Beef fillet with blue cheese and pesto cream

Here’s a delicious beef fillet with blue cheese and pesto cream recipe to try this weekend. Excellent for entertaining and with a glass of ALTO Shiraz.

 Ingredients: 

• 100 g blue cheese
•  50 ml lemon juice
• 200 ml cream
• 3 Tablespoons basil pesto
• 10 ml oreganum
• 10 ml majoram
• 100 ml Olive oil
• 10 ml rosemary
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1.50 kg beef

 

Method:

Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and herbs and pour the mixture over the fillet of beef. Refrigerate overnight to marinate.
Place the meat in a casserole dish and bake, covered, in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 20 mins, or until done to your liking.
Slice the fillet into portions and sprinkle with the crumbled blue cheese. Place under a hot grill until the cheese has browned.
Sauce: Heat the pesto and cream over a medium heat, taking care not to allow the mixture to boil. Drizzle the sauce over the fillet. Serve with sautéed vegetables and potato wedges.

Recommended wine: Try the ALTO Shiraz with this dish.

Source: Food24

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Wine and Cheese

What’s your favourite wine and cheese pairing?

What a great image…

‘Pairing’ red wine and meat.

Stuffed Fillet of Roast Beef

Here’s a lovely stuffed fillet of roast beef recipe, perfect for a special midweek dinner. The lovely flavours and presentation, will delight any guest.

Ingredients:

• 1.20 kg whole beef fillet
• 30 ml cranberry sauce with whole berries
• 100 g feta cheese
• 40 ml olive oil
• 10 ml freshly chopped thyme
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 0 Sauce:
• 250 ml beef stock
• 125 ml red wine
• 25 ml cranberry sauce
• 30 ml butter

Method:

Oven temperature: 200°C.

Cut the fillet in half lengthways, taking care not to cut right through. Open the fillet up. Spread a layer of the cranberry sauce over the bottom half and top with feta cheese. Close the fillet and use a piece of string to secure the meat and keep it closed.

Brush liberally with olive oil and brown over a high heat in a roasting pan or large frying pan. Once browned on all sides, remove from the heat and transfer to a roasting tin.

Sprinkle with fresh thyme and garlic and rub to coat the fillet. Season with salt and pepper and roast in a preheated oven (30 to 40 minutes for medium, or longer if you prefer it well done).

Remove the fillet from the oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes, while you make the sauce.

Sauce Heat the roasting tin on the stove. Add the butter and stir to melt, then add the stock, red wine and cranberry sauce. Simmer for about five minutes until slightly thickened.

Remove the string from the fillet and slice into 1cm-thick slices. Serve immediately with the vegetable dishes and the sauce on the side.

Recommended wine: The ALTO Shiraz will pair excellent with this dish.

Source: food24

Barbecued Greek lamb with tzatziki

This lovely Greek flavoured lamb recipe will lighten up this weekend’s dinner. Fantastic for entertaining, or for a quiet night in.

Ingredients:

• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• juice 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp thyme leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 leg of lamb , butterflied
• flatbreads , to serve

 

For the Tzatziki

• ½ cucumber , halved and deseeded
• 170g pot Greek yogurt
• 1 small garlic clove , crushed
• handful mint leaves, chopped

 

Method:

1. Mash the garlic to a paste with a pestle and mortar. Mix with the olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and thyme leaves, and season with a little salt and plenty of pepper. Place the lamb in a large porcelain dish. Pour the marinade over the lamb and massage into the meat. Leave the lamb for at least 1 hr at room temperature, or longer in the fridge, but no longer than overnight or the meat will become too soft.
2. To cook the lamb, fire up the barbecue, or heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. To cook on the barbecue, wait for the coals to turn ashen, then lay the lamb on the grill and cook for 15 mins on each side for meat that is pink, or 20 mins on each side for well done. To cook in the oven, place the lamb in a shallow roasting tin and roast for 30 mins for pink or 40 mins for well done, turning the lamb halfway through. Leave the meat to rest for 10 mins before carving.
3. Meanwhile, make the tzatziki. Coarsely grate the cucumber, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and squeeze out all the liquid. Tip into a bowl with the yogurt, garlic and mint, and mix well. Carve the lamb into thick slices and serve with the tzatziki wrapped up in warm flatbreads.

Recommended wine: The Alto Shiraz will pair excellent with this meal.

Go to… bbcgoodfood

Red Wine Stew

How about a steamy roast to try this weekend. With all of these flavours combined, it will be a treat for all.

 

Ingredients:

• 15 millilitre oil
• 100 gram Baby onions
• 125 gram Bacon, chopped
• 400 gram Beef, cubed
• 125 millilitre Red wine
• 3 Carrots, chopped
• 1 KNORR Hearty Beef Stew Cook-in-Sauce
• 350 millilitre cold water
• 410 Tin butterbeans, drained
• 1 bushel Rosemary leaves
• 2 cup Creamy mashed potato to serve

Instructions

1. In a large pot, heat oil and fry baby onions, bacon and beef until brown.
2. Add 125 ml red wine and carrots.
3. Mix the sachet contents with 350 ml cold water and add to the pot.
4. Simmer until the meat is tender and the carrots are cooked (approximately 40 min).
5. Add the tin of butterbeans and simmer for 5 min.
6. Garnish with fresh rosemary and serve with creamy mashed potato.

Recommended wine: The Alto Shiraz will pair great with this dish.

Source: whatsfordinner

Bending the food and wine pairing rules

Food and wine pairing is an age old darling, with rules ever changing and new suggestions coming to light.

Some food and wine connoisseurs have made food and wine pairing so rigid that they are missing the point completely.  Traditionally, certain wines are recommended to be served with certain dishes. The “rules” state that red wine will complement red meat, while white wine is recommended with fish or fowl.

Some people who are not huge fans of white wine, instead, prefer a Pinot Noir – which is a light-bodied red wine – with salmon or fish. If someone does not particularly enjoy red wine, you simply can’t force them to pair a Cabernet with steak.

New food and wine pairings are all about bending the rules to suit your palate. For example, uniquely South African Pinotage with medium body is also delicious served with seafood such as salmon.

The only “rule” to remember is to match the wine intensity or body with the flavour of the food so that the wine does not overpower the food, or vice versa. Even a so-called untrained palate seeks what it likes – trust your taste buds and mix and match until you find something that you enjoy. Rules? You know what to do them! Wine is simply something that must be enjoyed – regardless of perfect pairings.

Alto has a great variety of splendid wine for all of your pairing needs.

Source: pioneerlocal