DELHEIM

The 24^th of September will see en-masse gathering around the great South African braai, Ukosa or Chisa Nyama depending on culture of origin, all in the name of national pride; while at Delheim wine farm in Stellenbosch, the home-fires will burn throughout the week.

National Braai Day, or Heritage Day, is a call to all South Africans to stand together and celebrate the things that make us unique. At Delheim, the Garden restaurant will serve delicious lunchtime braai-kos (cuisine) from Monday September 19^th until Sunday September 25^th. The pinnacle of activities will take place on Braai Day itself, when live ambient music will play from 13h15. Clear views of Table Mountain (weather dependant of course!) will form a fitting backdrop to the proudly South African scene.

Those who haven’t done so are encouraged to visit the National Braai Day website and Facebook page: the latter offering lamb giveaways and other goodies throughout the week. Weekly bonus giveaways of 12-bottle cases of Delheim wines will reward lucky Facebook fans, while others will win tickets to the National Braai Day event at the farm.

Those who’d rather not take the chance of entering the draw are invited to book at restaurant@delheim.com, or phone 021 888 4607. Tickets for the day are priced at R150 per head, while the standard braai lunch menu will be R130 per head.

The three course braai-kos menu starts with a choice of grilled brown mushrooms stuffed with garlic and blue cheese, or smoked Weskus snoek pâté, and Delheim’s delicious freshly-baked farm bread. Mains will be a medley of a succulent braaied Karoo lamb chop, traditional boerewors, marinated chicken sosaties, chakalaka, salad and veg – potato and mealie of course – and what home-grown meal would be complete without koeksisters for dessert?

Phone 021 888 4607 or e-mail restaurant@delheim .com to book.

Tandy Sinclair's delicious Dried Mushroom & Apricot Biscotti

Dried Mushroom and Apricot Biscotti

Ingredients:

50g butter

225g cake flour plus a little extra for shaping

150g castor sugar

pinch of salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

100g dried mushrooms, I used whole ones and cut them into slices to retain the hint of a mushroom shape. The Nouvelle ones are already cut up!

75g dried apricots, sliced

2 extra large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius.

Melt the butter in the microwave and cool slightly.

Sieve the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into a large bowl.

Add the mushrooms and the apricots and mix in well.

In a small bowl whisk together one of the eggs and the yolk of the second egg, the vanilla extract and the butter.

retain the second egg white and whisk slightly to break it up in case you need it to bring the dough together.

Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the egg and butter mix into it.

Stir until it forms a dough, you might need to add some or all of the left over egg white to achieve this.

Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces.

Very lightly dust a work surface with a little flour and shape into 2 logs, each about 20cm long.

Cover a large baking sheet with non-stick baking paper and place the logs on it leaving plenty of space between them.

Bake on the middle shelf for 40 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch.

Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes.

Using a sharp knife slice the biscotti logs on the diagonal into slices and arrange standing up in a single layer on the baking sheet.

Return to the oven for 20 minutes to allow them to crisp up.

Biscotti ingredients - before

Biscotti ingredients - after

Let’s be honest, if you read my blog you’ll know my food thoughts are less than conventional, so when a PR company like Erica Meles PR sends you an invite for a wild mushroom forage with leading mycologist Dr. Adriaan Smit, director of the South African Gourmet Mushroom Academy, I’m there!

This invitational was held in conjunction with Delheim Wine Estate and South Africa’s leading commercial supplier of exotic mushrooms, Nouvelle Mushrooms as part of their ‘Mushroom Week’ initiative, highlighting of the use of wild & exotic mushrooms in cuisine.

Regular readers will know that I’m no stranger to exotic mushrooms, in fact I can’t recall when I last bought traditional ‘button’ mushrooms.

I’ve written about exotic mushrooms before in my guest post for Cape Town Magazine and also in my Farm to Fork post with chef Neill Anthony and in most cases the mushrooms called for in the recipes on the blog are exotic. So come Tuesday morning I arrived kitted out for our expedition, stopping in for a coffee and home-made rusk at Delheim’s Garden Restaurant, our ‘base-camp’. Upon arrival I received a warm greeting from Delheim Marketing Manager, Nora Sperling-Thiel, an avid forager herself.

Delheim’s Mushroom Week will last until 10 July. Visit the wine farm to learn about wild mushrooms and try their delicious wild mushroom dishes.

Winter has long seen a flurry of fungi harvest activity at Delheim wine farm in Stellenbosch; the rare and delectable Boletus Edulis mushrooming overnight in secret locations scattered around the pine forest on the farm. These have been shared in the past with lucky Delheim restaurant patrons who happened to book on the days that the mushrooms popped up; their harvester Delheim owner-family member, Nora Sperling-Thiel.

Although popular with customers – many of whom are amazed at their texture and flavour – Boletus are as rare as they are delectable; appearing only when the weather is ideal for them to sprout. Coupled with their rarity is a fear of the unknown that wild and exotic mushrooms present, having been scarcely available in South Africa in the past.

Feeling that home cooks were missing out on a health-giving delicacy, Nora has teamed up with Schalk de Beer of Nouvelle Mushrooms, Hemel en Aarde Valley, to offer a steady supply of exotics via the Delheim restaurant.

