We’re Celebrating South Africa’s National Braai Day

September 24th, 2013

Here is a recipe from Reuben Riffel’s new cookbook to help celebrate National Braai Day.

United National Lamb, braaied leg of lamb with Cape Malay salad, peri-peri sauce, gremolata, chermoula, mustard, and grilled vegetables.

Serves 6-8

“With Cape Malay influence, peri-peri (Portuguese/Mozambican), gremolata (Italian), chermoula (North African) and various other flavor elements, this is a larger-than-life multi-cultural giant of a dish. Think of it more as a table feast where you can place a great hunk of meat in the middle of your clan and watch it disappear quickly. It’s how I grew up eating (the sharing bit, not so much the speed eating), but it wasn’t all about the meat. The sides were almost equally as important. Even if you had good meat, the beetroot and mustard were as vital to the roast as sambals are to a curry. On Sundays, my mum used to make the roast with cabbage, tomato salad and sweet and sour onions. Your plate would be laden with lots of small elements where the juices flow into the meat and potatoes.

The lamb in this recipe is kept really simple in terms of spicing but gets brushed with brown butter for some nuttiness. The other flavors are there to make it less one-dimensional. I like that you can choose what your next mouthful combo will be. It’s like a “choose your own ending” approach to a meal. You are the author of your own appetite.”

Ingredients

For the Lamb

1 leg of lamb

1 handful thyme

15 garlic cloves

8 anchovy fillets

20 olives

4 tbsp black pepper

4 tbsp salt

2 handfuls lemon leaves

2 handfuls rosemary

½ cup melted butter

Cassis mustard, to serve

For the Cape Malay salad

2 plum tomatoes, cut into wedges

½ cucumber, peeled and sliced

½ red onion, sliced

½ tsp ground cumin, toasted

1 avocado, cubed

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

½ tsp sea salt

For the peri-peri sauce

1 onion, sliced

15 red chilies, deseeded and chopped

4 red peppers

½ cup red wine vinegar

2 tbsp smoked paprika

For the gremolata

Zest of 2 lemons, grated

Zest of 2 oranges, grated

½ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

2 garlic cloves

For the chermoula

1 red onion

2 garlic cloves

¾ cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped

¾ cup coriander, chopped

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tbsp sweet paprika

Sea salt

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

For the grilled vegetables

2 red peppers

¾ lb zucchini

1 bunch asparagus

¼ cup crushed almonds

Recipe

1. To make the Cape Malay salad, mix together all the ingredients and keep chilled.

2. To make the peri-peri sauce, sweat the onion, chili, and red peppers for 10 to 15 minutes over medium heat. Deglaze with the red wine vinegar, then add the smoked paprika. Simmer for 20 minutes. Blend until smooth. Set aside.

3. To make the gremolata, mix together all the ingredients. Set aside.

4. To make the chermoula, blend all the ingredients roughly in a blender. Set aside.

5. Put the peppers, zucchini, and asparagus directly on the braai (grill) over medium-high heat. When they’re nicely chargrilled, chop into chunks and top with crushed almonds.

6. Make six cuts in the meat about 1/3 of an inch wide and 1/3 of an inch deep. In each hole, stick a sprig of thyme, a garlic clove, anchovy fillets, or an olive. Rub the meat evenly with pepper, place in a large dish and wrap with plastic wrap. Leave to absorb the flavors overnight.

7. Rub the meat evenly with half the salt. Season the lamb occasionally with the rest of the salt throughout the cooking process.

8. Cook the meat one foot above medium coals for an hour to hour and 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Put the lemon leaves and rosemary on the grid and sprinkle lightly with water.

9. Place the meat back on the grill and cook for another hour to hour and 10 minutes, basting with the butter. Remove from the heat and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

10. Slice and serve family-style with the mustard and sides.

Beer paring: Porcupine Quill Brewery Dam Wolf Yellow Eyes

Wine pairing: Lynx Grenache

andBeyond Celebrates World Rhino Day on Sept 22

September 20th, 2013

As the survival of the rhino continues to be threatened by the scourge of poaching in South Africa, luxury experiential travel company &Beyond is celebrating the success of a number of conservation initiatives aimed at saving the endangered species.

In 2012 alone, South Africa lost a devastating 668 rhino to illegal poaching, which is a 49% increase from the previous year’s figure of 448. With two to three rhino killed every day, by the beginning of September 2013 the number already stood at 618 individuals lost.

“As part of our commitment to our core ethic of Care of the Land, Care of the Wildlife and Care of the People, &Beyond has made a significant contribution to the protection of rhino over the past 22 years. As the threat of poaching increases, we have not only stepped up the security initiatives at our reserves in South Africa but have looked for other ways to ensure the survival of this majestic species,” says Joss Kent, &Beyond CEO.

With neighbouring Botswana proven as a successful rhino habitat with a strong security and monitoring framework in place, one of the initiatives undertaken by &Beyond was the donation and translocation of six white rhino from South Africa to Botswana’s Okavango Delta.

