There’s not much point to Africanising Christmas, but for a twist on the traditional Shane Sauvage is hard to beat, writes Matthew Burbidge.
The Edge of Fusion (Jacana), Shane Sauvage’s new cookbook featuring recipes from his famous restaurant, La Pentola in Pretoria, might be the perfect template for a celebratory meal over the festive season. Sauvage says there’s not much point to Africanising Christmas, but for a twist on the traditional he’s hard to beat.
‘In Europe you’ll be under 10 feet of snow drinking eggnog. Here you’ll be drinking an ice-cold beer, while lying in the pool.”
This is a gorgeous, decadent book, a book of feasts, and while the dishes might be a bit rich for a Wednesday night supper — almost every recipe calls for a fair dollop of butter or cream — who’s going to blame you for letting rip at Christmas?
Take Sauvage’s crocodile recipe: debone and cube a 400g piece of crocodile tail. Spice the cubes with paprika and salt, dust with flour and fry in olive oil and butter. Set the meat aside and melt a knob of butter with sugar, black pepper, litchi juice and bay leaves. Add granadilla pulp and salt and fold in the crocodile meat. La Pentola also serves warthog and springbok.
Now in its 13th year, the restaurant attracts a lot of ’embassy business” and tourists. Sauvage says his clientele has become a lot more savvy over the years and now knows what to expect from a plate of food.
‘A few years ago they didn’t understand what a cuisine meal is. People are now able to gauge for themselves what a good meal is.”
In his kitchen you’ll find real butter, fresh cream, extra virgin olive oil and fresh herbs. ‘There’s no excuse for using dried herbs.”
Sauvage’s aim is to ‘inspire people to get into the kitchen and improvise, to communicate and have fun”.
His suggestion for Christmas lunch is cherry calamari, which you can eat around the pool. Score the calamari steaks crosswise. Spice with paprika and salt and dust with flour. Fry the calamari in a hot pan with butter and olive oil. For the sauce, heat up a good knob of butter with 10 maraschino cherries. Add coarsely ground mixed peppercorns and sauté until the butter begins to foam. Pour in a slug of cherry liqueur and reduce the sauce by half. Place the calamari on a plate and pour the sauce over it.