Waterblommetjies & Green Ginger

This recipe is a great tradition in the Cape where waterblommetjies, [Aponogeton distachys] also know as wateruintjies, fill the ponds and dams in the Western Cape with pretty white snowdroplike, strongly scented flowers.

Louis Leipoldt, in his book on Cape Cookery, refers to them in English as Water Hawthorn and Myrna Robins, well known South Africa cook book writer, calls them Water Hyacinth.

It is important that the flowers be just opening with the calyces still bright green.  To prepare them, remove any of the black centres of the flowers.  They need to be soaked in lots of salted water and then rinsed through well in a couple of basins of freshly drawn water.

I have found it best to use a combination of thick rib – which adds a little flavourful fat to the dish – and lean shoulder.  Many of the old Cape recipes, advocate using “a bit of sheep’s tail to add a bit of fat”, and others recommend “nice fat leg of lamb”.

2 kgs waterblommetjies – prepared as above

2 kg lamb – use thick rib with bones & boned shoulder

sea salt

freshly milled black pepper

seasoned flour

2 Tbs sunflower oil – more if you need it

2 medium onions, peeled & finely sliced chopped

½ tsp dried chili flakes

3 fat slices of ginger – peeled & finely chopped

3 fat bulbs of fresh green garlic – cut in half lengthways

250ml red wine

400ml mutton stock – a cube is fine

6 allspice berries

4 cloves

half a nutmeg, grated

4 large potatoes – peeled & quartered

Season the meat with sea salt and freshly milled black pepper.  Dip it in well-seasoned flour.  In a heavy bottomed ovenproof casserole with a tight fitting lid, brown the meat in batches keep the temperature high.  Keeping the browned meat aside on a plate.

Adding more oil if necessary, gently fry the onions in the oil and as they start turning golden, add the chili flakes and ginger and continue frying until golden.  Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Place the garlic bulbs face down and fry till light gold, remove and drain on kitchen paper.

Add the red wine and boil till it has almost all evaporated.

Return to the casserole the meat [with any juices which may have collected on the plate] and onion mixture in layers with the waterblommetjies .  Season well with sea salt, freshly milled black pepper and add the allspice berries, cloves and nutmeg.

Add the stock and bring to the boil and give one stir.  Place a cartouche of kitchen paper on top of the stew and put the lid on top and braise in a 180C oven for 1 hour.

After an hour, bring the potatoes to the boil in a pot of hot water and boil for about 3 minutes.  Remove the cartouche, place the potato quarters on top of the meat and push them down into the sauce.  Return to the 180C oven for a further hour or until tender.

When ready to serve, stir through gently and serve with steamed white rice and wedges of lemon.

Serves 6 people.

Johan Malan of Simonsig

Tasting a selection of wines from Past Auctions of The Cape Winemakers Guild in the presence of three members, Johan Malan, Etienne le Riche and newboy Duncan Savage was an experience to be remembered for a long time.

Not only were the wines utterly memorable, being in the company of these three gents and being fed fabulous food by George Jardine on a perfect Cape Day, made it all the more enjoyable.

In the first flight Bruce Jack’s Flagstone Weather Girl 2006 brought on a huge debate as to whether the wine was over the hill or whether it had a way to go.  I loved its minerality, the good palate weight, fruit and pepper and its sparky acidity.  Kevin Grant’s Ataraxia Chardonnay 2007 was a dream excellent oak “frame” for the wonderful stylish Chardonnay.

George Jardine

The second flight was of older reds.  A regal Kanonkop 1997 Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc and Merlot Blend was poured, excellent and brilliantly austere cassis fruit and superb oak.  One of my fellow guests said it had a “Kanonkopness” about it.   Jeremy Walker’s fabulous 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve was a magisterial wine – wonderful Cabernet fruit, fennel undertow, great wood and definitely a bottle I would want to cuddle up to.  The third wine was Danie Steytler’s KaapzichtCabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2002, its colour moving to terra cotta, lovely sweet minty ripe fruit with just fabulous oak.  Very dry.  The fourth wine was Pieter Ferreira’s slightly out of place Graham Beck Shiraz Barrel Select 2002.  May have been out of place, but that did not prevent it being a great New World wine with a French kick to it – lovely lovely peppery fruit, well oaked.

Flight three was a gathering of four 2003s. Waterford Auction Reserve, recessive shy fruit and oak on the nose and plate.  Fynbos on the nose, complex fruit with cloves and coriander.  De Trafford Perspective, a Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend.  Minty nose ahead of juicy savoury fruit with whiffs of fennel, coriander and violets. I really liked the freshness of this wine. Jordan Sophia Auction Reserve.  A people’s wine.  Sweet fruit on the nose, layered fruit on the palate with vanilla spice and a leafiness to it.  Le Riche Auction Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.  Full round wonderful fruit with incense smoke and warm spices.  Beautifully oaked.  A real privilege to drink this wine. And finally the Boplaas Auction reserve Port 2001.  Stunning glass of full rich sweet sumptuous Christmas cake fruit.

