Food for Thought

We here at Oxenberry Farm are very much believers that good food helps the right wines taste even better, and vice versa. We feel a table of good food, great wines and excellent company enriches our lives, and to spread the good word we have put together some recipes to match each Oxenberry wine that we hope you will try out at home with friends and family. The recipes listed here have been created by Shannon Hall; an accomplished Adelaide- based chef whom has been good friends with Oxenberry Farm Manager Jarrod Scott for some twenty years or so, and they share a passion of enjoying good food and wine and having fun in the process of combining the two together.

Shannon began cooking at the famed Caon’s restaurant (formally on Leigh Street in Adelaide) before moving to the national award winning 'Bridgewater Mill' whilst completing his apprenticeship at Regency TAFE. Shannon spent nearly four years working under some of Adelaide's best chefs (Libby Tinsley, Le Tu Thai) before moving to London to work at Terrance Conran's 'Aurora' at The Great Eastern Hotel.

Upon returning to Australia, Shannon worked as Sous Chef at Stephanie Alexander's 'Richmond Hill Cafe and Larder' (in Melbourne) for three and a half years. While working at RHCL Shannon became involved with the 'Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation' where twenty-seven Victorian primary schools are currently delivering the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program to their students. Shannon then pursued his passion for organic produce at 'The Green Grocer' (Nth Fitzroy) where he worked for three years using organic ingredients for the 60 seat cafe menu and an extensive range of pantry items, take home meals and cooking classes. Moving back to Adelaide in 2007, Shannon returned to Regency TAFE and joined the commercial cookery team, and is now thoroughly enjoying being a lecturer in the on-site a la carte restaurant 'Graduates’.

Shannon has developed these recipes to match with each of the Oxenberry wines after tasting the Oxenberry range (repeatedly we must add...), and has deliberately tried to keep the dishes and ingredients required relatively simple. Some certainly involve a little more preparation than others, and you might need to search a little further than your kitchen pantry to find some of the ingredients, but the end result should be well worth the effort we think.



The Sermon Tree Adelaide Hills Pinot Grigio &
Oysters with rye, lemon and dill




Created with premium fruit sourced from the Adelaide Hills region, The Sermon Tree entices with vibrant and fresh aromas and flavours of pears, green apples and grapefruit, leading to chalky mineral notes on the palate, finishing with cleansing acidity. A well structured crisp wine that cries out to be had with fresh, simple seafood dishes.

Ingredients (for 1 dozen oysters)

1 doz oysters unshucked
if you can shuck fresh oysters (or get someone to do it) you will never buy open oysters again!
4 thin slices good quality fresh rye bread
1 lemon segmented
12 sprigs of fresh dill
Good quality unsalted butter


Shuck and remove oysters from shell. Remove the tough connecting section, and keep the oysters in their own juice until ready to serve). Cut squares (canapé size – approx 5cm across) from rye bread and spread with butter. Place oyster followed by the lemon segment and the dill.



Jack Of All Trades Tempranillo Chardonnay &
Watermelon, feta, green olive and basil salad




The Jack Of All Trades is somewhere between a Rosé and a dry red, and shows lifted floral and cherry aromas and mouth-watering flavours of raspberries, cherries and Turkish delight. Fine chalky tannins add to the mix and give structure to the wine, helping to create a unique style that is well suited to a wide variety of foods. Try it lightly chilled, especially on warmer days but hold back on drinking it too cold as you will lose some of the delicious flavours. Take it out of the fridge a little while before you intend on drinking it, and leave it out of the fridge if you know you are going to finish off the bottle in one sitting (which is easy enough to do....).

Ingredients – adjust volumes to suit

Watermelon, cubed
Good quality feta
Green olives
Fresh Basil
Salt & pepper
Fresh, excellent quality extra virgin olive oil


Cut the watermelon into 3-4cm cubes, add some of the feta lightly crumbled, cut the olives into halves and add torn fresh basil leaves into a bowl. Add a splash of the fresh extra virgin olive oil and a little salt and pepper to season. Mix gently and allow to marinate for 3 minutes, then divide, and serve whilst freshly combined.



The Bullocks McLaren Vale Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon &
Beef fillet with mushroom, tomato and basil fricassee




The Bullocks is a classic McLaren Vale interpretation of the quintessential red blend of Australia. The pairing of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon has blend made some of the greatest wines Australia has produced, but also a good proportion of the value priced reds that have given Australian reds such a strong name internationally.

With The Bullocks, the Shiraz has given spicy blackberries, raspberries and plums, filling out the generous palate. The Cabernet offers lifted dark berry fruits to the nose and palate with a minty chocolate edge, adding elegant tannins as a perfect foil to the fullness of the Shiraz, giving structure and balance to the wine. A great wine to drink young, but it will continue to improve for a number of years to come.

