Spinach Pie

The perfect pie for a sunny summer dinner or picnic in the park.

Wash thoroughly a bunch of spinach, mint and parsley and spring onions and cut up roughly into bowl, steam in the microwave and then drain a let it cool slightly.

Then add 6 eggs, 250gms ricotta, 250gms feta, 1 tspn nutmeg and pepper and mix together.

Take a pack of Filo pastry and use half the packet for the base, oiling a couple at a time between laying sheets of pastry.  Add spinach filling then lay the rest of the sheets, oiling every 2-3 sheets. 

Once all layered make sure the top is oiled well, then before placing in oven, cut on the diagonal criss-cross. 

Cook in the oven at 180c for about 30-40 mins, until set.

To serve with this I did Italian beans. Add 1/3 cup Olive oil in a saucepan and fry 6 cloves of chopped garlic and a 1/4 cup of fresh roughly chopped Rosemary over a low heat. Once softened add a can of diced tomatoes. Keep stirring over gentle heat until the oil and tomato are combined. Then add 2 can of Cannellini beans and stir until warm and combined. This is a great addition with pork dishes as well.

Whole Snapper with Creamy Sauce

On Good Friday we enjoyed a whole snapper. This was caught by one of our friends, who kindly gave it to us.

On Good Friday we enjoyed a whole snapper. This was caught by one of our friends, who kindly gave it to us.

I would give it a good wash, and insert lemon slices into cavity of fish, sprinkle fresh parsley on top and then season with salt and pepper. Place in a baking tray, with 3/4 of a bottle of our Andrew Peace Chardonnay. sealing it with foil or a lid and let it poach for a about 30-40 minutes. You could add a couple of dollops of butter, if you like it to be a bit richer.

Meanwhile you can make the sauce by combining the following:

1 clove garlic
20 gram Butter
50 gram white wine(Andrew Peace Chardonnay)
80 gram cream
20 gram lemon, freshly squeezed
5 gram cornflour

Serve with garlic and onion herbed potatoes, French bean salad and crusty bread...

Delicious Aubergine Scallopini!

We had some guests over on Thursday night and this particular dish was one they really liked so I thought I would share it with you.

We had some guests over on Thursday night and this particular dish was one they really liked so I thought I would share it with you.

 

We sampled a variety of wines with this dish and our favourite was our 2008 Clare Valley Riesling and our new 2014 Premium Barrel Reserve Langhorne Creek Cabernet Wrattonbully shiraz.

 

Aubergine(EGGPLANT) Scallopini

Ingredients
•2 Large (about 550g each) Aubergines
•2 - 3 Cups of breadcrumbs
•Bunch of fresh herbs (Parsley and Oregano)
•Half a cup of Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese
•2 Eggs
•1 Tin of Passata Sauce
•Mozzarella cheese
•Basil leaves for decoration
•Salt and pepper

Method
•Cut the aubergines lengthways into 7mm thick slices, place into a colander and sprinkle lightly with salt. Leave for 20 minutes, then wash and drain.
•Mix the breadcrumbs with the herbs (you can use dried herbs if you like), black pepper and the half cup of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
•Then beat the two eggs together, place the aubergine slices into the egg mixture and then into the breadcrumb mixture ensuring a full covering.
•Fry in olive oil until golden brown, then place the slices into a lasagne baking dish and pour over the passata sauce.
•Scatter over a few basil leaves, place a couple of slices of mozzarella cheese and a light sprinkling of Reggiano cheese over the top.
•Cover the dish in foil and bake in the oven at medium temperature for 20 minutes. Take the foil off and let it brown for a further 10 minutes.

This dish goes perfectly with Roast lamb or simply as a vegetarian dish with a green salad.

 

 

 

Asparagus with Prosciutto and blue cheese

This is one of our favourite appetisers.....Asparagus with prosciutto and blue cheese.

This is one of our favourite appetisers.....

Asparagus with prosciutto and blue cheese.
First place the prosciutto on your worktop or plate, put a dollop(teaspoon) of blue cheese on each piece and wrap it round the middle of the asparagus'.

