Celebrity MasterChef Australia 2021: 3 Recipes From This Year’s Semi-finalists

We’re getting to the pointy end of the 2021 season of Celebrity MasterChef Australia, pals. Our celebrity contestants have battled it out in the kitchen and we’re now left with the top five cooks for the year.

Most recently, the Celebrity MasterChef contestants were asked to whip up a dish at fine dining restaurant Vue de Monde in Melbourne.

Naturally, the plates that were produced were incredibly impressive. If you missed the episode, or are simply keen to give these culinary delights a try in your own kitchen, we’re happy to share that the team at Celebrity MasterChef Australia was kind enough to pass on three recipes from the episode.

Check them out below.

Celebrity MasterChef Australia 2021: 3 fine-dining level recipes

In this list we easily have a three-course meal in the making for you, ranging from main courses to dessert. So, enjoy!

Nick Riewoldt’s MasterChef recipe: for Tomato Consommé with Tuna Tartare pickled daikon and finger lime

Serves 12

What you’ll need:

Tomato Consommé

• 1kg ripe tomatoes
• 1 shallot, peeled
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 stalk lemongrass, white part only
• 1 cayenne chilli
• 3 slices ginger
• 2 Thai basil leaves
• 4 tbsp fish sauce
• zest 1 lime
• 15g palm sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Pickled Daikon

• 1 large daikon
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 1 cup sugar

Tuna Tartare

• 600g fresh tuna fillet, skin and bloodline removed
• pulp of 12 finger limes
• 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
• 3 tsp soy sauce
• micro herbs and finger lime pearls, to garnish

Directions:

1. For the Tomato Consommé, roughly chop tomatoes, shallot, garlic, lime leaves, lemongrass, chilli, ginger and basil and place into a blender. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth and fully combined. Pour into a superbag and allow to strain. Pass through a second superbag and allow to strain then place into the fridge until ready to serve.
2. For the Pickled Daikon, peel daikon and slice into 1-2mm thick slices using a mandolin. Use a 2.5cm cookie cutter to cut 168 (14 rounds per serve) from the daikon slices and place into a bowl. Set aside.
3. Place vinegar and sugar in saucepan and stir until simmering. Remove from the heat and pour over the daikon. Set aside to pickle for 20 minutes. Drain well to serve.
4. For the Tuna Tartare, finely dice the tuna into 1cm cubes. Place into a bowl, add remaining ingredients and mix gently. Spoon the tuna into a 6/7cm round mould in the centre of 12 chilled shallow serving bowls. Arrange pickled daikon slices in an overlapping fish scale pattern over the tuna. Garnish with finger lime pearls and micro herbs. Serve with the consommé on the side.

Colette Dinnigan’s MasterChef recipe: Dorrigo Duck with Cherry Sauce and Pickled Beetroot

Serves 12

What you’ll need:

Duck Stock

• 2 duck wings, chopped
• 1 duck neck, chopped
• 2 leeks, chopped
• 1 celery, chopped
• 1 bulb fennel, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 6 bay leaves
• 6 Dorrigo peppercorns
• 1L chicken stock
• salt

Orange and Cherry Sauce

• 1L Duck Stock
• 500ml sweet black cherry juice
• 300ml orange juice
• 12 juniper berries
• 2 star anise
• 10 Dorrigo peppercorns
• 100g butter, cubed
• 100g muntries

Pickled Beetroot

• 8 beetroots
• 500ml water
• 300ml white wine vinegar
• 100g sugar
• 20g salt

Dorrigo Duck Breast

• 10 tsp Dorrigo pepper
• 8 duck breasts
• salt

Directions:

