What makes food so sensual, and meals often integral to romance? This is a question asked by Diane Ackerman in her wonderful book A Natural History of the Senses (Vintage Books), which I came across while writing my novel Love Apples. The answer, she says, is that, whereas humans can enjoy the other senses in solitude, they seldom choose to dine alone because taste has such a “powerful social component”. She points out that in certain traditional African cultures “exchanging food makes a contract between two people, who then have a clanship of porridge”. And so it is in dating. We might meet over a drink in a bar, flirt on the dance floor, but a relationship is cemented over a meal, at which we bring so much more to the table than food – our own tastes, our background, our conversation, our appreciation of sensory pleasures.
Ackerman also points out that from the moment we’re born, the association between love and food is created when our mother feeds us milk. In my case, the association continued through my upbringing since my mum is a brilliant cook, who has always expressed her love through food. I thus absorbed her passion for cooking as if by osmosis in her kitchen, and later found myself applying the same passion to my own cooking and finally to the page, when I became a food columnist for South Africa’s Marie Clairemagazine.
So it was perhaps inevitable that food would also finally make its way into my debut novel. Although I didn’t set out to write a book with a strong foodie bent, somehow scenes began to play out in markets, in the kitchen, and over seductive meals, including one significant Mauritian meal of prawn rougaille, a spicy island dish that proves to be a catalyst for seduction in the novel. This, my protagonist learns, may not be entirely due to the ‘dishy-ness’ of her date, but also to a key component on the plate, namely pommes d’amour or love apples, as tomatoes are known on the island. This name was given to tomatoes by the French, who ruled Mauritius in the 18th century, when they believed tomatoes to have aphrodisiacal powers as a result of their being part of the mandrake family, which, in the Bible, is used by Leah as a love potion.
Since the name lives on to this day, perhaps there’s something in the belief, and you may like to cook up a prawn rougaille for your Valentine. Apart from containing pommes d’amour, this mild Mauritian curry is also the colour of love and is quick and easy to prepare, leaving plenty of time for romance. Bon appetit and Happy Valentine’s Day!
Recipe for Prawn Rougaille
Serves 4–6.
1 1/2 kilograms queen prawns (or 8 per person), peeled and cleaned with tails intact
1 1/2 kilograms ripe vine tomatoes (pommes d’amour)
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 bunch coriander, leaves stripped off stems, plus 1 tablespoon stems, chopped
2 red or green chillies, deseeded and chopped
2 tablespoons grated ginger
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 sprigs thyme
12 fresh curry leaves
a pinch cayenne pepper
salt to taste
a pinch turmeric for dusting
To serve:
chopped coriander
basmati rice
coconut chutney
Place the tomatoes in a bowl, and cover them with boiling water for 1 minute. Then immediately immerse in cold water. Peel them, cut them in half, and remove the seeds. Chop coarsely. Next, pound garlic with sea salt using a pestle and mortar (the sea salt dissolves the garlic). Add the coriander stems, chillies, and ginger, and pound to a paste.
Pour 3 tablespoons of the olive oil into a thick-bottomed pan, and heat slowly. Add the onion. Cook, stirring, until softened and golden (about 5 minutes). Add the chilli-ginger paste, along with the ground cumin and turmeric, and stir over heat for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, curry leaves, cayenne pepper, and salt to the pan.
Cook over moderate heat, stirring from time to time until the juice from the tomatoes has evaporated (10 minutes or more, depending on how juicy the tomatoes are). Add half the finely chopped fresh coriander, check seasoning, and set aside.
Season the prawns with sea salt, and sprinkle with a little powdered turmeric. Heat the remaining olive oil in a very hot pan. Add the prawns. Cook without stirring for about two minutes on one side, and then turn over and cook for another two on the other side. Immediately incorporate the prawns into the heated rougaille sauce, but don’t allow to cook further. Sprinkle with chopped fresh coriander. Serve with basmati rice and fresh coconut chutney.
Coconut chutney
This fresh chutney offers a sweet-and-sour contrast to the curry and adds a dash more heat, which hits the palate like a surprising afterthought.
150 grams desiccated coconut, or the flesh of 1 fresh coconut, grated
2 bunches (around 2 cups) mint leaves, stripped from stems
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4–5 fresh green chillies (with seeds), chopped
2 tablespoons tamarind paste, without seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
To serve:
Mint, shredded (optional)
If using desiccated coconut, place it in a heatproof bowl, pour over 250 millilitres boiling water, and leave for 10 minutes (use fresh grated coconut as is).
In a food processor, blend the garlic, chillies, mint, and tamarind paste together. Add the coconut and salt, and blend for a couple of minutes. Add water a tablespoon at a time to achieve a fine, wet paste. Add more salt to taste. Place in a serving dish and chill for at least 1 hour. Sprinkle over shredded mint before serving.
This is best on the same day, but it can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Cook’s note:
The tamarind paste makes this a not entirely attractive brown colour, but the zingy taste is what it’s all about. A sprinkling of shredded mint pretties things up.
- Both recipes are from Love Apples
