What’s cooking at Windy Point
Beetroot, pork belly, celeriac and leek are among the favourite winter ingredients being utilised by Windy Point Restaurant and Cafe executive chef Justin Miles.
What is your approach to the development of the menu at Windy Point? Does it change seasonally?
With a formal restaurant and contemporary café, and guest celebrations ranging from 12th to 100th birthdays and everything in between, our menus are formulated based on many factors. The season, customer demographics and social culture all lead to a blend of modern classics and innovative concepts. Our menus combine flavour, texture and balance, utilising modern techniques and classical training. We have a combination of new dishes alongside perennial favourites that receive periodical tweaking.
What winter ingredients are you enjoying cooking with?
Beetroot is in abundance, along with great winter staples like celeriac and leek. The earthy sweetness of beetroot allows for many cooking techniques – braising, roasting, pickling and juicing are just some ways to allow the best of this root vegetable to be seen. Celeriac has a wonderful rounded sharpness that can easily be used in soups, sauces and winter roasts. Poaching, simmering and roasting leeks helps bring the natural sweetness to the fore and takes them from simple flavouring to a key component of a dish.
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How are you using these vegetables on the menu?
Beetroot is simmered in water for a long period, slightly cooled, peeled, chopped and pan-seared in olive oil before pairing with goat feta, peanuts, chives and vincotto. This is presented as a vibrant side to accompany main courses.
Celeriac is mixed with large field and Swiss brown mushrooms, onion, garlic, chilli and dill. Vegetable stock is added and simmered slowly for one hour before blending. It is served as a soup with baby celery leaves and garlic oil.
Leeks are slightly trimmed and placed on an extremely hot BBQ grill. They are frequently turned until all stems are quite charred/burned. Allowed to cool, the stems are peeled from the leaf down to reveal golden flesh that has great moistness and smoky flavour. We use the leeks to accompany our Sher Wagyu rump, pea mint mash and sticky glaze.
How would you suggest people might try using these ingredients at home?
Boil beetroots and peel once cool, cut into 2-3cm squares and add to other roasted root vegetables with extra virgin olive oil, thyme and a soft cheese as a winter-inspired salad. Replace your next roast spuds with peeled celeriac or substitute for one third of mashed potatoes. Leeks: try cooking on your BBQ, as we do, then slice into 5cm lengths, drizzle with a little balsamic and use as a side to replace your usual green vegetable.
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What are some of the signature dishes on the Windy Point menu?
Restaurant: 12-hour Caramel pork belly, swede purée, roasted baby turnip and fried hock skin. Pork belly is back! This ubiquitous cut has returned to our menu. The slight fattiness, sweet belly meat and textural contrast is a winner, paired with sweet and acrid swede, caramel and baby turnips.
Café: South-eastern braised short loin rib beef with Maranca fat chips, spinach purée, horseradish cream, house barbeque and béarnaise sauces (winner of the 2013 SA Meat and Livestock Australia Secondary Cut Competition). Effectively a dressed-up “Sunday roast” meat and veg. The sublime texture of the rib with the accompanying side sauces and the unctuous twice-cooked fat chips is a very popular.
Where do you source your ingredients from?
For our fruits and vegetables we use a broker – AMJ Produce – which finds famers growing artisanal, heritage and heirloom varieties throughout South Australia. Our meat is sourced through MyButcher and Richard Gunner brokers. Our seafood comes from a small family agent who provides select SA produce.
Windy Point Restaurant is a finalist in a number of categories in the 2013 Restaurant & Catering Awards for Excellence, including Contemporary Australian, Tourism, Wine List, and Popular Choice. The Windy Point Café is a finalist in the Informal category.
