Author: Karen Claassen

Hi and welcome to my blog! My name is Karen and I love cooking simple, uncomplicated, flavourful food. My cooking is inspired by seasonal ingredients, punchy flavours, an awareness of sustainability and of course by the likes and dislikes of my family and friends that sit around my table as well as you, the virtual guests around my table! I am a chef, recipe developer and food stylist and generate my own content. I am also completely addicted to recipe books, of which I have an extremely large collection but the essence of my food is about celebrating life and all the fabulousness that we can add by creating good food. Thank you for reading my blog. Please keep on giving me feedback and may your kitchen, as mine, be filled with joy and the best tasting food!

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Pizza Rolls

March 3, 2023March 2, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

2 x 400g puff pastry rolls, thawed
400ml tomato sauce for pizza
400g sandwich ham, sliced into squares
200g salami, sliced
200g green olives, halved
a handful of basil leaves
500g mozzarella cheese, grated
egg-wash: 1 egg yolk + 15ml water, whisked together

Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Unroll both the puff pastry rolls and place one horizontally in front of you on a work surface.
Brush a 2cm wide strip at the top of the pastry with water and overlay the other pastry roll so that the two overlap. Press the overlapping sections together.
Spread the tomato sauce over the entire pastry.
Scatter the ham, salami and olives evenly over the tomato sauce.
Arrange the basil leaves across the surface and top the entire pizza with the grated cheese.
Now lift the edge of the pastry closest to you and start rolling it up into a roll. Work lightly as you do not want to tear the pastry.
Slice the roll into 4cm thick slices and then lay the slices flat (cut-side down) on the baking sheet.
Brush the top and sides of the rolls with the egg-wash.
Bake the pizza rolls for 25 minutes until oozy and golden.
Serve immediately.

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Wholewheat Quickbread

March 2, 2023March 1, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

250g wholewheat flour
250g cake flour
5ml bicarbonate of soda
5ml salt
420ml cultured buttermilk
edible food colourant paste if you want to decorate the bread

Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Add the two flours, bicarbonate of soda and salt to a mixing bowl.
Pour in the buttermilk and stir the ingredients until it comes together as a dough.
Flour a work surface and tip the dough on it.
Gently roll and fold the dough to form a ball shape – do not knead!!
Place the shaped bread on the prepared baking sheet and dust off the excess flour with a pastry brush.
If you would like to paint on the bread, now is the time. I used a paste colourant that I normally use to colour cake icing. Simply paint directly on the bread and voila!!
Now make two cross cuts in the bread – be careful not to cut straight through.
Cover with a tea towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes – If you are not painting and fiddling, allow the bread 30 minutes.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Cool the quick bread completely before slicing.

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Melon and Feta Salad (with Basil Dressing)

March 1, 2023February 28, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

150ml olive oil
250ml tightly packed basil leaves
1 clove garlic, minced
2,5ml salt
15ml lemon juice
15ml apple cider vinegar

cos lettuce
1 small melon
200g feta cheese
3 tomatoes

For the dressing:
Add all the ingredients to a blender and blitz at high speed for one minute. Set aside.

Arrange some lettuce leaves on a serving platter.
Slice the melon in half and take out the seeds.
Cut the melon into slices and then cut the flesh out of the skin,
Scoop a few melon balls from the flesh if you have a melon scoop.
Arrange the melon on the lettuce.
Slice the feta and tomato into slices and add it to the melon and lettuce.
Drizzle the basil dressing over the salad and serve.

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Fish Parcels

February 27, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

4 portions of hake
2 sweet peppers, sliced
100g green olives, pitted
30ml capers, roughly chopped
60ml peppadews, chopped
2 lemons, quartered

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Cut 4 pieces of baking paper to more or less 30cm x 30cm.
Place a portion of hake in the centre of each paper square and season with salt and pepper.
Add the sweet peppers, olives, capers and peppadews to a small bowl and mix through. Divide the mixture equally and spoon onto the fish.
Squeeze the juice of a quartered lemon over.
Bring the two opposite sides of the paper together and fold over twice.
Now twist the ends to enclose the filling.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
Serve the fish in its paper parcel.

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Italian Herb Chicken

February 26, 2023February 24, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This is one of the most rewarding meals and it is put together in LESS THAN 30 MINUTES!!

6-8 chicken breasts, bone- and skinless
125ml olive oil
half an onion, chopped
60ml lemon juice
30ml apple cider vinegar
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
125ml cup packed with basil leaves
60ml cup packed with mint leaves
15ml rosemary, chopped
3 anchovy fillets/15ml anchovy spread

Preheat your oven to 220℃.
Place the chicken on a baking sheet and drizzle over some olive oil. Rub the oil all over the breast and season with salt and pepper.
Roast the chicken for 15-20 minutes, remove from the oven and cover with aluminium foil to rest. Set aside.
For the herb dressing:
Add the oil, onion, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, herbs and anchovy to the cup of a blender and blitz at high speed for one minute.

Arrange the chicken on a serving platter and spoon over the herb dressing.

