people
& places
wine & food
In
'A Restaurateur Remembers', Michael Olivier captures the memories of a
full and rich life that embraces family and friends.
He
apprenticed at Lanzerac - 'my grand old lady' with legendary David
Rawdon
Michael
has run three acclaimed restaurants in South Africa that have made
waves; Paddagang in Tulbagh, the Burgundy in Hermanus and the
internationally known Parks in Constantia. 'A Restaurateur Remembers',
is a friendly and warm memoir with enormous appeal.
(Left)
Giorgio Dalla Cia, one
of my favourite people
(Right)
Frank Swainston, how lucky his guests are at Constantia Uitsig
to be eating his amazing food
BARLEY
AND MUSHROOM CASSEROLE
Finding
a suitable recipe from my own collection for Mary-Ann that will fall
into the eating style of The Natural Way is no easy feat, being as I am
into hedonism in food! Having checked her Natural Way Food Combining
Chart, I think this one meets the criteria.
You’ll
need:
Olive
oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 medium-sized onions, finely chopped
3 thick slices fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 chilli, sliced (leave in the veins and seeds for extra heat)
2 sticks celery, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
250 g button mushrooms, quartered
150 ml olive oil
300 g barley
750 ml hot vegetable stock
sea salt
freshly milled black pepper
chopped parsley
freshly grated Parmesan cheese
(Ingredients
can be double to serve 8)
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a frying pan, using a little olive oil,
fry together the garlic, onions, ginger and chilli until they start to
colour. Add the remaining vegetables and cook over high heat to drive
off most of the moisture from the mushrooms. Heat the olive oil in a
cast-iron casserole and when hot add the barley and cook over low heat
until golden brown. Add the vegetables back to the barley, pour over
half the stock, cover and cook in the reset oven at 180°C for about 45
minutes.
Remove from the oven, stir gently and add the remaining stock.
Add sea salt if necessary and some freshly milled black pepper. Let
stand for 15 minutes. Just before serving, sprinkle over some chopped
parsley. Serve with lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese and a green
salad.
Wine
suggestion: You want a cool white to go with this dish and I mean
‘cool’, as in trendy and different. David Nieuwoudt’s Cederberg
Bukettraube would be great match, with lovely, spicy, herbal tones that
will add to the ‘rustic’ flavours of this dish.
PAN-GRILLED
CALAMARI TUBES ON A RISOTTO CAKE WITH CHILLI LEMON & BALSAMIC
DRESSING
You’ll
need:
12 medium calamari tubes, cleaned
For the dressing, you’ll need:
3
red chillies, finely chopped
100 ml balsamic vinegar
200 ml olive oil
juice of 2 small lemons or limes, zest of one
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the risotto, you’ll need:
1 litre fish or vegetable stock
120 g butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
300 g Arborio rice
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated Parmesan
fresh coriander for garnishing
(Serves
6)
Method:
Cut each calamari tube down one side and open it out so that it forms a
single layer. Score finely on each side (this will prevent shrinkage,
which makes the calamari tough). Prepare the dressing by blending
together the ingredients. If you do it in a blender, it will form a
better emulsion. Leave in the chilli seeds and veins if you want a bit
more heat. Marinate the calamari tubes in the dressing for a minimum of
2 hours.
Prepare
the risotto by heating the fish stock. Check for seasoning and keep it
hot. Melt 75 g of the butter with the oil in a heavy-based pot. Fry the
onion until soft and transparent. Add the rice and stir to coat
thoroughly with the oil. Add 2 ladles of the hot stock and stir while
simmering as the rice absorbs the liquid; continue until all the liquid
is absorbed. The stirring helps create the emulsion and produces a rich
sauce. The rice should be cooked just beyond al dente. Check for
seasoning and add a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
Spread
the risotto onto a baking tray to a thickness of about 2 cm and all to
cool. When cold, cut into rings with a 6 cm cutter and fry gently in the
remaining butter. Remove the calamari from the marinade. Pan grill very
quickly in a very hot, ridge, grill pan. Serve on top of a hot risotto
cake, douse with some of the dressing and garnish with fresh coriander.
Wine
suggestion: This dish, with its cross-cultural Pacific Rim calamari and
Italian risotto-with-a difference, is perfectly matched with Neil Ellis
Geroenekloof Sauvignon Blanc.
MADDY’S
CHICKEN THIGH AND CHICK PEA CURRY
You’ll
need:
About 1 kg boned and skinned chicken thighs
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3 tbsp medium curry powder
1 tbsp turmeric
2 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 x 410 g tin peeled chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
4 tbsp peach chutney
2 bay leaves
250 ml chicken stock
1 x 410 g coconut milk
500 g carrots, peeled and cut into thumb-sized chunks
6 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
sea salt
freshly milled black pepper
1 x 410 g tin chickpeas, drained
chopped fresh coriander
Method:
Preset the oven to 180ºC. Wash the thighs and dry on kitchen paper.
Heat the oil in an ovenproof casserole and brown the onions
slowly. Almost at the end of the browning process add the garlic and
simmer a short while. Add the curry powder and turmeric and cook for 5
minutes to release the aromatic flavours. Add the vinegar and allow it
to cook away. Add the sugar, tomato, herbs, chutney and the bay leaves.
