Grilled yellowtail served on fennel gazpacho

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a beautiful, chilled bowl of gazpacho. Except maybe for the fact that it is never really enough for me. It's fine as a starter but as a main I really do need more. So with this in mind I threw together this little dish last night. The plan was to leave the gazpacho very chunky so that it could double-up as a kind-of-sauce. It worked out pretty nicely...

Stuff you'll need to feed 2:

•  About 450g of any firm white fish (I used yellowtail) 
  
• A mixture of mustard seeds, coriander seeds and fennel seeds, all crushed
• 3 tomatoes, quartered
• One red onion, quartered
• A bulb of fennel, quartered (keep the leaves too)
• A tablepoon of red wine vinegar
• One chilli, roughly chopped
• Half a cucumber, peeled
• About 100ml of water
• A few tablespoons of olive oil

Okay, what to do:

1. Preheat your oven to the highest temperature. Rub fish in olive oil and cover with mustard seed mixture. 

2. Using a spoon remove the seeds from the cucumber and discard. Add cucumber, along with tomatoes, fennel, onion, olive oil, vinegar, chilli and water to a blender and pulse to form a chunky soup. Place in refrigerator. (The consistency is totally up to you. It can be as smooth or as course as you would like) 

3. Grill fish in oven for 8-10 minutes or until done. 

To serve, spoon gazpacho into bowls and place fish on top. Garnish with halved cherry tomatoes and fennel leaves. As a final touch drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil. 

Another healthy dish that's absolutely perfect for the heat we are going through at the moment. It's light and easy and the fennel adds an interesting dimension. Give it a bash. 

Cheers,

Jamie Who

Calamari, mango and coriander salad

Isn't the 1st of March supposed to be the start of Autumn? I thought so, but someone clearly forgot to tell whoever it is up there that controls the weather. You see...Cape Town has been off-the-charts hot this week. On Wednesday Icepick and I set out to do the Men's Health 10km race (cleaned it, obviously) and it was 35.5 degrees. What's the big deal? The race started at 18h15!!! Yeah, that's what we're dealing with down here. 

Don't get me wrong though, I'm not one of those people who moans about the heat. If I do feel the slight pang of "this is just too hot" I do a quick Google search for temperature in London and see how the expats are doing over there. 9 degrees. Yeah...

It's pretty chilly here today too. 28.5 at the moment. Annnnyway, the point is when it gets this hot I turn to light, easy salads for dinners. I keep the flavours clean and try and spend as little time cooking as possible. That was the gameplan last night and this popped out. A lovely little dish. Check it out. 

Stuff you'll need to feed 4:

•  800g calamari tubes, cut into strips
  
• 2 - 3 mielies (cobs of corn)
• A handful of cashew nuts
• 2 big handfuls of mixed lettuce (different colours, shapes, textures etc)
• A handful of coriander, roughly chopped
• 2 mangos, peeled and thinly sliced

Okay, what to do:

1. In boiling, salted water cook the corn for a few minutes until done. Slice the corn to remove the kernels.

2. In a dry pan roast the nuts for a few minutes. Be very careful not to burn them. It's quite easy to do so keep an eye on them and shake the pan often. Remove and allow to cool. 

3. Place the lettuce leaves, the coriander, the mango, the nuts and the corn in a bowl.  

4. Heat a wok (or big pan) until smoking hot and cook the calamari in vegetable/avocado/sunflower oil (olive oil won't work here) for 1-2 minutes. Do not overcook it.  Add the calamari to the bowl. 

5. Season with salt and black pepper and serve immediately, before the calamari has a chance to wilt the leaves. 

I didn't make a dressing which was a big a mistake but I just used some soy sauce and honey to drizzle over, which was a pretty good save. If you've got lemons that would be good too. The whole thing took about 10 minutes and was absolutely perfect for a quick, healthy summer dinner. Loving it. 

Cheers,

Jamie Who

The Queen's surprise birthday at Cheyne's

I was recently asked in an interview *ahem what my three favourite Cape Town restaurants were. The reason I'm telling you this is not only to let you know there is a very exciting feature about me coming out soon (including a steamy picture ladies) but also to let you know that one of the three restaurants I chose was Cheyne's, which I had the pleasure of enjoying again last week. See how elegantly and seamlessly I did that? Allowing me to flow into my next paragraph? Yeah, I know...

So last week I threw a surprise birthday party for The Queen. I had told her we were heading out for a quiet dinner and that we just needed to quickly drop something off at Cheyne's on the way. Well...having successfully managed to put together a dream team of 18 people (the whole place only takes 20) including Mouse, Long Distance, Pafoof, Mr & Mrs Awesome, Power, Icepick, Ledgie, Godmother E, Hotspur, The PR Ninja and more, the two of us walked in to find everyone waiting for us. They went bananas and I'm stoked to say my lovely was blown away. I had absolutely nailed it. The best was still to come though. The food...

Cheyne threw out a spread the likes of which must surely rate as some of the best chow I've had. Like...ever. He brought out platters and laid them out in the middle of the table for people to help themselves. To start there was salt-and-chilli squid, deep-red tuna tataki and a watermelon and duck salad. The mains were slow-roasted pork belly served with crackling (why more places don't do this I will never know), fillet with a pesto-style sauce, yellowfish and lamb cutlets. Dessert was the only thing dished up on individual plates but even they were made up of taste-size portions of different types. A delicate pear tarte tartin, cheesecake and airy chocolate mousse. My God. I almost started eating my cellphone halfway through this paragraph. 

The amount of food was actually more than we needed, the quality of EVERY SINGLE DISH was faultless and the style and vibe of the place is something 100% unique. In a nutshell, if you are looking for a place to have a function for up to 20 people you would be a fool not to have it at Cheyne's. Look at me...a fool. 

