So why do we use cutlery anyway?  It started off with the knife of course, slicing off chunks of food, stabbing them with the pointy end and shoving it in your gob. Then came the spoon – for all those not quite pick-up-able, not quite slurpable foods (Porridgefor instance). Then along came the fork. Once this happened, tableware became all rather fancy and then ‘the rules’ kicked in. I was speaking with a group of bloggers recently and Ms Strayed From The Table mentioned her partner does not enjoy going to upmarket restaurants because he simply doesn’t know what to do. I can understand this as some restaurants can be quite daunting. Yes, it is gratifying to experience lavish food and the traditions and rituals that surround it, but sometimes its just as pleasurable to enjoy simple food, eaten simply.

Ingredients

Ridiculous amounts of veges – cut up fairly small. Try: Eggplant, zucchini, capsicum, potato, sweet potato, beetroot, turnip, parsnip, carrot, mushrooms, swede, red onion, etc

Cloves of Garlic – as much as you want

Dukkah  - I use the Splendid Blends one from the Jan Power’s Markets in Brisbane. (3352 6855), or make your own with Sesame seeds, coriander seeds, hazelnuts, chick peas, cumin seeds, mint and salt and roast it all up.

Lamb backstrap or any red meat, Free-range preferably - Or leave this out completely

Cherry Tomatoes

Chopped Nuts (I used Chestnuts, but use whatever you have handy)

Fresh Rosemary sprig (Catherine was lovely and gave some to me from her garden. I’ve kept 4 sprigs of it in a glass of water on my window sill. They’ve started to grow roots – I’ll plant them in the garden in a month or so.)

Fresh Turkish bread or Lavash/Pita Bread. I bought mine from The Hills Bakery, 170 Patricks Road in Ferny Hills (0733515277) - They’ve got new owners, and truly this is a hidden gem of the bakery world. Worth a trip out to ‘The Hills’ to try their Fresh Rosemary Turkish Bread – just delicious. And if you want to have a good chat with a true foodie, definitely spark up a conversation with the owner.

 Method

1. Turn the oven onto 200 degrees Celcius. Put all the veges into a large oven dish with the whole cloves of garlic and rosemary. Sprinkle the dukkah on everything. Cover the tray with a lid or aluminium foil.  Chuck it in the oven. Wait until all veges are tender and a little brown (usually over an hour)

2. Brush the meat with a little oil on one side and press dukkah into the flesh. Sear the meat on all sides then shove it in with the veges, along with the cherry tomatoes and nuts. Cook Uncovered for about 10minutes.

3.Take the meat out and rest it for about 5 minutes, then slice thinly.

4.While waiting for the meat to rest make a yoghurt dressing with natural greek yoghurt, lemon juice (and zest if you’re using fresh lemons… I’m slack and use the bottled stuff if I don’t have fresh lemons) a bit of mint from the garden, a pinch of dukkah, salt and pepper.

5.Toast the bread for a short while and then put the dish of veges, bread and yoghurt on the table. Squeeze the soft gooey garlic from it’s papery skin and use it like butter.  Assemble messy, open sandwiches with the ingredients with your bare hands, get TRIBAL and shove it in your gob.

Uh-mazing!

COMPETITION REMINDER!! We have a mixed case of 24 bottles of Apple and Pear Cider to give away from Punt Road Wines. To enter, all you have to do is write a comment on ANY post on iatebrisbane. Open to Brisbane (and surrounds) entrants only (could you imagine the international shipping fees on a case of cider?!). Check out the details and the tricky little fine print here.

One of the first thing that grabbed my attention was the Lamb Sambousek.  According to LeClerc, Sambousek were discovered during the Crusades, and are supposed to have “later inspired the development of meat pies and Cornish pasties in Britain”. Whilst commonly deep-fried, LeClerc recommends oven-baking the Sambousek to avoid making the pastry so heavy.  I wholeheartedly agree – I’m not really into overly-fatty pastries, and I think that the oven-baked pastry really allows the filling to shine.

