Perfect peri peri

I love the simple things in life and sometimes  simplistic recipes are the best. As a chef, I believe that the sauce or marinade is the backbone of any good plate of food, with a shit foundation there is a good chance the rest is going to be shit as well. One of my favorite recipes is the lovely yet dangerous recipe of peri peri (frozen toilet paper is optional on this one)

Contrary to popular belief peri peri sauce does not originate from your Nandos down the road, and it does not only go with chicken!

Little is known about where the recipe originated from exactly, but we do know it was developed by the Portuguese people of Southern Africa and can be found in many parts of Angola, South Africa and all over Mozambique.

The original recipe is said to have only 5 ingredients namely chilli, lemon juice, salt, olive oil and garlic. My recipe has the simple addition of paprika to give it extra kick and colour. This particular peri peri  sauce is very versatile and can be used on fish, chicken and meat or pork as a marinade. Its also perfect just served as a side condiment on the table.

I love to splash some generously on top of a pizza or just simply use as a dip with some warm crusty homemade bread. 

Always remember that marinading meat always works best if allowed to sit for up to 24- 48 hours to allow the meat to absorb all the flavors. This recipe is only a guide that can be adjusted to suit your individual tastes. Never be afraid to experiment!!!

Always use the freshest and best quality ingredients you can find.  

500g red and green chilli mixed (seeds removed for less heat)

100g fresh whole garlic, chopped 

Juice of 2 lemons (zest can be used for some extra zing)

350 ml good quality Portuguese olive oil

coarse sea salt to taste

2 Tablespoons smoked paprika

Wheat beer 

For those of you who are starting to try out craft beer there is no better place to start than Wiess beer.

This is a top fermenting beer made with wheat, and a lower hop content than Lager. This has the effect of  having a less bitter taste and a light body with a rich creamy head which has been enjoyed for centuries throughout Europe during the summer months.

I recently came across a fantastic Weiss beer made by 

Brewers & Union www.gabrielcollective.com/craft.html 

and decided to pair it with a classic combination of blue cheese. 

When I first mentioned this pairing, it was usually met with a face akin to one you would expect at the suggestion of putting tomato sauce on ice cream! Others 'ín the know' kept telling me that cheese should only be paired with wine. But once they tasted the rich creamy and salty blue cheese with take a nice big sip of the ice cold malty wheat beer they will soon realised  it was a match made made in heaven. 

So as we hang on to the end of summer in the southern hemisphere, go grab yourself some craft Weiss beer  at your local pub or bottle store and serve it with a nice creamy blue cheese snack. 

My personal favorite is Gorgonzola coupled with the sweet tang of red onion marmalade. Give this a try and let me know what you think - have a fantastic taste experience on me! 

     
Toasted pita with creamy blue cheese & sweet red onion marmalade and Steph Weiss craft beer 

A Taste of Mozambique

It was a while ago now that I went to Mozambique for the first time and one thing that always stood out for me apart from the clear blue waters, fresh seafood, peri-peri  sandy white beaches, plenty mosquito bites and nasty hangovers in the heat of the day was the simplicity and tastiness of the food .

Being a third world country the African/Portuguese style food was once described to me as peasant food , for me when I think back to this food there is nothing better!

I love many of the local recipes but one of my favorites is the Trinchardo and  that I will defiantly have on one of my menus one day. 

I like slow braised beef short rib cooked in copious amounts of red wine and garlic with subtle hints of bay leaves, olives , tomatoes and chillis .'

This has to be served with crispy Portuguese rolls to lap up the sauce left behind and washed down with an ice cold Laurentina of Mac Mahone ( 2M) lager

If this is peasant food I want to remain a peasant!

New Breakfast ideas 2013

They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day so this year I decided to revamp some of my cocktail breakfast menus and was lucky enough to get a photo shoot done  so everybody could take a look.

My menus are designed for corporate business meetings and people who eat while chatting to clients, so is designed to eat on the go. Simple eats  however should never compromise on simple classic combinations that everyone loves, so the food remains fresh and tasty but easy to eat!

Above is a tasty bacon, egg and mushroom quiche topped with  a spoon of red pepper harissa (spicy red-pepper sauce) and below some chicken and black sesame  puff pastry rolls. These are fantastic served with a sweet and spicy apricot dip.

A popular addition to this meal are the bite sized 

B.L.T's with a little twist, I used some lightly toasted 

cocktail  paninni breads , replaced the lettuce with 

some rocket , crispy streaky bacon,  slow roasted 

cherry tomatoes and toped it all off with a coriander 

and lime avo puree.

The piece de resistance below I created some spinach and parmesan baked eggs something a  little different for when your bringing your egg out of it's shell!

Please not that no  horse , goat or donkey were used or harmed  in this photo shoot.  

Tid bits and snack platters

Tid bits from my bistro pub snack platters

I have always had a dream to open a more upmarket pub that gets away from the norm of serving tough overcooked steaks , huge burgers , mountains of chips , shit excuses for pizza and warm mass produced local lager. This usually attracts the wrong type of person who thinks quantity equals quality.

When I think of what I would do however I think of quality beers and well prepared snack platters shared between your friends at the table or to enjoy by yourself.

I thought it would be fun to share some of my menu ideas with everyone every now and again on my blog , so here are some I made up at the end of last year to hopefully get your taste buds going.

      

Blue cheese brie board with preserved figs and fresh strawberries

Camembert, wild rockette and spicy tomato chilli jam sliders

Babootie springrolls served with tangy homemade chutney

Punjabi curry potato samoosas with hot sweet chilli sauce and baby danya leaves