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ELLE BELLE IN THE KITCHEN – LESSON TWO

31 Oct 2012
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Last week, ELLE online editor Jenna McArthur shared her first cooking lesson here at Sense of Taste. This week, she dishes on what went on in the kitchen during her second class.

‘It was a seafood fiesta. I absolutely love seafood, so my partner David and I couldn’t wait to get to this class. The menu included steamed black mussels with apple cider and celery, black tiger prawns, line-fish fillet (with plat num plau (that’s a lemon, chilli, garlic and coriander fish dressing) and calamari served with a lemon beurre blanc sauce and stuffed tomatoes.

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Hake

Tomato's

I thought this meal would be quite easy to prepare. Unfortunately, I was very wrong. Two nights before this class, David and I decided to make battered hake with chips. It was an absolute disaster – an unedible mess. The batter tasted of baking powder and the chips were burnt. We realised we had a lot to learn when it comes to cooking fish. When we got to the class, chef Peter Ayub demonstrated to us how to clean fish and then we gave it a go. There is nothing pleasant about cleaning calamari – it stunk and the mess that comes out of these guys is hardly appetising. Nevertheless, I now know how it’s done. When it comes to seafood, the freshness of the ocean is really what you want to taste and adding hints of lemon, garlic and seasoning only enhances the tastes without over complicating a dish. The steamed black mussels were amazing, and the hake – well let’s just say it tasted nothing at all like my attempt at home.

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Peter encourages us to ask questions and after he has demonstrated to us how to make each dish we are tasked with creating what he has just prepared. The verdict? Fishy but fun. Two classes down and two to go and Sense of Taste delivers on its promise: coming together for the love of food and having fun, fun, fun!

Highlight: I do love eating out and trying different food. Peter starts each class by asking us to share anything that we’ve discovered, tried or experienced since our last class. Peter’s restaurant On A Roll is on my list to try out – it’s a retro and very cool spot in Little Mowbray that plays ’50s ’60s and ’70s tunes and serves gourmet hot dogs.

Regardless of what the theme of each class is, Peter always shares great tips. If you’re a rookie at cooking (like me), you’ll find these tips and information helpful:

  1. Where you find food in a grocery store is where it should be stored at home. For example, eggs are not stored in fridges, so don’t refrigerate them at home.
  2. There’s a reason (apart from convenience) that fresh produce is cut and skinned at stores – 9 out of 10 times it’s rotten and so the bad parts are cut off and resold before you buy it.
  3. Did you know that calamari steaks are the ‘polony’ of the sea? It is processed squid.
  4. Peter talks a lot about where to buy your food. At the end of the course, he will give us a full list of suppliers – the right places to buy seafood, fresh vegetables and fruit, etc.

Watch this space – next week the theme is Italian and hopefully I will fare better this time!

For more on Peter’s Sense of Taste, visit www.senseoftaste.co.za or e-mail debbie@senseoftaste.co.za for more information.

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