What we are eating and drinking

A great little Austrian Riesling we discovered at our Friday lunch last week.

No over bearing floral or mineral tones that you might find say in a Aussie Rieslings just a nice clean palate with a soft lingering finish.
Very enjoyable!

Another little wine that appeared at our Friday Lunch.

Delicate nose of candied fruit peel and lemon zest . Palate nice and clean with great acidity...fabulous food wine. Was a definite hit amongst the staff and went beautifully with Virginia's Tri Colour Minestrone soup.

The 2004 Ferrous Pinot had a nose of dark cherries, liquorice and five spice.

The palate had great acid and an unctuous (read oily) mouthfeel.  Sour cherries were prominent.

Christina, one of our gorgeous, bubbly Cellar Door staff made this salad for us for one of our Friday lunches.  It was a total hit!!

1 pkt pre-mixed lettuce leaves

1 block soft feta cheese

200g dried Cranberries

200g dry roasted Almonds

1 avocado

Dressing:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 - 2 cloves garlic, crushed

Mix all salad ingredient together in a large serving bowl.

Mix all dressing ingredient together and pour over salad. Serve.

Ingredients:-
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 onion - chopped
2 cloves of garlic crushed
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 cup dried red lentils – rinsed
1 litre of water
1-2 table spoons red curry paste – I used Carmella’s Indian style curry paste “ Kasoundi” – this is made locally.
Beef stock powder – to taste
Natural yogurt to serve. ( you can add coriander also)

Cook oil, onion, garlic & ginger until onion is soft. Add curry paste & cook until fragrant. Add water, stock & lentils.
Bring to the boil, then simmer until soup reduces/thickens & lentils are cooked, approx 20mins or so.

Serve with a dollop of natural yogurt & coriander if desired.

1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 potato, peeled and diced
1/2 sweet potato, peeled and diced
6 cobs corn
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
chopped fresh parsley and freshly ground pepper, to garnish

Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil for 5 minutes in a large saucepan. Add celery, carrot, potato and sweet potato, and sauté for a further 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil the corn cobs in a large pot of salted water for 5 minutes. Remove the cobs, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water. Use a knife to cut the kernels from the cob.

Add the corn kernels, stock, chilli and reserved cooking water to the vegetables in the pan. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Puree the soup to desired consistency.

Serve garnished with chopped parsley and freshly ground pepper.

Serves 4 - 6

Sue Mason - Perth


750g sweet potato peeled and sliced
1-3/4 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
1 teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon dried crushed chilli
½ teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon chives


Combine sweet potato, chicken stock, water, coriander, chilli, sugar and salt in a large saucepan. Simmer covered for 20 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Puree mixture in food processor and stir in lime juice.

Reheat before serving – garnish with chives.


Depending on the sweet potatoes, this soup can be quite thick – I often add more water once pureed.

(serves 4)

2 cups Cous Cous
2 cups boiling water
2 tsp butter
1 cup coriander
1 cup parsley
1/2 cup mint
4 Tbsp preserved lemon (chopped)
4 tomatoes (chopped)
6 Tbsp olive oil
400 grams of can chick peas
1 red onion (chopped)

Pour boiling water over Cous Cous and butter & let stand for 20 minutes.

Break up lumps with a fork.

Add all other ingredients to the Cous Cous and mix.

Season with salt and pepper.

1kg large Kipfler Potatoes
1 1/4 cups (300g) sour cream
1/4 cup (60ml) lemon juice
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh tarragon
2 stalks celery (300g), trimmed, sliced thinly
40g baby rocket leaves

1 - Scrub and peel potatoes; cut lengthways into 5mm slices. Boil, steam or microwave potato until tender; drain.

2 - Meanwhile, combine sour cream, juice, horseradish and tarragon in large bowl. Add celery and hot potato; toss gently to combine.

3 - Serve salad topped with rocket.

Preparation & Cooking time - 20 minutes
Serves 8

Serves approx. 4 people

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced onion
10 ounces fresh spinach - rinsed, dried and torn into bite size pieces
1 quart strawberries - cleaned, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup almonds - blanched and slivered

Method:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for one hour.

2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and almonds. Pour dressing over salad, and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

1/2 cup olive oil
1.5 kg meaty oxtails, patted dry
salt and pepper
2 litres beef or chicken stock
3 cups red wine
bouquet garni
2 onions, chopped
2 leeks (white and pale green parts only), chopped
3 carrots, finely chopped
2 parsnips, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Serves 4 - 6

(The Soup Bible, Penguin Books)