Preheat a barbecue grill or chargrill pan on high and spray the asparagus lightly with olive oil. Cook on the grill, turning occasionally for 3-4 minutes or until the prosciutto is golden and the asparagus is tender and crisp. Transfer to a serving platter to serve.

Our Red Signature Chardonnay will go perfectly with this and so will the Red Signature Shiraz, because of the blue cheese, if you only drink Red.
Or otherwise drink our Shiraz with any main meal of your choice; a good steak, roast beef, ribs, spicy sausages, any smoked foods in particular. Big beefy stews such as ox cheek especially cooked in the wine or with a touch of smoky paprika is lovely.

You can find our Chardonnay and Shiraz at Co-op.

Lamb Cutlets with Salsa Verde

Andrew came home with a bottle of Parallel Vines Chardonnay Sauvignon Blanc last Friday night, and said "We have got to try this tonight".

Andrew came home with a bottle of Parallel Vines Chardonnay Sauvignon Blanc last Friday night, and said "We have got to try this tonight" . We were not disappointed! We started drinking it  on its own and enjoyed the citrus/apple notes we picked up with grassy undertones. We then drank this with our meal and thought it was a great balance of flavours. I had used a lot of herbs and I think with this combination it went really well.

Lamb cultlets with salsa verde, quinoa tabouli and roasted potatoes.

I marinated the lamb cutlets with soya sauce and fresh rosemary for an hour. Whilst that is marinating you can move on to the side dishes.

For the roast potatoes use red desiree potatoes and dice them into small cubes leaving the skin on. Cover them in plenty of mixed herbs, chili, salt, pepper and plenty of olive oil.  Place them on a baking tray and cook in the oven until crispy.

For the Quinoa Tabouli put the following ingredients in a bowl and mix.

1 Cup of cooked quinoa

1 Small red oinion diced

2 Tomatoes diced

1 Cucumber diced

Lots of mint and parsley

The juice of 1 lemon and a dope of olive oil and black pepper

Salsa verde

1 Cup of parsley 

1 Cup of basil leaves 

1 Garlic clove

2 Teaspoons of capers 

1 Boiled egg, 

2 Slices of bread.  

Process all the above ingredients together until the consistency you like then add lemon juice, salt and pepper to your liking.

 Now your side dishes are ready, you can take out your marinated lamb cutlets and pan fry them. Let them rest for a minute before serving with the potatoes, salsa verde and quinoa tabouli.

Home made Ricotta Cheese

Last week I made my own Ricotta Cheese. My family love Ricotta Cheese, and living on the farm/vineyard, I don't always get to the city to buy the best Ricotta, so I thought I would make it myself.

Last week I made my own Ricotta Cheese. My family love Ricotta Cheese, and living on the farm/vineyard, I don't always get to the city to buy the best Ricotta, so I thought I would make it myself.


You need to make sure all your utensils are well cleaned and rinsed in boiling water before commencing.

Recipe
4 cups of full cream milk.
1 cup of buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon of salt.


Method
Place all the ingredients into a stainless steel saucepan and bring gradually to just boiling point before lowering the temperature to just simmering. You don't need to stir it, you will see the curds and whey separating and forming solids on top. Let it simmer for about 5-10 minutes until you see this separation, give the saucepan a little jiggle to see how the solids are forming. Take off the heat and let it sit for about 10-20mins.

In the meantime, place muslin or a fine linen tea towel over a fine sieve and hold this over a large bowl. Scoop the solids out of the saucepan and place them on the lined sieve, allowing the whey to drain through. Pour the rest of what's in the saucepan over the curds and then let sit for about half an hour until fully drained. The ricotta is now ready to eat warm or you can keep it in the fridge for about a week. You can then use it in cooking or just have fresh with tomato, basil and onion on bruschetta. Lots of ways of using this great cheese!

Serve this creamy cheese on bruschetta with our Rose or our Chardonnay Viognier.

Tip - Don't discard the whey, this can keep for a week and can be used in making bread(use instead of water. It makes the bread lovely and creamy! I also use the whey sometimes to soak my chickpeas, it made the best Hummus I had ever made.

Moroccan Chicken

I hear you are having some lovely weather over there so try this flavoursome light dish for those summer nights. Moroccan chicken with savoury Freekeh, served with our Chardonnay Viogner delicious!

