Goat And Beetroot Cannelloni

I love to play around with different flavours and combinations of foods, depending on what is in the fridge or cupboard and what looks good at the shops.

Sometimes these combinations work out really well, other times not so good. Obviously those that don't work out, you never get to read about!

This week, I had some fresh lasagne sheets in the fridge and a beetroot that was looking sad and sorry for it's self, that I'd forgotten about in the bottom of the basket. Throw in a giant bag of yellow and orange capsicums in the clearance section of the fruit shop and some herbs from the garden and I was set on making some cannelloni.

I don't actually make cannelloni very often, but when I do, it tends to be ricotta and spinach or some other vegetarian version. This time I thought I'd make a meaty version that would match nicely with the beetroot. Initially I was going to make chicken ones, but our local Middle Eastern butcher has wonderful goat mince, so I decided that was the way to go. Sweet, lean goat and sweet, earthy beetroot are a fantastic combination!

Instead of a tomato based sauce, I decided to make a sweet roasted capsicum one with dill and garlic. Roasting the capsicums brings out a lovely sweetness in them, and the yellow and orange ones I picked up tend to be on the sweeter side anyway.

To make sure there was enough liquid to cook the pasta, I added a bit of water to the baking tray with the cannelloni before it went into the oven. This didn't dilute the sauce at all, but helped to make sure the pasta was al dente once the top was a beautiful golden colour.

Since the cannelloni already had quite a lot of different flavours going on, I served it with a simple lettuce, tomato and avocado salad. You could get more creative if you like, but I think keeping it simple is better than being too overwhelmed.

Goat And Beetroot Cannelloni

500g goat mince
1 medium beetroot, peeled and grated
1 red onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
A drizzle of olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped dill
Salt and pepper to taste

6 mixed yellow and orange capsicums
1/4 cup finely chopped dill
1 clove of garlic, coarsely chopped
1 ripe tomato, quartered
1/2 cup water

1 packet of fresh lasagne sheets

To make the filling, heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the mince beetroot, onion and garlic.

Fry until the meat is just cooked, breaking up clumps as you go. The meat will continue to cook in the oven, so it doesn't matter if it's not cooked all the way through.
Stir through the dill and season to taste.
Set aside to cool.

To make the sauce, cut capsicums in half and remove the seeds and membranes.
Place them skin side up on a large baking tray on a piece of foil. This means less cleaning up afterwards!
Grill under hight heat until the skin is blistered and blackened. The blacker the better.
Remove from the grill, wrap all the capsicums into a parcel with the foil and set aside for 10 minutes to cool and loosen the skins.
Carefully unwrap the parcel, keeping all the lovely juices inside.
Peel the skins off the capsicum and put the flesh and juices in a food processor.
Add the garlic, dill, tomato and water and process to a smooth sauce.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To assemble, cut the pasta sheets in half so that you have 2 squares from each piece.
Lay all the pieces out on a bench and divide the filling up between them. You want enough filling so that you can still roll and enclose the cannelloni.
Roll them all up with the seam side down.

Spread a good spoonful of the sauce on the base of a large baking dish and add 1/4 cup of water. This helps to cook the pasta.

Lay the cannelloni over the sauce in a single layer. I could fit 14 rolls into my dish.
Sprinkle an extra 1/4 cup water over the top and then spoon the remaining sauce evenly over the pasta.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Bake cannelloni for about 30 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked and the sauce has turned to a nice crust on the top.
Rest for 5 minutes in the tray before serving with a light salad.

Enjoy!

And To Drink....

There's no photo of tonight's wine because it was a cleanskin Pinot Noir with no label.  I picked it up from Hanging Rock Winery a few years ago when we went for a drive to the Macedon Ranges in Victoria. We bought a dozen of the wines in a special deal and have been enjoying them ever since. Being a cool climate Pinot Noir, there is lots of beautiful plum and red berry fruit flavours. There was no funkiness to this wine and it had nice clean and simple flavours.

The ripe red fruits matched perfectly with the sweetness in the goat and beetroot filling and the roasted capsicum sauce. 

