Reuben Cooks Local by Reuben Riffle

Craig Fraser has been working as a photographer for two decades. His long and successful career as a commissioned photographer working for local and international titles including Elle Decoration, House & Leisure, Habitat, Visi, Swedish Gourmand and Woolworths Taste as well as in advertising has been overtaken, since 2007, by his work for Quivertree Publications. Quivertree was founded by Craig and graphic designer Libby Doyle in 2002. The company has established itself as one of South Africa’s most innovative and awardwinning boutique publishing houses, with recent titles that include Hot Afro, Prickly Pears & Pomegranates, Reuben Cooks, Bake and Modern Wineries of South Africa. Craig and Reuben have developed a great working relationship, starting with their first book together, Reuben Cooks. Craig believes they have taken their collaboration to new levels in Reuben Cooks Local. Working mostly alone at Reuben’s home in Franschhoek, they were free to experiment and push the boundaries.

‘The easy instructions allow you to capture the flavours of South Africa — whether from sea, earth, field or orchard — simply and successfully in your own kitchen, producing dishes guaranteed to become instant favourites with family and friends’ jos baker

reuben cooks local

Now with three restaurants in and around the Western Cape, Reuben Riffel leads a busy life. He is chef de cuisine and owner of Reuben’s Restaurant in Franschhoek as well as concept chef at Reuben’s at the One & Only Cape Town and Reuben’s at the Robertson Small Hotel. Despite his meteoric rise from small-town boy to scooping top honours at the 2004 Eat Out Johnnie Walker Restaurant Awards with Reuben’s Restaurant and being named Sunday Times Chef of the Year in 2007, Riffel has never lost sight of his roots in Franschhoek. In the last few years, Riffel has become a household name in South Africa with local and international television appearances and the publication of his first cookbook, Reuben Cooks: Food is Time Travel (also published by Quivertree and winner of Best Chef’s Cookbook at the World Gourmand Awards in 2009). Key to Riffel’s success is his unsurpassed ability to marry South African and international cuisines via an eclectic approach that always uses the best seasonal ingredients available.

Bern Le Roux is a food writer, stylist, food editor and blogger. She has worked for magazines including Condé Nast House & Garden, Woolworths Taste, Food & Home Entertaining and Marie Claire in various roles and capacities over the past 10 years. In 2008 she co-authored Prickly Pears & Pomegranates (also published by Quivertree), which scooped Best Local Cookbook at the World Gourmand Awards in 2009. Le Roux lives in Noordhoek, Cape Town, with her husband Paul and their two children, where she also co-owns the family-run Café Roux restaurant with Paul and her sisterin-law Lindi Green.

reuben cooks local

Reuben Cooks Local is a celebration of South African ingredients. Acclaimed chef Reuben Riffel presents recipes that combine the seasonal ingredients and fresh flavours that reflect his upbringing and the country in which he lives and works. In these pages you’ll find recipes like poached guavas with Noble Late Harvest crème anglaise, port-glazed springbok with celeriac and apple purée, naartjies macerated in vanilla and rosemary sugar, and snoek fillet in apricot-soy glaze with parsley oil. Recipes are divided into chapters that honour food from the sea, food from the field, food from the earth and orchard, and food from the vine. These are dishes that laud a wide range of South African produce, from snoek, West Coast crayfish and local trout to Karoo lamb, mielies, spanspek, buchu and game. Uniquely South African ingredients – the colourful, the fragrant and the forgotten, many of which are too often overlooked in the modern kitchen, are brought to the fore here. Reuben Riffel provides indispensible information on choosing his favourite ingredients and flavourings – unusual varieties of vinegars and salts, cuts of game, local truffles and fynbos – and about where to find the best produce. Reuben Cooks Local is for food lovers with a passion for produce and a desire to appreciate the very best that South Africa has to offer.

