METHOD:
In a large saucepan add butter, leek, star anise and garlic. Cook until translucent. Add rice and toss for 3-5 minutes. Combine wine and stock. Add 1 cup at a time, continue to stir until all the liquid is almost absorbed. Once all stock has been added, remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of any cheese of your choice - we suggest parmesan or goat’s cheese. Serve with warm strips of thinly sliced, pan seared biltong. Add liquid or more wine if consistency is too thick.

METHOD
1. For the casserole: in a large, wide casserole/pot, heat the oil and fry the meat in batches over high heat on all sides until brown. Season with salt & pepper while frying. Remove the meat, then add the onion, carrot, celery, onion & rosemary. Lower the heat to moderate, then fry until soft and light brown. Add the tomato paste and fry for a minute, then add the wine, tomatoes, sugar and stock. Stir to mix and bring to a simmer. Add the meat back into the pot, cover with a lid and roast for about 2 hours until very tender. Serve hot with polenta. 2. For the polenta: Bring the water to a simmer, then add the polenta and stir well until thickened, cooking it for about 3-5 minutes over low heat. Add the cream and season well with salt & pepper. Remove from the heat and cover with a lid until ready to serve. Stir well just before serving.

About the wine, Spier Creative Block 5:
Blackberry and currant is supported by cedar, dark chocolate and fennel hints that flow into a vibrant palate with great balance and dense tannins. The taste will be enhanced by ageing.

Slow-cooked oxtail, a beef casserole, or fire-roasted wild mushroom truffled risotto.

Smoked snoek salad with sweet curry dressing

Serves 4
Smoked snoek has a bold, salty presence and the apricot-toned sweet curry dressing calls for something vivacious, clean and crisp to counteract it. The lemon typicity and acidity, along with the rounded tropical flavours of this wine fit the bill perfectly.

METHOD:
For the dressing: whisk the egg yolks, salt, mustard, zest, juice, jam, curry paste and wine until it thickens. Add half the oil, drop by drop, to the egg mixture while whisking until the mixture thickens and forms an emulsion. Add the rest of the oil in a thin but steady stream, whisking continuously until thick and shiny. Season to taste and set aside. For the salad: Heat a griddle pan on high heat. Grill the pineapple until charred and caramelised. Arrange the leaves, snoek, apricots, Parmesan shavings, pineapple and pinenuts on a plate and serve with dollops of the curry dressing.

METHOD:
Heat butter and olive oil on the stove in your Dutch oven. Brown mushrooms, put aside. Sauté onions, garlic, fennel, put aside. Preheat oven to 150 o C. Add bacon drippings, or just add more olive oil to braise your short rib one or two pieces at a time to ensure they are brown on all sides. Put aside. Deglaze your pot with wine, boiling it for 2–3 minutes. Add in the rest of the balsamic vinegar, pepper, stock cubes, water, thyme, bay leaves, paprika and sundried tomatoes.Place short rib in pot with veggies on top. Cover the lid and continue to cook for 2–3 hours in the oven, until meat is tender.Reduce sauce for gravy and add salt to taste. Serve with choice of rice or couscous. Add one cup broth to choice of rice or couscous (1 cup). Mix in the mushrooms, tomatoes and onion bits from the broth to make a hearty couscous full of flavour.

METHOD
For the mayonnaise, place the yolks, garlic and mustard in the bowl of a blender and process until light and creamy. While the motor is running, gradually add the oil in a slow steady stream until the sauce is thick and pale. Season to taste with lemon juice and salt.

For the herb puree, place all the ingredients in the bowl of a blender and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For the mussels, heat the oil and onions over medium heat in a large saucepan with a lid. Fry until golden, add garlic and fry for a further 1–2 minutes. Turn the heat to high, add the Graham Beck Brut and bring to the boil. Add the mussels and cook covered for 5 minutes or until mussels open. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the mussels to a dish. Discard any unopened mussels.

Carefully remove the flesh from the shell. Ladle 1 tablespoon of herb puree into the bottom shell and place a mussel on top. Dollop a spoonful of mayonnaise on top and garnish with a quarter teaspoon of caviar or roe. Serve with dill fronds.

Grilled Tuna & Mussel Linguine Paired With Diemersdal Winter Ferment Sauvignon Blanc

Time: 2.5 Hours   Serving: 4      Method: Oven

METHOD:
Slice the garlic and cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Next, add the fennel seeds to a pestle and mortar with a pinch of salt and smash to a powder. Tip into a cup and put aside. Pick the flat leaf parsley leaves and set aside. Roughly chop the stalks, then add to the pestle and mortar and smash to a paste with a pinch of salt.