This was certainly a cheaper quaffer, but was a great wine to have with a nice hearty meal on a cool Spring night. It certainly went down very easily!

Hanging Rock Winery make some fantastic wines, particularly their premium Sparkling, Shiraz and Pinot Noir.  If you happen to be in the Macedon Ranges, make sure you drop in. It's only an hour drive from Melbourne, so is perfect for a day trip or when you just want to get out of the city for a weekend.

Roasted Beetroot And Couscous Salad

This week, in typical Melbourne fashion, we've gone from 34 degrees to 20 degrees in the space of a couple of days. Last week I wanted light and fresh meals with minimal cooking and minimal fuss. Frankly, who can be bothered cooking when it's hot?

The last two days, as the weather has cooled down, I've been craving heavier meals. For Meat free Monday, I couldn't go past making a hearty salad with a few of my favourite things. Beautiful fresh asparagus was a given and roasted beetroot is always a favourite. Combined with some corn couscous and a spiced yoghurt dressing, using the lovely MOO Dahi, it was certainly a winner.

I've never used corn couscous before, but picked up a packet from the local shops because they didn't have any of the regular sort available. It was a little heavier than couscous made from semolina, but had a lovely corny smell and taste. I'll certainly be using it again. You can just use regular couscous, or even the larger Israeli couscous balls. Either would still be delicious.

Roasted Beetroot And Couscous Salad

1 large beetroot

A drizzle of olive oil

1 bunch of asparagus, woody ends snapped off

1/2 cup MOO Dahi yoghurt

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

Salt and pepper to taste

1 1/2 cups couscous

A few handfuls of parsley and mint, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Trim the beetroot and peel using a vegetable peeler. Cut into large chunks.

Toss with a drizzle of olive oil on a baking tray and roast for about 30 minutes or until tender when pierced with a skewer.

Remove from the oven and set aside.

Place asparagus spears in a heatproof container and pour over boiling water. 

Allow to sit for 3-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the spears. Drain and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the MOO Dahi yoghurt, lemon juice, cumin and coriander. Season to taste

Prepare the couscous according to packet instructions. 

In a large bowl, combine coucous, beetroot, asparagus and chopped herbs. Season to taste.

Tip onto a platter or serving bowl and drizzle with the yoghurt dressing.

Enjoy!

Happy Bastille Day

Every year as it gets closer to July 14^th, I start to plan what delicious French treats I am going to prepare for Bastille Day. I’m not French, and don’t have any direct French connections, but I love French food and Paris would have to be one of my favourite cities.

Usually my food inspiration comes from my Gourmet Traveller magazines, who always do a French edition around this time of year. Previous menus have included confit duck, slow cooked beef with escargot, cassoulet and a slow cooked lamb dish. I match my food with a French wine, of course, to try and make the whole meal as authentic as I can. There might even be some French music playing in the background!

Dessert always includes something suitably French too.

Tonight’s menu had to match with a bottle of champagne, as we still  hadn’t got around to celebrating the move into our new house. What better way to celebrate a new house and Bastille Day than with a French Champagne.

When I was looking for the main course, I wanted something based on chicken, pork or seafood with the right flavours to complement vintage champagne.  In the end, a slow cooked pork rillettes salad with kipfler potatoes, baby beets and a mustard and chive dressing won. The salad was meant to be served at room temperature, but I modified it slightly to serve it warm. On a cold, Melbourne night a warm salad is so much nicer.

As an entrée and to go with the salad, I also bought a beautiful fresh baguette, an ashed chevre and a Coeur de lion brie. A perfect meal. Why can't every Monday night be like this?

  

Salad of Pork Rillettes, Crackling, Potato and Beetroot

600g piece pork belly, cut into 3cm thick slices

3 thyme sprigs

2 bay leaves

8 black peppercorns

500g small kipfler potatoes

8 baby beets

A few handfuls of mixed salad greens

1 Tbs Dijon mustard

1 Tbs red wine vinegar

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp brown sugar

2 Tbs finely chopped chives

For the rillettes

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees.

Combine pork, thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns in a dish and bake, covered, for about 3 hours or until the meat easily pulls away from the bone and the fat has nicely rendered.

