Prawn pasta to celebrate Sauvignon blanc

Durbanville wine valley is celebrating a month of sauvignon blanc in October and I couldn’t be more excited! These easy drinking crisp white wines are often found at my table. Durbanville is a mere twenty minutes from Cape Town CBD and deserves a visit as much as its sister wine countryside’s Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. The Durbanville region is filled with scenic routes, amazing award winning wine farms and superb restaurants. 

So with October celebrating the richness of Sauvignon blanc and estates such as Altydgedacht, Bloemendal, D’Aria, Diemersdal, De Grendel, Durbanville Hills, Hillcrest, Klein Roosboom, Meerendal, Nitida, Groot Phizantekraal and Signal Gun each celebrating the start of white wine season in their own individual style, I had to create a dish that I believe celebrates these estates and their sauvignon blancs! The dish is rich and creamy and the acidity of the wine cuts through it perfectly. I have also chosen to pair the wines with seafood as it compliments the flavour well! This prawn pasta is beyond delicious and a great meal to feed a bigger crowd! 

If you want to explore the region you can pop into any of the estates and experience a tasting! The month of festivities draw to a close at the end of October with a festival weekend on the 29th and 30th October. All twelve wine estates will be present and it will be a hive of activities for all family members. 

Now let’s get down to business with my prawn pasta while you prepare to savour (hopefully) all 12 celebrated sauvignon blancs!

---

Serves 4, cook time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 300 grams rosa tomatoes, halved
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 400ml tomato pureé (I use the one in the glass jar)
• 1 packet linguine
• Salt
• 250 grams of cleaned and de shelled prawns, patted dry with paper towel.
• Knob of butter
• 1 garlic clove minced
• 200 grams mascarpone cheese
• 2 big handfuls of baby spinach
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• Parmesan cheese for serving

---

Instructions:

In a large frying pan over a medium heat add the coconut oil, rosa tomatoes and garlic. Fry until soft. Add the oregano and tomato pureé. Let simmer for 20 minutes on a low heat. If you would like you can feed it with a little water if it starts to dry out.
Bring a pot of water to boil. Salt the water generously. Add the linguine to the water and boil for 7-8 minutes. Do not over cook the pasta, as it will cook further in the sauce.

Once ready, remove and strain. Add the pasta to the frying pan with the tomato sauce.

In a separate smaller frying pan bring over a high heat add the knob of butter and garlic. Add the prawns and fry for 3 minutes. Don’t over cook the prawns as they will cook further in the pasta.

Fold the mascarpone into the pasta, add the prawns and spinach and fold until combined.

Zest the pasta and add the lemon juice before serving. Serve fresh and hot with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese! 

-Melissa

*This blog post was sponsored by Durbanville wine valley. All opinions are my own. 

Waterblommetjie bredie

Capetonians can experience four seasons in one day. In fact, if Cape Town is in the mood, possibly five. 
There is a local saying that goes “if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.” 

The up side of a moody city is that, although it is spring, you can easily end up with a cloudy cool day that demands a hearty meal that oozes comfort. (and offers the perfect excuse to laze on the couch, guilt-free). The down side; well… hapless, underprepared tourists caught in a quick-as-a-flash temperature plummet.

This recipe is exactly what the (cape) doctor ordered on days like this. It is a traditional South African dish made from flowers that grow around this time of the year in the lakes and dams. The flower is called the waterblommetjie (Afrikaans) with the direct translation meaning ‘little water flower’. It grows similar to a water lily and can be found at any good local farmers market. 

This dish combines a rich lamb stew and vegetables with the crowning ‘waterblommetjie’ as a fragrant element that ties all the flavors together beautifully. 

I am in love with it not only because it is insanely good, but is a great comfort food, and of course, who doesn’t love eating flowers? I mean you might as well be a unicorn! 

This dish is consciously seasonal and well worth the effort.

I must admit it was my first attempt at playing with a traditional South African recipe and I was blown away with the results.

In Afrikaans there is a perfect phrase to end off a perfect meal…magies vol en oogies toe.
Tummy is full and eyes are closing...

I couldn’t have said it better if I tried.

---

Serves 6, cook time: 1 ½ hours
 

Ingredients:

• 1 kg lamb(knuckle or neck)
• Cake flour to dust meat.
• Olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 ½ cups lamb stock
• 2 tablespoons soya sauce
• 1.5 kg waterblommetjies
• 500 grams baby potatoes
• 1 ½ tins of apricots (save the rest for dessert!)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lemon, zested 

---

Instructions:

Dust meat with flour. Add a glug of olive oil to your casserole dish and bring to a high heat.

Brown the meat in batches until golden brown. Do not add it all at the same time as you wont get that perfect golden colour!

Add the onions and fry until soft. Add the garlic and fry for a further five minutes.

Add the coriander, nutmeg, cayenne pepper and fry for a further two minutes.

