Sea-side Meals - Magic Mussels

Love mussels? Who doesn't. but most people feel too daunted by the thought of cooking them - don't, the biggest challenge is finding a stock pot big enough to cook them in! I had a bit of a problem on that account at the cottage, but in the end it was two pots (pasta and pressure) that did the job.

For the base sauce:

1 bunch of celery, tops and stalks chopped.

1 Spanish onion, sliced into thin half rings

A thumb size piece of stem ginger, finely sliced

A few cloves of crushed and minced garlic

2 Tins of whole Italian tomatoes

A bottle of fine white wine (and extra for the chef!)

Saute the onion, garlic and celery in olive oil and a generous knob of butter till soft but not coloured.

We had the kids with some of their mates with us, so I held back the chili, but if all diners can handle add the chili to the onion mix now.

Add the ginger and then the wine, cook off the alcohol for a minute or two and then add the tomatoes, chopping them roughly in the pot with a knife.

This sets the scene for the mussels!

The mussels need to be cleaned of all beard and soaked and rinsed to clear all sand and grit.

Tip into the pot (...or pots in this case), mix through ensuring there is enough cooking liquid and if not add some boiling water. Fit a tight lid and leave the mussels to steam for 6 to 8 minutes or until they have opened.

Heap onto a shallow, wide serving dish and serve with fresh crusty bread to mop up the sauce with.

The amazing cooking liquor left in pot, fragrant with all the mussels natural juices were being to be whipped into another dish! What to do? Freeze for future use or....

.... cook a pack of spaghetti in the sauce,(add a little water if needed), and serve with some of the de-shelled mussels and bread crumbs crisped in the oven for crunch.

Whilst the adults were diving elbow deep into the juicy, plump mussels, it was the quite rapture and slurp-sigh of the kids tucking into the pasta, that was most gratifying....check it out!

Old Years Eve '08 Feast - Roast Lamb, Pork Belly....

We, as always, escaped the New Years Eve's madness and spent it at the cottage. Paulie, Sabrina and Luigi joined us for a meaty feast and some lovely veggies from Son. All this with the ocean in the background and the Mtwalume night sky bursting with a riot of rainbow colour from the surrounding fireworks.

Luigi did an all too succulent Leg of Lamb, that according to urban legend took copious amounts of scotch to lubricate the chef and his helper during the four hours it took to cook.

Soni's Veggies took the form of roasted bean and potatoes with pine nuts and ricotta stuffed mushrooms.

...and I couldn't resist the temptation and my contribution was a juicy Pork Belly.

With all the attention on the meat going around, we all forgot dessert - Soni and Sabrina to the rescue! Marshmallow and Nutella SURPRISE!

Pinwheels

Sonia was quick to the rescue when the boys were looking for a sweet biscuit and we had none in the store cupboard. The variety of potential fillings are endless and the boys had loads of fun making, baking and eating these.

Roll out a pack of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface, divide evenly into three sections along the width and spread each with a filling of choice. We used peanut butter and honey on the first, cinnamon and brown sugar on the second and chocolate spread on the third.

Roll up on the short side into a tube and slice into 5mm sections. Lay these on their sides on a baking tray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 15 minutes or until puffed and golden.

They are great with a coffee or as a topping to ice cream. Enjoy!

Crayfish Lunch on the deck @ La Vista

It is always with great awe and excitement that I look at the bounty of the ocean. We were lucky enough to get a clutch of crayfish whilst on holiday at our South Coast cottage.

I made a bouillon of white wine, celery, lemon, onion and parsley, in which I poached the whole crays three at a time (we were spoilt! 9 awesome specimens!)

Once the juicy delectable meat was extracted from the shells we decided to keep it simple, and I served the tails on a bed of dressed rocket with course salt and pepper to sprinkle, sliced red chili on the side and a homemade aoli with a vicious garlic kick.

No words can describe....

Christmas '08 - Instalmant 6 - Dessert

By the time one comes the the PUD on Christmas day, most of us feel like "Not just now! Maybe later?" For this reason we have developed the habit of keeping dessert much simpler and lighter for both ourselves and our guests, and it takes the form of a sweet treat, late afternoon.

This year the traditional Italian Panetone was a chocolate, much to the delight of the kids young and old. We served this dusted with cocoa, chocolate puffs and fresh cherries macerated in Frangelico liqueur.

I also made ice-cream the day before. Lemon-curd based with dried cranberries and a twist of lime.

The kids had theirs in cones, whilst most of the adults had the panetone with the ice-cream, splashed with Frangelico - Yummy!

Christmas '08 - Instalment 5 - Side Dishes

The side dishes:

Mixed garden salad with Mint, Cranberries and fennel.

Washed mixed salad leaves of your choice.

A generous handful of dry roasted hazel nuts.

1 fennel bulb sliced very thinly on the diagonal.

Small bunch of fresh mint.

Half cup of dried cranberries.

10 caper berries.

Dress the salad leaves, fennel, berries and mint in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Layer on a salad platter, scatter with the nuts and caper berries and squeeze over the juice of half a lemon.

New potatoes and beans in mustard dressing

500g each of new potatoes and runner beans
large white onion
1 tablespoon of wholegrain mustard
1 crushed and minced garlic clove
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Parboil the potatoes in salted water until soft. In a separate saucepan do the same with the beans that have been top and tailed, and cut into bite size pieces, along with the finely sliced onion. Mix the potatoes, onion and beans and let cool.
Heat the olive oil in a small pan, take off the heat and add the garlic to infuse the oil. When luke warm, add the mustard to the oil and beat with a whisk till it emulsifies into a creamy sauce. Mix into the potato and beans and serve at room temperature.

Roasted Roma tomatoes, with Ricotta, pesto and pine nuts.

1 kg Roma tomatoes

350gm Ricotta

1 Jar of organic basil Pesto

Half a cup of dry roasted pine nuts

1 garlic bulb, cleaned into cloves

1 Jar of organic marinated artichokes

Cap the tomatoes and de-seed, spoon in the ricotta and drizzle with pesto and top with the pine nuts. Place in a oiled oven dish, and scatter baby tomatoes, whole peeled garlic and marinaded artichokes in between. Roast in a medium, hot oven (180 deg C) for 20 minutes.

Christmas '08 - Instalment 4 - Parma Fillet

For the Beef Parma:

Good quality organic beef fillet - 200 to 250g per guest
Mushrooms of choice
Parma ham slices to cover the fillet
minced garlic
small green chili
Saute the mushrooms, garlic and chili in olive oil till soft, put aside.
On a clean, dry work surface, lay cling film long and wide enough to roll up the fillet. Lay the parma ham in overlapping fashion and spread with the mushroom mix. Brown the fillet in a griddle pan, while you heat the oven to a moderately hot temperature.

Rest the fillet for 10 minutes, than place in the centre of the parma and mushrooms. Roll up using the cling film, making sure the fillet is totally covered, wrap tightly in the cling film and chill for 20 minutes in the fridge.


Remove the cling film and place in the hot oven and grill for 15 to 20 minutes, rest for 10 and carve.

Serve on a bed of rocket, scattering all the crunchy parma bits, left on the board after carving, over the top.