Mandagery Creek Venison Farm Kitchen, Feb

Last Saturday, Tim and I held our first lunch at the Farm Kitchen for 2015. We welcomed a full house, and as always, at the end of the day were left feeling very grateful that those who chose to come and spend the day with us are always such great sports, so happy to meet and share a meal with new people and always so interested in the farm tour and what we do here at Mandagery Creek Venison HQ.

Our next lunch at the Farm Kitchen is on March 14 and we have ten spots left so please click here for more information and/or to book.



The menu was pretty simple and led by the beautiful produce of late summer, and as always with the Farm Kitchen, it’s important to me to source as much produce from this area as possible. Which, at this time of year is not hard to do. Stonefruit and many of the greens came from our own garden, the venison of course came from our farm, Olive oil was from Mum and Dad’s grove, and the rest of the greens plus all garlic came from my friend Libby Morgan’s incredible garden. I dropped in to see Libby on Friday morning, just as she was heading off to the Sydney farmers markets that weekend and she’d already collected bags of peppery rocket and mustard greens plus marigold, rocket and borage flowers. I also grabbed some garlic from the drying racks and then we picked a few armfuls of medlars, rose hip and bay from the garden for the table. Libby you are a good friend!

The next day, we kicked things off with an entree of seared venison carpaccio tossed with Libby's rocket, radish, Second Mouse Quark and my pickled peaches. This was drizzled with Kimbri Olive oil and seasoned. That's it - super simple but really delicious. We served this with warm garlic baguettes.

Here's my recipe for those pickled peaches. They are great with grilled meats and/or a cheese plate. If the peaches are finished where you are, you could always swap the peaches with pears. Recipe below.

Spiced pickled peaches

2 cups apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups sugar
4cm ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cinnamon sticks
6 cloves
1kg peaches

Combine the cider vinegar, sugar, ginger, cinnamon and cloves in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Meanwhile, peel the peaches (score a cross at the base of each then plunge into a saucepan of boiling water for a minute then remove, plunge into cold water and with a sharp little knife, pull back the skin, it should come away easily).

Halve the peaches then gently remove the stones and cut into quarters. Add these to the pickling liquid and simmer for five minutes only. Any more and you'll lose the fruit's beautiful golden colour and the quarters might start to collapse.

Transfer to sterilised jars and wait for a few weeks before using if possible. Makes two large jars, keeps for up to a year.

 For the main we had kipflers tossed in nasturtium pesto, then shaved zucchinis in a minty/lemony dressing and seared veninson backstrap on a bed of red capsicum/walnut and pomegranate puree. Yummo.

For the venison

Simply rub the fillet with olive oil and season well and cook for six minutes on each side on a hot barbecue (for a backstrap, three minutes on each side for a tenderloin). Let rest then slice into 1cm thick medallions.

For the capsicum puree

Roast three red capsicums (halved and de-seeded) until completely collapsed and beginning to caramelise. Place these in a food processor with 3 cloves peeled and roughly chopped garlic, juice of one lemon, 2 tbs pomegranate molasses, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp paprika, 1/2 tsp dried chilli and a few good glugs of olive oil. Blitz until well combined then throw in 1/2 cup toasted walnut kernels and the same amount of breadcrumbs. Blitz again and season to taste - you might like to add more lemon juice, more pomegranate or just another good pinch of salt. Makes about 2 cups.

For the zucchini salad

Shave three or four zucchinis with a mandolin or peeler and arrange in thin strips on a serving platter. Then place two handfuls of mint leaves, a couple of garlic cloves, the juice of a lemon (or more to taste) and a good tablespoon of dijon mustard all in a blender or food processor. Add a good few glugs of olive oil and blitz. Toss this dressing through the zucchini, really working it through each piece and finish with a sprinkling of toasted pepitas, sesame and sunflower seeds.

