We’ve been busy in the kitchen this week, with a suitably summery recipe to highlight just how incredibly versatile Côtes du Rhône wines can be!
Widely available here in the UK, Côtes du Rhône wines are really easy to find (and not too expensive either!), making them ideal for sharing around at dinner parties or indulging in a glass or two midweek.
They’ve been making wine in this region for over 2,000 years, and even today you’ll often find the vineyards are family businesses, going back three or four generations. The terroir is very special, and more than half of the wines from this area are organic (or on their way to getting certified). If that’s of interest, it’s worth looking out for the terms “AB” or “Vin Biologique” on the bottle.
Cotes du Rhone has five appellations in total, however, those labelled as Cotes du Rhone Villages are generally the best quality. You might find you pay a couple of pounds more, but don’t worry, it’ll be well worth it – you’ll be guaranteed a great wine!
To find out more, head to: cotesdurhone.com/en
We made the most of the sunshine at the weekend and paired this salmon-hued Domaine Mourchon rosé (£12.99) with a fresh peach dessert which we enjoyed in the garden.
Masterchef finalist Exose Grant kindly shares his recipe below, but we added our own little twist to the final dish, swapping out the toasted oats for delicate feuilletine flakes and garnishing with edible flowers!
Rose Poached Peach
Vanilla Sponge, Chantilly Cream, Toasted Oats, Rose Syrup
Vanilla Sponge
175g Margarine
175g Caster Sugar
3 Eggs
175g Self Raising Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
1 Scraped Vanilla Pod
3 Tbsp Milk
- Pre-heat oven to 160c, Line a small cake tin with margarine and greaseproof paper.
- Mix margarine and sugar together, an electric whisk is great but if not you can do it
by hand. When fluffy and lightened in colour add eggs one at a time and mix well. - Add flour, baking powder and salt then mix well, finally add vanilla seeds and milk
and combine together. - Transfer to your cake tray and bake in oven at 160c for approx. 20-25 minutes until
golden and cooked. Stick a knife in centre and if it comes out clean your cake is
baked. Set aside and leave to cool down. When cooled down trim edges and portion
into rectangular pieces, or you can use a circle cutter to make circle pieces. Brush
with rose liquid.
Chantilly Cream
150ml Double Cream
20g Icing Sugar
½ Scraped Vanilla Pod
- Whisk all the ingredients together using an electric whisk or a normal whisk until
thickened. Transfer to a piping bag with a star nozzle, set aside in the fridge.
Rose Poached Peach
300ml Rose
100g Honey
150ml Water
2 Star Anise
1 Scraped Vanilla Pod
25g Peeled Ginger (Sliced)
½ Orange Peel & Juice
2 Peaches (Cut in half and stone removed)
- In a small saucepan add rose, water, honey, star anise, vanilla, ginger and orange
and stir well bring up to the boil then reduce heat. - Add peaches and cover with a lid. Cook on a low heat for approx. 30 minutes until
the peaches are soft and tender. Remove from liquid, remove skin and set aside in
fridge to cool down. - Set some liquid aside to brush your cake with, the leftover liquid pass through a
sieve to strain and reduce down in a pan until a syrup consistency. Set aside.
Toasted Oats
50g Oats
10g Icing Sugar
- Toast oats in the oven at 160c for approx. 10 minutes until golden and toasted. Dust
with 10g icing sugar and mix well, set aside.
Finishing the Dish
You can have the dish warm or cold:
- Cold: Place the cake on your plate and pipe chantilly cream on top, serve
½ peach whole or sliced on the side of the cake and drizzle with the rose syrup then
sprinkle toasted oats around the plate. - Warm: Microwave your peach and cake for approx. 30 seconds each
until warm, place cake on the plate, place ½ peach on the plate whole or sliced, pipe
Chantilly cream around the plate make sure it is not touching the peach or cake as it
will melt. Sprinkle toasted oats and drizzle with rose syrup. - Be creative with your presentation test yourself to see what you can do, you can also
add micro herbs and flowers to make the dish look prettier.
