Welcome to Lesson 2 of our monthly ‘menu deconstruction’.  As a note to self, keep an eye on these posts - in a month or two we’ll be testing your knowledge in the form of an exciting competition!

Read Lesson 1 now.   

Today’s Lesson in Food Terminology:

RAGOUT [pronounced ra-goo] – a richly seasoned stew of meat or poultry and vegetables.

CHOWDER – a thick soup or stew made of clams, fish or vegetables with potatoes, onion and other ingredients and seasoning.

PANCETTA [pronounced pan-chet-uh] – a lightly spiced and cured bacon from Italy.

CARPACCIO [pronounced kahr-pah-choh or kahr-pah-chee-oh] – an appetizer of thinly sliced raw beef served with a vinaigrette or other piquant (tart or sharp) sauce.

CHERMOULA [pronounced cher-moo-la] – a marinade used in Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian cooking.  Used to flavour fish/seafood and can be used on other meats or vegetables. Chermoula is a mixture of herbs, oil, lemon juice, pickled lemons, garlic, cumin and salt – may also include onion and fresh coriander, ground chilli peppers, black pepper or saffron.

CIABATTA [pronounced chee-a-baa-ta] – type of open textured bread made with olive oil.

SOUS VIDE [pronounced soo-veed] – technique of cooking ingredients in a vacuum-sealed plastic pouch usually for a long time at a low temperature.

TAGLIATELLE [pronounced tahl-yuh-tel-ee or tah-lyah-tel-e] – egg noodles cut in long flat pieces.

RISOTTO [pronounced ri-sot-oh] – an Italian dish of rice cooked in broth and flavoured with grated cheese and other ingredients.

STREUSEL [pronounced strew-sil] – a topping/sprinkle consisting of crumbs of blended sugar, cinnamon, flour, butter and chopped nuts.

PANNA COTTA [pronounced pahn-nah-koh-tah] – Italian for cooked cream. Panna cotta is a light silky egg custard often flavoured with caramel. Served cold, typically with fruit or chocolate sauce.

Now that we’ve demystified our menu and titillated your taste buds, why not book a table at Signal Restaurant where you can choose from the regular menu, pure Vegan Tasting menu or the a la carte menu.  Our Executive Chef, Malika van Reenen, uses only the freshest ingredients to create dishes that reflect our Cape heritage, so don’t miss out. To book, call us on +27 21 410 7080 or email us on signal@capegrace.com.

Look out for our Lesson 3 in September!