By the virtue of being an Australian, Chef Michael Weldon has been exposed to a varied range of cuisines from a very young range. "Since people have settled in this continent from different parts of the world, they have brought their own style of cooking culture, which has led to an appreciation of all kinds of palate among the Australians. We are extremely open to new cuisines and love experimenting with our food. You will find all kinds of spices on my kitchen shelves, ranging from cumin seed to soy sauce and fish sauce is one of my favourite sauces," Weldon shares.
Weldon's cooking skills have further evolved and gained momentum in 2011 when he participated in Master Chef Australia. Following that, Chef Weldon worked as the executive chef for the Little Miss Group at its venues, The Crab Shack, Little Miss Miami and Little Miss Mexico before he appeared in two seasons of The Cooks Pantry Cooking in 2017. Michael also co-hosts Farm to Fork, a show for Channel 10 which explores the journey of food from the farm to the kitchens.
The congenial chef was present in Kolkata on September 8 for a pop-up held at The Oberoi Grand Kolkata's Threesixtythree in association with the Australian Consulate-General Kolkata and we grabbed the opportunity to get the recipe for Banana Leaf Baked Fish, one of the most liked dishes from the menu.
Banana leaf baked Fish with Lemon Myrtle butter and Pineapple Salsa Verde
(Serves 4)
4 pieces of 150 gm betki | 4 pieces of banana leaf | Spiced butter | 100 gm soft butter | 2 pinches Lemon Myrtle Powder, replace with kaffir lime leaf | Pinch pepper
| 1 pinch chopped garlic | 1 lemon, juice and zest | a pinch of salt
For Salad
1 cucumber cut into rounds | 1 yellow capsicum, sliced | 1 red onion, sliced thinly | 1 bunch coriander, leaves picked
For Green Sauce
1 bunches coriander | ½ pineapple | 1 green chilli | 25 ml olive oil | 10 gm fish sauce |10 gm sugar | 1 lemon
Method
Combine butter, lemon myrtle(sub in Kaffir Lime0, pepper, salt, lemon and garlic in a mixer.
In a blender, blend the salsa verde until smooth and thick.
Lay fish in banana leaf with a spoon of butter to the side. Wrap into a parcel.
Bake fish at 180degC for 8 minutes until cooked.
Spoon the sauce over the fish. Serve in the banana leaf with the salad on the side.