The Foodbarn Restaurant - Loving Food and Life in Noordhoek

Food: Fine dining, French inspired with some Asian twists.
Wine: Selection not excessive but right (all budgets).
Service: Outstanding, knowledgeable and friendly.
Ambiance: Relaxed country chic style, food barn setting.
In a Nutshell: Enjoy an unpretentious fine dining experience where food tastes fresh and is approached with creativity, care and a bit of dare. Don't miss: Tuna Sashimi, Nitida Wine, the Deli.
Where: Noordhoek Farm Village. Corner Village Lane and Noordhoek Main Road. Noordhoek, Western Cape.
Tel: 021 789 1390

Email: info@thefoodbarn.co.za 

Website: www.thefoodbarn.co.za

Looking to plan something to do during our trip in Cape Town that we hadn't done in our previous visits, we were determined to take a stroll down Chapman's Peak Drive. I figured it would be nice to arrive in Noordhoek right around lunch time and looked for the best place to eat in that area. Almost immediately The Foodbarn popped up about everywhere and I was making a booking in no time. We arrived to find a very country chic styled restaurant where we were warmly welcomed. I had read about the Nitida Menu Winter Special on the website which were 3 to 5 course menus with Nitida wine tasting included. We opted for the 3-course menu option and our adventure began...

Prawns in Lemongrass and Honey sauce - MexicAsian Fajitas

Signature dish by iSa

Type: Main

Prep Time: 30 - 40 mins

Cooking Time: 10 mins

Servings: 7-8 Portions (depending on portion size)

Ingredients:

• 2.5 kg of prawns peeled seasoned with a bit of sea salt
• 2 Lemongrass Stalks finely chopped (preferably crushed in a mortar)
• 1 big fat Ginger root, peeled and grated or finely chopped
• 50 - 70 gr Honey
• 5 big fresh Garlic cloves finely chopped
• 2 Lemons
• Vegetable Oil
• 2 shots of Tequila
• Red Kidney Beans
• Sour Cream
• Cheddar
• Jalapeños
• 16-20 Tortillas
• Hot Mexican Salsa or Salsa Chipotle
• 1 bowl (250 -300 gr) of Guacamole
• 1 Bowl (200 gr) of Pico de Gallo

Thai Carrot Mango Soup

Reader's Recipes
Recipe by Ben and Siri

Ingredients:

• 750g carrots 
• 40g ginger 
• 1 normal can coconut milk 
• 1 mango 
• 1 red chilli 
• 3 tablespoons oil 
• salt 
• 1 lime 
• 1/2 bundle chives 
• 1 bundle spring onions 
• 3/4 liter vegetable broth 

Everything is 'to taste' because it depends on how hot the chilli is, etc etc
Chop the onion, ginger and carrot. Brown in oil. Add vegetable oil and let everything cook for 8-10 minutes. Take out half of the carrots and put the rest to puree. Add the carrots and the coconut milk. Cut up and add pieces of mango. Cut up and add spring onions and chilli. Season with limejuice and salt. Sprinkle with chives.

Ben and Siri

Crispy Pork Belly Roast - EuropAsian style

Lazy Lunches by iSa

Type: Pork Mains

Prep Time: 20 min

Cooking Time: 2 Hours

Servings: 3 - 4 Portions (depending on portion size)

Ingredients:

• 1 kg Pork Belly (one piece)
• 3 tsp Five spice
• 2 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Hot English mustard
• 5 tbsp brown/treacle sugar
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• Juice of 1 Orange
• 9 Cloves
• Rosemary Sprigs
• 1/2 onion
• 4 Garlic cloves
• Salt 
• Pepper
• Olive Oil
• 1 Cider
• Sauerkraut
• Veggies of choice: Corn and Sweet Peas
• Potato wedges or mashed potatoes
• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

How to make a mysterious Pork Belly Marinade: Start by pre-heating the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees celsius). Now, start getting your hands dirty by rubbing the skin side with the bicarbonate of soda, let it stand for about 2 minutes and then rinse it thoroughly. Place the meat cut on an oven tray (meat side down) and cut the skin on the top in diamond or cube shapes. Make sure you don't cut too deep, just enough to score the skin, not only will it look pretty, but it will allow the fat to cook down and the skin to turn crispy. Rub in throughout the meat the salt, pepper, five spice, cayenne pepper, paprika, mustard, soy sauce and sugar. Bathe the meat, trying to keep the skin dry, with the lemon and orange juices, followed by the cider while allowing all the liquids to flow into the oven tray. Chop the garlic and onion roughly and add to the oven tray juices. Next, place the meat in the tray, skin side up again, and stick the aromatic cloves and rosemary sprigs spread out in the incisions, rub the skin with a bit of salt and then pour some olive oil on top of the skin and through the cuts.

