Cuisine serves up international winter flavours

Issue 117, July 2006

23 June 2006

Cuisine serves up international winter flavours with a Kiwi twist

The latest issue of Cuisine explores three top dishes for traditional winter cooking – hearty, slow-cooked soups, casseroles and roasts – all with a distinctly modern New Zealand flavour.

“Winter eating is all about enjoying hearty meals like rich soups and stews. It’s a time for comfort food – delicious meals to indulge in the over cold winter days,” says Simon Wilson, Editor.

“In the latest issue we take the classic dishes your Grandmother used to make and added a unique and modern Kiwi flavour. And we use seasonal game meats – like duck legs, oxtail, rabbit and poussin – to add interest and flavour to traditional dishes.”

Ray McVinnie takes traditional casserole dishes from the Mediterranean - France, Italy and Spain - and adds a fresh local touch. Try his simple cassoulet with baked beans, pork and chicken, a lamb and apricot tagine using traditional Mediterranean cookware, or his Italian braised beef with fresh New Zealand meat – each deceptively easy to make.

Soups are a must for winter, and Fiona Smith suggests the best hearty varieties to sample; pumpkin and celeriac soup as part of a delicious ploughmans lunch and a poached chicken and lemon soup served in two parts. And for a mid-winter feast try the roast lamb Provencal from Lauraine Jacobs.

For wine enthusiasts the latest issue includes results from Cuisine’s ever-popular Australian Shiraz tasting. Also included is a special feature on Chilean wines, as well as the latest release New Zealand wines.

On sale from Monday 26 June, the July issue of Cuisine retails for $8.95 and is available from all good bookstores and supermarkets throughout New Zealand.

The media recipe for issue 117 is a delicious French Onion soup by Natalia Schamroth, part of a special collection of recipes from her exciting new restaurant at Northcote Point, The Engine Room.

French Onion Soup by Natalia Schamroth

Being such a simple soup it is imperative to use young onions, a perfect, very flavoursome stock and the best gruyère you can find.

100g unsalted butter
10 large onions, finely sliced
750ml dry white wine
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup cognac
2 litres veal or rich chicken stock
1 fresh bay leaf
½ loaf French bread, sliced into 3cm-thick rounds
1 ½ cups grated gruyère cheese

In a large heavy-based saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onions and sauté, stirring occasionally, for around 35 minutes or until they have completely softened and browned.

Add the white wine, some salt and black pepper and boil until the wine has reduced to one cup. Add the cognac and cook a further two minutes. Add the veal or chicken stock and bay leaf, bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. While the soup is cooking, bake the bread slices in a moderate oven (180°C) until dry (around 15 minutes).

Taste and season the soup then ladle into heatproof soup bowls. Top with the bread slices and a good handful of gruyère cheese. Place on a tray in the oven until the soup is bubbling and the cheese is golden brown. You can cook this soup in advance and refrigerate, but reheat before putting in the oven. Serves eight.

ENDS

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