Two delicious sauces combine to really highlight the fish in this North African inspired dish. We used hake but you can of course use other white fish fillets. Serve with couscous and pitta breads.
Wine Suggestion: it is quite a complex challenge to balance the spices, tomatoes and creamy tahini, but we think this works great with Mediterranean inspired blends that include a bit of Tempranillo like Parker Estate Favourite Son Shiraz-Tempranillo. Despite this being a bigger red and this being a fish dish there’s a certain freshness from Coonawarra that comes through and very complimentary spices that make this work.
Fish cooked in tomato sauce with tahini – serves 4
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
5 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
2 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
a pinch of chilli flakes
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
1 preserved lemon
4 fillets of hake (or other white fish)
fresh coriander, to serve
FOR THE TAHINI SAUCE:
1 clove of garlic
half a lemon
80g tahini
5-6 tbsp ice-cold water
a pinch of ground cumin
Warm the olive oil in a large sauté pan, then cook the onion with a pinch of salt until soft. Add the garlic and spices and continue frying for another minute or two, then add the tomato purée and cook for another couple of minutes.
Add the tinned tomatoes, then rinse the tins with a little water and add that too. Break the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon and simmer for 10-15 minutes to thicken the sauce. Quarter and deseed the preserved lemon, then chop into small pieces and add to the sauce.
Meanwhile, make the tahini sauce. Grate the garlic into a bowl, then squeeze over the juice of the half lemon, mix together and set aside for 5 minutes. Add the tahini to the garlic and lemon and whisk together, then add 1 tbsp of the cold water at a time, whisking until you have a smooth, runny sauce. Season with a pinch of salt and a pinch of cumin.
Season the fish, then nestle it into the tomato sauce. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until just cooked (a thermometer will help if you have one). Serve with the tahini sauce and coriander over the top and with some couscous and pitta breads.
(Original recipe from The Farm Table by Julius Roberts, Ebury Press, 2023.)
Lovely autumn flavours in this simple wild rice recipe by José Pizarro.
Wine Suggestion: this works well with elegant, light to medium bodied reds with an earthy twist. Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo are classic choices, however we went with Frasca la Guaragna’s Barbera d’Asti with it’s lower tannins but fresh acidity, brambly flavours and earthy spices brought out the mushroom flavours delightfully.
Wild Mushroom Rice – serves 4 to 6
10g dried porcini
50ml olive oil
2 banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped
250g mixed wild mushrooms, roughly rip any large ones
300g bomba rice
100ml dry white wine
800ml good chicken stock
a squeeze of lemon juice, to serve
30g manchego cheese, shaved, to serve
best extra virgin olive oil, to serve
Put the dried porcini into a small bowl and cover with 100ml of just-boiled water. Set aside for at least 10 minutes.
Put the olive oil into a sauté pan and gently fry the shallots for about 5 minutes, or until soft. Increase the heat a bit, then add the fresh mushrooms and fry for 4-5 minutes or until nicely browned.
Add the rice and stir until it glistens with the oil, then add the wine and let it bubble for a minute. Add the stock, season generously, then simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the rice is tender but still soupy.
Drain the soaking porcini and reserve the liquid. Add the porcini and 50ml of the soaking liquid to the rice, then cook for 1 more minute before removing from the heat.
Stir in a squeeze of lemon juice, then divide between warm bowls and top with the manchego shavings and a good glug of your best olive oil.
Not sure why we didn’t think of this before. A boned, brined, stuffed, and rolled, turkey leg with delicious gravy that can be completely prepped in advance. Juicy, tasty and easy, even if it does take a bit of time in the prep. It’s a no-brainer!
Ask your butcher to bone the turkey legs for you and keep the bones to make the gravy.
Wine Suggestion: Classic Christmas dinner fare, an oaked white like Rustenberg’s Five Soldiers Chardonnay and a Rhône red like Les Pallières Racines Gigondas made by the Bruniers of Vieux Télégraphe Chateuneud-du-Papes. Pushing the boat out a bit with standard bearers but we thought it was worth it.
