Ahh...New Zealand :-)
When I first mentioned the idea of eating like the Kiwi's do, Micah actually had to check the map to see where New Zealand was. My hysterical laughs clued him into the fact that New Zealand wasn't in Northern Europe after all. Needless to say, that sealed the deal (Yes, we really DID need to know more about this country).
Elmer Fudd making Rabbit Pie. :-)
Contrary to their nickname, this group of people does not subsist just on ugly, green fruit - they do, however, live quite comfortably on a nice range of food.
The biggest challenge here was that we didn't even know what food from New Zealand entailed. I mean, we were getting Martha Stewart recipes for a "New Zealand Summer Salad" - if I wanted that, I could go out to the nearest Crispers and call it a day. We were sure that there must be something in their cuisine which was different. After turning to our ever faithful Wikipedia, we decided to cook Rabbit Pie and Fish Cakes.
Buying rabbit meat was our biggest problem - we checked two different places and then eventually found it at good ol' Publix (who knew?). Unfortunately, we were assisted in our search by one of the most eager Publix butchers I've ever met, who also politely informed us that in case we were looking for Ostrich meat (????), we would have to make the drive down to Central Florida personally. Additionally, he pointed out that an Ostrich egg comes with the hidden benefit of being able to function as a liquor flask once empty. Never would have guessed.
Can you freakin' believe that we made this? By ourselves? It tasted great too - just wanted to brag a little!
Enlightened with new-found knowledge on the diverse uses for an ostrich egg, we arrived at home and started cookin' it up. The end result was delicious - if there is one meat you must venture out and try before you die, please make it rabbit! Tasty and a little tough, it added a really unique flavor to the pie. Substituting with beef would have left us with a sloppy attempt at Shepherds Pie, or some other pub alternative.
Word for the wise? Try making your own pastry. We took a shortcut and used the ready-make croissant dough they sell at the supermarket. It worked...somewhat (and tasted great too) but I feel like it would have been even better meal with the real stuff.
Rabbit Pie - about two seconds before I breathed it in out of hunger.
The fish cakes were equally as enjoyable. They reminded me a lot of British pub food, which I think is a compliment. Not too spicy, a little on the greasy side; probably the most delicious soul-food ever, and well worth the cooking effort. I would make this any day and my taste buds would thank me.
Fish Pie - delicious!
Our verdict? New Zealand ROCKS our socks off. We would definitely "visit" there again...except next time we might stay forever :-)
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