Back Garden Date Night

It’s no secret that Colin and I love food. When we first started seeing each other, he wooed me with his culinary skills…night after night of being spoiled with gorgeous dinners and his impressive knowledge of fine wines had me smitten!

He loves to cook, and me, well, I love to eat. We’re a perfect match!

It’s rarely just a case of filling our bellies though. We love the ritual of food and dining together, or with our family and friends. That moment you light a candle, pull the cork on a really brilliant bottle of wine, and gather around the table. It’s our favorite way to celebrate any occasion…even if it’s just the start of the weekend or the end of a long day.

I feel very honored to be working with Babylonstoren this summer. A world famous Cape Dutch Farm in the Drakenstein Valley of South Africa. Their farm is one of the largest and oldest in the region, boasting a Luxury Hotel, Spa, Heritage Garden, Farm to Table Restaurants and Winery.

Although I’ve never visited this amazing place…I’m inspired by their ethos, the photographs I’ve seen of the farm and their beautiful wines and produce. Now we can have a little part of that Babylonstoren magic here in the U.K too, with the launch of their online store – stocking specialty teas, signature table linens (that lemon apron though!) and of course…their delicious wine selection.

The wine of the summer is their beautiful Mourvèdre Rosé 2018. An elegant dry wine of a sophisticated salmon colour and easily the best Rosé I’ve ever tasted. It’s light, with hints of rose petals and a subtle punch of acidity.
This seemingly endless summer weather we’ve been having has meant plenty of opportunity to enjoy an ice cold glass alfresco, either alone, or partnered with food. It really is the perfect summer wine.

Last Friday, after Col finished work for the week and the boys were tucked up in bed, we poured ourselves a glass and headed outside for a Back Garden Date Night. Always determined to make the most of this warm weather, we eat outside whenever we can.

Inspired by the summery freshness of this beautiful wine and the ‘farm to table’ ethos of the Babylonstoren restaurants. We came up with a simple supper menu using some of the seasonal ingredients from our garden and our trusty charcoal BBQ.

We have an abundance of Courgettes in our garden right now. They’re sweet and perfectly ripe, and need very little work at all to be ultra delicious.

Our tomatoes are also just about perfect, a lot earlier than usual due to the heat. So it was these ingredients, along with the wine were the basis of the Menu for our Friday night feast.

While Col got the flames started, I set about making the table pretty. One of my favourite past times.

I love natural linens paired with gold cutlery for a simple, informal table setting. Random jars and bottles filled with garden flowers & herbs and scattered amongst candles and tea lights. It’s almost impossible to have too many flowers or candles…the more the merrier, I think, all different shapes and sizes…instant romance!

STARTER
A rainbow of chopped tomatoes with fresh basil, and olive oil. Served on slices of Griddled Sourdough with a smoked garlic rub.

This is probably one of the easiest dishes to make, and I’ll often make it for lunch, but I never get tired of it. Super fresh and tasty, it’s a crowd pleaser and the perfect starter for a summers evening.

MAIN

Whole Grilled Sea Bream with an Olive Stuffing and Fresh Courgette Salad.

Ingredients (serves two)
2 Whole Sea Bream or Sea Bass (gutted, descaled, fins removed and cleaned – we ask the fishmonger to do this)
Handful of deli Olives (green or black both work)
Handful of deli Sunblush Tomatoes
4 Courgettes (yellows and greens looks really pretty)
2 Lemons
One red chilli
Olive Oil
A Few Salad Leaves (we used Rocket)

Method
Chop olives and sun blush tomatoes to make stuffing
Fill the cavity of the whole fish with the stuffing. Rub olive oil, salt and pepper on the fish and cook on an oiled BBQ rack to prevent it from sticking
While it’s cooking, make the dressing for your Courgette salad.
In a bowl, mix 1 part lemon juice to 4 parts olive oil. Add diced red chilli.
Use a vegetable peeler to cut thin ribbons of courgette and toss them in the lemon and chilli dressing with a few salad leaves.

I love the simplicity of this dish. The skin of the fish is crisp but the flesh is soft and tender and gently flavoured from the stuffing, complimented perfectly by the Mourvèdre Rosé 2018. The courgettes taste incredible straight from the garden like that. It’s light and easy, exactly what you fancy this time of year.
As the sun set around us, the table really came to life, lit by the glow of the candles we opened another ice cold bottle.

I’m usually the one in charge of the puddings, so I’ll do something I can prepare in advance.

DESSERT

Simple Mango and Passion Fruit Meringue.

Whip cream with icing sugar and a pinch of vanilla – sweeten to taste
Pile the whipped cream over a meringue base – either homemade or shop bought (I bought ours)
1 diced mango and 3 Passion fruit and mix together to make your fruity compote.
Poor the fruity mix over the cream and meringue and serve.

Everything tasted so delicious with the Mourvèdre Rosé which really did compliment every course and kept us sipping and chatting until the early hours.