Slow Food

I hate winter...yip that's me. I like the sun on my bum, I must be out and about, discovering and exploring. The only good thing about winter is slow food, slow cooked casseroles, breedies, potjies, and curries. Slow food is just that, slow. It takes time, time to cook, time to socialise and time to sip and enjoy great wine. You can't go wrong, even my ex mother in law couldn't get this wrong... The key is finding the best ingredients, and by that I mean the cuts of meat other people wouldn't touch. Pork Cheeks, oxtail, lamb shank, tripe, and my favourite Ostrich neck. Try this amazing Ostrich neck recipe:



Must have:
1 x Bottle Red Wine
Cooking oil
250g Smoked Streaky Bacon
1,5kg Ostrich Neck
4 Onions chopped
4 Gloves of Garlic chopped
2 Bottles of Boplaas Port.
300g dried Apricots
Bay leaf and a sprig of Rosemary


How to:
Pour red wine and enjoy.
Brown the ostrich in the oil. Tip: only do a few pieces at a time. The more pieces you add to the pot the less likely it is to brown. You want the meat to get those nice crispy edges. Bad for your heart, so a double cardio workout needed. Remove Ostrich meat from the pot and set aside. Fry the bacon, then add onions. After a few minutes add garlic. Let onions, garlic and bacon fry together for a few minutes, ensuring that the garlic doesn't burn.
Pour second glass of red wine and enjoy.
Once onions are soft, add 1 bottle of port and scrape bottom of pot to get all the tasty bits off the bottom. Return the ostrich to the pot. Add apricots, bay leaf and sprig of rosemary. Simmer slowly, don't boil, this is a slow process. When Ostrich is about to fall off the bone...its done. Serve with creamy mash, crispy bread and a bottle of fine red, try Monterosso Cabernet Merlot. A great wine for the price, should compliment the ostrich and work well with the apricots.




Too finish. Enjoy the other bottle of Boplaas Port. Pudding wine.