George Jardine who runs the restaurant on Jordan gave us a delicious lunch at which a further selection of wines was served.  The ones, which stood out for me, were the Jordan Chardonnay Reserve 2007, Kanonkop Pinotage 2001 and an utterly fabulous Boplaas Auction Reserve Muscadel 2000.

The Pekin Duck Snail Army

I have known the Grieve family since 1958.  The current custodian’s grandmother Julie and my mother Dulce were the stalwarts of the National Council of Woman and the Black Sash and village municipal councillors and ultimately Julie became Mayor of Durbanville and my mother became Mayor of Gordon’s Bay

In those early days, the Grieves ran a successful business known as Vital Health Foods if memory serves me correctly producing health supplements.

Avondale the beautiful

Now the family, under the custodianship of Johnathan Grieve, Julie’s grandson runs a superb winemaking operation in Paarl called Avondale.

The first thing that must be said is that Avondale produces some sublime wines.  They don’t enter wine competitions or shows, so they have no medals to prove it, but they have a good fan base and plenty of red lines in the Platter Guide.  From Les Pleurs, through the Avondale Reserve range, the Green Duck range, the delicious Organic Range and the very special Fortified Range – there is a wine for every taste and at every price.  Read more.

Following a philosophy using what Johnathan describes as Bio-Logic, using the key elements of both organic and biodynamic farming methods, the family produces organic wines that are certified internationally.  This means that no artificial fertilisers and insecticides are used, but rather effective cover crops that feed the soils.

Johnathan Grieve & The Rich Avondale Soils

This system of cover-cropping and mulching is used to create a living eco-system upon the soil and to generate nitrogen-binding while and other natural preparations propagate fungi growth for plant feed.  Amongst them is the well-known wild aromatic rosemary called Snow White after which the Avondale Viognier is named.  These cover crops which are hardy plants with low water needs can survive mowing and are seeded into areas where their ability to grow in very rocky soils, where their scents and flowers attract natural predators and they have an ability to enrich the soil with nitrogen.

On of the more charming of the Avondale predators is a flock of Pekin ducks, an effective and cost saving snail eradication army.   They are also able to control worms and downy mildew using naturally occurring bacteria. A predatory wasp is released to combat mealy bug.

Water management is also vital on Avondale, particularly the use of wastewater from the cellar.  A system of three dams is interlinked with spiraling channels, which in effect creates a river system. The channels are planted with cleansing reeds that extract all the excessive nutrients in the water and converts them into green material that is used in the production of compost.  This is nature working at her hardest, a natural self-sustaining filter system.  In the second and third dams, bird and insect life returns to the water, as the system is healthy.

Vineyard practices make use of specialist “green” machines for brush cutting, disc hoeing, shoot tipping and leaf removal.  Read more…

Red wines maturing gently

Cellar practices include the use of natural wild yeasts for fermentation.  Wines contain less than half the normal sulphur content – a great boon to those who have sulphur allergies.  Standard organic practices such as no synthetic cleaning or sterilizing chemicals are used.  For more technical information, read more…

Avondale, committed to improving the lives of farm workers and their families, in 2004 won the Paarl Shiraz Challenge.  The prize money was used in conjunction with the Waitrose Foundation to set up a crèche and day care centre for the children of Avondale’s farm workers.  Read more…

Creche Kids with their "wormery"

When you are farming like this, you tend to attract all sorts of wildlife, particularly owls that hunt for rodents in the vineyards.  Avondale is affiliated to the Witzenberg Wildlife Rescue and Rehab Centre run by Meryl and Rob Cochrane which does sterling rehabilitation work with all manner of birds.  Proceeds from the sale of Avondale wines goes to this worthy cause. Read more….

Avondale is also linked to LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) a British organisation that promotes environmentally responsible farming.   Leaf helps farmers produce good food and produce, with care and to high environmental standards.  Leaf also builds public understanding of food and farming

Avondale is well worth a visit and is easily accessible from the N1 about 45 minutes from Cape Town.

Winegrowing area Paarl
Owners The Grieve Family
R301 on the eastern side of Paarl
P.O. Box 602 Suider Paarl 7624
Western Cape, South Africa
Telephone +27 21 863 1976880fax +27 21 863 1534
Email: info@avondalewine.co.za Web: www.avondalewine.co.za

S33° 45’52.9” E019° 0’4.7”

Quinces

Quinces, which have been grown at the Cape for over 350 years, are back in season again.

They were planted and mentioned in his diary by Jan van Riebeek’ s gardeners in the Company Gardens in Cape Town shortly after the settlement at the Cape by the Dutch to create a fuelling station for their ships sailing to Batavia.

