Tuesday, November 01, 2011
This week's MENU from Main Ingredient
MENU
Main Ingredient’s weekly E-Journal
Gourmet Foods, Ingredients & Fine Wines
Eat In Guide’s Outstanding Outlet Award Winner from 2006 to 2010
Click on anything underlined and Green to open a link to pictures or more information
A moorhen with her chicks
Our restaurant reviews We have a note about this at the end of every MENU, but we believe that we need to say this here. When we review restaurants, we do our best to give an honest evaluation. We do this if we have been invited by the owners or their PR agents, or if we have decided to go and pay from our own purses. Our objective is to improve the dining experience for all of us who love good food and to encourage dining out if the restaurant is good. We try to be constructive and to promote, but if we receive food which is not good or poor service, we owe it to you and to the restaurant to say so. Our credibility matters to us. We believe that our being honest is in the interest of the restaurants that we visit. If their food and service are sub-standard, customers will not return and they will not survive. They need to know if they need to improve. We do not want to destroy them, but to help them thrive.
Buitenverwachting Restaurant new menu We were invited recently to try Executive Chef Edgar Osojnik’s new summer menu and spent a very jolly evening with other members of the social media. Edgar is very interested in using foams, reductions, and jellies to accompany his food and we had several dishes which included these. We started with Three ways with Olives and Pepperonata and Olives, one of their vegetarian dishes, and this was served with the farm’s best selling white wine, Buiten Blanc – always deliciously crisp, mainly sauvignon blanc and deservedly one of this country’s most popular restaurant wines. Then came a lovely piece of fresh and moist Tandoori Kingklip with a prawn dhal, definitely one to return for again. This was accompanied by one of our favourites, Buitenverwachting Sauvignon Blanc. Next, a deep bowl of creamy mielie bacon soup with a tiny roulade of lamb and pesto on the side of the plate. “One to try at home!” thought Lynne, but you must use fresh sweetcorn. This went perfectly with the Chardonnay, which has had 10 months in French oak. This was followed by Saddle of rich Springbok, served three ways with a Port wine couverture chocolate sauce accompanied by the equally rich and deep Cabernet Sauvignon. And finally a perfect honey saffron ice cream with dark chocolate, rhubarb and blood orange compote, with which we were treated to a glass of the excellent “1796” muscat dessert wine. Luckily this meal was served in quite small portions and did last quite long time, so we were not totally unable to move when it finished. Go and see this new menu for yourself with its many different facets.
Entertaining We have been so hectic this winter that we owe most of our friends some supper. Last Thursday, we finally got down to doing a dinner for eight. Lynne likes to prepare most of the dishes beforehand, so she made twice baked cheese soufflés for the starters. We served them with a 2010 Diemersdal Sauvignon blanc. We had two main courses, sparklingly fresh seared yellowfin tuna from Julie Carter (find her at Ocean Jewels in the Neighbourgoods Market on Saturdays) as the tuna season has begun at last and everyone loved it. And the popular chicken with black olives and balsamic vinegar, which we first had at a lunch at Morgenster. We served it with a 2001 Morgenster Lourens River Valley red blend. Lynne made the never fail chocolate and apricot tart from the first Moro cookbook and much wine was served to those who were not driving. The tart was perfectly partnered with a Nederburg Auction Reserve 1998 Gewürztraminer/Weisser Riesling special late harvest. More dinners are planned, but now the diary is filling up with pre-Christmas events…
Winning Buffet In the winter, we won a prize of Sunday lunch in the Savour restaurant at 15 on Orange Hotel and, as we suddenly had a free Sunday last week, we decided to go and use our voucher. We have to say that, in our opinion, this is STILL the best buffet in town. See pictures. At R265 per person, it includes a bottomless glass of Graham Beck Brut or Brut Rosé. See the menu. Lots and lots of fresh food, lots of sashimi, carpaccios, salads and they don’t pile dishes high with pasta, rice and potatoes and other starches. There is one soup, this week it was Hungarian Goulaschsuppe, and four bains marie of hot dishes, the best of which was the kingklip thermidor. The cheeses were mostly local this time and needed a bit more ripening, but they were very welcome. The dessert sideboard groans with different options, many of them chocolate based, for those of you who cannot resist the sweeter side of life. We drank two glasses of the Graham Beck Brut Rosé and had another cup of what we think is the best espresso in town. We didn’t overeat, but one could! It is very tempting to go back to the buffet again and again… and many people do.