The initiative kicks off with Mushroom Week 2011, held at the Delheim farm from 4-10 July. An annual event to make the most of wild mushrooms on the farm, a variety of dishes will be available at the restaurant, complete with sample displays and pairing suggestions with Delheim wines.

Two gourmet mushroom dishes will be on the menu permanently, with punnets of fresh exotics and recipes for use at home available for a limited time. Pairing  recommendations will be made with the Delheim wines, closing the loop on easy and fabulous fungi for home entertaining. The restaurant offerings will include Baby Spinach with seared Nouvelle King Oyster mushrooms, and creamy tagliatelle with Nouvelle Exotic Mushroom Mix.

Bookings can be made at the Delheim restaurant; email restaurant@delheim.com or telephone 021 888 4607. For those out of town, Nouvelle Mushrooms can be found in the Woolworths fresh food aisle, while the Delheim wines for pairing can be found on the wine shelves.

For further inspiration and ideas, visit the Nouvelle Mushrooms website, at www.nouvelle.za.net.

Well, wasn’t Father’s Day at Delheim a treat!

What a beautiful day!

The weather was sparkling, and the restaurant and tasting room full to overflowing.  We had planned to seat all inside the restaurant and Downstairs tasting cellar as we expected it to be as cold as it has been for the last week or two.  In the event it turned out to be a lovely, warm day, and most everybody went out onto the garden terraces where they lounged for the afternoon drinking in the sunshine, the spectacular view, and of course, the wines!

Hippo aka "The L'ill Beggar"

Hippo, or “The L’il Beggar” as he is affectionately known, did his usual rounds (see photo) and by all accounts was well rewarded (as he usually is, as you no doubt will note from his [*cough*] unique physique.)

Helene van Heerden, Sylvia Coetzee and Bruno Ruegg

So popular was the wine blending competition that we decided to divide it into two categories on the day: “Father” and “Not-a-Father”.

“Father” category winner Bruno Rüegg showed he could blend a red wine too, after having won a white wine blending competition at Delheim in a previous year. His blend of 40% Cab Sauv, 30% Merlot and 30% Shiraz, with its deep berry nose, was perfectly balanced and followed smoothly through on the palate to the finish.

Lots of advice – solicited or otherwise - was being dished out to the blenders, and Dad Keith Munro had lots of help from his son making the “Dad’s Vuvu Vino!” blend, although junior was heard to complain after about an hour: “I’m not tasting ANY MORE wine, Dad!”.

Keith Munro and "helpers"

Delheim’s Sales Manager, Mignon, presided over the competition as judge and jury, and was therefore badgered, bribed and flattered in every way in an effort to sway her – to no avail, she insists!

“Father” category winners:

Best Blend: Bruno Rüegg with “Delesi”; First Runner-Up: Keith Munro with “Dad’s Vuvu Vino!”; Second Runner-Up: Willy Fergussen with “Kloofbosch Red”; Best Name/Description: Marc Joubert with “Marcus – from ‘Mars”, the God of War. Speaks of a history of conquest, achievement and growth. Protector of his (extended) family, Marcus values relationships and cares deeply for those around him. This wine will warm your heart with family and friends, and aims to highlight the things in life worth fighting for!”

“Not-A-Father” category winners:

Winners of best blend "Fraulein": Conrad, Marisa, Sigrid and Phillip

Best Blend: Conrad, Sigrid, Marisa & Phillip (pictured) with “Fraulein”; Best Name/Description: Ruan Beneke with “Ol’ Razlot Nr 40 - A poetic blend of Delheim’s secrets, leaving you with an aftertaste of chocolate, olives and Brenda” [ed. note: Brenda is Delheim’s winemaker!]

From L to R Paul Fourie, Wilma du Toit, Hannelize Robinson, Ruan Beneke, Rudi Scheepers

Special mention goes to the names “Delheim Red Rocker” (David Bell) and “DellaZella” (Byron Hollander).

During the afternoon, soccer tourists started arriving – we received Americans, Brazilians, Spaniards and Portuguese among many others – so there was no let-up as everybody tucked themselves into the cosy Downstairs tasting cellar to watch the late afternoon match.

An immensely enjoyable afternoon – we are so privileged at Delheim to be able to share this lovely old wine estate with you all!

THE DELHEIM TEAM

With the cold and rainy weather it is clear that the Cape winter is on its way.  Still, the most recent forecast for the weekend is that it will be warm and dry – so the Delheim restaurant invites you to enjoy the last days of summer by sharing a platter for two of Classic Smoked Salmon & Herbed Cream Cheese, French Bean & Baby Potato Salad, Delheim’s renowned freshly-made farm bread, and a bottle of Delheim Pinotage Rosé 2009, served al fresco on our restaurant’s garden terrace with its spectacular view clear across to Table Mountain, for just R120!

Booking for the restaurant is essential, especially over weekends and holidays.  Contact Martina or Leah on (021) 888-4607, or make your reservations at restaurant@delheim.com

This offer is only valid until 8 May, so make your reservation now!

THE DELHEIM TEAM

Come and have a lovely dinner at the Simonsberg Café on the 9th of December. Celebrate the special privilege of receiving a degree from the University of Stellenbosch by choosing a three-course dinner from our set menu for only R150 per person.

To book or for more information contact Daleen or Candice
Tel: +27 (0)21 884 4353
Fax: 086 667 7514
simonsbergcafe@delvera.co.za

Kind regards
Stian van Zyl