Another sumptuous cookbook from Pete Gawron's Saffron restaurant in Arrowtown. In 2007 Pete Gawron's first cookbook, Saffron: Food from the Central Otago Heartland, wowed readers and was quickly reprinted. Its dazzling combination of stunning recipes and magnificent photos of the Arrowtown district conjured up the spirit of Central Otago.

The award-wining Saffron, in quaint, historic Arrowtown, is a known worldwide for its fabulous food and wine. Now, in this second book, Pete Gawron shows how he transforms local produce (often foraging himself for fungi, fruit, berries and more) into utterly delicious, artfully presented dishes.

With over 75 recipes and magical images by Aaron McLean, this is a book to treasure, and a great celebration of this wonderful part of New Zealand.

SAMPLE RECIPE

Saddle of Southland lamb, filled with bacon, savoy cabbage and local white truffle

Ingredients (serves 4–6)

50 g butter onion, diced
1 clove garlic
3 rashers good-quality, double-smoked bacon, finely diced
3 cups Savoy cabbage, finely sliced
very small sprig each of rosemary and thyme
sea salt to taste
a good turn of the pepper mill
2 or 3 good-sized truffles, finely sliced
cup panko breadcrumbs, browned in the oven until very golden
1 saddle of lamb, boned, any excess fat carefully removed
50g butter
Stuffing: Heat a sturdy frying pan, add the butter, then sauté the onion, garlic and bacon.

Add the cabbage and cook for five minutes over a low heat until the cabbage has wilted, stirring constantly.

Add the rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper, and the truffle, then remove from the heat. Finally add the toasted breadcrumbs. Allow to cool.

Lamb saddle: Preheat the oven to 180C.

Lay the saddle, skin side down, on the benchtop. Place the stuffing along the centre of the lamb and roll up firmly.

Tie at 5cm intervals with butcher's twine. Heat a large ovenproof frying pan and add the butter, allowing it to froth.

Add the rolled saddle to the pan and brown.

When the skin is golden, place the pan in the oven. Cook for about 25 minutes.

Rest the lamb for five minutes somewhere warm before carving.

Author Biography

Pete Gawron trained as a chef in Australia and has worked in many of Australia's leading restaurants. He and his wife Mel came to Central Otago in the early 1990s and opened Saffron in 1996. Since then the restaurant has gone on to win many awards and to garner great reviews. Pete and Mel live in an historic cottage in Arrowtown and also own the town's pizza joint, Pesto, and its fabulous little bar, The Blue Door.