Weltevrede Christmas cocktail

1 part cranberry juice (good for the liver!)

1 part strawberry juice

1 part Weltevrede Oupa se wyn

Fill a glass with crushed ice. Mix all the liquid together and pour over crushed ice, Serve with a fresh mint leaf.



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Coq-au-vin Pie

Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients. This is easy to make and you can enjoy the rest of the bottle of red wine while you do so. (Remember to put Edith Piaf on in the background to inspire you!)

1.15kg chicken thigh meat, skinned and diced

butter for sauteeing

3 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped

225g rindless bacon, diced

300g button mushrooms, sliced

250ml Weltevrede Riversedge Shiraz

4 tbsp butter

60g flour

150ml chicken stock

150ml beef stock

1/2 cup chopped parsley

bay leaf, sprig of rosemary

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Sour cream pastry

1 tbsp water

1 clove of garlic

Melt some butter and saute the onion and garlic over medium heat till it is lightly browned. Transfer this to a casserole dish.

Melt some more butter and add bacon. Cook until lightly browned. Transfer bacon to the casserole dish. Saute mushrooms until soft (adding more butter as necessary, please don't even consider substituting the butter with marg. It would be a sin) and add to the casserole.

De-glaze the frying pan with wine and reduce the wine by two thirds.  Add wine to the casserole. Melt 60g butter in a small saucepan. Add flour and cook for a minute or two. Lower temperature and slowly add stock, stirring as you add. Bring sauce to the boil and add to the chicken mixture, along with the herbs and seasoning. Stir to combine.

Cover casserole and bake for 40 minutes. Pour the delicious mix into the pie dish you will be using and cool.

Roll out your store bought pastry to 2mm thick. Cut out a piece of the pastry slightly larger than the pie dish and drape over the chicken mixture. Trim edges. Brush the pastry with raw egg for that lovely golden colour and pop into a hot oven until the pastry is cooked. Your family will love you for this!

Wine Suggestion: Weltevrede Rusted Soil Chardonnay or River's Edge Shiraz.

                    
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Pot roasted shoulder of lamb. Serves about 4 people.

This is taken from Emilia Le Roux's beautiful book, A Farm in my Heart.

Rub the shoulder with a mixture of a little fresh garlic, salt and pepper. Place it in a pot, add a cup of muscadel and cover. Now roast it in a cool oven (around 160'C) for an hour. Open the pot and arrange the following around the meat: a few potatoes cut lengthwise; small onions; an aubergine, cubed, salted and drained; and a sliced pepper, in fact any seasonal vegetables you prefer. If your husband flatly refuses to eat vegetables, thats all right too, just add potatoes. Continue roasting at the same temperature for another one and a half hours, turning the vegetables halfway through. If the meat isn't brown enough about half an hour before its time to dish up, remove the lid for the last 30 minutes.

Wine Suggestion: Weltevrede Bedrock Black Syrah or River's Edge Shiraz.



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Chicken Casserole with Orange and Fresh Peaches. Serves 4

Taken from Prickly Pears and Pomegranates (Bernadette Le Roux and Marianne Palmer)

Orange juice, peaches and chicken make a wonderful flavour combination- quite like a sour-sweet north African tagine, yet truly South African.

Preheat your oven to 180'C. Dust 1.5kg chicken thighs and drumsticks with seasoned flour and brown in a little olive oil. Remove from the pan. In a bowl mix 1 cup of chicken stock, 1 cup of orange juice, 1t of orange zest (finely grated peel), 2 T brown sugar, 1 T white wine vinegar, 1t each ground nutmeg and ginger, 1/2 t ground cloves, quarter cup torn fresh basil and 1t seasoned flour. By now you will be hot so pour yourself a chilled glass of Riversedge chardonnay. Stir well to prevent lumps from forming. Place chicken pieces in an ovenproof casserole pot and pour the orange juice mixture over the chicken. Scatter 12 peeled baby potatoes over the chicken, tucking some underneath. Season, cook, covered, at 180'C for 45 minutes or until tender. Add 4 fresh clingstone peaches, peeled and quartered 10 minutes before the end of cooking time and return casserole to the oven uncovered for the last bit. Garnish with parsley and serve with the chardonnay if there is any left.

Wine Suggestion: Weltevrede Place of Rocks Chardonnay.


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Cap Classique jelly. A great pudding for Cap Classique lovers!  A perfect dessert for the festive season.

You will need:

Half a cup of water

Quarter cup of castor sugar

1 Tablespoon gelatine

2 cups Lindelize Rose bubbly

Heat the water and castor sugar. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat. Sprinkle the gelatine over the water and stir briskly till dissolved. Strain, allow to cool a bit( drink the rest of the bubbly while you wait) then stir in the 2 cups of Rose. Pour into 4 or 5 champagne flutes and chill till set. A lovely light dessert and very pretty. Remember not to give the designated driver any!