Cooking fresh food and drinking divine Cape wines in Melkbosstrand Cape Town
We recently had the in-laws over for an 8 course Italian style dinner to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. I originally wanted to cook Braciole (a type of roulade) as a main course. I made Braciole 3 Ways (with 3 different fillings) last year and it was delicious. Adrienne really wanted to braai. We compromised and went for a South African/Italian style fusion dish by cooking a rump steak with a braciole style filling over the coals.
We have not had proper Mexican food in ages. Most “Mexican” restaurants around here is decidedly more Tex Mex – load of tacos and chilli poppers but sadly not a Mole or Recado Rojo sauce in sight. Not that we don’t enjoy Tex Mex occasionally but it doesn’t come close to the real deal. I made Chicken Mole Poblano and Adrienne made Achiote Chicken and Ancho Pork a while back. Since then our Ancho (dried Poblano) and Guajillo (dried MIrasol) chillies have been sitting in the back of the food cupboard. To make up for this travesty I decided to make 3 main dishes for our Mexican date night.
Heritage Day on 24 September is a day where South Africans are encouraged to celebrate their culture. Having a braai (barbeque) is very much part of the South African culture so this day is also known as National Braai Day. Boerewors is probably the most “South African” meat that you can braai so we decided to make our own for the occasion.
I got the original recipe from Jess Pryles for this twice cooked drunken beef short ribs from here, but I altered it quite a bit for our taste. Although this recipe is quite straight forward it does take some time to prepare. This dish is perfect for those cold winter evenings when you crave “comfort food”.
We’re having a cold and rainy start to spring in Cape Town. No one is complaining though as we need every drop of rain we can get. As I always want to make soup when it rains I decided to make Tom Kha Gai from one of my favourite food blogs – She Simmers.
Looking for a recipe for our Brazilian datenight I came across Xinxim de Galinha (Brazilian Chicken Stew). How could I not make something with such a fabulous name ? This famous Brazilian chicken, shrimp and nut stew comes from Bahia – an Afro-Brazilian region.
It’s already August and I realized that I’ve only made a vindaloo and butter chicken this winter. Not that you cannot make a curry any time of the year but spicy food always seems nicer on a cold day. As it’s a chilly week in Cape Town it seemed like the perfect time for a Lamb Rogan Josh.
This black mussel and white wine dish is one of my favourite starters to make when we are having people over. It is very easy to prepare and the whole dish can be done under 90 minutes from scratch. As a starter this can easily serve 12 people if you add some bread. Obviously it can also be served as a mains, but be careful, it is very rich.
I re-watched the movie “Julie and Julia” on Netflix the other day and it inspired me to finally try a Julia Child recipe. Julia Child is famous for bringing French cuisine to America with her cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. As her famous Beef Bourguignon features in the movie I decided to try out this recipe.
It’s a well know fact that we South Africans will braai anything. Point in case – braai pie. Braai pie is a pie cooked over the coals – perfect for when you feel like something a bit different from chops and wors. It’s a popular dish to make during camping weekends away and usually prepared as a starter (anything made with pastry should really be prepared before the second bottle of wine is opened). Everyone contributes to the filling and the end result is shared. Adrienne and I like making this at home when it’s only the two of us so that we don’t have to share a single morsel of our braai pie.