What Sup: Bon Amis Bloemendal Durbanville

http://bonamis.co.za/cafe.html

The seafood tapas platter had a crab and radish salad, spicy calamari, mussels with garlic butter and breadcrumbs and an oyster. Order bread to soak up all the delicious sauce!

Over the weekend my hubby and I decided to head towards the Durbanville wine route and ended up sharing a lovely seafood platter at Bon Amis. What a little gem! It has a french feel and fantastic selection of wines(Bloemendal). They offer buffets over the weekend as well as a tapas menu so there is really something for everyone.

What Sup: Bouillabaisse Soup

 

Bouillabaisse Recipe

Ingredients:

At least 3 different kinds of seafood, fresh or frozen. I used-10 mussels, 6 large prawns, 1 hake fillet

1 cup thinly sliced onions

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 large tomato, chopped, and 1 can canned tomatoes

1 carrot cubed into small pieces

tomato paste to taste

4 stalks celery, thinly sliced

3 sprigs fresh thyme or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

Zest of half a lemon

1/2 teaspoon powdered smoked paprika

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup chicken stock or fish stock

2/3 cup white wine

optional-dollop of smooth cream cheese

Sliced French bread

Heat a little olive oil in a large deep saucepan. When it is hot, add onions and garlic. Sauté for a minute, then add tomato, celery, and paprika. Stir the carrot pieces into the oil with a wooden sppon until well coated. Then add hyme, bay leaf and lemon. Cook until the onion is soft and golden but not brown.

Cut fish fillet into 2-inch pieces. Add the pieces of fish, mussels and prawns. Then combine stock, wine and tomato paste and pour to the vegetables to mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer on low heat, uncovered, for about 30 minutes till soup redueces.  Add salt, pepper.  Bring to a simmer again and cook about 5 minutes longer.
At serving time taste and correct the seasoning of the broth, adding a little more salt or pepper if need be, and maybe a touch of lemon juice. Into each soup bowl place a thick slice of crusty French bread, plain or slighlty toasted. Add the cream cheese and serve.

What Sup: Valentines at Lanzerac



This year my hubby surprised me on Valentines Day and we celebrated at Lanzerac. In typical Jay style, he got it so right:) We got to have dinner under the stars in the Lady Anne Courtyard with a stunning 4 course French inspired menu. French cafe music was playing all night and to make the atmosphere even more special (if that is even possible) we even had romantic black & white movies projected around the courtyard. The cost of the menu was R290 per person and highly recommend.

The starter was amazing! I didn't end up taking more photos because the food disappeared in seconds:)



What Sup: Tuna, green bean and sweetcorn wraps

Cut the wraps into smaller sections and stand them up

These are so simple to make and can be served as a snack or as a dinner with a side salad. They are healthy and perfect when you don't feel like being near a hot oven. I use the sweetcorn to cut down on the amount of mayonnaise so you can eat these guilt free:)
You will need:
Half a can creamed sweetcorn
1 tin tuna
1tsp mayo
Green beans (steamed in micro for 3 min)
a little sweet chilli sauce
Rocket leaves / you could use any fresh herb you like
Feta (optional)
Mix the tuna, sweetcorn and the mayo in a bowl. Spread the tuna in the middle of the wrap and add the other ingredients. Cut into small sections and add a little sweet chilly to finish off.