Recipes from The Blue Ducks' Real Food, by Darren Robertson and Mark LaBrooy

For chefs, foragers and surfers Darren Robertson and Mark LaBrooy (of Three Blue Ducks), eating real food is a way of life. It's about slowing down and getting to know the nourishing ingredients that are the basis of this kind of cooking.

Barbecued prawns with charred kale and avocado puree

Serves 4

1 garlic bulb, peeled
5 long red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
200ml olive oil
salt flakes and freshly ground pepper
16 large green prawns, deveined, shells and heads on
1 small handful of flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large bunch of kale (about 600g), leaves stripped and roughly chopped

Avocado puree

2 avocados
75ml buttermilk
juice of ½ lemon
salt flakes and freshly ground pepper

​Preheat the oven to 160C fan-forced (180C conventional). Add the garlic, chilli, olive oil and plenty of cracked pepper to a small ovenproof saucepan, cover with foil and place in the oven for 1½ hours.

Meanwhile, using a sharp knife, butterfly the prawns by cutting them lengthways along the belly and through the heads until you can open them out flat. Leave the legs on, as they get nice and crunchy once grilled.

For the avocado puree, place the avocado flesh, buttermilk and lemon juice in a food processor and mix on high until smooth. Season to taste and set aside.

Remove the saucepan from the oven. Tip the contents into a food processor and blitz to a paste. Halve the garlic paste, mixing the parsley through one half.

Preheat the barbecue grill and plate on high.

Brush the flesh side of the prawns with the parsley and garlic mix and season well. Grill the prawns flesh side down for a minute or so. Flip and cook for another minute or so until just cooked. They will cook quickly, so be careful. Take the prawns off the grill, sprinkle with the lemon zest and squeeze over the juice.

Drizzle the vegetable oil on the barbecue plate and throw on the kale and the other half of the garlic paste. Season the kale and cook until wilted.

Divide the kale between the plates, stack four prawns on top of each mound of kale, generously dollop some avocado puree on the side and serve.

Indian beef short-rib curry

Serves 4

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt flakes and freshly ground pepper
1.5kg beef short ribs (or 8 short ribs)
2 onions, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 star anise
½ tsp chilli powder
1 cinnamon stick
5cm piece of ginger, finely grated
400g can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp honey
500ml chicken stock
400g can chickpeas, drained
100g natural yoghurt
½ bunch of coriander, leaves picked and torn

Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Heat the oil in a heavy-based, ovenproof pan over medium-high heat. Season the ribs and brown on all sides. Remove the ribs and reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 4-5 minutes.

Add the spices and ginger and cook for a couple of minutes while stirring. Return the ribs to the dish and add the tomatoes, honey, stock and 400ml of water. Cover with foil or a lid and place in the oven for 2-3 hours – the ribs are ready when the meat is tender and comes away from the bone.

Remove the ribs from the dish and adjust the consistency by reducing the liquid on the stovetop. Once reduced, add the chickpeas to the curry and warm through. Add the ribs back to the dish and stir through half the yoghurt and coriander.

Serve the curry with the remaining yoghurt and coriander, and jasmine or brown rice on the side.

Honey, yoghurt and goat's cheese semifreddo

Serves 8

70g buckwheat kernels
3 eggs, separated
1 tbsp honey, plus extra
250ml Greek yoghurt
150g soft goat's cheese
salt flakes
250ml cream
1 vanilla pod, split lengthways, seeds scraped
1 tbsp castor sugar
60g roasted hazelnuts, peeled
4 figs

Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional). Line a 30cm loaf tin with plastic wrap and place in the freezer.

Spread the buckwheat out on a baking tray and roast until golden, about 4 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Add the egg yolks to a large bowl and whisk until pale. Whisk in the honey, yoghurt, goat's cheese and a pinch of salt until smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk the cream and vanilla seeds until soft peaks form.

In another medium bowl, whisk the eggwhites and sugar until stiff. It's really important that the bowl and whisk or beaters are clean and dry, otherwise the eggwhites won't become stiff and form peaks.

Using a spatula, fold the cream mix into the yolk mix until combined. Fold in the eggwhite mix and follow with the hazelnuts and buckwheat (reserving some buckwheat for garnish). Pour into the prepared tin and freeze overnight.

When ready to serve, scoop the semifreddo into bowls. Serve with torn figs, a drizzle of honey and the reserved buckwheat scattered over top.

The Blue Ducks' Real Food. By Darren Robertson and Mark LaBrooy. Plum. $39.99.