By Lynn Potter
Great to have Easter dinner sorted - due to a chance encounter!
I had just filled my shopping basket with fresh veggies at Nosh in Ponsonby Road when I spotted Marcus Gillum at Liquor King next door. He was hosting a small blind wine tasting. The challenge: to guess what four different wines were and their countries of origin. My score, nowhere near perfect!
I blame this on the fact that we got diverted along the way into talking about Easter dinner and what would be good to drink alongside. Marcus is passionate about food as well as wine and we soon had everything planned out for a relaxed enjoyable family feast.
The meat would be chicken (organic as the flavour is better). I would roast it and stuff it with a traditional bread and thyme stuffing but Marcus said he’d prefer:
“ A breast with the skin on under which is put a small amount of cream cheese mixed with basil pesto all of which is wrapped in bacon then cooked in the oven with the veges.”
His favourite roasted veggies would include
“Agria potatoes, sweet Northland kumara, small and sweet parsnip, quartered red onions with strips of yellow and red capsicum added later. All coated in a mix of largely olive oil with a splash of sesame oil to add a nutty character.” His other veges would be steamed julienned carrots and broccoli.”
(I hate parsnips so I’d swap them for pumpkin. But I like the idea of adding sesame oil as a little Asian twist to a familiar dish. Carrots and broccoli yes! As for the wine, I’ll trust Marcus’s judgment here.
“My wine would be a sophisticated and elegant Hawke's Bay Chardonnay, perhaps from the Gimblett Gravels vineyards of John Hancock at Trinity Hill. Or should you be feeling particularly self indulgent maybe the Kumeu River Coddington Chardonnay. The other wine that might work (if you are in the ABC club) is an oily, weighty Viognier.
If it has to be red consider a Pinot Noir or a New Zealand Syrah. Trying to stay within a reasonable budget but at the same time wanting a wine with sufficient weight and savoury character, I would choose between the Grasshopper Rock 2008 from Central Otago, The Wither Hills 2008 from Marlborough (which can sometimes be found as low as $25 which is great value) or maybe the Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Syrah.”
Lastly the dessert. Being Easter we both agreed it had to be chocolate! I let Marcus choose the wine, but I will provide the dessert recipe, a decadent chocolate cake best served with a berry coulis.
Said Marcus:
“For a chocolate based dessert my preference would be for something with a toffee or raisiny character so I would plump for an old and developed noble Semillon. (Vidal Estate do a great one in those years where the conditions are right) or either a Tokay or Muscat from Rutherglen district in north east Victoria, or maybe a vintage or tawny port. If you are feeling brave try the dessert with a young, bold, ripe Cabernet Sauvignon.”
Dinner planned! Now all that remained was the most important part! The Easter eggs, bunnies and other treats.
So much to choose from I finally narrowed it down to
- The funkiest organic Swiss Bliss Easter Bunnies from Organic
- Delights. I adore the hearts in their eyes. They’re a small company so if you haven’t heard of them here is the link http://www.organicdelights.co.nz/ or they sell at the Matakana markets on Saturdays.
- Scarborough Fair Easter Eggs (dark for the adults, milk for the kids) because they are the only Chocolate Easter eggs which are both Fair Trade and New Zealand made, don’t contain Palm Oil, and also taste great.
- Kokako’s handmade gluten free chocolate truffles (for the gluten free rellies and because they are scrumptious and Fair Trade as well.
Hope you enjoy. Happy Easter!
A decadent Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
- 500 grams of dark cooking chocolate
- 250 gm of unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
- 6 eggs separated
- 6 tablespoons of castor sugar
Method:
- Chop chocolate and butter and place in a glass bowl over simmering water. When melted,stir in vanilla and remove from the heat.
- Stir egg yolks into the chocolate mix and set aside.
- Beat egg whites in a clean bowl until they form soft peaks. Beat in sugar 1 tbsp at a time until you have a thick meringue mix.
- Pour into a greased and lined 23 cm spring form cake tin and bake at 180 degrees C for 45 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and stand for 15 minutes. Turn the cake upside down and remove the outer tin, leaving the base of the tin on top of the cake. Place a weight e.g. a couple of plates on the top and leave for 2-4 hours.
- Remove the weight and base and cut into small wedges. Serve with a berry coulis and cream.
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