Garth
Stroebel is one of South Africa's most eminent chefs and an integral part
of the gastronomic scene for decades. While
at the Mount Nelson, a premier hotel at the Cape, he garnered many awards, particularly the 'The Pinnacle Chef Award' for a
lifetime achievement in culinary expertise and training.
Garth,
in partnership with Paul Hartmann, his much valued colleague of many
years, is well placed at the South African Culinary Academy to inculcate and inspire young chefs of the future
with his dynamism and vision.
In
his important book Modern South African Cuisine, Garth combines the
traditional in the South African culinary heritage with the intriguing
new flavours and influences of contemporary cooking.
"I
wanted to be a beach bum" says Garth Stroebel "– not a chef. And look at me now, hailed as
‘The Father of Modern South African Cuisine’. It makes me chuckle. To
me, the title sounds both pretentious and old-fashioned. And there is
nothing old-fashioned about South African food today. By blending and
digesting eclectic influences over the centuries, we have created a
unique, indigenous and modern style.
My
book is in fact a celebration, highlighting the coming of age of a
cuisine, with a promise of pleasures to come. For cooking comes from the
heart and mind. It is one of the few activities to involve all five senses
– sight, sound, taste, touch and smell. Link this to forward thinking
and imagine what can be achieved.
I want to share my intoxication with
South African food with you, as I have with numerous young chefs, many of
whom have gone on to be superstars. I’d like to encourage you to relax,
experiment and find your own personal culinary style. As I did."
'Recipes
are like footprints. Only when you start to cook does the journey begin.'Garth
Stroebel
Showcook
has chosen recipes from 'Modern South African Cuisine' that reflect
the simplicity and intriguing flavours in dishes that are both carefully thought out and beautifully presented.
Garden Vegetable Soup with a basil pesto, Pork Scallops with a
deeply flavoured plum sauce partnered with emerald green bok choy, Frangelico Crème Brûlée and
an intriguing moist Rooibos
and Beetroot Cake.
GARDEN
VEGETABLES SOUP
200
g courgettes (baby marrows)
50 g onions
100 g carrots
100 g celery
Basil
Pesto
5 bunches fresh basil
100 g pine nuts
150 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic
60 g parmesan, grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For
the garden:
Clean and cut all the bulk vegetables into large cubes, shred the spinach
and shell the peas. In a large saucepan, brown the onions in the olive
oil, adding the carrots, celery and potatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes on
high heat, then add the vegetable stock. Add the rest of the vegetables,
cover with a lid, and cook for about 5 minutes on high heat, then add the
vegetable stock. Add the rest of the vegetables, cover with a lid, and cook
for about 1 hour on a low heat. Break the pasta into small pieces and add
to the pot. Cook for a further 10 minutes. Season to taste.
For
the basil pesto:
Wash the basil and remove the leaves from the stems. Dry in a salad
spinner. Blend the pine nuts and the oil, then blend in the garlic, basil,
parmesan, salt and pepper. When using a hand-held blender, do not allow
the mixture to get too warm as this will cause the pesto to become bitter.
For
the final presentation:
Divide the soup among four bowls and spoon a large dollop of pesto into the
centre of each bowl just before serving and garnish with basil leaves.
Serve grated parmesan separately.
'Food
should be a subtle mood manipulator, prepared and indulged in with a sense
of anticipation. It should be enjoyed in company. Eating alone is to miss
half the experience, for eating should bring people together.’Garth
Stroebel
PORK
SCALLOPS with plum sauce and bok choy
Vegetables
600 g bok choy or 2 heads with leaves, halved
100 ml peanut oil
3 large onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
5 ml finely chopped fresh root ginger
Pork
Scallops
500 g pork fillet
10 ml cornflour
fried noodles and sprigs of fresh coriander to garnish
a small handful of sesame seeds, roasted
Plum
Sauce
200 ml plum sauce
10 ml sesame seed oil
20 ml soy sauce
10 ml rice wine vinegar
For
the vegetables:
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and blanch the bok choy
for 2 minutes; refresh in cold water to stop the cooking process. In a
sauté pan, add one-third of the peanut oil and allow to get hot. Fry the
onions, garlic and ginger for about 3 minutes, then remove from the heat
and set aside. While the pork scallops are resting, quickly fry the boy
choy in the remaining peanut oil in a saucepan on medium heat.
For
the pork scallops:
Cut the pork fillet into 12 equal-sized steaks and coat with the
cornflour. Shake off excess cornflour before frying. Heat a pan on high
heat and add half the remaining peanut oil. Fry the pork scallops in the
oil for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the heat and set
aside to rest.
For
the sauce:
Mix together the plum sauce, sesame seed oil, soy sauce and vinegar. Add
half of the sauce to the onion, garlic and ginger.
For
the final presentation:
Place equal portions of bok choy in the centre of each plate and spoon
over some of the onion, ginger and garlic mix. Arrange three pork scallops
per plate over the mixture, but do not cover the bok choy. Drizzle the
pork scallops with the remainder of the plum sauce and garnish with fried
noodles and a sprig of coriander. Sprinkles some roasted sesame seeds
around the plate. Steamed baby carrots are a great accompaniment.
FRANGELICO
Crème Brûlée
600
ml fresh cream
125 g castor sugar
100 ml Frangelico liqueur
15 egg yolks
sugar for sprinkling
chocolate curls
sprigs of fresh mint to decorate
For
the Frangelico Crème Brûlée:
In a medium-sized saucepan, bring the cream, sugar and Frangelico to the
boil. As soon as the mixture starts to boil, remove it from the heat and
whisk the mixture into the egg yolks. Return to the saucepan on a low heat
and stir continuously until the mixture thickens. Pour the mixture into 10
espresso cups and place in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to set.
Just before serving, sprinkle sugar over the top and caramelize with a
blowtorch or under a hot grill.
For
the final presentation:
Place the cup on its saucer and top the Brûlée with some chocolate curls
or runouts as a motif. Decorate with a sprig of fresh mint.
Serves
10
ROOIBOS
and beetroot cake
350 g sugar
220 ml oil
220 ml strong, warm rooibos tea
400 g plain (cake) flour
a pinch of salt
15 ml baking powder
4 eggs, separated
200 g fresh beetroot, cooked and grated
30 ml honey
Lemon
frosting
500 g icing sugar
90 g butter
2 egg yolks
60 ml fresh lemon juice
5 ml fresh orange juice
10 ml finely grated lemon rind
a pinch of salt
For
the rooibos and beetroot cake:
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Mix together the sugar, oil and rooibos tea
until the sugar has dissolved. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder and
mix them into the tea mixture. Add the egg yolks, beetroot and honey.
Whisk the egg white to soft peak stage and fold into the mixture. Pour
into a buttered and floured loaf tin and bake for about 40 minutes (test
with a skewer to check that it’s cooked). Remove from the oven and turn
out onto a rack to cool.
For
the lemon frosting:
Sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl. Cream the butter and the icing
sugar and gradually add the remaining ingredients. Beat to a smooth,
batter-like consistency.
For
the final presentation:
When the cake has cooled, pour the lemon frosting over the top and let it
run down the sides. Cut into slices and serve.
Serves
8
At
the turn of the century, the locals of the Cederberg region, about 250 km
from Cape Town, discovered that the needles of the rooibos bush made a
strong, warming tea. But it can also be used in a thoroughly modern tea
cake, mixed with cooked beetroot and given a refreshing sweetness with
lemon frosting.
Modern
South African Cuisine
By Garth Stroebel
Photography by Neil Corder
Published by Struik
For
further information
see Cook's
Corner
