Best time of year to be out in the garden...

In a world increasingly geared to instant gratification, vegetable gardening doesn’t really play the game. The results are never instant – vegetables take weeks, sometimes months, from seed to harvest. But when it finally comes time to pick your home-grown crops (provided the slugs haven’t got to them first!), it becomes well worth the wait.

Broccoli ready to harvest

Growing vegetables at this time of year can often be uninspiring. Growth slows right down and the nights are colder – which means you run the risk of a frost knocking back all but the most hardy. Many of the crops that went into my city garden in early February are now ready for eating – a profusion of spinach, coriander, lamb’s lettuce, broccoli, carrots, bok choy, silverbeet and radicchio – but crops such as chillies, peppers, tomatoes and beans, along with all the cucurbits (cucumbers, pumpkins, zucchini etc), are just not getting enough heat or sun to keep them maturing. If your chillies are still hanging in there like mine with no sign of turning red or you’re waiting in anticipation for those tomatoes to change hue – well, I’m afraid it just isn’t going to happen. They won’t ripen now we’re getting to the end of autumn, and if they’re not picked, they will just fall and rot on the ground. Green tomatoes have some fantastic uses – their firm texture and tart flavour soften when they’re cooked, so they make great additions to stews and casseroles and can be used to make chutney, relish, salsa and jam. I use them to make Green Tomato Antipasto Pickles – they keep for months, so I always have something in the fridge I can whip out and pop on a platter when guests (expected or unexpected) arrive.

Last year's leeks were a bumper crop

Getting ready for a winter vegetable garden means you need to work a long way ahead. Winter crops like brassicas, leeks, carrots and fennel need to be well established if you want harvests through the winter. I was a bit slow with leeks this year and missed my run. Instead of planting leek seeds in the spring I didn’t get any plants into the ground until February, and as a result I am only going to have baby leeks this winter – they just take forever to mature.

Celeriac is a slow-cropper too; it needs to be started off in the spring to get a crop for winter. It’s a really useful winter root – a celeriac’s scruffy looks belie a tempting sweetness and celery flavour. I love the classic French celeriac remoulade as a winter starter: simply grate peeled celeriac coarsely and mix it with a mustardy, lemony home-made mayonnaise to bind. Celeriac is also really good in a mash with potato – I tend to use 50-50 celeriac and potato. It has a slight piquant acidity, which goes well with fish and rich dishes like pork.

In putting a little bit of time and effort into keeping my garden going as the weather continues to cool, I find that the good outweighs the bad – pests such as slugs and snails are less of a threat as they start to hibernate and, though it’s tempting to hibernate a little ourselves over the winter, maintaining a garden is a good excuse to stay active.

Maple Roasted Vegetables

Thai Pumpkin Soup

But what I love most is the way the garden delivers harvests tailored to our eating habits right on cue. To coincide with the cooler climate, my meals have taken a heartier turn, with soups, slow braises, hearty pies and curries now on the menu – check out my recipes for Thai Pumpkin Soup, Braised Lamb Shanks and Leek and Mushroom Chicken Pot Pie. And of course, who can look past a good roast? My Perfect Roast Beef or Easy Roast Chicken, with a few roasted vegetables, make for great lazy Sunday (or any day) meals. In this delayed gratification there is a great deal of pleasure.

Cooks who choose a new recipe every time they go to the kitchen always have to concentrate and slavishly follow the recipe – not ideal if you’ve had a hard day at work, have somewhere you need to be, or have a tight budget.

On the other hand, cooks who stick to a handful of recipes that they love and know how to make well tend to get stuck in a routine that is, well… a bit boring. I once had a flatmate who cooked the same lamb chop dish once a week for an entire year – it was lovely the first time, but lost its appeal quite quickly when I was presented with it every Tuesday.

