Franschhoek Food
Myrna Robins
(Struik)
Foe somebody who loves cookery books as much as I do, Myrna Robins's latest is one that goes straight to the most easily-accessible shelf.
That's the one where I keep such treasured tomes as the Constantia Uitsig cookbook, the Roux brothers' Cooking for Two, and the best of them all, the Marco Pierre White tome graced with a photograph of himself and his mate Michael Caine.
There are two reasons for this leap to the top of my charts.
One is the fabulous design and layout. Photographs by Ryno litter almost every page, and they're lovely.
Designer Bev Dodd deserves acclaim for turning what is clearly a highly creative eye into pages you what to eat.
The second reason for the book's instant elevation is the top-drawer selection of recipes by most of Franschhoek's top chefs. If you have the skills, you can use these recipes to cook up a dinner for your friends from some, but not all, of the town's top eateries, such as Le Quartier Francais, Reuben's, Topsi & Co, Mont Rochelle, The French Connection and Genot.
There are omissions, though, chief among them the town's only truly French restaurant, Mon Plaisir, at Chamonix.
So grab your mates and cook them a starter of spiced, grilled tuna with apple and sake sorbet and soya jelly from Le Bon Vivant.
Hmm, sounds like a mission, so maybe start with something less daunting, such as the smoked chicken and grilled peach salad from French Connection, or Reuben's sweetcorn soup with truffled popcorn. Other than this lovely dish, I love the sound of Margot Janse's biltong-crusted Franschhoek salmon trout, which looks glorious.
For a main course, my top choices would both come from dear Topsi Venter - her guineafowl with juniper berries and thyme sounds perfect for a country meal, and I will be trying her take on Louis Leipoldt's ox tongue one of these days.
One of my favourite Franschhoek restaurants, La Petite Ferme, offers roasted poussin on chickpeas (I had been hoping for the recipe for their rabbit dish, but I'll get them drunk one day and get it out of them).
The braised duck from Country Kitchen at Mont Rochelle (one of the valley's better-kept secrets) looks like a treat, as do Sandra van Zyl's chicken pie from Kalfi's, Reuben's quail stuffed with grapes, and Margot Janse's sugar-cured wildebeest loin.
The apple parfait with yoghurt sorbet and Calvados jelly from Grande Provence looks gorgeous for a fine ending, as do La Petite Ferme's plum crumble and its camembert gateau (I've tried it, it's sensational), Country Kitchen's champagne-macerated strawberries and sorbet, French Connection's apple and raisin tarte tatin and Topsi's dried fig salami.
The weight of publisher Struik behind this book is palpable. From the quality paper to the gold ribbon bookmark and the pure style of the cover design, it has class written all over it.
Franschhoek Food will undoubtedly be the cherry on the top of Robins's long career in food writing.
The Cape Argus and Random House Struik has five copies of Franschhoek Food by Myrna Robins to give away to keen cooks.
SMS the answer to the question below to 34445 by Wednesday at 6pm.
The winners will be contacted by phone.
Question: Which well known Franschhoek chef cooks truffled popcorn?