Il Cappero’s Gattopardo dinner This Sicilian restaurant in Barrack Street has been running a three course special all week long and pairing each course with a glass of Italian wine. We went on Tuesday night to find the restaurant full of well known and also not so well known (to us) diners. Two friends of ours arrived and were allowed to join our table. There were three starters on the menu, so we ordered one each and did our usual swop half-way through. John had the Caponata de Melanzane salad – layers of fried aubergine sauced with tomato, capers, olives and pine nuts, soft and rich. Lynne ordered the artichokes in four juices, a very unusual way to cook artichoke hearts in a rich and very tangy sauce made from orange, lemon, clementine juices and white vinegar with capers and anchovies added. Both of these went perfectly with the recommended Pinot Grigio. Again, we had three main courses to choose from and went for the Swordfish and the Prince’s Pasta. Both came wrapped in parcels of quite substantial pastry. The swordfish had sweet raisins and onions, capers and olives in the parcel which made it taste like a meat rather than a fish, but it was very pleasant. It was surrounded by a trail of puree of courgette. Lynne’s pie, Timbala di Principe (the Princes Pasta), was filled with macaroni, small pieces of chicken, chicken livers, mushrooms, ham and quail eggs. It was interesting, if a little dry, and cried out for a sauce of some sort. John had the recommended chardonnay – very light and low in alcohol, slightly buttery, Lynne’s dish came with a very typically Italian red wine, Nero d’avola Sedara; soft, light and fruity with characteristic hints of violets on the nose , which we all liked so much that we ordered a bottle (R180). Service was a little slow due, we think, to the restaurant being so busy, and our desserts came quite late. John had a Cassatine di Ricotta with almond marzipan and Lynne Gelo di Anguria, a rather solid jelly made from watermelon with jasmine flavour, on a base of what tasted like coffee grounds. Both were very sweet indeed. We paid R575 for our meal, including service but excluding the bottle of red wine, the price of which we shared with our friends. The 1963 Visconti movie Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) starring Burt Lancaster - wearing an hysterical wig - an amazingly handsome and young Alain Delon and a sensational teenage Claudia Cardinale played on the flat screen in the corner while we ate. All in Italian without subtitles, it nevertheless added a bit of atmosphere to the meal. Pictures of the dishes are here.
Tonight, we had duck breasts. Lynne glazed them with the new Protea Hill Farm Cream – the balsamic reduction made from their wonderful fruit vinegars. She used the Orange Cream as a glaze and, if you want to try the recipe, we have this on our stall at the markets or you can order it from us on line. Collect from our home or we can post it to you. We have not given exact quantities, it is very much a ‘taste and see’ recipe and is for 2 duck breasts, adjust quantities as necessary.
Duck in Orange Cream Glaze
Butter – canola oil – 2 duck breasts – juice & grated rind of one orange – 100 ml good chicken stock – Five Spice powder – Protea Hill Farm orange Cream balsamic reduction – honey – salt and pepper
In a heavy bottomed frying pan, melt a little butter, enough to coat the base of the pan. (Do add half and half oil and butter, or just oil if you have health concerns). Season the duck all over with the pepper and salt and a light dusting of Five Spice or Quatre Epice powder. When the pan is hot, place the duck breasts skin side down and let them cook on a medium heat till the fat renders down completely and the skin is nice and brown and caramelized but not burnt. Turn them over and continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Duck is much better served pink as, if it is overcooked, it can be tough. Remove the duck breasts, coat the skin with a little Orange Cream and put them into the oven at 180°C for 10 minutes then remove, put into foil and rest for 10 minutes. Add the orange juice and stock to the pan and let it deglaze and emulsify with the juices in the pan. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding a teaspoonful of the 0range Cream and do add a little honey if the juice is too sharp. Prepare your vegetables and then at the last minute, slice the duck and place on the warm plate. Pour over the sauce from the pan and serve. It had a wonderful flavour, was beautifully tender and we matched it with one of the best current bargains in wine: Drostdyhof Chardonnay 2010, which won a Gold medal in the Decanter Awards in England and cost us R30 at Checkers. The duck breasts came from the Neighbourgoods Butcher, Salvin Hirschfield. Talk to him at the market on Saturday, if you’re in Cape Town.
