It doesn’t take Ben Ungermann long to come up with an idea for a uniquely South African ice cream flavour.
“I’d like a savoury ice cream using biltong. It’s not that outlandish an idea,” Ungermann says.
It is likely to come across as wacky, but the 2017 MasterChef Australia runner-up is all about coming up with unique ice cream flavours.
It is one of the reasons he is widely regarded as the “ice cream king”.
“At the ice cream parlour I opened after MasterChef Australia, we do play with flavours - not all of them work out and sometimes it’s hard to get the right ratio to get things set,” says Ungermann.
“We have lots of ideas and a lot of it is trial and error. But it is magical when we get the perfect balance of flavours.”
The 32-year-old will have the opportunity to create some outrageous ice cream flavours using South African ingredients when he arrives in two weeks’ time.
The former runway model will be in the country for a nationwide series of three different master classes at Capsicum Culinary Studio campuses in Pretoria, Johannesburg , Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Durban.
He will host three classes, including a dessert master class which will include some of his famous desserts, including his much-loved ice cream.
Soon after his stint on MasterChef, he opened his own ice cream parlour with his brother Danny, called the Ungermann Brothers, in his hometown of Ipswich in Australia.
The store, which has become one of the most renowned ice cream parlours in the world, offers customers unusual and delicious flavoured ice creams such as roast garlic scoop; strawberry balsamic; chocolate mandarin with candied zest; matcha white chocolate; maple pecan bacon; lavender and honeycomb; and cardamom and coffee, as well as peanut butter.
Ungermann says he uses no stabilisers or preservatives in his ice cream.
“We present gourmet, out-of-the-box flavours to the public. Danny and I are both parents and we believe when you are feeding the people you care about, you use the best possible ingredients at your disposal. It has never been about making a quick buck but rather about giving people quality.
“My favourite flavours are my organic carrot cake, salted caramel bacon and pecan, and the cardamom and coffee.”
Masterchef Australia runner-up Ben Ungermann will present a masterclass series at Capsicum Culinary Studio campuses in several cities in South Africa later this month.
While Ungermann has built a reputation for being one of the best ice cream makers in the world, he admits that he had never made a dessert in his life before he entered the culinary competition in 2017.
“At the start of MasterChef, we were advised to work on our weaknesses and as a savoury cook, I started working really hard on desserts.
"I discovered a love of sweet things, particularly ice cream, and I was nurtured by the judges to really develop this further throughout the competition.
“(Co-host) George Calombaris said to me that I had to do something with it. My dream has always been to open a Dutch café because of my Dutch heritage, but I realised I had to do something with this.
"I was hounded by fans about the ice cream so I had to do this venture first.”
Ungermann says that being on MasterChef was the single hardest thing he has done in his life.
“I can’t explain the amount of pressure, because there is nothing you can liken it to. You cook and film for up to 12 hours a day and then go back to the house to study. The filming takes about seven months, you are away from family and kept separate from the outside world.
“You either sink or you grow. Fortunately for me, it was the latter and that made me more confident.”
Now that he is heading to South Africa, Ungermann says he is looking forward to enjoying the local cuisine.
“When I was last in the country, I was lucky enough to go on safari and I got to try venison. I am looking forward to having shisa nyama, different types of biltong and droëwors (it has become one of my favourite foods) and melktert.”
He also says he would be keen on collaborating with South African chef Chantel Dartnall.
“I wasn’t able to eat at a lot of South African restaurants during my first visit. But I went to Restaurant Mosaic to meet Dartnall, who has been named one of the world’s best chefs. Her food was extraordinary.
“The food industry is quite a male-dominated one. It can often be a macho atmosphere in the kitchen. Women need to be a bigger part of the industry. So it would be an honour to work with her.”
Rainbow Trout, Stamppot and Broth by Chef Ben Ungermann
Image: Supplied.
