AN AL FRESCO FEAST WHERE HEAVEN MEETS EARTH | PART I
I recently had the pleasure to collaborate with a talented South African photographer on a styled food shoot on the beautiful CREATION farm outside of the seaside town of Hermanus in South Africa’s gorgeous Hemel-en-Aarde valley.
Meet LINDA FOURIE
Linda Fourie is a renowned South African wedding photographer who recently decided to branch out into food photography and asked me to collaborate with her on her first effort. The timing worked out perfectly, since I was already scheduled for a visit to the sunny shores of South Africa to renew my visa and catch up with some family and friends.
Linda, who was born in Namibia, raised in South Africa and currently lives in Hermanus with her husband and son, studied photography in America and is universally adored by the South African brides that she so lovingly captures on film.
It was such a treat to combine forces with this vibrant, innovative lady and I hope we can do it again sometime soon!
About THE SHOOT
My go-to look when I style food shoots in France is a rustic, vintage vibe, but the mise en scène at CREATION called for something more fresh and modern. As such, we decided on a crisp combination of white and green with copper highlights to accentuate the sumptuous natural setting in the vineyards.
Keep an eye on the blog for my next post about this exciting project, where I’ll tell you a bit more about the farm and the dishes we chose for the shoot.
RECIPES
GRAPEFRUIT, CUCUMBER + ROSEMARY (GIN)TAIL
Serves | 8
Preparation time | 20 minutes
1 cup (250 ml) sugar
1 cup (250 ml) grapefruit juice
2 cup (500 ml) water
4 sprigs rosemary
1 bottle (750 ml) gin
1 L sprakling lemonade/grapefruit juice
1 L sparkling water
ice, to serve
1 grapefruit, sliced
1 cucumber, cut into ribbons + roughly chopped
handful fresh rosemary sprigs
- Heat the sugar, juice, water and rosemary in a saucepot over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolved. Turn up the heat to high and boil for 5 minutes or until syrupy. Set aside to cool.
- Pour the grapefruit syrup and gin into a jug and stir until well combined.
- Just before serving, add the grapefruit juice and sparkling water and stir to combine. Add ice and garnish with grapefruit slices, cucumber and rosemary.
PESTO + RED ONION PULL APART BREAD
Serves | 6-8
Preparation time | 1 ½ hours
1kg store bought whole wheat bread dough
½ cup (125 ml) basil pesto
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp (30 ml) melted butter
- Grease and line a standard bread tin.
- Roll out the dough in a rectangle to a 5mm thickness. Spread the pesto evenly and cut into 6cm squares. Stack the squares on top of each other, layering the onion slices in between. Carefully place the bread into tin and cover with a clean cloth or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to rise for 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Brush with melted butter and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the bread is golden and cooked. Serve warm.
ROMANESCO + SAVOY CABBAGE SALAD WITH ANCHOVY DRESSING
Serves | 6- 8
Preparation time | 20 minutes
Wine pairing | 2015 Creation Sauvignon Blanc Semillon
For the dressing
½ cup (125 ml) olive oil
10 anchovy fillets
1 tsp (5 ml) crushed garlic
1 tbsp (15 ml) honey
2 tsp (10 ml) dijon mustard
¼ cup (60 ml) white wine vinegar
salt + pepper
For the salad
1 head romanesco broccoli, cut into 8 wedges
8 baby savoy cabbages, halved
1 large courgette, ribboned
100g hazelnuts, roasted
150-200g gorgonzola
- For the dressing, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil, anchovy and garlic in a pan and fry over medium heat until fragrant. Add the honey, mustard, vinegar and remaining oil. Stir until combined. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Taste before seasoning with more honey, salt and black pepper.
- For the salad, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Blanche the romanesco until cooked but still green and firm. Refresh in ice water. Repeat with the savoy cabbages.
- To serve, arrange the romanesco, cabbages, courgettes + gorgonzola on a serving plate. Sprinkle hazelnuts over and serve the dressing on the side.
Recipes, Styling + Production | Inemari Rabie
Photography | Linda Fourie Photography
Copy | Skryfyster aka Anna-Bet Stemmet
Location + Wines | Creation Wines
