ABOUT SIBA

SIBA MTONGANA – MULTI AWARDWINNING CELEB CHEF, MOM, AUTHOR, AND FOUNDER OF THE THE SIBA CO

When Siba’s Table first aired on Food Network, it not only cemented Chef Siba’s standing as South Africa’s premier culinary phenomenon, but catapulted her to the status of global food icon in more than 135 countries worldwide, and 60 million homes in the USA through the Cooking Channel alone. The world was hungry for the local and African dishes with a twist this Food and Consumer Sciences with majors in Food Sciences and Nutrition, former magazine food editor and model served up – and continues to consume every bite she creates with her unique dazzling deftness. With so much under her belt including being one of the most indemand celebrity chefs on an array of local and international programmes, at food festivals the world over and not forgetting on glossy magazine covers, it is hard to sum up just how barricadebreaking this down-to-earth chef with her humble, Mdantsane, Eastern Cape roots has been. Some bespoke highlights include: Siba’s re-invention as a business-savvy entrepreneur as evidenced through the formation of The Siba Co, a Food Solutions and Innovation Holdings Company:

In 2019, The Siba Co was hand-picked by the presidency to culinary direct and curate the VIP menu for the inauguration of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, serving 450 guests, including heads of states, former presidents kings, queens and global business moguls. In 2015, the best-selling cookbook ever in its retail class, My Table, was published and marketed by The Siba Co. In 2017, My Table won two prestigious awards at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in China. Siba was the first South African ever to win the Special Award of the Jury for the legacy her book leaves and pop culture impact it has in her beloved home country. Her plethora of awards – Siba has won 5 US Film and Television Awards and 4 Awards locally.

‘Being able to bring my continent the food acclaim it deserves is both a privilege and a blessing,’ says Siba, who can add the esteemed Ubuntu Award to her platter of prestigious accolades for doing just that. Ever the entrepreneur, much of her focus remains invested in The Siba Co and its Menu and Recipe Development arm/VIP bespoke and experiential catering service as sought after by leading restaurants, hospitality showcases and industry leaders in the food service trade.

INGREDIENTS (for 4 pax.):

-For the mojo sauce:

100 g. toasted sesame praline

100 g. roasted pumpkin

100 g. orange juice

20 g. toasted bread

30 g. extra virgin olive oil

10 g. orange liquor

Juice of half a lemon

Salt and pepper

-For the squab: 2 units of squab

Salt, ginger and licorice

-For the sauce: 2 squab carcasses

3 medium onions

4 leeks

1 sprig of fresh thyme

2 dl. olive oil

¼ salt-preserved lemon

A pinch of lemon grass

Oil from the sauteed bones. Salt and pepper

-For the white “feathers”:

63 g. squab or chicken broth

75 g. SucreVel

A pinch of powdered parsley

-For the creamy truffle:

6 yolks

200 g. truffle juice

10 g. soy sauce (low salt)

10 g. truffle oil

Salt and pepper

-For the osmotized orange:

1 orange

25 g. of beetroot juice

-Additionally: Moringa leaves and 1tsp.extra virgin olive oil

PREPARATION:

-For the mojo sauce: Grind up everything in a blender to form a thick paste. Salt and pepper. Set aside.

-For the squab: Remove the breasts and lightly season. Brush them well with the mojo and cook on the flat grill. Set aside.

Use the carcasses and the rest for the sauce.

-For the sauce:

Chop up the carcasses and fry in a little olive oil until golden brown. Separately cut up the vegetables and poach them in the rest of the olive oil until they are slightly golden. Drain the oil thoroughly and add the vegetables to the carcasses. Sauter the mixture well together with the thyme. Cover with water, reduce, strain and season. Add the lemon and lemon grass and let cook 15 minutes more. Strain. Bring to a boil. Salt and pepper. Set aside.

-For the creamy truffle: Mix all the ingredients together in a blender. Add the mixture to a food sealer bag and seal it. Cook sous vide in a water bath at 100ºC for 30 min. It’s important that the bag is hanging while it cooks.

-For the white “feathers”: Emulsify the mixture until it is very firm. Spread it out on parchment paper and cut into the shape of feathers. Score some lines on the sides to make them look even more like leaves. Dry at 60ºC. Store in a dry place until ready to use. At the last minute sprinkle with parsley.

-For the osmotized orange: Cut and supreme the orange. Add the separated segments to the beetroot juice in a food sealer bag. Vacuum seal at 70% and keep in the refrigerator for 2 hours until ready for use.

Final Details And Presentation

Plate the fi leted squab breasts standing up vertically and around them the moringa leaves brushed with the olive oil. Stand two pieces of the creamy truffle mixture and the orange segments vertically. Finish with the crunchy “feathers” and sauce around it.

Yolk

12 uu fresh egg

Squid broth

2 kg large squid clean (2uu)

1,5 kg onions from Figueres ( or white onion)

2,5 L fish stock

1,5 L water

100 + 100 gr oil

Clarification:

1L broth

50 gr fresh egg white

Finishing of the consommé

250 gr reduced broth 1,7 gr iota

Kaffir lime oil

20 uu kaffir lime leaves 500 gr extra virgin olive oil

Onion cream

1,5 kg onions from Figueres ( white onion)

100 + 50 gr Kaffir oil

For the yolk

Break the eggs, keep only the yolk removing all the white properly. With the help of tweezers, remove the nerves.