I hear you are having some lovely weather over there so try this flavoursome light dish for those summer nights. Moroccan chicken with savoury Freekeh, served with our Chardonnay Viogner delicious!

Ingredients
8 chicken thighs fat removed, and cut into halves.
Half a cup of crushed pistachio nuts
350g of wholegrain freekeh
2 cups of chicken stock
1 diced red onion
1 diced carrot
1 red capsicum
2 cloves of garlic
½ a cup of feta cheese
Parsley and coriander

Spice Paste
1 brown onion chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup fresh coriander
Lemon juice from 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Method
To start with you need to make the spice paste, so put all the ingredients listed above into a food processor and process until finely chopped. If you would like to add a little kick to the spice paste you can add as much or as little fresh chilli as you like.

Place the chicken in a large glass or ceramic bowl. Then add the spice paste and rub over the chicken to evenly coat. Cover with cling film and place in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour to develop the flavours.

Once the chicken has marinated place into an oiled grease proof dish and cook in the oven on 180c until cooked. Half way through, toss half a cup of slightly crushed pistachio nuts, this will crisp up and coat the chicken.

Serve with the following;
350g of wholegrain Freekeh cooked in 2 cups of chicken stock, until puffed and tender. Separately fry up 1 diced red onion, 1 diced carrot, 1 red capsicum, and 2 cloves of garlic.

When the freekeh is cooked add the vegetables plus 1/2 a cup of chopped Parsley and 1 cup of diced coriander. Squeeze some lemon juice over and toss through 1/2 cup of feta cheese. Serve the freekeh up on the plates with the chicken on top and make sure you pour any of the chicken juices over it. Garnish with more coriander and chilli if required.

Bonfire Night!

It is school holidays at the moment and once or twice a year with the children, family, friends and neighbours, we get together and have a big bonfire night!

It is school holidays at the moment and once or twice a year with the children, family, friends and neighbours, we get together and have a big bonfire night! We collect together all the off cuts of vines, branches etc from the winery and make a huge pile ready for the big night.

We bake potatoes in the coals and cook the sausages on top so they get a great charcoal taste, we love it! We then pile up the potatoes with cheese, sour cream, coleslaw, and fried onions, the flavours are delicious.

We then all sit around the fire and watch the flckering of the flames forming various shapes of dragons and lions (The children's imagination is fascinating). To finish off we usually toast marshmallows for the children and enjoy the night, sitting back with a glass of Red.

Roast Beef and Yorkshire Puddings!

We have employed a UK couple Andrew and Suzanne Boothroyd, who have moved over to Australia to work in our company.

We have employed a UK couple Andrew and Suzanne Boothroyd, who have moved over to Australia to work in our company. The weather is starting to cool down now, so we decided to cook something warm and hearty!

Roast Beef and Yorkshire Puddings (Suzanne's family recipe)

There was 10 of us for Dinner, so I bought a 3kg ribeye Roast with the bones still attached.

To the meat add cloves of garlic and cover with lots of cracked black pepper. Seal the meat first in a hot oven for 15 minutes and then turn it down to a moderate temperature and cook in the oven for an hour. Take the meat out of the oven, cover with foil and rest for 20 minutes.

Gravy

Drain off the juices from the meat into a saucepan and add 2 tablespoons of flour, a cup of red wine and half a cup of vegetable stock. Blend this altogether with a teaspoon of jam, if you like your sauce a little sweeter.

Suzanne's homemade Yorkshire puddings

 

For 4 people (we doubled this recipe)

 

Ingredients

75g plain flour

2 eggs

75ml milk

55ml water

salt & pepper

oil for the tins (my mum uses lard)

Method

Mix the flour, milk, water, and eggs together in a large bowl and add some salt & pepper to season. Put the yorkshire pudding tins in the oven, at 220 degrees Celsius for about 15 minutes, before you add the mixture so that the oil is really hot. Pour the mixture in to the tins and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown and puffed up. 

Serve with horseradish potato mash (add a couple of tablespoons of horseradish cream to the Mash), steamed green peas, carrots, and Suzannes' yorkshire puddings.

Our Cabernet Sauvignon and Tempranillo.