Stuffed turkey leg – serves 4 to 6 (generously and easily halved)
2 boned turkey legs
FOR THE BRINE:
140g table salt
½ tsp white peppercorns
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp fennel seeds
6 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
FOR THE STUFFING:
50g butter
1 onion, finely diced
1 clove of garlic, finely grated
200g sausage meat
a bunch of sage, half the leaves finely chopped (keep the rest for the gravy)
½ tsp dried oregano
FOR THE GRAVY:
turkey bones (or chicken bones)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 carrots, cut into chunks
½ bunch of thyme
2 bay leaves
150ml white wine
100ml dry sherry
1 litre good quality chicken stock
1 tsp Marmite
1 tbsp cornflour
To make the brine, put all of the ingredients into a medium-large saucepan, with 500ml water. Place over a hight heat and bring to the boil to dissolve the salt, then remove from the heat and add 1.5 litres of cold water. Leave to cool.
Put the cooked brine into a large bowl and add the turkey legs. Leave to brine for two hours but no more.
Meanwhile, make the gravy. Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7.
Put the bones into a large rosting tray and place in the oven. Turn the oven down immediately to 200C/180C/gas 6 and roast for 20-25 minutes until golden.
While the bones are roasting, heat a large saucepan over a high heat. Add the vegetable oil, when it almost smokes, add the onions, garlic, carrots, thyme and bay leaves and brown well for 15 minutes, stirring often. Add the white wine and sherry and reduce to a syrup, then add the stock, roasted bones, and the unchopped sage. Add the Marmite and plenty of black pepper and simmer gently for 1 hour. Pass through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Mix the cornflour with 2 tbsp of cold water and whisk it into the gravy. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning if you need. It should be super tasty.
Meanwhile, make the stuffing. Melt the butter in a medium frying pan, add the onion, garlic and a generous pinch of salt and cook for 10-15 minutes or until soft. Transfer to a large bowl and mix in the sausage meat, finely chopped sage, oregano and some black pepper.
Put a large piece of foil on top of the the work surface and lay one of the boned legs on top, skin-side up. Rub the the skin with salt and pepper. Turn it over and place half the stuffing on the flesh side. Smooth it out with a spoon but leave a good 3cm gap at the end you are going to roll towards. Roll the leg tightly and secure it with kitchen string – don’t worry too much about what it looks like at this stage (ours had a hole and the stuffing was bursting out the side – no matter!). Repeat with the second leg. Put the leg into a roasting tray and roast in the hot oven for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and roast for another 30-35 minutes, until the skin is golden and the juices run clear (a meat thermometer is very useful here). Remove from the oven and leave to rest, covered loosely with foil, for 10-15 minutes. Add the roasting juice to the gravy and then carve and serve.
(Original recipe from Marcus Everyday by Marcus Everyday, HarperCollinsPublishers, 2019.)
Wine Suggestion: we would keep this very easy and open an Asahi, a dry and savoury lager that quenches the thirst and makes a refreshing match for the curry.
Black pepper & bay leaf curry – serves 2
3 cloves of garlic, 2 peeled and grated
2 tbsp neutral oil
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
4 green cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
1 large red onion, peeled and finely diced
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp black peppercorns, finely ground
300g chicken breast, cut into 4cm pieces
5cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
250g vine cherry tomatoes, halved
100ml single cream
juice of ½ lemon
Put the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat, then add the cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom and bay and stir for 30 seconds. Add the onion and cook for 7 minutes or until golden brown.
Meanwhile mix the turmeric, cumin, chilli, ground peppercorns and a tsp of salt in a large bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat.
Add the grated garlic and ginger to the pan, and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the spiced chicken, fry for 2 minutes on each side, then add the tomatoes and cook for 5-6 minutes or until they’ve broken down. Add the cream, simmer for a couple of minutes, then check the chicken is cooked through.
Remove from the heat, squeeze in the lemon juice, taste for salt and serve with rice.
Everyone loves trout in our house and especially with miso – a master combination.
Wine Suggestion: You need a white with a touch of acidity and umami-savouriness here to both balance and compliment the flavours. Something like the Höpler Grüner Veltliner from Burgenland in Austria would work a treat.
Sesame miso trout – serves 4
4 fresh trout fillets, skin on
4 tsp white miso paste
3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tbsp olive oil, plus a bit extra for the veg
a knob of butter
4 pak choi, sliced into big pieces
6 scallions, finely sliced
FOR THE GLAZE:
4 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tsp white miso paste
2 tsp sesame oil
Heat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Line a baking sheet with non-stick paper.
Whisk the ingredients for the glaze together in a bowl alongwith 6 tbsp of water, then set aside.
