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Thursday, June 28, 2018

This Week’s MENU. Hussar Grill, Indian Oven, Societi Bistro, Toledo, Madrid, Tomato stuffed with tuna, Iona One Man Band

We started our Iberian excursion with a photograph of this statue, taken in 1971

Don Quixote is still questing in 2018

This has been a bit of a restaurant week for us. We have visited three restaurants and enjoyed each one and each has a different style. We are coming close to the end of our Iberian trip and show you Toledo and Madrid this week.

We have written frequently about the challenges presented by the drought that has afflicted us for the last year. There is some good news. It has just been announced, perhaps a bit irresponsibly, that our dams have enough water to carry us through the next year. It has to be remembered that they are still, on average, less than half full and the coming summer will be dry, as always. The biggest dam, Theewaterskloof, is at only just over 30%. We have become inured to responsible use of water, and we need to keep the good habits. The Western Cape will always face a challenge of balancing water supply and consumption

Iona tasting before supper at Hussar Grill, Camps Bay

At one of the recent trade wine tastings we met the manager of the Camps Bay Hussar Grill and he invited us to one of their regular Monday evening guided wine tastings - a different wine farm presents the tasting each week. You can phone and ask to attend should you be in the area. They start at 6.30 and you need to book. They can only accommodate 35 people. Our invitation was also for dinner afterwards. The Hussar Grill is up Camps Bay Drive, and not on the sea front. We were welcomed at the bar…

Supper at The Indian Oven, Hout Bay

We are always on the hunt for good authentic Indian food - and we do mean Indian from the sub continent, not Cape Malay or Durban curries (which we like) but Indian is our favourite. Lynne's 27 years in London made her a firm fan and John is also very keen. Friends who live in Hout Bay kept raving about their local so, as we were in the neighbourhood, we decided to give The Indian Oven a try. It is at No.18 on Main Road, the road that leads to Chapman's Peak Hotel and thence Chapman's Peak Drive. Up a few steps, it is one of a few shops in this row. We found parking outside. It only took us 20 minutes to drive through from Sea Point and there is a bus route as well, so we might take the bus for lunch another time…

Societi Bistro’s Winter Menu

An invitation to join other media to sample the new winter menu at Societi Bistro was very welcome on this cold and wet Saturday lunchtime, especially as Lynne was getting over a bad dose of flu and it meant she wouldn't have to cook supper that night - we only take one main meal a day. The tables were set with blankets as well as the usual napery…

MENU's Iberian Exploit 13. Toledo

It is so great when a plan comes together and it did on May Day. We had booked our AirBnB in Toledo in what looked like a central place and boy was it ever. A mansion block on a main road with a lift to the large and comfortable apartment which was just 300 meters from the escalator that takes you up the steep hill to the old town. There was safe, free parking in the area too, near the local park. Once we were settled in, it was time for some lunch and our landlord recommended this local restaurant, Reconquista. It was a Public Holiday, so many places in the area were closed…

MENU's Iberian Exploit 14. Madrid

Our final stop in Spain was Madrid and we had no idea how much this city had grown. Put it in the same bracket as London and New York - it is vast. We had to exit the motorway half an hour before we even saw the City and enter a rather daunting series of ring roads to get to our AirBnB, which was on the other side of the city. We had purposely booked somewhere on the outskirts as it had good rail connections to the city and we had no desire to drive into the centre. Probably one of the nicest places we booked on our tour, it was a small apartment attached to a large house with a kitchen, diner, lounge, bedroom and our own sheltered courtyard. It was a sunny courtyard some of the time, as we were still being plagued by Europe's very wet and chilly Spring! The owners are English and Dutch, so communication was no problem and they were very friendly and helpful. They have lived in Spain for many years…

On the MENU this Week. Spanish Tomatoes stuffed with Tuna

We had this as a starter in Madrid and it was one of the best dishes we ate while we were travelling. Lynne was determined to make it here, so it was tonight’s supper. You do need the ripest, most flavourful tomatoes you can find. If you don’t eat fish, you might like to substitute the tuna with hard-boiled egg, or small diced and browned in olive oil aubergine or courgette cubes. See the whole recipe here