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photographs by craig fraser

I dedicate this book to Pa Isak. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a pity how you left us, Latika missed out on another loving grandfather. We will keep you alive in her memory as you are in ours. Rest in peace.

reuben cooks local recipes by reuben riffel photographs by craig fraser

foreword He’s the chef with local appeal. Mention Reuben Riffel to South Africans and you’ll find a fan – either a regular at his restaurants or inspired by his “local boy makes good” story. I was editing a top 100 restaurant guide for Wine magazine when Reuben burst on to the Franschhoek restaurant scene as a home-grown talent to be heaped with accolades and awards. Any young emerging chef less sure of his roots and ability would have been totally intimidated by the thought of living up to the hype and expectations. Reuben, grounded in the warmth and affection of his family, was surprised by the attention, but not daunted. Had he reacted by putting on airs, I’ve the feeling Ouma would have smacked them out of him pretty swiftly. And the numerous top culinary awards he went on to win proved that his initial success was no flash in the pan. From my first bite, I was struck by his instinctive understanding of cooking techniques and assured play with flavours. While his food has since been influenced by overseas trips and international experience, it retains the basic integrity and respect for ingredients he learned from his mother. What’s more, he still smiles the same slow smile, still shows the same modesty, and is still surprised by the large press turnout at his menu launches. Building on local is Reuben’s strength. Plus the fact that his food is accessible, recognizable and if not always familiar, tempts even conservative diners (and cooks) to try something new. There’s nothing in his cooking that is over-garnished, excessively fussy, or that will be stirred around a plate with suspicion. His first book, Reuben Cooks, revolved round the time-warp evoked by smells and tastes. In Reuben Cooks Local the link is more immediate. The easy instructions allow you to capture South African flavours - whether from sea, earth, field or orchard - simply and successfully in your own kitchen, producing dishes guaranteed to become instant favourites with family and friends. Working from recipes and mouthwatering photographs like these, what a pleasure! JOS BAKER Restaurant critic, editor, Eat Out Lifetime Achievement Award winner and member of the SA selection panel for the S Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants

introduction Produce inspires me. And there’s no better place in the world to be working as a chef than in South Africa. The climate, varying soil types, rainfall, both warm and cold ocean currents, and passionate producers across the country all contribute to the best seasonal ingredients being available throughout the year. Some of my favourite ingredients are truly South African: Karoo lamb, snoek, naartjies, springbok, waterblommetjies, West Coast mussels, guinea fowl, guavas, mielies. At my restaurants I plan the daily menus once the ingredients arrive, fresh from suppliers and local farmers. Only then do I decide what I’m going to cook. When I see the succulent flesh of the season’s first fragrant pear, I start to consider what will work best with it – a sweet-potato and frisée salad with brandy and blue cheese dressing; tossed with black figs, prosciutto and baked camembert; or simply roasted and served with almond anglaise. Growing up in Franschhoek I’m privileged to have been in touch with nature from a very young age. As a small boy, I’d be out picking wild watercress in the cold mountain streams or helping my Oupa harvest fruit and vegetables from his ever-expanding garden. I can look back now and smile when I remember my dread at seeing the first springtime blossoms. Blossoms meant hard work was on the way. One of my main chores after school was to help the school principal harvest the plums from his vast orchard. It was a backbreaking task of climbing trees with frail branches and stacking numerous heavy crates. As a family, we would eat what was available at the time. There would be waterblommetjiebredie bubbling on the Dover stove in winter followed by Ma’s boeber with cinnamon and moskonfyt. Stamp en stoot, a hearty dish of beans and white corn with meaty bones dribbling with marrow, was another winter favourite. Summer meant braais with juicy boerewors, chicken-and-apricot sosaties, Karoo lamb chops and sickly sweet and sticky koeksisters for dessert. And although we didn’t have a car to get to the coast we were lucky enough to get a regular supply of snoek from an uncle who lived by the sea. This is the food I grew up with and that has shaped me as a chef. Reuben Cooks Local is a celebration of South African produce with recipes that nod towards our vast heritage. Over the years, searching for the best produce for my restaurants has led me to many local farmers and suppliers. Without them my job would be near impossible. These are people who are willing to share their knowledge because they have a genuine passion for what they do. Not only are there farmers producing the best local ingredients, like Karoo lamb, but there are those working hard at creating ‘foreign’ ingredients – such as buffalo mozzarella from imported water buffalo and traditional salt-cured charcuterie – right here on South African soil. And let’s not forget our Khoisan salt – which is so like Maldon yet proudly South African – or the Kalahari truffle, fynbos honey and sought-after yellowfin tuna fished in Cape waters. Reuben Cooks Local highlights my favourite South African ingredients – produce that I’m privileged to work with throughout the year. Most of the recipes allow these ingredients to speak for themselves and are simple in their execution. There is food from the sea, food from the field, food from the earth and orchard, and food from the vine. Recipes that celebrate all that South Africa has to offer.

