Let's do lunch
Take the colours and flavours of autumn as inspiration, and create an elegant afternoon of food and wine for friends.
John Paul Urizar
Menu for 8
Drink
Appetiser
Starter
Main
Dessert
Cheese
Time plan
Up to 1 day ahead
- Make the roasted garlic & tomato soup with parmesan crisps.
- Make the walnut caramel tart.
- Make the blue cheese panna cotta.
Up to 6 hours ahead
- Prepare the figs with almonds & feta to the end of step 2.
- Prepare the lamb with pistachio crust to the end of step 2.
- Prepare the baby rocket, bean & bacon salad to the end of step 3.
- Make the basil oil (step 1) for the parsnip & ginger puree with basil oil.
Up to 2 hours ahead
- Continue making the lamb with pistachio crust from step 3.
- Continue making the parsnip & ginger puree with basil oil from step 2.
30 minutes before your guests arrive
- Make the warm spiced wine.
Just before serving the appetiser
- Finish making the figs with almonds & feta.
Just before serving the main
- Finish making the baby rocket, bean & bacon salad.
What to drink
A glass of zesty white is a great way to start this elegant autumn lunch. Try Brokenwood Cricket Pitch White 2002, $19 (a lovely blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon) or MadFish Premium White 2003, $21 (a zippy unwooded chardonnay with a splash of verdelho from Western Australia). They both have plenty of tropical tang to liven up the party and will go down a treat with the figs with almonds & feta and the baby rocket, bean & bacon salad.
The slow-roast shoulder of lamb makes my mouth water and definitely calls for a full-bodied red. Try a robust cabernet sauvignon, which will have more of a savoury flavour than its sister, shiraz. You can't go wrong with Wynns Coonawarra Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2001, $31. It's an elegant drop from Coonawarra with intense varietal aromas and flavours. The finish is long and lingering so don't expect your guests to be in a rush to go home! -- Rhys Connery of the vine press
Prices and information in this article correct at time of first publication.
Source
Taste.com.au — November 2011 , Page 86
Author
Rodney Dunn