Mix 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a grating of lemon zest and the juice of half the lemon with the flat leaf parsley paste. Spoon it out onto a plate and place the tuna steaks on top. Turn the tuna over in the dressing, then leave them to marinate for about 20 minutes in the fridge.

Put a deep pasta pan over medium heat and fill with boiling water, add salt and bring back to the boil. Drop the linguine into the water and cook according to packet instructions. Once cooked, drain the pasta.

Put a medium saucepan over medium heat, then add a splash of olive oil and the garlic. As soon as the garlic is golden, tip in the bashed-up fennel seeds and the cherry tomatoes. Season with a little pepper, cover with a lid and turn the heat down to low. Cook gently for 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft and sweet, then turn the heat off. Tip the drained pasta into the pan with the cherry tomatoes, stir together and season with a little salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice, if needed. Cover with a lid.

Steam the mussels in a medium saucepan with olive oil, white wine and chilli. This should not be steamed for longer than 8 minutes.
6. Put a griddle pan over medium heat. Season the tuna with a little salt, then place in the hot griddle pan and cook for 30 seconds on each side for rare, or for a bit longer if you prefer it more well-done. Divide the linguine between your plates, lay a tuna steak next to each pile and top with the mussels and tomato sauce.

Garnish with fresh watercrest and parmesan.

Tostadas with spicy beef, salsa and yoghurt

Pairs well with Haute Cabrière Arnim Family Réserve 2018.    Serves 4

METHOD:
For the tostadas: Place flour in a bowl or mixer, add the salt, butter and yoghurt and mix. Once you have a crumbly consistency, add some water to get the dough to come together. Work/knead the dough until there is some elasticity and shine. Cover and set aside for 20 min. Cut the dough into 6-8 pieces and roll out on a floured surface into a round-shaped flatbread.

In a hot pan, wiped with some oil, seal the dough on both sides for about 1 – 2 minutes each. Set aside once the batch is done.

For the spicy beef: Combine the BBQ spice, salt, pepper and oil and add the meat to coat it. In a very hot pan, fry in batches until cooked. Once the last batch is complete, add the previous batches along with the sherry vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and molasses. Give a good couple of flips or stire. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the salsa and yoghurt: Combine the tomato, avocado, onion, chili, brown sugar and half the lemon juice and set aside. Combine the yoghurt, parsley and remainder of the lemon juice and set aside.

To plate: Heat a deep pan to shallow fry. Cut your flatbread into slices and fry until crispy. Place them on your plate and add the spicy beef on top( you may want to heat it up a bit), and spoon on the salsa and yoghurt.

Creamy Mushroom and Beef Straganoff With Tagliatelle

Serves 4-6 Perfectly paired with Durbanville Hills Merlot.
Stroganoff with its salty, earthy mushroom flavour and creamy richness needs a wine that is lighter and brighter to offset it. The rounded berry fruit and spice of the Durbanville Hills Merlot does exactly that. The succulent blueberry and cherry vibrance and appeal lifts the dish and livens the palate.

METHOD:
Season the steak on both sides with the sea salt flakes. Heat the oil and butter in a large cast iron frying pan over medium-low heat. Fry onions and mushrooms for 7 – 10 minutes. Remove to a bowl and set the pan aside for the steak.

In the meantime bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the tagliatelle according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and drizzle with olive oil. Slice the steak into strips, heat the frying pan to high and sear the steak for 3 – 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Pour the brandy into the pan and cook until the alcohol burns off. Add the stock, mustard, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the brown bits. Add the onion and mushroom mixture back to the pan and reduce the heat to low. Stir in the cream, crème fraiche and parsley. Cook for 5 minutes until everything is heated through and bubbling. Add the steak, heat through for a further 2 minutes. Serve immediately tossed through the tagliatelle.

Fat Bastard Chardonnay Prawns

White wine garlic prawns is the perfect, easy appetizer/starter and makes a great fast dinner served with crusty bread for mopping up the white wine sauce.

METHOD
Peel and de-vein your prawns if they aren’t already, leaving the tail on. Melt the butter in a large frying pan then add the prawns in a single layer (this might mean cooking them in batches, depending on the size of your pan). Cook the prawns until golden brown and opaque on both sides then add the garlic. Allow the garlic to cook for 20 seconds then pour in the wine, lemon juice, parsley and season with salt and pepper. Allow the wine to reduce for a minute or two then serve.