Add the lamb stock and make sure you deglaze the bottom of the pot to get all the flavour.  Add the soya sauce.

Close the lid and reduce the heat to a medium heat and let cook for 40 minutes.

Mix in half of the waterblommetjies and cook for a further 20 minutes.

Add the potatoes, apricots and the remaining waterblommetjies and cook for a further 30 minutes on a low-medium heat.

Add the lemon zest five minutes before serving.

Enjoy! 

Risotto salsiccia funghi

I met Maybe Corpaci a few years ago, when I was adamant that I was going to be a fashion photographer. Yes you heard me! Just two years ago I would never have thought (in my wildest dreams) that my career path would end up in food. 

Maybe worked at the wildly popular and very well known Elle magazine South Africa. I was a photographic assistant to the incomparable fashion duo, Elford De la Foret at the time and surprisingly, Maybe and I connected over food. 

In retrospect, I should have already known then that the stars were aligning into a shape of a crockery pot. Needless to say, all these years later; Maybe and I decided to do a little cook for you. 

Maybe is a fiery Italian women that is fearlessly beautiful and knows her way around the kitchen. When I asked her what we would be cooking, a singular booming word was the reply, Risotto!

Now, I might be many things, but certainly not one to argue with an Italian who wants to cook the elusive risotto and show me the ropes.

So here it is. 

Believe it or not, I over salted it at the end; so watch out for that. The salsiccia sausage and the broth both have plenty of salt, and coupled with the Parmesan, leave the dish perfectly seasoned.

A rookie error on my part, never to be repeated.

However, having said that, allow your guests to season for themselves if they are so inclined, but caution them accordingly.

A simple, "Put down the salt Grandma!" should suffice.

---

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, chopped 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil 
• 150 grams salsiccia sausage 
• 1 cup risotto
• ½ a cup of white wine  
• 1 liter beef broth 
• 1 teaspoon saffron 
• 4 wild mushrooms (shitake) sliced. 
• 3 knobs of butter 
• 40 grams of Parmesan cheese 

---

Instructions: 

Chop the onions finely and add to a casserole pot with your olive oil and soften. Make sure the pot has a lid. 

Remove the sausage from the skin and break it up with your fingers. Add it to your onions and fry until golden brown. 

Add the risotto and fry on a medium to high heat until the grain becomes slightly translucent. 

Add ½ a cup of white wine and cook for 2-3 minutes. You want the alcohol to evaporate. 

Add your beef broth one ladle at a time. Keep stirring. As the liquid absorbs add more broth feeding your risotto. Your cooking time should be 15-18 minutes. 

At the 13-minute mark add a tablespoon of broth to the teaspoon of saffron in a separate bowl. Let the saffron steep for 3 minutes. Add the saffron to the risotto. 

Slice the mushrooms and fry with a little butter in a separate frying pan over a high heat until golden brown. 

Add the mushrooms to the risotto and fold through. Remove from heat and pot the lid on the casserole. Let the risotto sit for 3 minutes before serving.

-Melissa

Vegetarian Lasagne

I am all about the cheese. As in ALL about the cheese. If anything goes wrong in the kitchen, I am a firm believer that all you need to do to correct a culinary calamity is to add cheese on top to solve the problem. 

Now when it comes to lasagna, I have a passion for the corner piece (as I am sure most of you do!) 
You know what I am talking about right? The gooey, crunchy, bubbling corner piece that definitely hosts more cheese than the rest of those pitiful landlocked slices. 

I am prepared to fight to the death for it.

The amazing thing with this lasagna is, not only is it vegetarian (meat eaters fear not) but it is also (in my mind) guilt free. 
Layered with fresh vegetables and topped with the perfect cheese crust, this recipe will blow your mind. 
It is a labour of love. 

Dubbed by a close friend of mine as the Lasagn-YOH (who also generously shared the recipe with me), its name is as fitting as the casserole dish it’s baked in.
I say generously because this dish is a game changer. A blessing. 
For those of you who don’t know, YOH is South African slang, used when a person is rendered speechless, a word that summarizes the gravity of an overwhelming experience.

Practice saying it out aloud now. Yoh.
There is no use fighting it – it’s exactly what will happen.

---

Serves: 6

Cook time: 2 hours 30 minutes 

Ingredients:

• Coconut oil (olive oil if you don’t have)
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 sprigs of thyme (twigs removed)
• 700 grams of Rosa tomatoes, halved
• 700ml or 1 jar of tomato purée
• 50 grams of basil chopped
• 1 large butternut, peeled and chopped
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 400 grams potabellini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 sprigs of rosemary (twigs removed)
• 250ml cream
• 1 large aubergine
• 200 grams Swiss chard, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon, zested
• 300 grams fresh ricotta cheese
• 250 grams egg lasagne
• 450 grams of mozzarella
• Parmesan cheese to serve

---

Instructions: 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

In a large pot over a medium heat, add a tablespoon of coconut oil, the onion and the garlic and fry until soft. Add the thyme leaves and the tomatoes and fry until soft. Add the tomato purée and basil, let simmer. The longer the tomato sauce simmers the more the acid reduces and the sweeter the sauce, so the longer the better. I let mine simmer on a low heat for almost two hours if I can. Season to taste.
 

