Roast Chicken
As is tradition, we celebrated arriving home with a roast chicken on Sunday. Not all that interesting to read about (there is some more interesting stuff to come soon) but something we always look forward to after being away.
Duck Breast with Fondant Potatoes
We’ve been away on holiday so, what with Christmas and two weeks in the sun, we’re now even further behind with posts than we were. I have a lot to get through but this seemed like a good place to start. While away in South Africa (more on that to follow), we visited the Springfield wine estate in Robertson and tasted their Pinot Noir. It was suggested as a good pairing for duck, we agreed and packed a bottle into our suitcase so that we could try it when we got home. We didn’t wait very long before trying it. I’d frozen some bolognaise sauce which we ate when we arrived home on Friday night, this duck was Saturday’s dinner.
We cooked the duck breasts simply and made up a sauce with some of the Pinot Noir to accompany it, making sure we had plenty left to drink with the finished dish. The wine did indeed work brilliantly (I’ll ask Stephen to add some techinical stuff here) but the really great thing about this was the fondant potatoes. We’ve got these very wrong in the past but these were brilliant. The best part was that the potatoes were particularly floury which meant lots of soft pieces at the bottom of the pan which had soaked up plenty of butter and garlic. We ate those with a spoon after dinner and, to be honest, I could have easily just eaten a plate of those.
Sirocco, Kalk Bay
When we were last in South Africa, we went to Sirocco a few times for coffee. We could never resist their croissants despite usually always having had breakfast already. They served them with olive oil, which I thought was strange until I tasted it and grew to love them. I was lucky enough to be away for my birthday and, when Stephen asked me where I wanted to have breakfast, I knew immediately.
Sadly, they don’t serve the croissants with olive oil anymore (although I’m sure I could have asked for some on the side) but just with butter and jam. The croissants were as good as I remember though and I even tasted and enjoyed some of Stephen’s omelette. It was served with feta cheese and mushrooms and had a serving on toasted sourdough with squashed avocado on the side. One to repeat at home, definitely.
Oh, and you see those guys up there? They played happy birthday to me as I returned from the toilet. A lovely, sunny birthday.
Potjiekos
Potjiekos (according to Wikipedia) translates as “small pot food” and is the traditional South African method of cooking outside using a small, cast-iron, three-legged pot. The pot sits on the ground and heat is provided by a small fire that’s lit under the pot (or potjie).
I’ve never had potjiekos before but have heard a lot about it. With Stephen’s Aunt and Uncle visiting, it was the perfect opportunity to dust off the pot and light the fire. Stephen’s Mom has a couple of potjiekos recipe books which we paged through but, in the end, decided to do our own thing. We settled on lamb as the meat and started with the usual onions, celery and garlic as the base. Nutmeg, cloves and bay leaves provided the aromatics with butternut squash and baby onions going in later. There was also dried fruit (South Africans are OBSESSED with adding fruit to savoury dishes which can be a challenge for haters of the sweet and savoury combination) and both potatoes and rice (they’re also obsessed with double or even triple carbs, which I didn’t find so challenging) to finish things off.
So, it’s basically a simple stew or casserole? Well yes, I suppose it is but it’s quite a difficult thing to cook. First off things need to brown so the fire needs to be fierce and then you want the stew to simmer for a long time so the heat needs to be kept constant. Stephen opted to keep some charcoal burning on the braai that he could add when things looked like they were cooling down. I think technically that’s cheating, according to what I read in the cookery books but it seemed entirely necessary to me. There was also a lot of discussion over whether the pot should be stirred or whether ingredients should just be added in layers according to their cooking time. We chose to stir.
And what of the taste? Well, it did taste a lot like a simple stew or casserole (apart from the fruit, I definitely don’t put fruit in my casserole) but that’s no bad thing. More than that though it was a really enjoyable way of cooking. We all sat outside while Stephen tended to the pot and, much like the fondue, it was all very sociable. The one thing that really stood out for me was the addition of rice to the pot. I normally serve and cook rice on the side but cooking it with the meat meant it worked as a natural thickening agent and it soaked up all the lovely flavours from the rest of the pot. Something I’m definitely going to try now we’re home and back to cooking indoors again.
