Shrewd Food

Samin Nosrat (centre) with friends in a scene from the show, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. Her mother stands behind her

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, a TV show on Netflix hosted by American chef, author and columnist  Samin Nosrat, will change your attitude to food. After watching it you will be overwhelmed by the need to leap off your couch …  and get cooking. It’s that inspirational. (Don’t miss recipes below)

I  love salt. I love sweet/salty combinations, salt sprinkled over fruit, in food naturally, and pops of flavour from flakes of smokey salt, or coarsely-ground Himalayan salt, sprinkled over food after cooking. And who can resist biltong. That true ode to salt.  Salt makes just everything taste better. Salt makes the world go round.
And I’m not alone in my passion.
This is what Chef Samin Nosrat, dark-eyed-and-haired, embullient in personality and generous of spirit, says  about salt:  “Salt enhances flavour, and it has a greater impact on flavor than any other ingredient. Though salt also affects texture and helps modify other flavors, nearly every decision you’ll make about salt will involve amplifying and deepening flavor. Add it in the right amount, at the right time, in the right form, and your food will be delicious.”
Who could have said it better.

Heirloom tomatoes, taste amazing, look amazing

From hummus desserts and motherless meat to mainstreaming marijuana and middle-aged waitresses, these are just some of the food and restaurant trends forecast for 2019. Ingrid Shevlin reports 

Just when you resigned yourself to the fact that kale is the new spinach or that some obscure South American vegetable (which is never going to hit our shop shelves, anyway) is the latest superfood, it all changes. Out goes coconut water, in comes cactus water. Out goes perfect fruit, in comes ugly fruit. Margarine is so 2017, so welcome back real butter. Bone broth becomes the latest panacea of all ills and more and more Japanese food is thrilling Western tastebuds. Shrewd Food trawled through publications and websites to find out what’s in store for 2019. So, below, are the trends you should be following this year, failing which you can at least sound intelligent at the dinner table when someone raves on about Nigella seeds – and, no, they have nothing to do with Nigella Lawson.
But there is one prevailing theme thoughout the new trends:  The rise of vegetarianism. This means the demand for tasty plant-based meat substitutes continues to grow (Woolworths has just bought out a range of plant-based meat substitutes) and lab-grown, motherless meat is just around the corner. Say goodbye to the braai and help save our planet.
(Some of the information has been quoted directly from these, largely international, websites and publications and some items have been substantially reworded with added information to give some local context and info).

Expect only top quality artisanal food, baked goods, organic produce and upmarket shopping at  The Market at Ballito’s Lifestyle Centre, a haven and heaven for foodies. By Ingrid Shevlin

Juices that are organic, cold-pressed and seasonal is Juice Kitchen’s promise.

Communal eating at The Market

Olives galore at The Market

ONE-STOP food markets are hardly new. But here’s one with a difference. A market that focuses on organic products, quality artisanal food and homegrown restaurants. So, no KFC, no Domino pizzas. No McDonalds. No Starbucks. Sure, there’s a place for those chains, just not at The Market, a permanent fixture at the Ballito Lifestyle Centre taking up 1600 m² of retail space.
This is no flea market with imported tat. Instead it’s a sophisticated food paradise offering home-grown, local and community-based food and produce. And it is, right now, the only indoor artisanal food market trading seven days a week in South Africa.
Impressive.

SUGAR AND SPICE AND ALL THINGS NICE

Fig and cinnamon pavlova

Pistachio and raspberry roulade

When they say .. if you only buy one book, buy this one.  It’s true in the case of  Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh (Ebury Press). It’s that good. 

I love, love, love this book. I’ve bought tons of baking books over the years, from modest little books compiled to raise money for charities, to James Martin’s fabulous Sweet (totally weird that it has the same title). Martin’s book is so beautiful and so glossy I was content to perv over the exquisite photography rather than actually bake anything.
But Ottolenghi’s Sweet is different. Yes, it’s also beautiful to look at, but not only are the baked treats desirable, delectable-sounding and different, I wanted to make them. And I felt the recipes were within my capabilities. When I want to bake  something delicious, I don’t want to spend hours doing so.