April 2009

Menu idea for our Sirius Rosé 2005 sparkling wine - Rhubarb Fool

Rhubarb is now in season, with lots of lovely tender new shoots available. I just love it at this stage, perfect time to make a Rhubarb Fool.

Ingredients: to serve 6

• 450gms freshly cut Rhubarb.
• 100gms caster sugar.
• Juice from one Orange.
• 1 tbsp Cointreau (optional).
• 1 egg white
• 200ml double cream.

Method:

1. Put the Rhubarb in a, preferably stainless steel, saucepan. Add the sugar, orange juice and enough water to cover the Rhubarb. Simmer until tender, drain off excess juice & put to one side – stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to ‘mash’ the Rhubarb – then cool.
2. Reduce the liquid down until you get a syrup and use as a drizzling sauce to decorate before serving.
3. Whip the double cream with the Cointreau.
4. Beat the egg white until it forms peaks.  Then fold both cream and egg white together gently.
5. Fold in the cooled Rhubarb mixture and serve in six large wine glasses or glass bowls. 
   Add Almond or Ginger biscuits to serve.

Our Sirius Rosè sparkling wine goes wonderfully with this, but only serve it with the Almond biscuits ( as Ginger definitely does not compliment the wine!).

March 2009

Menu idea for Dark Harvest 2006

Fillet Steak (any steak will do - I just fancied a treat), with root vegetable chips and reduced red wine sauce.

First marinate 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic, some fresh bruised Rosemary (about 3 pieces about 5cm long) in about 3 tablespoons of cooking oil (I prefer olive).

To make the root vegetable chips I use; Parsnip, Potato, Sweet Potato and Carrots. Peel and cut to chip size, approximately 1-1.5cm thick. Simmer the ‘chips’ in water for 5 minutes then drain and leave in the saucepan without the lid to dry off with the remaining heat.  Toss the ‘chips’ in the marinated oil, keeping the garlic and rosemary with it. Spread out on a cooking tray lined with foil or baking paper and cook at 220 degrees Centigrade until golden brown.

Grill or Griddle the steak as you like it best.

For the sauce: Add oil, mushrooms, chopped green onions and minced garlic to a pan and gently sauté, until soft. Stir in the flour and cooked for approx. 1 minute. Then add red wine and broth, stirring in slowly, simmer and reduce to by about 1/3. Add some rosemary, salt and pepper to taste.

Sauce ingredients

• 1 clove of garlic minced.
• 3 tablespoons of flour.
• 4-5 chestnut mushrooms.
• 3 spring onions.