This was my first try at pastry crimping, too, so you mightn’t be surprised to learn that my first few Sambousek were a little wonky-looking! All in all, though, I really enjoyed cooking these little parcels of savoury goodness. The recipe didn’t specify the yoghurt dressing, but after the first batch came out of the oven, we really thought that a cool, flavoursome yoghurt would contrast nicely with the cinnamon-sweetened lamb and the texture of the pine nuts.  It was a perfect addition, and we enjoyed the Sambousek with tall glasses of iced cranberry juice – hopefully we’ll get to enjoy them with a glass of Middle Eastern Lemonade next time around.

Lamb Sambousek

Pastry

• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup cold water
• extra flour for kneading and rolling
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water (to seal pastries)
• (Sunflower oil for deep-frying, if you prefer)

1. Sift flower and salt into a bowl. Add just enough water to form an elastic dough, mixing the dough with a knife.
2. Remove from the bowl and knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes until smooth.  Return dough to bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to rest.
   NB: if you wanted to save some time, you could easily alternate pastry for pre-made shortcrust pastry sheets

Lamb Filling

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 375g lean lamb mince
• 3 tbsp toasted pine nuts
• 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp chilli powder
• Juice of 1 lemon

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, and cook onion and garlic for about 5 minutes until onion is softened and golden brown. Add lamb mince and cook until browned, breaking up the mince as it cooks.  Drain off any excess fat.
2. Add pine nuts, mint, spices and lemon juice and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cool mixture before using to fill pastry parcels.

To assemble Sambousek

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 3mm thick. Use a pastry-cutter to cut out 9cm circles.
2. Place a tablespoonful of lamb filling in the centre of each.  Dampen edges with the egg mixture, and fold the pastry in half, covering the filling to form a crescent shape.  Press edges together with your fingers to seal, and then crimp edges with a fork, or by making tight, overlapping folds.
3. To deep fry: Heat oil to 170°C or test temperature by adding a crust of bread – if it bubbles and gently turns golden brown the oil is the correct temperature.  Cook pastries in batches of 4 or 5 at a time, until golden brown.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.
4. To bake: Line baking trays with non-stick baking paper. Preheat oven to 200°C and bake pastries for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.  You can brush the pastry with egg first, if you want a nice glossy finish.
5. Serve with Mint & Garlic Yoghurt, and dress with sprigs of mint.

Mint & Garlic Yoghurt

Combine 1/4 cup freshly chopped mint, 1 clove finely chopped garlic, and 1 cup natural greek yoghurt.

(Makes 24)

Once we were seated however, our host Darren promptly got us rolling  with the wine tasting, and we started to relax a little – wine always is an effective social lubricant. And when you’re presented with a selection of tasty tipple like we were, you start waffling about the wine. I certainly wasn’t expecting or prepared for the professional wine-related presentation from no less than 3 experts!  We were given a run down on each wine, 5 in total, and given a healthy dollop to taste of each.

First we were presented with a Wilson Vineyard 2008 Riesling. According to our panel of experts Riesling is not a popular wine in Australia. It’s very dry, but fruit driven. My guess is that these days we are so obsessed with stuffing our faces with sugars that we don’t even bother trying a wine that’s labeled ‘dry’. We’d rather a sweet drink (that is, except for Julia!). Regardless, I beg you all to give Riesling a chance. This one in particular is quite a tasty drop.

We also had the pleasure of Marco Cirillo from Cirillo Estate drive up from the Barossa especially to chat to us (well, I’d like to think it was for us, maybe he just happened to be in town…). He is an 8th generation wine maker who has decided to create wine commercially. And I’m glad he has, as his vines were originally planted in the 1850’s, it would be a shame to keep them all to himself!

The first of his wines was a stunning Cirillo Estate old vine 2009 Semillon. It is very pale, and as you drink it, at first it tastes rather… well… mild. The flavour is extremely subtle, but then you’re hit with a fresh lemon-lime spritz once you swallow. It would go perfectly with a fiery asian stirfry.

The next was a Grenache Rose – The “wine drinkers” Rose we were told, and it was a little drier and darker than your usual pink plonk! I really enjoyed it, but I still hold Yellowglen Bella as my favourite (sparkling) Rose. For me, these were the stand out wines… and to be honest, I usually only trust my palate for the first few wines offered anyway. After that, all wines taste like award-winners and you’ll buy a bottle or three. I take it home and drink it again at a later date and realise I was wearing my wine-tasting “beer goggles”.

