We’ve just enjoyed a lovely few days down at the farm in Mittagong. And we nearly didn’t get there. That’s because on the day we were due to drive to the Southern Highlands, Carl had to go to the office for the morning while I stayed at home to do the packing. While he was at work, he saw Steven who owns the farm. When Carl was leaving the office, Steven asked him where he was going.
Heading for the table
Carl was a bit surprised and said, ‘Mittagong’. And Steven said, ‘Mittagong? What are you doing there?’
Spring blossoms
‘Staying on your farm’. And then Steven confessed he had forgotten all about saying we could stay for a few days and further confessed Oakvale was double-booked.
Stuffing
Carl rang me. ‘Looks like we can’t go to the farm’. And I looked at my front door where everything was packed up ready to go including the dogs.
Washed, then dried with paper towel
Meanwhile, Steven shuffled the bookings and came back to us with a plan. We could stay for three nights but as Steven and his wife would also be there for one of those nights, the deal was that I had to do the cooking. Sorted.
Stuffed and cavities secured with bamboo skewers
But what to cook! I went online and became all inspired by a recipe I found on Wine Selectors. It was spatchcocks stuffed with herbs, sourdough and black olives and roasted in verjuice. I love verjuice! So after we arrived at the farm I went to Bowral and did the food shopping and came back ready to host a dinner party for those who were hosting us.
Ready for the oven
I do love how the Southern Highlands experiences all four seasons and I think Spring is definitely my favourite. I love how the fields are so green and the gardens so full of colour. I went around the gardens at the farm and picked an assortment of all that was blooming and put a large vase of flowers in the centre of the table for the dinner party.
The table is set
Special wines to share with special friends
The spatchcocks were very easy to prepare and I served them with kipfler potatoes roasted on a bed of rosemary (there’s so much rosemary on the farm) and some sauteed spinach. Dessert was a cheese platter. Knowing we would be entertaining our ‘hosts’, we brought down the best wine we had in our ‘cellar’. It was a bottle given to Carl by one of his best behaved clients – not only were they lovely to deal with, they gave thank you gifts! It was a very special bottle of wine that our ‘hosts’ tried desperately to match. They did their best with a bottle from the cellar from 1984!
Kipfler potatoes heading to the oven
It was an excellent evening full of laughs, beautiful wines, a fabulous roast and great company. What could be better!
- 4 x 500g (1lb) spatchcocks
- 1 tbspn olive oil
- ½ cup verjuice
- 1 cup chicken stock
- Stuffing:
- 1 tbspn olive oil
- 1 tbspn butter
- 1 lge onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 slices sourdough (75gms) cut into fine dice
- 10 fat black olives, roughly chopped
- 3 tbspns flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tbspn mint, finely chopped
- 1 tbspn basil, finely chopped
- Preheat oven to 180C (375F), 160C (350F) fan-forced.
- Wash and dry spatchcocks, inside and out.
- For stuffing, heat olive oil and butter cook onion until translucent but not browned. Add garlic and stir until fragrant. Remove from heat and place in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well-combined. Season.
- Divide stuffing between spatchcocks and spoon into each cavity. Secure with a bamboo skewer.
- Place spatchcocks upside down in a roasting dish.
- Drizzle with olive oil, half the verjuice and season.
- Place in the oven for 15 mins then turn breast-side up and cook for a further 20 minutes or until golden and juices run clear.
- Remove from the oven and place spatchcocks on a serving platter. Cover with foil and keep warm.
- Add chicken stock and remaining verjuice to roasting dish and simmer until reduced and thickened. Pour over spatchcocks.
- Serve spatchcocks with roasted kipfler potatoes and sauteed spinach if desired.
Heading for the table
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BOOM! Well thank goodness that all worked out Charlie. 🙂
Love your spatchies too, such a tasty little bird, and Verjuice, gahhhh…. drool. I remember when I was an apprentice chef and Verjuice hit the cooking world, it was the ‘it’ ingredient. I should track some down and whip up this recipe for old time sake. 🙂
Love your table center too. Very pretty!
G’day Glad it worked out in the end too Charlie!
Love spatchcock and love working with verjuice in recipes too!
Lovely table setting!
Cheers! Joanne
I’m glad it all happened the way it did because we have a wonderful recipe 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
What a perfect way to rescue the week-end and what a treat for the diners. I’ve never cooked with verjuice, mainly because I have never had access to it, but having had dishes cooked with it before in France, I can say that these chickens look perfect and the recipe sounds delicious.
I’m jealous of your springtime weather and flowers. We have the coldest day of the season…at least no flurries like up north. You chickens would be perfect any season…hope you had a terrific getaway!
It’s wonderful that Stephen managed to shuffle the bookings after his cock-up and didn’t leave you hanging after you packed and everything. The lovely dinner they got out of it should … hopefully, help them remember future ‘arrangements’ to come and stay at the farm. The birds and the wine both sound very tasty.
I would love a solution like that! It’s perfect for people like us because we like to feed people! I so enjoy it when people gobble up the food I make. I’m so jealous that you’re going into spring Charlie, I’ll have to live vicariously through you until our spring next year.
These sound fantastic Charlie! What a great compromise, and great excuse for a great dinner too 🙂 xox
So happy it worked out in the end 😀
This dinner looks fantastic, I remember learning about the merits of verjuice from Maggie Beer 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Whew! So glad you were still able to go. Sounded like a perfect arrangement, and everybody wins! Your spatchcock sounds and looks delicious. I have not had verjuice yet, but just looked it up and it sounds like a perfect compliment. Sending hugs, Terra
Hosting the hosts – had to grin! Nice line!
Fabulous meal and wine. Glad it worked out for you to stay at the farm.
Have a wonderful week ahead Charlie.
🙂 Mandy xo
Lucky you to get to spend time at the farm and lucky them for getting to eat that magnificent dinner!
You amaze me. So easily adaptable. Oh, well, I will cook a dinner for the hosts, like it’s nothing.
Just checked the farm and wow so relaxing and nice! I always want to get away to the farm… I need some time away from the city and busy lifestyle! Good food and relaxing time. What a nice way to regain energy back! Love the table setting and the meal!
What a delicous meal! I have “flavored” potatoes with rosemary–I guess that’s how I’d say it–but not roasted them with the whole sprigs in this way. The aroma while cooking must be simply amazing. I can’t wait to do the same. I think your hosts were pretty wiley to concoct a reason to get you there to cook! They were the lucky ones! 🙂
I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of verjuice. The chicken looks absolutely delicious though! What a great way to work it all out. And a bottle of wine from 1984?! Wow! Very nice.
I learned something new today: I had to google verjuice, but now I will keep my eyes open for it. Don’t think it is common here, but I looked up the Italian name and it must exist, given the amount of grapes we have here!
I’m sure your hosts were over the moon with such a dinner and the wine, too! So glad it all worked out.
Lovely! And I enjoy your names for things, so much more interesting than the American names for them. Spatchcocks are called Game Hens here. And your Kipfler potatoes are called Fingerlings here.
What is verjuice?
gorgeous flowers and those birds look scrumptious!