Season the fish fillets and spread the miso paste on the flesh side. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and press down so they stick to the paste.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the fish fillets, sesame seed side down, and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown. Carefully turn them over and fry for another 2 minutes on the skin side. Add the knob of butter and when it foams, use a small spoon to baste the trout with it.
Transfer the fish to the lined baking sheet, skin-side down, and cook in the oven for 7-8 minutes or until just cooked through.
Meanwhile, wipe the frying pan clean, add a little oil and put over a high heat. Add the pak choi, scallions and seasoning and stir until just wilted.
Spoon the veg onto a serving dish and put the fish on top. Add the glaze ingredients to the pan and gently warm until just bubbling, spoon over the trout and serve.
(Original recipe from Mary’s Foolproof Dinners, BBC Books, 2024.)
You can buy duck confit in tins locally but they tend to be much cheaper in France so if you’re lucky enough to go there (or know someone else who is going), stock up! You will have the prep done for many delicious dishes, like this one.
Wine Suggestion: A classic French dish needs a classic French wine. We suspect red Burgundy would be great, however we didn’t have any to hand so instead opened a bottle of Chateau Lascaux Pic St Loup “les Nobles Pierres”. A classic Syrah-Grenache blend but from prime vineyards in the Languedoc where Duck dishes reign supreme. Juicy, brambly and layered with velvety and characterful tannins.
Parmentier de Confit de Canard – serves 4 to 6
4 Confit duck legs (1 large tin – it says on the tin how many legs are inside)
4 shallots, chopped
a few fresh thyme sprigs, leaves stripped
175ml red wine
200ml chicken stock
a handful of flatleaf parsley
800g potatoes, cut into 5cm chunks
100-125ml warm milk
150g-200g Comté cheese, grated
Warm the confit duck legs over a gentle heat to release the fat, then pour the fat into clean jam jars for future roast potatoes. You will need to keep 2 tbsp aside for this dish.
Remove the skin from the duck legs and discard. Remove the meat from the bones and shred it with two forks, discarding any bones and gristle.
Heat 2 tbsp of the duck fat in a pan, add the shallots, thyme and plenty of black pepper. Allow the shallots to brown gently, then add the wine and stock, then bring to the boil. Cook for a few minutes, then add the duck meat and chopped parsley. Stir and set aside.
Heat the oven to 210C/Fan 190C.
Boil the potatoes in salty water until tender. Drain them well, then add the warm milk and mash until smooth. Season with salt and a big pinch of black pepper.
Grease a 18 x 28cm baking dish with a little duck fat, then pile in the meat and cover with the mashed potato. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top and bake for about 25 minutes or until browned and bubbling.
Serve with carrots and greens.
(Original recipe from Rick Stein’s Secret France, BBC Books, 2019.)
Delicious lamb meatballs with oloroso sherry and piquillo peppers – you need to buy the expensive ones by El Navarrico. Comforting, quick and easy to make. Serve as a sharing dish with crusty bread.
Wine Suggestion: “Kimera“, which we picked up in Pamplona earlier this year is a gem made by Luis Moya Tortosa. Old vine Garnatxa which has both depth, refinement and an effortless weight. We once thought Grenache tended to be heavy and alcoholic, but have been proved so wrong as we’ve explored more of this grape the past few years.
Lamb albondigas – serves 4
500g lamb mince
30g fresh white breadcrumbs
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 tsp sweet smoked pimentón de la vera
3 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 egg,
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
150ml oloroso sherry
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
2 tsp sherry vinegar
1 x 240g jar piquillo peppers, drained and sliced
crusty bread, to serve
Put the lamb mince, breadcrumbs, garlic, pimentón, a third of the parsley, the oregano, lemon zest and egg in a large bowl. Season well, mix with your hands to combine, then shape into 20 small meatballs.
Put the oil into a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, then fry the meatballs, turning often, for about 5 mintues or until browned all over. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon.
Add the onion to the pan and cook for 10 minutes, until softened, then add the sherry and bubble until reduced by half. Add the tomatoes, season generously and leave to bubble for 10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, then return the meatballs to the pan along with the peppers and leave to cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened.
Scatter over the rest of the chopped parsley and serve with the crusty bread.
(Original recipe by José Pizzaro in The Guardian).
