Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1101649
FOOD 14 | SUNDAY • 7 APRIL 2019 maltatoday • 200g potatoes • 30g neutral oil • 5g salt • 5g black lovage flow- ers • 2 leeks • 50g butter • 200g milk • 100g Emmental, grated • 30g flour • 30g water • 5g salt • 100g sliced pancetta • Nasturtium flowers, as needed • Mallow flowers, as needed 1. Place the sliced pancetta onto a tray lined with a baking sheet. Bake them in the oven at 180'C for around 10 minutes or till crispy and golden brown. 2. Grate the potato on the medium grater section. Grate the potatoes into a bowl and add the salt and the black lovage blossoms. 3. Press the grated potatoes to remove all the water and shape it into a cake. 4. Place a non-stick pan onto a medi- um low heat and add some oil to the pan. Place the cake into a pan and cook for around 15 minutes flipping over every 2 minutes or so. 5. Towards the last 5 minutes of cook- ing add half the butter to the pan. 6. In a pot add a few drops of oil and the other half of the butter. Add the chopped leeks to the pot and sea- son with some salt. Cook the leeks for 3 minutes till nice and soft. 7. Once done, add the milk and bring to the boil. 8. In a separate bowl, whisk together the water and flour to form a very thin paste. When the milk is at a boil add this mixture and whisk in till the milk thickens heavily. 9. Once thick, remove from the heat and whisk in the cheese. 10. To construct the dish place the hash brown at the bottom of a roasting dish. On top, place ¾ of the crispy pancetta on top and then add the cheese sauce on top. 11. Place the dish in the oven and bake at 250'C till the mornay sauce has browned nicely. 12. Garnish the top of the dish with ed- ible flowers and crispy pancetta. Hash browns with cheese sauce and pancetta CHARLES GRECH Bin 2 Shiraz Mataro 2014 Penfolds, Australia Bin 2 Shiraz Mataro is a classic Penfolds wine, steeped in nineteenth-century tradition. Typically it is a generous medium-bodied wine based on shiraz, but shot with the aromatics and muscular strength of mataro. It's best to drink early, but like many of Penfolds reds can last the distance in the cellar. Bouquet: Scents of black olive and dark black cherry laced with mixed spices/herbs, Dark chocolate notes and a skerrick of liquorice. Palate: Mataro's green tea-leaf characters immediately apparent, as is Mataro's inky/ rubbly palate imprint. Grainy/particulate/powdery tannins throughout. Ditto, barely perceptible oak (some vanillin, crushed biscotti f lavours). Evocative Shiraz fruits and savouriness dominate the mid-palate. Refreshingly medium-bodied, enticingly textured. Food Affinities: veal, roast chicken, planked salmon. Exclusively imported by Charles Grech & Co Ltd Valley Road, Birkikara T: 21 444 400 Fine quality Italian wines of tradition Irpina. Donnachiara, winery located in Montefalcione (Avellino), with its vineyards that stretch along the hills typical of the Irpinia, produces white wines and red wines of high quality including Greco di Tufo, Fiano di Avellino, Taurasi DOCG but also sparkling like Santè Falanghina. Soft crushing of the selected grapes and after that cold decanting of the must fermentation at 57-60°F in steel vats for 15 days. Malolatic fermentation is not done. Full expression of it's territory, the heart of Greco di tufo, with a specific attention to all the factors of maturation of it's aroma's. Nose: Offers fruity flavours of pear, apricot, pineapple and citrus Palate: Smooth, elegant and structured, with good freshness and a great persistence that confirms and amplifies the olfactory sensations. Food Affinities: Perfect with all seafood, pasta with light sauces , white meats and herb cheeses Exclusively imported by Charles Grech & Co. Ltd, Valley Road, Birkirkara T: 2144 4400 Donnachiara Greco di Tufo: DONNACHIARA Chef at Gourmet Today and Mediterranean Culinary Academy Keith Abela Ingredients Method A scrumptious brunch dish loaded with hash browns, cheese and pancetta Serves 1-2 This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, March 2019