Sharing Lockdown Day 13

Our exercise in lockdown so far has basically been solely based on grubbing the driveway and planting about 75 – 100 tussocks a day. In the late afternoon we did walk around the vineyard perimeter and couldn’t resist taking a basket and picking up the discarded grape thinnings . My friend Cally told me her neighbours in Italy would boil up vast quantities of grape juice and sit all day while it boiled down to make something they called ‘Dolce” meaning sweet .

I decided to experiment with the 6 kgs of grapes we collected. My friend Jeffrey Chilchott who manages a vineyard in Piedmonte – Italy thought I was mad and needed way more grapes. However, I had already made a beautiful jar of jelly made from a handful of grape bunches I collected earlier. I simmered the grapes to release the juice, strained the pulp off and adding sugar. I made a very small jar of jelly which is delicious and I’m embarrassed to say some breakfasts have been fresh bread and jam or is it jam and bread.

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With our 6kg of grapes I thought I would try a traditional method of juicing the grapes ( I did scrub my feet with pumice beforehand ) it was hilarious and quite satisfying feeling grapes release their juice under your feet. We then thought we could boil and reduce the juice but it was incredibly bitter. After letting it sit overnight a lot of fine sediment sat on the bottom of the pot so I strained it through a chux cloth to produce a clear liquid. I am sure the grapes are not ripe enough yet . After adding equal quantities of sugar I boiled the juice until it was starting to thicken. I wanted this juice to be of a pouring consistency to use over deserts or deglaze panfried meats or add to meat sauces. My one jar of juice doesn’t have the beautiful colour of the jelly but tastes great and will be very useable .

One Pan Left Overs

I used the remainder of the our meatballs in a one pan dish with potatoes, chopped fresh tomatoes, black olives and chilli labne (still in the fridge) In a roasting dish add 4 -5 chopped scrubbed potatoes, toss with olive oil, sea salt, black pepper and fresh thyme leaves. Bake at 200 C for 30-40 minutes until crisp and golden . Add 3-4 diced tomatoes and black olives. Bake until tomatoes start to soften. Heat meatballs in a small dish at the same time. Remember I am cooking for two but you can make this to serve 2 – 10

Transfer potato mixture to a serving dish, place meatballs and sauce on top. Dot with chilli labne or yoghurt – I heated 3 tablespoons olive oil , added a chopped chilli and teaspoon of paprika. Stir through labne. Cant get more simple than this and your prep effort is minimal . It tasted absolutely delicious.

Take Care XXX Jude