The Restaurant at Gabriëlskloof is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a special menu of its greatest hits. Do yourself a favour and take a scenic Sunday cruise (a mere 80-minute drive from Cape Town), to this super charming Botriver wine estate eatery. The anniversary menu is available from 1 September to 30 November 2019.
Chef Patron Frans Groenewald launched this gorgeous venue in 2009 with his wife, Mariaan, and fellow-chef Juan van der Westhuizen. “It's hard to believe that 10 years have passed. It was while working in London that we all first dreamt of owning a restaurant like this,’’ says Chef Frans.
The greatest hits menu celebrates the culinary journey offering breakfast and lunch and is the chefs way of thanking the guests who've become regulars over the years.
Image: Gugulethu Mkhabela
Image: Gugulethu Mkhabela
Image: Gugulethu Mkhabela
Image: Gugulethu Mkhabela For the morning line-up, you can look forward to Frans's popular banana bread French toast served with crispy bacon and mascarpone. According to the chef, it's been a favourite since day one. The Croque Braai-broodjie, an aromatic grilled cheese, tomato and onion sandwich bedecked in a cheese sauce and topped off with a perfectly poached egg is another hit. The edgy Eggs Gabriëlskloof is another star of the ages that features a roosterkoek served with sumptuous bobotie mince, poached eggs and a sublime hollandaise sauce.
Lunch is no less mouth-watering with a delicious pork and duck rillette, butternut and barley risotto (a fave), home-crafted wontons and Frans's signature dish: a pork belly that knocks socks off.
The dessert headliners include Frans's delectable sago pudding and much more.
You can try these three star dishes (Gabriёlskloof smoked snoek wontons (another fave), Gabriёlskloof white chocolate mousse, and Gabriёlsklook pork belly) at home, courtesy of Chef Frans Groenewald. Enjoy!
Image: Supplied
(Serves 4 people)
Ingredients
- 500g smoked snoek
- 1 Granny Smith apple grated
- 50g raisins
- 10ml tumeric
- 10 ml curry
- 20ml fresh coriander
- 1 thumb fresh ginger (about 5cm)
- 1 onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 20ml apricot chutney (especially homemade)
- 12 wonton wrappers
- 1 egg beaten
Method
Fry onions, tumeric, curry, garlic and ginger till the onions are soft.
Let the mixture cool off and mix with the rest of the ingredients.
Place the mixture in the wonton wrappers and seal with the egg.
Fry in deep oil till golden brown and crispy.
Serve with a herb salad
Image: Supplied
(Serves 4 people)
Ingredients
- 1.5kg pork belly deboned, rind on
- juice of 1 lemon
- salt and pepper
- 2 carrots (cut in small cubes)
- 1 onion (cut in small cubes)
- 1 celery (cut in small cubes)
- 500ml chicken stock
- 50ml soya sauce
Ingredients for the broth:
- 500ml beef stock
- 150g dried mushrooms
- 100g shiitake mushrooms
- 50g spring onion
- 15g sesame seeds
- 2 packets Udon noodles
Method
Rub the skin side of the pork belly with salt, pepper, and lemon juice and let it stand for 3 hours.
Place the belly on the cut vegetables with the chicken stock and soya sauce.
Cover with foil and put in oven on 150degrees for 2-2 1/2hours.
Take belly out of tray and keep the stock.
Turn oven onto 220degrees and place belly back in till the rind becomes crispy.
Place the cooking liquid on stove, now add the beef stock, dried mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, spring onion and sesame seeds and let reduce by a third.
Now place the Udon noodles in the broth and cook according to the instructions of the packet.
Serve your pork belly on the noodles with the broth.
GABRIELSKLOOF WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
(Serves 4 people)
Ingredients
- 300g white chocolate
- 4 egg whites
- 1/8 teaspoon cream of tarter
- 30ml Amarula
- 1 gelatine leaf
- 350ml cream
Method
Melt the chocolate, amarula, gelatine and 200ml of cream together until the gelatine and chocolate dissolves.
Whisk egg whites and cream of tarter together for 5min on high speed.
Whisk 150ml cream until if forms soft peaks.
Fold the egg whites mixture and the whipped cream mixture into the chocolate mixture.
Poor into a flat service tray and let set for at least 6-8hours.
Cut into preferred shapes.
We serve lemon curd and berry sorbet with it.
Feature Image: Supplied
