I find travelling so inspiring. Seeing new sights, exploring new cities, and shopping at new markets stimulates my creativity as much as it expands my consciousness (and waistline!).
From 2000-2002, I lived in London. My first job was sub editing at a publishing company (now a digital content agency) in Camden on a freelance basis. The agency was very hip — nearly everyone was young and gorgeous — and everyone went to the pub together on Friday nights. Each month I’d work 10-14 days on different client magazines and then I’d travel the rest of the month. Flights to Europe were ridiculously cheap so each month I’d pick a different country and off I’d go. When I look back, I can’t believe how lucky I was, to have both the means and the time to travel like that. Youth is truly wasted on the young.
Now that I’m a parent I still travel overseas and interstate but nowhere near as much I’d like to. I still love to explore though – one of my favourite things to do on the weekend is to head to the Hills or the Coast for a relaxing day trip. So when an invitation to attend a Arabian Nights cooking class at Chapel Hill winery in the McLaren Vale arrived I was happy to accept.
McLaren Vale is a beautiful region about 40 mins from Adelaide renowned for its wineries, restaurants and produce. It’s idyllic and spacious – there’s something about being in a place with a lot of open space and an uninterrupted skyline that is very soothing.
My friend R and I arrived a little early so we warmed ourselves up by a wood fire – don’t you just love that smell?
We then enjoyed a welcome cappuccino made by Chapel Hill’s affable general manager, Brett Lanthois.
Next, we moved into a great purpose-built kitchen to meet Rebecca Stubbs, Chapel Hill’s award-winning chef and our tutor for the day. She explained that we would be cooking 10 Persian and Moroccan inspired dishes. Brett and Rebecca then ran us through basic kitchen hygiene and safety and we got started.
I was in the group responsible for Mains – we would be cooking Lamb Tagine, Sabzi (fresh herbs with cucumber and mint yoghurt), Salata Khadrah (traditional salad) and Moroccan Rice Pilaf.
The Lamb Tagine would take around 90 minutes to cook so we started with that recipe.
First, we prepped all the ingredients and then we fried the onion, garlic, ginger, and eggplant.
Then we added the walnuts and the meat.
Meanwhile, our classmates were getting on with their own dishes. Here the breakfast team are preparing the tomato sauce for Shashouka (eggs baked with tomato and chili).
Here the dessert team — they called themselves ‘Team Awesome’ lol — are preparing the pancakes for Ataif bil ishta (pancakes filled with rose cream).
As we cooked, Rebecca constantly flitted around the room to answer questions, demonstrate a technique or offer advice. Here she is explaining how to roll the walnut baklava.
Then it was time to adjourn to the balcony to enjoy a glass of Chapel Hill’s delightful Sangiovese Rose.
Next, we all had a go cooking the Nan e Lavash (flatbread) in the outdoor wood oven.
Then it was time to eat. While we’d been busy horsing around… er… cooking… a table had been set up in the dining room for lunch.
First up, we sampled the Shashouka (eggs baked with tomato and chilli) served with the Nan e Lavash.
This dish was just gorgeous. Tomato sauces are not all created equal and here Rebecca had worked in complex flavouring and depth with paprika, cinnamon star anise, coriander and saffron, as well as chilli for some lovely heat. It was a humdinger of a dish and something that would be great to make when you have friends over for brunch.
The next dish was Spinach, Chicken and Pine Nut Dolmades. Now my friend Peter will be shocked to hear this but I’ve only ever eaten dolmades out of a can before. Perhaps not surprisingly, I’ve always been underwhelmed by them. These babies were in a whole other league, however – made fresh on the spot and with lovely herb and citrus flavours they were a revelation.
Next, it was main course so my group returned to the kitchen to plate up our dishes and bring them out. First, the dramatic unveiling of the tagine.
Richly aromatic with meat that just fell apart with a gentle chew, the Lamb Tagine was the perfect dish for such a cold Winter’s day.
In contrast, the salads were all very basic. Because the meat and rice dishes are so highly flavoured, the salads are simply dressed so as not to overwhelm the palate. This was the same when with the local food I ate when I visited Dubai last year.
The Moroccan Rice Pilaf was one of my favourite dishes – it was multi-layered and flavoursome and just too pretty to look at. It’s such a versatile dish, too – you could play with any sort of combination of nuts, fruit, stock and herbs. Watch out for an upcoming recipe inspired by this dish.
Then it was time for dessert and Team Awesome hastily decamped to the kitchen to plate up their dishes.
First up, we had the Walnut Baklava served with slivered pistachios and rose petals. Isn’t it gorgeous?
Baklava is often very sweet, which has put me off in the past, but Rebecca’s version was beautifully balanced by the addition of lemon juice and zest.
Next, we tried the Pistachio Ice Cream served with Persian fairy floss.
I liked this dish but I didn’t love it. The recipe calls for the addition of frozen double cream cubes which are roughly cut up and appear staggered throughout the ice cream. Perhaps it’s because I am not so good with dairy these days, but I found the double cream sections too rich for my taste-buds.
The last dish was Ataif bil ishta (pancakes filled with rose cream).
While it’s not as pretty as the other desserts, nearly everyone agreed that this dish was the standout. The pancakes had been reheated under the grill so the edges were crispy and caramelised. Inside nestled the most voluptuous and magnificent rose and vanilla bean cream, which exploded into my mouth as I bit into the pancake. The sensation was utterly divine and prompted a few sighs around the table.
Apart from travelling, cooking is one of my favourite things to do – when I’m cooking in a quiet house I’m utterly content and absorbed. But cooking with a bunch of fellow food lovers is a different experience altogether, and a very fun one. In fact, if more people cooked and ate together the world would be a much happier place; when you bake and break bread with someone you can’t help warming towards each other.
Chapel Hill offers a number of cooking classes throughout the year. For bookings call 618 8323 9182.
Disclosure: I attended the cooking class and lunch as a guest of Chapel Hill. As always, all opinions are my own.
Chapel Hill Winery and Retreat
1 Chapel Hill Road, McLaren Vale, SA 5171
Tel: 618 8323 9182
Email: info@chapelhillwine.com.au
