Beer steamed mussel pot

Living in a world of social media really has its ups and downs. It is so hard to not compare myself to others (a huge mistake) and it is all too easy to fall into a space of dissatisfaction with my own life after viewing someone else's best day on Instagram. However, I constantly remind myself it is just that. Someone's best day. They are working hard to create top class content (as do I) that although beautiful, is not a true reflection of the reality we live in.

I find it inspiring to see people travelling the world in a (seemingly) real life re-enactment of Gulliver’s travels filled with adventure and wanderlust. 
I find myself going down these rabbit holes and ending up pouring over these beautiful locations for hours on my phone. 

Possibly not an ideal habit for a busy woman. Or her partner.

Recently, my obsession has been centred over island vacations. I mean, who’s imagination isn’t captivated by the thought of unspoiled paradise? 
Picture it; Soft beach sand between your toes, a warm sun kissing your shoulders with a fabulous cocktail in hand.

Sigh. 

In an effort to cure my island blues, I decided to come up with an easy-to-make, simply delicious seafood recipe. 
The mussels are a taste of the ocean and the beer offers a signature hop bitterness to contrast the honey in the recipe. The chilli adds a well placed kick and voila - you have yourself a mini vacation in your mouth! 

So if you find yourself dreaming of a magnificent blue ocean somewhere, sitting on a beach sipping on a coconut - I hope this will help you in adding some texture to those imaginings.

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Serves: 4

Ingredients: 

• ½ brown onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• ½ red pepper sliced
• 2 red chilies, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 500g of the best quality mussels you can find
• a handful of coriander
• 330ml beer
• 1 small baguette
• herb butter

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Instructions:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Defrost the mussels and put them in the fridge until you are ready to work with them.

Slice the baguette and butter both sides. 

Take a medium frying pan over a medium to high heat, add a tablespoon of coconut oil and the onions. 

Fry the onions until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, red pepper and chili and fry for a further 5 minutes. 

Add 1 teaspoon of honey and fry for a further minute. 

Add your mussels to a cast iron pot, if you don’t have one any oven-proof dish with a lid will do.

Add the onion and red pepper mix on top of your mussels

Once everything has been added to the pot top with 330 ml of beer and seal the pot.

Pop the mussels into the oven for 20 minutes to steam, or until the shells begin to pop open.

For the last five minutes add the baguette to the oven until toasted. 

Serve hot and enjoy with even more beer! 

-Melissa

Beetroot tart tatin

I first stumbled upon beetroot tart Tatin at the amazing The Table restaurant. This fantastic spot, found on De Meye wine farm is one of my favourite places to eat in Cape Town. The entire concept is organic farm to table and although you’ve heard it all before, this time it truly is... The beautiful garden is just two years old and filled with amazing vegetables, fruits and berries. They use as much fresh produce from the garden as possible. 
The restaurant quips that the garden is out of their control and they wouldn't have it any other way. 

Sometimes things grow successfully and sometimes...well... not so much. 
I know this to be true because I have undertaken a small garden on my balcony here at home and I must commend them for their successes because they don't always happen. 
In fact; I find it more of a miracle when magic does eventually happen on my small balcony.
Having the sweet satisfaction of eating something home grown is simply the best! 
It’s organic, healthy and a true labour of love. Now, who wouldn't want to put that energy into your body? 

Each week they select their vegetables from the garden and source the rest from local farmers and then formulate the menu for the weekend. 
The food is mouth watering and I have never tasted a beetroot tart Tatin like I did that day. 
All the dishes have an element of farm comfort to them and are served on unique antique style platters. 

You can sit under the trees and feast family style, which might I add is my favourite. 
More is more and of course, De Meye wine is the perfect complement to the feast at hand! 

Bookings are essential! Click here to book. 

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Ingredients: 

8 medium sized beetroots, (I mixed it up and got candied beets.) Cooked and peeled. 
1 large red onion
4 sprigs of lemon thyme (you can use normal thyme)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
sour cream to serve
salt and pepper

For the shortcrust pastry:

200g plain flour
125g chilled butter sliced into cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3 tablespoons cold water 

OR you can use Puff Pastry store bought, same as The Table (Which I must confess is perfection.) Don't forget you will need an egg to egg wash the pastry! 

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Instructions:

In a large bowl mix the flour, salt, butter. Using your hands rub the flour and butter between your fingers until the dough is crumbly. Make a well in the center and add the egg and water. Mix well until the dough forms a soft ball. If the dough is too sticky then you can add flour if needed. Wrap the ball in cling wrap and put it in the fridge until you are ready to use it. 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Remove the skin from the beetroots and slice them into 1cm thick discs. 
In a large frying pan over a medium to high heat add the beets, red onion, butter, and sugar. Fry for 12 minutes until it starts to caramelize. Add the balsamic and thyme and fry for a further 2 minutes until the sauce becomes glossy and beautiful! Don't forget to season the beets! 

Now to assemble your tart! 

Grease a round cake tin. A 20cm size will do. 
Layer the beetroots in the cake tin so the surface of the tin is entirely covered. You can layer them like fish scales. Make sure you do this nicely as it will be the top of your tart when inverted. Add the red onions and sauce. 