MENU’s Wine of the Week. Iona One Man Band 2012

is one of the wines we tasted at the Hussar Grill this week. From Iona in Elgin, it has just been released. It is a blend of 57% Shiraz, 15% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 7% Mataro (aka Mourvedre) & 3% Viognier, made by winemaker Werner Muller. See more…

28th June 2018

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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

On the MENU this Week. Spanish Tomatoes stuffed with Tuna

We had this as a starter in Madrid and it was one of the best dishes we ate while we were travelling. Lynne was determined to make it here, so it was tonight’s supper. You do need the ripest, most flavourful tomatoes you can find. If you don’t eat fish, you might like to substitute the tuna with hard-boiled egg, or small aubergine or courgette cubes diced and browned in olive oil

4 medium ripe red tomatoes – 1 small tin of tuna in oil – ¼ cup of dry breadcrumbs – half a small red pepper, finely chopped - 5 sprigs fresh parsley – 1 T fresh basil – black pepper – 1 t sherry or wine vinegar - salt - Olive oil – 25g grated cheese

You should use Spanish Manchego cheese but, as it is hard to find, use a mix of mature English cheddar* and parmesan

Take off the tops of the tomatoes and carefully scrape out the core and the seeds, leaving just the outside body of the tomato (don’t throw the insides away; with the lids they make a wonderful salsa or can be added to soups and stews)

Salt the inside of the tomatoes and leave them turned upside down to drain for an hour. Throw away any of the salty juice that comes out. Mix the breadcrumbs with the tuna, red pepper and the herbs and add a teaspoon of olive oil. Season well and stuff the mixture into the tomatoes, pushing it well in until they are full and come right up to the top. Then add about a Tablespoon of the breadcrumbs to the cheese and, pressing well down, put a thick cap of cheese on top of each tomato

Put them into an ovenproof dish which has a cover and put into a 180°C oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove the cover and put the dish under a grill until the cheese has a lovely brown crust on it. As with most Mediterranean food, these tomatoes are best served lukewarm; they have more flavour, so you can make them in advance. And you can, of course, double up the recipe if you have more guests.

* We buy good English cheddar under the Wyke Farms label at Checkers. It is very reasonably priced and has the proper “bite” which is usually lacking in local cheddars

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MENU’s Wine of the Week. Iona One Man Band 2012

Perfume and fruit leap out of the glass at you; the wine is dark and inky, with cassis and cherries on the nose with a hint of violets. On the palate which is rich, peppery & full, there is cassis and blueberry complexity, with some dry tannins and minerality on the end showing quality. Well worth buying, as this is ready now and can be kept for a year or three. We predict that this wine will win awards. R242 from the farm

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The new Winter menu at Societi Bistro

The tables were set with blankets as well as the usual napery, but it was nice and warm inside

First a gin tasting of Inverroche, Cape Town and Cruxland gins. Lynne chose the Cruxland

and had a classic gin, lime and tonic. Good gin makes a really reviving drink.

John had a beer instead, he is not a great gin fan

The gins for tasting. We are not great fans of flavoured gins
but the younger members of the media really enjoyed them

A brief version of Societi's extensive and interesting wine list. This is one of the very few restaurants where all the wines are available by the glass and, if you don't know the wines, they are happy to give you a small taste of a couple before you choose one

Specials of the day

The new Winter Menu, some favourites have had to stay at customers' insistence, but there are some new items as well. Some of the dishes are named after regular customers who love the dish so much

The wine list has many of our favourite wines

Lots of 'crack' around the table as we get to know each other

Some new and some of the usual suspects all enjoying the experience

We were going to have some of the starters first and all the dishes were served family style so we could sample everything on offer

Rich and oily marrow bones on toast with capers, parsley and tomato. Serving it this way does make it more enticing for many people who might be put off by the conventional way of serving the bones filled with marrow, (which is the way Lynne prefers it!) The flavours are good, just have a napkin at the ready to wipe your chin!

