3 minute read
Booze & Munchies
FODDER MUNCHIES & BOOZE
PIERRE’S GREEN CRACK
While on a guitarfish mission up the West Coast with Pierre Joubert of Stream and Sea (streamandsea.com), at the first evening’s braai the man whipped out a jar of what we now refer to as “green crack”. Ever since, this wunder-condiment (or “wundiment”) has been a mainstay for all The Mission’s missions. Pierre says, “Part chimichurri, part pesto, it’s a sauce, a marinade, a salad dressing, and a life saver at a bring-and-braai. We always have a fresh jar in the fridge and take it with us on every trip.”
INGREDIENTS
30g coriander leaves, roughly chopped 15-20g mint leaves, roughly chopped 15-20g flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped 1 hot chilli, chopped 1/4 tsp brown sugar 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped 1/2 cup olive oil (might be more or less) 2 tbsp red wine vinegar salt and pepper to taste
METHOD
1. Place the herbs, chilli, garlic cloves and sugar in a mixing bowl. 2. Add half of the olive oil and red wine vinegar. 3. Give it a good stir to coat everything. 4. Add the remainder of the olive oil bit by bit until a sauce is formed. 5. Taste. 6. Add red wine vinegar, bit by bit, to counter the olive oil. Mix and taste after each addition until balanced. 7. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.
THE WINE – PAARDEBERG PAPEGAAI
Adi Badenhorst is a lot of things: a Maverick Swartberg winemaker, a Clanwilliam yellowfish molester and, perhaps most surprisingly, a patron of the Cape parrot (Poicephalus robustus). We caught up with him to find out more about both his light, fresh red wine the Paardeberg Papegaai Red 2021, his endangered feathered friends, and how the two come together.
Tell us about the name of this wine.
I love a parrot. I have many parrots. But when it comes to the Cape parrot there are fewer than a thousand left in the wild. If they can be counted then there are too few! Project Papegaai started out with a white and red wine of various, very inconsistent small blends that we bottled for the Tate Modern. That’s an art place in London near the greasy River Thames.
A percentage of sales from this wine goes to the Cape Parrot Project, the NGO fighting to protect the birds. Is the idea for the Cape parrot to be reintroduced to the Western Cape again? If you manage to contribute to that, can we officially call you “The Papegaai Naai”?
Taai naai papegaai. Unfortunately re-introduction is near impossible because of habitat destruction. The Eastern Cape (and a few pockets in KwaZulu-Natal) are the last strongholds of these magnificent birds – hence the name Cape parrot.
Which varietals go into the Paardeberg Papegaai Red?
It’s made from grapes from every single vineyard on the farm (Chenin Blanc, Semillon and Semillon Gris, Colombar, Chenin Blanc, Grenache Blanc and Noir, Muskadel, Cinsault, Bastardo, Counoise), picked together at the same time. It’s probably 65% red grapes and the rest white grapes, so it is a bit pansexual; not red, not rosé, not white, not orange – just smashable table wine.
When you’re not making wine, you’ve been known to fly fish for Clannies. It gets hot out there, whether you’re fishing or tanning a chop. Would you take the Paardeberg Pappegaai with you and serve it slightly chilled, or would you reach for one of your white wines in sweltering conditions?
The Papegaai of course, especially if it helps them bite. Fully chilled and sommer directly from the bottle – it’s called kissing the long-necked cat! Coincidentally, my neighbour’s dog is called Geelvis (yellowfish) because he doesn’t bite.
Find out more about the Cape Parrot Project at wildbirdtrust.com and get more info on Adi’s wines at aabadenhorst.com.
REP YOUR WATER – WHISKY GLASS
As your lips sip from this glass, there will be a moment when they are smooching a rising trout. Your squinting eyes lock, the trout wriggles a little then relaxes… and as two (or three if you are counting the whisky) becomes one, you think to yourself, “If this is wrong, I don’t want to be right.” repyourwater.com