Prawns actually pair very well with feta, which is always a bit suprising to us. It’s nice to have a lighter dish amongst all the winter soups and stews.
Wine Suggestion: we think this suits a white grown somehwere around the Mediterranean, like tonight’s choice of the Hatzidakis Santorini Cuvée 15, a wonderfully fresh and complex Assyrtiko with honeysuckle and herbs on the nose followed by a textured, almost salty palate.
Prawn & feta pilaf – serves 4
225g basmati rice
15g unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil, plus a bit extra to
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
275g tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped
a big bunch of dill, chopped
a big bunch of flat leaf parsley, leaves chopped
a handful of mint leaves, chopped
400ml fish stock or light chicken stock
350g raw prawns, shelled and deveined
juice of ½ lemon, plus lemon wedges to serve
55g black kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped
75g feta cheese, crumbled
Rince the rice in a sieve under cold running water until the water runs clear. Leave to soak for an hour if you have the time, then rinse again.
Heat the butter and 2 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan and cook the onion until it starts to soften. Add the garlic and tomatoes and continue to cook, stirring now and then, until the onion is cooked and the tomatoes have softened. Stir in the rice and half the herbs, season well, then pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Boil hard until the rice starts to look pitted, with little holes in the service and it seems like the liquid has disapeared.
Wrap a clean tea towel around the lid of the pan and cover the pan. Reduce the heat to low and leave to cook for 20 minutes.
When the rice is almost ready, dry the prawns on kitchen paper and quickly sauté in a little olive oil over a high heat. Squeeze over the lemon juice and season with black pepper and salt.
When the rice is cooked, fork through the olives, remaining herbs and lemon juice with a good glug of your best extra virgin olive oil. Transfer to a serving platter, then scatter over the feta and mound the prawns on top. Drizzle again with olive oil and serve with lemon wedges.
(Original recipe from Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons by Diana Henry, Aster*, 2024.)
There is a bit of effort in this, but you can prep the pork well in advance ready to bake when you need it. Lovely autumnal flavours.
Wine suggestion: Thanks to the generosity of our friend David we found that Chateauneuf du Pape is a great match for this dish, but we couldn’t agree whether we preferred Bosquet les Papes “Chante le Merle”, or the Vieux Télégraphe le Crau. A tough decision, poor us!
Pork & Cider Hotpot – serves 6
4 tbsp olive oil, plus a bit extra
1kg diced pork shoulder
20g butter, cubed, plus a bit extra
4 leeks, trimmed and thickly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tbsp plain flour
500ml dry cider
400ml chicken stock
2 bay leaves
½ small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
small bunch of sage, leaves picked, 5 left whole and the rest chopped
200ml single cream
800g Maris Piper potatoes
Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a deep casserole dish, then fry the pork pieces over a medium-high heat in batches until browned all over, then transfer to a plate.
Add another tbsp of oil to the pan with a little butter and fry half the leeks with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes until tender. Add the garlic, fry for a minute, then stir in the flour.
Gradually add the cider, stirring to scrape any crusty bits off the bottom. Add the stock, bay leaves and pork, then simmer, partially covered with a lid for 1-1½ hours until the meat is just tender. You can make up to this point a day in advance.
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
Simmer the pork uncovered for a few minutes to reduce the sauce if you need, if there is too much liquid the potatoes will sink. Stir in the parsley, chopped sage, remaining leeks, and the cream, then season well. Transfer to a wide ovenproof frying pan or casserole if you have one.
Peel the potatoes and slice into 2mm thick slices – a mandoline is best for this. Arrange the potato slices in circles over the pie, then dot over the cubed butter. Bake for 1-1½ hours or until the potatoes are cooked. Brush the sage leaves with a little oil and tuck them in for the last 10 minutes. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
We always like a new chilli recipe and this one is particularly tasty. We made this on Halloween night … for some reason we always have chilli for Halloween.
Wine Suggestion: Whatever, big, juicy red you have to hand like the Achaval Ferrer Mendoza Malbec which was all brambly, velvety, rich and smooth.
Chilli – serves 4
2 tbsp sunflower oil
400g beef mince
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1-2 tsp chipotle paste
1 tbsp tomato purée
400g tin chopped tomatoes
¼ tsp yeast extract, like Marmite or Vegemite
1 beef stock cube
400g tin black beans
cooked rice, sour cream, sliced jalapenos from a jar, avocado & coriander, to serve
Heat the oil in a shallow saucepan over a medium heat and fry the beef mince for about 10 minutes. Add the the onion and keep frying for another 8 to 10 minutes or until the onions have softened and started to brown a bit. Add the garlic and stir for a minute.