Braai
Of course we braai’d while we were away. Several times. This was a traditional chops and ‘wors (boerewors) braai that we fancied up with some salad and corn. I think we were supposed to just eat meat really, possibly with some soft rolls for the boerewors, or some pap but the fridge was full of salad and I don’t really like the sound of pap.
This particular boerewors didn’t behave very well and despite Stephen’s excellent technique with the braai tongs, it fell apart. We got it from Woolworths (Marks and Spencer is called Woolworths in SA), perhaps if we had stopped trying to posh everything up and just got it from Pick and Pay then it would have stayed in it’s spiral. It didn’t affect the taste though, obviously, and it was good. Mostly beef I think (again, not traditional I don’t think) and with a good amount of spice.
Jessica’s, Montagu
Montagu was a strange place, like stepping back in time. We stayed at the Country House Hotel which has retained many of it’s original art-deco furnishings, they offered us sherry when we arrived to refresh us after our journey (locally produced and something the town is very proud of but it was 40 degrees outside, we were sweating hideously and very much in need of water) and had a pianist in the bar in the evenings. The water coming out of the taps was brown (the council were working on the pipes so not really the fault of the hotel) and the curtains fell down. While the place was charming in parts, it was also slightly shabby and could really do with some new carpets and bed linens.
Along with the sherry (they also make a lot of port and brandy, it’s too hot here to grow grapes needed for “normal” wine) the town is also known for it’s fruit and nuts. Montagu brand fruit and nuts are sold all over SA and the town has an enormous factory outlet selling every kind of dried fruit and nut you can think of, all of which are incredibly fresh and, mostly, very tasty.
We didn’t have a dinner reservation for the evening. We had a recommendation but that place turned out only to be open for lunch. Stephen was keen to eat traditional food in the hotel restaurant but the shabbiness put me off so we drove around (we could have walked, it’s not a big place but it was 40 degrees so we spent a lot of time in the car with the AC switched to MAX) until we found something we liked the look of. It wasn’t easy since most places didn’t have menus outside and we didn’t have a guide book but Jessica’s looked nice from the outside and had a garden.
The cooking was in stark contrast to what was going on in the rest of the town and when I looked at the menu was surprised to see they offered a tasting menu and included a number of options that were cooked sous-vide. It wasn’t Heston Blummenthal but it seemed much more forward-thinking and modern than what was going on outside of their front door.
The food was good, not mind-blowing but good quality ingredients cooked simply with just a few interesting touches. I had the scallops and risotto to begin with and Stephen opted for the potato and leek soup which was poured at the table. I think that’s considered rather passe in trendy London but again, I was surpised to find it being done here in this sleepy little town.
I moved on to Karoo lamb and Stephen had a trio of the same lamb, springbok and ostrich. None of it was cooked medium as they told us it would be but the accompanying sauces showed there was definitely skill in the kitchen and the potato accompaniments were superb. The side dish of vegetables weren’t up to much. Green beans were stringy and the carrots were incredibly al-dente. Those on the plate had received much more love and attention though and were well cooked and tasted like only vegetables that have been grown in hot sun can do.
If you happen to find yourself in Montagu then I’d definitely recommend Jessica’s. The Country House Hotel not so much (although I feel bad saying that because the staff were lovely and I’m sure brown water is really common in the country) but it is worth a visit if you’re interested in the art-deco movement.
A trip to the Waterfront and a Fish Braai
Our first braai of the holiday, this one to celebrate New Year’s Day and made with fish that we picked up on the way back from a visit to the Waterfront. We’d actually already eaten two big plates of fish for lunch at Quay Four but there’s something about the warm weather that makes fish so appealing. It helps that fish is so fresh and plentiful in SA too. And much cheaper than here in the UK too.
