Good Food live: Ben Shewry's recipe and Church Road Wines' tasting notes

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Sirloin steak, salsa verde butter and kale mashed potatoes

This Christmas we'll all be a little more grateful to be with our family and friends. After a difficult year, we all deserve something special and this sirloin steak is the perfect dish to enjoy as we come together – to me it's just right for Christmas Eve. While it takes a little more care in the kitchen, the beauty of this dish is that it can be prepped ahead of time so you can enjoy a glass of Church Road TOM Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon with your loved ones.
– Ben Shewry

For the salsa verde butter

INGREDIENTS

• 120g salted butter, softened
• 2g finely chopped garlic
• 40g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• 60g basil leaves
• 20g capers
• 30g cornichons, roughly chopped
• 20g wholegrain mustard
• ½ tsp lemon zest
• salt and white pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blitz until well chopped and combined but not completely smooth. Set aside at room temperature until needed. This can be made the day before and stored in the fridge.

For the kale mashed potatoes

INGREDIENTS

Kale salad

• 60g kale, shredded 4mm wide with a knife
• ¼ garlic clove, finely chopped
• 10g finely grated parmesan
• 8g olive oil
• 10g lemon juice
• salt and black pepper to taste

Mash

• 400g peeled desiree potatoes, cut into quarters
• 85g milk, hot
• 85g salted butter, diced and at room temperature
• kale salad
• salt and white pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Begin by making the kale salad. Combine kale, garlic, parmesan, olive oil, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper in a bowl and mix well. Set aside until needed. This keeps well and makes a great salad with lots of different uses. It improves after standing for a couple of hours. Store in fridge if making ahead of time.
2. For the mash place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Simmer until tender – test by inserting a small knife into a piece, if it goes in easily, they are ready. Drain well and return cooked potatoes to the pan. Place pan over a very low heat and allow potatoes to dry out for 1 minute.
3. Pass potatoes through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Add butter and mix well, add milk and continue mixing until the butter has melted completely and the mash is smooth. Season with salt and freshly ground white pepper. Fold the kale salad through the mash set aside until needed. This can be reheated in a saucepan or the microwave.

For the steak and pan sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 2 x 250-300g sirloin steaks from your favourite butcher, thick cut
• 30ml olive oil
• black pepper and salt to taste
• 30g finely diced shallot
• 1 garlic clove, finely diced
• 40ml Church Road McDonald Series Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 30g butter

METHOD

1. Heat a heavy frypan over medium heat.
2. Season steaks liberally with salt and black pepper.
3. Pour olive oil into pan, add steaks and sear on all sides. Cook in pan over a medium heat to your preferred doneness.
4. Remove steaks from pan – place on a small plate in a warm place. Turn heat to low and add shallot and garlic to pan. Cook gently for 4 minutes or until cooked and fragrant. Add wine and simmer gently to deglaze and reduce slightly.
5. Add oyster sauce and butter, remove from the heat and whisk well until butter is emulsified into the liquids. The sauce should be thick. Check seasoning.
6. To finish, place a large spoon of kale mash on each plate, then the steak alongside the mash. Spread a tablespoon of salsa verde butter on each steak. Finish with the sauce.

Serves 2 (can be doubled for big gatherings)

Wine tasting notes

Church Road TOM Chardonnay 2019

A full bodied and powerful Chardonnay that still manages to retain good balance and liveliness. This complex wine is built around a core of ripe stonefruit with fresher elements of fragrant citrus and citrus blossom, overlaid with subtle aromas of roasted nuts, mealiness, a note of smoky gunflint and integrated oak. The palate is powerful, yet finely textured with exception textural great length and balanced fresh acidity. Still youthful, with careful cellaring we expect this wine to continue to mature gracefully for 6 years or more from vintage date.

Church Road TOM Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Leading with beautifully ripe black plum and berry fruit, and the brooding, dark earthy/cacao complexity typical of great Merlot, the wine also displays more lifted aromatic hints of violet lavender, vanilla, cedar, and spice. The palate is full bodied and powerful with a plush richness and weight balanced by gentle acidity and an exceptionally fine grained, ripe tannin structure that lends the wine great presence across the full length of the palate. Still youthful, the wine should mature gracefully for 15 years or more from vintage date.

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