Aromatic Warmth & Heady Fragrance ….. the inspiring notes for todays menu

Tags

Bobotie, Carrots, corriander, Crab meat, cumin, fish, ginger, Onion seeds, salmon, Seasoning, Spices, spinach, Turmeric

It’s a clear bright sky today; the wild almond which towers over the entrance to the Clifton House is breaking out with blossoms, soon they will fall to the ground like snowflakes; the wonderful fragrance of cardamom coffee wafting from the kitchen pricks the senses. I fancy something fragrant and mildly spicy for dinner.

The pantry store cupboard holds a store of heady scents and warm colours, I find just what I need for the Fish Bobotie which I will serve with a warm salad of carrot, spinach tossed together with a cumin, lemon and garlic dressing. I pick fresh curry leaves from the little tree in the herb garden and add a few Kaffir lime leaves to the bundle. The curry leaves provide a mild aromatic warmth to the Bobotie which I feel the dish just cant do without. The kaffir lime leaves are optional.

Aromatic Fish Bobotie served with Carrot, Spinach and cumin salad with toasted black onion seeds

Deliciously fragrant and mildly spicy, a good dish for entertaining friends.

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 cans of skinless and boneless pink salmon ( drained mass 270 g)

1 can crab meat (drained mass 113 g)

2 slices of bread

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. ground coriander

½ ground cayenne pepper

Thumb size piece of ginger peeled and finely chopped

1 onion peeled and finely diced

1 cup of cream

1 tsp. turmeric powder

2 large eggs

Salt

Black pepper

6-8 curry leaves

4 kaffir lime leaves finely sliced (optional)

Method

Set the oven temperature to 180C

Drain the cans of salmon and crab meat and place in a bowl.

In a separate bowl tear the bread into chunks and cover with the cup of milk, leave to soak.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan, add the cumin, coriander, cayenne and sauté for a few seconds, add the chopped ginger, sauté for a few more seconds then add the chopped onion. Sauté until the onion is tender and soft. Add to the bowl with the fish and crab and mix through. Squeeze the bread reserving the milk for later; add the bread to the mixture in the bowl. Mix all thoroughly but gently together and place in a buttered oven proof dish.

Add 1 cup of the cream to the reserved milk in which the bread was soaking, add the turmeric, the eggs, beat together lightly and season with salt and pepper. Pour this custard liquid over the fish mixture. Add some curry leaves pushing them gently down on top of the custard. Add a sprinkling of the finely sliced Kaffir lime leaves.

Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes until the custard is set and is a nice golden colour.

For the warm salad

Carrot Spinach and cumin salad with toasted black onion seeds

The secret to this salad is good quality organic carrots and spinach and lightly pan roasting the onion seeds

Ingredients

500g cooked carrots

250g baby spinach washed, blanched and squeezed dry

½ tsp. ground cumin

2 garlic cloves peeled and roughly chopped

½ tsp. sea salt

Juice of half a lemon

1/3 tsp. castor sugar

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tsp. pan roasted black onion seeds

Method

Slice the cooked carrots into long strips, about 3-4 strips per carrot. Place into a salad bowl, together with the spinach, layering as you go.

Pound the cumin, garlic, and salt in a mortar and pestle. Mix in the lemon juice, sugar and olive oil until well amalgamated.

Pour the dressing over the carrot and spinach and sprinkle with the roasted black onion seeds.

Shoulder of Goat served with a fragrant dish of Spicy Potato, Spinach & Tomato

Tags

blackpepper, cayenne pepper, cinamon, corriander, cumin, curry leaves turmeric, garlic, goat, onion, organic, potato, roasting, rosemary, spinach, tomato, wine

Although it is middle of the winter here in the Cape, the past few days have been gorgeously warm with the temperatures reaching 22∘ during the day, but dropping rapidly toward the evening. It’s a nice time to be in the garden and I have picked some spinach and herbs for this evening’s meal which will be shoulder of young goat, sealed in baking foil and slowly roasted. This will be served with a delicious side dish, a combination of spicy potato, spinach and tomato, bursting with fragrant flavour.

Growing herbs in the kitchen garden provides much pleasure and is well used in the Clifton Kitchen creations. I notice the beautiful tiny blue flowers on the rosemary bushes as I pick what I need and then on to the curry leaf tree which releases the most amazing fragrances as I run my fingers through the leaves, picking four of them for my dish.

The lemon tree is hanging heavy with fruit, ready for picking. I will probably preserve some and make some marmalade too; but back to today’s meal.

What I like about this dish is the ease of preparation allowing you to get on with other matters at hand while the meat slowly takes care of itself as it cooks away in the oven. The ingredients for the accompaniment can be prepared ahead of time and put together at the last minute.

Shoulder of Goat served with Spicy Potato Spinach & Tomato

Serves 6

Ingredients

Baking foil

1.4kg shoulder of goat

2 tablespoons Olive oil

¼ tsp. Salt

1.4 tsp. Pepper

15ml chopped fresh Rosemary

5 garlic cloves unpeeled but crushed

1 large onion roughly chopped

½ cup white wine

Method

Set the oven to 180C.

Place the shoulder of goat on a sheet of baking foil.

Mix together the olive oil, salt, pepper and rosemary. Rub all over the meat. Sprinkle over the chopped onion and add the crushed garlic cloves. Pour in the wine and seal the shoulder of goat in the baking foil parcel. Place in the oven and bake for about 3 hours after which the meat will be succulent and soft.

For the spicy Potato, spinach and tomato

Ingredients

300g spinach washed and blanched in boiling salted water and squeezed dry

4 medium size potatoes cut into cubes and par boiled until just soft

3 medium tomatoes chopped

½ tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. ground coriander

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. turmeric powder

½ tsp. cayenne powder

½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

5 fresh curry leaves finely sliced

3 cloves garlic finely chopped

4 tablespoons olive oil

30ml water

Salt to taste

Method

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in pan, add the potatoes and sauté until golden and set aside

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a pan, add the spices, curry leaves and garlic and cook gently for 3-4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, 30ml of water and cook for 5 minutes with lid on pan, add the spinach and potatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning and serve.