Add the chicken thighs and turn them gently in the mixture to coat
thoroughly. Add the chicken stock and coconut milk, carrots and
potatoes. Season well, bring to a simmer and then pop into oven for one
hour with no lid on. Add the drained chickpeas, stir through gently and
allow to heat with a lid on for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the chopped
coriander and serve with basmati rice and sambals.
ANNETTE
LE ROUX'S PUMPKIN PIE
Trust
Annette to add her unique twist to a recipe. When you think of Pumpkin
Pie, you think of cinnamony dessert. Hers is deliciously savoury and a
vegetarian’s dream dish. This one is a great hit at Jemima’s. The
riper the butternut, the better tasting the pie.
For
the crust you’ll need:
200
g cake flour
pinch sea salt
120 g cold butter
70 g grated Parmesan
pinch paprika
1 or 2 ice blocks
For
the filling you’ll need:
2 kg butternut, peeled, cut into blocks and boiled, which renders about
1.8 kg cooked weight
3 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
1 tbsp cornflour
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
sea salt
freshly milled black pepper
zest of 1 orange, grated finely
250 ml cream
350 g grated mozzarella cheese
350 g feta cheese, crumbled
375 ml Bulgarian yoghurt
2 eggs
1 large clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp turmeric
4 ripe sweet peppers, roasted and skinned (Annette uses 2 red and 2
yellow)
3 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
(Serves
8 portions for hungry diners)
Method:
To make the crust, place all ingredients except the ice into the bowl of
a food processor, using the dough blade. Blitz until the mixture
resembles breadcrumbs. Add one ice block and blitz again. If necessary,
add the second block of ice to bring the dough together. Roll the dough
into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
Place
the cooked butternut, egg yolks, eggs, cornflour, spices, orange rind
and cream into the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Turn
into a mixing bowl and blend in the mozzarella and feta cheeses. Rinse
out the food processor bowl and place in it the Bulgarian yoghurt, eggs,
garlic, turmeric and sweet peppers, and blitz until smooth.
Preset
the oven 160°C. Roll out the dough on a floured board and use it to
line a prepared 28cm springform cake tin. Place in the fridge for a few
minutes and then bake blind in the preset oven until the crust is a
light golden brown. Pour in the pumpkin filling, sprinkle the
breadcrumbs on top and smooth over the red-pepper mixture.
Bake
for 2 hours in the preset oven; cover with foil should it start browning
on top. Serve hot or cold.
Annette
serves this pie hot with brown butter sage sauce and a salad. Heat
butter in a pan and fry in it some sage leaves till the butter turns
golden brow, then season with sea salt and freshly milled black pepper.
For restaurant service she garnishes the dish with deep-fried butternut
strips. These are peeled from butternut with a potato peeler and fried
in oil, which is not too hot.
Wine
suggestions: At Domein Doornkraal, Annette’s brother Piet and sister
Maria make some pretty special wines. Choice for this dish could be the
Doornkraal Kuierwyn – a chenin blanc, colombar and Muscat blend,
off-dry and medium-bodied, or Doornkraal merlot – soft and
mouthfilling with the guts to cut through the richness.
STICKY
TOFFEE PUDDING
Jill
Walsh, a young Irish woman, swept like a breath of fresh air through the kitchen of Parks for all too short a time in the late
1990s. She is one of the most hardworking and professional chefs I have
employed. Jill, who worked for Darina Allen at Ballymaloe Cookery School
in Cork, brought an exciting traditional Irish edge to what we did in
the kitchen at Parks, which many of our guests enjoyed. Her Ballymaloe
Vinaigrette was very popular and a great discussion point on the menu.
She worked for us at the time that this dessert was all the rage. And in
our house it still is. That she left us her recipe for this pudding
never quite made up for the gap she left in our lives.
For
the cake, you’ll need:
250 g chopped dates
300 ml tea
100 g unsalted butter
175 g castor sugar
3 eggs
250 g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp espresso coffee powder
For
the hot toffee sauce, you’ll need:
100 g butter
175 g soft brown sugar
100 g white sugar
285 g golden syrup
250 ml cream
½ tsp vanilla essence
(Serves
6 – or 4 in our house)
Method:
Set the oven to 180°C. Brush a 20 cm springform cake tin with oil, line
the base with a circle of greaseproof paper and oil again. Soak the
dates in hot tea for 15 minutes and drain. Cream together the butter and
the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one by one and then
fold in the sifted flour. Add the bicarb, vanilla essence and the coffee
to the dates, and fold into the mixture. Turn into the lined cake tin
and bake for 1 –1½ hours or until a skewer comes out clean.
For
the hot toffee sauce, put the butter, brown and white sugar and the
golden syrup into a saucepan and melt gently over low heat. Simmer for
about 5 minutes, remove from the heat and gradually stir in the cream
and the vanilla essence. Return to the heat and stir for 2-3 minutes or
until the sauce is smooth.
To
serve: put some of the sauce onto serving plate, place a slice of the
pudding on the sauce and pour more sauce over the top. Serve with the
remaining sauce and softly whipped cream.
MICHAEL
OLIVIER
A Restaurateur Remembers
By Michael
Olivier
Photography By Alain Proust
Published by Double Storey Books a division of Juta and
Company Ltd
For
further information see Cook's
Corner
