Gaining international recognition, the 5-star
Grande Provence Estate in Franschhoek, home of the award winning Angels
Tears Collection and Grande Provence wines, has been nominated in the
category of ‘South Africa’s Leading Wine Estate’ for the World
Travel Awards 2007.
"It
is a great estate filled with opportunity."
The
fairest Cape has always been Peter's spiritual home and after the birth
of their first child, Jason, he and his South African wife, Angela,
decided it was time to return and joining The Restaurant at Grande
Provence was an excellent decision and the perfect setting for his
innovative new menus. Peter's signature dishes hit all the right notes
– fresh, palatable and delicious.
This
stunning restaurant contrasts in its simplicity and chic modernity with
the 18th Century Manor House and The Owner’s Cottage, which reflect a
Huguenot heritage. Leading off The Restaurant is the welcoming
wine-tasting area where you can enjoy celebrated Angels Tears Collection and
Grande Provence superior vintages,
the fruits of superb winemaker, Jaco Marais.
SMOKED SALMON TROUT AND NORWEGIAN SALMON TARTARE
WITH CRÈME FRAÎCHE AND TOMATO WATER
Crème
Fraîche:
100 g crème fraîche (hung over night in muslin
cloth) or cream cheese
50 g whipped cream
juice of ¼ lemon
chopped dill, chives and parsley
finely chopped onions
Add
all of the ingredients except the whipped cream, check for seasoning and
lastly fold the cream through. Do not over mix.
Tomato
water:
1 kg best red tomatoes
1 stick celery
10 cm piece of cucumber peeled and seeded
2 big sprigs of basil
1 sprig of dill
Roughly
chop all of the ingredients and place in a food processor, blend until
smooth. Taste for salt and sweetness; if tomatoes are acidic add a pinch
of sugar. Pour
the mixture into a muslin cloth and tie at the top hang it over a bowl to
capture the liquid in a refrigerator for around 8 hours. Use within 1 day
or 2. Leftover tomato water can be frozen into cubes and used in Bloody
Mary's or in bowls of Gazpacho.
Salmon
tartare mix:
400 g salmon
50 g chopped capers
50 g chopped gherkins
50 g chopped onions
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped dill
70 ml Mary rose sauce (a sauce made up of
mayonnaise, tomato sauce, brandy, lemon and Tabasco)
a few drops of lemon
4 long slices of smoked salmon trout
1 cucumber, peeled and deseeded with a spoon and
sliced thin to form half moon shapes
Finely
dice the salmon and add all of the ingredients, check for seasoning and
spoon into a ring mould pressing down so that it keeps its shape when the
ring is removed. Once all of the tartars are moulded, wrap the smoked
salmon slices around the sides of each tartare ensuring that the smoked
salmon overlaps at the ends.
Place
tartare patty in a bowl and encircle with the cucumber slices, overlapping
each slice 1/3 of the way with the next slice so it forms a solid ring of
cucumber around the tartare.
With
1 or 2 warm spoons form a quenelle shape out of the crème fraîche and
place it on top of the tartare, top with caviar and a sprig of dill.
Finally, pour some tomato water around the tartare and serve immediately.
ROAST LOIN OF SPRINGBOK WITH CELERIAC PURÉE,
FONDANT POTATO, CÈPES AND A CHERRY SCENTED JUS
Celeriac purée:
1 kg celeriac, peeled and chopped
2 onions, sliced
50 g butter
200 ml cream
Place
the onion and butter in a pot with a tight fitting lid and simmer on low
heat until soft. Add
the celeriac and continue to simmer with a lid on, again no colour. When
the celeriac is soft add the cream and boil for a few minutes. Tip
ingredients into a liquidiser and blend until smooth, season and place in
a piping bag and hold warm until needed.
Fondant
potatoes:
4-6 large baking potatoes
2 garlic cloves
2 sprigs of thyme and rosemary each
100 g butter
Peel
the potatoes and cut a hockey puck shaped disc out of each one, making
sure each potato is the same thickness and size. Peel the edges with a
peeler so that they are smooth, place all the potato discs in a straight
sided pan so that they are very close together (almost tight fitting) if
they are not... add one or two more potatoes.
Add
the butter to the pan and the herbs and garlic. Season well and add cold
water to the level of the top of the potatoes. Cover with wax paper and
cook on the stovetop on high heat until the liquid has been absorbed by
the potatoes and the bottom of the pan has turned brown. If the potatoes
are still hard by the time all of the water has been absorbed add a little
more and continue to cook until a knife pierces the potato without and
resistance.
Leave
to cool in the pan for a while and then carefully lift off the potatoes.
Reheat in a hot oven before serving.
Cherry
scented jus:
I can of drained black morelo cherries, juice
reserved and reduced to a syrup
250 ml of veal jus (reduced veal stock with red
wine and port)
15 g 70% Belgian chocolate
Heat
up the jus and add the syrup, check for seasoning and add the chocolate
and whole cherries. Serve at once.
Cèpes:
200 g fresh cèpes, cut into dice
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
1 pinch of minced garlic
20 ml white wine
20 g butter
20 g veal jus
chopped parsley
Sauté
the shallots in butter on medium heat, add the cèpes and turn up the heat
to colour and reduce the liquid in the mushrooms. Add the garlic at this
time and cook only briefly deglaze the pan with the wine and add the jus
and reduce until the cèpes are coated, check seasoning and add the
parsley. Serve immediately.
Place
the fondant in the middle of a large warm plate, place three medallions of
springbok around the fondant, then next to each piece of springbok pipe a
mound of celeriac and top this mound with some cèpes. Garnish the plate
with 3 cherries and a sprig of chervil or parsley on top of each pile of
cèpes. Sauce the plate how you like. Serve immediately.
BITTER SWEET CHOCOLATE TART WITH PEANUT BUTTER
ICE-CREAM
Chocolate
tart mix:
1litre cream
1 litre milk
700 g 70% Belgian Chocolate
4 egg yolks
10 whole eggs
400 g sugar
Mix the eggs and sugar well and set aside. Bring
milk and cream to the boil, pour onto the chocolate. Allow this mix to
cool a little then pour onto the eggs and sugar mixture. Bake at 130ºC for 45-60min in a pre-baked pastry shell, until just set.
Allow to cool, pour chocolate glaze on top (approx 1/2 cm. thick) of the
cooled tart, refrigerate until the glaze sets.
Chocolate glaze mix:
120 ml water
90 g sugar
40 g cocoa powder
85 g cream
75 g 70% Belgian chocolate
Bring
everything to the boil except the chocolate, lower heat and cook for 10min
constantly stirring. Pour onto the hot mixture onto the chocolate and stir thoroughly, use
while warm.
Peanut butter ice-cream:
1.4 litre milk
250 g milk powder (not coffee creamer)
1/2 small tub of peanut butter
2 tablespoons of glucose
400 g sugar
200 g egg yolks
Whisk sugar and eggs until it doubles in size (to sabayon stage), in
an electric mixer. Bring the other ingredients to the boil and pour this boiling mixture onto
the eggs while continuously mixing (this pasteurizes the eggs). Check for peanut taste and add more
peanut butter if necessary.
Churn in an ice-cream machine.
Use
a fine brush and paint a line of chocolate onto the plate, lay a piece of
tart across the line of the painting and place the peanut butter ice-cream
ball next to the tart, garnish with a sprig of mint. Serve at once.
