Elemental cuisine

PHOTOS: Russel Wasserfall | PRODUCTION & WORDS: Jaques Erasmus

We are what we eat, but what does the food of tomorrow look and taste like? Jacques Erasmus, co-owner of Manna Epicure, reveals six food concepts that use a legacy of basic elements to determine our future identity.

Water of life

Liquid Agenda

When we speak of kindness and beauty to the water we drink, the water becomes our kindness and takes on the crystal structure of our intent. Decorate your water jars with words of inspiration, beauty and adornment, and taste the difference.

Earth

Shaved vegetables with baked herb goats’ cheese

Peel and shave 2 carrots, 2 beetroots and 1 daikon (Oriental) radish. Place the vegetable shavings in cold water to make them curl. Drain and add 100g shaved fresh porcini mushrooms, or any other mushroom shavings. Dress 6 vegetable-ash goats’ cheeses or crottins with extra-virgin olive oil and 60ml fresh herbs, chopped. Warm the goats’ cheeses on a baking tray in a preheated oven for 4-5 minutes (180°C). Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over the vegetables and season with Maldon salt. Garnish the dish with alfalfa sprouts and serve with crusty bread.

SERVES 6

Folk

Roasted sweet potato with buttermilk, gold leaf and honeycomb

Drizzle a little olive oil over 6 medium sweet potatoes before arranging them in a roasting pan. Add enough water to just cover the base of the pan. Roast the sweet potatoes in a preheated oven for 25-30 minutes (190°C). Drizzle honey over the cooked sweet potatoes and then carefully place the gold leaf on top. Serve warm with buttermilk and honeycomb.

SERVES 6

Wellness

Miso and vegetable broth

Heat 1,2 litres of water with 50ml red miso paste, 50ml fish sauce and 3cm fresh ginger, thinly sliced. Add 50ml dried fish flakes and 1 stem of chopped lemon grass. Remove from the heat and allow the sediment to settle at the bottom. Carefully pour off the clear liquid on top, or pour it through a muslin cloth, to create a clear broth. Add young seasonal vegetables, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and oriental mushrooms. Add fresh shredded wheatgrass just before serving.

SERVES 6

Harvest

Whole-apple tart tatin

Arrange 10 to 12 small peeled ‘Red Gala’ apples upside down in a deep, well-buttered ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with 250g white sugar, mixed with 1 scraped vanilla pod and a pinch of sea salt. Roll out 400g of puff pastry and place the apples on top, pressing them down lightly. Bake the tart in a preheated oven (200°C) for 25-30 minutes or until the pastry is golden-brown and crisp. Turn upside down and serve warm with lashings of crème fraîche marbled with berry preserve.

SERVES 6

Integrity

Home-made butter

Place 600ml fresh cream and 250ml ice cubes into a mixer and churn on medium speed. Add 10ml Maldon sea salt and 10ml rosemary or thyme, chopped. Churn until the cream starts to separate into butter and whey. Spoon the butter into a muslin cloth and gently squeeze out the excess whey. Allow the butter to set in the fridge for 1½-2 hours. Serve with slow-roasted seasonal fruit and crusty bread.

SERVES 12