Stir in the cumin seeds, ground coriander, oregano and a plenty of black pepper, and continue to fry for a few minutes. Add the vinegar, then the chipotle and tomato purée and stir to combine. Tip in the tomatoes and a canful of water, then add the yeast extract and crumble in the stock cube. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring now and then.
When the chilli has thickened, tip in the beans with halve the liquid from the tin. Simmer for another 20 minutes, then taste and season to taste. Serve with all the acompaniments listed above.
(Original recipe by Barney Desmazery in BBC Good Food Magazine, October 2020.)
Quite old-fashioned but homely and tasty, perfect as the weather turns a bit colder.
Wine suggestion: the Quinta de Chocapalha Tinto, which is a blend of four classic Portuguese grapes: Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca and Castelão hit a satisfying mark here. A wine of depth, body, roundness and judicious tannins this hit the mark for the same reasons the dish did.
Baked lamb chops with a creamy rosemary sauce – serves 4
8 lamb loin chops
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
For the sauce:
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 rounded tbsp rosemary leaves
25g butter
25g plain flour
175ml milk
175ml veg stock
2 tbsp double cream
Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan.
Place the lamb chops in a shallow roasting tin and arrange the onion around them.
Season with salt and pepper and bake on the top shelf of the oven for about 45 minutes or until the fat is crisp.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan and sweat the onions over a very gentle heat for 5 minutes. Bruise the rosemary leaves with a pestle and mortar, then chop them very finely and add them to the onion. Continue to cook gently for another 15 minutes, but don’t let the onions colour too much. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth, then gradually add the milk followed by the stock, stirring constantly. Season with salt and peper and allow to simmer very gently for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and liquidise half and combine with the rest along with the cream. Check the seasoning and pour into a warm serving jug – cover the surface with cling film to prevent a skin forming.
This is delicious and goes perfectly with a bowl of warm couscous. It’s better to ask for the meat in one piece so you can cut it into big chunks yourself – the pre-cubed stuff is usually cut too small and will disappear into the sauce.
Wine Suggestion: If you’d like to keep to the theme a good, dry Oloroso sherry works well, but if you’d rather a red like we did tonight, something from a warm vineyard region may hit the mark … just make sure it’s balanced and not too hot from alcohol. Our choice was a treasured bottle brought from OZ many years ago of Hanging Rock’s Heathcote Shiraz. Dense and textured in youth this opens up and retains a freshness and layered velvetiness over many years of cellar aging too.
Spanish lamb with sherry – serves 4
1kg lamb shoulder, trimmed of excess fat, then cubed
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced
1 green pepper, deseeded and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, finely grated
½ tsp paprika
250ml medium sherry
250ml lamb stock
generous pinch of saffron threads
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1½ tbsp honey
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
couscous, to serve
Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large casserole and brown the lamb in batches, then set aside.
Add the ½ tbsp of oil to the casserole, then add the onions and peppers and cook until the onions are golden and the peppers have softened. Add the garlic and paprika and stir for a minutes, then add the sherry and bring to a simmer.
Return the lamb to the casserole, along with the stock, saffron, sherry vinegar and honey. Season and bring to just under the boil. Turn the heat down, cover the pan with a lid and cook very gently for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally.
Remove the lid from the casserole and continue to cook for another 30 minutes to reduce the liquid to a gravy-like consistency and the lamb should be very tender.
Serve with some warm couscous.
(Original recipe by Diana Henry in BBC Good Food Magazine, October, 2017.)
Such a lovely recipe, and you can of course use smoked salmon. We like smoked trout from Goatsbridge which is a local supplier. Recipe inspiration from the new Ottolenghi book – Comfort. You must have a green salad and a glass of white wine to serve. If you have a mandolin it will cut the potatoes and fennel just right.
Wine Suggestion: Weserved an oddity/one-off from Chateau Hureau from Saumur in the Loire. They grew a low quantity of Chenin Blanc grapes in 2022 due to frost so decided to make a Blanc de Noirs from Cabernet Franc for a bit of fun. Only available at cellar door it’s both crisp and fresh, but significantly has bags of texture which this dish needs. Look for whites with a touch of skin contact, or aged on lees as a substitute.
