“The kitchen is a country in which there are always discoveries to be made.”
Grimod de la Reynière (1758-1838)
This June marked the second year of The Good Earth’s participation in the Niagara Wine Festival’s New Vintage Discovery Pass program. We LOVE passport tasting programs at The Good Earth because it brings new folks out to the winery to taste our delicious wines, and gives us a chance to offer passport holders a tempting taste of what our Bistro can do. We make a lot of new friends through passport programs, and get a real kick out of chatting with returning guests from last year’s event.
For this year’s New Vintage Discovery Pass, we decided to pour our fabulous 2012 Betty’s Blend, lusty 2011 Cabernet Franc and the brand spanking new and oh-so-sexy 2012 Rosé with a mini-bistro lunch – soup, main, and dessert.
The response was fantastic! Guests could not stop raving about the pairings and many, many bottles were purchased to be enjoyed at home. As a thank you for your support and genuine enjoyment of all that The Good Earth offers, here are the two most-requested recipes from our Discovery Pass offering, courtesy of our Executive Chef and all around good schnook, Therese DeGrace:
Spring Has Sprung Asparagus Soup
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 finely minced leeks
2 minced carrots
3 ribs minced celery
2 medium Yukon gold potato peeled and diced
2 bunches asparagus cleaned and chopped
6 cups baby spinach
Zest and juice of one lemon
3 litres water or vegetable stock
2 ripe avocados peeled and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon hot chili paste
3 cups sour cream
Method
- In a Stock pot over medium heat sauté leeks, carrots and celery in olive oil until lightly browned (about 8 minutes).
- Add potatoes, asparagus, spinach, lemon zest/juice and water or stock, bring to a boil and reduce to simmer.
- When potatoes are soft add avocado, chili paste and sour cream using a blender emulsify until smooth.
- Adjust with salt and pepper, refrigerate overnight before serving. This soup can be served hot or cold.
TGE Savoury Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lightly cracked pink peppercorns
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
2 tablespoons lemon zest
½ cup unsalted butter
1 whole egg beaten with a few drops of water (egg wash)
Method
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Sift flour, sugar and salt. Add pink peppercorns, thyme and lemon zest.
3. Add cold butter and flour mixture into a food processor and pulse until it resembles coarse meal.
4. Form dough into logs and slice cookies into rounds (slightly larger than a toonie).
5. Arrange on a baking sheet and brush lightly with egg wash.
6. Bake for 12 minutes, allow shortbreads to cool for 30 minutes before serving.
The Good Earth 