That said, the good thing about cooking a recipe a few times is that you begin to build your cooking skills and to develop a creative style. You begin to master the recipe, to know what to do without consulting the book. You begin to make your own tweaks and changes, eventually making it your own. There is something great about this – it’s really pleasing to sit down at the table to enjoy dishes that we know and love. We collect and store our favourite flavours and create hallowed food memories.

That’s why I think there’s a happy medium between constantly changing recipes and repeating them endlessly. One way to achieve this medium is to put together a repertoire of dishes for each season – a bit like a seasonal restaurant menu for your own home table. This way, you get to work with what you know, while having the chance to experiment and branch out.

© Manja Wachsmuth

At the beginning of each season, set aside a little time to pore over your favourite websites and recipe books (this is also a convenient time to actually see what is in your cookbooks. Let’s face it – how many recipes do you really use from that vast collection?) and put together a selection of dishes that you like the sound of, and that make the most of what is in season for the next three months or so. I’d recommend choosing two or three desserts, a couple of baked items, some new ways of using vegetables and perhaps four or five star main course dishes. You might decide to recreate the recipes of a single chef, to pursue a single style of ethnic cuisine, or try every possible way with asparagus or broccoli or Jerusalem artichokes.

Couscous with Roasted Vegetables

In autumn the deluge of harvests will offer richer, fuller tastes that coincide with the weather cooling, while in winter your list may be a heartier mix of soups and slow-cooked meals, maybe some interesting salads, and winter puddings. For your autumn/winter repertoire you might consider:

• Lamb Medallions with White Bean Purée
• Balsamic Chicken Breasts with Crispy Mint & Pine Nuts
• Lemon Fish Pie
• Braised Oxtails with Red Chilli Beans
• Couscous with Roasted Vegetables
• Crisp Cauliflower and Cashew Salad
• Wilted Bitter Greens
• Chickpea Minestrone
• Baked Apples with Crème Anglaise
• Rhubarb and Yoghurt Crumble Cake

Thai Style Beef Salad

In the spring, you could hunt out recipes that take advantage of fresh new-season tastes such as asparagus, snow peas, strawberries and late citrus, and summer menus will probably feature more barbecues and salads. Your spring/summer repertoire could feature:

• Asparagus, Avocado and Almonds with Sesame Citrus Dressing
• Asian Pesto
• Prawn Salad Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce
• Lemon Grass and Chilli Baked Chicken
• Thai Style Beef Salad
• Barbecued Venison Medallions with Mango Snow Pea Salad
• Fish Curry
• Berry Souffles
• Barbecue Spiced Fruit Pouches
• Scarlet Strawberry Jellies

Once you’ve mastered each recipe from your seasonal repertoire, take the opportunity to mix it up, to shake it round and to leave your comfort zone. Who knows – you might even create a new family favourite that you, your children and your grandchildren will still be cooking for years to come…

My windowsill garden

There’s nothing quite like fresh produce straight from the garden. It was a big part of my childhood – my father Fred would come home from work each night and tend to his vegetable garden, offerings from which arrived washed and trimmed at the kitchen door, ready for my mother to cast her magic over them. It’s also a big part of the way my family lives today – I believe that home-grown, home-cooked food connects us in some small way to nature, which is why I place so much emphasis on it in my cooking and why I find it so satisfying to head out into the garden at the end of the day and choose something for the evening meal.

While not everyone has the luxury of space for a full vegetable garden, you’ll be surprised at what you can grow with limited room. Most herbs, for example, will grow in a sunny corner or window box, while a tomato plant or two or a few lettuces or strawberries will fit happily in a container box by your back door.

Instant gratification

My current obsession is growing microgreens. These are salad greens or herbs that are harvested when they’re only 2-3cm high. You can grow individual varieties or you can mix up the seeds when you sow them, which will give you fantastic mix-and-match microgreens with great colour, flavour and texture.

Microgreens take only a couple of weeks to grow in warm weather, so they’re perfect if you’re the kind of gardener who enjoys instant – or near-instant – gratification. Most seeds won’t germinate when the temperature drops below 15ºC, but that doesn’t mean you can’t grow them all year around – they take up very little space so you can easily grow them in pots on the kitchen windowsill. You can also put a clear glass or plastic cover over the top, which will act as a mini glasshouse and help them germinate.