Allow to cool and then remove the bones, rind and fat. Shred the meat with your hands or two forks and place in the fridge.

Scrape the fat from the rind and set aside for later. Discard the bones and fat.

Place the rind on a lined baking tray and grill under high heat until the skin has crackled and is crisp and golden.

Drain on kitchen paper and break into smaller pieces when cool enough to handle.

Boil the potatoes and beetroots in separate saucepans of salted water for 10-15 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a skewer. How long this actually takes will depend on the size of your vegetables.

When they are cooked, drain separately and keep warm.

Peel the beetroots and cut in half lengthways.

Reheat the pork in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 20 minutes, or until just warm and the remaining fat has rendered.

For the dressing, combine all ingredients , except chives, in a small jar and shake to combine. Season to taste.

Add the chives just before serving.

To serve, combine the salad leaves, warm potatoes and beetroots, crispy pork skin and warmed pork in a bowl.

Toss gently with dressing and then pile on to plates.

Serve with fresh crusty bread.

Bon appetite!

And To Drink....

Looking through our selection of Champagnes, I wanted something special to celebrate our new house, as well as something that would match the pork. We have quite a few vintage and non vintage champagnes in the cellar, so it was no easy decision. In the end, I opted for the 1999 Pommery Louise.

This would have to be one of the most beautiful and refined Champagnes I have ever tried. It was only mildly yeasty, with plenty of fruit flavour still present, even though it was 15 years old.

The golden colour and fine bubbles made it look so special in the glass too.

There was some residual sweetness, but also enough acidity, that it was wonderful with the fattiness of the pork. The sweet, earthiness of the beetroot also complimented the sweetness in the wine and it's acidity. Stone fruit and quince were the beautiful flavours that came through to me.

We had the cheese with the champagne too and the creamy brie, as well as the tart goat's cheese, also matched perfectly. The Louise was certainly a wine that paired well with the whole meal. Now if only I could afford to drink this sort of Champagne every day!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and welcome to 2014!

Here's to a wonderful year ahead, full of good food, good wine and plenty of fun, laughter and adventures.

New Year's Eve has been a bit of a non-event in our house since having the kids, but just because we're not going out and partying, doesn't mean we can't still eat and drink well.

For the past few years I have cooked a special meal and we've had a nice bottle of champagne to go with it. This year was no exception.

We were going to have lobster and champagne, but with working during the day on New Year's Eve, I wasn't going to be able to get to the market to pick up fresh seafood. Instead we decided to do a number of small dishes which could be spread over a couple of hours and which would all go nicely with the champagne.

Hunting through our champagne collection, we chose a bottle of 2002 Bollinger La Grande Annee. After researching food matches, the final menu was a goat's cheese soufflé, ocean trout cakes wrapped in prosciutto with a lime aoili and roasted heirloom beetroot, onion and hazelnut salad.

There was definitely no shortage of good food and wine to finish 2013 and I'm hoping that the year ahead will involve plenty of happy dining moments. I hope you can join me on my adventures again this year!

The Bollinger was dry and yeasty, with beautiful acidity and fine bubbles, which just made you want to get into the party spirit. It was a smooth wine with plenty of fruity flavours still present, even though it was 11 years old.  The acidity in the Champagne matched perfectly with the creamy, cheesy goodness of the soufflé. Being a sparkling wine, rather than a table wine, made it much lighter and a better match for a light as air soufflé.

The saltiness of the prosciutto around the fish cakes also went well with the champagne. Charcuterie and champagne are always a wonderful match, so the fact that there was also some ocean trout in the mix, just complemented it further. The lime aioli brought some extra acidity to the richness of the fish but it didn't overpower the acidity of the wine.

Serving the fish cakes with the beetroot salad combined salty with sweet, earthy beetroot and roasted onion. The crunch of the roasted hazelnuts complemented the nuttiness in the champagne.

Overall, the three dishes went well with the Bollinger and I think they matched it's flavour profile perfectly. If only there was another bottle to enjoy!

