The Plating Game: Dame Lisa Carrington

A massive congratulations to Dame Lisa Carrington!
It was so awesome to watch as the renowned Kayaker and World Champion received New Zealand's highest sporting honour with the Supreme Halberg Award 61st ISPS Handa Halberg Awards ceremony last night.

We dishies will be celebrating with her Plating Game recipe we created back in issue 102, based on this interview.

We asked Dame Lisa Carrington to share her food loves so we could create a dish especially for her.

Without fail, whoever I mentioned this interview to reacted along the lines of,
“I love Lisa Carrington!” Among the canon of famous Kiwis, she certainly stands out. Our most successful ever Olympian – with five gold medals and one bronze for flatwater canoeing – she was named a dame in this year’s New Year’s Honours list for services to sport, and scooped both Sportswoman of the Year and the Supreme Award at the Halberg Awards last month. Somehow, she also finds time to be an ambassador for 5+ a day – and a keen cook. We caught up to discuss her go-to fish tacos and memorable overseas dining experiences.

What are some of your favourite things to eat in late summer/early autumn?

Lisa: I love salads when it’s hot – it’s just good to have things that feel fresh. I particularly love the things you can put in salads, like seeds, to give them a bit of nutty texture and add a bit of oomph. Chucking some roast kūmara through a salad is really nice, too. And then as well as salads, I need to have the appropriate protein for my training, so I love something off the barbecue.

I’ve heard you’re a keen cook. What do you like to cook; what would be your signature dish?

Lisa: I love to both cook and bake! My signature dish would probably be fish tacos, which are also something I love to eat in summer. Just some fresh, panko-crumbed fish in tortillas – it’s extra great if I’ve caught it myself – and a pineapple salsa and sriracha mayo to go with it. That’s just super fresh and easy. We also do a lot of cooking on the barbecue at home or over charcoal – like long, slow cooks – and I love that. And I love baking because it’s all about giving. Often I bake when it’s someone’s birthday or something like that. A quick chocolate cake is always easy to do and tastes great.

Who are some of your favourite food writers?

Lisa: Recently, I’ve got into Ottolenghi. His stuff is interesting because it’s not the typical Kiwi food I would have grown up eating. I love to find new ways to eat things that are good for you, like lentils or chickpeas, which I don’t normally use, but which can be prepared in a really delicious way. I also like the way Ottolenghi doesn’t always hero the meat – his vegetarian options are great and I’ve found lots of new ways to make vegetables taste amazing. I eat meat because I love it, but I also love to find delicious salads and try new proteins, which he’s definitely helped with!

I’m also a big fan of New Zealand chefs and food writers. Since we use the barbecue so often, I really love Al Brown’s stuff – and I think Annabel Langbein has lots of delicious, classic recipes. Nadia Lim has some great, fresh ideas too. And of course dish! Overall, I cook to eat yum food, but I also cook for efficiency when I’m training, so I’m always looking out for quick ways to make delicious meals or food prep to make my week a bit easier.

What’s your go-to dish while you’re training?

Lisa: The most important thing while I’m training is just getting balance in my meals – I need to have both protein and carbohydrates and it’s about not overdoing it on either. My go-to when I’m really stuck for ideas is just simple – roast kūmara and a steak done on the barbecue, plus a really yummy salad. Or maybe butterflied chicken on the barbecue, that’s always delicious.

What are some of your favourite cuisines?

Lisa: I love Italian cuisine. I’ve been fortunate enough to spend some time in Italy and what always strikes me is the freshness of the ingredients: the homemade pasta and homegrown tomatoes, or when you get mozzarella from a region where it’s the speciality. Knowing the origin of your food is special. I’m also a huge fan of Asian food but I haven’t spent much time in Asia!

You’ve had some amazing travels with your sport. What have been some memorable food moments overseas?

Lisa: One year, we were in Slovenia and we went to a fine dining restaurant there – Hisa Franko. The chef’s got this wicked Netflix episode on the show Chef’s Table and her food is sourced locally and lots is foraged. We had to travel an hour to the restaurant on the train through a hill… it was quite an experience. We did a set menu and that was amazing – just absolutely beautiful, the kind of food you really don’t get to experience that often.

Another time, we were in Tuscany and we went to a restaurant owned by a butcher [Dario Cecchini in Panzano]. You kind of just eat meat all night and it’s all cooked on the charcoal grill behind you. You sit at one massive table with strangers and you just drink the house wine and get to know your neighbour… that was pretty special.

When we travel, I like to find really cool places to eat. You get to know the culture a bit more and meet people, and as an athlete, we don’t necessarily have the energy to do the touristy things, but you always need to have a meal!

What are some of your favourite restaurants closer to home?

Lisa: One of my favourites is Depot. It’s just delicious food.

Do you like to entertain? What kind of food would you serve to friends and family?

Lisa: I love to entertain! In summer, I like to have something on the barbecue – my partner Bucky [Michael Buck] is also really into barbecuing, and we’d probably do something slow-cooked, maybe a pulled lamb or a pulled pork. We’d serve that with a salsa, a coleslaw and barbecue sauce, and then buns or tortillas. It’s such an easy way to have people over because you can prep it all beforehand so you can spend more time with your guests. Otherwise it can also be fun to do pasta. When we were in Italy, we learned how to make pasta and when we got home, we got really into it. Fresh pasta’s always fun to do with friends because it’s super easy to make and then you can just top it with a really simple tomato-based sauce, or something like a sage butter. Yum!

Are there any foods you don’t eat?

Lisa: There aren’t many… if I had to choose, I’m really marginal on a chickpea, that’s probably pushing it.

What’s a treat that always lifts your spirits on a bad day?

Lisa: I have a sweet tooth, so my go-to treat is a block of chocolate – preferably coconut rough or peanut butter.

Click here to find the recipe for Lisa's Spice Baked Chicken with Autumn Veges and Lentils we made just for her.