Skye Gyngell: Down on Maggie's farm

Skye Gyngell travels to Australia's Barossa Valley to track down one of her culinary heroes: the queen of home-grown cuisine, Maggie Beers.

On an overcast Thursday afternoon, I arrived in the Barossa Valley in South Australia. I was hoping for sun, but Australia had been suffering from a prolonged and devastating drought and so it didn't really feel right to complain. Rain, however little, is always welcome here. My mission was to track down Maggie Beer and her husband Colin on the much-loved foodie paradise of Pheasant Farm.

Maggie is someone I have admired for a long time - I own every single one of her recipe books. She is something of an Australian national treasure and is currently appearing in a huge TV series on ABC called The Cook and the Chef. But she is far more than just a passionate cook. She is an inspiration and champion of the Barossa Valley itself, and the wonderful produce it has to offer. Her knowledge of the seasons and the land she inhabits is immense.

The Barossa Valley is unique in Australia. It's famed for its wine-making (both Penfolds and Jacob's Creek are produced here). It was originally settled by German immigrants and has somehow managed to retain a very special intimacy to it. The valley itself is nestled among small biscuit-coloured hills, which give it a contained feel - unusual in a country that can be overwhelming in its sheer size. On the day I went, it smelt strongly of damp hay and eucalyptus, which added to its sense of cosiness. In contrast to the backdrop of pale hills, the valley itself is laced with rows of vibrant vines. Old-fashioned telegraph poles dot the landscape and perched upon these were hundreds of red parakeets. I am urban to the core but this was countryside that even I could fall in love with.

The Beers greeted me from their beautiful tumbledown sandstone cottage. The land here is incredibly abundant and their house is surrounded by an orchard of plum trees, pear trees and Meyer lemon trees. Alongside it stands an old well right next to a vast and ancient pear tree that is said to sweeten the water. Everywhere you look are rambling pale pink and yellow roses. It is quite simply heavenly.

Maggie Beer was originally a Sydney girl - she grew up in the Western Suburbs - but her husband Colin had always harboured dreams of running a pheasant farm. So they saved up and, in 1973, bought a small piece of land in the Barossa and opened up. They started rearing pheasants and selling them for meat but soon realised that to make it viable they would have to diversify. So they opened a restaurant, also called the Pheasant Farm, which went on to become one of Australia's best known.

It was, essentially, a working farm that fed the customers - they raised their own chickens, reared their own pigs to make sausages and produced their own wine. After running it for many years, bringing up two children within it and winning countless awards for it, they decided to close. It's a farm shop now where they sell all manner of pheasant patés, homemade chutneys and, of course, verjuice - an ancient condiment made from the pressing of unripe grapes, and something the Beers have both worked tirelessly to place back on the culinary map.

To spend time with Maggie is to be enveloped in a wonderful world full of laughter and music (she loves to sing and play the piano). There is the nicest feeling of chaos that surrounds her and her kitchen - something that I feel at home with, being a haphazard, disorganised cook myself.

The night I stayed with her she cooked a feast - her food is quite simply an extension of her personality; warmth and abundance is present in every mouthful and it resonates of home, heart and love. She cooked dishes that were relevant to her and Colin's life in South Australia and so we started with marron, a small inky black lobster particular to the local waters. This was followed by tender, trawled squid, filled with anchovy, preserved lemon and breadcrumbs, and served alongside a simple salad of parsley, capers and black olives. There was roast chicken (raised by her daughter Saskia) with roasted garlic and verjuice. And, to finish, a sharp tangy, blue goat's cheese from a local producer served with candied ruby grapefruit and warm sourdough bread.

We sat late into the night eating and drinking the wines from the Barossa. The next morning I woke early. The rain had cleared so I went for a short walk and, on returning, heard clattering noises in the kitchen. There was Maggie, barefoot in her dressing gown, greeting me with a breakfast of poached pheasant eggs, warm walnut bread and burnt fig jam.

It was 24 hours in truly magical surroundings that I will treasure for the rest of my life. To me, Maggie and Colin Beer have created a life that is truly worthwhile - one filled with all the most important things: food, family and friendship.

Skye Gyngell is head chef at Petersham Nurseries, Church Lane, off Petersham Road, Richmond, Surrey, tel: 020 8605 3627

Roast chicken with garlic and verjuice

We get our Verjuice from Maggie Beer at www.maggiebeer.com.au but it's also available from Harvey Nichols (tel: 020 7235 5000).

Serves 6

1 plump, organic, free-range chicken, weighing roughly 4kg/8lb
20 cloves garlic, whole and unpeeled
1 lemon
A small bunch of rosemary
200ml/7fl oz verjuice
30ml/1fl oz extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
120ml/4fl oz water

Heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas7. Blanch the garlic cloves in boiling water for 5 minutes and set aside.