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Honey Roasted Figs

February 24, 2023February 22, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

about 16 ripe, fresh figs
1 large burrata cheese
100g prosciutto
45ml honey
thyme leaves, chopped

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Cut off the stem at the top of each fig, stand it upright and cut a cross in the top of each one, but don’t cut through to the base.
Slice the Burrata into slices with a serrated knife ….. as best you can ..
Put about half a slice of cheese into the cross you have cut – you can piece it together as it will melt.
Now lay the prosciutto flat and half each slice in its length.
Thread the ham through and around the fig and place in an ovenproof dish.
Drizzle the honey over once all the figs are done and scatter over the thyme.
Roast the figs for 8-10 minutes until the cheese has melted.
Serve immediately as a canapé or an indulgent treat.

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Turkish eggs

February 23, 2023February 22, 2023by Karen Claassen1 Comment

You may poach or fry the eggs for this traditional recipe.

250ml Greek yoghurt
1 clove of garlic, minced
30ml chopped mint leaves
grated rind of 1 lemon

45ml olive oil
30g butter
5ml smoked paprika
5ml chilli flakes
5ml Szechuan pepper
1ml ground cumin

4 eggs

Add the yoghurt, garlic, mint and lemon rind to a small bowl.
Season with salt and whisk to mix.
Divide the mixture between 2 serving plates and set aside.

Pour the olive oil into a small pan, add the butter and allow to melt over a medium heat.
Add the smoked paprika, chilli flakes, Szechuan pepper and cumin to the pan and stir around for a minute or so.
Take the pan from the heat and set aside.

Place a saucepan on high heat and fill it 10cm deep with water. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a very low simmer.
Crack one egg at a time, into a cup and gently slide it into the simmering water.
Wait about 20 seconds before adding the next egg.
Poach the eggs for 3 minutes, remove them with a slotted spoon and set 2 eggs on the yoghurt mixture.
Spoon the spicy butter over the eggs and drizzle the rest on the plate.
Serve with small pita breads to mop up the sauce.

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Sweet Potato Gratin

February 22, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

1kg sweet potatoes, peeled
250ml grated Gruyére cheese
250ml grated cheddar cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
375ml cream
15ml thyme leaves, chopped
1ml ground nutmeg

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a ceramic dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
Slice the sweet potatoes into very thin slices – not thicker than 2mm.
Arrange the slices in a single layer overlapping slightly, in the oven dish.
Mix the two cheeses together and sprinkle a quarter of the cheese on the sweet potato. Keep going with the layers until you have a quarter of the cheese left. Set aside.
Add some vegetable oil to a saucepan set over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook while stirring, for about 1 minute.
Pour in the cream, thyme and nutmeg and simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes. It should thicken slightly.
Add the last quarter of the cheese to the saucepan and stir through until melted.
Season the cream with salt and pepper and pour it over the sweet potatoes.
Place the dish in the oven and bake until golden brown and bubbly – about 45minutes. Check that it is fully cooked by inserting a sharp knife in the centre.
Remove the gratin from the oven, rest for 15 minutes and serve.

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Tartare Sauce (and homemade mayonnaise)

February 20, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This is a delicious tartare sauce made from the easiest ever homemade mayonnaise!!

Mayonnaise:
250ml oil of your choice – I like a specific brand of olive oil but you may use any seed oil you like)
2 egg yolks
15ml English mustard
60ml lemon juice

Add the oil, yolks, mustard and lemon juice to a mixing bowl and blitz at high speed with a stick blender. Keep going until you have a thick and creamy sauce.
Season with salt.
You may keep the mayonnaise in a glass jar in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

Tartare sauce:
250ml homemade mayonnaise
a handful of basil leaves
4 gherkins, chopped
15ml capers, chopped

Add the mayonnaise and basil leaves to a mixing bowl and blitz with a stick blender.
Add the chopped gherkins and capers and mix through.
Check the seasoning and serve with fish.

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Lemon Meringue Cheesecake

February 19, 2023February 17, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

1 x 200g packet of coconut biscuits (Tennis biscuits)
80g butter, melted
800g cream cheese
250g crème fraîche
180g caster sugar
40g flour
4 eggs
grated rind of 3 lemons
100ml lemon juice
10ml vanilla
Meringue:
4 egg whites
70g sugar
a pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to 140℃ and spray a 22cm loose-bottom cake tin with cooking spray.
Break the biscuits into the bowl of a food processor and blitz to crumbs.
Drizzle in the melted butter with the engine running. The mixture should resemble wet sand.
Spoon the biscuit mixture into the prepared cake tin, spread it out evenly and press it down on the bottom with the back of a spoon. Set aside.
Add the cream cheese, crème fraîche, caster sugar, flour, eggs, lemon rind, lemon juice and vanilla to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Mix on medium speed until you have a very smooth mixture. Set aside.
Wrap the outside of the prepared cake tin with aluminium foil, place the tin in a roasting tin and pour 2-3cm water into the roasting tin.
Place in the oven and bake for 1,5-2 hours, until set like wobbly jelly.
Turn off the oven, open the door and allow the cake to cool to room temperature.
Refrigerate the cheesecake in the baking tin for 3-4 hours.

Meringue:
Add the egg whites, sugar and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (without the bottom touching the water).
Whisk the mixture by hand until the sugar has dissolved and it burns your finger when you touch it.
Transfer the bowl to the mixer and whisk at the highest speed until firm, glossy peaks form.
Spoon or pipe the meringue onto the cheesecake and flame with a blowtorch before serving.