This minestrone is dead easy and will make enough for you to keep revisiting over a busy week. Of course, the process is all the more enjoyable with a glass of vino in hand, but that's up to you. Ingredients: Glug of olive oil 1 brown onion, diced 2 carrots, diced 2 sticks celery, diced 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 large rasher bacon, chopped (bacon bones can also be used) 1 tin cannellini beans, rinsed 1 bunch kale, roughly chopped 2 fresh tomatoes, diced 1 tin diced tomatoes 200mL red wine 500ml vegetable stock (if you prefer a different stock, use it - I use vegetable for less salty interference) A couple of bayleaves Salt and pepper [caption id="attachment_2064" align="alignnone" width="625"] Tuscan Minestrone.[/caption]

As the weather gets warmer, I find the appeal of fresh and crunchy vegetables with citrus flavours gets just that little bit higher. This dish is really easy, quite cheap to prepare if you shop at an asian grocer and you can adapt as you wish.

Winter a drag? This is a chill-killer. How could anyone feel cold with roast chicken and hazelnuts in the tum?

Ingredients

2 red onions, thickly sliced 1 tablespoon sea salt, or to taste 4 cloves garlic, sliced ½ teaspoon black peppercorns 1 tablespoon olive oil ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped 50g hazelnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped 100g butter, softened 1.6kg free-range chicken sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 lemon, sliced

Method

Placing herbs and nuts under the chicken’s skin gives this dish its wonderful flavour and crispy texture. Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan-forced). Line a baking dish or cast-iron dish with onion slices (the dish should be just large enough to hold the chicken). Gently pound the salt, garlic, peppercorns and olive oil in a mortar and pestle. Gradually add the parsley and hazelnuts and pound to a rough paste. Spoon the mixture into a bowl and stir in the butter.

This minestrone is dead easy and will make enough for you to keep revisiting over a busy week. Of course, the process is all the more enjoyable with a glass of vino in hand, but that's up to you. Ingredients: Glug of olive oil 1 brown onion, diced 2 carrots, diced 2 sticks celery, diced 2 cloves garlic, crushed 1 large rasher bacon, chopped (bacon bones can also be used) 1 tin cannellini beans, rinsed 1 bunch kale, roughly chopped 2 fresh tomatoes, diced 1 tin diced tomatoes 200mL red wine 500ml vegetable stock (if you prefer a different stock, use it - I use vegetable for less salty interference) A couple of bayleaves Salt and pepper [caption id="attachment_2064" align="alignnone" width="625"] Tuscan Minestrone.[/caption]

Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape gets its name from the French word sauvage ("wild") and blanc ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France. It is now planted in many of the world's wine regions, producing a crisp, dry, and refreshing white varietal wine.

In Australia

Here in Australia, particularly the Margaret River region, the grape is often blended with Sémillon. Varietal styles, made from only the Sauvignon blanc grape, from Adelaide Hills and Padthaway have a style distinctive from our New Zealand neighbours and tend to be more ripe in flavor with white peach and lime notes and slightly higher acidity.

Characteristics

Depending on the climate, the flavor can range from aggressively grassy to sweetly tropical. Wine experts have used the phrase "crisp, elegant, and fresh" as a favorable description of Sauvignon blanc from the Loire

In terms of production, the Margaret River is a small player in the Australian wine world. Under 5% of Aussie wine comes from here, but over 20% of it is premium stuff. We're happy to see David beat Goliath in the award show if we keep getting those dry, fruity whites and supple reds. Go west, young man, and taste!

History

Much of the regions success dates back to the late 1800's when Italian immigrants Albert Credaro, Jimmy Meleri and Domenic Garuccio planted vines to make some of the good old table wines from the Old Country. Some learned gents took a punt on commercial production in the late 1960's, with the recommendation of the very learned Dr. John Gladstone in mind. The Doc pointed out the Margaret River region cool climate would give growers a fine yield of fruit to work with. Too right he was!

Visiting

Today the area attracts millions of visitors, with the wine being the bog drawcard to a stunning landscape of remarkable biodiversity and pristine