NEXT MONTH |
HOT
QUARANTINI HAPPY HOUR
BITES
BEET IT
The first snows coated the Drakensberg peaks and Maluti mountains weeks ago, additional blankets have been brought out and warm winter pyjamas with fluffy slippers are de rigeur night-time attire. Winter calls for hearty food which warms from the inside out and provides more calories for keeping the body heated. Stellenbosch wine estate Tokara suggests that now is the season for Shiraz, the spicy red. So convinced of its rightness for the winter months Tokara has even got its restaurant chef Carolize Coetzee to part with one of her precious recipes for the ultimate comfort food pairing. “Shiraz is one of those varieties that shows smoother, rounder textures on the palate than the classic Bordeaux cultivars. It is also less tannic and is thus a more flexible friend in the food pairing game,” says winemaker Stuart Botha. The new Tokara Shiraz 2018 vintage is well matched with Chef Carolize’s beetroot recipe, her autumnal take on carpaccio and an excellent side dish for game. Beetroot is both rich and earthy with subtle sweetness and caramelisation adding intense character for a perfect match with a more full-bodied red such as Shiraz. “The spiciness of the Tokara Shiraz matches the anise flavours of the fennel in this stunning beetroot dish, which in turn accentuates the red fruit characteristics of this iconic Rhône grape,” said Botha. “As a rule, beetroot pairs better with reds than with whites and one crazy thing is that the deep red colour of
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the beetroot fools the brain into believing this too,” Botha quipped. Family recipes, heirloom ingredients and memories conjured up by food, are the heart of Chef Carolize’s cooking. CHEF CAROLIZE’S SALT-BAKED BEETROOT 4 medium sized whole beetroot 800g coarse salt 3 egg whites from extralarge eggs 500g cake flour 250ml water Method: 1 Preheat the oven to 180 °C 2 B lend the salt and flour together in a food processor until fine 3 I n a mixer with a dough hook, mix the flour mixture with the egg whites and water until a dough is formed 4 W ash and dry the unpeeled beetroot 5 R oll out the dough until 5mm in thickness. Cut into big enough pieces and wrap around each entire beetroot 6 B ake in the pre-heated oven for 1 hour 7 R emove from oven and cool slightly 8 B reak open the dough crust and remove the beetroot. Discard the baked dough 9 P eel the beetroot, then rinse and dry with paper towel 10 C ool and slice the beetroot thinly Garnish: Chef Carolize tops hers with raspberry, fennel, toasted walnuts and celery.
If nothing else, South Africans have a well developed ability to make the best of a tough situation – as the recent alcohol ban during lockdown demonstrated. People made do with whatever was available – and one of the things they turned to was having a good time with family rather than friends, enjoying mocktails rather than cocktails. Fitch & Leedes, the popular and diverse range of premium mixers, helped to beat the lockdown blues with a range of virgin cocktails created in collaboration with Omniblend performance blenders and Nita West, photographer from Shutterbloggin. The range features a wide variety of mixers from club soda, lemonade, bitter lemon and ginger ale to the more trendy Cheeky Cranberry, Spicy Ginger Beer and Peach Lemonade – as well as their variety of tonic waters, from the traditional Indian tonic to hipster Pink, Blue and new coral grapefruit flavours. THE CLASSIC MOJITO 12 to 14 small mint leaves 30ml fresh lime juice 1 tbsp superfine sugar 120ml Fitch & Leedes Club Soda Method: Blend all the ingredients together and garnish with mint leaves and a wedge of lime. Serves 2. CLOUDY CUCUMBER GIN MOCKTAIL 1 large English cucumber Strips of lime zest 2 tsp raw sugar – optional 2 lemon/lime wedges Fitch & Leedes Bitter Lemon 30ml fresh lime juice Method: Place a whole cucumber with half a bottle of dry lemon into the blender (peeling optional). Run it through a fine sieve and collect the juice in a glass with ice cubes. Add in some freshly squeezed lime juice and a slice of lime. Top up with a Fitch & Leedes Bitter Lemon and garnish with lime zest and a cucumber slice. (Optional: Add 120ml gin to make a real cocktail rather than a mocktail.) CRANBERRY CREAM MOCKTAI 100ml Fitch & Leedes Cheeky Cranberry 80ml apple juice/puree 40ml lime juice 20ml cream of coconut 2 dashes grenadine Method: Fill the blender with ice cubes, add all ingredients except the grenadine and blend. Add the grenadine to the bottom of your glass and top with your cranberry cream. HOMEMADE GRENADINE 500ml xylitol 250ml frozen berries 250ml water Method: Add all ingredients to a pot and boil for 10 minutes, allow it to cool before storing in the fridge.
