By
utilising a revolutionary natural process using indigenous Rooibos and
Honeybush during the winemaking process their powerful anti-oxidants protect
the wine naturally negating the use of added sulphites or preservatives; great
news for those who normally avoid wine because of its high sulphur
content.
A
perfect match for the two mouth-watering winter recipes below, developed by TV
personality and well-known chef, Mynhardt Joubert, Earth’s Essence is an
unconventional, high-quality, super-premium, natural wine, preserved by nature.
Enjoy the taste of prominent cranberries, Turkish delight and dark chocolate
aromas with nuances of nuts, Rooibos, Honeybush and sweet basil.
Recipe:
Rooibos Tea Ciabatta with Homemade Lavender, vanilla & honey butter.
Step
1: The Ciabatta
This
is a simple recipe for delicious ciabatta rolls that can be made with a mixer
with a K attachment (or flat edge beater) and a well-sized mixing bowl. The
trick with making ciabatta rolls from scratch and knowing when the dough should
go in the oven is to watch for when mix starts to pull from the sides of the
mixing bowl while mixing. This recipe makes 4 ciabatta rolls.
Ingredients
– You will need
1kg
white bread flour
1
sachet of dry yeast salt
1
teaspoon of sugar
650ml
of strong rooibos tea (luke warm)
1
tablespoon of olive oil
1
rooibos tea bag
Method
First,
make sure that the K attachment is on your mixer. Next, combine the flour,
yeast, sugar and salt into the mixer and mix through well. While mixing, start
adding the lukewarm rooibos tea bag and olive oil to the mix. It might look
like there’s a lot of liquid in the bowl but don’t fret – it’ll blend and
thicken soon. Now, turn the mixer onto its highest setting and let it run for
about 5 to 8 minutes. The dough will start forming long strands and will
eventually start pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
As
soon as all the dough has pulled away from the sides and formed a ball in the
middle of the bowl remove it from the mixer and place it into a large oiled
bowl. Cover it with cling film and let it rise to double its size. Pour out the
mixture onto a floured surface and cut the dough into four pieces. Dust them
with enough flour and twist the dough from either side. Place the dough balls
onto a greased baking tray or a baking tray with baking paper and let them rest
for ten minutes. Bake at 200 degrees for about 20 to 25 minutes until golden
brown.
Step
2: Lavender Vanilla & Honey Butter
Making
butter is one of the simplest things to do and a lost art in our generation.
This recipe shows a couple of quick and easy steps to make butter in minutes.
The results will be around 500g of butter.
Ingredients
1
litre of fresh cream
2
bags of ice
2
vanilla pods sliced with seeds scraped out
8
lavender flowers chopped finely
1
tablespoon of honey
Method
Pour
the cream into a mixer with its balloon whisk attachment and start mixing on
high speed. Make sure the bowl is covered to prevent splashes. The cream will
begin to look like whipped cream and then start separating into butter and
butter milk. As soon as all the butter fat and milk has separated, gather all the
butter together and form a ball. Dunk the ball into a large bowl of iced water
and massage the butter until all the milk has been removed. You will end up
with a ball of smooth creamy butter. Place into a mixing bowl and add the
honey, vanilla pod and lavender flowers. Shape the butter into sticks and leave
to set.
Enjoy
with a cheese platter or a bowl of hearty soup.
Fillet
Au Poivre with Brandy and Rooibos Tea Cream Sauce
This
recipe is a winter winner and fool proof. Anybody can cook a really good steak
with these easy steps. Ensure you have good quality meat and little else can go
wrong. Serves 4. Oven 220 degrees.
Ingredients
4
x 200g fillet steaks at room temperature
100g
of crushed black peppercorns
Olive
oil
120ml
of KWV brandy
800ml
of cream
4
Rooibos tea bags
Method
Place
a large, heavy bottomed saucepan onto the stove and let it heat up. Meanwhile,
roll the four fillets in black pepper corns until they’re covered from top to
bottom.
Pour
olive oil into the pan. Now, seal the meat generously on each side until golden
brown and remove the pan from the heat. Add the brandy and place the pan back
onto the source of heat. If you are cooking with gas the brandy will catch
alight, otherwise use a match to ignite it. Flambe the fillets until all the
flames have died down, Remove the fillets from the pan and let them rest for 5
minutes. Pour the cream into the pan with all the juices and brandy and the 4
rooibos tea bags. Stir the sauce continuously until it has reduced by two
thirds and become thick and lovely. Remove the tea bags and let the sauce rest.
Place the meat into the hot oven and let it warm through for 3 to 5 minutes.
Remove and serve with the sauce and matchstick thin French fries.
Retailing
for R89 per bottle, Earth’s Essence is available nationwide at selected Makro,
Checkers Liquor, Ultra Liquor and Spar stores.
For more
information visit: www.earthsessence.co.za
or join the conversation on Twitter @EarthsEszence