Nepenthe Winery in the picturesque Adelaide Hills has been experimenting with some Spanish wine varieties, so I took this as inspiration to create some tapas, which I matched with winemaker Alex Trescowthick’s latest vintages. I added some local goat’s cheese, toasted thinly sliced baguette and blanched asparagus to go with his sauvignon blanc.
Spiced Pork Rolls
Makes 16
Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking 5 minutes
INGREDIENTS
250 g minced (ground) pork
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
1/2 tablespoon dry sherry
25 g (1/4 cup) stale breadcrumbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
60 g prosciutto (about 4 slices)
extra-virgin olive oil for shallow-frying
toothpicks to secure rolls
METHOD
1 Combine all the ingredients, except the prosciutto and oil, in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Mix until very well combined. Roll a tablespoon of the mixture into a sausage shape then repeat with the remaining mixture.
2 Cut each slice of prosciutto into four lengthways, and then across to create rectangle shapes. Roll each pork sausage in a piece of prosciutto and secure with a toothpick.
3 Heat the oil in a large frying pan to a depth of 2 cm (3/4 in) and fry the sausages, turning from time to time, for 5 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on paper towel.
Wine: Try the softer, more fruit-driven characters of tempranillo, which can handle the spice!
Pinot Noir Mushrooms
Makes 12
Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS
20 g butter
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
120 g button mushrooms (about 12)
125 ml (1/2 cup) pinot noir
125 ml (1/2 cup) chicken stock
3 thyme sprigs, plus extra to serve
METHOD
1 Melt the butter in a medium frying pan. Add the garlic and mushrooms and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the pinot noir, stock and thyme and simmer gently for 15 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the mushrooms are tender. Serve at room temperature, topped with the extra thyme sprigs.
Wine: If food is cooked in a wine, it makes the perfect match to drink with it!
The Carousel thanks to Lyndey Milan.
