Summer Seasonal Suppers with Al Brown

Definitely one of my favourite pastimes is digging for shellfish at low tide with my family. It’s a terrific way for the kids to connect with where their food comes from. They can help with the whole process; gathering, preparation, removing the meat from the shells and, of course, cooking the actual fritters. - Al Brown

I use the term trifle lightly! Rather than the traditional sponge base, I've used a Pineapple and Coconut Torte inspired by a great friend of mine, chef Philip Johnson. Nothing screams summer more than ripe strawberries and if you can track any down from Scott’s Strawberry Farm in Hawke’s Bay, they’re off the dial! - Al Brown

This one might be a little bit outside the box, but I love to play with savoury and sweet. You could use this basic method to experiment with all sorts of different flavour combinations. - Al Brown

This salad is full of flavour. Bitter greens cut through richness of the confit duck, the pear adds sweetness and the walnuts texture. While pinot noir tends to be a typical wine match for many duck dishes, we found a rose worked better with the bitter greens - perfect for a lighter summer meal. - Al Brown

I’ve always been a big fan of eating octopus and tend to order it whenever I see it on a menu. We’ve been playing around with this dish for a while and the result looks a picture, and more to the point - eats like a dream! While we’ve given you the steps to tackle the octopus prep, it can be a bit daunting so you can always ask your fishmonger to do this part for you. - Al Brown

It’s no secret I love cooking any kind of meat over an open fire. An Asado Grill is a great piece of kit and loads of fun to experiment with. Marinated, smokey, tender lamb served up family style with your choice of condiments - we’ve used Dahl for this dish but you could replace with Baba Ghanoush or similar for a Middle Eastern spin. - Al Brown

Summer means lazy days and the glory of food enjoyed outdoors: strawberries, barbecues, salads that surprise, fresh fish. We asked Al Brown, one of our favourite chefs, to showcase the best of summer with a specially curated Seasonal Supper. His response? A set of completely new recipes based on exquisite seasonal ingredients, matched to carefully selected local wines. It was a magical evening, and come the start of autumn, then winter and spring, we’ll be inviting other chefs to curate their own Seasonal Suppers.

Food to me is all about simplicity and generosity. A simply roasted whole fish is a pretty good example of this. Serving this dish with Huntley & Palmers Flatbread is great for added texture and mopping up all the delicious juice and flavour. Turbot can sometimes be a bit difficult to find, so any large flat fish (flounder, brill) or even the belly of a large species like kingfish or hapuka will do. - Al Brown