessert by adding some savoiardi biscotti previously dipped in the coffee.
Add the Montenegroto to the coffee at this stage if you desire to include.
Layer cream, soaked savoiardi, cream and repeat until you have filled your desired vessel (we use a dessert glass/cup).
To finish, add a little dusting of cocoa powder.
ORDER
Address: 78 Campbell Street, Surry Hills
Phone: 9211 1507
Bopp & Tone
Signature Australian King Prawns
By head chef Sa Va’afusuaga
Serves 5 for entree
INGREDIENTS
10 whole green prawns (U8 if possible)
2 lemons
Half bunch of oregano
30g long red chilli
30g garlic cloves (peeled)
200ml olive oil
METHOD
Keeping the shell on and using a sharp serrated knife, cut along the back of the prawns to butterfly from the head to just above the tail 3/4 of the way through.
Gently wash the heads clean then place to the side ready for the marinade.
To make the marinade, de-seed the long red chillies and roughly chop.
Add into a small blender with the peeled garlic and picked oregano leaves.
Gently pulse the blender – you do not want to over-blend the mixture into a paste otherwise it will burn before the prawns are cooked. The ingredients can also be chopped with a knife if a blender is not available.
Next, place the blended ingredients in a bowl and add the olive oil.
Add the prawns in the marinade making sure there is plenty covering the flesh side. Allow them to marinate for at least two hours.
Pre-heat BBQ or grill on the highest setting available. Season the prawns with sea salt and cracked pepper then grill flesh side down for approximately three minutes.
Flip over and grill shell side for one minute.
Slice the lemons in half and grill on the flesh side at the same time as the prawns. Squeeze over the prawns for serving.
ORDER
Bopp & Tone has closed for the duration of lockdown so show them some love when they reopen on the other side.
Address: 60 Carrington St, Wynyard Park (CBD)
Phone: 9299 9997
Web: boppandtone.com.au
SoCal
Market Fish Ceviche
Serves 2 – 4
INGREDIENTS
100g market fish – preferably Snapper
30g eschallots
25g cucumber
25g diced tomato
4g coriander
20g diced avocado
Pinch of salt
10g sweet potato chips
5g red chilli
For Tigre de leche dressing (Makes 1L)
400g celery
160g fish scraps (off cuts)
50ml fish stock
50g ginger
500ml lime juice
1 habanero chilli
20g salt
400g ice
METHOD
Blend all Tigre de leche ingredients together to bind.
Add snapper and eschollots to mixing bowl with 35g of Tigre to leche to cure the fish. Leave for 5-10 minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients minus the sweet potato chips and half the coriander.
Toss together and present in a bowl. Garnish the dish with the remaining coriander and the sweet potato chips.
ORDER
SoCal has closed for the duration of lockdown so show them some love when they reopen on the other side.
Address: 1 Young St, Neutral Bay
Phone: 9904 5691
Web: socalsydney.com.au
Esteban
Grilled Prawn Taco with pico de gallo and jalapeño mayonnaise
Makes 4-6 tacos
INGREDIENTS
12 medium to large prawns, cleaned and shells removed.
12 flour or premium quality corn tortillas
100g pickled jalapeños
2 ripe tomatoes
1 small white onion
1 small bunch of washed coriander
1 fresh lime juiced
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (reserve 1 tablespoon for the prawns)
200g of mayonnaise
METHOD
Pico de Gallo
Dice the onion and tomatoes finely. Finely chop the fresh coriander. Mix together in a bowl, add the fresh lime juice, 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Jalapeño Mayonnaise
100g of pickled jalapeños strained and chopped finely.
Mix through the mayonnaise until combined. Use less jalapeños for less spice.
Grilled Prawns
Pre-heat your grill to a medium high heat. Toss the remaining olive oil and salt and pepper to taste with the raw prawns before grilling.
Grill approximately two minutes each side, until cooked through. You can use a frying pan instead of a grill. Same heat and time applies.
Warm your tortillas in a preheated 180 degree oven for approximately 1-2 min. Until warm and soft.
To Serve:
Assemble tacos, jalapeño mayonnaise smeared onto the warm tortillas, add 2 or 3 of the cooked prawns and then spoon over the pico de gallo.
Serve with a fresh lime wedge (optional)
ORDER
During lockdown Esteban is offering 5 set menus plus shake at home cocktails delivered anywhere within 5km of the CBD.
The Taphouse
Famous Roast Beef Brisket
INGREDIENTS
For the Brisket
1 whole trip of brisket (3-4kg)
For the Gravy
Approx. 1kg of excess fat from brisket
2kg striploin steak trim
100ml of oil
1 full celery, chopped
4 garlic cloves
100g mustard seeds
100g peppercorns
4-5 bay leaves
For the Yorkshire pudding
5 Eggs
1.115kg Flour
288ml Milk
Serve with your favourite baked roast vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, and steamed broccoli.
METHOD
For the beef brisket:
Heat oven to 93°C.
Begin by cutting the excess fat off the brisket and set aside.
Season the meat with equal parts salt and pepper and massage over.
Place in oven on a resting rack. Keep the beef moist by spraying it with water.
When the internal temperature reaches 73.8°C, take out the brisket. Strain the fat trimmings and set them aside.
Wrap the brisket in butchers’ paper and put back in the oven until the internal temperature reaches 90.56°C.
Once the internal temperature is 195°F take the brisket out.