Goat's Cheese Souffle

80g butter

60g plain flour

350ml warm milk

80g soft goats cheese

1 Tbs finely chopped parsley

3 egg yolks

2 Tbs parmesan cheese, finely grated

4 egg whites

Salt and pepper to taste

Grease 4 soufflé dishes or ramekins with butter.

Melt remaining butter in a saucepan.

Stir in the flour and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Slowly add the warm milk, a little at a time, to incorporate into the mixture without lumps.

Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir through goats cheese, parmesan and parsley. Stir until the cheese melts and combines smoothly in the mixture.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then stir through the egg yolks until combined. Season to taste.

Beat egg whites in a clean bowl until thick and soft peaks form.

Fold quickly, but carefully, through the cheese mixture to keep the air in the egg white.

Divide the mixture evenly between the moulds, place on a baking tray and bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden and risen.

Roasted Heirloom Beetroot, Onion and Hazelnut Salad

1 red onion, cut into quarters

4 sprigs of thyme

4 cloves of garlic

10 baby heirloom beetroot 

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup hazelnuts

2 Tbs pickled radishes

A handful each of parsley and snow pea tendrils

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 Tbs verjuice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Place onion on a large piece of foil with half the thyme and garlic. Drizzle with oil and a couple of grinds of salt and pepper.

Wrap the foil around the onion and place the package on a baking tray.

Peel and trim the beetroot and place on a second large piece of foil with the remaining thyme and garlic. Drizzle with oil and season to taste.

Wrap the foil around the beetroot and place the package on the same baking tray as the onion.

Roast the vegetables for 30 mins, or until the beetroot is tender. You might need to take the onion out of the oven a little bit earlier.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature.

While the vegetables are roasting, place the hazelnuts on a small ovenproof tray and roast for about 7 minutes or until the skins split and darken.

Remove from the oven and tip on to a clean tea towel. Rub the nuts in the tea towel to remove the skins. Set aside to cool.

For the vinaigrette, shake mustard, verjuice and oil in a small jar until thick and combined. Season with salt to taste.

To serve, sprinkle the parsley over a serving platter, then arrange the beetroot, onion and garlic over the top. Top with the roasted hazelnuts, pickled radish slices and snow pea tendrils. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and a grinding of black pepper.

Ocean Trout Cakes Wrapped With Proscuitto

500g ocean trout, skinned and pin boned

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp fish sauce

10 slices of prosciutto

Olive oil for frying

Rocket to serve

Combine trout, soy and fish sauce in a food processor and whiz until it is a coarse mince.

Refrigerate for 10 minutes to firm and then roll into small balls.

Cut prosciutto into halves, depending on the size of the slices, and wrap a strip around each ball.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

Heat a good drizzle of oil in a frypan and fry fish cakes for a minute on each side, until browned.

Transfer to a baking tray and then finish in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.

Serve the fish cakes on a platter topped with rocket leaves and a dish of lime aioli for dipping.

Lime Aioli

4 egg yolks

1 Tbs white wine vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 clove of garlic, chopped

75ml olive oil

Zest and juice of 1 lime

Salt and pepper to taste

Place egg yolks, mustard, vinegar and garlic in a food processor and whiz until combined.

With the motor still running, add oil in a thin stream until combined.

Stir in lime juice and zest and season to taste.

Vanilla Panna Cotta With Honey Spice Apricots

To finish our special dinner, a vanilla panna cotta with honey and spice apricots went perfectly with a Vinden Estate 2007 Late Harvest Semillon. The wine wasn't overly sweet and sticky, being a late harvest, rather than a botrytis. There was still plenty of freshness in the fruit flavours and enough acidity that it cut through the creaminess of the panna cotta. A touch of apple and stone fruits complemented the apricots perfectly.

We bought this wine in the Hunter Valley 4 1/2 years ago when we stopped there on our way to Sydney. Vinden Estate is a boutique winery in Pokolbin, which produces a couple of red wines, but predominantly whites of the Hunter's signature Semillon and Chardonnay. We had been recommended it by a friend and were pleasantly surprised by how lovely their wines were. They are not readily available in bottle shops, so you might need to plan a weekend away to go and try them.

