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!
250g smoked bacon 125ml yoghurt 125ml mayonnaise a squeeze of lemon juice 45ml olive oil 80ml milk 100g + 100g feta cheese 3 cos lettuce (or other crunchy lettuce) 125g sugar snaps 250ml frozen peas, thawed 1 avocado pear, sliced
Dice the bacon and cook until done and slightly crispy on the edges. Set aside to cool. Add the yoghurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, olive oil, milk and 100g of feta cheese to a blender and blitz on high speed until smooth. Set aside. Arrange the lettuce on a serving plate. Scatter over the sugar snaps, peas, avocado pear and bacon. Spoon/drizzle the dressing over the salad. Crumb the remaining 100g feta on top, add a few grindings of black pepper and serve.
Traditionally panzanella/Italian bread salad is not served with cheese but the creaminess of the burrata adds a deliciousness beyond words!
4 x 2cm thick slices of sourdough bread 6-8 ripe tomatoes, room temperature half a cucumber 1 burrata cheese 1 small red onion 2 cloves garlic, minced 125ml olive oil 60ml balsamic vinegar juice of one lemon
Preheat your oven to 190℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Cut the sourdough slices into cubes of 1,5-2cm – they should look like chunky croutons. Spread the bread on the prepared baking sheet and liberally drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until the croutons are golden and crisp. Remove from the baking sheet and set aside. For the dressing: Chop 3-4 tomatoes into very small pieces. The chopping is best done in a shallow bowl so that you can preserve all of the tomatoes’ juice. Add the tomato and its juice to a mixing bowl. Chop the onion as finely as you can, mince the garlic and add to the tomato. Now add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Mix the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper.
Slice the remaining 3-4 tomatoes into chunks and place in a large bowl. Slice the cucumber into chunks and add to the tomato. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix through. Scatter the croutons and basil over and mix again. Spoon the salad onto a serving plate and place the burrata on top. Serve with a cold Babylonstoren Rosé.
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Place the chicken in a large oven dish, spacing them so that they aren’t crowded. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the mayonnaise, chutney, water and curry powder into a jug and whisk together. Pour over the chicken. Chop half the apricots and sprinkle on the chicken. Cover the oven dish with aluminium foil and place in the oven to cook for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and scatter the rest of the apricots over. Cook the chicken (without the foil) for another 15 minutes. Spoon the liquid over the chicken from time to time. I serve this dish on couscous which is great for absorbing the abundance of sauce. A tomato and basil salad is the perfect pairing for a great weekday dinner!
half an English cucumber, cut into chunks 1 large onion, peeled and quartered 3 cloves of garlic, minced 8 ripe tomatoes, quartered 1 red chilli, chopped 30ml olive oil 80ml apple cider vinegar a bunch of basil leaves, chopped
Add all the ingredients to a blender and blitz together. Season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning – it is soooo important! Refrigerate the soup until you want to serve it. Spoon into soup bowls and serve with ice cubes and a fresh crusty bread.
100g pistacchio nuts, roughly chopped about 16 medium figs 50ml honey
For the pastry: Add the butter and sifted icing sugar to the bowl of a food processor. Run the machine until the mixture is well combined and pasty. Add the flour and pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand. Scrape down. Drizzle a few drops of the egg into the bowl with the engine running. Add a few more drops at a time until the mixture comes together. (You may have egg left and that is okay – the less you need the crispier the pastry!) Shape the pastry into a disc, wrap it with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat your oven to 190℃. You will use a 22cm loose-bottom flan tin but do not spray or butter the tin! Roll the pastry to a 3mm thickness and line the bottom and sides of the tin. Dock the pastry with a fork and bake blind for 15 minutes. Remove the baking paper and weights/beans and set aside to cool.
For the Crème Pâtissière: Add the corn flour to a mixing bowl. Pour a small amount of the milk into the owl and stir to make a slurry with the corn flour. Add the egg yolks and half the sugar. Whisk by hand until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside. Pour the rest of the milk and the rest of the sugar into a small saucepan. Set over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Take the milk from the heat as soon as tiny bubbles start to appear around the edge of the saucepan. Drizzle the warm mixture onto the egg mixture in a very thin stream while whisking continuously. Now pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place on a medium-low heat. Stir until the mixture is thick and smooth. Allow to cook for about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the mixture into a shallow bowl, place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto the surface and allow to cool completely.
