at my italian table

Duncan Forsyth is best known as a winemaker at Mt Edward but he also knows a lot about pigs and what they need to eat to produce delicious prosciutto. His pigs live on the vineyard and dine on grapes and nuts in the last six to eight weeks of their lives, which makes their meat sweet and rich.

In Ireland a pig was often described as “the gentleman who pays the rent”, a euphemism used to describe what was often a family's most valuable possession. Before the potato famine, cottagers who may not have been able to afford a riding horse or beef cattle would at the very least keep a few pigs to recycle the scraps and provide good nose-to-tail eating.

Duncan has looked at different breeds of pigs over the years and after a few years’ experimentation has settled on the breeds he likes – namely the rare breed Old Euro and the Saddleback breed. In three months three weeks and three days you can go from one pig to a litter of eight or more – in fact the world record for a litter is 37!

The wine cellar makes a great place for the prosciutto hams to hang and dry – it's just the right humidity and temperature.

Mount Edward is best known for its fine pinot noir and other wines that are suited to the cool climate of the Gibbston Valley. Pinot and prosciutto – seems like a logical combination to me!

Making prosciutto is no overnight wizardry – it takes about two years from start to finish to produce these sweet cured hams.

I love cooking on the back on my truck, but there’s always a lot of set-up involved to manage the light – and the wind! If there’s one way to give a sound operator a bad day it’s shooting outdoors when it's windy – talk about stressful!

I never cease to be amazed by how little kit you need to cook good food. When you start with fresh quality ingredients, nature has done all the hard work for you, so your job is really easy.

These little rolls are such a snap to make – scatter some sage and lemon zest over the chicken then roll it all up in the thinnest slices of sweet prosciutto and cook in homemade tomato passata. So simple and so good!

The years I spent as a caterer for film crews really pay off when it comes to prep-ahead food like this – not just the chicken, but my little Mediterranean Vegetable Tarts, which consist of a pastry base you cook ahead and then top with a tasty harvest salad when you are ready to serve.