Margaret, Ty’s wonderful aunt, had thousands of RCI timeshare points that were going to expire by the end of last year and challenged us to find holiday accommodation for ourselves. We happily took that amazing challenge and sat determined to find the perfect getaway spot close to home. We ended up booking at Kagga Kamma, a gorgeous lodge in Swartruggens Nature Reserve about 250k from Cape Town, for a week in June to celebrate the end of the semester.
From our large chalet (it just sounds so fancy and posh!), you could see rock formations, boulders, desert shrubs, and sand, as far as the eye could see. And for allegedly being the most arid place in South Africa, it sure rained a lot! It was also very chilly and the electricity turned off at 11PM, so it was the perfect occasion for a continual fire, although the wood was so wet due to the rain, that we spent a large majority of the time fanning, blowing, and pouring copious amounts of cooking oil on the wood, begging it to catch. Nonetheless, we spent the entire week eating like gods, lounging around, watching all of the movies and series that we had, playing on the boulders, and faking work.
We invited our friends up for the weekend and our plan was to have a seafood braai feast the night that everyone arrived. However, unfortunately, due to the stormy weather in Cape Town the week before, all the fishies were scared away, but luckily Julie, my awesome fish monger, organized some frozen prawns, calamari, and salmon for me. So, on the Friday that we arrived, I made absolutely divine seafood pasta for my lovely guests, inspired by the Pioneer Woman.
seafood pasta (serves 8)
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 2 tbl butter
- 1 chopped onion
- 1 heaped tsp chopped garlic
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup white wine
- 300g chopped cherry tomatoes
- 1 250g can chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried basil (or a small handful of freshly chopped basil)
For the seafood
- 500g salmon cut into bitesized cubes
- 500g calamari tubes and tentacles
- approximately 40 prawns deheaded and deveined
- 2 tbs butter
- 1 tsp garlic
- 1-2 chopped fresh chillis
- juice of 1 lemon
- salt and pepper
- 500g pasta
Directions
- In a large deep pan, saute the onions and garlic in butter
- add the tomatoes, wine, cream, basil, a dash of salt and pepper, and stir
- bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat, and let simmer for 30 minutes until thickened
- about 15 minutes into cooking the sauce, cook the pasta
- in another pan, saute the garlic and chili in butter, add the salmon and half the lemon juice, and let cook for a few minutes
- toss in the calamari and prawns, add the rest of the lemon juice, and add a dash of salt and pepper
- in a few minutes, when the prawns are just beginning to turn pink, remove the seafood from the pan
- add the seafood to the sauce and let simmer for another minute or so until the seafood is fully cooked (but be very careful not to overcook the seafood!)
- toss the pasta into the sauce and serve with warm, fresh bread
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