Mother City Magic ~Cape Town

Mother City Magic ~Cape Town
Written and edited by Veronica Clark

Monday 24 June 2013

Allee Bleue ~ Herbing About....

Hello Dear Friends
 
How are you all?
 
Last week I had the pleasure of going on a tour of Allée Bleue's Herb tunnels.
 
Yes, I know.... You had no idea they had any tunnels, let alone heavenly fragrant Herb Tunnels!


 
Well, engage your senses and come along... let me show you....
 
Our guide on this frosty morning was the lovely Lario Moolman, who is the Manager of Herb Production. She briefly explained how the operation and production works.

 
That there below, is Lario's "office"!
 
You can see that it was a moody morning but, we were not deterred by the chill, as there was a promise of lunch and wine!
 
 
 
 
The first tunnel we entered was filled with coriander and as the wonderful delectably distinctive fragrance assailed my senses I was ready to be invited for dinner!
 



Below, you can see that the leaves have been harvested.



 
Each and every parsley plant was akin to a mini forest! Too lovely...I was in pesto mode...



There is always a certain beguiling quality to seeing how the experts do things...
 
I was thinking of my bedraggled herb pots at home and felt quite ashamed of the neglect I have bestowed upon them!
 


Inhale!!!....The mint tunnel was lush and it was a long shot in the freezing weather but I would have settled for a Mojito right here in the tunnel!
 
Instead, the sobering thought of my Organic Salad entered my radar and I will share the recipe at the end of this post!
 


 
Allée Bleue offers these unique herb tours followed by a three course inspired menu as you can see from the pamphlet below. For further details click here


 
Now onto lunch....of course, with a strong nod to herbs, it was simply sublime, paired with wines from the estate. The chill was long forgotten when the dessert was presented with a glass of luscious port!


 
When I hear Allee Bleue, I think wine but, I learnt that apart from wine and herbs, there is much more on offer... Olive oil, persimmons, fruit and of course, food glorious food, hospitality and a piece of history!
 


 
I could use that sabre above to declare Wine o' Clock every day when the Noon Gun Fires!!!! Yes, yes, shake your head, if you know me, from twitter, you know the drill!!!
 

 
Images courtesy Allée Bleue
 
 
You can read all about Allée Bleue here
 
Now, as I promised I will share a recipe filled with fragrant fresh herbs. It is an Organic Salad and I was given the recipe by the lovely Ingrid du Toit from the amazing restaurant Greengate in Stellenbosch. Their lunch time harvest table is just the best ever!
 
 Please click here for the recipe for Short Grain Brown Rice, Lentil and Pea Salad!




Thank you for your company!

Live the Cape Town Vibe!

Cape Love

Veronica

xxx

You may leave your oohs and aahs below in the comment box... I am all ears!

PS: Apart from where indicated all images are my own
 
 
 

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3 comments:

  1. Interesting post, best regard from Belgium

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  2. i first saw Allée Bleue when looking for a wedding venue last year and have to say its an absolute gem. Ive been living in Cape Town all my life yet never really seen much places Allee Bleue is one im luck i saw.

    interesting post friend

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  3. I enjoyed reading this post and I did make note of the wonderful recipe. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete