Super pasta and panini

SUPER PASTA

I thought the venerable institution Super Sconto was well above the radar as the place to find excellent Italian food without high prices or posers getting in the way.

Then this week I stumbled across two fine-food lovers who'd never been there and decided it might need a mention after all: one of the city's oldest food stores, there's nothing else quite like it in this country.

First, gather your goods from the unembellished supermarket section on the ground floor (olive oil, anchovies and artichokes, plus Italian shaving cream and toothpaste) then go upstairs and scoff. Ambience is not what you're here for (though I quite love the departure-lounge-in-Lisbon-airport vibe).

The menu is micro-sized, with a handful of pasta offerings (sometimes less) per day.

But who wouldn't rather choose from three good dishes than 50 indifferent items?

If you're eating on the run, there are perfect panini, which are filled with anything from San Daniele prosciutto to robiola and grilled eggplant.

Just go: 169 Louis Botha Avenue, Orange Grove; 011-728-2669.

CAPRESE SALAD UNWRAPPED

Like creme brulee and Caesar salad, here's another simple dish regularly massacred in the hands of most local eateries.

I'm all for intelligent riffs on old favourites, but that's quite a different matter from using loads of ingredients just to make up for all of them being mediocre.

After the frankly bizarre Caprese I was served last night - cold chalky mozzarella, mushy yet under-ripe tomatoes, pesto, avocado, calamata olives and peppadews - I think it's safest to stick to eating this at home.

What do you need? Not much. Start with good mozzarella of a creamy soft stretchy tenderness.

Buffalo is nirvana, of course, but good fior de latte isn't shabby.

Next, ripe good tomatoes which have never seen the fridge, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil, flake salt and black pepper.

NOTHING ELSE. Assemble and dress just before serving, making sure the cheese has reached room temperature.

COOKING THE BOOKS

Everyone who cooks needs this book. In Relish, her third cookbook, well-known local chef Sonia Cabano offers up 280 recipes for all the bits and pieces that are in many ways the invisible backbone of many cookbooks.

Relishes, dressings, marinades and mayonnaises, plus sauces are included.

The recipes are crystal clear and there are no shortcuts.

Published by Struik, 2011, R220.