Make entertaining this summer a breeze with Miele. Miele Culinary Expert Mark Rawlins shares his tips for the perfect party and a juicy Prawn Cocktail recipe.

With a background working in both Michelin Star restaurants and local New Zealand eateries, Miele Culinary Expert Mark Rawlins loves taking a relaxed approach to cooking – especially in summer. Mark is based in the Wellington Miele Experience Centre and developed the mouth-watering Summer Entertaining menu for the Miele MasterClass series, available in Wellington and Auckland.

As he puts it, “With the bounty of seasonal quality ingredients, there is no limit to what you can achieve when you rely on Miele.” Here, he shares his top tips for effortless summer entertaining – plus, a favourite summertime recipe for Prawn Cocktail, designed to bring out the best in seasonal produce and easy to perfect in a Miele Steam Combination Oven.

What was the benefit of using steam for the edamame mousse in your Prawn Cocktail?

Steam retains the important vitamins and minerals when cooking, preserving the natural flavours and colours. The result was the delicious, flavoursome edamame mousse.

How do you take the stress out of entertaining?

Relying on Miele’s smart technology. I love that I can get everything ready, put the dishes in the oven and set the appliances up so that food is ready at the required serving time. I can continue to check the progress of the cook from my Miele App, meaning I can stay with our guests on the deck, rather than hide away in the kitchen.

What’s your top tip to remain cool and calm in the kitchen?

Involve the whole family. I like to make cooking a family activity, so that we’re all together rather than me being locked away in the kitchen alone and this really makes it enjoyable.

Book to attend the Miele Summer Entertaining MasterClass at mieleexperience.co.nz/experience-centre

miele.co.nz

Facebook: @miele.NewZealand

Instagram: @miele_newzealand 

Prawn Cocktail with Edamame and Shallot Crumble

INGREDIENTS

PRAWNS
250 grams raw medium prawns, meat only
½ lemon, zested in long strips
½ red chilli, cut lengthways
1 teaspoon fish sauce
½ teaspoon sugar
 

EDAMAME MOUSSE
150 grams edamame beans, shelled
1 teaspoon sugar
20 grams white miso
100ml filtered water
1 sheet gold gelatin
100ml cream
2 teaspoons yuzu juice
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes, crushed
 

SHALLOT CRUMBLE
25 grams crispy shallots
13 grams sugar
1 pinch chilli flakes
½ teaspoon sea salt flakes
 

TO SERVE
1 teaspoon yuzu juice
pinch cayenne pepper
50 grams edamame beans, shelled
½ tablespoon nigella seeds
small bunch pea tendrils

METHOD

PRAWNS: In a small vacuum sealing bag, combine all the ingredients. Place in the vacuum sealing drawer. Vacuum on Setting 3 and Seal on setting 3. Place in the steam oven and Sous-vide at 70 degrees celsius for 10 minutes. Remove and chill in iced water. Refrigerate until required. 

EDAMAME MOUSSE: Place the edamame, plus the 50 grams needed to serve, in a perforated steam container. Place in the steam oven and Steam at 100 degrees celsius for 2 minutes. Chill in iced water, then drain. Remove 50 grams and refrigerate until serving. Soften the gelatine in cold water for 3 minutes, drain and squeeze out any water. Place the remaining edamame in a high-speed blender with the sugar, miso, water and drained gelatin. Blend until smooth. Whip the cream until soft peaks form and fold into the edamame puree with the yuzu and salt. Fold until it starts to thicken, then spoon into 4 glasses and tap lightly on a tea towel to remove any air pockets. Allow to set in the refrigerator for a minimum 1 hour.

SHALLOT CRUMBLE: Pulse all ingredients to a crumble in a food processor, or crumble together by hand.

TO SERVE: Drain the prawns, removing the chilli and lemon. Toss the prawns, yuzu juice and cayenne in a mixing bowl to combine. Add the reserved edamame and nigella seeds and lightly mix. Sprinkle the shallow crumble on top of the mousse and scatter over the prawn and edamame mix. Top with a little more shallot crumble and garnish with pea tendrils or micro sorrel.

COOK'S NOTE: The prawns can be sous-vide out of a bag on a perforated steam container lined with baking paper.

If you're unable to source yuzu, lemon juice will work. Extra shallot crumble can be used over noodles or salad.