By Mike Lowe
In this instalment of my food and wine pairing escapades I chat with Sue-Ann Staff, proprietor and winemaker at Sue-Ann Staff Estate Winery in Jordan, Ontario.
When I approached Staff, below, with the notion that I wanted to cook lamb, and asked which of her wines she’d recommend, she was quick to respond.
She recommended her 2017 Gritstone Cabernet (photo below) to pair with lamb I was planning to cook. The wine gets its name from a gritstone, on display at the winery, used by Staff’s ancestors to grind wheat into flour.
In the video chat (see link below) she’s very clear about one of her favourite things to eat. Due to the current, social distancing rules, we are still self-isolating. As a result, we have to resort to various tech apps in order to converse and share our passion for wine and food. Until we can chat live over the tasting bars at local wineries, it will just have to do.
As in the first piece in this series (see that video here), it’s all about simplicity. It’s intended to give basic cooking tips, recipe ideas and encourage other home cooks to try new things. A focal point will continue to be selecting a wine first and matching the food to it. In our chat, Staff says it best, “The wine is done, we can’t make changes.” As the series evolves we will try to keep it fresh, entertaining and, most of all, informative. The video content is not glitzy or glamorous, and the cooking is shot at home in my own kitchen — at least for now.
The finished dish was comprised of leg of lamb with spiced carrot puree and potato gratin (photo above). The link to the cooking video is included along with the ingredient list below.
Ingredients (2 portions):
• One 8-10 ounce piece boneless lamb
• 2 Yukon Gold potatoes
• 2 large carrots
• 1/2 C butter
• 2 Tbsp chives, finely chopped
• 1/4 Tsp vanilla extract
• 1 Tsp garlic-ginger paste
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3-4 ounces dry red wine
• 1/3 C chicken or lamb stock
• Salt and pepper
Winery Information:
3210 Staff Avenue
Jordan, ON L0R 1S0
1.877.566.1719
905-562-1719
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