Reuben Riffel

some thoughts on South African wine

‘I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food’ – WC Fields

I like my wine in a nameless decanter. I like it stripped bare on my table. I like it for what it is and not for what I wish it to be. I love the wines of the Cape because they speak to me in a language to which I can relate. It’s the language of the locals, the sights, the sounds, the earth, the smells that are all familiar. The Cape has had some crazy, cruel visitors over the centuries. Some came with Bibles and some with beads and thankfully, some came with vines. They took time off from their scurvy recovery programmes to plant vines on the slopes of Table Mountain in what turned out to be a wonderful climate for grapes. So our wines tell the stories about the times in which they were made; like a magnifying glass focused on the history of our country. They are infallible in what they express about our society. They have done this consistently for generations past and will do so for times to come. Wine is unique in that it can be traced directly from the glass to the exact vineyard site on which it was grown. It can reveal the purity of the wine making and the quality of the soils the wine came from – far more than any other product that we drink or eat. But wines also assimilate the nature of the farmers and farm workers who nurture and live close to the vines. In this is the wonder and beauty of wine. Farmers and farm workers live close to the earth – and they love their vines. I grew up in the vineyards of the Cape and clearly recall the sound of the clicking and snapping of pruners’ secateurs on the crisp winter mornings of my youth. The people who prune vines are artists. They stand in front of a vine and decide how it should be pruned, thus determining the vine’s shape, the amount of grapes that will ripen on it and, finally, the eventual quality of the wine. Our wines have always had the ability to translate the feelings and mood of our times. They do not possess the austerity of European wines and they lack the voluptuousness of the New World. They are unique in flavour and style, comfortably straddling the gap between the New and Old worlds. Our wines capture the vibrancy and energy of our country. ADI BADENHORST Third-generation South African wine maker and co-owner of Badenhorst Family Wines

some thoughts on South African wine

‘I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food’ – WC Fields

contents from the sea West Coast oysters with long radish, granadilla and fennel 20 Perlemoen, spinach and Parmesan salad with soy and lime dressing 23 Pan-fried baby squid on potato purée with tomato concassé and feta salad 27 Grilled oysters with horseradish crème fraîche and parsley-butter gratin 28 Whole crayfish with butternut, sweet ginger and green chilli 30 Smoked hake on sugar snaps with bacon and smoked paprika cream 34 Sole in lemongrass and lime leaves with tomato-coriander salsa 37

Beef carpaccio with quail eggs, white onion and anchovy paste 70 Chicken, prawn and kale broth with spring vegetables 74 Aubergine with sour lamb mince and sesame seeds 77 Lamb shin and date curry with hubbard squash, sweet potato and pistachios 80 Roast chicken with pan-fried Kalahari truffle and bread sauce 82 Braised lamb knuckles with green beans, sesame seeds and salted chillies 84 Skilpadjies on green pea mash with Muscadel jus 89 Crumbed pig’s ear strips on rocket salad with soft fried egg and sambal oelek 90

from the earth

Fried calamari with braised potato, preserved lemon and parsley 40

Spanspek soup with watermelon, hanepoot and mango salsa 96

Snoek fillet in apricot-soy glaze on enoki mushrooms and peas with parsley oil 42

Seared miso scallops on creamy mielie purée with carrot and ginger foam 99

Cape Malay mussels with butternut, roast fennel and boiled leek 45

Salad of iceberg lettuce, dried cranberries and croutons with creamy goat’s cheese 102

Gnocchi in fish cream sauce with wakame and lime and ginger oil 47

Strawberry salad with lemongrass vinaigrette and flower salad with yuzu powder 104

Fried yellowtail crisps with guacamole and wasabi and condensed milk mayonnaise 50