Our meal ended with nectarine tarts and a scoop or two of the below tarragon and spearmint ice cream. I am so sorry but I just didn't get a chance to photograph the tarts before they went out but as there was some ice cream left over in the freezer, I just shot some for this post and then ate that for my morning tea. Oops, then I remembered I'm supposed to be fasting for that nasty 5-2 diet Tim and I have just started. Ah well, it was worth it.

I first came across this recipe via one of my all time favourite blogs Golubka Kitchen, and the idea of using tarragon in a dessert really peaked my interest. Firstly, holy cow - how good is the no-churn-condensed-milk ice cream thing! So easy, so good. I may never bother with a custard base ice cream again. Secondly, the flavour combination was heaven, I used spearmint instead of plain mint and fine, freshly picked French tarragon from Libby and it was just perfect. Do give this combination a go some time, it's really interesting and lovely.

Lunch at the farm, July

Last Saturday's Farm Kitchen lunch was the perfect wintery day in Orange; it was a brisk five or six degrees outisde and we had rain, hail and then sunshine with our deer conveniently and happily congregated right outside the Farm Kitchen garden, inquisitive for a while then more focussed on munching on the beautiful pasture Tim had been saving up for them to graze on as soon as the weather turned (they use/need so much more energy in the winter).

We'd lit the fire up at the shed at 6am knowing how cold and wet the day was set to be, so by the time everyone arrived, our kitchen was warm and toasty. I'd pillaged the persimmon tree down at the house for table decorations,  plucked bulbs from orchard and run a long strip of brown paper down the table instead of a cloth.

So it was a fairly low-key, simple lunch, like all of our events really! For starters we had shared platters of our new venison prosciutto and venison salami with spiced nuts, fennel breadsticks, olives, baked ricotta and a white bean and mint dip.

White bean and mint dip

A gentle, mellow-flavoured dip; this is also great as a side-dish for roast venison (poultry and other meats) and of course is a great addition to a little grazing plate as per the above. Makes about 2 cups.

1 cup dried white beans
3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup parsley leaves
Juice of two lemons
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sumac

Soak the dried beans overnight in a pot of cold water. Rinse, then return beans to your pot and fill it with fresh water. Add a good pinch of salt then bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium, skim any scum off the surface then cook for about  one hour (or until beans are tender). Drain, reserving about 1/2 a cup of the cooking liquid.

Transfer the drained beans to a blender or food processor and add the garlic, herbs, lemon juice and most of the olive oil (reserving some for drizzling at the end). Add a little of the reserved cooking liquid then blitz until nice and smooth (add more liquid if you like, until you have a consistency you're happy with).

Season to taste then serve (at room temperature).

Main course was a couple of beautiful barbecued venison racks served with braised, buttery lentils, roast parsnips and beetroot and a jus sweetened with a little bittersweet chocolate.

Barbecued venison rack with lentils and red wine jus

We don't often have racks available to use in the Farm Kitchen (our restaurants usually snap them up first!) so it was a treat to have two on hand for this lunch. They were served, pink and tender, on a bed of lentils and a drizzle of this red wine jus recipe (given in a recent issue of Delicious magazine and written by Valli Little). Serves 6

For the lentils

2 cups green Puy-style lentils
1 brown onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup parsley, finely chopped
80g butter

Rinse the lentils then place in a pot, fill with cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Drain, leaving a little water in the mix then return to the warm pot. In a separate pan, cook off the onion and garlic in a little olive oil until nice and soft (about five minutes).Just before serving, stir the onion and garlic through your warm lentils, add the butter and parsley and stir until the butter is melted through. Season well and serve warm.

For the venison;

1 x Mandagery Creek Venison rack
3 tbsp pink peppercorns
2 tbsp sea salt
Olive oil

Remove the rack from its packaging and let sit for a little while to come up to room temperature. Preheat the barbecue to high. Crush the peppercorns lightly in a mortar and pestle and massage into the rack, with a little olive oil and salt. Place on the barbecue and cook for 10 minutes on each side. Let rest under a tent of foil for 10 minutes before cutting into individual cutlets and serving with the lentils and the rest.

