Not a fan of carbonara? Odds are you've never had a good one. Tricky to get right, but so rewarding when you do.

Ingredients

For one portion: 60 to 80gm spaghetti freshly cooked al dente 1 tb Extra virgin olivae oil 30g flat pancetta or guanciale 1 or 2 eggs, beaten 25g freshly grated Pecorino Romano and/or aged Italian Grana Cheese (Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano) freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Mix the beaten egg with grated cheese and grounded black pepper. 2. Slice the pancetta 7 to 10 mm thick and cut in 2 cm rectangular bites. 3. Slowly fry the pancetta in the extra virgin olive oil in a non stick pan until crispy. If the pancetta has enough fat you will not need to add oil. 4. Add the spaghetti with some of the cooking water, do not fry the spaghetti but rather just let it absorb the flavour of the pancetta. 5. Simmer gently until the water

Perfect for a light and fresh Summer meal - grab your favorite riesling, sit outside and enjoy...

Ingredients

Serves 4 ½ whole size 14 chicken 1 knob ginger 3 chillies 1 stick lemon grass ¼ bunch coriander including roots ¼ bunch Vietnamese mint 1 head garlic 100ml Fish sauce 75g pale palm sugar 2 limes juiced 4 tbsp crispy shallots 2 tsp Sesame seeds ¼ small Chinese cabbage 1 small carrot ½ red onion 1 cup super fresh bean sprouts ½ cup green mango or paw paw Casava or sesame crackers

Method

Place the chicken in a large pot and cover with water, add a few coriander roots, knob of ginger sliced, crushed lemon grass and a few cloves of garlic. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, cool and reserve the stock. Make the dressing with the fish sauce, 100ml of water, lime juice, palm sugar, 1 chilli and 1 clove of garlic. Blitz in a liquidizer and reserve. Shred the Chinese cabbage, carrot and onion

A salad that for blokes that think salads are for sheilas. Pair it with your more subtle but robust reds.

Ingredients

2 tbs black peppercorns Olive oil 4 x 140g eye fillets steaks 360g kipfler potatoes Sea salt 3 tbs garlic cloves 2 bay leaves 2 sprigs rosemary 6 thyme sprigs 250ml vinaigrette 200g green beans, topped and tailed 1 baby gem lettuce, outer leaves removed 4 tbs baby watercress 100g crème fraiche 1 tbs horseradish relish 2 tsp Dijon mustard Slow Cooked Tomatoes 20ml extra virgin olive oil 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves 1 tsp fresh oregano leaves 4 small gourmet tomatoes Pinch sugar Sea salt and freshly milled pepper

Method

Grind peppercorns in a pestle and mortar until finely and evenly crushed. Tip into a sieve and shake to remove finely ground pepper leaving only the coarsely ground mignonette. Brush

Just 60km northeast of Adelaide, the Barossa Valley is one of Australia's oldest wine regions. Warm and dry, it is renowned for producing the distinctive Barossa Shiraz, a full-bodied red with notes of chocolate and spice. The valleys and sloping hills create several temperature ranges. But in summer, take it from us: it's just plain hot.

The soils range from clay and loam in the cooler areas to the classically South Australian sand and red-brown loam in the valleys. Irrigation is often required, but with water supply an increasing problem, many growers are practicing dryland farming, relying on what falls from the sky and clings from night fog. Couple this with the number of very old vines in the region (which produce limited quantities of grapes), and the result is fruit with deeply concentrated flavour which quickly ripen. A great foundation for some of the world's most acclaimed reds.

History

Settled in numbers in 1841, land in the area was offered to