Whisk the mixture by hand once it is at room temperature, until it is smooth. Spoon it into a piping bag and pipe into the prepared pastry shell. Scatter the chopped pistachio evenly over the surface. Cut a cross into the top third of each fig and place the figs side-by-side on the pistachio. Drizzle the honey over the figs before serving.
This recipe makes 12 small desserts or 6 substantial portions, served in glasses or ramekins.
1 x 200g packet of coconut biscuits (Tennis biscuits) 80ml desiccated coconut 1 x 385g can of condensed milk 80ml lemon juice 250g smooth cream cheese, room temperature 250ml fresh cream 2 x large mango, cubed
Break the biscuits into large pieces and place in a plastic bag. Crush them lightly with a rolling pin but keep some texture/not too fine. Add the coconut, mix through and divide amongst 12 serving glasses. Set aside. Pour the condensed milk and lemon juice into a mixing bowl and beat together with an electric whisk until incorporated. Add the cream cheese and mix again on high speed until the mixture is completely smooth. Set aside. Pour the cream into a mixing bowl and beat until it forms medium-stiff peaks. Add the cream to the condensed milk mixture and fold through until it is thoroughly blended. Spoon the cheesecake mixture into the glasses and gently tap the glass so that the mixture settles into the crumb. Refrigerate for a minimum of one hour. Peel the mango and cut into cubes. Spoon the fruit on top of each cheesecake, sprinkle some coconut shavings on top and serve.
1 roll butter puff pastry egg wash: 1 egg and 15ml water beaten together 3 large tomatoes 3 ripe plums 15 thyme leaves 15ml honey 250g flavoured cream cheese (I used chive flavour)
Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Lay the pastry on the baking paper and cut a 1,5cm strip off each side. Brush the pastry with some egg wash and lay the strips onto the pastry border. Prick the inside of the pastry with a fork and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cut the tomatoes and plums into wedges and place in a mixing bowl. Drizzle with the honey, season with salt and pepper and scatter the thyme leaves over. Brush the entire pastry sheet with the rest of the egg wash. Now spread the cream cheese onto the inside block of the pastry, using the back of a spoon. Arrange half the tomato and plum mix onto the cream cheese. Bake the tart in the oven for 30 minutes. Top the warm tart with the remaining tomato and plums and season once more. Serve slightly warm.
1 x 250 g bottle of cheese spread 150g butter, cubed 6 cloves of garlic, minced 2 red chillies, very finely chopped 250ml grated mozzarella cheese 2 sourdough loafs or baguettes
Preheat your oven to 200℃. Add the cheese spread, butter, garlic and chillies to a small saucepan and place over a low heat. Stir the mixture around while the butter melts. Keep going until amalgamated. Add the grated mozzarella and stir until the cheese has melted and has incorporated into the sauce. Take from the heat. Slice the bread on the diagonal into slices 2cm apart, taking care not to go all the way through to the bottom. Spread the cheese mixture generously between the slices. Wrap the bread in foil. (You may freeze one loaf at this stage). Place the loaf on a baking sheet and put into the oven for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.
500g pasta of your choice 1 x 245g sachet pickled peppers, diced and liquid reserved 500g prawns, deveined 250ml salad cream/creamy mayonnaise 250ml yoghurt 2 big handfuls of basil leaves half an English cucumber, diced
Cook the pasta according to packet instructions and drain. Take the pickled peppers from the sachet and chop. Set the peppers aside. Drizzle the pickling liquid over the warm pasta and stir through. Set aside to cool. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil, add the prawns and cook for 4 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Add the salad cream, yoghurt and basil leaves to a blender and process until you have a light green dressing. Season the dressing with salt and pepper. Add the pasta, prawns, cucumber, peppers and basil dressing to a large bowl and mix through. Scatter some basil leaves on top and serve.
This chutney is the perfect way to jar your favourite summer memories. Delicious on a sandwich, with meat or on a cheeseboard.
30ml olive oil 2 red onions, chopped 3 cloves of garlic, minced 3cm fresh ginger, grated 2-3 red chillies, sliced 2 cinnamon sticks 2 star anise 750g tomatoes, halved 750g plums, pitted and halved a handful of parsley 190ml brown sugar 250ml apple cider vinegar 2,5ml salt
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and fry until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, ginger, chillies, cinnamon and star anise and cook until fragrant. Add the tomato, plums, herbs, sugar, vinegar and salt and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for one and a half hours or until the chutney has thickened. Remove the spices, adjust the seasoning and spoon the chutney into sterilised jars. Serve as a condiment to leftover meat, a cheeseboard or simply on a sandwich.
My Whisk and I 