Barossa Valley-born Chef Ryan Edwards has a genuine connection to the land and a love of real food and culinary traditions. Between commencing his career as a chef and joining the team at Appellation in 2008, he worked in luxury resorts in North Queensland and the Gold Coast.
His positive and determined attitude, combined with traditional culinary values are reflected in his passion for brewing, baking. His gastronomic philosophy holds ethical eating, low food miles, and sustainability of food resources at the heart of his food.
His dishes revolve around seasonal produce, using an in-house kitchen garden, visiting growers and picking wild vegetables, fruits and nuts. The kitchen team strives this wonderful, fresh produce to triumph with the use of traditional flavours and modern techniques.
Recipes
Ingredients
Pork belly
1 pork belly
Curing salt
100g salt
½ cinnamon stick
2 garlic cloves
4 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1 star anise
2 peppercorns
8 coriander seeds
Pickled carrot (noch namn)
200ml fish sauce
250g sugar
8 limes juiced
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
¼ cup coriander stalks
100ml vinegar
2tsp chilli
2cup water
2kg carrot
Pickled daikon
225ml water
125ml vinegar
6 tbs sugar
2 tsp salt
250g daikon radish
Pickled ginger
1 small knob of ginger
Radishes
Soy pudding
16 spring onions chopped
8 tsp ginger peeled, grated
100ml orange juice
480ml soy sauce
200g caster sugar
120ml sherry
15ml sesame oil
10g agar
Method
Pork belly
Trim pork belly of all bones and shape square. Cover with the curing salt at a rate of 20g per kg for 12 hours minimum. Cover and cook at 88°C for 12 hours then cool under weight to keep flat and square. Trim skin off and cut into 30mm cubes. Use 3 cubes per serving.
Pickled carrot (noch namn)
Combine all ingredients except for the carrot. Peel and cut the carrot into 8cm logs, sliced lengthways on a mandolin, as thin as possible. Combine pickle and carrot.
Pickled daikon
Boil the water, vinegar, sugar and salt, and reserve. Peel and cut daikon into 8 cm logs
Pickled ginger
Julienne the ginger and place in same pickle as the daikon radishes. Peel and slice the baby radishes on a mandolin as thin as possible
Pickled ginger
Julienne the ginger and place in the same pickle as the daikon and peel and slice the baby radishes on a mandolin, as thinly as possible.
Soy pudding
Combine the soy, orange juice, sugar, sherry, sesame oil and agar in a saucepan and use a stick blender to combine thoroughly.Bring the contents of the saucepan to the boil and boil for 4 minutes.Take the saucepan off the heat and use a stick blender to blend once more.Add the grated ginger and allow to cool.Once cold and solid, place the pudding into a thermo mix and blend until completely smooth, scraping the sides occasionally.Pass through a fine sieve and add the chopped spring onions.Garnish with toasted sesame seeds, baby coriander.
Ingredients
Avocado puree
200g avocado
40 limes juiced
30g glucose
30g almond oil
Salt to taste
Courgette pickle
3 large courgettes
225ml water
125ml champagne vinegar
6tsp sugar
2tsp salt
Globe artichokes
3 large globe artichokes
Court Bouillon
200ml white wine
500ml water
1 carrot
½ onion
¼ celery stick
5 peppercorns
2 parsley stalks
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
Vegetables for blanching-refreshing
1 large kohlrabi
4 peas-in-the-half-pod
16 spears of asparagus
Dressing
50ml verjuice
20mls elderflower cordial
Juice and zest of 1 lemon (microplaned)
50mls grape seed oil
20mls almond oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Garnishes
Pea tendrils
Chervil
Mint leaves (baby)
2 borriage flowers
4 nasturtium flowers petals
2 rocket flowers
Chopped roasted almonds
Method
Avocado Puree
Using a Thermo Mix blend all the ingredients except the oil together, then slowly add in the oil. Blend until smooth and glossy. Pass to finish!
Courgette Pickle
Slice the courgette on mandolin a few millimetres thick, reserve in a container.Boil all together and, while hot pour over the sliced courgette.
Globe Artichokes
Remove the outer leaves from the artichoke and clean inside the cap.Trim the stems and reserve the artichokes in acidulated water until ready for cooking. Poach in the court bouillon.
