Television celebrity and MasterChef mentor Matt Moran is sharing his talents with winery2u.com

Masterchef guest mentor and television celebrity Matt Moran owns two of Australia’s most noted restaurants – ARIA in Sydney and Brisbane.

Noted for his patience as a teacher, Matt has been kind enough to share one of his recipes with winery2u.com. It’s a challenging salad, but sure to delight guests at a dinner party. Matt left school at 15 to persue a career in hospitality. Hard work has seen him become one of the most recognisable chefs in the country. 

When your salad is complete, Matt recommends a chilled bottle of medium-bodied chardonnay from either the Barossa or Coonawarra as a good match. He says Chardonnays from these warmer regions are generally quite ripe, almost tasting of peaches and cream. They also have vanilla and toasted-nut characters, which echo the nutty flavour of the dressing.

Serves 6

Baby beetroot
3 teaspoons sugar
3 teaspoons white wine vinegar
6 baby beetroot, trimmed and scrubbed

This is how the baby vegetables should look when they're done.

Saffron potatoes
3 medium-sized kipfler potatoes, peeled
pinch saffron threads
salt

Shimeji mushrooms
125 ml rice wine vinegar
35 g sugar
1 clove
½ teaspoon mustard seeds
3 black peppercorns
½ teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 bird’s eye chilli, cut in half and deseeded
¼ clove garlic, finely chopped
60 g shimeji mushrooms 

Method:
Preheat the oven to 100ºC. Arrange the cherry tomatoes on a baking tray and place in the oven for two hours or until semi-dried. Remove from the oven and leave to cool. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and blanch the vegetables until just tender: the baby carrots and fennel will need about 33–5 minutes, while the asparagus tips and peas should only take 1–2 minutes. Drain the vegetables and refresh under cold running water.  

To make the hazelnut dressing, combine the garlic, mustard, vinegar and honey in a bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil until emulsified, then season to taste with salt and pepper. 

To prepare the baby beetroot, place the sugar, vinegar and 500 ml of water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the beetroot and simmer for 10–15 minutes or until tender, then leave to cool in the liquid. When they are cool enough to handle, peel the beetroot with your fingers (use disposable gloves if you want to avoid stained hands!),then cut them into quarters. 

For the saffron potatoes, place the potatoes, saffron and a generous pinch of salt in a saucepan with plenty of water. Bring to the boil and cook the potatoes for 10–15 minutes or until tender. Leave to cool, then cut into 1 cm slices. 

To prepare the shimeji mushrooms, place all the ingredients except the mushrooms in a saucepan, add 250ml water and bring to the boil. Add the mushrooms, then immediately remove from the heat and leave the mushrooms to cool in the liquid before draining. 

Very gently toss the vegetables, mushrooms, herbs, zucchini flowers and hazelnuts together in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of the hazelnut dressing, then arrange on a large plate. Crumble the fetta over the vegetables, drizzle with a little more of the hazelnut dressing and season to taste with salt and pepper. 

PUNTER’S PICK: winery2u.com is a growing company, so we haven’t quite stretched our reach to the Coonawara region yet. We expect to do that at Christmas (we have met each and every winegrower we partner with). In the meantime, give this well-priced MOLLY MORGAN CHARDONNAY a try. It’s half price at just $120 a case!