Archive for September, 2011

Heritage Day is celebration of the diversity and uniqueness of South Africa and all our people and traditions.

The government has described Heritage Day as an opportunity to celebrate “aspects of South African culture which are both tangible and difficult to pin down: creative expression, our historical inheritance, language, the food we eat as well as the land in which we live”.

Braai is such big part of our traditions and culture and that’s why this coincides with the National Braai Day.

What would be the ultimate South African braai , which celebrates our uniqueness?

A braaied Ostrich Kebab (sosatie)  , with roosterbrood and koeksister for dessert will probably be as uniquely South African as you can get. This meal, served with the iconic and uniquely South African wine Kumkani will be the ultimate heritage braai meal.

The Kumkani Pinotage will complement the Ostrich Kebab and will also contribute to give this heritage braai an even more South African flavour.

Recipe: Ostrich Kebabs

Ingredients:

• 500 g Ostrich Fillet/Steak, cubed 300 g small brown mushrooms
• pieces of green and red peppers
• 150 ml coconut milk
• 50 ml beef stock
• 30 ml chopped fresh coriander
• 30 ml brown sugar
• 20 ml red curry paste (Thai)
• 50 ml fish sauce (Thai)
• 20 ml oil
• 5 ml lightly crushed coriander seeds
• Skewers

Method: Place the cubed ostrich meat, wiped mushrooms and chopped peppers in a marinade dish. Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the meat. Marinate for 2 – 3 hours.

Now thread meat, mushrooms and peppers alternately onto skewers. Grill over glowing coals for ± 5 minutes – the meat should be medium rare.

Source: ostrichsa.co.za

September is Heritage Month in South Africa, and what better way to celebrate than with a traditional South African recipe that’s as tasty as it is easy to prepare?

“Potjiekos” (literally meaning pot food, pronounced “poy-kee-cos”) has been part of South Africa’s culture for many centuries. When the first Dutch settlers arrived in the Cape, they brought with them their ways of cooking food in heavy cast iron pots, which hung from the kitchen hearth above the fire. Long before the arrival of the early settlers in the Cape, the Bantu people who were migrating into South Africa learned the use of the cast iron cooking pot from Arab traders, and later from the Portuguese.

Whether you’re using a cast iron pot, or any other kind of pot, sample a taste of traditional South African cuisine with this quick and delicious lamb stew recipe:

Recommended wine: The uniquely Kumkani Merlot/Pinotage will complement this ‘heritage dish’. This wine has a multi-layered palate with undertones of spice and vanilla. Beautiful balance between primary fruit aromas and secondary oak matured flavours.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 750g lamb steaks (top round or shoulder), bones removed and meat cut into 5cm pieces
• salt and black pepper
• 4 carrots,
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 400g can diced tomatoes, drained
• 100g green beans, cut into small pieces (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Season the lamb with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, turning occasionally, until medium-rare, 6 to 8 minutes; transfer to a plate.
2. Add the carrots, onion, and the remaining oil to the pot. Cook until beginning to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and scrape up any brown bits.
3. Add the broth, tomatoes, and beans. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the lamb, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Serve immediately.

Source: realsimple

Red wine lovers like different wine styles but what are the main differences between the major red wine varietals?

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz are probably the most popular red wine cultivars in the world. Although there is a lot of resemblance between these red wines the differences is evident.

Cabernet and Merlot originates from Bordeaux while Shiraz’s origins are from southeast France.

Cabernet wines are normally bold, tannic and with a strong taste.

Shiraz has a spicier nose and taste with a darker colour.

Merlot is more moderate and less acidic with a herbal characters.

Getting the right combinations to ensure that these characteristics of the grapes balance and complement each other,  are one of the many challenges winemakers face.

The Kumkani Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon is a perfect example of great blended wine. The spicy undertones from the Shiraz and the complex yet soft tannin structure of the Cabernet Sauvignon is magnificently broad together to create  a masterpiece.

Champagne /Sparkling wine really are bursting with flavour. Research reveals the 10 million or so bubbles that pop from a glass of the sparkling wine carry loads of aromatic molecules that ultimately spray into the air right under your nose.

Bubbles and champagne are nothing new, as anyone who has uncorked a bottle, hoping for the ceremonious pop and subsequent flow of fizz, knows. But from a chemical perspective, that fizz, which is made up of loads of bubbles of carbon dioxide, has been relatively enigmatic. Only recently have scientists been equipped with sophisticated enough instruments to test the bubble process and the hidden chemicals.

High-speed chemical analyses showed each bubble contained tens of aromatic compounds (precursors to aromas), and these compounds were more concentrated in bubbles compared with the rest of the champagne.

Here’s how they think the sweet-smelling compounds burst from champagne: Aromatic compounds tend to be double-ended, with one side attracted to water and the other shunning it. So bubbles make for the perfect ferries, as the molecules can keep one end inside the bubble (sealed off from the liquid) and the other end touching the champagne.

Each bubble drags several scent-carrying molecules to the champagne’s surface. And when these bubbles pop, they spray tiny jets of about five droplets into the air as aerosols. That’s the primary way that champagne’s burst of flavour tickles our noses.

In fact, much of the flavour in a food (or drink) comes from its odor. For instance, while the tongue can send basic information to the brain, such as whether a snack is salty, sweet, bitter, or sour, it’s the nose that provides the more nuanced information on flavours, such as identifying something as chocolate or coffee, according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.

The researchers say you don’t need a doctorate to see for yourself the jets spraying from a glass of bubbly.

This shows why the nose of one of South Africa best sparkling wines , the Kumkani Infiniti Brut,  has been described as “a toasty yeasty type with a hint of nuts”.

Source: msnbc.com