OFF SEASON: From Fire to Feast: Winter Eats And Drinks

by Stephanie Williams

Warm up from the inside out with food and drink this Off Season, where star produce shines in incredible settings across the island. It’s not just food – it’s a journey into the heart and soul of Tasmania’s vibrant culinary scene.

Straight outta Italy
You could spend big bucks and travel to Italy for the food…or you could stay right here and learn to cook incredible Italian food with The Farmhouse Kitchen (thefarmhousekitchen-tas.com) at Wattle Grove. This special cooking class, called Piatti Invernali (winter dishes), has a focus on traditional Italian winter foods like minestrone, risotto, greens with pork, beef spazzatino and zuppa di lenticchie.

Flaming feast
Eat fire-cooked lamb straight from the paddock, truffles, and flaming desserts in the cosy setting of Rathmore’s (rathmore.com.au) unique rustic heritage woolshed in the return of the special Off Season Lunch. Just add local wines and convivial host, wine writer Windsor Dobbin, for guaranteed good banter. Make the most of the trip and sleepover in the luxury farmhouse accommodation. There’s even the high chance of spotting a platypus on the Dew Rivulet. There’s a strict dress code for the night: Tasmanian Tuxedo (aka, a puffer jacket).

Join the supper club
You’re invited to join a very special club this Off Season: the Fancy Granny Secret Supper Club hosted by The Bowmont (thebowmont.com.au). This character-filled heritage building, run by stylist and writer Michelle Crawford, in gorgeous Franklin just south of Hobart, is usually exclusive to accommodation guests, but this winter it unveils itself for a lucky few. Delight in three courses of the Huon Valley’s finest produce, each dish served in a charming ‘fancy granny’ style and complemented by local wines.

Cocktail craft
Make and enjoy true Tasmanian gin cocktails with the Three Cuts Gin & Smoke Cocktail Masterclass at the Tamar Valley’s Turner Stillhouse (turnerstillhouse.com). Take home cocktail recipe cards and an engraved glass to impress your future house guests.

Winter bubbles
Bubbles burst in your mouth as perfectly in winter as they do in summer – with Tasmanian sparkling among the world’s best. To prove it, you’re invited to stop in at Jansz Tasmania (jansz.com.au) for a light lunch with a bottle of sparkling of your choice, and head home with a curated gift pack of knitted Tasmanian woollens, a Jansz bag and bottle opener. Explore the premium NV and vintage wines from the estate vineyard and enjoy the priceless view.

Toasty warm with truffles
Forage for truffles on a Winter Warmer tour in Deloraine at The Truffle Farm (thetrufflefarmtasmania.com.au) – the first producing truffle farm in Australia. Learn more about these mysterious little balls of luxury whilst eating decadent truffle pizza around the fire pit, with a glass of wine followed by a truffle hot chocolate. If you can’t join a tour, don’t miss the truffle toastie available at the farmgate shop on the Deloraine property.

Chowder down
Head to Bicheno’s The Lobster Shack (lobstershacktasmania.com.au) for an east coast seafood experience centred around the Southern Rock Lobster. Feast on a hearty seafood chowder to warm yourself in the winter, matched with a local Maclean Bay Pinot Noir.

Please, Sir, I want s’more
Get toasty at The Agrarian Kitchen (theagrariankitchen.com) in New Norfolk with their take on the campfire s’more. If you’re young or young at heart, gather each weekend around the firepits, curl up in a snuggly Waverly Woolen Mills blanket, and chomp down on the sweet, crunchy, gooey biscuit sandwich that is the s’more.

CABBAGE AND PORK SOUP

This delicious soup recipe comes from Giuliana of The Farmhouse Kitchen cooking school at Wattle Grove.

Ingredients:
½ cabbage, thinly sliced
2 pork chops, diced
¼ cup chopped celery leaves
¼ cup of chopped parsley
Olive oil, salt
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Chilli powder, to taste
1 ½ cups of rice
1 cup Pecorino cheese

Method: In a large pot place a little olive oil, chilli powder, onion, garlic and pork, including bones and fat. Fry until the meat has browned. Add the cabbage. Cover with water and a level tablespoon of salt and the chopped herbs. Cook until the cabbage is quite tender. Meanwhile, cook the rice. Add 1 tbs olive oil and ½ tbs of salt to a saucepan. Heat the rice until it becomes translucent then add 3 cups of hot water and cover. Leave for ten minutes on medium heat – don’t stir. When the cabbage and rice are cooked, mix them together with the cheese. Serve hot.

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