1 cup thickened cream

1/2 a vanilla pod, split in half

30g caster sugar

1 leaf gelatine

20g butter

1 stick cinnamon

2 star anise

4 cloves

6 apricots, halved and stones removed

15ml of brandy

1/4 cup honey

Combine cream, half the vanilla bean and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil.

Remove from the heat to infuse.

Soak the gelatine leaf in cold water until softened. Squeeze to remove excess water then stir through the hot cream mixture until dissolved.

Strain through a fine sieve into a jug.

Lightly oil 4 small moulds or tea cups using your finger.

Divide the cream mixture between the four cups and leave to set in the fridge overnight.

To make the apricots, heat butter, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and the other half of the vanilla bean in a frypan until the butter starts to melt.

Add the apricots cut side down and cook on low heat for 5 minutes, or until golden.

Carefully turn over and cook for another 5 minutes, or until soft.

Drizzle with the honey and brandy, cook for another minute or two, then remove from the heat to cool.

When ready to serve, gently scrape around the edge of the panna cotta to loosen it from the mould.

Turn upside down on to a plate and jiggle to allow it to drop.

Place 3 or 4 apricots on the side of the plate and drizzle with some of the honey brandy sauce.

Beetroot Baked Eggs

I love it when a completely random combination of what's left over in the fridge actually works!

This week I was left to my own devices while my husband was out at Christmas drinks. I figured it was a good opportunity to use up the bits and pieces that were in the fridge and try to create something delicious.

I loved baked eggs and they often feature on our weekend breakfast menu or on weeknights when you want something quick, easy and filling.

This beetroot baked eggs was delicious and only took a total of about 20 minutes to make and cook. It was perfect on a cool night, when I wanted something hearty and filling but without too much fuss or effort.

This recipe only used a few ingredients and not a lot of skill. The sweet, earthy flavour of the beetroot was beautiful with the creamy feta and the runny eggs yolks mixed through. The extra dash of pomegranate molasses added some syrupy sweetness. I did mean to top it all with a few pieces of smoked salmon, but completely forgot! They would have been great too. You could equally add some prosciutto or crispy bacon at the last minute as well.

I made only enough for one serve, so you just need to double or triple it for more people.

Beetroot Baked Eggs

1 beetroot

2 tsp pomegranate molasses, or to taste

A knob of butter

Salt and pepper to taste

50g of creamy feta, chopped

A handful of parsley, chopped

Smoked salmon, prosciutto or crispy bacon (optional)

Toast to serve

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Chop the stalk of the beetroot and peel.
Grate the beetroot and place in a saucepan with the butter, pomegranate molasses, a dash of water and salt and pepper to taste.
Cook, covered, over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the beetroot has softened and some of the liquid has evaporated. Make sure there is still some liquid left so it's not too dry.
Tip the beetroot mixture into an oven proof ramekin or small dish and make two indents for the eggs.
Crack an egg into each hole, place the dish on a baking tray and cover with foil.
Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the white is set and the yolks are still runny.
In the last few minutes, throw the feta on top of the dish to warm it up a bit.
Take the dish out of the oven, sprinkle with the parsley and an extra bit of cracked black pepper. If you are using smoked salmon or prosciutto, add that to the top now.
Serve with hot buttered toast.

November Wine Club - Kangarilla Road Cabernet Sauvignon

I told you about The Fabulous Ladies Wine Society last month when I wrote about their online wine club I was taking part in. One of the wines for November is the 2011 Kangarilla Road Cabernet Sauvignon.  To match this beautiful wine, I decided to make a delicious meal to go with it. Roasted eye fillet with a beetroot and vincotto salad was on the menu!

Kangarilla Road is a McLaren Vale winery established in 1997. Located less than an hour out of Adelaide, in South Australia, their cellar door is easy to pop in to. They use biodynamic and organic winemaking styles, using grapes from their 30 acre property in the rolling hills of the McLaren Ranges. Having a Meditteranean climate they tend to make full flavoured red wines with a couple of whites and a rose too.