Potato, fennel & smoked trout bake – serves 4
200ml milk
425ml double cream
2 anchovies, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed with skin on
1 lemon, skin finely shaved into strips
2 tsp fennel seeds, finely ground
850g Yukon gold or red potatoes, peeled and sliced into ½ cm thick slices
1-2 large fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
4 egg yolks
10g dill fronds, roughly chopped
20g chives, finely chopped
20g parsley leaves, finely chopped
1½ tbsp unsalted butter, softened
200g smoked trout (or smoked salmon) slices, roughly torn
for the lemon butter sauce:
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp capers, roughly chopped
40g unsalted butter, fridge cold and roughly chopped
Heat the oven to 170C fan.
Put the milk, cream, anchovies, garlic, lemon strips and ground fennel into a small saucepan. Place over a low heat and warm for 10 minutes, making sure it never comes to the boil. Give it a stir now and then and press on the solids to get plenty of flavour out of them. Remove from the heat.
Put the potato and fennel slices into a saucepan and cover with cold, salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for 6-7 minutes or until just tender. Drain and set aside.
Whisk the egg yolks with ¾ tsp of salt and a good grind of pepper in a large bowl. Strain the infused milk into the eggs, pressing on the solids against the sieve. Whisk to combine.
Combine all the herbs in bowl. Measure out 2 tbsp and reserve for the butter sauce.
Grease an ovenproof dish with ½ tbsp of the butter. Spoon a third of the potato and fennel over the base and grind over some pepper. Sprinkle over half the herbs and lay half the smoked trout over the top. Repeat with half the remaining potatoes and fennel, season with pepper, then add all the remanining trout and the rest of the herbs. Arrange a final layer of potato and fennel on top and carefully pour over the egg mixture. Grind over some more pepper and dot over the remaining butter. Bake for 45 minutes or until set and just golden. Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile make the lemon butter sauce. Put the lemon juice into a small saucepan on a medium-high heat and bring to a bubble. Allow to bubble for 1 minute, then add the capers and butter, a few pieces at a time. Whisk until smooth and creamy, then remove from the heat and stir in the reserved herbs and some more pepper. Spoon over the dish and serve warm with a green salad.
(Original recipe from Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller & Tara Wigley, Ebury Press, 2024.)
We recommend a trip to your local Polski shop for some smoked sausages, plus you’ll be able to find lots of other goodies while you’re there. Our local one has some very friendly and helpful staff willing to help navigate the differences in sausages… of which they have many.
Wine Suggestion: This dish works well with Spanish reds, especially Tempranillo based ones and the one we enjoyed tonight was the Cantos de Valpiedra from Rioja which we find particlaurly refined and elegant with a gentle undercurrent of warm spices.
50g shop-bought crispy onions, to serve (optional)
FOR THE MUSTARD CRÈME FRAÎCHE:
75g crème fraîche
1½ tsp Dijon mustard
1½ tsp wholegrain mustard
Rinse the lentils well, then cover with lots of cold water and set aside.
Mix all the ingredients together for the mustard crème fraîche and put it in the fridge until needed.
Heat ½ tbsp of olive oil in a large casserole, over a medium-high heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Add another 2½ tbsp of oil to the pan and add the onion, celery and green pepper. Cook for 12-15 minutes or until the vegetables are turning golden. Add the garlic, thyme, bay leaf and chard stalks and cook for another few minutes. Add the tomato purée and cumin and cook for a further minute.
Drain the lentils and add them to the pan, along with the stock, 1½ tsp of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes, covered, until the lentils are cooked through. Use a stick blender to blitz one side of the pot for maximum 30 seconds, to break some of the lentils up. Add the chard leaves and stir them in.
Add the sausages to the pan and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the leaves have wilted and the sausages are warmed through. Stir in the parsley and divide between warm bowls. Spoon the crème fraîche on top and the crispy onions if you have them.
(Original recipe from Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller & Tara Wigley, Ebury Press, 2024.)
Lovely flavours and smells in this. We don’t have a blender but a food processor did an ok job – a blender will give a smoother sauce.
