Food review by James Hill

It was all hands on deck filling an urgent need for a CoTD for our monthly wine tasting. It was good to welcome our Cellarmaster Chilly Hargrave back to the fold after a long research and education tour of Italy and France.

Canapés

First up, ajvar served on spoons. Unfortunately, due to a kitchen mishap, our shortcrust pastry shells were burnt. They meant have added some texture to the canapé. One comment on the quality was that there is better quality served in jars…well spotted ...it was out of a jar!

Ajvar is a condiment made principally from capsicum and eggplants. The relish became a popular side dish throughout Yugoslavia after World War II and is popular in Southeast Europe.

Next up Gary Linnane provided some delicious caramelised red onion tarts topped with goat’s cheese. They were sweet with the goat’s cheese adding flavour and texture. They left a long lingering taste on the palate.

Nick Reynolds prepared some pintxos. Known for his innovation Nick didn’t let us down today. They used haloumi and chorizo that were baked in the oven and then served with pickled and pressed watermelon.

Looked good, and tasted even better with the sweetness of the watermelon enhanced by the spice of the chorizo.

Lastly, Peter Kelso served some herring sour cream on rye topped with a garnish of dill.

This was a sweeter style of herring and it had good texture with integrated favours and was very moreish.

Some in the room said this was the preferred canapé of the day

Main course

Our main course today was a celebration of spring.

A hearty meal of braised lamb shanks cooked in the kitchen for three hours. The braise consisted of red wine, stock, garlic, onion, carrot, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, rosemary, thyme and long red chillies.

Once the cooking was complete and the shanks ready, the braising liquid was strained and the liquid reduced to make an unctuous, rich, full-flavoured sauce. The shank was served on a mound of creamy mash.

It was accompanied by a spring salad of zucchini, peas green asparagus and dressed with mint, lemon juice and zest and EVOO.

The acidity of the salad was perfect to follow the richness of the lamb dish.

Comments suggested it may have been better-suited match to Cabernet tasting rather than Pinot.

Most agreed it was a good course for a wine tasting.

Our kitchen brigade was thanked for their assistance in getting the meal prepared.

Bread today was Iggys ‘super long’ white sourdough with Italian butter.

Cheese

Selected by our Cheesemaster James Healey we had Comte.

A semi-hard milk cheese from the Franche-Comte region of France.

Today we had a perfect example of this cheese served at the right temperature and quality.

Made from unpasteurised milk, its quality and flavour characteristics vary between producers, and most examples are sold simply on the basis of age. This is no guarantee of quality. Every batch is different and influenced by when the cheese was made, and where and how it was ripened. This cheese was matured in the damp underground cellars of Marcel Petite at Fort Saint Antoine high in the mountains that border France and Switzerland in the Franche-Comte. It wears the prestigious red ‘crown’ of quality on the basis of its rich concentrated nutty texture, elegant caramel sweetness, and lingering kaleidoscope of flavours rather than on how long it was aged.

Simply accompanied by some sliced pear and walnuts.

We do need to invest in some new cheese knives.