Tomato salad 107

Whole red roman crusted with chilli-lime salt and stuffed with celery and lemon 53

Radish, purple bean and baby leaf salad with tapenade and horseradish vinaigrette 110

Yellowtail crusted with mustard, onion and fennel seeds 54

Warm sweet potato, pear and frisée salad with brandy and blue cheese dressing 112

Char-grilled tuna with asparagus, aïoli and jalapeño dressing 57

Jerusalem artichoke risotto with Jerusalem artichoke crisps 114

from the field

Butternut and mushroom ravioli with pan-fried prawns and pine nuts 119 Baby carrots with carrot, star anise and orange dressing 120 Beetroot risotto with goat’s cheese, pickled golden beetroot and candied walnuts 122

Lamb’s tongue salad with quince, wild rocket and walnuts 62

Summer berries, apple and cucumber in Pimm’s jelly with frozen meringue 124

Mushroom spring rolls with goat’s cheese cream and toasted pine nuts 64

Rhubarb and strawberry compote with raspberries, almond crumbs and meringue 129

Mutton ribbetjies topped with thyme and orange gratin on barley risotto 69

Strawberries and kiwi fruit with meringue, Chantilly cream and melon-pineapple foam 130

from the earth

Fried calamari with braised potato, preserved lemon and parsley 40

Spanspek soup with watermelon, hanepoot and mango salsa 96

Snoek fillet in apricot-soy glaze on enoki mushrooms and peas with parsley oil 42

Seared miso scallops on creamy mielie purée with carrot and ginger foam 99

Cape Malay mussels with butternut, roast fennel and boiled leek 45

Salad of iceberg lettuce, dried cranberries and croutons with creamy goat’s cheese 102

Gnocchi in fish cream sauce with wakame and lime and ginger oil 47

Strawberry salad with lemongrass vinaigrette and flower salad with yuzu powder 104

Fried yellowtail crisps with guacamole and wasabi and condensed milk mayonnaise 50

Tomato salad 107

Whole red roman crusted with chilli-lime salt and stuffed with celery and lemon 53

Radish, purple bean and baby leaf salad with tapenade and horseradish vinaigrette 110

Yellowtail crusted with mustard, onion and fennel seeds 54

Warm sweet potato, pear and frisée salad with brandy and blue cheese dressing 112

Char-grilled tuna with asparagus, aïoli and jalapeño dressing 57

Jerusalem artichoke risotto with Jerusalem artichoke crisps 114

from the field

Lamb’s tongue salad with quince, wild rocket and walnuts 62

Summer berries, apple and cucumber in Pimm’s jelly with frozen meringue 124

Mushroom spring rolls with goat’s cheese cream and toasted pine nuts 64

Rhubarb and strawberry compote with raspberries, almond crumbs and meringue 129

Mutton ribbetjies topped with thyme and orange gratin on barley risotto 69

Strawberries and kiwi fruit with meringue, Chantilly cream and melon-pineapple foam 130

from the orchard Granny Smith apple soup with pomegranate, mint and winter melon 136 Fig, prosciutto and pear salad with baked Camembert and pomegranate vinaigrette 139 Anchovy, caramelized onion and olive tart with baby leaf and parsley salad 140 Apple slices marinated in Calvados and mint sugar 144 Poached guava with citrus slices and Noble Late Harvest crème anglaise 147 Grapefruit and orange segments with limoncello sabayon and dark chocolate sorbet 148 Milk panna cotta with granadilla coulis and macerated naartjies 150 Bananas in chocolate clafoutis with pecan nuts and rum and vanilla crème anglaise 155 Mini lime-frangipane cakes with granadilla curd and Italian meringue 156 Naartjies macerated in vanilla and rosemary sugar 158

from the wild

Gemsbok T-bone with Shiraz salt and caramelized endive 197 Baked potato with Parmesan-cream cheese filling and pan-fried Kalahari truffle 198 Pot-roasted guineafowl on pumpkin sauce with breyani-spiced beetroot 200 Trout belly on courgette ‘noodles’ in chicken-soy broth 204 Lamb neck and waterblommetjies with cream sauce 207 Poached pork belly with apple and chilli salad 208

from the vine Pan-fried prawns and baby squid on avocado and pine nut salad 214 Beef tartare balls and quail egg yolks on purple radish, carrot and cabbage salad 217 Warm shrimps in moskonfyt and black pepper glaze 218 Chicken livers in creamy port sauce with pineapple and black pepper chutney 222

