12 December 2025

From the Craggy Range Kitchen: Garden Plate

This dish was created to showcase the abundance of our organic kitchen gardens - a celebration of all the little bits and bobs you can gather from the garden or market and cook simply, each in its own way. Roasted, blanched, or left raw, the vegetables are layered over a rich, creamy whipped feta and finished with a sweet, zingy preserved lemon dressing.

It’s a dish that naturally evolves with the seasons, but it truly shines in late spring and early summer when the garden is at its most generous and the produce is plentiful.

Light, vibrant, and endlessly adaptable, it makes a perfect starter and can be easily tailored to suit all tastes and diets - exactly the kind of dish that reflects who we are and what we grow.

The Recipe

Choose a selection of your favourite seasonal vegetables - use a combination of roasted, blanched and raw variety and texture.

  • Roast: new season potatoes, beetroot, turnips or swedes - with lots of salt and pepper, and a splash of vinegar
  • Blanch: broccolini, asparagus, sugar snap peas, beans, cavolo nero, kale, radish tops
  • Raw: tomatoes, radishes, cucumber, kohlrabi, herbs - use the tops of some of your vegetables too

GREEN OLIVE TAPENADE

  • 1/2 cup pitted green olives
  • 1/2 cup capers
  • 1 cup herbs such as parley or chives, roughly chopped
  • 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 clove of garlic, grated

Put the green olives, capers and herbs in a food processor and blend. When it's all green and chopped to the same size, add the remaining ingredients and stir in. Set aside and serve at room temperature.

WHIPPED FETA

  • 1 cup of marinaded feta in oil
  • 1 bunch of mint, very finely chopped
  • 1 bunch of chives, very finely chopped
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 3 shallots, very finely diced

Drain the feta (reserving the oil) and put into a bowl. Use a spatula to beat the feta as smooth as you can. Add the herbs, lemon zest and raw shallot. Drizzle in a bit of the oil to make it as smooth as possible. Liberally season with black pepper.

PRESERVED LEMON DRESSING

  • 1 1/2 Tbsp preserved lemon, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • 1 Tbsp wholegrain mustard
  • 25ml chardonnay vinegar
  • 100ml light olive oil

Mix the chopped lemon, honey and mustard in a bowl. Slowly add the vineyar and oil and whisk to emulsify adding a little water while whisking if the dressing is too thick. Season with salt and pepper.

FALAFEL

  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1/2 tsp white peppercorns
  • 250g frozen peas (thawed)
  • 125g chickpeas (canned is fine)
  • 1 red onion
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1/2 red chilli
  • 1/2 bunch of mint
  • 1/2 bunch of coriander
  • 1-2 Tbsp flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • oil for frying

Toast the cumin, coriander and peppercorns until fragrant. Cool and grind finely.

Pat dry the chickpeas and peas (this will stop the mix from being too wet). Put half of the chickpeas and peas into a food processor and pulse until they are chunky. Set aside.

Put the rest of the peas and chickpeas, onion, garlic, chilli, mint and coriander into the food processor and blend. Once blended, put into a bowl, add the pulsed peas and chickpeas, one tablespoon of the flour, spices, baking powder and some salt and fold until mixed. If the mixture is too wet, add a little more flour.

Fry a spoonful to check that the seasoning is correct and that the mixture holds together. Take dessertspoons of the mixture and form into balls. At this stage, the mix can be set aside to fry later. When ready, deep fry at 180C or pan fry until golden brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes.

TO ASSEMBLE THE SALAD

Smear the feta on a serving plate, allowing it to be thicker in some places so the dressing puddles. Lay all the vegetables out on a tray or plate. They can all be at room temperature if you like, or some can be hotter if you prefer. Season the veges with salt and pepper, then dress with the preserved lemon. Scatter the vegetables on top of the feta.

Finish with little dollops of tapenade and put the crunchy falafel on top.

Pair with our award-winning Te Muna Sauvignon Blanc. This vibrant, and aromatic wine is wonderfully textured and complex.