Serves 4-5
Ingredients:
Crispy Skin Rainbow Trout:
1 x 900g rainbow trout
Himalayan pink salt and pepper, to season
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp unsalted butter
Fish Broth:
Reserved trout carcass
2 stalks celery, leaves removed, chopped
1 large (200g) brown onion, peeled and quartered
1 large carrot, peeled and halved
½ cup flat leaf parsley stalks
½ cup finely chopped spring onion
½ cup finely chopped leek
3 bay leaves
7 clams
40g unsalted butter
1 tsp tomato paste
½ tsp pink Himalayan salt flakes
½ tsp black pepper
Crusted Stamppot:
500g potatoes, peeled and quartered
60g unsalted butter
1 cup sliced leeks, cut 1 cm thick
½ clove garlic, minced
3 stalks curly kale, stems removed, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tbsp finely chopped chives
½ tsp pink Himalayan salt flakes
2 pinches of ground black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp olive oil
Broad Beans:
200g fresh broad beans
1 tbsp lemon juice
pinch Himalayan salt flakes
pinch black pepper
Baby Watercress and Celery Leaf Salad:
1 tbsp picked celery leaves, picked from the inside of the celery heart
2 tbsp picked baby watercress leaves
1 tsp lemon juice
½ tsp extra virgin olive oil
pinch of pink Himalayan salt flakes
pinch black pepper
Garnish:
Baby watercress
Method
1. For the Crispy Skin Rainbow Trout, remove trout fillets and debone. Finely chop carcass into small pieces and reserve for the broth. Trim fillets to neaten and remove excess sinew. Place fillets, skin side down, onto a plate and cover with a damp clean tea towel and set aside in the fridge until required.
2. For the Fish Broth, fill a large 4 litre pot with water. Add finely chopped fish carcass, celery, onion, carrot, parsley, spring onion, leek and bay leaves. Place onto medium heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain into a medium sized saucepan and place over high heat. Add clams and continue to cook for 2 minutes then remove and discard clams.
3. Strain broth through a fine sieve lined with muslin cloth into a clean 3 litre saucepan then add butter, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Place back onto high heat and continue to simmer until broth has reduced to approximately 1 litre, then remove from heat. Add lemon juice then set aside until needed.
4. For the Crusted Stamppot, place potatoes in a medium saucepan and add enough water to cover. Place onto medium heat and bring to the boil then continue to cook potatoes until they are tender but not falling apart, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and place potatoes back into saucepan. Set aside until needed.
5. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, add leek and garlic and sauté until translucent.
6. Half fill a medium saucepan with water and sit a bamboo steamer basket on top. Once steamer has filled with steam, add chopped kale and cover. Steam for 5 minutes then remove from heat and set aside.
7. Take saucepan of cooked potatoes and use a potato masher to mash until smooth. Add cooked leek and garlic, kale, parsley, chives and season to taste.
8. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Grease 4 x 9cm wide by 4cm high chef ring moulds with some canola spray and place onto the lined tray. Fill the rings to the top with the potato mixture then gently push down on the surface of the stamppot with the back of a spoon to create a flat and level surface. Brush the tops of the stamppot with some beaten egg. Heat a large non-stick frypan over medium heat and add olive oil. Place stamppot, egg side down, into the pan and fry until crisp, about 2 minutes. Brush the other surface with egg then carefully flip the ring of stamppot to crisp the other side. Remove from the heat and set aside on paper towel.
9. For the Broad Beans, peel outer husks away from broad beans. Set a small saucepan of water over medium heat and bring to the boil. Add broad beans and blanch for 30 seconds then strain and rinse under cold water. Peel broad beans again to remove outer white skin then place into a small bowl with lemon juice, salt and pepper and toss to combine.
10. For the Baby Watercress and Celery Leaf Salad, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and toss gently to combine. Set aside until needed.
11. For the Broad Beans, peel outer husks away from broad beans. Set a small saucepan of water over medium heat and bring to the boil. Add broad beans and blanch for 30 seconds then strain and rinse under cold water. Peel broad beans again to remove outer white skin then place into a small bowl with lemon juice, salt and pepper and toss to combine.
12. To cook the fish, cut fillets in half to give 4 evenly sized portions. Heat a medium non-stick frypan over medium heat. Add oil then add fish fillets, skin side down, and cook until skin is crisp, about 3 minutes. Spoon a teaspoon of butter onto the flesh side of each fillet, then remove from heat and flip fillets onto the flesh side.
13. To plate, place a Crusted Stamppot into the centre of each serving dish and remove ring mould. Place a piece of the Crispy Skin Rainbow Trout on top of the Crusted Stamppot. Top fish with some of the Baby Watercress and Celery Leaf Salad. Pour some of the Fish Broth into the bowl around the Stamppot. Sprinkle some of the Broad Beans around the Broth and finish with some baby watercress.