1. For the Duck Stock, place a frypan over medium high heat. Add duck bones and cook until golden. Add the leeks and cook until golden. Transfer to a pressure cooker.
2. Add remaining ingredients, seal pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. Skim fat from the surface and discard. Strain the stock through a fine sieve into a saucepan. Allow to simmer over low heat.
3. For the Orange and Cherry Sauce, place stock, juices, juniper berries and spices into a frypan. Bring to the boil then simmer over medium heat until liquid has reduced and thickened. Pass through a fine sieve into small saucepan.
4. Whisk in butter, one cube at a time, until sauce has emulsified. Stir in muntries and salt, to taste. Cover and set aside.
5. For the Beetroot Pickle, shave beetroot thinly (1mm) on a mandolin and trim into 2.5 cm circles. Make a cut from the centre to the edge of each beetroot round. Place into a bowl.
6. Place remaining ingredients into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and pour over beetroot. Set aside to pickle for 20 minutes. Drain well.
7. Heat oven to 200C.
8. For the Dorrigo Duck Breasts, toast the pepper in a small frypan until fragrant and starting to pop. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Grind to a fine powder using a mortar and pestle.
9. Score the skin of the breast and rub with all over with salt and ground Dorrigo pepper.
10. Place duck, skin side down into a medium cold frypan and place over low heat. Allow fat to render from skin for 15 minutes. Turn the breasts to seal the flesh side then remove from the pan and set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
11. When ready to serve, drain fat from pan and return breasts to pan, skin side up. Cook in the oven for 6 minutes then return frypan to a low heat. Add butter to the pan and baste the breasts until internal temperature reaches 47C. Remove from the pan and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Slice each breast in half and trim into rectangular portions.
12. To serve, curl each beetroot slice into a cone and arrange cones into a dome shape on each plate. Sprinkle with a little ground Dorrigo pepper and garnish with a fennel frond. Add a portion of duck. Spoon sauce onto plates and serve.

Tilly Ramsay’s Celebrity MasterChef recipe: Lemon Myrtle infused Crème Brulee with Shortbread

Serves 12

What you’ll need:

Crème Brulee

• 4 cups heavy cream
• 2 vanilla beans, seeds scraped
• 16 lemon myrtle leaves, torn into small pieces
• pinch salt
• 10 egg yolks
• 1 cup caster sugar
• raw sugar, blended until fine, to sprinkle

Shortbread

• 285g unsalted butter
• 1 cup pure icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 360g plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• lemon myrtle powder, to sprinkle

Sherbet

• 900g icing sugar
• 15 tsp citric acid
• 5 tsp bicarb soda
• 1 ½ tsp lemon myrtle powder

Lemon Myrtle Cream

• 1 cup thickened cream
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• pinch lemon myrtle powder, to taste
• 12 blackberries, to serve

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 160C.
2. For the Crème Brulee, place cream, vanilla bean, vanilla seeds and lemon myrtle leaves in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to just below boiling point. Remove from heat and stir in a pinch of salt. Set aside to infuse for 10 minutes then pass through a fine sieve into a pouring jug.
3. Place egg yolks and sugar in a bowl and whisk until light and pale. While whisking, gradually add the hot cream mixture. Return to the pouring jug and remove any bubbles from the surface.
4. Line 2 large heavy based roasting dishes each with a tea towel. Place 12 11cm diameter x 3cm deep round ramekins onto the tea towels. Pour brulee mixture into ramekins.
5. Fill the baking dish with boiling water until it reaches half the depth of the ramekins.
6. Bake until just set and still slightly wobbly in the centre, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to the fridge to cool and set.
7. For the Shortbread, place the butter, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat together until pale and fluffy. Reduce heat to low and fold in the flour and salt. Turn out onto a floured work surface and bring together into a smooth dough. Press into a disc and wrap in cling film. Place into the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.
8. Unwrap dough and roll out with a floured rolling pin to a thickness of 7-8 mm. Place rounds onto a lined tray and dot with a fork. Sprinkle with lemon myrtle powder and bake until golden brown, about 18-20 minutes. Remove from the oven, cool slightly then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. For the Sherbet, combine ingredients in a food processor and pulse until evenly mixed. Transfer to an airtight container until ready to serve.
10. For the Lemon Myrtle Cream, place ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form. Place into the fridge until ready to serve.
11. To serve, sprinkle each crème brulee with raw sugar and torch until melted and golden. Serve with a round of shortbread and lemon myrtle cream on the side. Roll the blackberries in sherbet and place one onto each crème brulee.

Want to keep cooking? Check out Tilly Ramsay’s hack for getting the fluffiest roast potatoes you’ll ever taste.