Campion & Curtis Food and Wine Newsletter
June 2004
Welcome to the June 2004 edition of the Campion and Curtis newsletter. The first few days of June have shown that winter is well
and truly with us. This has meant we've been able to tuck into warming, hearty dishes like duck cassoulet,
beef curry and French onion soup. It also brings the real produce of winter to the fore, and we're not going to complain about
that. Lots of news this month of new food TV, long weekend festivals and feasts, plus a few recent wines we've really enjoyed.
The June edition is our first on-line only version which means we can supply the newsletter to you without having to send
it to you via email. Let us know how you're finding the new delivery method. Enjoy.
Click here to visit the Campion and Curtis website
In-season
There's plenty of action at present in the world of seasonal produce. Pears, mandarins and apples are all making excellent eating.
Rhubarb is also brilliant, we've been having poached rhubarb with porridge for breakfast. Root vegetables are
also beginning to hit their stride with beetroot, parsnips and potatoes making great eating. Other winter wonders to look
out for over the next few weeks include jerusalem artichokes, kohlrabi, turnips and brussel sprouts.
Chestnuts are in their final stages so get roasting while you can.
We've been trying various methods of cooking them to make them easy to peel.
Wrapping the cooked chestnuts in newspaper for 10 minutes seemed to help with the skins.
The Food Lover's Guide to Australia
Foodies can settle into The Food Lover's Guide to Australia when the next series hits the screen on
Wednesday June 16th at 7.30pm on SBS. Hosts Maeve O'Meara and Joanna Savill have again gathered together the best Australian
food and wine stories to present. In the first episode Joanna meets a pair of young indigenous women travelling the outback
to cook at a huge bush carnival. Maeve helps celebrate a sumptuous Indian-Australian engagement, complete with a portable tandoor
oven. They also introduce viewers to a group of Brazilian soccer fanatics as they enjoy a post-match feast complete with
caipirinha cocktails and capoeira dancing. A Persian refugee shares her cooking secrets, a group of Singapore ex-pats stage
a raunchy bridal shower with great food, of course. Compulsory viewing for all Australian food lovers!
Young Gourmet
Winners have just been announced of the 'Young Writer' competition. This is an initiative of Kay Richardson from Young Gourmet
and was launched in the recent Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. Judges (including ourselves) worked through over 200 entries to
pick winners in a number of categories. Links are included here to the two main competition winners. Martin Gray won the year
7/8 section with a story titled An Orange tale, with Noor Kennedy
(Fat memories)and Anna Turner (First fish and chips) as runners up. Genevieve Calder took out the year 9/10 prize with a story titled
Mother’s last birthday. Eleni Degrenis (Worldwide search for best meal) and
Lara Strom (Dad’s school lunches) were runners up here. The quality of the work was quite amazing and gives us an insight into
the writers of tomorrow. These are a few of the quotable quotes from the many entries. Amy Camero - ‘It melted in my mouth like
chocolate in a sauna.’ Sam Laidlaw - ‘It might have been the excitement of Christmas, or it might have been the gravy.’
Brook Marshall - ‘Mum went straight to the phone and called the hospital. My son has turned into a chicken”.’ Geoffrey Newnham -
‘…there was a party in my mouth and everyone was invited.’
Don't speak with your mouth full
When Elizabeth David published A Book of Mediterranean Food in 1950 she revolutionised our attitude to cooking and eating, and
introduced us to the ingredients of a sunnier world (olive oil, basil, eggplants and garlic) and the concept that food should
always be a pleasure. 'Don't speak with your mouth full' is a one-woman show by British actress Emma Poole about Elizabeth David.
We've been lucky enough to see this performance at the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival last year and now it's returning for a
performance on Saturday June 26th at the T'Gallant Winery on the Mornington Peninsula. Bookings on 03) 5989 6565 or info@tgallant.com.au
Mornington Peninsula Winter Wine Weekend
The Queen's Birthday long weekend, from Saturday 12 - Monday 14 June, sees the return of the annual wine weekend on the
Mornington Peninsula. More than 40 Peninsula wineries are throwing open their cellar doors and welcoming visitors over the three days.
The Red Hill Showgrounds plays host to the central event with over 150 wines on tasting and sale by the glass from 11am - 4pm on the Saturday,
featuring wineries such as Crittenden at Dromana, Osborns, Eldridge Estate, Five Sons, Marinda Park, Paringa, Phaedrus and
Turramurra Estate. Food and grazing nibbles will be provided by local restaurants. Tutored mini tasting seminars
will also be on offer here. Bookings PH (03) 5989 2377
Kyneton Olives Open Weekend
We've been very impressed with recent tastings of Kyneton Olives oil and tapenade recently, especially the award winning
Family Selection EV. The June long weekend will see the grove open to visitors between 10am and 4pm Saturday to Monday. This will allow
visitors to see and taste oils and table olives where they are grown and experience a real olive grove.
2090 Kyneton-Heathcote Road, Kyneton Vic.
2004 Good Food & Wine Show
The Melbourne and Sydney Good Food Shows are set to kick off again with lots of live demos from celebrity cooks. Delicious magazine
hosts Ainsley Harriott, Curtis Stone, Matt Moran, Darren Simpson, Kylie Kwong, Bill Granger and Luke Mangan.