Working under the strictest security, the six rhino were safely transported to Botswana and held in an acclimatisation boma before being released in May. Collared and microchipped for research and monitoring purposes, the animals are tracked regularly by &Beyond’s research and anti-poaching teams. All six of the released animals appear to be establishing home ranges in their new habitat, with the areas frequented by four of the new arrivals overlapping with each other. The rhino have remained in the same pairs that they established while in the acclimatisation boma. The animals are healthy and are settling well into their new environment.

In a surprise development that delighted &Beyond’s translocation team, it has also been confirmed that one of the three female rhino is pregnant. She is expected to give birth in October or November.

While &Beyond believes that translocation is vital in securing the survival of endangered species, the company is also committed to working with the communities surrounding its reserves to combat poaching. Thanks to its policy of ensuring that its neighbours benefit from conservation, &Beyond has exceptionally strong relationships with these communities, which allows it to run education programmes about the preservation of wildlife.

fogo island inn makes international traveller’s “100 best hotels and resorts in the world”

September 11th, 2013

The newly opened Fogo Island Inn in Newfoundland, Canada has been named #27 of the 100 Best Hotels and Resorts in the World by Australia’s International Traveller. The magazine claims the list the equivalent of the famous “50 Best Restaurants” list published in the UK.

The list will run in the luxury publication’s September/October Collector’s edition and will also be featured in a dedicated iPad app. It  was assiduously put together by a panel of experts in the field of luxury travel and hotels, including former Vogue Australia editor Kirstie Clements and former Condé Nast Traveller managing editor Claire Wrathall. “The beauty of having a panel of travel writers is they collectively have more than 230 years experience and have seen and stayed at the best the world has to offer. Like the 50 Best Restaurants reviewers, these are the only people in the world with the qualifications to decipher the good from the great, from the best,” says publisher Quentin Long.

Other hotels on the list include Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc (France), Singita Sasakwa (Tanzania), Amangiri, (USA), and Hotel Cipriani (Italy).

 

ABOUT THE FOGO ISLAND INN

The Fogo Island Inn, an architectural gem located on Fogo Island in Iceberg Alley – at the very edge of the continent – is a radical newcomer on the world’s travelscape.

Tangled up in a place of powerful and elemental beauty, to the curious and intrepid it offers a space that quickens the imagination and extends profound outport hospitality.   www.fogoislandinn.ca

For press information, please contact:

Kathleen Crotty

Director, PR and Media Relations

kathycrotty@shorefast.org

www.fogoislandinn.ca

Tel:  709-730-2199

welcome fall with guinot – save tans, banish dry lips, and wake up fresh

September 5th, 2013

Labor Day has come and gone; summer whites are getting traded for earth tones; and the autumn season is looming. Guinot has the solutions for easing the transition and preventing fall’s potential skincare havoc.

 

Losing a tan

Instead of fading away as September rolls in, Guinot’s Hydra Bronze can prolong the life of the diligently earned summer sun tan. The gradual tanning lotion creates a natural-looking tan that will last through the gloomiest days of November (and beyond).

 

Dry Lips

Dried and cracked lips from salty ocean water and sun exposure do not mix well with the aubergine and burgundy hues of fall lipstick. To get lips healthy and ready for a smooth coat of color, one can use Baume Lèvres Confort lip balm to soothe and soften. Best of all, applied a few minutes before lipstick, it works as a perfect primer.

 

Wake up calls

It’s easy to hop out of bed in the summer; when the sun starts rising later and there’s a chill in the air it’s not so enticing to emerge from under the covers. Three minutes of Masque Dynamisant Anti-Fatigue not only gives tired faces a quick boost of radiance, but the cold essential oils give the skin a burst of energy, making anyone feel and look like a morning person.

(more…)

one&only hayman island to launch in april 2014

September 5th, 2013

Mulpha Australia has entered into an agreement with Kerzner International Holdings Limited, a leading international developer and operator of destination resorts, casinos and luxury resorts, to assume management of the highly acclaimed luxury island resort Hayman, Great Barrier Reef. Hayman will undergo a multi-million dollar renovation and be re-launched as One&Only Hayman Island in April 2014 – One&Only’s first resort in Australia.

Positioned in the most beautiful locales in the world, One&Only offers an unparalleled commitment to the finest holiday experiences on every possible level, catering to the most discerning travelers around the globe. Each award-winning One&Only resort offers memorable experiences through a distinctive style and personality borne of its local culture, genuine hospitality and vivid energy that is unrivaled.

Hayman is located in the very heart of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, surrounded by an amazing natural ecosystem of pristine coral reef formations and diverse marine life. Showcasing the natural elements of the iconic location, One&Only will present a number of unique guest experiences, enhanced accommodations, new culinary options and signature One&Only service throughout the resort.

Categories

Archives