Cooking fresh food and drinking divine Cape wines in Melkbosstrand Cape Town
The word cacciatore is the Italian word for hunter. Chicken cacciatore got its name from the rustic, “hunter-style” way this dish is prepared. Numerous versions exists all over Italy, from the southern region using red wine as opposed to the northern region which tend to use white wine instead. To compliment the rustic nature of this dish, we served it with sourdough bread with molasses and sunflower seeds.
I recently came across a gochujang sourdough bread recipe and decided to create a complete Korean meal by adding grilled doenjang chicken.
I love pomegranate molasses. It’s tartness and sweetness gives a wonderful taste to sauces, dressings, dips and even drinks. It goes particularly well with chicken. Scouring the web for a chicken pomegranate recipe I came across a one-pot Ottolenghi recipe for Chicken with Prunes and Pomegranate Molasses.
I’ve been doing the chicken, mango and pasta potjie and various versions of it for quite a while, but never documented the recipe. So here goes. It is a very simple potjie that can be done in 2 hours’ time. It is delicious, but definitely not a banting option.
Sosatie (pl sosaties) is a traditional South African dish of meat (usually lamb or mutton) cooked on skewers. The term derives from sate (“skewered meat”) and saus (spicy sauce). It is of Cape Malay origin, used in Afrikaans, the primary language of the Cape Malays, and the word has gained greater circulation in South Africa. Marinated, cubed meat (usually lamb) is skewered and braaied (barbecued) shish-kebab style. Sosatie recipes vary, but commonly the ingredients can include cubes of lamb, beef, chicken, dried apricots, red onions and mixed peppers. Source: Wikipedia
I think most South Africans will agree that sosaties are an essential ingredient for any traditional South African braai. I decided to make four types of different sosaties using different marinades and different meats for date night.
As a starter for my date night gourmet burgers, I decided to make some chicken, pesto and coconut cream pies.
Trying to find a table for lunch at a jam-packed Melkbosstrand beachfront (without a reservation – yes I know) on a public holiday did not work out so well on Tuesday. We returned home hungry and decided to make a paella with whatever ingredients we had at home.
We had the family over for lunch on Sunday and as my dad loves a good lamb curry, I decided on an Indian menu with the curry made in a potjie over the coals for a South African twist.
I recently came back from an over landing trip in Africa that took me a month. This had an impact on my cooking time and I decided to make up for it by creating a couple of dishes. Seeing that it is winter time and very cold in Cape Town currently, I decided to make 5 different soups.