Summary

Time to spread the wine love!

First up, we asked you lovely lot for stories about how and when you first fell in love with wine (#WineMyHeartAway) – so we not only have some brilliant stories to tell but also have a WINNER for £125-worth of Balfour Winemakers’ Collection wines.

This is a sponsored episode in partnership with Majestic Wine, so we have some delicious recommendations from their range for you to get stuck into. These wines also help spread the love, eg to South Africa and California: wine regions that can really do with all our support.

As if that isn’t enough delectability, we have a gorgeous recipe for miso beef with soy mustard sauce that’s perfect for an indulgent treat.

See?! We didn’t even mention the word Valentine’s…

Running Order

• Competition intro: 2.30
• How we first fell in love with wine: 3.45
• Your #WineMyHeartAway competition entries: 8.30
• #WineMyHeartAway competition runners up and winners: 16.30
• What 3 values do you most cherish in others? 19.55
• Our wine recommendations from Majestic Wine: 23.37
• Miso beef with soy mustard sauce: 29.40

Notes

• Cinderella and Dandini feature in this episode, plus thigh-slapping
• Among other things cropping up there are lions, a local vicar, Santorini, the forward defensive stroke, a crane, fresh lychees, a Swiss Army knife and an oompah band. But NO ROSÉ FIZZ. At least, not in a major way…
• If you missed this competition but don’t want to miss more, make sure to follow us on Instagram or Twitter.

Majestic wine recommendations

• Graham Beck MCC Brut Chardonnay-Pinot Noir, South Africa (from £14.99)
• Winemaker Series Godello 2019, Spain (from £9.99)
• Lismore Chardonnay 2018, South Africa (from £22.99)
• Simpsons rosé 2019, England (from £11.99)
• Balfour Winemakers’ Collection The Suitcase Pinot Noir 2018, England (from £29.99)
• Duckhorn Decoy Merlot 2018, California (from £29.99)

Miso beef with soy mustard sauce

This is one of those very special recipes that you discover by chance – in a Waitrose Kitchen magazine on this occasion. It’s a perfect combination of impressive, unusual, and wonderfully easy to prepare. The only downside is the cost of the beef fillet, but during times like these when none of us can eat out in restaurants, we think we deserve an occasional treat at home. You can scale the recipe down by making less marinade, though it’s worth making the full quantity of sauce as it’s rich but utterly delicious and we guarantee everyone will want more.

Note: we’ve adapted & tweaked this recipe over time from the original

Download Miso Beef Recipe

DETAILS

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Marinade Time: 24 hours
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour (plus marinade time)
• Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS & METHOD

• 1.2 kg beef fillet (or 200g per person – make sure the fillet is small-to-medium in diameter)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds

Miso marinade

• 2 tbsp sake
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 100g sweet white miso
• 50g caster sugar
• 1 level tbsp English mustard

Soy Mustard Sauce

• 1 rounded tbsp Colman’s mustard powder
• 1 tbsp Japanese rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 125ml dry white wine
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 shallot, quartered
• ½ tsp cornflour
• 2-3 tbsp double cream
• 100g unsalted butter, chopped and put in the freezer for 10 minutes

1. For the marinade, heat the ingredients in a pan over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Cool, then tip into a re-sealable freezer bag; add the beef. Chill for 24 hours.
2. To make the sauce, mix the mustard powder with 1-2 tbsp cold water to form a paste. Add the rice vinegar & soy sauce, mix together until smooth (don’t worry if it’s lumpy); set aside.
3. In a small pan, heat the wine, white wine vinegar, lemon juice and shallot; simmer until reduced and syrupy; discard the shallot. Mix the cornflour into the cream, then stir into the sauce until smooth. Put the pan over a low heat and add the frozen butter, 25g at a time, whisking gently until emulsified. Make sure each addition of the butter is fully incorporated before adding the next. When the butter is fully incorporated, season and stir through the soy-mustard mixture. You can make this in advance but when re-heating do it slowly and gently or it’ll split.
4. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Remove the beef from the marinade; wipe off any excess with kitchen paper. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat (not too hot or it will burn); sear the beef for 2-3 minutes then turn over and sear for a further 2-3 minutes, then transfer to the oven for 20 minutes (rare). Rest for 20 minutes. Dry-toast the sesame seeds in a frying pan or under the grill until golden.
5. Slice the beef, spoon over a little sauce and scatter over the sesame seeds. Serve with basmati rice (either ready prepared packets heated in a microwave, or use the recipe below) and steamed pak choi.

Steamed Pak Choi

Slice off just the very bottoms carefully and cut in half lengthways then steam for 7-8 minutes and give each person one full pak choi (2 halves).

Basmati rice

• 400g basmati rice
• 560ml cold water
• pinch of salt
• 6 whole cloves
• 6 cardamon pods, lightly crushed

Wash the rice in plenty of cold water. Put the rice into a medium to large saucepan. Add the water, salt and the spices. Place over a medium heat, bring to the boil and cover immediately with a tight-fitting lid. Turn the heat to low and leave to cook for 10 mins without lifting the lid. After 10 mins turn off the heat but keep the lid firmly in place. Leave for 5 mins before removing the lid (though it will stay hot for up to 20 mins).

Fluff up the rice with a fork.