The West coast of Southern Africa has an amazing array of indigenous flora and fauna. One of my favourite places to go and visit is Paternoster where the talented chef Kobus Van der Merwe has his highly acclaimed restaurant ‘oep ve koep’. Driving past, one can very easily mistake this local gem for just a convenience store, once inside that’s when you really see there certainly is more to it than meets the eye. One of the dishes I had the last time I was there, was a beautiful mussel dish with smoked Angelfish and a umami rich broth I simply had to drink straight from the bowl. Chef Kobus has a book called ‘Strandveldfood’ that epitomizes the West coast for its lush and laid back feel. He focuses on fynbos foraging and in doing so responsibly and with thought. He utilizes the knowledge he has gained from a few sources including renowned fynbos expert Rupert Koopman,everyday he forages locally for the restaurant and uses only what he needs for that day.
As an ode to one of my favourite places to regroup and gather my thoughts, I recreated one of the recipes from the book minus the smoked angelfish. The photos were taken late afternoon. The photos of the West coast were taken in St Helena Bay and the first one was taken a few weeks back in Jacobsbaai.
Off Beet Blog 