Wine Suggestion: We think this dish suits a white with a complex mix of fruit, herbal and mineral flavours and some of the best with this combination come from Sicily. Tonight the Casematte Grillo Pharis which is grown facing the straights of Messina and made in a combination of large oak barrels and concrete. Smooth and deep with a lovely Sicilian citrus twiest at the end.
Miso butter greens pasta – serves 4
60g unsalted butter
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
½ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp chilli flakes
100g broccoli, chopped
400g cavolo nero, discard the stalks and slice the leaves
¾ tsp salt
2½ tbsp white miso paste
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
500g orecchiette
extra virgin olive oil, to serve
Melt the butter in a large pot on a medium-high heat. Wait until it bubbles, then add the garlic, fennel seeds and chilli flakes. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until the garlic smells cooked.
Add the broccoli, cavolo nero, salt and 250ml of water. Stir, then cover and turn the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring every few minutes, for 8-10 minutes or until the greens have wilted and become tender.
Scrape the contents of the pan into a blender or food processor and add the miso and olive oil. Blend until smooth, you can add a little water if you need.
Rince out the greens pan, fill with water and bring to the boil (don’t add salt as the miso is salty). Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions and reserve a mug of the pasta cooking water before draining.
Drain the pasta, then return to the pot and add the sauce. Add enought of the cooking water to get the sauce to a nice consistency. Taste and season with salt if needed.
Spoon onto a serving platter and drizzle with olive oil.
(Original recipe from Dinner by Meera Sodha, Penguin: Fig Tree, 2024.)
This has lovely flavours and best cooked a couple of days in advance. Make sure to cook the lamb until it is really soft and tender.
Wine Suggestion: this dish works great with Aussie Shiraz, like Kilikanoon’s excellent Killerman’s Run which has the obligatory pluminess over a very refined and fresh backbone with gentle pepper spices.
Lamb Rogan Josh – serves 4
4 tbsp rapeseed oil
700g lamb neck, cut into bite-sized pieces
6 whole cloves
1 small cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
2 large onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
5cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 tbsp of ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
¼ tsp ground cardamom
15g bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped
200ml thick Greek yoghurt, plus extra to serve
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
100g red lentils
300ml chicken stock
steamed rice, to serve
mango chutney, to serve
extra fresh coriander, to serve
Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large pan. Add the lamb in batches and fry until well browned, then set aside.
Add another 2 tbsp of olive oil to the pan, then fry the cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaves for a few seconds. Add the onions and stir-fry for 6-7 minutes, until browned. Add the garlic, chilli and ginger and fry for 2 minutes, then add the ground spices with the fresh coriander and fry for another minute, stirring.
Add the yoghurt, 1 tbsp at a time, frying for about 30 seconds between each addition and stirring constantly.
Tip the lamb back into the pan and stir in the tomatoes with the lentils and stock. Season to taste, then cover and simmer gently for 2 hours or until very soft and tender. The sauce should have reduced and thickened.
Serve the lamb with steamed rice, mango chutney and some fresh coriander.
(Original recipe from Neven Maguire’s Comple Family Cookbook, Gill Books, 2016.)
A tasty side dish that is similar to Spanish Patatas Bravas but with the flavours changed up. Usefully you can make the sauce in advance and re-heat just before serving.
a handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped, to serve
crumbled feta, to serve
FOR THE SAUCE:
olive oil
2 garlic cloves, bashed and thinly sliced
250g (drained weight) roasted red peppers from a jar, roughly chopped
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 heaped tbsp rose harissa
1 tbsp caster sugar
Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/Gas 7.
Line a baking tray with paper. Mix the spices with the garlic oil. Put the potatoes into a large bowl, pour over the spice mixture and toss to coat. Spread them out evenly on the tray, season with some salt and pepper and roast for 30 minutes or until crispy and cooked through.
To make the sauce, drizzle some olive oil into a saucpean, add the garlic and cook over a medium heat for a couple of minutes. Add the peppers, tomatoes and harissa and season well with salt. Cook for another couple of minutes. Stir in the sugar and cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring regularly. Remove from the heat and whizz until smooth, then taste and adjust the seasoning.
Serve the potatoes on a platter with the sauce poured over and feta and coriander scattered over the top.
(Original recipe from Flavour by Sabrina Ghayour, Aster*, 2023.)