Put the butternut on a roasting tray and lightly coat in a half a tablespoon of coconut oil. You don’t want too much oil. Just enough so that it is covered. Add salt and roast at 180 for 35-40 minutes or until soft when you poke it with a fork. When it is ready remove from the oven but keep the oven on to bake the dish at the end.
 

In a small frying pan over a medium to high heat add the butter and a dash of oil (this stops the butter from burning.) Do not add to much as you don't want to boil the mushrooms. Add the mushrooms and fry until they are golden brown. Once they start to brown add the rosemary. Once ready add half the cream to the pan. Let simmer for 1 minute, remove from heat and set aside.

Slice the aubergine into half a centimeter thick disks. In a large frying pan over a high heat add half a tablespoon of coconut oil. Once hot add your disks. Aubergine tends to suck up the oil. Don’t panic if they need add a little more oil (don’t over do it, they will fry up). Fry each side for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl add the Swiss chard and lemon zest. Using your hands crumble the ricotta into the bowl and toss with the Swiss chard.

Almost there! Now you just have to put all the layers together

You are going to assemble the lasagne in a large lasagne dish. 

Add your butternut to the dish. I squish my butternut down to make a compact flat layer. Top with four ladles of tomato sauce. Add the lasagne by lining them up next to each other. You are not wetting the lasagne before cooking. It will cook out when you bake the dish.

Add the mushrooms on top of the lasagne. Smooth out to all corners of the dish.

Add the spinach on top. Pack it down and get as much in as you can. It wilts when you bake it.

Add another layer of lasagne.

Add your fried aubergine on top of your lasagne. Assemble it so that it makes a full layer.

Cover with the rest of the tomato sauce. Pour over the rest of the cream.

Slice the mozzarella into disks, enough to cover the entire top of the lasagne. Don’t be shy and make sure you don’t miss a spot! Remember the cheese will spread as it melts! Grate some parmesan over the top. 

Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 35-40 minutes. Keep an eye on your cheese as you don’t want it to burn but you do want it crunchy!

-Melissa 

The perfect night in with Country Road

If you follow the blog or know me personally you will know that I am all about the dinner party and a fabulous brunch. These are soul-filling events for me because I get to spend time with the people I love the most. Cooking up a storm and entertaining come naturally for me. That’s not to say that I don’t however enjoy the perfect night in taking time to recharge.
 
I thought I would give you a peek into what I cook for myself. I am a huge fan of a one-pot wonder when I am alone as it leaves me with less dishes and I can pop it in the fridge to nibble off.
 
Sometimes I just need to switch off and cuddle up with a great series or book and the country road knitted blankets are the softest cuddle buddies (insert cuddle puddle here). With winter having arrived with aplomb I couldn't wait to share my recent collaboration with Country Road and their beautiful cozy knits. I thought I would show you not only my #countryroadstyle but also a recipe which I love to make.
It is a butternut soup that freezes really well. You can portion it, then just pop it on the stove when you are ready.
It's hearty with a fiery little spice kick (depending on how warm you want to keep.)
 
All homeware and knits are available at Country Road. Cat not included.

---

Ingredients:
 
3 tablespoons coconut oil.
1 large onion, chopped.
3 garlic gloves, chopped.
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and chopped.
1 red chilli, chopped (you can add less or more)
2 cups celery, chopped.
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped.
1 large sweet potato washed and chopped.
1 kg butternut, peeled and diced.
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
2 liters vegetable stock.
1 tin coconut milk.
1 bunch of coriander.
Salt and pepper to taste.

---

Instructions:
 
Fill your kettle and boil.
Add your coconut oil and onions to a large pot over a medium heat and sweat them down.
Add your garlic, ginger and chilli. Keep stirring.
Add your celery and stir until it starts to soften.
Add your carrots, sweet potato and butternut.
Add a sprinkling of cayenne pepper if you want to turn up the heat!
Once all your vegetables are mixed fill your pot 90% of the way with your vegetable stock. Let boil over a medium to high heat for at least an hour. If you see the water level is running low, top it up with your stock.
I let my soup cook for as long as possible, sometimes up to two hours. It is however ready after an hour.
 
Once all your veggies are soft using a stick blender or a normal blender blend the soup until it reaches a thick consistency. Add it back to your pot and let simmer further.
Add your tin of coconut milk and stir through.
 
Serve hot with croutons and freshly chopped coriander!

After dinner I have become obsessed with peppermint tea. Its great for the digestive system and will keep you warm and cozy!

-Melissa

*This blog post is sponsored by country road which I would gladly have a cuddle puddle with.