The Eat In DSTV Food Network Produce Awards aim to acknowledge and celebrate outstanding, independent South African producers for putting South Africa on the international food map with their integrity, care for the environment, passion and innovation. Of course, an outlet is a vital connection between the producers and public, which is why the awards also recognise the stores, shops and market for their vital role in the process. If you think that the bread from your local bakery or fresh veggies from your Saturday morning market is worthy of some praise, now's your chance to speak up! We are very proud of being winners in a few previous years. Nominate your favourite producer, product or outlet in this year's Eat In DSTV Food Network Produce Awards. Read more about it and submit your nomination at http://www.eat-in.co.za/Awards/Nominations
Our products. The Protea Hill Farm balsamic reductions, ‘Creams’, continued to have a very good reception last week, especially the raspberry and the lemon. We have just received another delivery. Come and taste them at one of our market stalls. You won’t find them anywhere else and we know some of the top chefs are already using them enthusiastically.
We have Carnaroli rice at last, as well as the Violone Nano, both excellent for risotto and also the more familiar Arborio. The Spanish Bomba paella rice continues to sell well. Goose fat has arrived, and we have hazelnut oil in 125ml bottles, as well as truffle oil in very user-friendly 55ml bottles. We have ample supply of duck fat and the delicious French patés, duck confits, cassoulet and other delicacies.
We have a lot of fun putting MENU together each week and, of course, doing the things we write about, but making it possible for you to enjoy rare and wonderful gourmet foods is what drives our business. We stock a good range of ingredients and delicious ready-made gourmet foods. So, please have a look at our Product List and see what you need. You can contact us by email or phone, or through our website. We can send your requirements to you anywhere in South Africa.
Our market activities You will find us at The Place at Cavendish this Friday, the 28th from 10h00 to 17h00. Our dates at Long Beach for November will be Fridays, 4th and 18th November. We will be at The Place at Cavendish on Fridays 28th October and 11th and 25th November. We will be at the Old Biscuit Mill’s brilliant, exciting and atmospheric Neighbourgoods Market, as always, every Saturday between 09h00 and 14h00. The Neighbourgoods market has been rearranged. The tables have been arranged at right angles to the way we have all become used to, with all the aisles running straight down from the entrance, which has improved the flow of visitors through the market. Lynne will be wearing a gold plastic crown (again) in order to help you find us.
There is a huge variety of interesting things to occupy your leisure time here in the Western Cape. To help you choose an event to visit, we have taken our list of Interesting Food and Wine Events online. All the events are listed in date order and we already have exciting events to entertain you through into the new year. Click here to access the list. You will need to be connected to the internet.
Many of the specials in our list of restaurant special offers are continuing through summer and we have been told that there will be some new summer menus soon. Click here to access it. These Specials have been sent to us by the restaurants or their PR agencies. We have not personally tried all of them and their listing here should not always be taken as a recommendation from ourselves. If they don’t update us, we can’t be responsible for any inaccuracies in the list. When we have tried it, we’ve put in our observations. We have cut out the flowery adjectives etc. we’ve been sent, to give you the essentials. Click on the name to access the relevant website. All communication should be with the individual restaurants.
27th October 2011
Remember - if you can’t find something, we’ll do our best to get it for you, and, if you’re in Cape Town or elsewhere in the country, we can send it to you! Check our product list for details and prices.
PS If a word or name is in bold type and underlined, click on it for more information
Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169
Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005
Our Adamastor & Bacchus© tailor-made Wine, Food and Photo tours take small groups (up to 6) to specialist wine producers who make the best of South Africa’s wines. Have fun while you learn more about wine and how it is made! Tours can be conducted in English, German, Norwegian or Dutch flavoured Afrikaans.
Recommendations of products and outside events are not solicited or charged for, and are made at the authors’ pleasure. All photographs, recipes and text used in these newsletters are ©John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus. Our restaurant reviews are usually unsolicited. We prefer to pay for our meals and not be paid in any way by anyone. Whether we are invited or go independently, we don’t feel bad if we say we didn’t like it. Honesty is indeed our best policy. While every effort is made to avoid mistakes, we are human and they do creep in occasionally, for which we apologise. Our Avast! ® Anti-Virus software is updated at least daily and our system is scanned continually for viruses.
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