Lynne really enjoyed this starter of Mushroom Fettuccine 'Luan Nel', well flavoured with Gorgonzola, creme fraiche, garlic and Grana Padano, named after a friend. One to return for often - we can see why Luan loves it - especially as she doesn't eat mushrooms at home because of John's allergy

Large rectangular Ravioli stuffed with spinach and feta, with olives
and Grana Padano cheese in a rich Arrabbiata tomato and chilli sauce

These are the Snail vetkoek (snails in gorgonzola and garlic butter encased

in a deep fried savoury donut. Not sure if this is a good way to highlight

the delicate snails, as the vetkoek stay rather gluey inside?

Time for the main courses. The Teriyaki pulled pork neck with pancake tortillas, salad, salsa and lemon slices was a wee bit confusing visually as it looked a little Mexican, but was very enjoyable

The Lamb shank is done in a tomato, red wine and braised vegetable base and comes on creamy buttered mash. It is a substantial portion, well flavoured and falling off the bone

Butter chicken served with pieces of naan bread and
fluffy white basmati rice is a classic and was very popular

The Vegan Black Bean hotpot with miso, coconut cream and basmati rice served on tiny rotis was a surprise hit around the table, enjoyed by many meat eaters. It had lots of great texture and flavour

Comparing photos of the food, or was it cats?

Time for dessert and for Lynne a total surprise. She does not have a sweet tooth, but
relished all of these delicious desserts and really tucked in. The Chocolate Nemesis cake
is truly rich and dark, and divine

A nicely tart and sticky lemon tart served with cream

Oh that cheesecake! People were raving about it and there were a couple of stolen moments, but
the staff did provide more. Baked, creamy but light as a feather, not cloying or heavy, just beautiful
as great cheesecake can be (but very often is not). Well done the chef who baked this

The classic Crème Brulée was perfect in its dark cracking caramel and its opulent decadent richness

Perfect with a double espresso for John who was in his element

Rain beating down and filling our dams, we were full and satisfied
and looking forward to a fire and a nap, and maybe a cat on a lap, at home

There are neighbours!

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MENU's Iberian Exploit 14. Madrid

Our final stop in Spain was Madrid and we had no idea how much this city had grown. Put it in the same bracket as London and New York - it is vast. We had to exit the motorway half an hour before we even saw the City and entered a rather daunting series of ring roads to get to our AirBnB, which was on the other side of the city. We had purposely booked somewhere on the outskirts as it had good rail connections to the city and we had no desire to drive into the centre. Probably one of the nicest places we booked on our tour, it was a small apartment attached to a large house with a kitchen, diner, lounge, bedroom and our own sheltered courtyard. It was a sunny courtyard some of the time, as we were still being plagued by Europe's very wet and chilly Spring! The owners are English and Dutch, so communication was no problem and they were very friendly and helpful. They have lived in Spain for many years

The comfortable lounge area. We had TVs in most of the places we stayed in,
but rarely turned them on except to see the news

Our courtyard

We always like to sit outside, especially in the evening; its a South African thing

Our bedroom had the bathroom en suite

Once we had checked in we needed lunch, so we got the car and went exploring only to find
that there were three restaurants 250 meters away! We decided to sample one of them.
The one with free parking got our business

Its a vast space, we think often used for functions and we were rather thankful
that Spain eats lunch later. Many business people came for lunch

The really reasonable lunch menu. By now we were able to understand most of it,
having tried most of these dishes on our journey

Clams with beans, full of salty sea flavours; soft white beans,
rich tomato sauce and lots of small clams in their shells

Prawns from the Wok made us realise how much we were missing the Asian flavours
that are so much part of our normal diet. It came with sliced peppers, courgettes,
onions and eight mini shrimps in a well flavoured sauce which might have benefited
from a hint of chilli, but that's not something we found much in Spain