Fresh greens at your fingertips

To get them started, sprinkle organic seeds generously onto fine potting mix or seed-raising mix in a window box, seed tray or pot (one packet of seeds will cover an area of about 20 x 30cm). Cover with a thin layer of seed-raising mix and water gently each day.

In 3-6 days you’ll be rewarded with a tiny forest of green seedlings. Snip the leaves off with a pair of scissors when they’re 2-3cm tall, or wait another week or two and cut them when they reach 6-15cm. As long as you leave about 5mm they’ll grow back again and you can get a succession of three or four harvests.

Melon Platter with Mint and Prosciutto

Fresh Herb Omelette

Sow a new potful of microgreens every week or so and you’ll have a continuous supply. You’ll find that you prefer some flavours more than others, so experiment with seed combinations until you find that perfect balance – then all you need to do is pop the microgreens in a salad or sandwich or use them as a garnish on grilled meats. I’ve got some great recipes on my website, including a Fresh Herb Omelette, Melon Platter with Mint and Proscuitto and Cold-Smoked Salmon Sandwiches with Microgreens. Microgreens offer such a great reward for such little work – my kind of gardening!

Friends and food – the perfect combination!

My philosophy has always been that leading a good life is about friendships, community and time around the table. That’s why I love this time of year. After the busy-ness of Christmas this is a great time to relax, re-energise and reflect – and get all my friends over for a meal. Friendships are such an important part of life – I don’t know where I’d be without my dear friends.

The key to stress-free entertaining is to choose a menu that will allow you to do most of the preparation in advance, leaving plenty of time to have fun with your friends. Don’t choose any recipes that are too demanding – keep it simple! If you need to, make lists so you know what needs to be done.

Simple recipes make entertaining easy

There are a couple of key things I do when I’m entertaining friends. Catering for different tastes can be tricky so I like to find out beforehand whether my guests have any allergies or things that they can’t – or won’t – eat. Because I like to use fresh, seasonal ingredients, I always make plenty of time for shopping so I can get my hands on whatever is in peak quality and condition. Laying the table with fresh flowers, candles and napkins sets the scene for people to relax and enjoy each other’s company.

Recently I organised a get together for a bunch of girlfriends – you might have read about it in the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly. We had a delicious meal of Crab Shooters, White Bean and Rocket Bruschetta, Duck and Mango Salad and Strawberry Custard Tarts from my new book Annabel Langbein Free Range in the City. I prepared it all in advance and assembled it at the last minute – it was so easy and made for a wonderful way to while away an afternoon.

I chose wine to suit each individual course. There can be a lot of snobbery and jargon about matching wines and food, but I’m a great believer in finding taste combinations you enjoy rather than playing by a lot of old rules. I just choose combinations that I like and that suit each other in terms of flavour and texture, so the wine enhances the meal. So a light salad meal, for example, should be matched with a ‘light’ wine like a pinot gris or a riesling. Here are the wines I chose to match the menu at my girlie lunch:

Strawberry Custard Tarts with Everwild Reserve Sparkling Cuvée Riche NV

White Bean and Rocket Bruschetta with Seppelt Salinger Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2006

• White Bean and Rocket Bruschetta with Seppelt Salinger Pinot Noir Chardonnay Vintage Release 2006
• Crab Shooters with 900 Grapes Chardonnay Marlborough 2011
• Duck and Mango Salad with 900 Grapes Pinot Noir Marlborough 2010
• Strawberry Custard Tarts with Everwild Reserve Sparkling Cuvée Riche NV

Remember, whites are always nicer chilled – but not so icy cold that you can’t taste the flavours. Make sure you also have plenty of chilled water for the table as well – you want to be a responsible host!

