Tourists enjoying a boat ride on Hout Bay
We wish you all the love in the world on this Valentine’s Day
We are enjoying the most glorious summer weather while our friends in Europe tell us that it is still very cold and their landscapes are covered in snow in many places. Snow means water and that is the one thing we need, so we are a bit jealous. We are doing our best to reduce our consumption and it seems to be working. Our most recent water bill shows a consumption over 33 days of 7kl at a cost of R7.11. The little bit of water we harvest from the shower, washing machine and kitchen sink goes to keep the little bit of garden we have left hanging on by the proverbial finger nails. Pray for good winter rain
Franschhoek Summer Wines What a lovely festival this is. It showcases the Franschhoek wines you might want to drink in the summer: their bubblies, white wines and some rosés. It was held at under marquees on the lawn at Leopard’s Leap, where the farms set up their stalls to showcase the one wine that each was allowed, appropriate to the day. 26 Franschhoek farms were represented; the wines were chilled, so were the visitors and much happiness ensued. We tasted, chatted to the farms’ representatives, had a light lunch and bought some wine to take home. White was the cooling theme and a white tented world welcomed us...
Lamb has become so expensive that we now reserve it for only special meals and the recipe needs to be good. We love Lamb shanks and sometime we find these more reasonably priced than other premium cuts of meat. Long slow cooking while we are working is something Lynne appreciates and this recipe was very good. We hope you like it. Do use a robust red wine. The quality of the wine will reflect in the dish
2 T oil or coconut oil - 4 whole lamb shanks - salt & freshly ground pepper - 3 carrots, sliced - 1 large onion, sliced - 2 T seasoned flour - 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped - 2 bay leaves - 3 or 4 small sprigs of rosemary - 600 ml red wine - 2 cups good lamb or beef stock - 1 tablespoon soft brown sugar -
Preheat your oven to 160⁰C
Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper. In a large oven proof casserole, brown the lamb shanks on all sides in the oil; remove from the pan and put aside and keep warm
In the same casserole, put in the carrots, onions, garlic, bay leaves and rosemary. Stir and cook slowly until nicely coloured. Add the seasoned flour and stir into the vegetables so it absorbs the fats and juices. Then pour in the red wine, beef stock, and brown sugar and bring to a low boil, stirring all the time to deglaze the pan. Put the lamb shanks back into the casserole and top up with water; they should be submerged.
Cover the casserole with its lid and put into the oven and cook for 2½ to 3 hours until very tender. Check every hour to see that they are not drying out. Top up with more water and wine if they are looking too dry. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove the lamb and vegetables to a serving dish. Reduce the sauce if it is a bit thin. It is great if served with mashed potatoes and peas. If you have leftovers, it makes a very good shepherd's pie topped with the left over mash
This is the robust wine we used in the Lamb Shank recipe and there was enough left over to have two glasses with it. We are so pleased we have more because it was superb. It is a Bordeaux blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot
We would not have expected an 11 year old wine still to be so fresh and full of ripe berry fruit. It has held everything, the fruit, the acid, the wood and the chalky tannin all melding together to make a very enjoyable wine. You can still buy it from the farm, the current release is 2014. Well done James McKenzie. http://www.nabygelegen.co.za/our-wines/
Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169
Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005
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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 and our blogs 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. This electronic journal has been sent to you because you have personally subscribed to it or because someone you know has asked us to send it to you or forwarded it to you themselves. Addresses given to us will not be divulged to any person or organisation. We collect them only for our own promotional purposes. If you wish to be added to our mailing list, please click here to send us a message and if you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please click here to send us a message.
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