Stick it into the oven and let it cook away for approximately 2 hours, checking on it from time to time to make sure the skin doesn't burn and the juices don't dry or burn.

How to get the crackling right: Apart from the bicarbonate trick, keeping the skin dry from marinade and seasoning it with salt and olive oil, try to keep the skin dry form liquids and rather sprinkle it from time to time with a bit more olive oil. If towards the end of the 2 cooking hours the skin is not crispy, then take it out and let it rest outside the juices, while allowing these to keep reducing in the oven. Place a non-stick pan and some oil on the stove on low to medium heat and place the meat on top, skin side down. Be careful! the juices from the meat might roll down to the pan, causing the oil to burst out of the pan and getting you hurt. Please remember you only need to do this for a little while, and inly in the event that the skin doesn't get crispy. I made the mistake to bathe the entire piece of meat (skin included) and I take it that's why my skin didn't crispy up, so now I've included here the method to get crispy chicharrones, from a Colombian recipe to this one, it should work beautifully.

Serve with Hot english mustard and Sauerkraut on the side, as well as Potato wedges or mash. Veggies is a good inclusion as they help you keep it balanced and clean the palate between bites. I chose Corn on the cob, but would also taste very nice with grained corn and Sweet peas, simply boiled.

Enjoy!!

Love, iSa

Beef and Beetroot Carpaccio with Wasabi Guacamole dip

Signature Dish by iSa
Type: Mexic-asian

Prep Time: 30 min
Cooking Time: None
Servings: 4

Ingredients: 

• 400 gr Beef fillet cut in very thin slices 
• 1/2 avocado 
• 2 lemons 
• Wasabi paste
• Soy Sauce (sushi quality)
• Cooked Beetroot sliced thinly or cut in thin julienne or thick squares
• Salt, freshly ground pepper and olive oil to taste
• Onion Sprouts and Coriander leaves to garnish and compliment flavors

 Yes, this is not your typical carpaccio, and I have indeed never paired the raw meat slices with the typical seasonings, but the dairing mix came out of rare dishes experienced and a need to propose something unique for a special dinner party. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

 The most important thing in this dish is the meat, so make sure you get the best one you can get your hands on, specially from a source that you consider clean and reliable, as you'll be eating it raw. So go to the finest butcher and ask for Beef Fillet cut in thin slices for carpaccio (if he's really a fine butcher, he'll know for sure what you're talking about). What you're aiming for is a very clean piece of fillet (very nicely trimmed of all fat), cut very thinly (yet thick enough so you can still handle the meat without it falling apart in your hands while plating). Please request that they place plastic or wax paper in between each slice, otherwise the pieces will be difficult to separate and you'll end up deeming more than half of it not suitable for carpaccio use. As I was saying, this is the most important part and from there the rest just becomes a piece of cake.

Before serving put the plates you're going to use in the freezer to keep the meat fresh and cool for as long as possible. Prepare everything before you actually start plating:

1. Wasabi Guacamole: 50% guacamole + 50% wasabi. Guacamole = Ripe avocado crashed with fork and mixed with lemon juice + Salt.
2. Beetroot: If you're and Ace with the knife you can probably try and cut it thinly, otherwise, don't make a fool of yourself and cut it in nice chunky squares or in thin stripes (julienne), like I did.
3. Onion Sprouts & Coriander: Should come clean and ready for use, if they're not, make sure they're clean and keep them at hand for use.

OK, So it's time to plate! Bring out the plates from the freezer, place some nice slices of raw beef fillet onto the plate avoiding the edges (at least 1 cm), but trying to cover the rest of the area (no white spaces in between). Use your creativity to position the beetroot on top of the meat as best you can and then sprinkle the whole thing with Olive Oil and Freshly ground pepper. Use your favorite container to place some of the wasabi Guacamole and the soy sauce on top (for dipping) and garnish as you wish with the Onion Sprouts and Coriander leaves. Bear in mind everything is eatable! so try to keep an ideal balance between the garnishes and the main attraction: the meat.

To eat, grab a bit of everything with a fork or chopsticks and dip into the soy sauce and then the Wasabi Guacamole. Pour down with a nice Shiraz or Pinot Noir and Enjoy!!!!!!! :)

Same exact recipe can apply to Salmon, haven't tried it, but if you do, please let me know how it went!

Love, iSa