Food & Wine — Riesling
Slow Roasted Roma Tomatoes with Goats' Cheese
I found this recipe in a newspaper years ago and have found it simple and successful. Serves four as a starter or as a canapé on melba toast or crackers. Excellent with a Yarrh Riesling.
6 roma tomatoes 5 sprigs thyme
2 tblsp baby capers 3 tblsp balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic sliced 6 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
24 ligurian olives, pitted salt and pepper
100g fresh goat’s cheese, cubed
- Heat oven to 150C
- Cut tomatoes in half lengthways and remove half the seeds
- Press pieces of sliced garlic into tomatoes, scatter with capers and a couple of olives in each half.
- Press cubed goat’s cheese into tomatoes
- Sprinkle tomatoes with half the thyme leaves and drizzle with 3 tblsp of the oil.
- Place on lightly greased oven tray and roast for 45 minutes.
- Combine rest of oil with balsamic vinegar and thyme and season with salt and pepper.
- Place tomatoes on serving plates, drizzle with dressing and serve with crusty bread
FW
Laap Muu - Spicy Minced Pork Salad
2 tblsp glutinous rice (plain is fine)
400g pork meat (pork belly is good), finely chopped
¼ tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 dried chillies, crushed
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 tblsp fish sauce
1 tblsp lime juice
1 tblsp vegetable oil
A good bunch of herbs such as mint, Vietnamese mint, basil and/or coriander, coarsely chopped.
Toast the rice until golden, then cool and pound to a course crumb.
Mix the pork with the salt and garlic, then combine with the chillies and shallots, and let marinade for 10-15 minutes. A few minutes before cooking, mix in the fish sauce and lime juice.
Saute the pork mixture in the oil in a large frypan or wok until almost cooked.
Sprinkle 1 tblsp of the toasted rice over to thicken the juices. Taste and adjust fish sauce, lime juice and salt to taste. Toss the herbs through then place on a platter and garnish with the remaining toasted rice. Serve with steamed rice and a chilled bottle of the Yarrh Riesling. Better than beer.
NM
Chicken Sate and My Peanut Sauce
Chicken Sate
Serve with a good peanut sauce (see below), a nice green salad or just chunks of cucumber and tomatos. Rice optional, but nice cold Yarrh Riesling is not.
1 kg of boned chicken thighs, skin on if you can find them |
2 red chillies, seeds removed |
1 small onion, chopped |
3 teaspoons of finely chopped ginger |
2 tablespoons of lemon juice |
2 teaspoons of salt |
2 tablespoons of light soy sauce |
2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce |
2 tablespoons of sesame oil |
2 tablespoons of palm sugar |
Cut the chicken into dice. Blitz the chillies, onion, ginger, lemon juice, salt and soy sauces, then stir in the sesame oil and sugar. Marinade the chicken for an hour or overnight in the fridge. Thread 4-5 pieces onto soaked bamboo skewers.
Grill over charcoal (yes, charcoal!) and serve straight off the grill. Heaven on a stick when served with Yarrh Riesling!
My Favourite Peanut Sauce
Years ago I brought a very unprepossessing “Tastes of Indonesia” cookbook by Jacki Passmore (1992) that has some of the best Indonesian recipes I have ever come across. The Penguin website tells me that Jacki has travelled extensively across Asia and written over 20 books on Asian cooking. There’s (literally) thousands of recipes out there for satay sauce, but this one, the very first recipe in the book, reminds me most of the best we’ve tried across Bali, Java and Malaysia. Thank you, Jacki.
4-6 dried chillies, soaked, drained, seeded |
2 cloves of garlic, peeled |
6 shallots or scallions, peeled |
½ lemon grass stalk, white part only, chopped |
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil |
1 teaspoon compressed shrimp paste (“trassi”) |
1 tablespoon coriander seeds |
1 teaspoon cumin seeds |
½ teaspoon fennel seeds |
150g crunchy peanut butter |
¾ cup thick coconut milk |
Tamarind, sugar and salt to taste |
Blitz or pound the chillies, garlic, shallots and lemon grass into a paste, then fry in the oil in a small, heavy based saucepan for 5-6 minutes until very aromatic.
Dry fry the shrimp paste and seeds until aromatic and toasted. Grind these, then add to the other ingredients and cook through for another few minutes.
Add the peanut butter and coconut milk, and some water if needed (it usually does). I like to now simmer it down gently for a while (15-20mins, add more water if necessary) – make sure it doesn’t catch. This brings it together.
Check seasonings and add tamarind, sugar and salt to taste. Allow to cool.
(Sometimes I also add some deep fried, thinly sliced garlic – adds a nice crunchy element.)
NM
Nahm Prik
Serve accompanied with raw or steamed seasonal vegetables, grilled vegetables, grilled fish, sweet pork or a thai style omelette.
4 peeled garlic cloves |
Pinch of salt |
1 tablespoon of shrimp paste |
3-7 bird’s eye chillies |
½ - 1 tablespoon palm sugar |
1 tablespoon of lime juice |
A splash of fish sauce |
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Pound the garlic, salt and shrimp paste in a mortar and pestle. Slowly add the chillies. The more you pound them the hotter the sauce – suit yourself. Then pound in the sugar, lime juice and fish sauce. Adjust the balance between the hot, sour, salt and sweet to your taste, and serve with a nice, cold Yarrh Riesling.