Pip's chocolate mousse

My good friend Pip helps us out often at the farm kitchen and is an invaluable part of our little team here. Last week I was having a minor panic attack about finding the time to prep for this lunch and getting on top of a few other work and family commitments. So when I said I was thinking about doing a mousse for pudding, she replied, 'let me'. 

And I countered with, 'yes please, I love you'. 

Pip makes a mean chocolate mousse. Her recipe is based on one by Bill Granger but over the years she has changed it a little and it's honestly one of the best desserts I know of. We served these little pots of heaven with thinly sliced poached pears (below), a little bit of cold cream and some crushed praline. 

300g good quality dark chocolate

150g good quality milk chocolate

5 egg whites

4 egg yolks

300mls cream, whipped

Melt the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water then leave to cool for a couple of minutes. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form and set aside. Whisk the egg yolks into the chocolate mixture, one at a time, beating well between each addition. 

Fold the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture, then add the egg whites, in batches, very carefully folding them in with a large metal spoon. Remember that you want to keep every bubble of air you can as this is what makes the mousse so light and fluffy. Carefully divide mixture into individual ramekins or one large bowl. Cover with plastic and leave to set in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight. 

Red-wine poached pears

6 firm beurre bosc pears
1 x bottle Merlot
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
Pared zest of one orange

Combine all ingredients except for the pears in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil, stirring every now and then.  Meanwhile, peel the pears, then carefully lower into the poaching liquid. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover the pears with a sheet of baking paper and cook for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and leave to cool completely in the syrup.

Autumn lunch at the farm

Last Saturday we hosted a full house at the Farm Kitchen. And as always seems to happen - thank goodness - all of our guests came with enthusiasm, a spirit of adventure (which was needed on the rather ‘safari-like’ farm tour Tim took them all on) and an easy-going attitude which meant that the whole group got along beautifully.

We are not a restaurant, but we do offer a farm experience and a simple meal of local produce cooked and served by myself and Tim. And when the mounting pile of dishes allows, one of us sits down to share the meal at our the big table. Luckily, pretty much every guest we’ve ever had here understands and appreciates this.

Here are a few photos and recipes from the day that was. I wanted to snap the main course too but we were so busy plating up and serving out that the camera didn’t stand a chance of coming out.

We started the day with NV (Non-Vintage) Sparkling by Charles Sturt University winery here in Orange. This was served with a few boards of homemade fennel lavosh (recipe below), our venison salami, plum chutney and cheddar.

Then Tim took everyone out, right out the back of the farm to visit the deer, watch the stags roar (we are in the middle of the rut or mating season) and slip and slide their way back up the hills. The group came back hungry, muddy and gladly, in high spirits.

Our meal began with an entree of venison carpaccio with fresh figs (white Adriatic and Genoa black from Beau and Katie Baddock's Nashdale orchard - available now at the Agrestic Grocer), hazlenuts and verjus served with old school garlic bread. And for mains we had char-grilled venison backstrap with a crunchy coleslaw of red cabbage, fennel, pomegranate, walnuts and tarragon and gratin potatoes. Desert was a white chocolate and amaretti flan (recipe in the book) served with warm peaches, biscotti (recipe below) and shots of iced white port from Mudgee.

Thank you so much to all the lovely lovely people who keep coming to have lunch with us at the farm. Next date on the calendar is a collaborative event with our friends at the Agrestic Grocer, a Moveable Feast held on Saturday, April 5th, the first weekend of F.O.O.D Week and bookings are now open! And thereafter we are on again on Saturday June 14 and the second saturday of each following month. Please email me for more information on any of these events.

Fennel and linseed lavosh

This recipe is a real favourite of mine and has been adapted from one given by Annabel Langbein in her fantastic book The Free Range Cook.

3/4 cup plain flour
3/4 cup wholemeal flour
4 tbsp linseeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds (toasted)
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1tsp sesame oil
1/2 cup water

Preheat the oven to 165C and line a tray with baking paper. Mix the flours, seeds and salt together in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the water and oils. Mix well until you have a nice soft dough. Divide this into five balls. Lightly flour a work surface and roll out each ball as thinly as you can. Cut into uneven squares and bake, in batches for 10 minutes each (or until just beginning to turn golden).

