Cooking fresh food and drinking divine Cape wines in Melkbosstrand Cape Town
Pelau is a beloved Caribbean and West Indian dish that combines rice and pigeon peas with succulent chicken and an array of flavorful ingredients. This hearty and aromatic one-pot meal is perfect for sharing with friends and family, and it captures the essence of Caribbean culinary traditions.
Rancho is a dish typical of Portuguese cuisine and originates from the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro Province where “Trás-os-Montes” translates to “behind the mountains”. It is casserole-type of dish consisting mainly of beef, bacon, chorizo, garlic, chickpeas and pasta, although there are many variations on this. Rancho is a rich, hearty dish and should be enjoyed on cold, winter’s days with a good wine.
Ras el Hanout is a mix of earthy spices resulting in a very vibrant spice mix which can be used across various dishes. I decided to make a Ras el Hanout chicken potjie over the coals, and serve it with fried butternut and aubergine couscous.
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 got the inspiration for this dish by this Spanish recipe by Lauren Aloise, but I had to make quite a bit of changes as we are not so fortunate in South Africa to always get the produce our counterparts get in Europe – like Iberian pork cheeks for example. I also took the starch out of the dish and made a separate starchy dish to go with the main course.
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’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.
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.
Got some kudu neck from a friend of mine and decided to make a potjie with a bit of a Moroccan slant to it.