 

 

Smokin' Pork (Southern Style)

We have got ourselves a new large smoker cabinet and we did this recipe on the weekend

We have got ourselves a new large smoker cabinet and we did this recipe on the weekend.

Firstly we had our own salamis that we smoked using our shaved wood chips, from the wood planks that come out of the wine tanks. The Salami is now ready to use in paellas.

We then did a Smokin' Pork (southern style)

Pork (whatever cut you like and size dependent on how many people the recipe is for)

Smoky Paprika

Cumin

Brown sugar

Garlic

Cayenne pepper/Chilli powder

Salt

Smokey BBQ sauce

Coleslaw

Corn

Sweet Potatoes

Method

Firstly cover the pork with a dry rub blend of, smoky paprika, cumin, brown sugar, garlic, cayenne pepper or chilli powder and salt. Rub all over the pork and let it rest for at least a couple of hours or overnight in the fridge.

Take it out of the fridge an hour before you are going to cook it so it is room temperature. Cook in a moderate oven for half the cooking time (depends on the size and cut of the meat) and then place in the smoker for 40 minutes. If you don't have a smoker complete the cooking in the oven. If you use ribs, cook in the oven for 20 minutes and then 20 minutes in the smoker. If cooking a roast it can take 1-3 hrs in the oven and then 1-2 hrs in the smoker.

We used half oak wood chips and charcoal in the smoker and added whole bulbs of garlic too, cook these until there soft and serve on the side of the pork. Serve with Smokey BBQ sauces, coleslaw, corn and mashed sweet potatoes.

Our Shiraz Malbec goes really well with this Pork dish.

Peaches cooked with jack Daniels whisky!

Peaches

70g Melted Butter

1/3 Brown sugar

¼ of Jack Daniels Whiskey

Ginger nut biscuits

Cream

Method

Cut the peaches in half and place in a greased baking tray. Then make a mixture of 70 grams of melted butter, 1/3 of a cup of brown sugar and a ¼ of a cup of Jack Daniels whisky, pour over the peaches, cover them with foil and bake in the oven until soft.

Take off the foil and crush ginger nut biscuits over the top and cook for a further 10 minutes until slightly toasty. Serve with cream.

Serve this dessert with our Moscato
 

PHO Soup from Vietnam!

We have just arrived back from Vietnam, where we had some amazing food. One of the most famous dishes in Vietnam is there PHO soup that you can eat at any time of the day!

We have just arrived back from Vietnam, where we had some amazing food. One of the most famous dishes in Vietnam is there PHO soup that you can eat at any time of the day!

Usually it is made with beef broth, but Varn made it for us with chicken broth.

She arrived from the market with, fresh pork, chicken and lots of herbs, Vietnamese mint and corainder.

PHO (Simply pronounced Fuh)

1 Litre chicken stock
4cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and halved
2 star anise
3 teaspoons of light soy sauce
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
2 cups of rice noodles (pad thai) your choice of noodle
2 tablespoons of lime juice
2 cups of sliced cooked pork
1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup of fresh coriander leaves
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Red Birdseye chili and lime wedges, and fresh diced garlic to serve.

Method

Place the stock in a saucepan with ginger, star anise, soy sauce and the fish sauce. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the noodles according to the instructions on the packet, and then drain well.
Divide the noodles among warmed soup bowls, then top with sliced pork fillet, mint, onions and coriander.
Pour over the hot soup mixture (the heat will gently cook the meat) and top with chili, lime juices and fresh garlic.

Our sweet Moscato would go well with this lovely soup.

Pork Meatballs over Laksa Soup

We have been very busy the last couple of weeks with entertaining overseas guest, from China, Germany and USA.

We have been very busy the last couple of weeks with entertaining overseas guest, from China, Germany and USA. We have mainly been providing them with our pork and our goat, and fresh fruits and vegies from our garden/orchard.

One quick dish I did was steaming Asian pork meatballs over a Laksa soup. I have a steamer with a reasonable size base that I cook the soup in the bottom (where you usually only boil water) and have the meatballs steaming above, getting all of the lovely flavours infusing through.

