Its Winter: have soup!

It may be apparent that I have not posted anything for over a year. I may have been in prison or hiking in the Andes or tripping through Italy starved and broke only to be rescued by an Italian grandmother who took me under her wing(bosom) and shared with me the secret of Italian Food and life.

That is at least where I hope I was.

Soup Time:

This is my favourite soup/stew and does not rely on any specific ingredients and is versatile like most soups.

Take any chicken pieces (cooked, thighs, breasts etc) and brown them off with some onions and garlic and some spices (coriander seeds, ginger, cumin- Moroccan style spices)

Then add whole peeled tomatoes(from the tin-but not tomato and onion mix-not cool)

Then add anything you want, I generally go for carrots, baby marrow, potatoes or what ever else is lying around.

Cover it all with water – you can use a stock as long as you make it yourself, none of those cubes or powders that give a distinct preservative(very salty) taste. Water works great.

Then simply let that simmer away until the desired thickness you want is reached. I like it as a soup so I have it just as it starts to thicken. I also take any bones out of the soup (leaving the meat of course) at this stage. I then take a masher to the soup and roughly mash the soup trying to mash-up the potatoes which thickens the soup and gives a great texture.

To serve I chop up some parley or coriander and sprinkle that on top and drizzle over a generous glug of olive oil.

try it out, it really is easy to make and simply delicious.

UMAMI…….thumbs up!

Last week I had the wonderful pleasure of joining best mate Andrew Flavell and his parents along with Andrew’s girlfriend Carrie to the Umami restaurant, situated in the lovely Dunkirk Estate in Salt rock up the north coast of KZN. You could say I was the third wheel or in this case the fifth wheel. But not to worry the hospitality and generosity of the whole family made me feel right at home, come to think about it, I had had my fair share of whiskeys so hadn’t even thought about it until now.

Umami was an absolutely awesome experience and is one of fine dining and a taste of modern fusion cuisine. The restaurant is a brother and sister team who clearly have their heart and soul embedded into the place. The fine detail and presentation of the food to the wallpaper is exquisite. The open design of the restaurant is perfect for the Natal summer heat and allows you to walk around onto the veranda to catch a small breeze or bask in the dense humidity. And thus we started off the night with a bottle of Graham Beck bubbly…mmmmknaaaa!

The menu was vibrant and exploding with new food combinations but still maintained a simple yet sophisticated touch.

For starters I had the Prawn and Watermelon with a nuoc cham dressing (Vietnamese dressing-lime, fish sauce, sugar, water and chilli I think this one had). The texture of the prawn and the cool succulence of the watermelon matched with dressing was unreal!

Others had Mascarpone and Gorgonzola tart, ostrich carpaccio and tempura prawns.

Most at the table had the Duck Confit served on a ginger mash of sorts along with wontons, which I gather is their signature main and it lives up to its reputation. Succulent, wholesome and not to heavy at all.

The whole night was just perfect: great service, great food, great drink, great friends.

If you are in, or around the Salt Rock area, I would highly recommend it. Book in advance, also note however it is a place suited for taking someone on a date rather than taking young kids. I sound like such a snob, what the hell bring the kids and the dog!

Happy Holidays!

Food for thought: Umami is the fifth basic taste, others being salty, sweet, bitter and sour. Good luck trying to pick it up!

Fish in foil, with a butternut salsa vibe!

Fish in foil, with Butternut salsa vibe

Fish in Foil: spread a good sheet length of foil out on a flat surface, now place the portions of fish in the middle, I used frozen hake. Now add a cracked garlic clove, a whole chilli split down the middle and about two slithers of a lemon rind, salt papper and a knob of butter. Close up the foil, creating a tight fit so no steam escapes. Shove in the oven at about 200 C for about 20 mins.

Butternut salsa vibe: cut butternut into “julliene” thick matchsticks and cook for about 5 mins in the microwave. In another bowl add chopped up: tomato, cucumber, bit of onion, ginger and chilli and a bunch of parsley( or basil or whatever you feel like). Then squeeze the juice of a lemon into the salsa, as well as a dash of soy sauce. Add the butternut, season and mix well.

Serving up: lay the Butternut salsa around the plate, leaving a gap in the middle. Fill the gap with Jasmin Rice and place the fish on top of the rice.

Its a different dish, with great flavours and something that is both healthy and hearty!

Lamb Chops with Mustard seed rub!