Quinces were popular right up to the turn of the 20th Century but with the urbanization of rural peoples they have become less and less known.

However there is hardly a farm which does not have its quince and pomegranate or cape gooseberry hedges – all of which have been at the Cape since the early Dutch settlement.  Quinces are a most nostalgic fruit for me as we ate them each year as they came into season.  They were also turned into jelly which cooked slowly on the Aga stove in our kitchen producing a ruby red clear jelly which we ate with roast leg of lamb instead of the ubiquitous mint sauce.

Quinces look a bit like large fluffy knobbly yellow-skinned apples and are firm fleshed.  The core and the area around it is particularly hard.  There is a variety which Leipoldt called the borrie quince which was more yellow fleshed than the better known white fleshed quince and he suggested they were better for a bredie.

When cooked – they can be poached in a sugar syrup or baked in the oven – the quince turns a most beautiful ruby pink colour.

Quinces are never eaten raw except in a sambal usually served with tripe by the Malay peoples of the Cape.  The quince was peeled and grated and mixed with grated onion, lemon juice, salt and chopped chili.

As children, we used to take quinces to our beach house and take them into the sea, wash the fuzz off them and eat them dipping them into the sea water.

Leipoldt also talks of a quince bredie, though his recipe is quaintly very basic and gives little direction in terms of quantities and in my opinion the ratio of quince to lamb is too high.

Here is my version:

You’ll need: 3 kg lamb knuckles, flour [seasoned with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, sweet smoked paprika, ground ginger, pinch ground cloves], extra virgin olive oil [Morgenster or Vesuvio are my favourites], 3 onions – finely chopped, 3 fat cloves of fresh garlic – finely chopped, 2 large carrots, – diced, 2 sticks celery – diced, 3 bird’s eye chilis – finely chopped [leave out seeds and membranes if you want a milder taste], 3 large quinces [peeled and cut into eighths, seeded and cored and kept in acidulated water to prevent oxidation], 250ml fruity dry red wine, 100ml brandy, generous sprig thyme, 4 bay leaves, 4 blades mace, 2 Tbs tomato paste, 1 litre beef stock, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Method: Season the lamb knuckles well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Dip them into the seasoned flour and slow fry them in a little oil a large pan over medium heat until they are well browned on the outside.  Do not do them all at once otherwise the meat will stew rather than brown; rather do them in three batches.  When done, transfer them to an oven proof casserole.  Wipe out the pan and pour in a little oil, slow fry the onion and garlic in a little oil until it is just starting to colour, add the carrot celery and chilis and cook together for a short while. Pour in the red wine and cook over low heat until the wine is almost completely reduced.  Heat the brandy, ignite it and pour it over the lamb shaking until the flames die out.  Place the quinces on top of the lamb. Tuck in the thyme, bay leaves and mace.  Mix the tomato paste with the beef stock and pour over the mixture.  Cook in a 180C oven for two hours.  Remove form the oven and season for taste.  Good thing to leave it overnight at this point for the flavours to mature.  If you are not able to, cook for a further 30 minutes or until the meat is tender.

If you are able to keep it overnight, next day remove any of the solidified fat which has risen to the top, add a little more stock if necessary and reheat gently for about 30 minutes, stir the quinces through the meat.

Serve with plain steamed Basmati rice.  Basmati rice was the chosen rice of the Malay peoples of the Cape, according to Cass Abrahams.

A good fruity rustic red wine would do well with this.

Serves 8.

Do have a look on their website www.creationwines.com as they have some exciting events and meals so you are able to make it a destination visit.

The Chardonnay from the 2009 vintage is a rich straw colour with flashes of green around the edges. Smells are ripe sliced pear and white fleshed peaches with whiffs of vanilla from the beautiful oaking the wine has been given.

The feel in the mouth is full and superbly balanced with the acidity, fruit and oak all as one.

Long long sparky aftertaste.

This is a treat with fresh fish – simply prepared in a pan with lemon and butter.

Ever thought of chilling a red wine?

Looking for a more interesting wine to serve with your desserts?

My friend Durbanville Hills cellarmaster Martin Moore suggests you serve his recently released 2008 Durbanville Hills Pinotage chilled.

We chill red wines at home and they really work well, especially if the acidity is low and the tannins are soft – they are fabulous with curry too, nice and cooling. We love it with Bobotie.

Martin is quite a dab hand in the kitchen and has been known to serve chilled Pinotage served with desserts such as baked pears, strawberries or mixed berry treats.

The 2008 Durbanville Hills Pinotage was matured for 12 months in small oak, using a combination of new and second-fill French barrels resulting in a layer of spice, star anise and a hint of citrus marmalade on the nose. Suggestions of ripe berries and cherries fill the mouth making it the ideal partner for fruity desserts and chocolate. Lindt Ecuador is great with it after dinner.

