HOT BITES

Ruling the kitchen Local musician J’Something has taken his love of food beyond the kitchen and stepped out with chef David Higgs as one of the judges on the local version of My Kitchen Rules. A recipe he was prepared to share is super easy to whip up for the family and doesn’t require a tertiary qualification in food preparation... It’s a taco, the Mexican equivalent of a sandwich.

King of the coals Every year Stellenbosch’s Muratie Estate tackles Du Toitskloof Wines in an epic cook-out which also serves as a celebration of the Boland wine lifestyle. This year the two cellars met at Muratie to draw battle lines in an open-fire ‘pork war’, each preparing two different cuts of pork. The Du Toitskloof team, headed up by winemaker Shawn Thomson and his wife Elrine, opted for neck steaks prepared with honey, mustard, orange, garlic and ginger, and short ribs marinated in red wine and star anise. The Muratie team, Kim Melck and winemaker Hattingh de Villiers, chose a deboned neck, smoked and drizzled with ginger, honey and soy, and rashers prepared with lemon juice, rosemary and coarse salt. The culinary works of art were accompanied by their wines of choice, namely Du Toitskloof Pinotage Rosé 2016 and Muratie’s 2016 Laurens Campher white blend. The ‘Boland leefstyl’ event was yet another perfectly enjoyable occasion, celebrating good food, good wine and good company. After a gourmet spread of note, the votes were cast and counted, and celebrity chef Pete Goffe-Wood announced the 2017 champion. A very proud Du Toitskloof team took the honours for the second year in a row, taking home the championship trophy, hand-made by Hattingh de Villiers.

Pumpkin trick The Americans celebrate Thanksgiving in November – and pumkin pie is often part of the festivities. Could you possibly conceive that pumpkin and brandy could work together in a cocktail? Well, Van Ryn’s award-winning 10 year vintage brandy paired with NOMU’s latest range of premium hot drinking chocolate resulted in this rather startlingly delicious discovery.

VAN RYN’S PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE PIE 50 ml Van Ryn’s 10 Year Old Vintage Brandy 35 ml Pumpkin puree* 2 heaped teaspoons NOMU skinny Hot Chocolate Top with boiling water ( leave space for cream) NOMU Vanilla whipped cream 1 Build all ingredients in serving vessel. Pour Brandy and pumpkin puree into mug/glass. Add NOMU chocolate and stir to a paste, add boiling water and stir briskly. Top with vanilla whipped cream and garnish with pumpkin puree and NOMU cinnamon rub. Serve with a dessert spoon. 2 Served in a parfait glass, garnished with pumpkin puree and NOMU cinnamon rub.

*PUMPKIN PUREE 1 Cut pumpkin in four, remove seeds and place on a baking tray. Sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice (a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, cloves and dried ginger.) and bake at 200C for an hour or until pumpkin is soft to the touch. 2 While baking, make a spiced syrup: 300ml water with 200g sugar and 2 heaped teaspoons pumpkin pie spice on the stove to, bring to boil while stirring and simmer for 10 minutes. 3 Add chunks of baked pumpkin (skin removed) to a blender or food processor and add the spiced syrup. Blend until smooth and strain through a fine strainer. Add a little water if the puree is too thick. Use immediately or store in fridge for up to 3 days. CHILLI BEEF TACO’S AND PICO DE GALLO 2 Tbsps. olive oil 700g ground beef mince 1 large onion, finely diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 Tbsp. ground cumin 1Tbsp. peri-peri powder 1

/4 tsp. cayenne pepper 1 tsp. cinnamon 250ml Castle Milk Stout 250ml beef stock 1 can (410g) diced tomatoes 1 can (410g) butter beans 1 can (400g) black beans 1 tsp. brown sugar Salt and ground black pepper, to season SALSA

2 tomatoes, diced 1 onion, finely diced Handful of fresh coriander, chopped 1 small red chilli, de-seeded and finely sliced Juice of 1-2 limes 250ml sour cream, for serving 150g cheddar cheese, grated 12 Taco shells 1 In a large pot over a medium high heat, heat oil, add onions and garlic and sauté until softened. 2 Add cumin, peri-peri powder, cayenne pepper and cinnamon and cook for 3-4 minutes while stirring. 3 Add mince and cook for a further 7-8 minutes until meat has browned, stirring occasionally. 4 Add Castle Milk Stout to the pot along with beef stock, diced tomatoes and juices from the can. 5 Bring to a low simmer then cover with a lid and simmer for 30-45 minutes until beef is very tender. 6 Add drained beans, brown sugar and season with salt and pepper and cook for a few more minutes. 7 Keep warm over a low heat while preparing the salsa. 8 Dice tomatoes, onion, coriander and chilli and mix together in a bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper and the lime juice. 9 Serve chilli spooned into tacos, topped with salsa, sour cream and grated cheddar cheese.