Okay,  in a pestle and mortar crush and crack:

• some mustard seeds
• black peppercorns
• garlic and a little bit of ginger
• Paprika
• rosemary
• salt ands some olive oil

now with this paste, or wet rub, smeer all over the chops spreading evenly.

Smack them under a hot grill, making sure both sides get a good sizzle.

I served them with a rocket and dill pesto mash and salad, with a dollop of cranberry jelly and a drizzle of balsamic glaze.

There are a lot of strong flavours there so you might want to tone down( or not use at all) on some of the ingredients( pesto, balsamic).

The mustard seeds give the chops an awesomely interesting flavour- almost tastes like wasabi. So go and get your hands greased up on these babies.

Beluga losing faithful?

So my recent visit to Beluga had me thinking and pondering some what about whether Beluga has lost its edge. My first experience involved a warm beer but amazing sushi and an awesome ambiance. I have since been two or three times and my last visit had me disappointed.

Myself and good mate Chris accompanied two fine ladies ( very attractive sisters I might add- high fives!) to Beluga on a breezy Thursday night. We were shown our table and asked for drinks-this time I received an awesomely chilled Black Label! So we were off to a good start.

The first problem came when I began battling to hear the conversation at my table. When I looked around, the place was packed. The bar looked like something out of a night club ( not what you expect at a fine dining experience). I felt as if I was in an airplane and my words just got lost as a spoke.

But more alarmingly was the quality of the sushi. It never gleamed with pristine freshness that one expects from Beluga. The tuna had that stale feel about it and had that slight hard crust on the outside. It wasn’t as bad as it sounds but I have had much better at Beluga. Another thing that bothered me was the new special they have. They had the waitrons showing it around to all the tables. It was a sushi special that included fashion sandwiches drenched in sweet chilli sauce. Maybe its just me, but when I have sushi ( especially from Beluga-who are ‘front-runners’ in the best sushi in town) I don’t want it tasting like a wrap from KFC or some pizza from Scooters.

From a few friends I have gathered a similar response, saying that Beluga doesn’t have that edge anymore. Why is this?  Is it that with their new sister restaurant recently opened they want to direct traffic to the new establishment? (surely not)

Bottom line is that if I want premium sushi quality, Beluga might not be first choice anymore. They need to up their game otherwise, you may as well go down the street for all you can eat sushi.

Mazavaroo!

Go Green!

So if you like putting hot stuff on to just about anything you eat; make this, try this and you will be making more of this mkay!

• A lot of green chillies, about three good handfuls- and chop it up really well, seeds and all
• good chunks of chopped up garlic
• grate a small nugget of ginger, and a whole onion-half if it is a big one
• about 250ml of sunflower oil and a good slug of white vinegar

Now throw it all into a pot and onto the stove and let the contents just click away for about 20-30 mins. season if you see fit.

It all just comes together like a rustic paste; allow to cool and store in an air tight container. I use old spice containers. Its a good size and there is enough space to stick a knife in it.

I promise you that this a winner-like Usain Bolt

Ultimate Survival in Namibia!

Seems Germans know how to do things

After watching a recent episode of Ultimate Survival on Discovery – and seeing Bear Grylls suffer dehydration and hunger ( resorting to eating Puff Adders and the likes) it reminded me of my recent trip to the old South West German outpost.

My experience was far off that of Bear’s- as my experience was fulled with huge amounts of food and enough wine and beer to keep you hydrated for a year! The travelling crew included myself and my parents along with two other family friends( well just the Ballies from those families). In total the three 4×4 convoy dusted over 7000km and saw just about everything that Namibia had to offer. Our nights of camping involved meaty braai’s with the roaring of hungry lions in the not so far distance or the never say die attitude of scavenging Jackels looking for scraps ( even if it meant gnawing into the Penzhorn’s tent). It was an awesome experience and one that I urge everyone to do.

Thanks goodness for Gertrude Garmin

Roughing it!

Fish River Canyon

Watch out Floyd!

Hey man!…How bout a quarter loaf Bunny?

Cape Town has no real spice!

Being a Natal boy, I grew up surrounded by a rich Indian culture ( Durban has the largest Indain population outside of Indai in the world). So Curries, samoosas and hot spicy food quickly became a favourite for my taste buds. I have awesome memories of going to the “Bombay Curry Den-‘you only know, til you know!’ “ in Pietermaritzburg with my Dad for a quarter Bunny( for less than R10- special deal ekse!).

Now I study in Cape Town….and eish! there are kak curries here!

