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Waffles and Pancakes at Feel Good Food, Tableview

Friday, February 28, 2020

This Week’s MENU. Waffles in Tableview, Bosch Chefs contest, Paella, Bellingham Rosé

Sunday on the Beach

This week, we write about food, eating it and making it; next week, there will be more about wine than food and a story about one of the year’s best entertainment events. We hope you will like the stories

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Where to find THE BEST waffles in Cape Town? We think we have found them

Now there are "Waffles" and waffles. If you have travelled in Belgium you will know what an iconic dish this is to the Belgians. And it has to be made perfectly. Not a quick self raising flour batter and a quick pour into a blackened pan that hasn't been used for a year or more. They must not be soggy or flat or even too crisp and dry. They have to be light and airy and melt in the mouth. We used to rave about the stall at the Biscuit Mill run by a Belgian, Fernand Durler, but he has returned to Belgium. We have had some very bad ones and, thankfully, some occasional good ones. But not quite there. Read On…

The Next Bosch Chef Cooking Competition

We have a good working relationship with Bosch and were last there for the judging of the Sommelier Awards. This time, they invited us to cover their new competition for #TheNextBoschChef - someone with a passion for cooking and baking who would put their appliances and cooking studios to good use with their culinary skills. The competition was held in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Read On…

On the MENU This Week. Perfect Seafood Paella

Lynne was taught to make Paella in London by a Spaniard but the recipe she used till now is very different from this version of a Seafood Paella. It is just the weather for something like this and again comes mainly from the store cupboard and the freezer. She recently bought a packet of mixed seafood at a wholesaler and while this is not a perfect solution, it does work well in dishes like this. We did not have mussels, so there are none in the picture. Read On…

MENU's Wine of the Week Bellingham 2018 Strawberry Rosé from Woolworths

Made by former Bellingham cellarmaster Niel Groenewald (now heading Nederburg) and Woolworths master wine selector Allan Mullins CWM, this wine is rosé perfection. The nose is filled with ripe fresh strawberries, strawberry jelly and strawberry ice cream, with just a hint of vanilla. Read On…

27th February 2020

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Thursday, February 27, 2020

MENU's Wine of the Week. Bellingham 2018 Strawberry Rosé from Woolworths

Charming and silky on the palate, the wine is crisp, dry and zesty with more notes of strawberry ice cream and strawberry jam. Such a good quaffing wine with a summer lunch or supper outside and stands up well to spicy food. You will be hooked, as we were. A steal at R49.99 a bottle

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On the MENU This Week. Perfect Seafood Paella

Lynne was taught to make Paella in London by a Spaniard, but the recipe she used until now is very different from this version of a Seafood Paella. It is just the weather for something like this and again the ingredients come mainly from the store cupboard and the freezer. She recently bought a packet of mixed seafood at a wholesaler and, while this is not a perfect solution, it does work well in dishes like this. We did not have mussels, so there are none in the picture

Finding Ingredients

The one ingredient you must have is good fish or seafood stock. If you can make your own using prawn shells, crayfish shells, fish etc, fantastic, or you can buy fish stock at Woolworths or find seafood stock cubes at Italian or Spanish suppliers. And there you will also find the correct Bomba Rice. Try Sagra Foods https://sagrafoods.co.za/ in Montague Gardens, shop open between 10 and 3 Monday to Friday. They have boxes of the Montsia brand, they also have Saffron, Smoked Spanish Paprika and may have fish stock cubes. Good Chorizo sausage is now found in all our big local supermarkets.

I know there is a lot of detail to this recipe, but if you do the preparation beforehand, it is actually quite simple to put together. This recipe makes enough for 4 servings, but you can double it up and make a large one for the perfect Sunday lunch or supper with friends. Lynne uses a 25 cm pan; if you double up you will need a 34 cm pan. There is a lot of oil used in this recipe, it is essential for the perfect Paella, as it helps to make the Soccerat, the crusty caramelised bottom at the end. Using the right ratio of rice to stock is very important – if you use too much liquid, the Paella will go mushy, too little and it will be dry.

60 ml Extra Virgin Olive oil – ½ an onion thinly sliced - 2 cloves of garlic , thinly sliced – half a chorizo cut into bite size slices - two good pinches of saffron (about 1/3 of a gram)– 1 cup of Bomba Paella rice - 1 teaspoon Smoked Spanish Paprika – half a cup of tomato passata – 1 bay leaf – exactly 275 ml good fish or seafood stock – salt & freshly ground black pepper – 2 cups seafood mix or calamari – 1 cup peeled prawns – 8 to 10 cleaned mussels

In your wide 25 cm Paella pan, heat the oil and gently fry the onion till soft, then add the garlic and fry for another minute or two. Do not brown. Add the chorizo and fry for 2 minutes. Soak the saffron in a tablespoon of warm water in a small bowl for a minute or two. Add the rice to the pan and let it toast for a minute or two, it will start to go transparent. Then add the smoked Paprika, stir to warm it, then add the tomato passata. Add the saffron to the dish with its soaking water and the bay leaf. Add the measured amount of fish stock (If using stock cubes, dissolve them in the correct amount of warm water before adding). Stir to combine all the ingredients. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a slow simmer and then arrange all your seafood on top and semi submerge it in the stock and rice. Do not stir the Paella again – this is important. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes or until the stock is disappearing.

While it is simmering, roast or char the red pepper until the skin is blackening, then pop it into a sealed plastic bag until it has steamed and cooled. Peel off the charred skin, remove the seeds and stem and cut into slices. Set aside.

When most of the stock has been absorbed, you will see a little oil come to the surface. Watch the paella closely. You will begin to smell a subtle toasted rice smell. This is the crisp soccerat layer forming on the bottom of the pan. You must be brave and let it happen. BUT you must not let it burn. Scatter over the red pepper slices, turn off the heat and cover the pan for 10 minutes to finish cooking the rice and seafood. Serve with lemon slices and a good robust rosé wine like our Wine of the Week, the Strawberry Rosé from Woolworths or, on a hot day, a jug of Sangria.

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