I was lucky enough to visit Kangarilla Road a couple of years ago and managed to try one or two (or three or four...) of their wines. I loved the Zinfandel and Sangiovese. If you ever happen to be in the area, they are definitely worth a visit.

The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon was a delight. Being quite a young wine, I expected it to be a bit rough around the edges and heavy with tannin, but it was exactly the opposite. It was very smooth with dark plum and berry flavours and a touch of vanilla from the French oak barrels. It also had quite an earthy taste to it, which perfectly matched the earthiness and sweetness of the beetroot. The crunchy, roasted macadamias had a great texture and also brought out the vanilla and spice. Matched with the roasted eye fillet as well as the salad, the wine was given much more depth of flavour.

While this wine was perfect with the steak and salad, it would also have been wonderful to drink on it's own or with a cheese platter with some dried fruit and nuts. Maybe next time we'll just have a bottle on a Sunday afternoon with some nibbles!

Beetroot And Vincotto Salad 

 

2 large beetroots, stalks trimmed
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, halved
A large handful of rocket leaves, chopped into large pieces
80g Danish feta, cut into small pieces
1 Tbs vincotto
1 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
Ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Peel beetroots and cut into large pieces.
Place on a baking tray, spray with oil spray and toss to coat.
Roast for approx 30 mins or until cooked. This time will depend on how big your pieces are.
Remove the beetroot from the oven and cool to room temperature.
While the beetroots are roasting, place macadamias on a small baking tray and roast for about 5 minutes or until starting to brown. Keep an eye on them as they burn very quickly.
Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.
When ready to serve, toss beetroot, rocket, nuts and feta with combined extra virgin olive oil and vincotto. Season with freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Roasted Eye Fillet

 

500g eye fillet, all in one piece
Salt and pepper to season
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Trim any sinew from the beef so that you have a nice even cut of meat.
Season all over with salt and pepper.
Heat a good drizzle of oil in a frying pan on high heat.
Sear the beef on all side for a minute or so, until browned evenly.
Transfer the beef to a baking tray and roast for 15 mins, or until cooked to your liking. 15 mins will give you medium rare, which is how we like it.
Allow the meat to rest in a warm place, covered with foil, for 10 minutes before you carve it, otherwise you'll loose all the wonderful juices.
Carve meat into two large pieces and serve with the salad and mustard or chutney of your choice.

A Fabulous Dinner

I've recently started following a website called The Fabulous Ladies' Wine Society. They are a wonderful group of women trying to get more females interested in drinking and learning about wine in a fun way. They hold events, give tasting notes on wines and support females in the Australian wine industry. As part of their website, they also have an online wine club. No forced buying of wines each month at all! This fabulous wine club lists two wines per month for you to try and then rate using their tasting cards. The wines are easily available at regular bottle shops and are not expensive.

This month they have a red and a white and tonight I've made a fancy meal to match with the white. It's a Taltarni Fume Blanc, which is actually the Sauvignon Blanc grape variety, but made in a very different style to the New Zealand type. I'm not such a fan of NZ Sauv Blanc, so am really looking forward to trying this one.

After lots of research in to the flavour of the wine, I've decided on a warm beetroot salad with feta and pan-fried scallops. I'm hoping that this will match perfectly.

Beetroot is another of my favourite vegetables and we tend to eat it quite a bit, especially once the plants in the garden have grown and we have beets on hand. They have such a rich, earthy sweetness, which I love. I grew up with tinned sliced beetroot, which I did love with cheese in a sandwich, but fresh is a world apart!

When you are preparing the beetroot, be aware that the colour will stain your hands and your clothes, so it's best to wear an apron and disposable gloves.

Feta brings a nice tartness and creaminess to the salad and the scallops some sweetness too. As is my preference, go for the creamy Danish feta, rather than the Greek style. I tend to find this much too dry and salty.

If you've never cooked scallops before, don't stress too much. The orange roe on the outside can be eaten, but it's a matter of personal preference. I don't like the taste or texture, but others do. It's up to you whether you want to keep it on, or cut it off. I prefer to cut it off, for a sweeter and cleaner taste.