For the Meatballs
• 500g pork mince
• 4 shallots, ends trimmed, thinly sliced
• 5 water chestnuts, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves
• 3 teaspoons soy sauce
• 3 teaspoons oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 egg, lightly whisked
• 40g (1/4 cup) plain flour
• Steamed rice and Asian greens to serve with, or you can place in the Laksa to make it an all in one main dish.

First of all combine the mince, shallots, water chestnuts, garlic, coriander, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and egg in a bowl. Roll 1 tablespoonful of the mixture into a ball and roll in seasoned flour, with salt and pepper and place in the steamer. Place baking paper between the layers.

Laksa Soup
Fry 1 diced onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 teaspoon of fresh ginger in a tablespoon of olive oil in the pan of your steamer. Then add 1 full jar of Laksa paste(400mls) with 3 cups of Chicken or vegetable stock, 400ml of coconut milk and 125ml of coconut cream. Place the steamer on top, bring to the boil and let it simmer for half an hour or until the pork meatballs are all cooked through.
Whilst that is cooking, get your soup bowls ready with the following items divided between them. You can have it as an entrée, if you have lots of people or if you only have 4-6 you can have it as a main dish.

• 100g mung bean vermicelli noodles (cellophane or glass noodles)
• A kaffir lime leaf in each
• 2 cups of (110g) bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup coriander leaves
• 1/2 cup Vietnamese mint leaves
• Cooked prawns, diced chicken
• Sambal oelek and lime wedges, to serve

This dish goes nicely with a glass of our Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc

Leftover Sausage Curry

It's been really busy at our house recently with lots of dinner parties with friends, relatives and business partners.

It's been really busy at our house recently with lots of dinner parties with friends, relatives and business partners.

Please see below a recipe I did on Sunday night, after a BBQ we had for 20 people on Saturday night.

Leftover Sausage Curry
Fry in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the following ingredients;
1 diced onion
1 tsp. grated ginger
2 tsp. crushed garlic
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. Garam Masala
1 tsp. coriander powder
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. dried chilli or more if you like it hot.

Fry this all together, until golden brown. It's important to cook your spices first, as it brings out the flavour in them. Even better if you mortar and pestle the seeds of the above spices, before frying.

Then add a dozen leftover sausages diced, as these are already cooked, you just need to cover them in the spices, then add a can(400gm) of chopped tomatoes and a can(400gm) of coconut milk. Let this simmer until heated all the way through and the flavours have soaked into the sausages. This should take approximately 20-30mins.

Serve with Pilau rice
1 cup Basmati rice
2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. Garam Masala
1 bay leaf.
1 tsp. crushed garlic

Place the chicken stock and spices in a saucepan and cook the rice for 12 minutes until light and fluffy.
Whilst the rice is cooking, fry up 1 thinly sliced onion, in 2 tsp of olive oil, until golden and caramelised. Spread out on a baking tray and place in a preheated 180°c oven for about 10 minutes until it is crunchy, then toast 1/4 of a cup of Salted Cashews.
Combine the onion and cashews and sprinkle on the top of the rice for serving.
Serve with a green salad, Cucumber and Yoghurt and red chillies for those who like it hot.

Enjoy with a glass of Rose.

Festive Christmas Turkey Lunch!

For Christmas, a must have is Turkey, but you don't necessarily have to cook a whole one.  This is a simple recipe, that is easy to do.
 

Turkey in a Pot

One turkey breast, size dependent on how many people you are having for lunch. Ask the butcher to make sure it is secured with string, so it holds better for carving.

Use a heavy based pot, such as Le Creuset. Melt 50gms butter and 2 tablespoons of Olive oil in the pot.  Place the turkey breast down skin side first and brown for a couple of minutes, then turn sealing all of the meat.

Add the zest of 2 lemons, a couple of sprigs of thyme and sage, salt and pepper and 3 cups of chicken stock to the pot and place the lid on top to seal.

Turn the heat down low and let it simmer for 40minutes, check on the progress and cook for longer if necessary, this will depend on the size of the Turkey breast. 

Once cooked, drain off the juices through a sieve to make the gravy.  Keep the turkey in the pot to keep warm until ready to serve.

Pancetta and Cranberry individual stuffing's

Whilst the turkey is cooking, you can make the stuffing.

Using a muffin tin, oil them first and then place thin slices of Pancetta to make a cup.

