Pizza Vesuvio

This family run restaurant was discovered by my brother who works nearby Pizza Vesuvio. Beautifully decked out with mismatched chairs, blackboard menus and an open kitchen you really do feel like you in a family home.

The pizza's are quite pricey, the same level as Colcacchio's at over R100 there are however other items on the menu and really great lunch specials of pasta and beer combo's.

So at a place called Pizza Vesuvio I had to try the pizza, bear in mind my brother and I don't eat much cheese, these pizza's still look amazing and all were of very high quality, good ingredients and speedy service.

This one is a classic Italian choice, we added fresh avocado with olives and anchovies, one of my favorites it really cures any salt craving which I need after all this triathlon training.

This restaurant has really managed to to make a version of pizza base closest to the pizza I ate in Italy, light thin base, few toppings but still gooey and addictive texture. Above is buffalo mozzarella with parma ham and rocket.

Pictured above is parma ham, avocado and rocket, making my mouth water just writing this post, I must make my next booking at this restaurant soon, go at lunch time and relax to the Italian music playing in the background, smell of pizza in the air and friendly family style service.

Pizza Vesuvio

Waterfront road , Tygerwaterfront

021-9141414

Pictures and article copyright by Tamsyn Wells

Carne SA

Carne SA , owned by Giorgio Nava who also owns 95 on Kerom, The Mozarella Bar and Cafe Milano and has just recently won the best Pasta dish in the World Championships,  has just become my favorite place to eat steak,  as the name suggests Carne is Italian for Meat and that's what you will find here in well aged abundance.

The restaurant itself is very "cool" slick, New York Italian style, set almost underground in a basement or cellar with concrete walls and minimalist furniture you feel like you have entered another world or almost secret society.

Surrounded by Carne from the minute you walk through the door and see the cuts hanging in the refrigerator to the massive platter of all the choices on offer, brought to your table where the expertly trained waiter explains how the meats are cooked and the sauces which accompany. You will be spoilt for choice or do as I do... plan another visit to try the other unusual cuts like Hanger steak and their new cut, Flat Iron steak, some are made to share and some are charged by weight.

We decided to have the La Fiorentina which is basically a really large T-Bone steak, aged for 24 months, cooked on the bone imparting large amounts of flavour then served carved, it comes with two side dishes of your choice, chips, broccoli, spinach or salad.

Perfectly cooked this was possibly the best beef we have eaten in Cape Town to date, simply done as only the Italians can, seasoned with salt and pepper, three mustards on the side, stylishly plated on black slate plates, I have to say it was delicious.

There are a few dishes for the vegetarians, I had the Polenta Gnocchi to start, drenched in Gorgonzola Cream which was really tasty and I have been for drinks and snacks where we were served Bresaola topped with Parmesan and olive oil and the most moreish breadsticks wrapped in Proscuitto, just writing this review makes me want to go back for my next fix of Carne done Italian style of course. Having recently won #Beststeakhouse on EAT  out you cant go wrong.

Fiorentina was R350 with 2 sides and feeds two comfortably.

Carne Sa

70 Keerom Street

Cape Town

021 424 3460

Pictures and Article Copyright by Tamsyn Wells

Italian Favorites

My brother has been asking me to teach him how to make Pasta for ages now, our schedules just have not allowed for us to get together for a pasta day... we ended up having beers on the beach instead, I am not complaining. We going into season in the kitchen now  so when I am finished a long shift Italian is always my turn to meal for something quick and delicious. So I started working on some recipes to teach my brother so long and here they are.

Home Made Gnocchi with Basil Pesto

There are recipes that use egg and some recipes don't it's because in Veneto they use egg and in Piedmont they don't so it really depends who wrote the recipe but both ways work, I used egg this time.

serves 4
1kg potatoes
2 large eggs
350g flour ( approx, oo flour may be used)
1/2 tsp salt
100ml basil pesto ( I used pesto princess)
30 ml extra virgin olive oil
100ml grated parmesan

Bake the potatoes on 180° c for an hour or until cooked through, baking is better as the potato is dryer.
Scoop the potato from the skin and mash then push through a sieve twice, working quickly so the potato stays hot.

