What we’re enjoying with Radford Chardonnay this month……

Some years ago whilst working a vintage in Burgundy, Ben and I had the pleasure of picking Chardonnay  for Martin Prieur  of Domaine Jaques Prieur, after a number of his pickers walked off the job.  Perhaps “pleasure” is too strong a word for the gruelling hours spent on hands and knees caked in mud and soaked to the bone whilst picking, but it’s certainly an apt descriptor for the wonderful generosity bestowed on us by Martin for helping him out of a “pickle”.

That sealed our fate and our love of a good Chardonnay,  so we had a go at producing a more European style chardonnay, wild fermented with minimal lees stirring and a short stretch in a new French oak puncheon.   The resultant wine – leaner yet with a generous palate weight really surprised us and left us reaching for the next bottle and the next…….  with only a 130 dozen bottled, keeping our hands off it has proved to be a little difficult, so if you’ve not yet enjoyed a little Chardonnay in a while – then give this little beauty a go…

I came across this combination of prawns and sweet potato quite by accident one night when rummaging for “something for dinner”. Ben’s not a huge fan of sweet potato, so I was a little intrigued to see what he made of these – they were absolutely delicious, but I’m not sure if the “deep fried goodness” did it for him, or the wonderful combination of Moorish flavours with the generous mouthfeel & lovely lemony acidity of the chardonnay sealed the deal!

 

Crumbed prawn and sweet potato fritter

Makes about 20 to serve as a canapé

1 large sweet potato – roughly 500g
1 small red onion finely chopped
½ tsp ground cumin
1 red chilli  de-seeded and finely chopped
1 large clove garlic chopped
180g green prawn meat chopped into 1 cm dice
2 eggs beaten
Panko breadcrumbs
Sumac for dusting – optional
Bunch coriander
2 limes cut into wedges
Vegetable oil for frying

Roast the sweet potato, whole on a baking tray in an oven previously heated to 200⁰C for 20 – 30 minutes, until the sweet potato is really soft to the touch.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, then slice in half & scoop the flesh out into a bowl and set aside.

Heat a little oil in a frying pan, add the finely chopped onion, chilli, garlic and cumin and sauté for a minute or so  until the onion is soft and the  aromatic.  Add to the sweet potato and mix well to combine.  Add the raw prawn meat, along with some chopped coriander, folding it in gently.  Season with sea salt and black pepper.

Using a spoon, drop small balls of the mixture into the egg mix and then roll in the panko crumbs, flattening the balls into a round disc.  This is a bit of a messy task as the sweet potato mixture is quite wet, but the resultant mess is worth it!  Place each of the balls onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.  Heat a generous amount of oil in a heavy based frying pan, and cook the fritters in batches until golden brown on each side – remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.  To serve, pile the fritters onto a serving dish, sprinkle with a little sumac, arrange a few lime wedges on the platter and top with coriander.  Enjoy with a deliciously cold glass of Radford Eden Valley Chardonnay….

While it may be the end of September, Spring has been a little shy about showing herself in Eden Valley just yet!  We’ve had a few fabulously beautiful spring days, but there’s  a definite chill  about the hills that means the fires are still roaring  and the love affair with a great bottle of red continues!

Many of our customers who have come up to the farm for a tasting around the kitchen bench would have been very familiar with a taste of “that little sample bottle” taken directly from tank that offered up so much promise!  Well we’ve finally gotten around to bottling the 2008 Spice Bush Shiraz and it’s exceeded our expectations – great depth & length with typical Eden Valley cooler climate  spiciness, bright  red berry characters and fabulously curvaceous tannins.

As with any new relationship, we’re taking our time getting to know each other – we’ve established  that she has good genes (very similar 05 fruit characteristics and with the richness and weight of the 06 vintage), is easy on the eye (brilliant lively ruby red) is well mannered (generally it’s only the third bottle that may give you a nudge around the temples)  and has the curves of a ’40’s nightclub singer (with those great supple tannins)!  We’ve shared many meals together, but the combination of spicy pastry goodness with the 2008 Spice Bush Shiraz must certainly be one of my favourites. These little  pastries are best known in South America, and many southern European countries.  They’re fantastically easy to make, and can be served as a starter, part of a shared dining experience or later on at night as a tapas!

 

Beef Empanadas Recipe

makes about 20 empanades

Filling
400g minced  beef
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 small red pepper seeded & chopped
1tbsp tomato puree
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
2tbsp currants re-hydrated in a little verjuice or warm water
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ preserved lemon
¼ cup chopped coriander

2 x 445g Careme sour cream pastry**
www.caremepastry.com

Saute the onion, capsicum and garlic in a splash of extra virgin olive oil until softened.  Add the mince and continue to  cook  until well browned.  Add all of the spices and tomato puree, and the re-hydrated currants.  Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper – adding a splash of shiraz at this stage if the mixture looks a little dry.  Leave to cool slightly, then add the preserved lemon and coriander, taste for seasoning, adjusting if necessary and set aside until you’re ready to make the empanadas.

To make the empanadas, cut out 10 x 10cm rounds from each sheet of pastry, divide the filling between the pastry circles and moisten the edges  with a little water.  Fold each pastry circle over to enclose the filling, making sure to press along  the edges to seal.  Create a rope effect by folding or pinching the edge over (you could also press a fork along the edge to create a different pattern).  Brush each empanada with a little egg wash and bake in an oven previously heated to 200 degrees for 10 – 15 minutes.  Leave to cool slightly and serve with a glass of full bodied spicy  Radford Spice Bush Shiraz!

**Careme pastry can be found at most major supermarkets or Deli’s – check out their website to find your closest stockist.   Any pastry off cuts can be rolled into a ball and refrigerated for half and hour before re-rolling for additional empanadas.

It’s been a little quiet on the Radford table front –  which is not to say that we’ve not been well nourished over the past couple of months, but rather that vintage has finally drawn to a close!

The new wines have been safely tucked into barrel, presses washed down, fermenters packed away and the winery  imbued with a calm air of achievement.  Vintage has been a long drawn out affair – sometimes challenging but, often surprising, with pockets of brilliance spread throughout the region.

June already, and pruning season is upon us!  Long cold days out in the vineyard  with the smell of woodsmoke drifting along the breeze to remind you that there’s a lovely pot of goodness cooking slowly on the old Carmichael wood stove in the kitchen and a bottle of 09 Menagerie to bring the feeling back to your feet and a smile to your face!  And a belated promise to a few guys that I would share “that lamb soup” recipe with them.

Menagerie – a lovely spicy blend of Mataro, Grenache, Alicante and Shiraz.  Multi–layered, textural and a perfect partner to the nourishing & warming spices of this delicious soup.

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