To make the stuffing to go inside melt 50gms of butter and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and fry 1 onion and 1 garlic clove diced. Then add a cup full of chopped parsley, thyme and sage, salt and pepper, and 1 cup of cranberries and combine until soft. 

 

Then add 3 cups of fresh sourdough bread crumbs, 2 eggs and pour over 100gms of melted butter, combine and add to the pancetta cups, firming down to take the mould of the tins. Cook them in the oven at 180c for 20-30 mins until golden brown.

Gravy
Make a roux with 50gms of butter and with 3 tablespoons of flour, melt the butter and add flour whisking quickly to combine with no lumps. Then gradually add the juices from the turkey until the desired thickness you like your gravy.

Hope you enjoy with a glass of delicious Shiraz

Have a wonderful Christmas from the PEACE Family.

Wishing you all the best for 2014. 

 

Marinated Pork with side dishes

Andrew and I (with our daughter Sylvia) spent the winter up in the Snow area of Victoria. It was a great 14 weeks of enjoying skiing in the cold and snow.

Andrew and I  (with our daughter Sylvia) spent the winter up in the Snow area of Victoria.  It was a great 14 weeks of enjoying skiing in the cold and snow.  We slaughtered 2 pigs a few weeks ago, so we have been eating quite a lot of Pork, so why not try out my pork marinade and side dishes.

Pork  Marinade

This marinade can be used on pork fillets or pork chops.

2 tablespoons Brown Sugar

2 tablespoons Soya Sauce

1 tsp garlic

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Garam Masala

Add chilli to your liking

Combine all these ingredients together in a dish and place the pork chops/fillets in and rub the marinade all over them until they are covered, leave them in the dish marinating for a minimum of one hour.

You can then bake, fry or BBQ the chops/fillets.  Cook them until they go a nice golden colour.

This is great served with a Cabbage dish or Fennel salad with Coriander.

Cabbage Saute

For the cabbage sauté, fry 1 diced onion and a tsp of fennel seeds, in 1 dessertspoon of olive oil.

Add the sliced cabbage, and keep stirring until combined.  Add 1/2 a cup of white wine and 1/4 of a cup of apple cider, seasoning with salt and pepper.

Put a lid on the frying pan and turn the heat down low, cooking to the firmness you prefer.  I like mine still with abit of crunch.  Before serving add 1/2 a cup of chopped fresh Parsley.

 Fennel and red onion salad.

Slice fennel and red onion and present in dish alternatively.

Then mix the following ingredients in a bowl and pour over the salad;

1 tsp seeded mustard

2 tbsp of white balsamic

4 tbsp of olive oil

juice of 1 lemon.

Salt and pepper

Finish the salad with 1/2 a cup of chopped Coriander.

 

 

Sorrel Dip with Smoked Trout

I made this Dip the other night and had it with some smoked Trout from the Great Alpine Region of victoria. We were holidaying up in the snow fields of dinner Plain.

I made this Dip the other night and had it with some smoked Trout from the Great Alpine Region of victoria. We were holidaying up in the snow fields of dinner Plain.

So for the Sorrel Dip, it's really simple but tastes Divine!!

1 clove of garlic

bunch of sorrel

4 spring onions

250gm Cream Cheese.

Start off by crushing the garlic, and chopping the washed sorrel and spring onion(you could put it in a blender if you like. Then add the cream cheese until completely combined.

Then simply serve the smoked trout on fine crackers topped with a dollop of the Dip and hey presto!

Summer Russian Salad

Since you are having such brilliant weather, you should all be having BBQ's and eating lots of salads. Please see one of my family's favorites.

Since you are having such brilliant weather, you should all be having BBQ's and eating lots of salads.

Please see below one of my family's favorites.

Start by boiling 6 washed potatoes with the skin on,(once cooked, drain the water off and let them rest for 20 minutes to cool.)dice into medium sized pieces and place straight into the bowl.

Followed by boiling 4 eggs and dicing.

whilst they are boiling, cut up and place in a large salad bowl the following ingredients;

6 medium gherkins(dill pickles)diced
1 cucumber diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 cup of diced ham.

Once the potatoes have cooled add to the other ingredients and also the diced boiled eggs.

