Leg of lamb-A traditional South African dish
Leg of lamb is one of the traditional South African dishes served at family gathering and Christmas is no exception. There are leg of lamb recipes which have probably been in a family for generations and is prepared and enjoyed this time every year.
Here is a mouth watering leg of lamb recipe which will be perfect for a Christmas dinner.
Ingredients
1 lemon, strips of zest removed with a peeler and juice squeezed
6 cloves garlic
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and black pepper
1 2.5-3kg bone-in leg of lamb
1.4 kg very small carrots, scrubbed
2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 cup fresh mint leaves
6 scallions or onion , chopped
2 teaspoons honey
Directions
-Heat oven to 200° C. In a food processor, pulse the lemon zest, garlic, 2 tablespoons of the oil, and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper until coarsely chopped.
-Place the lamb in a large roasting pan and rub with the lemon mixture. In a large bowl, toss the carrots, 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper; set aside.
-Roast the lamb to the desired doneness, 90 to 105 minutes for medium-, adding the carrots to the pan after the lamb has cooked for 50 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a cutting board, cover loosely with foil, and let rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
-Meanwhile, in the food processor, puree the parsley, mint, scallions, honey, lemon juice, the remaining ½ cup of oil, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Serve with the lamb and carrots.
Recommended wine: The well-balanced Welmoed Cabernet Sauvignon will competent this dish.
Source: realsimple.com
Share the South African Sunshine
South African wine website, wine.co.za has launched a great initiative. The campaign is calling on every South African living abroad to share a drop of sunshine with a local on 16 December.
We would love every South African out there to open up a bottle of South African wine,
and show your mates just how good our wine is – taste some sunshine, sunshine!
We have chosen the 16th December as it is a very special day for us South Africans, and it is right in the middle of the northern hemispheres winter…
just when they need a little bit of sunshine in their lives – so spread a little bit of our sunshine, sunshine!
Get a great bottle of South African wine and sit down quietly and taste it with your mates.
Let them taste some of our sunshine. And of course, you don’t have to stop there…you could even open up a second bottle and then not so quietly share some of our sunshine.
And for those ex-pats out there in the land of OZ, or down the south of America, they might not need the sunshine, but you have to agree…
they do need to taste some good wine for a change, so get them to taste what makes us shine.
Then, please take some pictures and videos, and show us all what you did by posting them on the social networks (#tastewinesunshine) and at wine.co.za
And please tell us at wine.co.za so that we can organise this again next year.
So sunshine, what great South African wine are you going to taste this year !
South Africans in The Netherlands can pour a few glasses of the popular Welmoed wine range.
Viognier – The aromatic gem of the Rhône Valley
Some people perceive Viognier grapes to be relatively new to the South African wine market. Viognier became popular in South Africa in the 1990s as the reputation of this Rhône Valley grape grew for both for blending purposes and for making single varietal wines.
Viognier wines are well-known for their floral aromas, due to terpenes, which are also found in Muscat and Riesling wines.
The colour and the aroma of the wine suggest a sweet wine but Viognier wines are predominantly dry, although sweet late-harvest dessert wines have been made. It is a grape with low acidity; it is sometimes used to soften red wines. In addition to its softening qualities, the grape also adds a stabilising agent and enhanced perfume to the red wine.
The distinctive aromas of peaches and apricots make it one of the easiest varieties to identify in blends.
South Africa has a few great single varietal and blended Viognier wines and the Welmoed Viognier is one such an example. This excellent wine as a pale straw colour. Lively tropical aromas of peach blossoms and lime with floral and perfume notes. Palate is delicately textured with a smooth, yet fresh acidity and excellent balance. Elegant, medium bodied wine with satisfying finish.
Source: food24.com
Tori Amos loves SA red wine
American singer Tori Amos is a fervent women’s rights activist known for ruffling feathers with her candid lyrics and views.
South African concert organisers have described her as “unpretentious” and having almost no backstage requirements – apart from wanting to sample local red wine.
The 48-year-old red-haired diva – who in 1996 sparked a media storm with an album cover featuring her breast-feeding a piglet – has requested water and “good red wine” during her time in Johannesburg and Cape Town this week.
Amos, whose hit singles include Cornflake Girl and Crucify, said before she arrived in the country that she was eager to stock up on South African wine for her cellar at home in Cornwall, England.
Easy to make recipe – Minced beef chow mein
Some call it fusion cooking others call it a meal-from-stuff-in-fridge. This minced beef chow mein looks like a great easy meal without stretching the budget.
Ingredients
• 1 packet of instant noodles
• 4 tablespoons (60 ml) soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) finely chopped fresh ginger, or 3 teaspoons (15 ml) dried ginger
• 1 onion, finely sliced into narrow strips
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
• 1 carrot, finely sliced into strips that are roughly 4 cm long
• ¼ cabbage, finely sliced into thin strips
• 6 mushrooms, finely sliced
• 400 gram minced beef
• 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
• Salt and black pepper, to season to taste
• ½ teaspoon (2½ ml) green Thai curry paste
• 1 cup of boiling water
• ½ cup chicken stock
• Oil for frying
Method
1. Boil water and pour over instant noodles in a bowl. After 5 minutes, pour out warm water, add 1 tablespoon soy sauce and a little oil (to prevent the noodles from sticking), and set aside to cool.
2. Place 2 tablespoons soy sauce and half of the chopped ginger in a ramekin.
3. Heat a heavy, large pan over medium heat.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons rice bran oil in the pan and pour over the soy sauce and ginger. Set aside to allow the flavours to develop.
5. Lightly stir fry onion and garlic, until the onion lost the worst of it’s bite, but is still firm. Remove from pan and set aside.
6. Add a little oil (not too much!) to the pan and lightly stir fry carrot to soften it somewhat, but remove it from the pan while still firm. Set aside.
7. Turn up the heat and stir fry the minced beef. Add curry powder, the remainder of the ginger, and a good pinch of salt. Remove from pan when cooked and set aside.
8. Add ½ teaspoon green Thai curry paste and boiling water to pan and stir briskly to deglaze the pan (this will dissolve the residue left after frying the minced beef). Pour the liquid into a ramekin, but discard the meat residue.
9. Turn pan down to medium heat again, add a little oil, and lightly stir fry the cabbage and mushrooms until softer but still firm. Remove and set aside.
10. Briefly fry noodles until smoky.
11. Add the onion and garlic, carrots, meat, cabbage and mushrooms, as well as the liquids that you’ve set aside, and the chicken stock.
12. Let the dish heat through, while stirring gently. You want to fry it just long enough to heat it through, retaining all the lovely individual colours and flavours, but not so long that it starts sticking to the pan’s bottom or turn into a mushy mass.
Serve immediately, with freshly brewed green tea and steamed baby corn.
Recommended Wine: The Welmoed Pinotage Rose will be the perfect match with dish.
Source: rainbowcooking.co.nz