At the end of the day, people always love it when you cook for them, no matter what you make. It’s about getting everyone together and having some fun. Keep it simple and enjoy yourself – if you’re relaxed your guests will be too!

Grow It!

NZ Garden Dictionary

Out on the river flat, we three constructed a huge vegetable garden – about half a hectare – of all-organic produce, which fed not just ourselves, but much of the local community around us. I still have some of my library of books from that era of my life: Grow It! The Beginner’s Complete In-Harmony-With-Nature Small Farm Guide, my dad’s New Zealand Garden Dictionary and a little hardcover book on companion plants. These books remain a regular reference for my gardening all these years down the track.

Beans and potatoes like each other's company

Happy bedfellows - celery and carrots

I love the way that nature has its own rules about which plants like being next to each other and which don’t. Some plant combinations seem obvious because the two harvests make such happy companions on the plate – tomatoes and basil, beans and corn, beans and potatoes, and leeks, carrots and celery. But then you find that beans don’t like being next to tomatoes. In fact, neither do most members of the cabbage family. Tomatoes hate fennel, but like asparagus (I love asparagus and fennel, so go figure), while potatoes are stunted by sunflowers, pumpkins and cucumbers. Peas don’t respond to onions and garlic; beetroot doesn’t like beans.

The list of likes and dislikes is actually quite vast. Companion planting charts abound on the web, which makes it easy to ensure your plantings will thrive and not sulk.  One I refer to a lot is Kings Plant Barn’s Companion Planting Chart. I often use Stumble Upon to find new, interesting garden sites. One of the recent finds I have enjoyed is Cove Rock Farm’s Herbal Planting Companion.

One of my favourite books

My little book, Companion Plants, was first published in 1966 as an A–Z of all things companionable. It is full of fascinating information about companion planting. Some of it I am not quite convinced about – apparently surrounding a vegetable garden with a wall of onions will protect it from rabbits. I have to say that given the rapacious appetites and incredibly prolific breeding habits of the rabbits down in Central Otago, I’m not game enough to put that theory to the test. Ted’s shotgun seems a much more reliable control (the results of which also find their way, very tastily, to the dinner table).

Tomatoes and basil - partners in the garden and on the plate

This year I am, however, going to try out one of Companion Plants’ recommendations for the stinging nettle that grows rampantly through my vege garden. I’m not keen on nettles growing anywhere I might sting myself inadvertently, but they are recommended to promote vitality in any plant they grow next to, especially tomatoes. However, these benefits can be conferred by a fermented extract instead. This is also recommended as deterrent for the black flies that are shortly going to cause real grief to my broad beans.

This fermented extract is as simple as picking nettles (gloves needed) and putting them in a container, then covering with water and leaving them to ferment outside for three weeks. Once three weeks has passed, the nettles will have fully broken down and your extract is ready to be sprayed onto plants – some for the tomatoes and some for the broad beans. What a useful weed!

One of the most useful areas of companion planting is the way  some plants work to keep certain insects at bay. In Borneo, I was amazed to see huge hedges of lemongrass planted all around the longhouses – lemongrass is the source of citronella, a major mosquito repellent.

You will find in companion planting that either marigolds or nasturtiums will deter aphids. Onions will keep carrot fly at bay. The cabbage butterfly doesn’t like rosemary, sage, mint or thyme, and cut-leaf worms don’t like oak-leaf mulch. Alyssum attracts the hoover flies that eat aphids, and leaving big piles of leaf-mould untouched in parts of your garden attract ladybugs – surely one of the most useful garden insects.

For lots more gardening tips and advice, see my website. Happy planting!

Just out of the oven

For years I’ve been disappointed by my turkey-cooking efforts because the bird has inevitably been dry and rather stringy. But then I discovered the magical, transforming effect of brining.

Brining takes me back to my school chemistry classes where we were drilled in osmosis. My daughter Rose can still quote from her Year 9 science classes: “osmosis is the process by which water is transported from a low concentration to a high concentration by a semi-permeable membrane”. Brining a turkey is osmosis in action, because the brine (low concentration) moves into the cells of the turkey (high concentration), making it juicy and moist. (Just a quick cooking-science lesson for you!)

