Penguin Books Australia

Free recipes from Food, Fashion, Friends by Fleur Wood, Prosecco with Watermelon Sorbet, Lobster Sandwiches and Pate Butterflies, page 12.

Prosecco with Watermelon Sorbet

Sweet sorbet with a twist of lime works beautifully with the dry sparkling wine.

110 g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
360 g (2 cups) roughly chopped seedless watermelon
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 egg white
750 ml prosecco

Place the caster sugar and 250 ml (1 cup) of water in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove sugar syrup from the heat and allow to cool.

Place the sugar syrup, watermelon and lime juice in a food processor and blend for 1 minute. Transfer to a glass bowl and freeze for 1 hour.

Using an electric beater, whisk the sorbet until it breaks up, then return to the freezer for a further 30 minutes. Repeat this process twice more, whisking every 30 minutes.

Whisk the egg white in a clean glass bowl until soft peaks form. Using a metal spoon, stir through the watermelon mixture and then whisk with an electric beater until well combined. Cover tightly and freeze overnight.

To serve, spoon the sorbet into glasses and pour over the prosecco.

Serves 6

Lobster Sandwiches

Two simple sandwiches cut into gorgeous butterfly shapes. Lobster is an indulgent treat, but you’ll find a little goes a long way in these delicate little bites.

250 g cooked lobster meat, finely chopped
1 bunch chives, finely chopped, plus extra to garnish
sea salt and cracked black pepper
40 g butter, softened
12 slices white bread

Lemon mayonnaise
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
250 ml (1 cup) light olive oil

For the lemon mayonnaise, place the yolk, mustard and lemon juice in a glass bowl and whisk until well combined. Slowly pour in the olive oil, continuing to whisk until thick and well combined.

Combine the lemon mayonnaise, lobster and chives in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Butter the slices of bread. Add the lobster mix to half of the slices and top with the remaining bread.

To serve, cut the sandwiches into butterfly shapes using a butterfly-shaped cutter, and garnish with the extra chives.

Serves 6

Pate Butterflies

12 slices rye bread
220 g good-quality pate
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley (optional)

Using a butterfly-shaped cutter, cut a butterfly from each piece of bread. Toast the butterflies under a hot grill for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden.

Using a sharp knife, cut 6 of the butterflies in half (down the spine of the butterfly) and set aside - these will be the wings. Place a teaspoon of pate in the middle of each whole butterfly and stick a set of wings into the pate to sit at a 45-degree angle.

Sprinkle with parsley and add more pate to taste, if desired.

Serves 6