Date: Monday 18th April 2016

When your reputation’s on the line, in one of the hottest spots in the twin towns, near enough is never going to be good enough. Just ask chef Michael Giarrusso.

Junction’s head Chef Michael Giarrusso brings fire into the kitchen. Maybe it’s because of the experience he has under the toque blanche. Plus his obvious passion for food – after all, he loves it so much he made it his career. Then there’s that unrelenting focus in his eyes, underwriting his absolute determination that whatever leaves his kitchen leaves customers wanting to lick their plates.

Whatever he is doing you have to agree, he’s doing it right. According to Michael the thing he loves most about it all is sharing it with the people he loves most. having made the move to Echuca-Moama, Michael said his cooking approach for the local palate was to use the best and freshest ingredients, seamlessly blending it with other flavours to enhance – but never alter- the taste.

“I like to keeps things fairly simple,” he said. “I love the ritual of sharing food with friends and family so this comes out in my menus a lot.”

This is Michael’s oven-baked snapper with pickled fennel salad and lettuce gazpacho recipe.

You can thank us later.

Snapper

Ingredients:
200g piece red snapper fillet
Good olive oil
Salt to taste

Method:
Pre heat your oven to 200c
Olive oil and season your fish well
Using a good non-stick pan place on stove burner on high
Drizzle in a little extra olive oil and place the snapper in skin side down after a minute or so place your pan into your pre heated oven and cook for 6-8 minutes
When the fish is ready I like to add a knob or two of butter, turn it over and baste I find this gives it a nutty rich flavour

Lettuce gazpacho

Ingredients:
200g green capsicum (deseeded)
1 green chilli (deseeded)
3 shallots (peeled)
175g fennel (shaved)
200g cos lettuce
1/2 bunch parsley
400g mayo
50ml white balsamic
1 cloves garlic
Salt to taste

Method:
Process all ingredients apart from mayo and pass through a fine strainer
Whisk through mayo and chill

Pickled fennel salad

Ingredients:
200g baby fennel shaved
½ bunch of dill chopped
¼ bunch parsley chopped
Popcorn shoots
Snow pea tendrils
Squid ink
50ml white balsamic
50ml good olive oil

Ingredients:
Salt to taste
Mix fennel, herbs and dress with olive oil and balsamic
Using a pastry brush spread a small amount of squid ink on the plate then place pickled fennel over the top. Finally garnish with popcorn shoots and snow pea tendrils
Add the snapper and drizzle over the lettuce gazpacho.