Because of this, the turkey absorbs all the good parts of the brine – the salty-sweet flavour of the herbs and spices the brine is made with. Brining is my not-so-secret secret to cooking tender, moist meat without fail. Trust me, it makes a huge difference! I do it all the time now, with chicken, pork and duck as well as turkey. (When I brine duck, I replace the honey in the brine with marmalade and the herbs with a few whole star anise and some ginger root.)

Of course, at this time of year there’s never any room in the fridge. I get around this by brining my turkey in a large plastic bag left inside a chilly bin with ice all around it. If you are brining something small, like a chicken breast or a pork chop, you only need to brine it for an hour or so. With a turkey, I like to brine it overnight.

Our early Christmas lunch

More please!

Yesterday we tested this recipe using a free-range turkey from Croziers, then sat down to enjoy it as an early Christmas feast with the team. Served with new potatoes, fresh asparagus and broad beans and carrots from the garden, stuffing and a pan gravy, it was simply sublime.

Here are some of my top tips for cooking turkey:

• The Brine recipe below makes enough to cover a size 4 turkey. Increase the quantities for a larger turkey – you need enough to fully submerge the bird.
• Stuff the turkey just before cooking – stuffing it ahead of time allows bacteria to breed.
• Spread a sliced onion around the bottom of a roasting dish and put the turkey on top – it forms the most amazing pan brownings.
• Adding pear cider to the roasting dish infuses the meat with a lovely sweet flavour and helps keep it moist.
• Pop the turkey giblets and liver in to roast as well. Once the turkey is cooked let them simmer with the juices from your vegetables or some chicken stock to make a nice gravy, then remove and discard.

Tender, Juicy Brined Turkey

Prep time   30 mins + standing
Cook time  2 hrs 45 mins
Serves 10

2 red or white onions, peeled and thickly sliced
size 4 turkey (4.5-5kg)
50g butter, softened
sprigs of tarragon or thyme
1 litre pear cider (I used Old Mout Pear Scrumpy Cider)
8-10 dried pear halves (optional)

Brine
1½ cups salt
¾ cup honey
9 springs rosemary
zest and juice of 3 lemons
18 bay leaves
3 tbsp black peppercorns
a large bunch thyme
9 cloves garlic, crushed
1.5 litres boiling water
4.5 litres cold water

Stuffing
2 onions
3 rashers bacon or pancetta, diced
50g butter
½ cup chopped dried pears
½ cup shelled pistachios or almonds
3 tbsp chopped thyme
3 tbsp chopped parsley
2 sage leaves, finely sliced
3 cups fresh soft breadcrumbs (chunky)
salt and pepper, to taste
3 eggs

Gravy
3 cups chicken stock (or use vegetable cooking water)
¼ cup cornflour
¼ cup cold water
salt and fine white pepper, to taste

Defrost turkey slowly in a chilly bin or the fridge for 24-48 hours. Tip out the juices and rinse well inside and out.

To make the Brine, place all ingredients except cold water in a large bowl and stir to dissolve. Mix in cold water.

Place turkey in a large clean plastic bag or busket. Pour in the brine, tie the top of the bag and place in the fridge or in a chilly bin surrounded by ice. Stand 12 hours or up to 24 hours. The following morning, take the turkey out of the brine and pat dry inside and out.

To make Stuffing, gently cook onions and bacon or pancetta in butter until softened (about 6-7 minutes). Remove from heat and add remaining stuffing ingredients except eggs. Mix to combine. Add eggs and stir through evenly. Stuff inside turkey cavity and truss turkey with string if desired.

Stuffing the turkey

Place sliced onions in a large roasting dish and place stuffed turkey on top. Rub softened butter over the top of the turkey. Scatter sprigs of tarragon or thyme into the baking tray with the dried pears, if using. Roast at 180C for 45 minutes. Pour cider into dish, reduce heat to 160C and cook for a further 2 hours or until juices run clear when turkey is speared in the thickest part of the thigh.