Hazlenut and cranberry biscotti

This is always my go-to biscuit recipe for the Farm Kitchen. The biscuits are fantastic with most desserts and of course, perfect for dunking into sweet wine or coffee.

2 cups plain flour

1tsp baking powder

1 cup caster sugar

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla paste
1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 cup hazlenuts, toasted and roughly chopped

Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Sift the flour, baking powder and sugar together in a large bowl and add remaining ingredients. Bring together into a ball and tip this onto a lightly floured work bench. Divide the dough into two pieces and form into logs. Place these on a lined baking tray and bake for half an hour or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and let cool a little. Reduce oven temperature to 160C, then slice each log across the diagonal into pieces about 1 1/2cm thick. Lay these on the baking tray and return to the oven for another 20 minutes. Store in an airtight container.

Raising the jar - Michael Manners

 
Michael Manners is one of Australia's most celebrated chefs and has always been a great friend and supporter of our farm and venison.  It was a freezing, drizzly winters' day last week when Alice and I visited him at his Molong home. We found Michael making terrines in the kitchen and his clever wife Josephine Jagger-Manners at the easel painting.

Unfortunately the quiet industry of this scene was interrupted as soon as we stepped inside. I left the door open a fraction too long allowing the dogs to sneak in, whereupon Alice stirred them up so they jumped all over forbidden couches.

Ever the hostess, (during their restaurant years Josephine would run the floor and Michael the kitchen), Josephine quickly calmed the dogs, gathered Alice up and set her to work on her own painting while Michael and I talked terrines.

For over 45 years Michael has been promoting local produce through his restaurants in Sydney (Upstairs), the Blue Mountains (Glenella then Table Manners) and then Orange (Selkirks). These days he caters for private functions and makes beautiful charcuterie and ready-made meals to order, through his Manners and Borg line (the Borg referring to our very own super butcher here in Orange, Michael Borg). Between her own painting, Josephine also teaches art and craft classes and can be contacted here.

Michael Manners Pork and Prune Terrine

This is delicious served with drinks or on a picnic with some nice bread and a few cornichons. The salt and pepper quantities given here may seem a little heavy handed but as Michael says, this terrine is to be eaten cold so needs extra seasoning. Michael's rule of thumb is 15g salt per kilogram,  3g per kilogram of pepper and 1g per kilogram of nutmeg.

12 prunes
100mls brandy  500g coarsely minced pork
150g diced chicken breast
150g minced veal
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
75mls cream
1/4 cup thyme and tarragon leaves, finely chopped

Soak the prunes in the brandy overnight (not in the fridge). Preheat the oven to 150C and line a loaf tin either with caul fat or baking paper. Mix all ingredients (except the brandy-soaked prunes) together in a large bowl, combining well. Pack half of this mixture into the prepared loaf tin, lay the prunes across this and then cover them with the remaining terrine mixture. Wrap up either with the caul fat or baking paper then cover tightly with foil. Place the loaf tin in a large baking tray and pour boiling water all around to make a 'bain marie' so that the water comes about 3/4 up the sides of your loaf tin.

Bake for 1 hour, if you have a meat thermometer, an internal temperature of 80C is what we are after.

Mont Blanc, yes that old chestnut

Last week’s visit to a local chestnut farm taught me two mildly important life lessons.

One, never take a toddler to a chestnut farm without shoes. Two, never attempt to peel chestnuts when you are short of time and patience or you might end up tipping the whole lot in the sink, bleeding a little and swearing a lot.

Alice, Tom and I visited David Ogilvie’s 'Brittle Jacks' chestnut orchard just as he was beginning this year’s harvest. Down the middle of each row of trees were low piles of burrs waiting to be shelled by a couple of French backpackers who were sitting on upturned milk crates and wearing thick gloves to extract the nuts from each burr. It was a picturesque scene and I quite wanted to join them. If it wasn’t for my poor shoe-less son, hobbling around, ouch-ouch, on the burrs, I might have. And as an aside, I really don’t make a habit of taking Tom to town without footwear, but in this case had mistakenly thought a pair of boots were in the boot.

