Childhood memories lead to the greatest inspiration
“South African cuisine is all about heart and home,” says Simbavati Group Executive Chef, Garth Davids, whose passion is creating good honest food in a farm to table style.
He shared a favourite personal recipe with us, representing his journey from humble beginnings as a young boy growing up in the Cape Town suburb of Mitchell’s Plain, to the Chef he is today.
What did Chef Garth’s childhood taste like?
Chicken liver, a staple dish in his mother’s household, was usually served with a “smoortjie” – a sauce prepared with sauteed onion and tomato or sometimes mayonnaise. Toffee apples were also a much-loved treat in his neighbourhood and were usually enjoyed with his friends on the walk home from a cricket match. Finally, he fondly recalls the basket of fruit, always available on the kitchen counter and the scent of the fruit that greeted him when he returned home.
Chef Garth chose to combine these ingredients to bring these childhood memories to life through this recipe.
RECIPE
Chicken liver and brandy Parfait, burnt apple served on toasted brioche, truffle onion puree, mixed berry coulis and toffee apple
Preparation:
Ingredients For the chicken liver parfait:
250g chicken livers (deveined and cleaned)
15ml olive oil
80g finely chopped onion
80g chopped apples
5g rosemary
5g garlic
50ml brandy
200g soft butter
Method:
- Add olive oil to pan along with the onions, garlic and rosemary
- Sauté until onions are translucent, then add in the chopped apples and cook for 10 mins
- Add the brandy and allow alcohol to evaporate
- Remove mixture from heat and set aside.
- In a separate pan heat up oil until pan is nice and hot slightly smoking, then add your chicken livers and cook until medium rare not all the way through
- Remove from heat and add to apple and onion mixture
- Place mixture into a blender on medium speed and slowly add the soft butter. bit by bit, until all the butter is incorporated
- Once the butter is incorporated, remove from blender and strain through a sieve
- Line a container with cling wrap and pour strained mixture into container and allow to set in fridge for about 4 to 8 hours
Ingredients for the onion puree:
2 white onions sliced
¼ teaspoon truffle oil
5g garlic
5g thyme finely chopped
50ml fresh cream
30ml olive oil
Method:
- Place all ingredients into a pot and cook very slowly until onions are soft and caramelized
- Once mixture is ready, blend until smooth and add in the truffle oil
- Place into a squeegee bottle.
Ingredients for the baby toffee apples
1 can baby apples (Liberty or Goldcrest brand)
200g white sugar
50g glucose
50 ml water
Method:
- Add sugar, glucose and water into a sauce pan and bring to a boil, once mixture is boiling turn the heat low and cook very slowly
- Do not stir sugar with a spoon, Rather gently swivel the pan around or side to side to keep mixture from burning
- Heat the sugar to hard crack stage (156 degrees Celsius)
- Once sugar reaches temperature, remove from heat, take skewer sticks and pierce them into the apples
- Dip each apple, one by one, until each apple is fully coated
- Leave apples to harden
Ingredients for mixed berry coulis:
2 cups frozen mixed berries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
5g cornstarch
Method:
- Place berries, water and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved
- Add cornstarch and cook for 10 mins until mixture thickens and cornstarch is completely cooked out
- Place mixture in a blender and blend until smooth
- Pass mixture through a sieve to remove berry seeds, then place in a squeegee bottle
Ingredients for the burnt apple:
1 whole apple peeled and sliced into wedges
Method:
- Place sliced apples into a tray and blow torch until apples are charred.
- If you do not have a blow torch you can hold them over an open gas flame to give them a charred colour.
To Assemble:
Slice store bought brioche bread and toast until golden brown.
Place in the center of the plate, quenelle the chicken liver pate’ and place on top of brioche.
Pipe four small dots of onion puree on and around the brioche, place the burnt apple and toffee apple on either side of the parfait. Place small dots of berry coulis around the brioche and lastly garnish with fennel shoots.
Let us do the cooking
If you’d prefer Chef Garth to cook for you, performing some of his culinary mastery, stay with us at Simbavati Cederberg Ridge where the food offering is as memorable as the setting.
Explore Simbavati Cederberg Ridge.
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Linger a little longer
The lodge is an inviting place to relax and unwind. The Cederberg beckons to be explored and the views are an allure to stay and breathe for a while. That’s why we encourage longer stays of 3 nights or more.
Though we have enough activities to entertain guests for 4 night stays or longer, we will gladly swap out a morning or afternoon activity for a 30 minute treatment in the spa.
Valid for stays of 3+ nights only.
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