Voila!

Remove from oven, lift turkey out of roasting dish and turn upside down onto its breast in a shallow serving dish (this allows the juices to flow back into the breast meat). Cover with tin foil and a couple of clean teatowels and leave to rest while you make the gravy.

To make Gravy, discard onions and herbs and put pears with turkey ready to serve. Bring liquids in roasting pan to a simmer on the stovetop and add chicken stock or vegetable cooking water. Mix together cornflour and cold water and stir into simmering gravy to thicken. Season with lots of fine white pepper and salt to taste.

My garden overlooking the lake

In the summer when I am down in Wanaka, I love getting up with the sun and wandering around my garden. There’s something incredibly still and soft about the land at this time of day­ – a hint of dew on the ground, everything looking so fresh and new.

Early morning in the garden

I get out my hose and do a bit of watering in the vege garden. I get to see what’s doing well and what needs a bit of attention and TLC before the day launches into its busy schedule. This year, the cucumbers have not taken kindly to being moved from the balmy confines of the hothouse to a few cold nights in the outdoors. It’s been such a late, cold spring here this year that the cherries, raspberries and apricots are running about a month behind – normally I can be picking juicy red cherries well before Christmas, but this year they won’t be ready for another few weeks.

Early summer abundance

The garlic and chives, on the other hand, are fattening up nicely. We have planted three kinds of garlic ­– a pink French garlic, a curly-top garlic and some elephant garlic. It will be interesting to taste the difference between them. In Turkey earlier this year, I enjoyed a fresh garlic sauce made simply by puréeing peeled cloves of new seasons’ garlic with olive oil and some salt and pepper. The result is like a creamy mayonnaise in texture and a soft, sweet garlic taste – not too strong or biting. It’s wonderful with lamb and potatoes. For more tips on growing and cooking garlic and other alliums, see my website.

Coriander for the picking

The coriander is already wanting to bolt so I am going to cut it right back today and whizz up an Asian pesto. I always blanch the coriander by pouring boiling water over it in a sieve and rinsing it in cold water before puréeing it up with some garlic, ginger, lime zest, chillies and oil. Finally, I add a bit of salt and pepper and sometimes some peanuts or cashews. The pesto goes really well with any kind of noodle or Asian salad. For other ideas for growing and using herbs, see the gardening pages of my website.

Artichokes ready for harvest

Preserved Artichokes in Olive Oil

My big harvest of the week is going to be artichokes. I am going to cut them all right back so that, hopefully, they will come back with another good crop in the autumn. This year, I plan to preserve them in olive oil. The best way, I find, is to cook them slowly, covered in olive oil with a few cloves of garlic, some bay leaves and lemon. Once cooked and cooled, they keep happily in the fridge for months. My other favourite recipes for artichokes include Sicilian Artichokes, Potatoes and Olives or as part of a Mediterranean Summer Grill Plate.

Potatoes fresh from the earth

A cauliflower emerges

The first new potatoes (self-seeded from last year) are flowering and ready to pick. Gently boiled with a little salt and mint, and then tossed in the pot with new seasons’ garlic and butter, they can’t be beaten. I’m also hugely proud of my flawless cauliflowers. I’ll be using them in my Crisp Cauliflower & Cashew Salad.

It’s hard to feel anything but lucky when nature dishes up such wonderful harvests for us to enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2-TZRDWiEw

I’ve created this campaign to bring you recipe videos that demonstrate exactly how easy it is to put together fresh, delicious meals using some of my favourite products. Over the past few weeks I’ve worked with carefully selected partner Silver Fern Farms to shoot a series of videos especially designed for those “oh no” moments when you need to pull something spectacular out of your hat in less than an hour.