John chose the chicken fillet, served with very good chips, The split open chicken breast was
cooked a la Parrilla (on the grill) and well flavoured with lemon, herbs, olive oil and garlic

Lynne chose the Escalopines of steak in the Pedro Ximenez sauce, also with chips.
The sauce was redolent with the sherry flavours. The cut was cheaper, probably
blade or skirt steak, and so a little tough, but full of meaty flavour

Time for Postres (afters). The Tarta de la Casa,
layers of orange custard and cream between pastry for John

And a classic rice pudding, topped with cinnamon for Lynne (which John would rather die than eat - bad boarding school memories!). Not too heavy, with good creamy texture

We treated ourselves to a bottle of ubiquitous Verdejo, the house wine,
which went very well with the lunch and had no faults

The snow topped Sierras surrounding Madrid spoke to the distinct chill in the air

The next morning we took a fast train the four stops into
the centre of Madrid and got out at the Plaza del Sol

It's a city full of life and fun. These crazy acrobats were getting money in the hat

A place of Ham, the Museo del Jamon has lots of quick snacks should you need one

Outside, the menu. Sadly, we'd had a large breakfast of wonderful
chocolate croissants from Lidl, so were not tempted at this early hour

The Plaza Mayor is very popular for lunch and we did look at some of the restaurants but, as with any major tourist venue, they were very expensive and overrated. We could have eaten Paella, but saw two young Englishmen eating some and asked them what it was like. Very average, came the answer, as they pushed away their half finished plates, which each cost €25

We set off to explore Madrid

Another view of Plaza Mayor. Our landlady had given us a map and a route so we
could try to do all the normal tourist things in one day. It was quite a mission

Tourists enjoying the sun at the fountain

Exiting the Plaza onto a side street

Lots more restaurants; this is a well known tourist restaurant,
rather pricy for our end of holiday budget

And we found, we must admit by accident, the longest operating restaurant in the world,
according to the Guinness Book of Records. Botin has been open since 1725.
Lots of tourist groups were going in and it did look charming

until we saw the menu. It looked good, but the prices were scary; even the menu of the house
which was about three times the price of our normal lunches

And round another corner a Mercado

It was just about to close for lunch; we ran in and explored quickly

We so wish we could do this in Africa, but we just don't get it right.
All that is sold is food for purchasing and taking home to cook

So fresh and tempting

Oh, that seafood. As we have said many times before, if only Checkers
fish counter could look an eighth as attractive and as fresh as this

Fresh from the sea (over 300 Km away), glistening and tempting

Baby lamb

The shelves at the back remind us of what we used to sell at Main Ingredient

Look at that tuna at the back of the counter, not black and bloody
but pink and fresh - and look at the variety

Fresh fruit from all over the world. No, not from Hermanus

Lynne was tempted by this stall and bought two enormous artichokes for our supper

How could you not be tempted and they cost €3 for the two

Real tomatoes, with amazing flavour

Back down a side street, it was only half an hour to siesta time and we have to admit that
at this point we were thoroughly turned around and lost, which had consequences

It was nearly 3 and we needed some lunch. This sounded tempting.
Remember the name of this "restaurant" bar at your peril

We were ushered down to an empty basement room

and ordered one of our favourite local beers

The menu from which we ordered

A goodish salmorejo with iron-like jamon

Four spears of fresh white asparagus soaked in vinaigrette and ruined, then buried under a salsa
of green and black olives, red and green pimento, off-putting raw onion and some salad

And the worst dishes we had on our entire trip. We cannot believe that a restaurant would have the gall to serve these. The pork had been hacked into pieces and then cooked to death. Most of it was bone, or gristle or dried out and inedible. There were only two pieces on the plate that were edible. Fried eggs and bad chips with deep fried peppers do not a lunch make

John's was, if anything, worse. These overcooked bits of fatty beef rib would have
made good dog food. We think both meat dishes were cooked in a deep fat fryer.
He does not do fat or bone, so he ate the chips

Dessert was called chocolate brownies, and was wet and grainy

Apple tart with the crust burnt and a soggy bottom. The apples were OK but nothing else was!