To get a quote (he can design a menu for whatever you are after) give him a call on (021) 422-3358. 

Cheers,

Jamie Who

Beer, chocolate and music - boom!

My head nearly exploded from pure joy when I read about what's going down at Brewers&Union on Friday night. I'm going to keep this very simple because I feel like if you need me to explain why you should be there then...well...you don't deserve to be there. 

Starting at 8pm there will be a beer and...wait for it...Lindt chocolate pairing. What? I know. It's too much. There's also some awesome live music in the form of Wrestlerish. 

It pains to me to say I can't be there on Friday but rest assured, I will be thinking of you. Thinking of me. 

Cheers,

Jamie Who

Taste of Cape Town competition winners

It's time children. Time for me to announce the winners of the Taste of Cape Town double-tickets. Let me just say I was pretty overwhelmed by how many entries I got. With this kind of enthusiasm we can safely conclude that the foodie movement is alive and well in Cape Town! That and the fact that people dig free shit. 

The two winners I chose were picked on the basis of one simple thing: their obvious passion towards food. 

So without wasting too much of your time (I know you all have to go and pretend to work) here they are. The winners. Give them a hand...

1. Samantha Bath, for her review on Eight at Spier

2. Jaclyn Van Zyl, for her Moroccan-inspired minty marinade. 

Nice one ladies. Drop me an e-mail to arrange collection of tickets. 

Cheers,

Jamie Who

Salt Deli & Vodka Bar - Tick

I appreciate anyone who opens a place with "vodka" and "deli' in the name. It's pretty ballsy and, even though the vodka bar hasn't opened yet, the restaurant aspect of the Salt Deli & Vodka Bar seems to be doing nicely. I checked it out for breakfast on Saturday. 

Occupying the space where Carlucci's used to be, Salt is done fairly simply using timber decking, screeded slate floors and an open, supermarket-style shelving layout to showcase the deli items. There is a funky stone bar, glass displays boasting fresh tarts and pastries, mounted bread cages and (the now standard) blackboards listing daily specials.

Having squashed a good trail run with Icepick that morning and with a debaucherous wedding planned that night, I was keen to keep it healthy. Something I was stoked to see was ostrich mince on toast - I went with rye.(R40). I dig mince on toast and the added health benefits of the ostrich sold me. The dish might not have been the prettiest to look at, but the seasoning was good enough and knowing how easy it is to dry out such a lean protein I think the chef did well. Pafoof had a bagel with smoked salmon, cream-cheese and capers (R45). Not exactly culinary genius but something I did enjoy was the fact that each component was brough in separate bowls, allowing a customer to add the amount they like (we all know making a bagel/sandwich is one of the most personal tasks around). The Queen went with an unusually dainty order of two poached eggs and fresh tomato on sourdough (R20 - steal). Again, the presentation impressed me as the eggs were served up in individual saucers. Little details yes, but that's what I love. Service throughout the meal was brilliant and some of the better tea I have recently enjoyed topped off a great breakfast.  

The lunch menu also sounded good with things like chicken and asparagus salad, stuffed aubergine, lamb pita and a game terrine on offer. There's also a nice selection of wines by the glass, suggesting this place could do well during lunchtime trade too. 

Recently chef Jacques de Jager joined the original Salt restaurant (located just across the road in The Ambassador Hotel) and with high expectations, Salt Deli seems to be an extension of the lofty goals the group obviously has. I personally can't wait for the upstairs champagne and oyster bar to open. 

Call them on (021) 439-3354. 

Cheers,

Jamie Who 

TRUTH.coffeecult - Impressive.

I've got a little confession for you guys. Seeing how close we have become, and how our relationship has deepened, (my God I love you) I think it's only fair that I be honest and upfront with you. It's going to be tough but bear with me and please don't judge me for it. Ready? *big breath in through nostrils 

I

can't

drink

coffee. 

*exhales through mouth

It's a medical condition and one that I carry around with regret. The reason I'm telling you all of this is because last week I attended the official opening of TRUTH.coffeecult and I realised again how much I miss the stuff. The smells of the roasting coffee were unreal, the place was packed with beautiful people, it was a gorgeous Cape Town day and Rus Nerwich was murdering it on the sax. 

Truth is owned by the David Donde (the guy who started Origin) and in only a few weeks it has managed to make a huge impact on the Cape Town coffee scene. Walking around the place it didn't take long for me to understand why. The first thing you notice is the integration of the outside area into the architecture. It is beautifully done and creates a very European/New York vibe, where they often focus on pedestrianising their inner-cities. Inside the shop the emphasis is on clean, simple lines and a vintage coffee roaster which takes pride of place and serves as a stunning feature. The building, it should be pointed out, is pretty special too and is actually a memorial. A perfect, light, airy space to browse and admire while while waiting for your order. 

The philosophy behind Truth is to strip down coffee to its basic form and offer the customer only a handful of options. There is a case to be made for too many varieties being presented lately and it would appear that Truth are going for the "back to basics" angle, which is more often than not a good one. Food-wise there are a few options like wraps, mini-burgers, salads etc. (all priced at R15!!) and if you - like me - can't handle coffee, you will be pleased to know that there is an impressive selection of tea available too. 

No doubt this place will be making the Vida and Origin boys sit up and take notice. It has already drummed up a lot of hype and the fact that you can go to a coffee shop, not drink coffee, and leave impressed says a lot. 

Cheers,

Jamie Who

P.S. I feel better that I have come "out". That secret has been tormenting me and I think you and I will only be closer as a result hey. Kisses.