Great family recipes
Great summer punches
Q1. Why have you chosen Herb roasted leg of lamb as your favourite Easter recipe?
This recipe is a sort of tradition in our family. A roast dinner was always served on any special family occasion whether it be Christmas, Easter or someone's birthday. Sometimes it was lamb or pork, chicken or when things were going really well, beef. And of course, turkey for Christmas.
Q2. What will you be eating and drinking on Easter Sunday?
Well, I hope my mother will be cooking a roast lunch (we are still negotiating) at our family home in Melbourne which usually consists of something like a pumpkin and ginger soup or a salmon confit with fennel and salad greens, followed by roast leg of lamb with real homemade gravy, with roasted vegetables such as beetroot, parsnips, spuds, whole garlic cloves and fresh peas. A home-made mint, mango and chilli salsa will be my contribution.
This will be followed by either a pavlova, Mum's trifle or some sort of fruit tart, depending on who volunteers for this critical job! And of course we will enjoy some great wine. I love Australian wines but I am often given wines from all over to try, so on a recent trip to my newest restaurant in San Francisco, "South Food & Wine Bar", I tried a Caymus, Conundrum 2004 from Napa and loved it, so I have a couple of them to take to lunch. Then I have one of my favourites for the lamb, also from Napa: Joseph Phelps, Insignia, 2003 — great wines!
Q3. How will you be spending the Easter weekend? And with who?
I am hoping to visit my family in Melbourne where I hope to catch up with my mother and all my brothers, nieces and nephews. It's hard to do as there are quite a few of them and they are scattered here and there, so it's rare that we can all have a meal together at the one time. So we are all trying to make that happen at Easter this year..
Q4. Do you enjoy cooking at home throughout your holidays or do you ever need a break from cooking?
Cooking, food, wine is my whole life, there is nothing better in life than to have a meal, a glass of wine with a friend or family. So the answer is yes, I love cooking at home. It's never something complicated, usually just trying something I may have seen overseas or an idea I have been toying with. For example, a few weekends ago I had some mates over and I had a couple of pork chops in the fridge, so I tried a Hokkien noodle with barbecue pork , opened a bottle of great Australian riesling and just enjoyed the moment. It wasn't bad at all, even if I do say so myself!
Q5. What exciting projects do you have coming up over the next few months?
A lot of things coming up, which is exciting for me and my team. As I mentioned, we just opened our latest restaurant in San Francisco, South Food & Wine Bar. Also I am in discussion with my partners about a new project that I can't really talk about yet, but as soon as everything is confirmed, I will let you know!
Q6. What's your favourite ingredient/dish/wine of the moment?
I have so many, but let me think.
Ingredient: Vanilla comes to mind; its subtle, delicate flavour never overpowers, it's versatile and has a fantastic aroma.
Dish: Simple good roast like the one above or just a good rump steak with fries, béarnaise and salad.
Wine: Now that's another tough question, almost impossible as we are so spoilt for great wines in Australia. I have been reading about the history of Italian wine, and trying a lot out. I was amazed to learn that after the Second World War, most if not all of the great wineries of Italy were deserted and only in the last couple of decades have some great Italian wines sprung forth, mainly because of the region's unique grape varieties, new methods and their new-found passion for wine-making. One I tried recently was Gaja, Cabernet Sauvignon Darmagi, 2001 from Piedmont, Italy. It was gorgeous.
Q7. Did you give up anything for Lent? (If not, what would you consider giving up, if anything?)
This year Easter has come so early that Ash Wednesday came and went before I realised, so I missed the chance this year. Next year I certainly will! I always thought about giving up wine. I tried a few times but found it difficult so gave up after a couple of hours! Last year I gave up coffee which was tough but I did it, as the first thing I did every morning was grab a coffee; it was just an automatic thing to do.
Actually, I think it's great to make a small sacrifice each year so we truly appreciate what we have, but certain things should be excluded from the "give-up" list, such as wine and a couple of other things I can't really mention here!
