Super chef Peter Goffe-Wood’s Kitchen Cowboys (Lannice Snyman publishing) isn’t as gung-ho as its title makes out. It’s actually quite a reserved manual of cool ideas for brunches, sandwiches, pastas, Eastern dishes, braais and sweets.
London-born Goffe-Wood has targeted his second book at blokes. So he opens his collection with an intentionally pathetic anecdote about his salad days at the University of Cape Town when, as a commune dweller, he assisted his buddies to make great meals as a prelude to the seduction of the campus girls. If you survive this, you’re in for a treat.
From there, Goffe-Wood tells us, ‘for many years I have been inundated with requests from friends to offer classes that will give them more confidence in the kitchen, and add a couple more dishes to their repertoires and a few more strings to their bows”.
Goffe-Wood is, believe it or not, the country’s national braai king, having ranked highly in two consecutive World Barbecue Championships. He is food editor of GQ magazine and has worked in Bangkok, Sydney, Oman and Zimbabwe.
Kitchen Cowboys appears to be directed at men who feel ill-equipped in the kitchen and who may wish to further the craft. Is the ‘new man” really inept when it comes to kitchen skills?
Quite the contrary; men are keener cooks than ever before, sometimes out of necessity but more often this newfound passion adds another string to their bow in the highly competative sexual arena. The book attempts to facilitate this in an accessible manner — these are no nonsense recipes whose ingredients are easily sourced.
You have not held back in terms of proposing dishes that are meaty, full of bold flavours that incorporate oil, cream, butter and wine. Aren’t you afraid you may be killing your male readers in the prime of their lives?
This book is for hedonists, for outlaws, for movers and shakers — disciples of moderation and mediocrity would be better off consulting their dieticians.
You have led your own six week cookery course in conjuction with GQ magazine. Does everyone have a world-class chef in them or are there those who simply cannot be taught to cook?
Everyone has a world class chef in them, there are only those who won’t be taught — we are not talking rocket science here.
What is your favorite restaurant in the Cape and what does it do that is special?
My favourite restaurant is La Colombe. The chef [Franck Dengereaux] has an obsession with local fresh produce that is reflected throughout the menu; in eight years I have only eaten exceptional food there.
Tell us about your worst meal ever (one you’ve eaten or even one you’ve cooked yourself).
I ate some mopani worms recently that must rate as one of the nastiest things I have eaten, but I suspect it was because it was badly prepared. In my 20 years as a chef I have burned and buggered up my fair share.
You are a chef who writes about food. Are there any limits to the amount that can be said or done about food? Do you ever tire of food the way white-collar workers tire of the office?
I think there is an inexhaustible amount to say regarding food, not enough is written in this country. With regards to the doing; chefs will continue to push the envelope — you have to go too far in order to find out how far you can go. As for me, I still can’t get enough of it.
I am perfectly happy to get home after a long day, crank up the sounds, open a good bottle of wine and cook dinner — it’s unbelievably satisfying.
Boerewors & New Potato Frittata with Tomato Salsa
This is a lekker local twist to the Spanish omelette or tortilla. It can be cooked in a large omelette pan or individual blini pans and makes an excellent rustic breakfast — perfect for those 4am Tri-Nations mornings when the lads come round.
Serves 4
1 red pepper
olive oil, for rubbing the pepper
300g new potatoes
200g boerewors
60ml (4tbs) extra virgin olive oil
30g (2tbs) roughly chopped sage leaves
12 eggs
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
125ml ( cup) grated parmesan cheese
tomato salsa (recipe below)
Rub the red pepper with olive oil and roast, peel and chop it.
Cook the new potatoes in salted boiling water until they’re soft. Drain, leave to cool, then cut them in half. Cut the boerewors into 2cm lengths. Heat the oven to 180ÞC.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan with an oven-proof handle and fry the boerewors and potatoes until the boerewors is cooked and the potatoes have started to colour. Add the peppers and chopped sage.
Lightly whisk the eggs in a jug, season with salt and pepper and pour over the ingredients in the pan. Leave the pan on medium heat for about 5 minutes, then remove it from the stove and sprinkle the parmesan cheese on to the egg. Place the whole thing into the preheated oven and bake the frittata for about 15 minutes until the eggs have just set.
Turn the frittata out on to a platter or board. Cut into wedges and serve with tomato salsa.
Tomato Salsa
Makes 500ml (2 cups)
onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1cm root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
juice of 1 lemon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large, ripe tomatoes
60ml (4tbs) extra virgin olive oil
30g (1 handful) flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Mix together the onion, garlic and ginger in a bowl. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Set the salsa aside to macerate for about 5 minutes.
Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 10 seconds, then lift them from the water. Remove and discard the skins and seeds. Cut the tomatoes into a neat dice and add to the salsa with the olive oil and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
Wine Notes
In keeping with the sparkling theme for brunch, a brut rosé or any pink champagne will work well here.
Roasted Butternut Risotto, Shaved Parmesan, Crisp Sage & Roasted Pine Nuts
Roasted Butternut Risotto, Shaved Parmesan, Crisp Sage & Roasted Pine Nuts
This dish has chilly winter nights written all over it. It’s the one to knock up when your partner wants to stay in for some ‘quality time”, watch sensitive movies about relationships and gulp wine from huge glasses snuggled in front of an open fire … I know — enough to make you gag, but hey, the World Cup is coming up and you need the brownie points!
Serves 6
1 large butternut
2 litres (4 cups) chicken stock
250g butter, cut into blocks
5ml (1tsp) ground cinnamon
5ml (1tsp) grated nutmeg
45ml (3tbs) brown sugar
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
375ml (1 cups) risotto rice
100g grated parmesan cheese
30ml (2tbs) pine nuts
250ml (1 cup) sage leaves
extra shaved parmesan cheese, to serve
Wash, peel and seed the butternut. Put the peel and seeds into a large saucepan, add the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer over very low heat.
Roughly chop the butternut, place it on a baking tray, dot with a third of the butter and season with cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar, and a little salt and pepper. Roast at 180ÞC for about 40 minutes until the butternut is soft and starts to caramelise.
Sweat the onion and garlic in 15ml (1tbs) of the remaining butter in a medium saucepan until soft and translucent. Add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes until it, too, is translucent.
Strain the chicken stock and pour a ladle-full at a time onto the rice, stirring occasionally. Continue until all the liquid has been used and the rice is cooked. Remove the pan from the heat, add the roasted butternut and grated parmesan cheese to the risotto, and season with salt and pepper.
To serve, heat the rest of the butter in a frying pan, add the pine nuts and sage leaves and fry until the sage is crisp and the pine nuts are golden. Pour over the risotto and garnish with shaved parmesan.
Wine Notes
The richness of this dish is crying out for wood, so choose a wooded Chenin blanc with an acidic edge or a fruity, oaked Chardonnay.