Previous vintages have won gold at the 2009 Michelangelo International Wine Awards.

The cool-climate location of Durbanville Hills in the Tygerberg overlooking Table Bay provides ideal growing conditions for this uniquely South African cultivar, a cross of Pinot noir and Cinsaut, previously known as Hermitage – which my father grew on our farm, Dagbreek, in the Durbanville Hills. Martin maintains that the Pinot Noir characteristics of these wines are typical of cooler-climate Pinotage.

The 2008 Durbanville Hills Pinotage retails  for about R56 per 750ml bottle.

In the early 1900’s, I am sure as an ink and long envelope saving measure the town’s postmaster shortened the village name to Hermanus.

As a tribute to Mr Pieters, the labels of all of the HPF Wines are written in Afrikaans.

The HPF Bloos is made up of the Bordeaux Five in this order Merlot 66%, Cabernet Sauvignon 14%, Cabernet franc 12%, Petit Verdot 5% and Malbec 3%.

A unique wine and probably the first in the Cape blended as juice before fermentation. It’s a new generation Rosé bulging with berries, cherry, raspberry, black berry and mulberry. Brushed gently with French oak.

Salmon pink in colour ‘like a good champagne’, it is a multi-layered wine with a zippy refreshing acidity and a perfect balance between fruit and acidity.

Rosé is more and more popular as the months go by, both here, in Europe, the States and the Antipodes. Great as a glass on its own and superb with sushi especially salmon roses and salmon sashimi

Cellar door price is R54.00 for 750ml.

A highly respected winemaker, he tends to shy away from too much publicity, but his talents have seen him being invited to join the prestigious Cape Winemakers Guild.

His Chardonnay is legendary, buttery brioche and juicy ripe pear it is a masterful understatement, very Burgundy rather than Barossa.

The Le Riche Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2006 is a wine to hold you in awe.

Not given to using the name reserve lightly, Etienne only confers it when grapes, hand selected from older, lower yielding vines are used and resulting wine measures up to exceptional standard. s are used. Fermentation is done with a selected yeast strain under controlled temperatures and manual plunging during this period ensures optimal colour extraction. The Reserve is moved transferred to 225ml French oak barrels of which 70% are new for 24 months. Bottling is followed by hand labelling and further bottle maturation.

The wine is a deep dark royal red, it is full bodied, elegant and wonderfully aromatic with layers of clean sweet cedary oak. In the mouth it is a pool of superb dark red fruit and black berries. It is succulent and rich. The tannins are firm making it a superb food wine.

Ready to drink now with the traditional Easter Lamb but the sheer greatness of the wine, its magnificent structure, its rich sappy fruit promises even more if you lay it down for a year or two.

The recommended retail price for this wine would be in the region of R300.00. Possibly the best R300 you will spend on a South African Wine.

The Game Reserve Chenin Blanc 2009 really shows its pedigree as the fruit comes from old vines – some 40 to 50 years old, which is old for a South African Vineyard. Essentially the older the vines, the better quality the wine.

So here we have a Chenin Blanc which has tropical fruit, sappy ripe green melon, ripe white fleshed peaches and the stamp of Chenin – honey. It’s got a brilliant mouthfeel, juicy stuff and a long long aftertaste, making it a great food wine.

Given away at about 50 bucks a pop.

The Game Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 draw its grapes from low yielding vineyards on the Graham Beck Estate in Robertson. Planted on the rich red soils of the Karoo, the grapes after pressing have the juice pumped over the cap of fruit and skins to extract maximum colour and flavour and to soften the tannins. Ten months of French Oak maturation follow, resulting in all the classical Cabernet Sauvignon boxes being ticked. Blackcurrant, cassis, dark chocolate and lovely spicy minerality. Classy stuff offering sappy first tastes, elegance on the palate and again a great aftertaste. Definitely a meat wine, roast, grill, braai or braise, venison, beef or lamb.

Very reasonable and great value price of around R80.00.

Although it is unoaked, there are some delicious spicy hints of cloves and cracked cardamom. The fruit is all about fully ripe sappy mulberries and other red berries and blood plums. Like a liquid slice of rich fruitcake with a lovely long sweet finish.

The wine sells only at the Cellar Door for R55.00. Worth a trip out to Wellington!

Another Jacques Smit wine I really like is the Vine Valley, an equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz matured for a year in small French oak barrels. Lots of Cabernet whiffs on the nose with crushed dried fynbos and wild red and black berries. The palate takes its lead from Shiraz with lovely fleshy sappy creamy ripe fruit.

The wine, so good with red meat casseroles slow cooked, sells only at the Cellar Door for R78.00

Contact details
Jacques Smit Wines
021 873 1265
www.vines2wine.co.za