At least it was quite cheap! Sometimes you get less you pay for, and on this occasion we certainly did. The food on this trip has mostly been good value and edible. This was not

We were heading for the Royal Palace and could see the mountains in the distance

We passed a famous Flamenco restaurant and all the chefs were on the other side of the road
having their break before the evening service started. They looked a jolly bunch

Crossing the viaduct on the way to the Palace

Voracious pigeons fighting over a bread roll

The Royal Palace of Madrid, another with architectural references to Buckingham Palace

The side entrance to the Cathedral, which is next to the Palace

Buskers are welcomed

The other side of the palace with the gardens

and John made a return trip after 47 years to the famous statue of the Man of La Mancha,
part of the Monumento Cervantes in the Plaza de España

which is rather dominated by the huge building behind it

And finally on our list of sights to see for the day, the Temple of Debod presented in 1968 by Egypt to Spain in gratitude for the help provided by Spain in saving the Abu Simbel temples from being buried beneath the waters of the Aswan dam

Sadly for us, it was closed for renovations. We had walked miles and kilometres that day and now
we discovered that we had get almost right across the city to a train station. As we didn't have the necessary travel pass for the metro, we had to walk a long way, and then take two buses before we finally found a station we could use. How to lose 6 kilos on holiday, walk

We had a lazy morning, the end was nearing and we were becoming a little weary of travel. We then went to another local restaurant in our area, which was Fuencarral. We began with a refreshing ale. They brought us a plate of rather sad deep fried balls and turnovers with almost nothing inside them, obviously bought in. We thought this was one of our courses, but it was a free tapas

Finally, our first courses arrived. And these were really delicious. Really good tomatoes
hollowed out and stuffed with tuna then capped with a good topping of baked cheese

Then the crisp croquettes filled with what tasted like a mixture
of butternut and sweet potato with some salad leaves

John's fish was covered with a gremolata of parsley,
garlic and grated lemon and served with a small salad

Lynne had a huge crumbed escalope dusted with grated cheese and accompanied by crisp chips.
No slap chips in Spain. It was more of a Vienna Schnitzel than the advertised Milanese

We whiled away a pleasant hour having lunch in the sun

Then it was time to hop on a train and head for the Prado. There is lots of restoration

going on in Madrid and this building is the Ayuntamiento de Madrid, the top-tier

administrative and governing body of the municipality of Madrid, aka City Hall.

It is not all that it seems. The outside is a fabric facade, giving an impression of

what it does or will look like when they have finished the work behind the 'curtains'

An amusing way to fool people. In order to get your bar to move,
you have to pedal as you drink. Very thirsty work

A special tip if you are heading for Madrid. If you turn up at 5 and get into the queue, they open the Prado museum at 6 for two hours each evening free of charge to 500 people. You might have to wait an hour but not more and queueing beneath the trees is quite pleasant. Just take hats and water. You can try to turn up later, but the queue is long and you might miss the cut off

It is a most impressive building

The 16th Century San Jerónimo del Real Church, next to the Prado

We got our free tickets and entered at 6

We had marked on the programme the pictures we most wanted to see, like this El Greco and the Goya collection and had to really motor through the museum to see most of those. It is huge, just

like the Louvre, make a plan beforehand or you will wander aimlessly. (Strictly speaking you are

not allowed to take photos....John sneaked this one with his phone)

Coming out at 8 pm, having seen Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian, Goya's Naked & Clothed Majas, Tiepolo,

El Greco and Velasquez as well as some new to us, we were quite Pieta'd out and exhausted

A fountain outside the Prado in lovely twilight

A huge Scottish thistle on the rather wild path to the station

and the traffic doesn't stop

We sorted out which track we were supposed to be on

and arrived back in our neighbourhood to see a lovely sunset

Spending the last evening working on our laptops and Kindle with another refreshing ale
for John and a glass of wine for Lynne. We loved Madrid and would like to return one day

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