Say you get home from work late and you’ve got people coming over, or you’ve invited a friend around for an impromptu meal, or maybe you just feel like cooking something special for the family – it’s times like these that I pick up a great piece of meat at the supermarket or butcher on the way home, prepare it simply and serve it with lots of fresh seasonal vegetables. In spring or summer I might barbecue it and then toss it in a salad, whereas on colder days I’ll pop a quick roast in the oven and serve it with my favourite winter veges.

It really helps when the meat is already trimmed and cut to a size that suits four people, like Silver Fern Farms meat is, so there’s no messy mucking around – I can just pop it straight in the pan. I usually go for cuts like loin fillets, rumps or a boneless leg roast, all of which take only minutes to cook. I’ll quite often keep a pack in the back of the fridge “just in case” – because it’s vacuum packed it’ll keep fresh for up to three weeks.

Warm Greek Lamb Salad

I love the sweetness of 100% New Zealand lamb, so if you’re looking for an interesting way to kick-start the barbecue season, try my Warm Greek Lamb Salad. The summery Mediterranean flavours of red peppers, tomatoes, feta and a quick pesto dressing are the ideal foil for thinly-sliced barbecued lamb rumps in this simple salad that will take less than half an hour from go to whoa.

Barbecued Venison Medallions with Mango Snow Pea Salad

If you really want to make a wow impression for a special occasion – or no particular occasion at all – it’s nice to serve venison for a change. In my video for Barbecued Venison Medallions with Mango Snow Pea Salad you’ll see just how easy it is to cook venison to perfection. Barbecue venison medallions just like you would steaks, searing them for about three minutes each side over a medium-hot heat. The only thing you need to remember is not to overcook them – because venison is such a lean meat it’s best served medium rare or rare so it’s still lovely and juicy. I love this recipe because the Asian flavours of ginger, sesame and soy in the dressing perfectly balance the intensity of the venison, the sweetness of the mango and the crunch of the snow peas.

Roasted Lamb with Caper Aioli

One of my favourite meals to make in colder weather is a quick roast like my Lamb Roast with Caper Aioli. Yes – roasts aren’t just for Sundays, and they don’t have to take all afternoon to cook. I’ll quite often cook a boneless roast on a weeknight – the great thing is that you can pop it in the oven with a few vegetables then wander off and relax with a glass of wine while the oven does all the work. And everyone loves roasts – even the kids! This modern take on the traditional Kiwi roast lamb comes with honey-roasted vegetables and a cheat’s caper aioli that I make in a minute by stirring garlic, capers and lemon into good-quality commercial mayonnaise.

Pistachio-Crusted Lamb with Beetroot Confit

But the dish that had the film crew in the loudest raptures when we were shooting these videos was my Pistachio-Crusted Lamb Loin Fillets with Beetroot Confit. Beetroot is such an under-rated vegetable, but the touch of five-spice powder in this quick grated beetroot side dish brings it alive and marries beautifully with the nutty pistachio crust and the sweetness of the lamb. Give it a whirl at your next dinner party – you won’t be disappointed.

Win a prize pack worth $500

Obviously you can watch these videos and enjoy these recipes wherever you live in the world – there’s something for every season! But if you live in New Zealand you can also win great prizes by visiting the Fresh Everyday pages of my website. Click here to win a $500 prize pack including a Scanpan Frypan, a Silver Fern Farms apron and Silver Fern Farms lamb and venison. Or click here to win a copy of my new book Annabel Langbein Free Range in the City, which has just been published in Australia and New Zealand, just by answering a simple question about one of my Fresh Everyday videos. We’ll be posting new questions between now and 23 November, so keep checking back for more chances to win. Happy cooking!

The French edition of The Free Range Cook

My book on show at the ambassador's residence

Paris has been basking in the most glorious Indian summer – clear blue skies, hot without being too hot and not a breath of wind. It could not have been more perfect for the launch of my cookbook Annabel au Naturel (the French version of The Free Range Cook) at the New Zealand Ambassador’s wonderful residence.

