Since moving back to Cape Town almost three years ago, I’ve been on a mission to rediscover this beautiful multifaceted place I call home. Over a week ago, I finally paid a visit to the Oranjezicht City Farmers Market situated just outside the V&A Waterfront, to see what all the fuss is about. Upon arrival, I head straight to what I can make out as the fresh produce section, I am immediately taken aback with the gorgeous array of colour and scent. Feeling like Dorothy, the phrase “we’re not in Kansas anymore” crosses my mind. I don’t really buy a lot of fresh produce at major retail stores, beside one of my regular ones that has quite decent fresh produce, but these days it’s really hard to find anything fresh that will last at least a week, not to mention one of the worst droughts our country has experienced in recent years making it the catalyst for many of our food woes.
The photo above, is proof I went overboard at the market, seeing food in technicolour is such a pure experience. There is something so special about the farm to table movement that captivates me, knowing that great care and expertise was taken to nurture and grow this produce without taking too much, but by giving back to the soil, inspires me to honour and pay respect to such great ingredients. Some of the suppliers to the market are all local community farms based in Phillipi, Khayelitsha, Elgin and Nyanga, and of course the Oranjezicht farm itself provides the rest of the produce.
Forget a bouquet of ordinary flowers, for me a lush bouquet of Courgette blossoms will more than suffice! Not knowing this before but there are quite a few things one can do with Courgette flowers, other than stuffing and deep frying like I did, you can roast them with your vegetables, toss them into a quick salad or grill them to get an interesting smokey chargrilled taste. I rinsed the blossoms off with water and removed the stamen inside, to give the stuffing an interesting twist, I toasted ground cumin and coriander and ground it in a pestle and motar to extract the full flavour and pungency of the spices, I then added the Goat’s cheese (you can add Ricotta instead, if you’re not a fan of Goat’s cheese) I drizzled extra virgin olive oil to bring it all together with a spritz of lemon juice and tiny bit of salt. This mixture was used to then stuff the flowers, dipping into egg mixture( just one egg beaten) and then tossed around in a breadcrumb and dessiccated coconut mixture and then deep fried in coconut oil. Coconut oil has so many benefits, I could go on and on about it and it’s many uses, the reason I used coconut oil instead of sunflower oil, is that it has a really high smoking point and of course the taste that coconut oil gives off is rather subtle and light. To plate up I used the left over stuffing as a base and dip, and drizzled a bit of Sriracha over for an extra kick. If like me, you’re not a big fan of the Jalapeño Poppers, then this is the perfect balance between spicy and tangy without being overpoweringly hot.
The market is held every Saturday starting at 09:00 am ending at 14:00 pm, for more information you can visit their website: Oranjezicht Farmers Market
(Some of the information in my post can be found on the above website address)
(Recipe and photos are my own)
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