Vogue Entertaining + Travel have the likes of Shannon Bennett, Raymond Capaldi, Guy Grossi and Michael Lambi in Melbourne.
The Sydney list includes Jeremy Strode, Martin Boetz and Peter Conistis, amongst others. If you get tired of watching people cook
then take a wander through the 200 or so food and wine stalls. Melbourne June 12-14 at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre and
Sydney on June 18-20 at the Sydney Exhibition Centre.
The Great Barrier Feast
If you're yearning for a little bit of sunshine this winter then Hamilton Island may have just what you need.
The Great Barrier Feast on June 11-14 is a weekend long culinary event with expert chefs and winemakers hosted by Len Evans.
MC Geoff Jansz will introduce guest chefs such as Paul Wade from Little Nell in Aspen, Wolfgang Strauss form Hotel Murmeli in Austria, Peter Doyle from Est. Restaurant at The Establishment in Sydney,
Allan Koh from Koko at Crown, Melbourne as well as Geoff Lindsay from Pearl Restaurant and Gilbert Lau & Anthony Lui of The Flower
Drum. Len Evans will then lead the wine master classes with Jeffrey Grosset of Grosset Wines, Michael Hill Smith from Shaw and
Smith, Oliver Crawford of Penfolds Wines and John Purbrick from Tahbilk Winery and Vineyard. Expect grand cocktail parties, a welcoming dinner
on the shores of Catseye Beach, intimate food and wine master classes with the presenters and culinary delights.
Visit the Hamilton Island website for further information.
Recent bottles
A larger than usual number of bottles of wine have been consumed in recent weeks as we road test a swag of new recipes.
A rediscovered favourite has been Wirra Wirra Church Block which used to be our 'expensive' wine when we we're budding foodies.
A recent bottle reminded us that this wine is still a force to be reckoned with. Deep berry and spice on the nose and intense,
complex fruit flavours made it perfect with a recent pan fried steak dinner. We've also really enjoyed a number of Foxeys Hangout
wines, in particular the pinot gris which was crisp, aromatic and refreshingly dry. Perfect with vegetarian dishes.
Foodie Tours
The crew from Postcards recently joined us on one of our Foodies Tours of Melbourne and will be showing our 30 seconds
of TV footage on a special Melbourne - Secrets of the City episode on channel 9 at 7.30pm this coming Wednesday (9th June).
This is a Melbourne only show, so viewers in Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and Darwin can still tune in and catch the latest
must-see episode of Extreme Makeover. We're not sure exactly which city drew the short straw here, so we'll let the viewers decide.
Food tours and classes in June
Convivial Times
Yum cha demonstrations, breadmaking, Sydney food tours, chefs Table with Peter Kuruvita of Flying Fish and much more.
Queen Victoria Market Cooking School
Midweek meals in minutes, cooking mussels, Thai, Vietnamese and childrens school holiday classes.
Cooking Co-ordinates
Saturday gourmet, Sicilian Vespers with Matthew Evans plus pastes and marinades with Charmaine Solomon.
The Essential Ingredient
Michael Lambie, Paul Raynor on Winter cooking, Louis Vaussenat with his classic French desserts and more.
Sydney Seafood School
Seafood BBQ, tapas and paella classes, plus an oyster workshop with Peter Gilmour from Quay.
Talk + Eat + Drink
Serge Danserau cooking local produce, Karen Martini showcasing modern Mediterranean cooking and Damien Pignolet's Winter menu.
Tony Tan
Pastries and tarts with Loretta Sartori, Nonya secrets evening and a Chinese dinner at Richmond Hill Cafe & Larder.
Gourmet Safaris
Walking tours through the Lebanese highlights of Punchbowl and Greek foods of Marrickville.
Lamb shanks with mint & harissa sauce and spiced couscous
This is the sort of dish we love to serve up on cold wintery evenings when we have friends over. It's rich and full flavoured
with plenty of spice to warm things up. This is excellent with a big Aussie cabernet.
Oil for cooking
6 lamb shanks
1 ½ tsp harissa
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoky sweet paprika
½ tsp allspice
1/3 bunch coriander, roots and all, chopped
2 sprigs of mint, chopped
625 ml (2 ½ cups) chicken stock
375 ml (1 ½ cup) tomato sugo
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Heat a large heavy based pot over a medium heat.
Add a splash of oil and shanks and cook until well browned on all sides.
Add spices, herbs, stock and sugo and bring to the boil.
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Transfer lamb and sauce to an ovenproof casserole dish, cover with lid or foil and cook for 2
hours, or until lamb is tender and almost falling off the bone.
Spiced couscous
500 ml (2 cups) chicken or vegetable stock
Pinch of each allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground coriander
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp oil
500 g couscous
1 tbsp butter
Place stock in a large saucepan.
Add spices, a pinch of salt and oil, bring to the boil.
Stir in couscous, allow to come back to the boil.
Cover with a lid and remove from the heat.
Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
Add butter and fork through separating the grains.
Place couscous on a large platter, arrange shanks on top, pour sauce over and serve with a green salad.
Serves 6.
Recipe from Food with Friends by Allan Campion and Michele Curtis to be published in March 2005.