Ingredients – serves 4

4 portions beef fillet (approx 160g per person)
400g medium field/flat mushrooms stalked removed and cut into halves
2 cloves of garlic finely sliced
100ml ‘The Bullocks’
500ml Napoli sauce or 1 tin of peeled, chopped tomatoes
½ bunch basil leaves
Salt/pepper
50g butter (optional)


Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Season the beef fillet very well with salt and pepper on the top, bottom and sides. In a large heavy based frypan over high heat, seal the beef in a little oil getting a nice browning on all sides. Place frypan in the oven and cook the beef for approx 2 minutes. Turn beef over and cook for another 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and rest beef on a plate covered loosely with foil. Put garlic and mushrooms in the frypan (there should be enough oil in the pan from the beef) and lightly fry over a medium heat with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. As the garlic starts to turn golden brown turn the heat up and add the red wine. Allow it to bubble and boil for a minute then add the Napoli sauce, and at this point put the beef back in the oven.Now turn the heat down and simmer until the sauce is pulpy and thick. Tear the basil and add to the frypan with the butter. Shimmy the pan around until the butter has been incorporated and check for seasoning. Place beef on plates and spoon sauce over the top making sure everyone has plenty of mushrooms. Serve with fresh bread with lashings of good butter.



Blackfellows Well Shiraz Grenache &
Slow roasted lamb shoulder with Ras el hanout, tabouleh and baba ganoush




A classic interpretation of a blend of grapes so ideally suited to the McLaren Vale region, the Blackfellows Well combined two of the region’s traditionally best performing varieties to create a well-balanced wine that really sums up what the Vale does well. The Shiraz gives the wine earthy blackberries, plums and pepper spice, filling out the palate; the Grenache offers liqueur cherries and raspberries and a certain savouriness, and also contributes more of the peppery notes. Best when poured into a large red wine glass and left to sit for a while, it is a wine that is drinking well in its youth, but will certainly will further reward those who can cellar the wine for 5-10 years or so.

Ingredients - serves 4-5

1.5 kg piece of lamb shoulder bone in
3 tbs Ras el hanout (or any Middle Eastern spice blend)
50 ml vegetable oil

For the tabouleh
2 bunches of fresh parsley (1 1/2 cup chopped, with stems discarded)
2 tablespoons of fresh mint, chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
6 medium tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup burghul (cracked wheat)
6 tablespoons lemon juice
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

For the babe ganoush
2 large eggplants
½ cup tahini
Sea salt to taste
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 lemon juiced
100 ml extra virgin olive oil


Preheat oven to 140 degrees C. Mix the Ras el hanout and the oil together and massage into the lamb, then place on an oven tray with a wire rack underneath. Roast for approx 2 hours (the lamb will become dark brown and is ready when bone pulls out easily). Soak burghul for 1 1/2 to 2 hours in cold water until soft. Squeeze out excess water from burghul using hands or paper towel. Combine all the ingredients and mix well.For the baba ganoush, grill the eggplants whole on a BBQ or grill until they are black and the skin is blistered. Remove the skin and press the excess juices out to remove the bitterness. In a food processor or bamix, blend the eggplants, tahini, salt, garlic and lemon juice. Slowly add the olive oil as you continue blending.Cut lamb into chunks or thick slices. Spread baba ganoush out on a platter and place lamb on top. Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley. Serve tabouleh in a bowl on the side.



The Star of Greece Shiraz &
Seared venison or kangaroo loin with polenta and dried cranberries




The Star of Greece Shiraz has been carefully created from four separate low yielding vineyards in the McLaren Vale region, with the majority of fruit being sourced from two vineyards located on the coastal edge of McLaren Vale (near the wreck of the Star of Greece at Port Willunga), and two very mature vineyards in McLaren Flat at the opposite end of the region. The combination of the four vineyard’s soils and exposure to the elements have given this wine aromas of blackcurrants, liquorice and spice, along with a well structured palate showing peppery blackberries, dark cherries and charry oak with firm, chewy tannins to last a decade or two in a good cellar.


Ingredients - enough for 4 serves

4 portions of venison loin or kangaroo fillet
1 1/2 litres water
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups polenta
4 tsp dried cranberries (soaked in Star of Greece Shiraz for 1 hour) raisins would be a good substitute if unable to get cranberries
150ml beef stock


Start by removing the meat from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. Pre heat an oven to 200 degrees C. In a heavy-based saucepan, place the water and salt over a high heat. Bring the water to a boil. Pour the polenta in slowly, whilst stirring with a whisk to smooth out any lumps. Reduce the heat and simmer the polenta for 20-30 minutes, stirring frequently. It is done when a spoon will stand up in the middle of the pot. While the polenta is cooking, season the meat well with salt and pepper. Place a knob of butter and a splash of oil into a preheated frypan and seal well on one side (5 mins), then turn the meat over and seal for a further 5 mins. Turn meat over again and place frypan in the oven for 3-4 mins (longer for medium- to-well done, but not recommended). Remove meat from frypan and allow to rest approx 5 mins on a plate covered with foil. Take the frypan (carefully as the handle will be hot) and all the juice gathered on the plate and place over high heat. Add beef stock and a splash of star of Greece and reduce slightly. Strain and return to the pan and add the cranberries. Divide polenta among plates, slice the venison/kangaroo and place on top of the polenta. Pour the sauce over top making sure everyone gets some cranberries, and serve with some good crusty bread.