Using a rolling pin roll out your dough until you have a disk big enough to cover the beets and tuck it in on the side, then prick it with a fork.
If you are using puff pastry, do the same and brush the pastry with a whisked egg. The tart will be inverted so make sure you tuck it in nicely! 

Bake for 30 minutes in a preheated oven or until golden brown. Leave to cool for ten minutes before turning it out gently. Serve on a beautiful dish with a healthy dollop of sour cream! 

-Melissa
 

Brie stuffed artichokes

This week has been simply manic and I  must admit as grateful as I am to be busy it does make me miss my kitchen and question my sanity. Cooking by myself with some music on in the background is everything to me. Its like a zen meditation that I get to do. It doesn't happen often but I get these slight moment where I doubt myself. Im not sure if you get them? Where I have this chaotic life and then in the hast I think to myself, am I doing the right thing? Can I really create this food dream that I work so hard for. Do I have the talent in my kitchen to be creative and take on a dish that I haven't made before as well as develop it? All these questions come rushing in all at the same time when I have these moments. It is so hard with social media to not doubt myself. I find myself in a moment of hesitation comparing myself to other creatives which is creative death in my opinion, yet I still do it. 

Then I enter my kitchen and I can breath. I find a moment where everything makes sense and I know what I am doing is being done in the best way that I know how. I remind myself to take a second and acknowledge myself for how far I have come and how much I have learnt. I force myself to look up from my phone and away from my social media. To rather look inward at my talent and not at everyone else's. I know that no matter what happens, or how crazy life gets that I just need to keep cooking. 

On that note I found these amazing artichokes at the farmers market this past weekend and knew I wanted to be creative with them. They are so beautiful to shoot. I have never cooked with artichokes before but I know that I love to eat them. The result is juicy moorish cheesy artichokes that are the most fun to eat and delectable! They are best served with a great white wine as the richness of the cheese is perfectly paired with the wine! 

After I made these I had to remind myself that I've got this. That I can do this and that it isn't that bad if you have a good glass of wine in your hand and a delicious meal!  

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Ingredients:

• 5 medium artichokes
• ½ cup of cream
• 250 grams Brie cheese, diced with rind on
• ½ cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg yolk
• Cayenne pepper, to taste
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Honey to serve

For the bread crumb topping:

• 2 slices of thick cut sourdough bread, torn into fine pieces
• ¼ cup pistachios
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions:

Bring a pot of salted water to boil.

Cut the stems of your artichokes so that they have a flat base. Trim the leaves slightly. The base of the leaf is edible so don’t cut it all off. Once trimmed, pop the artichokes into the pot and boil for 15-20 minutes. Once ready drain and set aside in the colander.

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

In a small saucepan over a low heat add the cream, Brie, and Parmesan. Melt all the ingredients together until soft and creamy.  Remove from heat and while whisking add the egg yolk and cayenne pepper to taste.

Cut the artichokes in half or leave some whole if you prefer. Place them on a roasting tray lined with wax paper. Pull the leaves outward opening them up like a flower. Fill the artichokes with the creamy cheese sauce. Make sure you fill all the grooves!  

In a separate bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, pistachios, butter and oregano. Sprinkle over the top of the artichokes. 

Bake for 10-15 minutes. Serve warm with fresh lemon zest on top! Of course, add a beautiful glass of white wine!

-Melissa 

Cream cheese and bacon Jalapeños

The one thing I am is proudly South African. I must admit I am not huge into sport but if we are playing I am there in support – love of the game or not. So I decided with it being the Rugby World Cup and The Springboks doing so well, that I needed to do one of my favourite snacks for watching the game. 

This is my version of a proudly South African Chilli Popper.  

If you are reading this and not in South Africa two things 1) you need to come visit because we are a beautiful country and 2) don’t panic, you can still make these with a few adjustments for what ever game you will be watching in the world! 

They are quick to make and you will love them because they are packed with flavour and bringing them out to the celebrations on a platter will make you the star of the day! Just make sure the beer is cold! 

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serves 6

Ingredients: 

• 12 large jalapeño’s- cut in half and pitted
• 250 grams sweet chilli cream cheese
• 1 packet of streaky bacon 
• 250 grams crème fraiche 
• 150 grams biltong dust (optional if you are not in South Africa) 
• *Biltong – A south African cured meat, a lot like Beef Jerky  
• Salt and pepper to taste 

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Instructions: 

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius. 

If you haven’t, cut your Jalapenos in half and remove the seeds (these are the spiciest part, so if you are feeling brave you can leave some in) 

Spoon in your cream cheese into the hallow of the Jalapeno 

Grab a piece of streaky bacon and wrap it around the filled jalapeños. You can secure the bacon with toothpicks. Just remind your guest to remove them before eating! 

Place them on your roasting tray and season them with salt and pepper. Not too much salt as the bacon is already salty. 

Pop them in the oven for 15 minutes and for the last 5 minutes put the grill on the make them golden on the top. 

While they are in the oven whisk together your crème fraiche and biltong powder. 

Serve the poppers fresh out of the oven with cold beer and dipping sauce! 

-Melissa