WEST COAST MUSSEL PAELLA
6 - 8 servings
Vera Bruiners says it's a good idea to steam extra mussels and freeze them.
Remove the cooked mussels from the shells and freeze in smallish plastic
containers with lids for no longer than a month.
1 kg seafood mix (marinara mix) (optional)
800 g rice
8 cups (2 litres) chicken stock
1 kg fresh whole mussels
1 large onion
1/3 cup (80 ml) oil
2 sweet peppers (1 red, 1 green), chopped
1 large ripe tomato, skinned and chopped
3 cloves garlic, cut into thin strips
lemon pepper to taste
chopped fresh parsley
If using, thaw the seafood mixture. Boil the rice in the chicken stock until
cooked. Switch off the stove and leave the rice to stand, covered. Remove the
beard from the mussels, then wash them well. Stir-fry the onion in oil until
golden brown. Add the sweet peppers, tomato and garlic and stir-fry until the
vegetables are tender. Add the seafood mix and mussels, and season with lemon
pepper. Cover with a lid and shake the pan from time to time. After 5 minutes,
the mussels should have opened (discard any that are still closed), and the
seafood mix should be cooked. Combine the seafood mixture with cooked rice and
spoon onto a large serving platter. Sprinkle chopped parsley over lavishly and
serve with wedges of lemon.
CALAMARI WITH PASTA
This dish freezes well. When needed, simply defrost and reheat until piping
hot.
1 kg calamari
2 cups (500 ml) water
1/3 cup (80 ml) oil
1 onion, chopped
1 sweet pepper, chopped
1 chilli, chopped
1 tbsp (15 ml) garlic paste
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 can (110 g) tomato paste
4 tbsp (60 ml) sugar
1 tbsp (15 ml) salt
1 tbsp (15 ml) pepper
1 packet (500 g) tagliatelle, spaghetti or screw noodles.
Cook the calamari for 5 minutes in boiling water and mince it finely in a
mincer or food processor. Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion, sweet
pepper, chilli and garlic paste and braise tomato paste, and then the
sugar. Add the minced calamari, mix well and braise for a few minutes. Taste and
season. Place the pasta in boiling salted water, cook until tender and drain.
Add the pasta to the braised calamari mixture and mix. Season with salt and
pepper. Traditionally served with mashed potatoes or potato salad.
Variation: The dish may also be baked in the oven, with grated cheese on top.
The calamari may be cubed instead of being minced.
Annie Orlam says the calamari may be prepared a few hours in advance and
stored in the refrigerator.
CRAYFISH FRIKKADELS
The recipe for this delectable 'frikkadel' (rissole) dish comes from Nellie
Samsodien.
3 crayfish tails
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
4 tbsp (60 ml) finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
1/2 tsp (2,5 ml) pepper
1/2 tsp (2,5 ml) grated nutmeg
3 slices bread, soaked in water
oil for pan-frying
Remove the shell, discard the alimentary canal and cut the crayfish into
smaller pieces. Mince the crayfish, potatoes and onion together, or chop the
crayfish and grate the vegetables. Add the beaten egg, parsley and seasonings to
the crayfish mixture. Mix well. Squeeze the water from the bread, crumble the
bread and add to the crayfish mixture. Shape into rissoles. Fry in hot oil until
golden brown. Serve as a dainty starter on a bed of soft lettuce, cubed avocado
with a small dipping bowl of seafood sauce.
'Will it ever happen, in my lifetime, that I will make 'frikkadels' from
crayfish tails? It makes one want to move to the 'West Coast!' - Ina Paarman
OVEN-BAKED CRAYFISH TAILS
6 crayfish tails
CITRUS SAUCE:
1/2 cup (125 ml) orange juice
1/2 cup (125 ml) lemon juice
1/2 tsp (2,5 ml) celery salt
1/2 tsp (2,5 ml) onion salt
1/2 tsp (2,5 ml) pepper
1/2 cup (125 ml) butter or margarine
GARLIC SAUCE:
2 cloves garlic, crushed
6 tbsp (90 ml) chopped fresh parsley
3 tbsp (45 ml) butter or margarine, melted
1/2 tsp (7,5 ml) onion salt
For this recipe, you may choose to prepare either of the sauces, or both
(reducing the ingredients together, except the butter or margarine, and bring to
the boil. Gradually add the butter or margarine, beating the sauce constantly as
you do so. Garlic sauce: mix all the ingredients together.
To cook the crayfish, preheat the oven to 200°C. Steam the crayfish in a
saucepan for 5 minutes until parboiled. Halve the tails lengthways and remove
the alimentary canal. Place the crayfish, flesh side up on a baking sheet and
bake for 15 minutes in the oven. Baste the crayfish from time to time with the
sauce of your choice, and cook until done.
VARIATION: To cook the crayfish over the coals, first place it flesh side down on the
grid and braai (or barbecue) for 5 minutes. Turn, so that the shell us
underneath, and braai until cooked, basting with the sauce as you do so.
Crayfish the West Coast's red gold.
Ellen Kotze says crayfish is done when the meat is white and no longer
transparent. Take care not to overcook, otherwise the crayfish will be dry and
floury.
FISH BOBOTIE
6 - 8 servings
In the old days, people cooked this bobotie in a greased saucepan on top of
the stove says Auntie Martha Solomon, but now it's baked in the oven.
4 - 6 maasbankers (horsemackerel) or any white fish such as hake, skinned
1 onion
1 clove garlic
2 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped
1 chilli
1 carrot, peeled
2 potatoes, peeled
1 egg
1 tsp (5 ml) grated nutmeg
1 tsp (5 ml) turmeric
2 tsp (10 ml) curry powder
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
3 tsp (45 ml) vinegar or lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Mince the fish, onion, garlic, parsley, chilli,
carrot and potatoes in a mincer or food processor. Add the remaining ingredients
and mix well. Spoon into a large, greased ovenproof dish and level the top. Bake
for 35 - 40 minutes, until golden brown and cooked. Serve with white rice and
pampoenmoes (breaded pumpkin).
INA'S HINT: Beat 2 eggs into 1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk
and season with salt, lemon pepper or black pepper. Pour over the bobotie before
baking.
"The
proceeds of this project will go towards job and income creation
activities and a tertiary educational trust for the 176 families
involved"
Ina Paarman.
Photography
by: Neil Corder
Stylist: Vo Pollard
Best Local
Cookery Book International Gourmand Awards 2003
The
Gourmand Awards is the only international competition for food and wine books
and was started in France by Edouard Cointreau in 1995.
Thousands of food and wine
books are sold each year globally. Of these, some 4 000 of the top titles
compete to be the “worlds best” at the Gourmand Awards finals. Having won
these awards, these Struik titles are now eligible to be entered into the Best
in the World competition. The final winners will be announced during the awards
ceremony to be held in Barcelona on February 27, 2004.
