HB&B Blog — Australia

Wine & Food Killers - Garlic Bread Winter Bruschetta and Jumping Juice Pet Nat 2022

Australia Claire Bullen Natural wine Natural Wine Killers Patrick Sullivan Pet Nat Xavier Goodridge

Wine & Food Killers - Garlic Bread Winter Bruschetta and Jumping Juice Pet Nat 2022

In the deepest ebb of the winter doldrums, I stumbled upon a recipe for “winter caprese salad”. Instead of fresh tomatoes, the recipe roasted cherry tomatoes until candy-sweet, paired them with mozzarella and basil, and drizzled over balsamic vinegar for depth. It felt like a moment of sun amidst winter’s deep freeze, a reminder that it won’t be too long before summer caprese is available again. But if you can make winter caprese, why not winter bruschetta? Swap out freshly chopped, high-summer tomatoes for confit tomatoes, and jazz up the base by serving it on garlic bread. I felt like...

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Wine & Food Killers: Mushroom and Pearl Barley Risotto with Marinated Feta and Fin Wines Biggie Shackleton 2021

Australia Claire Bullen Natural wine Natural Wine Killers Red wine

Wine & Food Killers: Mushroom and Pearl Barley Risotto with Marinated Feta and Fin Wines Biggie Shackleton 2021

I love winter food. The hearty stews and braises, brothy noodles, warming curries, all those root vegetables and citrus fruits… There’s no better time to hold a steaming bowl of something nourishing close than February, and this year, I have a new dish to add to the cold-weather pantheon. Meet pearl barley risotto. Like a barley stew that’s been cooked down until most of its liquid has been absorbed, it’s less finicky to make than traditional risotto. I was first inspired to try it after noticing a recipe in Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s seminal Jerusalem. Their pearl barley risotto...

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Wine & Food Killers: Shrimp Étouffée and Fin Wines I’m All Ears Pet Nat 2021

Australia Claire Bullen Natural wine Natural Wine Killers Pet Nat

Wine & Food Killers: Shrimp Étouffée and Fin Wines I’m All Ears Pet Nat 2021

Alongside gumbo and jambalaya, shrimp étouffée is a stalwart of Cajun and Creole cooking, and a classic New Orleans dish. Étouffée means “smothered” in French, and in this dish, pink prawns are enrobed in a saucy stew made with a base of the “Cajun holy trinity” – onion, celery, and green bell pepper – and a burnished roux, mixed with chillis and a potent Cajun spice mix, chopped tomatoes and fish stock. That mix is cooked down until thickened and glossy, served with rice, then garnished with handfuls of parsley. I tend to crave New Orleans-style cooking at this time...

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Wine & Food Killers: Pumpkin, Mushroom and Ricotta Pie with Gentle Folk Village Pinot Noir 2019

Australia Claire Bullen Gentle Folk Natural Wine Killers Pinot Noir Red wine

Wine & Food Killers: Pumpkin, Mushroom and Ricotta Pie with Gentle Folk Village Pinot Noir 2019

In my early days of learning about wine, Pinot Noir intrigued me from the start. There was its fickleness, its delicacy: thin-skinned Pinot is sublime in good years, but can be easily destroyed by early frosts, hail or other inclement conditions. For many winemakers, it's a heart-breaker. And it happens to make the kind of wine I like most of all: relatively light-bodied, glittering, vibrant with red fruit characteristics, silkily tannic. Pinot Noir is often described as having cherry and floral notes, though it is perhaps most distinguished by its forest floor character. I love “forest floor because it sounds,...

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Wine & Food Killers: Orecchiette with Yoghurty Herb Sauce and Spiced Lamb and Brash Higgins ZBO Zibibbo 2019

Australia Brash Higgins Claire Bullen Natural wine Natural Wine Killers Pasta White wine

Wine & Food Killers: Orecchiette with Yoghurty Herb Sauce and Spiced Lamb and Brash Higgins ZBO Zibibbo 2019

If there’s anything an indefinite lockdown scenario proves, it’s the importance of routine. In the absence of outdoor activity, self-imposed structure is the armature on which my weeks are now formed. On Fridays, I order takeout and cue up a movie. On Sundays, I do my weekly sourdough bake. And on Mondays, inspired by HB&B’s beer writer, Pellicle editor Matthew Curtis, I make pasta. If you want a suitably springy #PastaMonday recipe that takes under an hour to prepare (and uses pantry staples, plus generally accessible ingredients), I’d heartily recommend this one. Adapted from Sohla El-Waylly’s recipe in Bon Appétit,...

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