Even the Spars don’t have great samoosas in Cape Town. At least nothing like the ones you get in Natal. You could walk into any Spar/supermarket and be sure that their samoosas are top notch. I am always reassurred this when I see that old Indian women who just looks like the Queen of Spice.

Anyway, my point is that Cape Town lacks good, CHEAP, Indian food. And no one is to blame I suppose, so I ventured on making my own Bunny Chow:

Simply get hold of a simple trusty curry recipe– be it beef or mutton/lamb- and get cracking on it.

Secondly you must ensure you go buy only freshly baked White Bread from the bakery( not Sliced) and quarter the loaf( or halve it if you are feeling challenged), hollow out the inside, keeping a base to form your bunny. Chuck the curry in the middle, making sure it over flows and top off with the chunks of bread you removed.

Ahh it was soooooooooo good man!

Wine Tripping with the boys and girls!

all the boys and girls riding low

About two days ago, a whole bunch of us boarded two combi’s and headed off towards the Constantia region for a bit of a razzle on a sunny Saturday. We all met at the infamous Forresters Arms so the day could not start at a better location.

Our first stop: Steenberg Wine Estate; it was the first time I had visited the estate and let me tell you that it is an amazing setting, and the time spent there was equally spectacular. We were greeted with big smiles and a bit of bubbly to get us all the mood. The wines were all great, especially the Sauvignon range. there was no charge for the tasting which put smiles all across our faces. We did have a little mishap when one of the staff accidentally spilt luke warm purple cherry soup all over Carey’s White Jacket ( the only white jacket there I might add) but the jacket was whipped away for a frantic wash and returned with a complimentry bottle of Merlot (score!). So about an hour or so later we skipped away towards the busses (also stopped to check an owl in the trees) and cranked up the volume and sped away to Constantia Uitsig.

Steenberg was just awesome, friendly staff, beautiful location and fantasic wines. Good times!

then we arrived at Constantia Uitsig.

After having such a good time at Steenberg our time at Uitsig was less enjoyed and party due perhaps to only one reason: the lady behind the counter was just so irritating. Talking down to us like a bunch barn animals is not the way to show case your wines. In truth I can’t tell you if the wines were any good or not, in fact they all tasted a bit bitter as they slid down my throat wanting the lady to just shut up. And they charged us, which is not surprising, but when you considered our experience at Steenberg( where we would have paid gladly) and our gloom at Uitsig it is hard not to feel ripped off.

back in the buses- off to Groot Constantia.

As we rolled into Groot Constantia in our low riding, tinted window, taxi looking combi I could see the face of the Lady at the entrance drop. Not to worry we are all well behaved guys and girls.( sort of- well up to that point anyway) So having been here before we decided not to opt for the tasting options but to rather buy bottles and use the setting. And that’s exactly what we did. We spent the time toasting eachother and Nick Brits for organising the day and for the absolute success of the day.

We finished off the day with a few at Forries to watch the Sharks beat the Lions( Sharks Forever!) and to put an end to a fantastic day out in the winelands with great friends and wine!

Steenberg, Groot Constantia thumbs up….Uitsig not so convincing!

Chicken Liver Pate

A few weeks back I tried my hand at making Chicken Liver Pate. Despite being really cheap and easy to make, it came out really well and was flattened instantly by digs mates. I have since made it again and urge anyone to have ago.

PREP:

• Chicken Livers and some Bacon
• Chopped Onion, Carrots, Leeks, Chilli, Garlic and Ginger
• Pinches of ground Nutmeg and Cumin
• a herb or two- Rosemary, Thyme or Marjoram
• a gulp of Port
• Cream
• Butter

And ACTION: Sweat of all the Veg, garlic, ginger, nutmeg, cumin, herbs and chilli in some butter-really reduce it down until it is sweet and mushy. Remove the onion mix from the pan, and throw the bacon into the pan, allowing that to brown. Just before it browns add the chicken livers. Once browned, glug a good splash of the port into the pan, getting all those brown bits off the bottom of the pan.

Put all the ingredients into a magi mix (or blender) and blend it down until it is a paste. Add enough cream to loosen it a bit so that it is not too stodgy. Place the Pate into dish of any sort. Now using melted clarified Butter ( melt butter in microwave and allow to stand for a while, all the clarified butter will be at the top and the white stuff will be at the bottom) pour over the Pate covering the whole surface, this seals the Pate and keeps it fresh. Set in the fridge for about an hour and there you have it. ENJOY!