Cut the lemon in half and place inside the cavity of the chicken. Add the rosemary and season well inside and out with the salt ` and pepper. Mix the verjuice with the olive oil and brush over the skin of the chicken, reserving some for later. Put the bird on top of a trivet in a large baking tray. Place in the hot oven and cook for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/350F/Gas4. Pour the rest of the verjuice and olive oil over the bird and pour the water around its base and return to the oven for a further 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, turn it down still further to 120C/250F/Gas1/2 and scatter the garlic over the chicken and cook another 40 minutes. Finally, turn the chicken over to brown the underside for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and place on a warm serving plate. Cover loosely but well with foil and allow to rest for 20 minutes. Pour the juices from the pan into a jug and place in the fridge. Just before serving, scoop away the fat that has risen to the top and warm the remaining juice. Carve the chicken, arrange on plates and pour the warm sauce over the top. Serve with the roasted garlic.

Parsley salad with olives, capers and mint

Serves 4

2 generous handfuls flat-leaf parsley
1 medium bunch of mint
30ml/1fl oz extra-virgin olive oil
10ml/1/2fl oz red-wine vinegar
50g/2oz good-quality capers (preferably preserved in salt)
60g/21/2oz good-quality black olives such as Ligurian or Niçoise

Rinse the capers well in several changes of water, chop and set aside. Chop the olives and set aside. Rinse the parsley and mint and dry.

Make the dressing by placing the vinegar in a bowl, season and whisk in the olive oil. To serve, place the parsley and mint in a bowl, scatter over the olives and capers, pour over the dressing and toss.

Squid stuffed with anchovies, preserved lemon and breadcrumbs

Serves 6

150ml/5oz fresh chicken stock
190g/7oz fresh white breadcrumbs
2 cloves garlic
20ml/1fl oz extra-virgin olive oil
1 generous handful of flat-leaf parsley
90g/31/2oz green olives
2tbsp preserved lemons, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
6 whole squid with tentacles

To make the stuffing, gently warm the chicken stock. Remove from the stove and add the breadcrumbs. Finely chop the garlic and sauté in the olive oil for two minutes. Roughly chop the parsley. Slice the flesh away from the olives and chop roughly. Fold the garlic, parsley, olives and preserved lemon through the breadcrumbs. Season well with the salt and pepper. Pack the stuffing into the squid tubes leaving a couple of centimetres at the top to allow the stuffing to swell slightly during cooking. Secure the top of each squid with a metal skewer or toothpick so it doesn't all fall out.

Heat the oven to 230C/450F/Gas8. Place the squid into a baking tray, brush the olive oil over each squid. Scatter the tentacles over the top and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until opaque. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before slicing into thick slices. Serve with wedges of lemon and the parsley salad.

Grilled marron with herb butter

The closest thing we have to marron in this country is the small native lobster. This dish works just as well using them.

Serves 6

3 native lobsters
250g/8oz unsalted butter
1 small bunches of chives
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 small bunch of tarragon, leaves only
1 small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, leaves only
1 small bunch of basil
The zest of one lemon
1 small pinch of cayenne pepper
A little salt
Freshly ground black pepper

This makes more butter than you need but it keeps well in the freezer for a couple of months and can be used on fish or steak.

Place all the ingredients in a Magimix and purée until smooth. Remove, shape into a log and roll in greaseproof paper. Chill in the fridge for about an hour.

Place a large pot of well-salted water on to heat. When it boils, put in the live lobsters and cook for 8 minutes. Remove and cool.

When the lobsters are cool enough to handle, take a sharp knife and split the lobsters down the middle from head to tail. Place the cut side up on a large baking tray. Heat your grill to its maximum heat. Remove the herb butter from the fridge and cut into 1cm discs. Place 2-3 discs on each lobster half and place under the grill for 3-4 minutes until the butter is melted and golden and bubbling. Serve immediately with peasant-style bread to mop up the juices.

Q&A Skye answers your culinary queries

I'd like to lose a stone in three weeks. Can you help? K Morgan

I would too, but I have no idea how. If I did I'd be doing it myself - I've put on a stone in the past year alone.

I always buy the same old brand of Parmesan. Can you suggest anything better? S Parker

What you need to look for is the trademark of Reggiano - that's the authentic one - it's the only place in Parma where it can be made. I personally find that Parmesan sold in that very thick plastic in the supermarkets can be a bit sweaty and too smooth. At Petersham we use one that is three-and-a-half years old. We get it from La Fromagerie (www.lafromagerie.co.uk) and it's extraordinary and a bit crystally when you cut through it. Generally speaking, the older it is, the better the texture and the deeper the flavour.

I love Jerusalem artichokes but never know what to do with them. Have you any suggestions? R Milson

We do hundreds of things with Jerusalem artichokes at Petersham. They are absolutely delicious in a really simple salad. Scrub them clean and slice them as finely as possible lengthwise. Serve them with Parmesan, olive oil and a squeeze of lemon. The other thing that is good to do with them is to split them in half lengthwise, par-boil them for about 10 minutes, drain and deep fry them in corn oil. Served tossed with rocket, olive oil and lemon they make a really good accompaniment to a fillet steak. They also make the most beautiful soup. Using chicken stock and crème fraîche, it's deliciously velvety smooth.

Please send your questions for Skye to s.gyngell@independent.co.uk