an early morning viewLe Moulin outside Felinesa Minervois vide grenier (village garage sale) in the rain…Spot the Pierrot (remember them?!?)hidden treasures sheltered from the rain in Philippe’s shedlove the ‘Killdozer’ – and J.T doing the headbanda morning chat with the neighbour……who lives across the roadyou can tell we’re in a wine regionlove Lizzie (as seen on TV)Bravo Alice!the white was flowing for the ladiesPam’s Coronation bowl……and her amazing treasure cupboard (thanks P!)
These 2011 wines are ageing in both barrel and tank – and at 10am were tasting incredibly delicious. To the point where I realised I should have had more breakfast! Still haven’t learned the spit method, more like the ‘drink and tip’ – but not enough tips.
And as Jen warned, the kids get going early in these parts too.
I want to share a little recipe with you. It’s asparagus season here and every year we eat tonnes of it and the way we’ve normally prepared it, is steamed until al dente and served on a platter with boiled egg scattered over the top and then washed over with a mustard vinaigrette (essentially an oil-based sauce with vinegar – to which you can add lemon juice, salt, pepper, mustard etc, whatever you feel like!).
…more asparagus at the Olonzac marketasparagus at the Carcassonne market
We’ve been eating it for years and I’ve never considered preparing it any other way, I like it so much! That is, until I ate Philippa’s oven-baked asparagus.
Philippa and her partner John have a winery here in the Minervois – Hegarty Chamans – where they make a great range of organic and biodynamic whites (I love their Marsanne Roussanne!) and reds. Their philosophy of how they make their wines follows into the kitchen. Philippa is an amazing cook and meals there are a real treat. It’s like a celebration of fresh produce (often from their ‘potager’/ vegie patch), colours and aromas. There’s no messing around, just simple, pure flavours blended beautifully together. And it all feels so healthy! (if I leave my wine consumption out of the equation). This dish in particular is a beauty. Thanks Philippa, I’ve been hooked ever since you served this entree of asparagus!
Philippa’s Oven-Baked Asparagus
(Yum! and great served as an entree…)
ingredients:
2-3 bunches green asparagus
olive oil
a good cup full of grated Swiss Gruyere (my favourite cheese EVER) or Parmesan
3-4 dried chopped dried chillies (or 1 or 2 fresh – very hard to find around these parts!)
salt and pepper
method:
chop the ends off the asparagus spears (I never really peel the ends), then rinse and pat dry in a teatowel
pour olive oil into bottom of a good heavy baking dish and swirl to spead the oil
place the spears, then top with the cheese, then the chillies, drizzle more oil and then add salt, pepper to taste
bake in moderate to hot oven (in my old gas oven I cook them on ‘7’) for 30 mins ( or for however long you want, depending on how much crunch you want to leave in the spears)
Et voila! so simple and so delicious!
Kat xoxo
…and a note on the wine! Asparagus is a difficult thing to match with wine. But if you really can’t resist, go ahead and eat them with a dry but fruity white… Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris
‘Oh you’re her father’s girl!’ people always said while I was growing up. My dad grew up in a country town and was one of ten, 8 boys and 2 girls. He and his brothers played a lot of footy, took a lot of girls to the local dances (he met Mum at around this time) – and the band of brothers learnt the ways of the bottle pretty early on. There are many parts of me that are Dad and they’re not all liquid-related – but let’s just say there’s a tradition to uphold and an annual trip back to Australia requires some catching up. Thankfully I’ve acquired a bit of Mum in me too in the last few years, but hey, it is Summer and it is once a year.
The Vigneron's Wife 