Wrap the brisket in foil making a foil tent and leave to rest for 1 hour. This will allow the moisture inside the brisket to redistribute back through the meat and relax the muscle, allowing for that tender juicy cut.
For the gravy:
For the gravy, begin by adding the excess fat you cut off the brisket at the start (should be roughly 1kg), 2kg of striploin steak trim and the oil to a pot on low heat.
Into the pot, add the chopped celery (stems and leaves), garlic cloves and vegetable cuttings. Vegetable cuttings can be anything you have around home such as herbs, and trimmings and cuts from vegetables and aromatics that you would usually throw out – skins and peels.
Sautee these ingredients until they start to stick to the bottom of the pot.
Add mustard seeds, peppercorns, and bay leaves.
Add 10 litres of cold water to the pot, bringing the mixture up to a boil then down to a simmer down for 6-8 hours.
Once done, strain out the cuttings saving the liquid.
Bring the liquid back to the stove and to a rapid boil, reducing it by half its size, this is called a demi-glace.
In a separate pot, add your fat trimmings from the cooked brisket (should be roughly 200ml) and equal amount of flour, mix well on low, cooking for roughly 5 minutes.
Slowly whisk in your demi-glace. The mixture will thicken into a perfect beef gravy.
If the gravy thickens too much, add in more stock. Make sure you don’t add too much in at once as you cannot thicken it back up.
For the Yorkshire pudding:
Mix everything together until smooth.
Let sit overnight.
Preheat oven to 180C. Put 20ml of oil in each muffin tray, then fill to brim with yorky batter.
Cook for 20 minutes or until completely browned on the outside.
Do not open oven as this will create the pudding to fall.
ORDER
The Taphouse are offering free delivery on all roasts Saturday and Sunday 1km from The Taphouse in Darlinghurst – at just $25
Address: 122 Flinders St, Darlinghurst
Phone: 8317 3061
Web: taphousedarlo.com.au
Woollahra Hotel
Land and Sea mocktail for Dry July
INGREDIENTS
50ml Coast Seadrift
25ml lemon juice
15ml simple syrup
15ml orgeat
30ml egg white
3 drops angostura bitters
METHOD
Add all ingredients to a Boston glass, add ice and shake very hard.
Strain in to an ice-filled rocks glass.
Garnish with a lemon shell twist and a couple of drops of angostura.
ORDER
Woollahra Hotel has closed for the duration of lockdown so show them some love when they reopen on the other side.
Address: 116 Queen St, Woollahra
Phone: 9327 9777
Kitchen by Mike
Pink Grapefruit & Seadrift Classic Spritz
INGREDIENTS
60ml Pink grapefruit juice
60ml Seadrift Classic non-alcoholic spirit
10ml Sugar syrup
10ml Lemon juice
Topped up with soda water
METHOD
Build in a tall glass. Garnish with a dehydrated grapefruit wheel
Watermelon & Basil Seadrift Coast Cocktail
INGREDIENTS
75ml Watermelon juice
60ml Seadrift Coast non-alcoholic spirit
10ml Sugar Syrup (50/50)
10ml Lime juice
METHOD
Combine ingredients in cocktail shaker.
Serve in a coupet glass with chilli salted rim and garnish with three drops of basil oil
ORDER
Kitchen by Mike is offering a family meal box during lockdown and looks forward to welcoming you back soon.
Address: 1/7 Bent St, CBD
Phone: 9252 5550
Web: kitchenbymike.com.au
China Diner
Golden Sunset mocktail for dry July
INGREDIENTS
30mls Seadrift Coastal
2 birds eye chillies, sliced
Fever-Tree Tonic
Ice
Angel Hair chilli
METHOD
Saffron & Chilli Syrup
Finely chop one birdseye chilli and place in a small saucepan
Add 1 pack of saffron, 250ml water, 500 grams of white sugar and simmer for 25 minutes
Strain and set aside
Cocktail
Place 30ml Seadrift Coastal and 15ml chilli and Saffron Syrup into a champagne flute and stir to combine.
Fill the flute with ice and top with Fever-Tree tonic water.
To garnish, top with sliced Birdseye chilli and Angel Hair Chilli
ORDER
China Diner are open for take away from 5pm during lockdown.
Bondi
Address: 75-79 Hall St, Bondi
Phone: 9130 2333
Web: chinadiner.com.au
Double Bay
Address: 16 Kiaora Lane
Phone: 9326 1900
Bistro Moncur
Sea spray mocktail for Dry July
INGREDIENTS
50ml Classic Seadrift
30ml Ocean spray cranberry juice
1/3 finger lime
10ml simple syrup
METHOD
Add all ingredients and shake in an ice-filled Boston and shaker.
Strain in to a chilled martini glass.
Garnish with fresh Samphire.
Drift Toddy
INGREDIENTS
50ml Coast Seadrift
20ml lemon juice
20ml Australian honey
Bouquet Garni containing cinnamon, anis, lemon and orange peel, 2 cloves
100ml hot water
METHOD
Add all ingredients to a metal coffee jug.
Steam until almost boiling.
Pour contents in to teapot diffuser and let steep for a few minutes.
Serve in a warm rocks glass with a cinnamon stick.
ORDER
Bistro Moncur is open for takeaway food and will be selling the mocktails in-house once lockdown is over.
Address: 116A Queen St, Woollahra
Phone: 9327 9713
Web: bistromoncur.com.au
