New Zealand Food
Typical Food and Meals
New Zealand is an island nation with its waters containing a large variety of fish and seafood. Despite this, until recently shellfish hasn't played an important part in the diet of New Zealanders. The consumption of fish has traditionally been low as meat has been the main preference for meals. Having said this, fish and seafood has always been significant in the Maori diet and you will notice that the names of many of them are still used today in Maori.
Breakfast
A typical New Zealand breakfast consists of cereal (especially the iconic Weet-bix for kids) and some toast which is accompanied by a cup of coffee, tea or a glass of juice or milk. Sometimes on the weekend there is time for a cooked breakfast. This cooked breakfast can also be bought/eaten at coffes most mornings. A typical cooked breakfast has scrambled egg, bacon, cooked tomatoes, mushrooms, hash browns and baked beans. It's very easy to want to skip lunch after such a big breakfast.
Lunch
Lunch is normally something simple and not too heavy since dinner is the main meal of the day. It is quite common just to have some sandwiches or hot pies for lunch though some people enjoy the healthier salads and fruit. Sometimes New Zealanders have a "Sunday Lunch" with consists of roast beef (or some other meat) and roast potatoes, pumpkins all slowly cooked in the oven.
Dinner
Dinner is the main meal of the day and is eaten around 6pm. It normally contains meat and cooked vegetables, especially potato.
Fish and chips is another typical New Zealand meal (a traditional brought over from England) which is commonly sold wrapped in newspaper. They are cheap and a great alternative when you don't want to cook (however not necessarily the most healthy alternative). You can buy this meal at Fish & Chip shops, also known locally as Takeaways. For a more local flavour, you can ask for a variety of the local fish or maybe even a Paua fritter.
Lollies (Sweets)
Minties, Pineapple Lumps, Jaffas, Winegums, Jellybeans, Pebbles, Jet Planes, Milkshakes, Eskimos, Oddfellows.
Maori Hangi
The Hangi basically consists of putting meat and vegetables in baskets and cooking them slowly under the ground. Hot rocks are put in a pit with the food put on top which are then covered with earth so the heat does not escape. After about some hours the earth is removed and the food is ready. See more details aboutHow to make a Maori hangÃ.
Desserts
The favourite desert in Nueva Zelandia is the PAVLOVA. It is a type of merengue covered in whipped cream then topped with fresh fruit such as kiwifruit (the most common) or strawberries. Why does it have a Russian name? In honour of a Russian ballet dancer that visited New Zealand in 1926.
Pavlova Recipe.
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Heat oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Using a pencil, mark out the circumference of a dinner plate on baking parchment. Whisk the egg whites with a hand mixer until they form stiff peaks, then whisk in the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, until the meringue looks glossy. Whisk in the vinegar, cornflour and vanilla.
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Spread the meringue inside the circle, creating a crater by making the sides a little higher than the middle. Bake for 1 hr, then turn off the heat and let the Pavlova cool completely inside the oven.
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When the meringue is cool, chop 100g of the strawberries. Mix them with half the redcurrants and 2 tbsp icing sugar. Place in a food processor, blitz until smooth, then push the fruit mixture through a sieve. Whip the cream with the remaining icing sugar and spread it over the meringue. Put the remaining fruit on the cream and finally pour the sauce over the whole lot
Fish and Chips.
Fish and chips is a hot dish of English origin, consisting of battered fish, commonly Atlantic cod or haddock, and deep-friedchips. It is a common take-away food. A common side dish is mushy peas.
Recipe
Ingredients (4p):
- 800 gr. hake
- 3 potatoes
- 1 onion
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup of flour
- 1/2 liter of sparkling water
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 8-10 pickles
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Olive oil
- salt
- Parsley (for garnish)
Elaboration
Peel and cut the potatoes into sticks. Fry them in a pan with oil. Remove them to a plate with paper towels and season.
Put the flour in a bowl, pour the sparkling water and mix well. Casca an egg and stir everything well. Cut the fish into sticks. Season and slip the flour mixture. Fry in a pan with plenty of oil and drain on absorbent paper.
To make the sauce, cracks his whip egg in a glass. Add a pinch of salt, a dash of vinegar and a splash of oil. Enter the blender to the bottom and begins to beat without moving. When it starts to emulsify move the arm up and down gently whisk until fully homogeneous. Chop the capers, gherkins and chives and incorporate it. Mix well and set aside. Serve fish served with potatoes and sprinkled with a dash of vinegar and sauce. Decorate the plate with a sprig of parsley.