With Isabelle Jeuge-Maynart and ambassador Rosemary Banks

Chatting with the team from Larousse

Taking a cookbook to the home of cuisine, France, is for me the ultimate achievement, and I feel very lucky to be working with esteemed publishers Larousse. I’ll never forget the day, some five years ago, when Larousse’s president/director general Isabelle Jeuge-Maynart and her colleague Ghislaine Stora sought out my little stand at the London Book Fair. It was the start of a wonderful relationship and I was very grateful for Isabelle’s kind words as she introduced my new book at the launch.

Speaking from the heart - in French!

With Damiano Malchiodi from Cuisine TV

The New Zealand Ambassador in France, Rosemary Banks, also gave a speech to welcome everyone to the event, after which I braved up to give my speech in French. This was quite challenge – especially in front of more than 100 journalists, booksellers and friends! But somehow doing this really seemed to engage the guests and before I knew it I was conducting all my interviews in French. Oh la la – they understood me!

My dear friend Daniele Dulpeuch with cookbook author Fouzia Rachdi

John Wallace with Anna-Alix Koffi

Following the speeches, everyone had an opportunity to nibble on a selection of dishes from the book and enjoy a glass or two of New Zealand wine. For many of the French guests, it was the first time they had tasted a New World wine and they were more than impressed by the quality.

Thanks to NZ Trade & Enterprise's Augusta Severino (left) and Nicolas Pessus, and my media team Anna-Alix Koffi and Kassy Hayden (right)

The back-to-nature messages of my TV series and book seem to have hit a chord here in France. Here, as I think is happening everywhere in the western world, people are craving a simpler, less cluttered existence. As I said in my speech: “Leonardo da Vinci put it best when he said, ‘Simplicity is the ultimate refinement’.”

The Taste of New Zealand front row

One of the things I enjoy most about eating out is the chance to sample really creative food made by other cooks and chefs. I love it when someone puts together an idea that works that I had never imagined or tasted before. The quest for innovation in cooking drives most chefs, and that’s what makes foodie events like the upcoming Taste of New Zealand festival so interesting. Here, in a single venue at Auckland’s Victoria Park, you get the chance to taste dishes from some of the top restaurants in Auckland and from further afield – without having to fork out a main-course price tag.

Taking Taste to the streets of Auckland

That’s why I’m really excited to be the ‘face’ of this year’s Taste of New Zealand festival, and join with thousands of foodies and our most talented chefs and produce suppliers in this celebration of our country’s best food and beverages. It’s my first experience of being on the inside of such an event and while I’m still getting used to the idea of seeing my face on the back of buses around town, so far it’s shaping up to be a blast.

I'm launching my new book at Taste of NZ

For me, the highlight will be launching my new book, Free Range in the City (New Zealanders can click here to download some free sample recipes), at the VIP opening night of Taste of New Zealand on Wednesday 19 October. I’m also really looking forward to being a guest at the Ladies Who Lunch event on Thursday 20 October, and I’ll be doing a live cooking demonstration in the Fisher & Paykel Chefs Kitchen at 12.30pm on Friday 21 October. I’ll be at the Waiwera Chefs Table from 3pm-3.45pm that Friday afternoon, and from 2pm-2.45pm on Saturday 22 October, and around these times I’ll be at the Fisher & Paykel Ironside stand doing book signings.

Grilla marketing

Food is a brilliant conduit for drawing people together to enjoy each other’s company. I’m guessing Taste of New Zealand is going to be like one great big foodie party. There’s even a fun Urban Grilla competition where you can send in a photo of yourself dining streetside and win a $3500 Taste package.

The Cloud

And if  you can’t wait until October to experience the real Taste of New Zealand at Victoria Park, you can get a sneak preview right now at Taste at the Cloud. Open from 10am until 6pm every day between now and 23 October, this mini-festival offers a snapshot of New Zealand’s best food and wine in the rather cool Cloud down on Queens Wharf on the Auckland waterfront. It’s great to show the world there’s more to New Zealand than rugby!