A summer feast
Inspired by the laid-back coastal charm of Langebaan’s ‘Paradys’, chef Louise Strauss shares what’s on her summer plate, as featured in House and Leisure Volume 15 (Unwind)
a LOOKBOOK Studio production
Photography by Michael Oliver Love Art direction & Styling by Charl Francois Edwards & Storm Ross Food by Louise Strauss Production assistance by Jana Human, Chimwemwe Kalebe & John Marks Shot on location at ‘Paradys’ in Langebaan, designed by Gawie & Gwen Fagan Words by Karen Dudley
For the sauce
(Enough for 2kg mussels)
2 litres white wine
500g butter
Juice of 6 lemons (keep the squeezed-out lemon halves)
2 onions, diced
6 cloves of garlic, cut into round slices
Handful of parsley, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Fry garlic and onions in a little olive oil. Remove half the fried garlic and onions and set aside.
Add wine, butter and the lemon skins to the garlic and onions in the pan and simmer to reduce.
When the sauce is thickened and flavours have intensified, remove the lemon skins and add the other half of the garlic and onions.
Add your mussels and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, while giving them a good stir. Add salt and pepper.
For serving, empty your mussel pot over cooked pasta of your choice. Top with some good olive oil and fresh parsley or chives.
6 ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
3 blood oranges, peeled and segmented
(keep the leftover flesh once segmented, squeeze out all the juice and set it aside)
Zest and juice of 2 lemons (zest first, then juice)
3 sprigs of spring onion, finely chopped
Chopped parsley to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
For the vinaigrette:
1/4 cup good quality olive oil
Lemon juice and orange juice (that you set aside)
2 tsp sumac
Combine all ingredients and pour over the tomato and orange slices before serving.
1 big silver fish, 1kg +
500g butter, clarified
Juice of 5 lemons
2 heads of garlic, cut in half horizontally
4 onions, cut in halves or quarters
Salt and pepper to taste
Bake fish with garlic and onions at 200ºC for more or less 30 minutes.
Just before dishing up, pour over clarified butter and plenty of lemon juice.
4 cooked beetroots
10 mulberries
1/2 red onion, sliced round
3 green chillies, deseeded, finely chopped, and mixed with a little olive oil (keep separate)
Handful of red grapes, cut in half
5 radishes cut into thin round slices
For the vinaigrette:
100ml olive oil
60ml lemon juice
40ml red wine vinegar
40ml honey
Peel cooked beetroot and slice into thin round slices and pack into a big round bowl.
Top with red onions, green chilli, red grapes and radishes.
Lastly, drench with vinaigrette.
