Wednesday, March 13, 2019

On the MENU This Week. Basil and Ricotta Cheese Pesto Pasta

We are growing herbs in pots this year and watering by hand. Some have been really successful like our basil and thyme, while others have turned up their toes and died, like the oregano which was planted with the thyme. Because the basil was starting to go to seed, Lynne decided to make a pesto this week and this is how the recipe evolved. It was influenced by watching Jamie in Italy, where he has been doing some interesting vegetarian pastas that Nonnas (Italian grandmothers) have made at home for years. We used a favourite shape called Fusillata which holds sauce well, but any pasta you like can be used with Pesto, it does stick. You can also change the nuts if you like
1 cup of fresh Italian Basil - 2 peeled garlic cloves - 20g walnuts - ½ teaspoon of salt - 1 Tablespoon grated Pecorino cheese
1 Tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese - 4 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 100g Ricotta cheese, drained
Freshly ground black pepper - Pasta of your choice for 4 - 50g baby peas -  Parmesan to add at the end
In a blender, combine the basil, garlic, walnuts, salt, both hard cheeses and one tablespoon of olive oil. Blend, adding more olive oil slowly to make a finer paste. Then add the Ricotta. Taste and add more salt if necessary and season with black pepper. Cook the pasta in well salted water until al dente. Briefly cook the  the baby peas; they only need a minute. Drain the pasta and stir in the Pesto. Add the peas into the pasta at the last moment. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and another good grating of Parmesan. Serve with a tomato salad and a good Sauvignon Blanc

Anniversary Dinner at Bones, Woodstock

It's that time of the year again, where to go for our Anniversary dinner? We chose one we have been meaning to visit for ages but, because of the Cycle Race and everyone (still!) carbo loading, we were turned down. John thinks it's because we were only two and they make more money from bigger tables. Anyway they run a two tier system, so they are off the list. We do NOT want to eat at 6 and be out by 8 unless there is a really good price incentive, nor do we want to get our main course later than 10 pm. So Lynne remembered that she had seen some really good reviews on a site she follows in Facebook: Cape Town Restaurants - the good, the bad and the nastyyyy ... And so a reservation was made at Bones Kitchen and Bar in the Palms Centre in Woodstock. It’s a safe centre behind a barrier, with its own paid parking. And what a great time we had with lovely food and excellent service
The Menu. Prices are very reasonable for what you get; it is fine dining with some conventional dishes and some new and exciting. And we do love the sharing aspect, if our appetites are in tune
Might have to try them for breakfast too. And Yay! They have Green Tea.
The wine list is quite eclectic, mostly good with some wines we like. We did order the Rosé by the glass and found that you get a very generous carafe with nearly two glasses each. However, we think they might need a better house wine. Not the best rosé we have ever had. Lactic and a little bitter
Moooooose anyone. Very atmospheric! The restaurant is spacious and there is a very good buzz in the room of people enjoying themselves
The rosé was to drink with our starters - it goes well with seafood and other dishes, so usually a good choice
It lasted well into the main course
John had the Mussels velouté; superb, rich and full of plump mussels and crisp pancetta pieces
The stock they used was really good
Lynne had been dreaming of gnocchi at the first restaurant and so was delighted to find them on this menu too. In a lovely thick flavourful Gorgonzola sauce, topped with sun blush tomatoes and micro greens. They were quite light, but we think they might have been in the water just a little too long. The small pieces of crisp Parmesan tuiles were inspired. Our Pinot Noir was a great match for this dish
For our main course and because of some of the reviews, we went for the shared Pot Bones and chose the shin of beef - excellent value at R375 for 2 . Absolutely magnificent. We were told that they would take about 20 minutes extra to arrive and we were very happy to wait. The beef was slow cooked in this casserole with red wine and vegetables, plenty of rosemary and it simply fell apart. The flavour is extraordinary and it is served with a side of creamy, buttery mashed potato. Of course we couldn’t manage the whole thing and had the remains put in a doggy bag. Lunch the next day of course. The lamb choice was lamb ribs and we saw it on our neighbours’ table and that looked great too. But John does not do small bones. The other choice was chicken, cooked long and slow in these pots. We so recommend you go and try these. Wish we had a dog for that marrow bone. All its flavour is in the dish
We took along a special bottle from our cellar and it was perfect for the dish. We asked before we ordered if they have a corkage policy and they do for one bottle. A reasonable R50 given that this wine is expensive. And although, on opening, we thought it needed more time, it quickly opened up into the classic Burgundian elegant Pinot Noir we were expecting with a floral nose and lovely deep dark fruit, soft tannins and complexity. No faults and so enjoyable
Absolutely no room for dessert but we will be back, with friends. Service was seamless, we had two excellent, helpful and friendly waiters and despite a shift change nothing went awry. Thank you Carlson. Sadly we didn’t get the name of the first waiter