Court Bouillon
Bring the artichokes up to the boil in liquor, allow to cook until tender (al dente), remove from the heat and allow to cool in the liquid. Strain off the veg and keep artichokes in the liquid.
Vegetables for blanching-refreshing
Kohlrabi – remove the skin and cut into a squares. Slice on mandolin and reserve.Peas in half shell – remove from the stem and carefully take off one side of the pea pod, leaving the peas only on one side.Asparagus – cut the spears into 10cm pieces and keep the stems to be used later.Blanch each individual group of vegetables and refresh.
Dressing
Whisk together all ingredients and adjust seasoning accordingly.
To serve
Heat a small knob of butter in a saucepan with a splash of verjus.Add in 2 courgettes, 2 kohlrabi, 4 asparagus spears and 1 half pea pod, allow to heat through.Smear avocado onto plate and outside of rim.Layer salad on top allowing the smear to show through and garnish with herbs and flowers. Dress with the dressing and serve immediately.
Ingredients
Strawberry sherbet
20g dehydrated strawberries
5g citric acid
5g bi-carbonate of soda
30g icing sugar
Strawberry sorbet
550g fresh strawberries
100g caster sugar
100ml verjuice
1g sorbet stabilizer
10ml lemon juice
Strawberry coulis
100g pure icing sugar
100g fresh strawberries
Strawberry sheet
500g strawberries
10g sugar
Fresh strawberries
200g the freshest local strawberries you can find
Frantoio olive oil cake
100g almond meal
100g pistachio meal
50g fine polenta
12g plain flour
5g baking powder
3 eggs
200g sugar
125ml frantoio olive oil
100g unsalted butter melted but cool
1 lemon zest and juiced
1 lime zest and juice
Pistachio praline
100g pistachio
100g isomalt
Mascarpone and black pepper sorbet
265g full fat milk
160g thickened cream
145g dextrose
50g caster sugar
25g glucose syrup
60g full fat milk powder
2g ice cream stabilizer
300g mascarpone
6g black pepper ground
Botrytis Riesling jelly
200ml botrytis Riesling
100ml water
100g sugar
4 platinum gelatine leaves bloomed
Baby basil
A small handful of small leaves
Baby meringues
220g caster sugar
25g glucose
60ml water
60g fresh egg white
Method
Strawberry sherbet
Place all ingredients into a food processor and process until a fine powder. Pass through a fine sieve. Then store in air tight container.
Strawberry sorbet
Process the strawberries and pass through a fine sieve. Mix the remaining ingredients very well, then bring to 85°C and cool. Add to strawberry puree and freeze in ice cream machine.
Strawberry coulis
Process in food processor until smooth, pass through fine sieve and place in squeezy bottle.
Strawberry sheet
Blend well and pass through fine sieve. Spread an even thin layer on a silicone mat. Bake at 80°C for 90 minutes. When dried peel into small sheets.
Fresh strawberries
Slice just before serving.
Frantoio olive oil cake
Process nut meals, polenta, flour and baking powder until evenly mixed. Whisk the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy. Mix olive oil and butter and add gently to egg mix. Fold in the dry ingredients then add juice and zest. Place into greased cake tin and bake in preheated oven at 160°C for 40 minutes until cooked when checked with skewer.
Pistachio praline
Roast pistachios for 5 minutes in hot oven. Melt the isomalt in a saucepan over low heat. Pour over hot pistachios and leave to cool. Process in food processor until a fine crumb.
Mascarpone and black pepper sorbet
Blend the milk, cream and dextrose until smooth. Place in pan and bring to 40°C. Whisk in caster sugar, glucose, milk powder, stabilizer and pepper bring to 85°C. Refrigerate overnight. Whisk in mascarpone and churn in ice cream machine then freeze.
Botrytis Riesling jelly
Bring sugar and water to the boil. Remove from heat and add gelatine and stir to dissolve. Add the wine and pour into appropriate receptacle to set until required in refrigeration. Break into pieces for serving.
Baby basil
Pick and wash baby basil.
Baby meringues
Bring sugar, glucose and water to boil. Bring to 118°C whilst whisking egg whites to soft peak. Continue whisking whites and pour the hot sugar syrup over them in a fine stream to make the meringue. Beat until cool. Place in piping bag and make small meringues. Bake in a low oven until crisp.
Corner Seppeltsfield and Stonewell Roads,
Marananga, Barossa Valley,
South Australia 5352
+61 8 8562 2722