Janice Tripepi

What a day yesterday was! We said our final “Arriverderci’s” to Tricky’s brother Mario. He was highly respected in the community as a leader of GA – Holy Trinity Church was groaning at the seams as she kind of breathed out to let more people in – the church was packed with so many people. What a fitting tribute to a really very special man. Wonderful words of condolences poured in from all over the world.

 

Once the public tea and cake was done and dusted – we all went to his daughter Claudia’s house to celebrate his life. I lost count – we probably numbered in the region of 50 people. We all made food – d five different types of lovingly prepared pasta and wall to wall salads later – the vino buono flowed into the night. Again – we were all comforted, consoled and healed by Pasta Power!

 

I wish to pay tribute to Mario’s wife Clara – her strength, courage and indeed – energy was amazing. She was running around chatting to and consoling everyone there. What a wonderful role model you are for all of us. Your daughters, granddaughters and indeed great granddaughter are truly blessed to have you on their side. I have a special post in mind to honour Clara – an old family recipe that I just know she will be delighted to see surface again.

Spring has me in a head-lock!

 

 

  

  

Today I am sharing my meat rub recipe with you. I bought a butter lettuce at The Essenwood Craft market last Saturday – the veggies I bought from John Hosking’s stall are of still life quality! If only I had the time to paint them! This butter lettuce – surely must have weighed in at around 1,5 kgs – these are organic veggies showered not only with life giving water but showered too with loads of love. John and his wife come all the way from Underberg – around 4.30am every Saturday – to bring us wonderful organic veggies. I bought another lettuce from them – a frilly one – well it too is heavy and looks pretty much like a Spanish dancers skirt! I shall name this salad Essenwood Salad – for the lettuce, carrots, olives, feta and Gumbo Eggs were all purchased there last Saturday!

 

 

 

 

A Quick and Easy Summer Salad that packed with

organic energy giving goodies.  Ideal for a Saturday lunch

around the pool with some friends.

 

Firsty pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees.

 

Ingredients

 

For the Rubadubdub!

 

2tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp yellow mustards seeds

2tsp black musard seeds

2 tsp black pepper corns

2 tsp smoked salt flakes

1 tsp citrus lime salt flakes

1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes

1/2 cumin

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary (remove the leaves from the stem)

 

 

 

 

 

Place all of the spices and rosemary in either your pestil & mortar or a spice mill.

 

Pound the living daylights out of it – you will be wacked between the eyes by the amazing

woody – spicey aromas – it’s just wonderful.

 

Now to prepare your fillet ..

 

Ingredients

 

1 whole fillet

1 onion roughly chopped

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

6 cloves of garlic – whole

 

Heat a grilling pan or frying pan – until it’s smoking

Massage the whole fillet with some olive oil

Seal the whole fillet in the pan – keep your eye on it, don’t let it burn

but you want loads of caramelisation – all over the fillet.

The pan juices are going to be used to creat your sauce so don’t throw them away.

Once the fillet is well coloured - roll the fillet in the rub – push the meat hard into the rub you want

every single inch of it covered in the rub.

 

 

 

 

 

De-glaze your frying pan with 1/3 of a bottle of a good strong red wine such as this

Sauvignon Blanc from Spier -  Once all of the alocohol has

cooked off pour them over

 

1 roughly chopped onion, 6 cloves of garlic and a few

sprigs of rosemary in a roasting pan –

Add about a cup of water to prevent the sauce from drying out in the oven.

 

Place a rack in the roasting pan and put the meat which is covered in the

rub on top of the rack – into the oven it goes for about 20 minutes.

 

 

After 20 – 30 minutes – remove the meat and set it aside to rest

and relax while you assemble your salad and finish off the sauce.

 

I would losely cover the meat with a piece of tin foil to prevent it from drying out !

 

For your salad platter -

 

 

Most of these ingredients came from my market trip!

 

 

1 head of lettuce – here is the beauty I bought at Essenwood Market

Cherry tomatoes, courgettes sliced, cucumber sliced

carrot batons –

red pepper sliced

hard boiled eggs – cut in half (check out the double yolks on these Gumbo’s)

Olives – i used green olives from Essenwood – marinated in honey and mint

black olives – in cherry and sultanas

a good couple of handfulls of sprouted seeds

Cocktail brinjals – from Dino @The Mediterranean Kitchen – Essenwood

Danish Feta – from Jan Bowes at the market

some tinned anchovies – if you like them.

 

Go Wild – the more flavours and textures that you layer in a salad

the better it tastes.

 

Finally Slice your Rubadubdub Fillet and place on top of the salad.

 

Some juices will have leeched from the fillet – add them to the roasting sauces and reduce

the sauce to a nice dark red wine sauce – with a

tsp of either cranberry or redcurrant jelly if you like a slightly sweet sauce – if not

just reduce the juices down and adjust the seasoning and pour over the

meat.

The beauty of a whole fillet cooked this way is that you get both medium and rare pieces of

meat – all you need do is adjust your cooking times if you

like to eat cremated – burnt – dried out meat!

 

 

   

 

 

Dress your salad with your favourite dressing – our house

it’s an Italian – Olive Oil and Vinegar dressing – and

serve with some crusty bread and  more of this fabulous Spier Cabernet Sauvignon!!

 

Buon Appetito

 

xxxx

 

jan