So, onto the food – the real reason we are here! Firstly their menu was printed simply on parchment, which always pleases me as it means they (hopefully) change their menu according to what’s in season and what they can source. I ordered the Salt and Pepper Quail on Shaved Cucumber and Watercress salad with Barambah Yoghurt Dressing, and Julia had a Half Dozen Natural Coffin Bay Oysters (all entrees $18.00). The quail was perfectly salty and crispy-skinned, but a tiny-touch dry (quail is one the only poultry meats that is able to be undercooked to keep it moist). Julia found the oysters to be very fresh and delightfully creamy.

Natasha Mirosch from the Courier Mail tucked into a delicious looking plate of housemade pasta with scallops, prawns and salmon in saffron salmon cream and pearls. It looked to have the perfect balance of seafood and pasta.

For main, I had the grilled Atlantic Salmon on Celeriac Mash, Steamed Seasonal Greens with Sorrel Beurre Blanc and Pearls. Goodness gracious, salmon pearls (roe) are delicious little burstlets of fun. When you eat them make sure to press each one against the back of your teeth with your tongue to release the pleasant salt-air flavour.  Julia had the Braised Lamb Shank Pie with Careme Sour Cream Pastry on Potato Mash with Green Pea Puree and Shiraz Jus. (all mains $30.00)

Cheese and desserts are available, however, it was a school night, so we decided to call it a night before the sweet delights.

Recommendations: Definitely ask to have a tasting session. It’s quite good value for money, considering the quantity you’re given, and the selection is well worth it.

We’d like to thank Darren and Sandy from Bar Barossa, Marco Cerillo, Rob Jenkins and Chris Elliot for their generous hospitality and for sharing their wealth of knowledge.

And lastly, thank you to our fellow diners: the Brisbane Food Bloggers. We hope to share a plate and a bottle again soon!

For this bi-monthly theme, once we had decided on Middle Eastern food, I immediately started putting feelers out trying to find some tasty authentic recipes. I am very lucky to work with a bunch of great people of different nationalities and ethnic backgrounds. Lunch time at my workplace we quite often start talking about the foods we enjoy. So, it comes as no surprise to me that this recipe was passed onto me by a fellow at work. The surprise was that it originates from a Jaime Oliver recipe book. It didn’t matter where it originated from – it tasted fantastic! This recipe has been tweaked a bit – I can’t break my own tradition of course!

My workmate makes it quite often, and uses lamb shanks instead of the neck fillets stated in the original recipe. I tried to find fillets, but ended up with 2 lambs necks with the vertebrae inside. I was a little put off and not impressed until after I stewed it for a couple of hours, and cut the flesh from the bones, it was sweet and tender. And at only $5 for 2 lambs necks – it fed 6 serves – It was damn good value! There is more meat on one neck than a large shank, the meat is sweeter as the muscles in the neck are not used as much as the leg. And it’s half the price! I recommend it!

Marinade
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 3-4 small dried chillies
• a small bunch of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
• 2 thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger, peeled
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Crush everything up in a mortar and pestle.
2. Put half this mix in the bag with the lamb necks and massage around.
3. Put the other half in with the chopped vegetables, below.

• 2 whole lambs necks
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 2.5 cm/1 inch dice
• 2 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
• 8 Roma tomatoes, Cut in 1/4
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• 2 bay leaves
• a handful of dried apricots

1. Brown the lamb necks in a casserole dish on the stove top, then add the water and stock cube. Simmer for about 45 minutes.
2. Take the necks and stock out then brown all the vegetables for a few minutes.
3. Put all the ingredients above into the pot, including the necks and stock, and chuck in the oven (180 degrees) for about 1hour 15 minutes
4. Remove the necks from the stew and put onto a large plate (a quiche dish is perfect) With a small paring knife and a fork, cut the flesh away from the vertebrae in chunks. Throw the bones away (or make a stock?) and stir the meat back into the stew.

• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 cup couscous
• a little wine vinegar
• Handful of fresh coriander
• Handful of fresh Mint
• Handful of fresh Parsley
• 4 tablespoons natural yoghurt

1. Make the couscous by adding the boiling water, couscous and vinegar into a bowl and leave to sit for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork
2. Add the herbs to the stew and stir

Serve with yoghourt.