Anyway...David has been growing chestnuts for over 30 years and is an incredible source of information about this beautiful tree and nut. Anyone can visit the farm by appointment and I highly recommend doing so, he is a great guide and it’s a beautiful spot.

We left with three kilos in the bootless car boot and that night, in a fit of misguided excitement I attempted to make venison and chestnut scaloppine for dinner. As indicated above, on that occasion we had the venison but not the chestnuts.

I have since discovered that peeling chestnuts, for me at least, requires a quiet hour after dinner and time to sit and peel in peace with preferably a nice big glass of red wine to your right. In this scenario, peeling chestnuts can be a pretty good way to spend an early Autumn evening.

Since that night we have tried putting chestnuts in a variety of dishes, these three were our favourites.
 

Mont Blanc

If ever you see this on a menu, order it. The mixture of crisp meringue, soft cream and nutty, smooth chestnut puree is delicious and absolute justification for the not inconsequential amount of work that goes in to making it.

For the puree
12 chestnuts
1 cup milk
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste

Preheat oven to 200C. Place a small slit on the middle of each chestnut and pop in the hot oven for about 15 minutes. Check them often as they can overheat and explode in the oven which is annoying and messy. As soon as you remove them from the oven, place in a tea towel and peel one by one. For more comprehensive tips on doing this, visit Chestnuts Australia’s website.

Once you have your peeled chestnuts, place them in a heavy-based saucepan and cover with milk. Add the sugar and vanilla and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the chestnuts are nice and soft. Add a splash more milk as you cook if they look to be drying up at all. Then tip this into a blender and puree until nice and smooth, or use a potato ricer if you have one.

For the meringues
Makes about 9 medium-sized meringues

4 egg whites
240g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 100C (120C for conventional ovens). Line a large tray with baking paper. Beat egg whites still stiff peaks form and then add the caster sugar one tablespoon at a time. Now add the vanilla and keep beating until the mixture is thick and glossy.

Using a large metal spoon, drop spoonfuls of meringue onto baking tray, (I do about two dessertspoons per meringue). Space them about five centimeters apart as they will spread a little as they cook. Smooth the tops with the back of your spoon and cook for 1 ¼ hours or until crisp with a firm base.

To serve, whip some cream until nice and soft and place the meringues on a pretty serving platter. Top with a little cream and then a good spoonful of the chestnut puree, grate over some dark chocolate and serve.

Lesley Russell’s Chestnut Cake
Lesley runs a fantastic cooking school in Orange. She is a great teacher and the classes are always good fun. Have a look at her website for upcoming classes.


100g butter
200g caster sugar
5 eggs, separated
250g cooked chestnut puree*
1 tablespoon lemon zest
150g ground almonds
1 tablespoon SR flour
 
Grease, flour and paper a 20 cm cake tin. Preheat the oven to 180C.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, lemon zest and chestnut puree. Stir in the ground almonds and the flour. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks and fold them through the mixture. Spread the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until a skewer comes out of the cake clean. Serve with fresh figs, cream or thick yogurt.

*For chestnut puree
Boil chestnuts in the skin for 15 – 20 minutes. Cool slightly and then cut chestnuts in half lengthwise. Scoop out the flesh and puree in a food processor while still warm. For 250g puree, use approx 400g chestnuts.

Prosciutto-wrapped chestnuts
These are delicious with a glass of bubbles before (or for) dinner.

24 fresh chestnuts, shell removed (serves 6)
12 slices prosciutto
one large bunch fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 220C. Pull most of the rosemary leaves off each stems and cut in half.
Cut each slice of prosciutto in half too and wrap chestnuts in a halved prosciutto slice each. Secure with a rosemary stem. Place on a baking tray and bake for 10 mins or until prosciutto becomes crisp.