Add a bunch of fresh, finely cut dill, salt and pepper, and a good quality mayonnaise and combine gently.

This can be served as a starter/entree or served with BBQ chicken.

I like this with our Riesling or Semillon Sauvignon Blanc.

Recipes for left over Xmas Port

As it's moving into summer, quite often you may have some port left over from winter, that you didn't quite finish. Well here are some options to use up that last bit.

As it's moving into summer, quite often you may have some port left over from winter, that you didn't quite finish. Well here are some options to use up that last bit.

You will only need to use half a cup to a full cup for most recipes, you could.......

Pour into a beef casserole or bolognaise sauce, to make it a touch sweet.

Pour over a sultana cake, when it comes straight out of the oven.

Sautee Mushrooms with thyme and port.

I thought though I would give you my Chicken in port Wine sauce as this is my personal favourite!

Take 4 chicken fillets and marinate in the juice of 1 lemon, and a pinch of salt and pepper for an hour or 2, depending on the size of the fillets.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and add 1 clove of crushed garlic. Cook for one minute and then add the chicken and a sprig of fresh thyme/basil, cooking until browning on both sides. Then add half a cup of white wine and half a cup of chicken stock, cover, and let it poach until the chicken is cooked (you can add more stock if the fillets are large).

Remove the chicken from the pan and cover with foil. Add to the pan 1 cup of port, and let it reduce, then add half a cup of cream and a pinch of salt and pepper. Place the chicken back in the pan, covering it all over with the sauce, wait until the chicken is warmed through and then serve.

This would go nicely with our Estate Collection Chardonnay or our Estate Collection Cabernet Shiraz.

Fresh Tuna

One of my favourite dinners, is  Fresh Tuna, very easy dish, with  great flavours!

One of my favourite dinners, is Fresh Tuna,very easy dish, with great flavours!

Firstly, dice 1 small onion and 1 clove of garlic, fry them in olive oil  in a large frying pan with the lid on until soft. Add 3-4 anchovy fillets (less or more depending if you like them) crush with a fork and fry for a 2-3 minutes. Then add 1 can of chopped tomatoes, 1 cup of olives, a tablespoon of fresh oregano and a pinch of black pepper.

Let it simmer for 10 minutes, then add the tuna steaks, and cook to how you like them. Serve with parsley on top and crusty bread . You can add diced capsicum at the same time as the onion if you like.

I think this dish is great paired with a glass of our Cabernet Shiraz or I like it with our Estate Malbec.

Enjoy!

Tips for leftover roast lamb

In Australia, the traditional roast to have is roast leg of lamb. It is one of our favourites . Sometimes you would like to have a roast but only have 2 of you at home and not sure what to do with the leftovers.

You can either have it on sandwiches for the next couple of days or make a shepherd's pie or a curry, that you can then put in the freezer for a later date. Shepherd's pie an oldie but a goodie. I'm sure most families would have a recipe that has been passed down over the years.

Shepherd's Pie

Peel 6 potatoes and boil until soft. Mash.

Cut off as much meat off the bone, mince a whole peeled onion, 1 stick of celery and a carrot in a food processor. Add the meat and mince roughly so there is still texture. Pour into a bowl and add 1-2 tspns of Brown sauce,1-2 tspns of Worcestershire sauce,and lots of pepper. Mix well. Place in a baking tray,spread evenly. Then top with the mashed potato. Cover and freeze until required. When you cook it, spray the top with olive oil spray and dobs of butter for richness. Cook for 30mins in 180 celcius oven ,until golden brown on top.

Lamb Curry

Cut as much of the lamb off the bone and dice.

Fry one diced onion, 1 tspns ginger, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tspn of each of the following: turmeric,cumin and garam masala. Add 2 tspns of ground coriander and as much chilli as you like. With younger children, I omit the chilli and just have it cut up, to add at the table.

Add your lamb,coconut milk and 1/2 can chopped tomatoes. Simmer until flavours have combined. Serve with steamed rice, papadums ,kasoundi,fresh coriander and chilli to your liking. This can be placed in the freezer for a later date too.

Enjoy the end of Spring!

Both of these dishes would go well with Andrew Peace Gold Reserve Cabernet Shiraz.