The shrimp were cooked simply and then drowned in garlic butter and the angelfish was grilled with lemon, garlic and thyme. Angelfish has a meaty texture, a little like swordfish and works brilliantly on the barbecue since it remains firm and doesn’t fall apart. While it doesn’t have a hugely strong flavour, it certainly stood up to the marinade and the smoke.
New Year’s Eve Fondue
So, as I mentioned, just after Christmas, Stephen and I flew out of freezing London to sunny South Africa. We arrived to bright sunshine and heat that peaked at 40 degrees. It was glorious and very difficult to get back on the plane to come home.
The first real meal we ate was fondue, to celebrate New Year’s Eve. When Stephen was growing up, this was the traditional dish and one which I was really looking forward to. Along with the chocolate fondue that I’m familiar with for dessert, there was also a savoury fondue which wasn’t cheese. I don’t know a lot about fondue but I was under the impression that savoury = cheese, apparently not. This kind of fondue is oil with a selection of stuff to fry in it. Genius! We started with salmon trout which is similar to the salmon we have here but meatier and then followed up with steak. There were also potatoes (which weren’t supposed to be submerged in the oil but I couldn’t resist) and the “veggies” which we ate at every meal and were generally a combination of cooked vegetables and salad. It was great, such a sociable way to eat and also perfect for people with different tastes since it’s so easy to cook the meat to your preferred doneness.
I meant to ask Stephen’s mom what kind of chocolate she used for the dessert fondue since it didn’t have that oily texture I’ve experienced with the chocolate fondue I’ve had before. We mostly ate fruit with this, since we were all quite full of fried stuff but there were some marshmallows too, at Stephen’s request and the cake worked very well, just so long as you didn’t leave it in the chocolate for too long.
You have no idea how hard it was for me to leave that beautiful red and white fondue set behind. If I’d have had more space in my bag then I would have begged Stephen’s mother for it. I’ve been busy scouring charity shops for a set since I got back so you can expect to see more fondue very soon. I’m definitely keen to try a cheese one.
Tom Yum Goong
This is an old one which we ate this when we arrived back in London after Christmas. Spicy prawn soup is a great dish when you’re looking for something light and interesting after days of eating too much heavy food. We cooked the same thing last year and often do a variation of it when we’re feeling like we’ve over-indulged.
The noodles were particularly good, we fried some onion and garlic before adding the noodles to the pan and then seasoned with soy sauce and sesame oil. I remember thinking at the time they deserved to be more than a side dish and am planning something similar for tomorrow night.
Lentil and Bacon Ragu
I wrote this up at the time of eating but forgot to post it and have just found it in the draft folder. Lucky for me since I wouldn’t have remembered any of this.
Both Stephen and I are recovering from heavy colds and today’s weather meant we didn’t feel much like venturing from the house. At this time of year, there’s not a lot in the fridge as there’s so much going on in the evenings that we’re not finding much time to cook. There are always lentils in the cupboard though and always some kind of bacon in the freezer so this was easy to put together while we snuffled and sneezed our way through the day.
Not the most exciting dish for a Saturday night but it was easy to cook and since neither of us have much of an appetite anyway, it’s relative simplicity was soothing and comforting. I ate mine with pasta, Stephen had his with bread.
Lentil and Bacon Ragu
Serves Two
250g bacon
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Bay leaf
Large handful herbs, finely chopped (I used fresh thyme and rosemary)
Tablespoon tomato puree
200g puy lentils
Salt and pepper
Nutmeg
Glass red wine
300ml vegetable stock
Worcester sauce
1 tin tomatoes
Start by frying the bacon until the fat has rendered. Remove to a plate.
In the same pan, add some olive oil and then soften onion and garlic. Next add the bay leaf and the herbs and cook briefly before stirring in the tomato puree. Ensure everything is coated and then cook for a couple of minutes.
Now add the lentils and give everything a good stir. Season and grate in the nutmeg. Deglaze the pan with the red wine and allow the alcohol to cook out. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to the boil and then simmer for around 40 minutes.
