The secret recipes of Darwin Convention Centre

Opened in July 2008, the Darwin Convention Centre is an award winning, world class venue in the tropical harbour city of Darwin.  Managed by leading venue specialists, AEG Ogden, the Darwin Convention Centre successfully hosts hundreds of events per year, which contributes over $60 million of economic return to the Northern Territory annually.  The Centre has acquired an excellent reputation for the delivery of outstanding and innovative events, first class food and excellent customer service provided by a dedicated team of passionate professionals.  Try out these recipes from the kitchens of DCC for yourself!

Chicken Breast Milanese

Serve:  4 Portions

Chicken
4 Boned Chicken Breast (approximately 140 gm)

Parmesan Egg Mix
3 whole Eggs
30 gm grated Parmesan cheese
50 ml fresh Cream
10gm Chopped Parsley Leaves
Black Pepper
Sea Salt
Plain Flour for dusting Chicken
Rosemary as Garnish

Napoli Sauce
2 peeled carrots, chopped 1cm width
2 celery stalks, chopped roughly with leaves
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 peeled, medium sized brown onion, roughly chopped.
3 cups White wine
140g tomato Paste
800g tinned chunky tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of thyme
Balsamic vinegar
Caster Sugar
Salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Pepper

Method

Napoli Sauce

1. Rough chop peeled carrots, celery stalks/leaves, onion and garlic. Put in a medium sized pot with two table spoons of vegetable oil on a medium-high heat. Sweat. Add white wine. Simmer for 15-20mins.
2. Add tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, bay leaves and thyme. Stir. Simmer for 10-15mins.
3. Take pot off heat, remove bay leaves then blitz with a stick blender until no lumps are visible. Add Balsamic vinegar, caster sugar, salt and pepper in small increments at a time until a desirable taste.

Parmesan Egg Mix

1. Whisk together eggs, parmesan, cream, parsley in a medium sized bowl.
2. Dust chicken breast in plain flour then coat it in the parmesan egg mix.
3. Heat oil in a fry pan on a medium-high heat, searing chicken to give colour on each side.
4. Put chicken on a baking tray sprayed with oil and place in the oven on a low temperature of 160 degrees C for 10mins or until it reaches a core temp of 70 degrees C.

Plating
Layer chicken in a domino effect on a plate.  Sauce as per photo, sprinkled with shaved parmesan cheese and two rosemary sprigs as garnish.

 

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White Chocolate Cheesecake with a Pistachio crumble and Raspberry Sauce

Serves 6

White Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients for the filling

• 200g cooking white chocolate buttons
• 300g Philadelphia cream cheese at room temperature
• 300ml thickened cream
• 1 tsp lemon juice
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. For the filling, gently melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan filled with boiled water on a low heat. Make sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Once the chocolate has melted, remove the bowl and set aside for 10 minutes. The chocolate still needs to be a liquid but cooled to room temperature.
2. Beat the cream cheese with a wooden spoon in a large bowl until soft. Gently fold in the slightly cooled, melted white chocolate.
3. Using an electric mixer, whip the cream on a medium speed until it is thickened but the peaks don’t hold their shape, and then fold it into the white chocolate mixture in two batches. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract, gently folding, and then pour and scrape the pale, almost-moussy mixture into ramekins lined with baking paper. Smooth the top, cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight before serving.

Mirror Glaze Ingredients

• 150g glucose syrup
• 150g granulated sugar
• 75g water
• 10-12g gelatine
• 75g water for gelatine
• 100g condensed milk
• 150g white chocolate
• Food colouring of your choice

Method

1. In a bowl add your gelatine and cold water and leave for 5-10 min to puff up.
2. In a jug add your chopped white chocolate and condensed milk.
3. In a small sauce pan, add your water, sugar and glucose syrup and leave it on medium heat to boil. As soon as the mixture starts to boil, take it off the heat immediately. Then add your gelatine and mix until it melts.
4. Add your hot mixture into the chocolate with condensed milk and leave for few min. Then with a hand blender pulse few times on lowest setting and holding at an angle to minimise the chances of bubbles.
5. If you have any bubbles, get rid of them by using a sieve or a spoon to skim them out. Add cling film immediately and leave in a fridge to cool down, best to leave it overnight (if you are using the glaze straight away, make sure to use it at 35 degrees C).
6. To glaze the cheesecake, reheat the glaze in a microwave in 30 seconds breaks and bring to the right temperature (35 degrees C). Cheesecake needs to be chilled, otherwise the glaze won’t stay. After coating, put the cheesecake in the fridge (not the freezer). The glaze can be stored in a fridge for a long time.

Pistachio Crumble Ingredients

• 1/3 cup pistachios
• 40g caster sugar
• 40g plain flour
• 30g chilled butter

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.
2. Place pistachios in the food processor and process until fine. Add sugar and flour and process to combine. Transfer to bowl. Rub in butter with fingertips, leaving some small lumps of butter.
3. Line baking tray with baking paper, tip crumble over the tray and spread evenly. Bake for 5-7 minutes or until just golden. Set aside to cool.

Raspberry Sauce Ingredients

• 450 grams fresh red raspberries, about 3 generous cups
• 100 grams caster sugar
• 5 ml (1 teaspoon)  freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method

1. Rinse and dry berries before measuring and using in recipe.
2. Using a food processor, purée the berries. Press berry purée through a fine mesh sieve into medium saucepan; discard the seeds. Stir in sugar and lemon juice.
3. Bring fruit pulp and juices to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes while skimming foam from sides of saucepan using a slotted spoon.
4. Once the foam has been skimmed, reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook stirring frequently until bright in colour, thickened and reduced by half, about 8 to 10 minutes. When done, there should be ¾ cup of sauce.
5. Set sauce aside to cool completely before using in recipes or serve warm as an ice cream sundae topping.

Plating up
Making sure the plate is not hot.  Start off by using a pastry brush, dip in the raspberry sauce and put a light brush down the centre of the plate. Follow with the pistachio crumble on one side Add the cheesecake on top of the sauce at one end and finish off with fresh raspberries, mint and chocolate garnish of your choice.

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Easter Hot Cross Buns

Serves: 12

Ingredients
60g caster sugar
25g Dutch-process cocoa, sieved
10g dried yeast
30ml warm water (for activating yeast)
3 teaspoons mixed spice
450g plain flour
300ml milk
70g butter, coarsely chopped
1 egg
80g sultanas

Cross
½ tsp sunflower oil
70g plain flour
Water

Cinnamon glaze
60g caster sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
50ml water

Method

1. Set yeast in warm water to activate, you will see bubbles, that’s when its ready to use
2. Combine sugar, cocoa, mixed spice, flour and 1 teaspoon of salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix on low speed to combine.  Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until butter melts, cool to lukewarm, then whisk in egg. Add milk mixture and yeast to flour and mix in mixer until it smooth and elastic. Add sultanas, knead to combine. Make into ball and transfer to a lightly buttered bowl, cover and stand in a warm place until double in size (50-1hr)
3. Knock back dough, divide into 12 even pieces and roll into smooth ball weighing 100grams each. Arrange close together on a deep tray lined with spray oil and plain flour. Cover and stand in a warm place until double in size (30-40mins)
4. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. For the cross, stir flour, sunflower oil and water, adding a little more water if needed, to achieve a smooth paste. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a small plain nozzle and pipe a cross on each bun. Bake buns until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.
5. For the cinnamon glaze, stir sugar, cinnamon and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, bring to simmer, and then cool briefly to thicken a little. Brush warm buns with glaze and serve.