Tasting with the season: eating local in the Barossa

Eat Like a Local is back in the Barossa this month. Why? Because as soon as the nights start to cool and those autumnal tones appear, our thoughts turn to relaxing with friends over a dish or two just bursting with rich, full flavor.

We don’t want to miss those beautiful clear days when the sun changes down a gear and we can revel in the warmth instead of sheltering in the shade. And we don’t want to miss the autumn flavours on offer in one of South Australia’s favourite playgrounds either.

It’s seriously time to gather up that picnic rug, throw on a cuddly jacket and hit the autumn food trail through the Barossa.

Autumn essentials

Adelaide Farmers’ Market, Gawler

A quick nip up the road from town will take us to Gawler, home of Adelaide’s newest Farmers’ Market. This is the perfect place to browse the rich range of produce raised nearby in the fertile valleys and the Adelaide plains on a crisp autumn Saturday morning.

Recent additions to the stallholders in Gawler include Katie’s J’s honey, free range eggs from Chooks Gone Wild and new season’s organic Adelaide Hills apples and pears will be ready for you at The Wild Apple stall. Stop by the Alnda Farms stall to stock up on their freshly harvested veggies, San Jose’s for award-winning smallgoods, and there are organic veggies and free range beef on offer from The Veggie Basket.

We recommend snacking on a pastry from Abbots and Kinney (it’s good for the soul) and there’s always time to work out the shopping list over breakfast from Kukh Kooking, or a fresh juice from The Juice Junkies. Top that breakfast off with a coffee from the Bean Bug and it’s pretty much a perfect day.

One of the best things about farmer’s markets is letting seasonal inspiration guide your buying. Go for it. Check out the cooking demonstrations (Callum Hann is a regular here) and there are also monthly sustainable living workshops along with lots to keep the kids entertained while you finish that coffee.

Adelaide Farmers’ Market, Gawler

40’s Café’s Smokey Pizza, laden with smoked pork belly and lachsschinken, a German-style ham made by Schulz Butchers

Roaring into the 40’s

40’s Café

Bet you didn’t know some of the world’s officially best pizza has its crusts crisped in Angaston’s main street. 40’s Café is home to the infamous Smokey Pizza, laden with smoked pork belly and lachsschinken, a German-style ham made by Schulz Butchers. And to the 40’s Barossa Deluxe, which teams creamy brie with avocado, Schulz bacon and Lilydale chicken smoked at our local butcher, and tops it off with pesto, fresh herbs and cracked black pepper.

You’ll be getting the idea that the pizza menu here is a little bit different by now. But what if you just aren’t in the mood for pizza? (We’re told this can happen, though we’ve never seen it ourselves.) Relax. That’s no problem for the 40’s Café crew.

Vegetarians among us may prefer Quinoa, Ricotta and Basil Fritters served with ribbon cucumber, avocado and roast capsicum salsa if you feel like something light, and the mains menu skips happily from Clare Valley Thomas meats sirloin to fiery house-made beef vindaloo. And among the sides, may we mention in passing… duck fat potatoes. Need we say more?

If breakfast is your chosen happy meal place, 40’s Café also turn out your choice of poached, fried or scrambled eggs, or you could fuel your day with the Butcher’s Plate: Two eggs done your way, Shultz butcher breakfast sausage, bacon, tomato and mushrooms. Replete sighs all round, we’d say.

Platter up!

Kellermeister Wines

It can be a meaty experience over at Kellermeister Wines in Lyndoch, if that’s how you like it. Think lachsshinken, mettwurst and smoked chicken from Linkes, Schultz and Lyndoch butchers, served with Barossa Fine Foods duck and pistachio terrine, Zimmy’s Beetroot Relish, black Kalamata olives from Torzi Matthews and Apex Bakery’s saltstick wood oven bread. Or maybe some Tasmanian salmon (stay with us here: yes, it’s Tasmanian but it’s smoked by the local Lyndoch butcher), teamed with Barossa Valley Cheese Company’s Vache Curd, Zimmy’s Horseradish and fresh dill.

If your wine or cider tasting seems to be leaning towards cheese, the Barossa Artisan Cheese platter is the way to go, featuring Barossa Valley Cheese Company’s bitey Washington Washrind, the deliciously sharp La Dame Goat’s Cheese, and their creamy Triple Cream Brie. Also on board is Kurianda Pear Chutney, made in Angaston, and a generous serve of crackers to pile it all up on.

On sunny autumn afternoons you can enjoy your selection on the lawns and take in the stunning views over the Barossa Ranges. When it gets a bit nippy, so can you – just nip inside the famous mud brick cellar door and cuddle up by the open fire.

Kellermeister Wines lachsshinken, mettwurst and smoked chicken from Linkes, Schultz and Lyndoch butchers, served with Barossa Fine Foods duck and pistachio terrine, Zimmy’s Beetroot Relish, black Kalamata olives from Torzi Matthews and Apex Bakery’s saltstick wood oven bread

D&M’s Bakery Cafe Angaston pie

Pie-fection

D&M’s Bakery Café

Now we’re thinking bakery. Country bakery. You can’t beat ‘em. So, on to D&M’s Bakery Café for their famous luscious vanilla slice, perfectly teamed with 5 Senses coffee perhaps? D&M’s version is reputed to be among the very best and we’re always up for a bit of research into such claims. And they have a liquor licence by the way, so you can have bubbles with that.

But there’s even more serious work going on in this kitchen at the moment. The team at D&M’s are masters of the art of the pie, and they’re already at work on a mission to celebrate the 175th anniversary of Angaston/Penrice in 2017, by creating a truly Angaston pie. So how does this grab you: chunky beef pieces slowly cooked in Yalumba shiraz, Schulz Butcher’s bacon and garlic mettwurst, Barossa Valley Cheese Company Camembert and Zimmy’s Barossa Pickles. Or maybe a Hutton Vale Lamb and Rosemary Pie suits you better?

Pasty fans are not forgotten, not with the historic link to Penrice as one of the first Cornish settlements in the Barossa. This connection is celebrated with a flaky pastry purse of beef mince and vegetables, and the traditional thick crust to hang on to your lunch by. You can be in on an early taste test if you visit soon.

Test your tastebuds

Schild Estate Winery

Cellar door platters at Schild Estate Winery carry the autumn vibe through with more of those fabulous local smallgoods from Lyndoch Butchers, an antipasto selection with produce from Barossa Bark, Zimmy’s Barossa Valley Produce and Kurianda Barossa, including everything from roasted capsicum to marinated artichokes and pickled onions and olives. Naturally, Barossa Valley Cheese Company cheeses are on hand for your version of a match made in heaven, and the Apex Bakery breads and wafers stand up beautifully to all these great flavours.

But wait, there’s more. Schild Estate’s intriguing tasting tour matched to premium chocolates might tickle your fancy, especially as the chocolates in question come from Adelaide Hills chocolatier Red Cacao. Schild Estate are also happy to pack you a picnic hamper, choc full of locally grown and sourced produce, which of course includes a bottle of Schild Estate wine.

Watch the Schild Estate website and Facebook page for news of upcoming Sunday Slider sessions and other special events such as May’s Barossa Trust Mark Collections dinner, featuring local produce that has been awarded the coveted Barossa Trust Mark. Purrrrfection.

Schild Estate antipasto selection with produce from Barossa Bark, Zimmy’s Barossa Valley Produce and Kurianda Barossa, including everything from roasted capsicum to marinated artichokes and pickled onions and olives