open for business

Yesterday was all about lunch.
Marie drove us an hour and a half north of Cape Town to Paternoster, once a fishing village, now popular as a beach town for upscale vacation homes. Paternoster is the home of Oep ve Koep, which is dialect Afrikaans for "open for business". The chef, Kobus van der Merwe, is creative, personable, and oh-so-gifted. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The drive to Paternoster takes you through an arid landscape.



The appetizers were 1) watermelon, pickled onion, and basil salad with a watermelon and tabasco granita, cucumber sorbet, and borage flowers; 2) a fig and bread salad, and 3) chicken liver with preserved grapefruit, fleur de sel, and arugula. The flavors were fresh, strong, and well balanced; each one a winner.


We shared angelfish pan fried with cape gooseberry (Physalis), tamarind, roasted tomato, capers, and nasturtium. I'd never had angelfish before. It has the texture of swordfish, but a more buttery taste. Loved it.

The final main course was a potato-stuffed dumpling served with dune spinach, mushrooms, pine nuts, and a compound pea butter. Another delicious dish.

On the way home we detoured to Big Bay to see the para-sailers. Incredible! They dipped and flipped in front of Robben Island.



To the south, Table Mountain was draped in its tablecloth as we headed home.

3 Comments:
Sounds delicious and looks lovely!
Every description is wonderful. The dishes at Paternoster looked and sounded spectacular and I'm glad you gave yourselves permission to try each one. It must have been a memorable day that most of us would never see...or taste.
South Africa is like no other place we've ever been and I'm so glad you've had the experience. Who knows what's next! See you in two weeks. Lots of love, Mum
Cruel, cruel woman. I am in deep gastronomic envy. Hell, lust.
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