Immerse them in sunflower oil in a small aluminum cup.

Reserve at room temperature.

During the service steam at 63 ° C for 5 min approx.

For the squid broth

Sauté the clean squid cut in small cubes with 100 gr of oil. Cook until the squid take a bit of color and begins to stick in the pot. Remove the squid and add 100 gr of oil and the onion previously cutted into julienne.

Once they are well poached, add back the squid, the fish stock and the water.

Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes.

Strain and reserve.

For the clarification:

Clarify the broth with 50 gr of egg white for each L of broth. Strain and reduce to obtain the desired taste.

For the finishing of the consommé

Boil the consommé with 1,7 of iota. Cool down and reserve.

For the Kaffir lime oil

Vacuum pack the leaves with the oil and put in water bath for 20 minutes at 83oC.

For the onion cream

Poach the onion previously cutted into julienne in oil until soft and caramelized.

Puree with the remaining oil in

Thermomix.

Put in squeeze bottle and reserve.

Squid Tartare

2 kg squid chives

Amaranth crisp

200 gr amaranth seeds 4L dashi broth

Dashi broth

5 gr dried kombu

15 gr flakes of dehydrated bonito 2 l mineral water

For the squid tartare

Clean the squid by removing the tentacles, mouth and eyes. Keep the tentacle for the broth.

Open the body with a knife, clean well and remove the inner membrane with the help of a sponge. Cut the edges (keep them for the broth) , use only the central part. Remove the skin with the help of a knife if it is very thick.

Freeze the squid then chop in small dice.

Season with salt, pepper and oil. Put in a savarin mold and freeze them. Once frozen, remove from the mold and store in the freezer.

For the amaranth crisp

Cook the amaranth seeds in the dashi broth for 1.5h approx. Stretch on paper and dehydrate in dryer.

Fry in oil at 200oC so it puff. Crush with a spoon and season with salt, seaweed powder and Piment d'Espelette.

It looks like a crispy powder.

For the Dashi broth

With the help of a wet paper, clean the kombu algae of any impurities. Put it in the cold water and put it on very slow heat.

When it reaches 85o C, add the dried bonito flakes and remove from heat. Let rest until the flakes goes down to the bottom of the pot and pass it.

Presentation

Put in the middle of the plate the savarin.

Fill the hole with a spoon of textured squid consommé. Make several points of onion cream around the squid.

Put the egg yolk on top of the squid. Finish with a spoon of crunchy amaranth powder on the top of the egg and some sprouts.

Squid Tartar with liquid egg yolk, onion and kaffir consommé

Chefs Extraordinaires Silvia Baracchi

SilviaBaracchi

Seasonal, local, and fresh, Silvia Baracchi emphasizes the quality of ingredients she uses, explaining that Cortona provides the best in Tuscany. She communicates this passion through her cuisine, and loves to use spices and aromatic herbs from her garden.

Silva’s restaurant, Il Falconiere, acquired its one Michelin star in 2002 and is known for locally sourced and onsitegrown ingredients. As a result, she is a regular at global culinary events and on TV. In 2016, she published her first book, The Red Tastes of Love: Passion in the Tuscan Kitchen.

Silvia’s recipes reflect Tuscan cuisine, some of them specifically from Cortona and the Chiana Valley territory. The chef selects the recipes using modern techniques making them palatable for modern tastes. There is one day where the chef dedicates the menus to the Etruscans: rich in local history and culture. The recipes are simple and homey, and are easy to replicate for a dinner party with family and friends, accompanied by Tuscan wines!

The hotel is ideally located south of Tuscany and very close to Umbria allowing you to enjoy the pleasures of each region. By car in one hour you can reach Siena, Florence and Assisi and in just half an hour you can visit Montepulciano, Pienza, Arezzo and Perugia.

Baked Zucchini B oms stuffed with seased Ricoa and B ddy Mary

Zuccini Blooms

Ingredients For 2 People

• 6 squash blossoms

• 1 teaspoon of bre- adcrumbs

• 250 g sheep-milk ricotta

• salt and pepper

• 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

• 2 ripe tomatoes

• 1 celery heart

• 1 teaspoon of Tabasco

• ½ glass of Vodka

• 1 clove of garlic

• 2 bunches of basil

Carefully clean, wash and dry the squash blossoms. Mix the sheep-milk ricotta with the breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper. Fill the flowers with the ricotta mixture then place them on a baking tray and drizzle them with olive oil. Add a sprig of marjoram and a pinch of salt. Bake for 8 minutes at 170 degrees centigrade.

Cut up and mash the tomatoes to remove the water and the seeds. Place them in a small blender with the Tabasco, the celery and vodka. Add a pinch of salt and the extra virgin olive oil. Blend it and then filter. Pour the thick puree of bloody Mary on the plate and lay the squash blossoms on top with a leaf of celery. Drizzle more olive oil on top to finish.