Shone Mathew hails from Kerala and trained as a chef in India prior to working in Indian and International hotels before joining Cruise and Maritime Voyages in 2013 as Executive Chef on board Mv Magellan.
The produce for his fridges, freezers and store rooms is delivered on board once every cruise. It must be a mammoth undertaking as every seven days some 17,500 eggs are consumed, along with 2,960 litres of milk, 750 kg of bacon, 2150kg cheese, 4800 kg meat, 3800kg fish and 7800kg of fruit.
Working with Shone in the galley departments are some 80 kitchen staff, of many different nationalities, including 57 chefs.
Every day three butchers prepare the different meat cuts whilst in the bakery department the head baker and his three assistants turn their hands not only to bread but also have to produce 6000 bread rolls a day.
I asked Shone what he liked cooking most of all – without even hesitating ‘pasta’ he answered.
He’s not included a pasta dish amongst the recipes he has very kindly given us, but here are three of his most popular recipes. We’ve not tested or tried them yet, but it won’t be long before we do.
Recipes
‘Cochin to Landon Prawns Masala’
Ingredients:
- 500g prawns – shelled and deveined and marinated in lemon juice, salt and turmeric powder
- 2 onions – finely sliced
- 2tbs oil
- 4 garlic cloves – finely chopped
- 1 small piece of ginger – finely chopped
- 4 green chillies – chopped
- 2 tomatoes – skinned, deseeded and chopped
- Curry leaves – 4 stems
- 1tsp chilli powder, 1tsp coriander powder and 0.5tsp turmeric powder mixed into a paste with a little water
- 150ml coconut milk
For tempering (ie cooking briefly in hot oil to release the flavours and essential oils)
- 2tbs oil
- 1tsp chopped shallots
- 0.5tsp methi seed (fenugreek)
- 2 stems curry leaves
- 3 dried chillies
Method:
- Gently sauté the onion, garlic, ginger and curry leaves in the oil before adding the paste made from the chili, coriander and turmeric powders and cook well.
- Add tomato cubes and coconut milk – cook until a thick sauce.
- Add the marinated prawns and cook till tender.
- In a small separate pan add the tempering ingredients. Heat the oil and fry the methi (fenugreek) seeds followed by the chopped shallots, curry leaves and dried chillies until golden brown.
- Pour on top of the cooked prawns masala.
- Serve with lemon-rice, pickle and papadum (poppadum).
Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce (6 persons)
Ingredients for chicken souvlaki
- 4 boneless chicken breasts
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon (juice)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2tbsp dried oregano
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Wooden souvlaki (skewers)
Ingredients for Tzatziki Sauce
- 1 cucumber
- 2 cloves of garlic – minced
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 500g strained yoghurt (18 ounces)
- 1-2tbsp red wine vinegar
- Pinch of salt
Method
- Cut the chicken breasts into 2cm pieces and put in large bowl along with the marinade ingredients. Use your hands to combine ingredients really well. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
- In the meantime prepare the tzatziki sauce for the chicken. Pour olive oil, minced garlic into a blender and blend until combined.
- Remove the skin and seeds from the cucumber and grate the flesh into a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and set aside for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the grated cucumber into a clean cloth and squeeze firmly to get rid of the excess water.
- In a bowl add the grated cucumber, the blended garlic and oil, yoghurt, 1-2tbsp red wine vinegar and pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly to combine all the ingredients.
- Store the Tzatziki sauce in the fridge and always serve cold.
- To assemble the chicken souvlaki (skewers). Cut wooden skewers to fit your griddle pan and soak them in water (this will prevent them from burning).
- Thread chicken pieces comfortably on the souvlaki (skewers).
- Preheat a grill or griddle pan on a high heat. Cook the chicken souvlaki for about 8 – 10 minutes turning occasionally until nicely coloured and the meat is thoroughly cooked through.
- To serve: finely slice 2 red onions and place on a platter, top with chicken souvlaki, drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Serve while still warm with some tzatziki sauce.
Chocolate Lava (12 persons)
Ingredients
- 360g butter
- 360g dark chocolate
- 170g sugar
- 170g sieved flour
- 6 whole eggs
- 6 egg yolks
Method
- Gently melt butter and dark chocolate together in a bowl over just simmering water.
- In a separate bowl combine the eggs and the egg yolks with the sugar and beat well. Gently add the sieved flour into the mixture.
- Combine the melted butter/dark chocolate mixture with the egg, sugar and flour mixture, mix well.
- Pour into greased ramekins or ceramic moulds dusted with cocoa powder to prevent sticking and bake in oven at 250˚C for 10 minutes.
- Ease out onto plates and serve.
More Information
Cruise and Maritime Voyages: cruiseandmaritime.com