Hearty goulash. Slow cooked lamb. And two exceptional wines. Winter’s looking damn fine!
Comfort in a bowl …
Constantia Glen’s famous Austrian beef goulash soup – a nourishing traditional cold weather foil that’s hearty and rich in flavour – will bowl you over! This spicy beef and potato soup flaunts paprika as its signature ingredient, and it needs a big, well-structured red wine to stand up to its bold flavours. So open a bottle of Constantia’s flagship Constantia Glen FIVE, a blend of five Bordeaux grape varieties, and tuck into this easy-to-make, crowd-pleasing dish, best served with fresh crusty bread to mop up even the last drop in your bowl.
The wine costs R465, and you can order it online (constantiaglen.com/order-wine) for delivery to your door after the lockdown restrictions have been lifted.
Traditional Austrian beef goulash soup
(Serves 4)
You’ll need:
45ml (3 Tblsps) olive oil; 3 (600g) medium onions, chopped; 5ml (1 tsp) garlic, finely chopped; 15ml (1 Tblsp) tomato paste; 15ml
(1 Tblsp) paprika; 2.5ml (½ tsp) ground cumin; 2.5ml (½ tsp) marjoram; 2.5ml (½ tsp) thyme ; 2.5ml (½ tsp) cayenne pepper (optional); 250g boneless, cubed beef; 60ml (¼ cup) red wine; 1L (4 cups) warm beef stock; 3 (660g) medium potatoes, peeled and diced; salt and pepper
To serve: sour cream; chopped chives; crusty bread
Method:
Heat the oil in a large, heavy based pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until tender for 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, paprika, cumin, marjoram, thyme and cayenne pepper. Add beef and fry for 5 minutes. Stir in red wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Add stock, cover and cook for 40 minutes.
Add potatoes and simmer for a further 30 minutes until potatoes and meat are fork-tender.
Season the soup to taste, ladle into bowls and top each portion with a dollop of sour cream. Sprinkle some chives on top and serve with freshly baked bread.
A velvety Merlot and slow cooked lamb
Replenish your winter wine stocks with a smooth-as-velvet Steenberg Merlot … just perfect for enjoying by the fire or paired with home-style comfort food. Rich and juicy, and overloaded with concentrated red fruit … it’s a sensational mouthful of sour cherries, dark chocolate and spicy cloves. It’s big and generous and is extraordinarily food-friendly, making it an obvious choice to serve with chef Kerry Kilpin’s brand of winter comfort food dished up at Steenberg’s restaurants. Always happy to share her recipes, chef Kerry recommends her hearty lamb neck stuffed with ricotta and herbs to go with this Merlot, which you can order online for R190 a bottle (steenbergfarm.com) with deliveries as soon as lockdown restrictions allow.
Lamb neck stuffed with ricotta and herbs with lemon jus
(Serves 6)
You’ll need:
1kg deboned lamb neck; 200g ricotta; 10g each chopped basil and parsley; zest of 1 lemon; one each onion, carrot and celery stick, all chopped; 100ml stock; 1 lemon, juiced and zested; 100g butter; salt and pepper
Method:
In a food processor combine the ricotta, herbs and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.
Open up the neck and season with salt and pepper on the inside and out. Lay the neck “skin” side down and spread the filling over the entire surface of the meat. Roll up like a Swiss roll and secure meat by tying with butcher’s string. Prepare a roasting tin with the chopped vegetables and stock. Lay the lamb neck on top of the vegetables.
Braise in a preheated oven of 160°C for two to three hours or until cooked. When you place a skewer in the meat it should have no resistance.
Once cooked, remove meat from the pan and allow to rest.
Combine the vegetables and stock from the roasting pan and blend. Pour into a pot and bring to the boil. Add the zest, lemon juice and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Strain before serving.
Serve with a glass of delicious Steenberg Merlot. Enjoy!
Red wine & pud. All we want, really!
Here’s an unexpected treat. Roodeberg Reserve 2017 was previously only available in selected international markets, but can now be enjoyed by local wine lovers too. With layers of red plum, blueberries, crushed herbs and tobacco leaf, along with hints of dark chocolate and oak, this full-bodied blend stands up well to hearty winter dishes, so serve with meaty casseroles, roasts and game dishes. It’s also a wonderful wine for a weekend of cocooning with comforting warm winter desserts, like this spicy pumpkin donut dish from foodie Elmarie Berry. R160 a bottle. You can order this now from kwvemporium.co.za or you’ll find it at selected Pick n Pay stores after the lockdown restrictions have been lifted.
Pumpkin donuts with dark chocolate
(Serves 6 to 8)
You’ll need:
1 ½ cups cooked pumpkin, mashed; 1 cup self-raising flour; 2 eggs; a pinch of salt; ½ tsp cinnamon; oil for deep frying; 1 cup cinnamon sugar; 100g dark chocolate, melted
Method:
Cook pumpkin, drain excess liquid and allow to cool. Put all ingredients except dark chocolate and cinnamon sugar in a food processor and mix until smooth. Heat oil and add tablespoons of batter to the oil and fry until golden brown. Roll in cinnamon sugar and drizzle with the melted dark chocolate.
