BILTONG SPICED BEEF TARTAR, YOGHURT, CAPE MALAY DRESSING, CAPER AND SULTANA SALAD

400g beef sirloin, finely chopped

30ml Italian parsley, finely chopped

10ml coriander seeds,

ground15ml sunflower oil

Maldon salt

Cape Malay dressing

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 stick ginger, finely chopped

30ml mild curry powder

5ml turmeric

1 granny smith apple,

cubed1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

250ml sunflower oil

60ml white balsamic vinegar

For the salad

30ml capers, drained

½ red onion, finely sliced

100g rocket leaves, washed

30ml sultanas

40ml Bulgarian yoghurt

For the dressing

Place 50ml oil in a medium sauce pan gently heat over medium heat.

Add onion, garlic and ginger and cook for 5 min or until soft.

Add curry powder, turmeric, apple, cinnamon and bay leaf stir through and cook for 5 min.

Place in a jug blender, add the vinegar and blend until smooth, Slowly add the remaining oil and blend until emulsified.

Place chopped beef in a bowl, add parsley, oil and coriander seeds mix through and season with salt.

Place in ring mould on a plate and gently press down, remove the mould.

Toss together the capers, rocket, red onion and sultanas and lightly dress with the Cape Malay dressing, place next to beef tartar and drizzle salad with more dressing.

A dollop of yoghurt on the plate completes the dish

Chef Reuben Riffel

THANKS to his success in his Franschhoek and Robertson Small Hotel kitchens and more recently his new venture at the celebrated One&Only Cape Town, Reuben Riffel is virtually a household name in South African food-loving homes. Local TV appearances and advertising endorsements, appearances on the US Today show with culinary queen Martha Stewart and the superb success of his first cookbook have all served to confirm what enthusiasts first proclaimed when Reuben first made his mark in Franschhoek back in the first years of the new millennium – this small town boy was destined for great things.

Part of Reuben’s signature menu approach has been his ability to marry Cape and South African ingredients with international styles and this is even more apparent on this year’s winter menu at Reuben’s at One&Only Cape Town “there is a strong seasonal and South African thread on our menu – I enjoy showcasing our best ingredients and it’s been an interesting notion introducing the idea of an ever changing restaurant concept menu to a large hotel - but so far so good”, he says.

DARK CHOCOLATE PAVÉ, GINGER MOUSSE WITH STRAWBERRY AND MINT GRANITA

50g eggs

230g castor sugar

4 tablespoon clarified butter

85g plain flour

50g cocoa powder

For the chocolate genoise:

Preheat oven to 160°C

Combine the castor sugar and eggs in a mixing bowl, whisk over a double boiler until sugar has dissolved.

Transfer to a electrical mixer bowl, using the whisk attachment, whisk on high speed for 10 min until the mixture is pale, light and has tripled in volume.

Gently fold in the clarified butter.

Sift the flour and cocoa powder

Fold in the base

Pour mixture into 25 X 20cm tin

Bake for 20-25 min until done

Transfer to a cooling rack

For the pate de bombe

60g egg yolks

20g whole egg

45g castor sugar

30g water

Combine egg yolks and eggs in an electrical bowl mixer, fitted with the whisking attachment, whisk until thick and pale.

Dissolve sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat, turn up heat and boil sugar syrup until 118°C.

With the mixer running add the hot sugar syrup slowly in a thin stream

Whisk until body temperature

For the pavé:

160g parte de bombe

155g 60% dark chocolate, melted

200g cream, whipped until soft peaks form

Gently fold in half the whipped cream to the melted chocolate, fold in the pate de bombe and the rest of the cream.

Line a 25 X 20 cm tin with cling film

Slice the chocolate genoise into a 1cm thick base

Place chocolate genoise base in the lined tin pour over the pave mixture

Place in freezer until frozen solid

Remove the chocolate pavé from the freezer

Gently take out the frozen pavé from the tin, removing all the cling film and place on a chopping board cake side down.

Trim off the edges with a hot knife and portion the chocolate pave into 4 equal sized portions. Keep in refrigerator.

Ginger mousse:

1 stick ginger, peel and sliced

165ml milk

35g castor sugar

4 gelatine sheets

165ml cream

80g castor sugar

45g egg whites

Bloom the gelatine in ice water

Place milk, sugar and ginger in a medium saucepan over medium heat and leave to infuse for 5 minute making sure that it doesn’t boil.

Add the gelatine to the hot milk mixture stir until dissolved. Strain through a sieve into a mixing bowl set over ice.

Whisk the cream until soft peaks form

Place sugar and 100ml water in a saucepan and dissolve sugar over medium heat bring to the boil and cook until the syrup reaches 118°C

Place egg whites in a bowl mixture fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk until soft peaks form

Slowly add the hot sugar in a thin stream and whisk until cool.

