dinner party!

I love hosting dinner parties. I have a selection of aprons (my favourite is red with white polka dots, with a ruffle at the bottom - very Betty Draper) for such occasions. Since we got engaged, we even have a set of matching cutlery for such occasions. It's all terribly grown-up, until the booze starts flowing.

Some of our favourite dinner party guests are Caliban's sister and her husband. Let's call them...Lorna and Alec. Yes. They're among our favourite guests because: a) they love food as much as we do; b) they always bring top-notch wine; and c) they live a matter of minutes away, so they're always happy to get merry.

Lorna and Alec came over last night for a South American feast. Alec recently returned from Argentina with a box of amazing, handcrafted chocolates for us, and a bottle of Norton 2005 Malbec from Mendoza. We decided it was only fair to open the amazing bottle with Lorna and Alec, with a South American feast to match.

Caliban took care of the starter, and served spinach and carrot pesto on sourdough with grilled haloumi. The pesto was his own creation - he had made it earlier that day to use up our leftover spinach, parsley and coriander (and carrot. We always seem to have a lot of carrots). To this, he added parmesan, pecorino, olive oil and penauts. Yum.

We served chimichurri lamb (tuna for Caliban) for mains, with patatas bravas and a Spanish salsa salad. I was inspired to make the lamb after seeing Tom roll a deboned leg of lamb on MasterChef a few months back. He filled his with a sort of salsa verde, but I figured I could do it just as easily with the chimichurri, a popular South American condiment. Unfortunately, the butcher only had lamb rolls that had already been stuffed with rosemary and garlic (between you and me: yum!). No matter, he said. I'll debone one for you and show you how to tie the roll. Score! He even sent me home with string to tie my roll with. Needless to say, after all this help, it was a hit.

For dessert, we served creamy lime tart (a Gourmet Traveller recipe) with double cream and strawberries, and as petit fours, we ate chocolate whiskey truffles, prepared by Caliban. They were inspired by a Donna Hay recipe, but didn't quite work out like hers. The recipe called for the chocolate to be served in large spoonfuls, which wasn't very attractive. Still, they tasted fabulous. Perfect with red wine or coffee.


Chimichurri Lamb

1.5 kg lamb leg, deboned
1 cup fresh Italian parsley (packed)
1/4 cup fresh coriander (packed)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
Tablespoon paprika
Tablespoon cumin
Tablespoon ground chilli
Four whole garlic cloves

Blend the parsley, coriander, olive oil, red wine vinegar, spices and garlic in a food processor. It should have a slightly runny consistency. Open the lamb leg and spread the sauce in the middle. Close the lamb over and tie in three sections. Spread more sauce over the lamb. Leave for up to 24 hours.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees (Celcius). Cook lamb for 35 minutes (medium). Serves four.


Patatas bravas

Eight large potatoes (cut into medium-sized chunks)
One onion (chopped)
400g can chopped tomatoes
100mL tomato puree
4 whole garlic cloves (chopped)
Tablespoon paprika
Tablespoon chilli powder
Pinch sugar
Parsley, to serve

Heat olive oil in saucepan. Add chopped onion and stir until soft and browned (about five minutes). Add garlic, tomatoes, puree, spices and sugar. Bring to the boil, while stirring. Simmer for ten minutes. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees (Celsius). Bake potatoes for 50 minutes, or until crispy and golden. Reheat tomato sauce if necessary, and pour over potatoes. Serve with a little parsley.

Tip: This serves four, but I think everyone always wants more potatoes, so don't be afraid to tweak this recipe and make more of it than you think you need. Potatoes are universal crowd-pleasers!

South American salsa salad

200g can sweet corn kernels
400g grape tomatoes
400g cannellini beans
1 capsicum, roasted*
1/2 cup chopped coriander
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 Spanish onion, chopped
1/2 cup caramelised balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Tablespoon brown sugar
Teaspoon chilli

Mix tomatoes, beans, corn, coriander, parsley, capsicum and onion in bowl. Don't be afraid to use your (clean!) hands to mix. For dressing, mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, sugar and chilli. Pour over salad and leave for up to two hours before serving.

Tip: this would be great on bread, as a sort of South American bruschetta. Serve with a cold, crisp glass of Pinot Grigio to cut through the acidic dressing.