Buchu, pumpkin, parsnip and apple soup with pan-seared apple and apricot kernel oil 164

Oxtail on cauliflower purée with bacon bits and red wine jus 225

Kalahari truffles wrapped in smoked bacon and baked in Parmesan-nutmeg cream 168

Yellowtail belly in soy-sherry marinade with cabbage and carrot kimchi 228

Creamy porcini mushroom tart topped with wild rocket and balsamic glaze 171

Roast pears with brandy and almond cream 230

Quail and beetroot salad with pine nuts, cumin and goat’s cheese 172

Poached apple in crème anglaise with crushed ginger biscuits 233

Trout roses with grapefruit, garlic chives and baby leaves 176

Jasmine rice pudding with moskonfyt, poached pear, hazelnuts and orange 234

Warm roast duck salad on preserved-lemon aïoli with orange and avocado 178 Griddled quail with apricot, cinnamon and lemon sauce 181 Honey mousse with roast dates, figs and hazelnuts 182 Port-glazed springbok steak with celeriac and apple purée and fig salsa 186 Porcini pappardelle with bacon and Parmesan sauce 188 Stewed springbok knuckles with dried fruit on creamy polenta 191 Warthog loin with bok choy stir-fry and wasabi sesame seeds 194

glossary 238 local producers, suppliers and farmers 240 index 244 conversion chart and cook’s notes 251

from the wild

Buchu, pumpkin, parsnip and apple soup with pan-seared apple and apricot kernel oil 164

Oxtail on cauliflower purée with bacon bits and red wine jus 225

Kalahari truffles wrapped in smoked bacon and baked in Parmesan-nutmeg cream 168

Yellowtail belly in soy-sherry marinade with cabbage and carrot kimchi 228

Creamy porcini mushroom tart topped with wild rocket and balsamic glaze 171

Roast pears with brandy and almond cream 230

Quail and beetroot salad with pine nuts, cumin and goat’s cheese 172

Poached apple in crème anglaise with crushed ginger biscuits 233

Trout roses with grapefruit, garlic chives and baby leaves 176

Jasmine rice pudding with moskonfyt, poached pear, hazelnuts and orange 234

glossary 238 local producers, suppliers and farmers 240 index 244 conversion chart and cook’s notes 251

Serves 2 150g beef rump 500ml water 8 quail eggs ½ onion, thinly sliced into rings 3 teaspoons chopped anchovies 10g parsley leaves 10ml extra virgin olive oil 1½ teaspoons Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar Sea salt Cracked black pepper 40g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

70 from the field

Beef carpaccio with quail eggs, white onion and anchovy paste I know that boiling an egg at 60 degrees sounds like a lot of effort, but the result is well worth it. The texture is more like that of a poached egg – it’s soft and custardy – and requires gentle peeling. Quail eggs are more delicate than hen’s eggs yet stand up to the saltiness of the anchovies used here. Slice the rump in half widthways. Cut a piece of clingfilm (about 5 times the size of the meat) and place on a flat work surface. Put half the meat in the middle of the plastic. Cover with another piece of clingfilm of the same size. Use a tenderiser hammer or pestle to flatten the meat till it is about 1mm thin. Do this with both pieces of meat. Take off the top piece of clingfilm and place each piece of meat on a flat plate. In a saucepan, warm the water to 60˚C. Cook the eggs in it for 60 seconds. Allow to cool, then gently crack and peel the eggs. To assemble, arrange the onion rings, chopped anchovies and parsley leaves decoratively on the meat. Gently, using a teaspoon, arrange the quail eggs in between the onions. Dress with the oil and vinegar. Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Just before serving, sprinkle with Parmesan.