When the gelatine mixture is almost set. Fold in the Italian meringue an then the whipped cream until completely incorporated.

Line a baking tray with cling film and pour in the mousse and let it set in the refrigerator.

Strawberry granita

200g fresh strawberries cut into quarters

100ml sugar syrup

2g mint, chiffonaded

15ml lime juice

Blend strawberries, sugar syrup and lime juice in a jug blender, strain through a sieve and discard the seeds

Stir in the mint

Pour into a baking tray and place in the freezer

Freeze until completely frozen

Almond crumble

50g butter

50g brown sugar

50g flour

50g ground almonds

Pre heat oven to 160°C

Place butter and sugar in a bowl mixture fitted with paddle attachment and beat until sugar has dissolved.

Mix in the flour and almonds until mixed through.

Roll out dough between 2 sheets of grease proof paper.

Bake for 20 min or until golden brown

Let the almond crumble cool and crumble roughly.

To assemble:

Place chocolate pave on a plate; sprinkle some almond crumble next to it.

Using a spoon, spoon out piece off the ginger mousse and place on the crumbs.

Using a fork, scrape the strawberry granite and place next to the ginger mousse.

GRILLED CRAYFISH, MUSSEL RISOTTO WITH CHILLI AND BASIL

4 crayfish tails, butterflied

100g butter

120g shitake mushrooms, sliced

1 red chill, deseeded and chopped

1 handful basil, chiffonaded

32 mussels, cooked, shelled, debearded

½ lemon, juiced

1 onion, finely chopped

30ml olive oil

300ml Arborio rice

200ml dry white wine

± 1ltr fish stock

100g grated parmesan

50g butter

Place butter in a sauce pan over medium heat when butter start to brown, add mushrooms and sauté until cooked.

Add chilli, basil and mussel and gently cook. For 1 min, add lemon juice.

Reserve for later use.

Heat olive oil in a heavy based pot, add onion and cook over low heat until soft and translucent. Meanwhile bring fish stock to a simmer.

Add Arborio rice and toast for 2 min.

Add white wine to rice and cook until alcohol has evaporated.

Add fish stock, ladle at a time, stirring continuously until the rice is cooked al dente.

While the rice is cooking heat a griddle pan and until very hot, brush the crayfish with oil and season with salt and pepper.

Grill the crayfish for 4 min, meat side.

First turn over and continue cooking shell side down until cooked.

To finish add ½ the mussel mixture to the risotto, fold through, add parmesan and butter until well incorporated.

Place risotto on plate, top with grilled crayfish and spoon the rest of mussel mixture over.

PAN-FRIED PRAWNS AND BABY SQUID ON AVOCADO AND PINE NUT SALAD

8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cup baby squid, cleaned

32 medium prawns, cleaned and shelled

2 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoon black pepper

½ cup pine nuts

4 cloves garlic, shaved

2 avocado, peeled, stone removed and cut into 1cm x 1cm cubes

2/3 cup halved cherry tomatoes

Warm vinaigrette

8 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup finely chopped spring onion

1 cup finely chopped celery

½ cup crimson raisins

4 teaspoons Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

Pinch black pepper

Prepare the vinaigrette. Put the olive oil in the same pan in which the vinaigrette was cooked and bring to a medium-high heat. Season the squid and prawns with salt and pepper. Fry them in the oil, keeping the seafood moving and cook quickly. When squid and prawns are half done, add the pine nuts, cook till crisp. To serve, arrange the avocado cubes and tomatoes in the middle of 4 serving plates. Divide the seafood mixture even.

Dress with the warm vinaigrette and serve immediately.

Warm Vinaigrette

In a large non-stick pan, bring the olive oil to a medium heat. Sauté onion, celery and raisins, then add the vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper to heat and mix well. Pour into a jug and

PRAWN COCKTAIL, AVOCADO, BUTTER LETTUCE WITH GREEN CHILLIES

12 queen size prawns, heads removed and deveined

1 avocado, cut into 1cm cubes, coated in lemon juice

2 plum tomatoes, skin and deseeded, cut into 5mm cubes

2 green chillies, sliced into thin rounds

3 red radishes, sliced into thin rounds

100g butter lettuce, washed

Cocktail sauce:

100ml good quality mayonnaise

20ml tomato sauce

5ml Worcestershire sauce

10ml brandy

A dash of tobacco

Place a medium sized pot of water over high heat and bring to the boil

Cook prawns in boiling water for 3 min or until cooked, shock in ice water

When cool, drain off water and pat dry.

For the cocktail sauce:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until mixed well.

Arrange butter lettuce in a glass top with tomato cubes and avocado cubes.

Spoon the cocktail sauce on one half of the glass; arrange 3 prawns on the rim of the glass.

Garnish with chilli and radishes.

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