This would also be the perfect party dish. Served in Asian soup spoons, a dollop of beetroot and feta with a scallop on top would be a great appetiser.

And To Drink...

 

The 2010 Taltarni Fume Blanc was like no Sauvignon Blanc I have ever tried before. Being a couple of years old, it may not have been as fresh as it could have been, but it was still amazing. Full of passionfruit and stone fruits, with some gentle oakiness, it was perfect drinking.

This was definitely my sort of wine. There was still plenty of that fruitiness that you want in a wine, but it wasn't overpowering in any way. The oak also didn't overpower, as sometimes it can.  If you like a lightly oaked Chardonnay, then you'd love this one!

The sweetness of the beetroot and the scallops matched wonderfully with the fruit and acid in the wine, with the creamy feta adding some tartness. The handful of rocket added some extra pepperiness.

Thanks to The Fabulous Ladies, I've found another wine that I'll be drinking again and again. Next time I might look for a current vintage to compare with.

Warm Beetroot and Feta Salad with Pan-fried Scallops

2 medium beetroot
1 Tbs butter
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbs water
100g Danish feta, chopped
20 scallops, cleaned and roe removed
Salt and pepper to taste
A drizzle of olive oil
Rocket or parsley to serve

Chop the leafy tops off the beetroot and then peel the main section of the vegetable.
Cut them into halves or quarters so you have manageable pieces.
Coursly grate the beetroot and set aside.
In a saucepan, melt the butter, then add the beetroot, vinegar and water. Pop the lid on and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occassionally.
Take the lid off and cook for another couple of minutes to boil off any remaining liquid. You want the beetroot to be tender, but not swimming in juices.
Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Just before serving, stir through the chopped feta.

To cook the scallops, heat a pan with a drizzle of olive oil until hot.
Season the scallops with salt and pepper and then fry for about 40 seconds on each side, or until browned on the outside, but on the slightly raw side inside. How long you need to cook them will depend on how thick the scallops are.

To serve, place a good spoonful of the beetroot salad on the plate and then dot the scallops around it.
Scatter a couple of sprigs of parsley or a handful of rocket over the top and give it a grinding of cracked black pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Enjoy!

Beetroot and Broad Beans

After an amazing dinner at Albert Street Food and Wine last night, tonight it's back to something more plain and simple.

As much as I love to eat meaty dishes, it's nice to have a lighter vegetarian option every so often. After the excess of last night, in both the food and wine department, this was the perfect meal.

Falafel are usually made only with chickpeas, but this version packs a flavour and colour punch with a mixture of beetroot, chickpeas and broad beans. Being oven baked, rather than fried, they are a healthier version too. Wrap them up with a tasty parsley salad and some yoghurt sauce and you have a great tasting meal.  Perfect as a light summer dinner or an easy lunch.

You can make the falafel in advance and keep them in the fridge, so this recipe is great when you want to prepare ahead. Just make sure you cover the baking tray, otherwise the fridge will take on a very garlicky aroma!

Beetroot, Chickpea and Broad Bean Falafel

 

1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup coriander leaves and stalks
400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
200g frozen broad beans, cooked as per packet instructions, drained and cooled
2 medium beetroot, peeled and chopped
2 Tbs tahini
2 tsp ground cumin
Mountain bread or other wraps to serve

Place all ingredients, other than bread, in a food processor and whiz until it reaches a pasty consistency.
Scrape down the sides as you go to make sure everything is mixed together well.
Season to taste.
Roll tablespoon sized amounts into balls and place on a tray lined with baking paper.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees.
Spray falafel with oil spray and bake for 25 to 30 mins or until crispy on the outside and soft in the middle.

Yoghurt Sauce

1 cup natural yoghurt
1 Tbs mint, chopped
1 tsp sumac

Combine yoghurt and mint in a small bowl. Sprinkle sumac over the top.

 

Parsley Salad

1 cup parsley leaves
A handful of mixed salad leaves, rocket or baby spinach
10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
A drizzle each of extra virgin olive oil and verjuice to dress

Mix parsley, salad leaves and cherry tomatoes in a bowl.
Drizzle over oil and verjuice and toss to combine