70 from the field

Serves 2 200ml rice wine 100g palm sugar 80ml light soy sauce 1 litre chicken stock 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tablespoon sesame oil, plus a little extra 600g lamb knuckles 150g fine green beans, trimmed 2 tablespoons sesame seeds Fresh salted chillies 2 red chillies 2 green chillies 2 tablespoons sea salt

Braised lamb knuckles with green beans, sesame seeds and salted chillies I find that cooking lamb in stock results in a cleaner flavour. The salted chillies add a new dimension to the dish and after youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve tried them once, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll start using them all the time. Put the rice wine, palm sugar, soy sauce, chicken stock, ginger, garlic and sesame oil into a pan and bring to the boil. Add the lamb knuckles, reduce the heat and cook slowly for about 1Â˝ hours until the lamb is soft and almost falling off the bone. Cook the green beans in boiling salted water for 3 minutes, drain and refresh in iced water. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan, add the fine beans with a little sesame oil and warm through. To serve, arrange the beans on a plate and top with the lamb knuckles and braising juice. Sprinkle the salted chillies over the lamb. Fresh salted chillies Slice the chillies and wash in clean cold water until most seeds are removed. Remove from the water and sprinkle over the salt. Mix well and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.

84 from the field

Serves 2 3 cups cleaned and chopped rhubarb ¼ cup hulled and sliced strawberries ¼ cup caster sugar 2 cups fresh raspberries ¼ cup sugar

Rhubarb and strawberry compote with raspberries, almond crumbs and meringue Italian meringue is sweeter and shinier than the traditional version and is beautifully soft. It’s not baked, but browned slightly using a blowtorch (or you can place it under the grill for a few minutes). It’s the perfect accompaniment to fresh and stewed berries.

Vanilla sponge cake 125g cake flour 1½ teaspoons baking powder 125g caster sugar 225g butter, softened 2 eggs 125ml milk Seeds of 1 vanilla pod

Prepare the almond crumbs and meringue mixture. Place the rhubarb, strawberries and ¼ cup caster sugar in a saucepan, mix and stew on a low heat till it is all soft and cooked. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. To serve, share the compote evenly between two plates. Shape each share into an oval blob. Toss the raspberries with the ¼ cup sugar. Arrange neatly on the compote. Drizzle equal amounts of the crumbs on top of each serving. Pipe on the Italian meringue and toast the top of the meringue with a kitchen blowtorch (or place under a hot grill for a few seconds).

Almond crumbs 2 cups cubed vanilla sponge cake 50g whole almonds 2 teaspoons caster sugar

Vanilla sponge cake Preheat the oven to 200˚C. Grease and line a baking tray with baking paper. Sift the flour and baking powder together and set aside. Whisk the caster sugar and butter together in an electric mixer. Beat until it reaches ribbon stage (when the sugar is dissolved and the mixture has become white and airy). Beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold in the flour and baking powder mixture. Mix in the milk and vanilla. Spread the sponge mixture out on the baking tray. Bake for 10–15 minutes. Allow to cool and cut into cubes.

Italian meringue 180g sugar 90ml water 90g egg whites

Almond crumbs In a nonstick pan, toss the sponge cubes, almonds and caster sugar together over a medium-high heat. Toss continuously as the mixture will start to toast quickly. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Place in a blender and process until the mixture is the consistency of bread crumbs. Italian meringue Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Place a sugar thermometer in the pan and keep heating until the mixture reaches 127˚C. Meanwhile, beat the egg whites until they reach the soft-peak stage. Keep whisking constantly while slowly adding the sugar syrup. Continue to beat for about 15 minutes until the mixture is very glossy. Place in a piping bag.

129 from the earth

Serves 2 3 cups cleaned and chopped rhubarb ¼ cup hulled and sliced strawberries ¼ cup caster sugar 2 cups fresh raspberries ¼ cup sugar

Vanilla sponge cake 125g cake flour 1½ teaspoons baking powder 125g caster sugar 225g butter, softened 2 eggs 125ml milk Seeds of 1 vanilla pod

Almond crumbs 2 cups cubed vanilla sponge cake 50g whole almonds 2 teaspoons caster sugar

Italian meringue 180g sugar 90ml water 90g egg whites

129 from the earth

reuben cooks local

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photographs by craig fraser