This recipe works well using fillets that have been grilled with fennel seeds and a bit of dill rubbed into the oiled sides before putting on the barbecue. However as we had a whole fish we adapted cooked it whole with some rosemary and lemon. Either way it’s handy to have a temperature probe to make sure the fish is up to 60C and therefore cooked. You can of course pop a pan on your hot barbecue and cook the spinach on there too, we usually cook the sauce indoors.
Serve with steamed, waxy (or baby) potatoes. And a big shout-out to Goatsbridge trout farm for the magnificent fish we bought online from them; superb!
Wine suggestion: Oaky Chardonnay all the way with this, so choose what ever is best in your local wine merchant.
BBQ trout with spinach & cream, serves 4 (depending on the size of the fish … our left-overs lasted all week)
1 large trout (1.5-2kg), scaled and gutted
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves, bashed
1 lemon, sliced into rounds
a few springs of rosemary, fennel or marjoram
For the spinach & cream:
a knob of butter
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
250g spinach, washed and thick stalks discarded
150ml double cream
a small pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Take the fish out of the fridge at least an hour before you want to cook it.
Light your barbecue, you will need a gentle heat to cook the fish through. Scrub the bars of the grill with a wire brush so it’s nice and clean, then lightly oil the bars. Let the grill get really hot before you put the fish onto it so the skin doesn’t skick and crisps up.
When the barbecue is ready to cook on, rub the olive oil all over the fish and season all over with salt and pepper. Put the bay leaves, garlic and lemom slices into the fish belly. Lay the fish onto the hot grill and cook for 2 to 3 minutes – then check the underside to ensure it’s not cooking too fast or burning – if it looks ok, continue to cook for 12-15 minutes on the first side, then use a couple of spatulas to turn the fish over, don’t worry too much if the skin tears a bit. Scatter over the herbs, then cook on the other side for the same amount of time. The fish is cooked when the the flesh flakes away easily from the bone – we find a temperature probe helpful too.
Gently lift the fish off the grill and serve with buttery new potatoes and the spinach with cream below.
FOR THE SPINACH & CREAM:
Put a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the butter. When the butter bubbles, add the garlic and allow it to sizzle for about a minute, without colouring.
Roughly chop the spinach if needed, then stir it into the garlicky butter until it wilts right down. Add the cream, nutmeg andn plenty of salt and pepper, then stir until thickened.
(Original recipes from Outside by Gill Meller, Hardie Grant Quadrille, 2022.)
This is a dish we cook when we get home late and need something quick and tasty. You can easily pick up the ingredients in a supermarket on the way home.
Wine Suggestion: the more we taste them, the more we like how versatile Verdicchio is, even the entry level Villa Bianchi from Umani Ronchi in the Marche. There’s just the right level of texture and viscosity for the creamy richness, and zip, zing and minerality for the fish.
Hot-smoked salmon, gnocchi and spinach bake – serve 4
This is a very tasty curry despite the short list of ingredients. Even though it’s simple, it’s perfect for a weeknight and not too spicy for children or other sensitive palates.
Wine Suggestion: We usually find most Pinot Grigio’s a bit nondescript for our tastes, but have been exploring and enjoying a number from Trentino and Friuli recently and think they go quite well with mild curries like this. Zuani make their Sodevo Pinot Grigio in a fairly standard way, though from well tended and lower yielding vineyards. The big difference is both the soils, and keeping it on the fine lees after fermentation. Look out for this last step and you should find a wine that stands out amongst the sea of ordinary Piont Grigios.
Easiest ever chicken curry – serves 4
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tsp finely grated ginger
1 small onion, finely chopped
500g chicken breasts, cut into strips
2½ tbsp curry powder, plus an extra 2 tsp
1 x 400ml full fat coconut milk
375ml chicken stock
½ tsp salt
200ml frozen peas
a large handful of coriander, chopped
Sprinkle the chicken with the 2 extra tsp of curry powder and some salt and pepper.
Heat a splash of oil in a large, deep frying pan, the remove and set aside.
Add the rest of the vegetable oil to the pan and cook the garlic, ginger and onion over a medium-high heat for a few minutes. Add the 2½ tbsp curry powder and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the coconut milk and chicken stock to the pan, then simmer rapidly for about 20 minutes or until reduced and thickened. Add the chicken back in towards the end to cook it through.
Add the peas and salt to the curry and cook for 2 minutes, season again to taste and sprinkle over the coriander.
Jono & Jules do food & wine 