In a bowl, add the egg and salt to taste. The flour is also added by eye but as little as possible must be added, kneading very lightly and quickly to bring the dough together.

Roll into long thin sausages and cut depending how large you want your gnocchi to be as picture above.

Using the back of a fork, roll the gnocchi over the fork creating lines along the one side to help the sauce stick.

Meanwhile bring some salted water to the boil.

When you have shaped all your gnocchi, place gently in the simmering water, when they rise to the top they are ready, remove with a slotted spoon and enjoy.

Toss with any sauce, I used pesto and olive oil.

They may also be fried with sage butter and parmesan.

Broccoli, chilli and anchovy Orecchiette

This is so salty, tasty and addictive from the anchovies, even if you are not a fan you will love this pasta, its fresh and quick to make unless you shape your own Orecchiette which is a pasta from Puglia, the word means small ears, I used the De Cecco brand but will show you in a future post how to shape it.

serves 2

1/2 pk De Cecco Orecchiette
1/2 head broccoli, broken into florets
10ml olive oil blend for frying
1 chilli ,chopped
10 anchovy fillets, chopped
1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
squeeze of lemon
parmesan

Bring a pot of water to the boil, blanch the broccoli for 2 minutes, remove from the water and refresh in ice water to keep the colour a vivid green.

Boil the pasta in the same water as per packet directions but add salt to the water.

Strain the water and pasta. In the same pot, add the oil blend and fry the chillies, anchovies and garlic. When the garlic is cooked add the broccoli and the pasta. Season and drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive oil and a squeeze of lemon, serve with grated parmesan.

Recipes and pictures Copyright by Tamsyn Wells

Goloso

Recently I was invited to a farewell dinner at a great restaurant in Sea Point, Cape Town called Goloso which my partner in crime for the evening told me it means "greedy" in Italian. Having visited Italy a few times on holiday, their food is really close to my heart and I myself have adopted their "basic" style of cooking only highlighting one or two main ingredients in each dish, unfussy but delicious.

We were a table of twelve for the evening and our table filled the entire restaurant, it's tiny but so wonderful to have the whole place to ourselves, the chef prepared us a 10 course meal for the evening but as usual I was so absorbed in the sampling process that I forgot to take pictures but as my friend suggested I will just have to go again to get more pictures for my blog followers.

So the evening begun on a great note right from the time you walk into Goloso and you are hit with the aroma of garlic, wine and herbs making your mouth water in minutes. The menu started with bread, great company and plenty flowing red wine. The first course consisted of Authentic Italian bruschetta's with three different toppings, pesto, smoked salmon and the most popular one diced tomato. Second course was an antipasti plate of pickled vegetables, sundried tomatoes, goat cheese, bocconcini cheese and artichokes, third course a caprese salad of tomato and buffalo mozzarella, fourth course a fresh tuna salad with Cannellini beans, fifth course was a norwegian salmon tartare with fresh red onion, lemon and herbs, sixth course a chickpea salad, seventh course a delectable mushroom and truffle oil penne pasta, eighth course a perfect tagliatelle putannesca, just spicy, salty enough to want more and more, ninth course was chicken marsala and the grande finale a light tiramisu and coffee. Italian food heaven, I want more just thinking about it.

So I forgot to mention that most people in the party were pescatarians so the chef / owner made only 1 meat dish this evening we were there but i'm sure the menu varies to what is in season on the day you book, the restaurant is not always only 1 big table but generally a few smaller tables where you order off the menu, they are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The meal came to R250 per person with wine and a tip, well worth it.
You can find them on:
tel: 076 906 8588
90 Regent road, Sea point Cape Town

Pictures and article copyright by Tamsyn Wells