Joostenberg Bakermat 2005 food pairing

When asked to conceive a dish to go with the unusual Joostenberg Bakermat 2005, chef Rudi Liebenberg was forced to think outside the box. By Adele Stiehler.

It’s common knowledge that a typical Bordeauxstyle blend works well with strongly flavoured, meaty foodstuffs. However, when the winemaker does something a bit unconventional and combines Cabernet Sauvignon (43%), Merlot (32%), Shiraz (18%), Touriga Naçional (5%) and Viognier (2%), as is the case with the Joostenberg Bakermat 2005, the chef faces a challenge: to contrast the resulting spiciness or simply echo it?

“With a 15% alcohol by volume, I assumed that it would be a heavy wine and immediately thought to serve it with venison,” says Rudi Liebenberg, executive chef of Johannesburg boutique hotel The Saxon. “The Cabernet is distinctive and there is a hint of bitterness in the aftertaste. However, it’s surprisingly light overall.”

Liebenberg seldom makes a sauce without a generous dollop of wine. “But I don’t use expensive wines,” confesses the winner of the Chef’s Choice Award for Consistent Artistry in the 2008 edition of the dine restaurant guide. “I have a conscience. I can’t open a R600 bottle of wine to reduce for sauce.”

Similarly, he couldn’t bear to reduce the Bakermat, instead using it to make a mulled wine for the sauce of his beetroot and honey-glazed ostrich fillet with gremolata, garnished with onions encasing chilli-braised ostrich neck. The result is a dish that is as intricate as the Bakermat 2005 in technique, and as complex and delightful in fl avour. The warm spices in the braised neck and mulled Bakermat mirror the intensity and flavour of the wine, while the honey, beetroot and onions complete the traditional South African sweet-spice flavour genre. Culinary matrimonial bliss.

BEETROOT GLAZED OSTRICH
4x150g ostrich fillet
Smoked paprika, salt, pepper
150g beetroot, cut into quarters
20ml olive oil
20ml balsamic vinegar
20g honey

Season the ostrichand place in a hot oiled pan and
brown slightly. Remove from heat. Combine the beetroot,
olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey and roast until soft,
then purée with more honey. Brush the purée onto the
ostrich and continue cooking in the pan or oven to the
preferred ‘doneness’. Reserve some purée for the sauce.

MULLED WINE SAUCE
½ bottle Joostenberg Bakermat 2005
2 star anise
Small cinnamon stick
Nutmeg
50g sugar
50g honey
Rind from half a naartjie
350ml naartjie juice

Combine the ingredients, bring to a simmer,
and reduce by three quarters. Strain.
Blitz leftovers from the roasted onions with
the reserved beetroot purée. Combine with
the mulled wine and jus to taste.

ROASTED ONIONS STUFFED
WITH BRAISED OSTRICH NECK
300g ostrich neck
1-2 chillies
½ t coriander toasted
Pinch cumin
Cinnamon stick
150ml brown stock
Black pepper
2 sprigs thyme
Joostenberg Bakermat 2005
¼ t tamarind
Lime zest
2 t tomato paste
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ t ginger, chopped
4 small onions

Brown the ostrich neck in oil, then remove and fry
the onions, garlic, ginger and chilli. When soft, add the
remaining spices, return the neck to the pan and add
tomato paste. Deglaze with the wine and add the stock.
Braise until tender. Strain the sauce and reduce. Gently
remove the meat from the bone, shred, and add the
sauce. Add grated Parmesan and chervil.
Roast onions in a moderate oven. When soft, skin and
separate the layers. Roll the ostrich neck filling in single
onion layers, so that it looks like a stuffed onion.

To serve
Cut fillet into three pieces, arrange on plate with stuffed
onions and moisten with the sauce. Serve with puréed
butternut and pearls of winter vegetables.