Annatjie Melck, foodie legend and chatelaine of Muratie, has a treasure trove of her own very special recipes and loves to explore the very best pairings with Muratie’s wines. These two, for us, are winners.
ANNATJIE’S MARROW BONES ON TOAST
So easy, so quick, and amazingly tasty. This works as well for a dinner party starter as it does for snacks around the braai or a Sunday night don’t-feel-like-cooking dinner.
Ingredients:
You need the middle sections of the long bones (ask your butcher for 5cm lengths); salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste; toast
To make:
- Preheat the oven to 230˚C
- Rinse the marrow bones thoroughly under cold water, and dry well with kitchen paper towel. Cover an oven pan with foil and place marrow bones on top.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper over the bones and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Marrow bones are cooked when the marrow starts pulling away from the bone and the clear fat starts to drip from the bone.
- Remove pan from the oven and let it cool down slightly.
- Use a knife to remove the marrow from the bones and spread on the toast. Add a little salt according to your liking and serve immediately, with a glass of Muratie’s Mr May Grenache Noir.
Every wine tells a story at Muratie, the historic Stellenbosch Estate that dates back to 1685. In the case of Muratie Mr May Grenache Noir 2018, the story is of Cornelius, or Mr May as he was affectionately called, who planted and pruned many a vine at the estate, and whose attention to detail and ability to predict the weather, long before technology, is legendary. ‘He taught us that whenever we saw a silver cloud lying on the south-west-facing side of Simonsberg mountain, it would rain in two days’ time. Today still, in memoriam, we have yet to prove him wrong’, says Rijk Melck. The wine, aged in French Oak barrels for 18 months, is all raspberries and pomegranate rubies, and a hint of white pepper spice. It’s R230 and you can order online from muratie.co.za.
ANNATJIE’S SALMON WITH TARRAGON AND CREAM SAUCE
If dad’s a fisherman, he’ll probably fancy Annatjie’s salmon dish … served simply with some lovely baby potatoes, it’s lovely for a dinner party with friends.
Ingredients:
2 salmon fillets; salt and freshly ground pepper to taste; 1 Tbsp (15ml) sunflower oil; half a small onion, finely chopped; 2 Tbsp (30ml) fresh tarragon, finely chopped; 4 Tbsp (90ml) thick cream; 2 Tbsp (30ml) fresh parsley, finely chopped
To make:
- Preheat the oven to 160˚C.
- Season the salmon on both sides with salt and pepper
- Heat the oil in a heavy-duty pan until hot and cook the salmon (skin-side up) for three minutes until light brown, then turn it over and cook on the skin side for another two minutes.
- Place the salmon in an oven-safe dish and sprinkle the onion and the tarragon over the fish.
- Add the cream to the dish and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the salmon is cooked.
- Sprinkle parsley over the dish and serve with boiled baby potatoes.
Enjoy with Muratie Isabella Chardonnay 2019.
And the story behind this wine … For Rijk and Kim Melck, there could be only one name for their Burgundian-style Chardonnay, the name of their first child, Isabella, who today, as a young woman, is classic and elegant, just like the Chardonnay.
The wine, which was matured for nine months in 500L French oak barrels, is a beautifully fresh, understated and elegant Chardonnay, with an enticing peach-blossom fragrance, ripe stone fruit, melon and citrus flavours with hints of hazelnuts and vanilla cream from subtle oaking. You can buy it for R220 a bottle at muratie.co.za.
