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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Spanish French-Toast / Torrijas de Leche

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Spanish French-Toast / Torrijas de Leche
Spanish French-Toast / Torrijas de Leche

1 litre milk
1 lemon, zest cut into strips
1 orange, zest cut into strips
60ml sugar
1 cinnamon quille/stick
1 baguette, cut into 2cm thick slices
5 eggs
125ml caster sugar
2,5ml ground cinnamon
sunflower oil

Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the lemon and orange peel, sugar and cinnamon quill.
Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow to steep until cooled to room temperature.
Strain the milk over a large bowl and discard the zest and cinnamon.
Add the eggs to a second bowl and whisk together.
Mix the caster sugar and cinnamon together in a third bowl and set aside.
Place a frying pan over medium heat and pour in some vegetable oil.
Soak the bread in the milk, dunk it into the egg mixture and immediately into the not pan.
Cook the bread for about 3 minutes per side until golden.
Coat each slice with the cinnamon sugar and serve straight away.

Screenshot

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Potato-Chorizo Soup

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Potato-Chorizo Soup

1 x 200g chorizo sausage, sliced
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
800g potato, peeled and cubed
500ml chicken stock
500ml milk
5ml salt
a small handful of parsley

Place a large saucepan on medium heat and add a dash of olive oil and the sliced chorizo.
Cook the sausage for about 5 minutes and then add the onion.
Add the garlic once the onion is soft and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Now add the potato, stock, milk, salt and a few good grindings of black pepper.
Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring a few times.
Remove the sauce pan from the heat and mash the potato by hand.
Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning.
Sprinkle some parsley on top.
Serve the soup piping hot with fresh bread.

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Filled Focaccia

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Filled Focaccia

500g flour
10g instant yeast
340ml lukewarm water
10ml sugar
10ml salt
20ml olive oil
Chaloner olive crisp
olives
olive oil
6-7 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Pour the lukewarm water into a jug and sprinkle the yeast over.
Add the sugar, salt and olive oil and stir the mixture for 30 seconds.
Add the flour to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
Turn the mixer on to a low speed and pour in the yeast mixture.
Once the mixture comes together as a dough, turn the mixer to medium speed and knead for 4 minutes. until you have a smooth, elastic dough.
Lightly oil a clean mixing bowl and place the dough in it. Cover with a damp cloth and leave to prove for an hour or until doubled in size.
Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Knock the dough back by kneading it by hand for 2 minutes.
Divide the dough into two equal pieces and roll each into a circle of more-or-less the same size.
Push the tips of your fingers into the circles so that it forms indents in the dough.
Drizzle some chilli crisp over the dough and dot it with olives.
Place one disc on top of the other and then place it on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
Stick the rosemary sprigs into the focaccia and drizzle generously with olive oil.
Cover the bread loosely with a kitchen towel and set aside for 15 minutes.
Bake the focaccia in the oven for 25 minutes.

Screenshot

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Sago Pudding with apricot sauce and meringue

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Sago Pudding with apricot sauce and meringue

80ml apricot jam
30ml apricot juice

1 litre milk
90g sago pearls
70g sugar
60g butter, cubed
1,2ml salt
4 eggs, separated
5ml vanilla
2,5ml ground cinnamon
30ml caster sugar

Pour the milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil.
Turn off the heat, add the sago, cover with a lid and leave to soak for 90 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 160℃ and spray a 18cm x 28cm ceramic dish with cooking spray.
Add the apricot jam and apricot juice to a small saucepan and place it over a low heat.
Stir until jam has melted and you have a smooth, amalgamated sauce. Set aside.
Return the milk mixture to a medium-high heat and whisk while bringing to the boil.
Remove from the heat when the sago is translucent.
Add the sugar, butter and salt and whisk until the sugar has dissolved.
Set aside to cool slightly.
Add the egg yolks, vanilla and ground cinnamon to a bowl and whisk together.
Drizzle this mixture into the sago while whisking continuously.
Pour the mixture into the prepared ceramic dish and bake for one hour.
Add the egg whites too a clean bowl and whisk with electric beater until soft peaks form.
Gradually add the caster sugar while beating, until the mixture is stiff and glossy.
Remove the sago from the oven and spoon half the apricot sauce over.
Top with the meringue and bake for another 25 minutes.
Serve the sago pudding with the rest of the apricot sauce.


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Spinach-Ricotta Cannelloni

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Spinach-Ricotta Cannelloni

1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
400g baby spinach
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomato
450g ricotta cheese
150-200g cannelloni pasta (about 16 tubes)
a handful of basil leaves
250g mozzarella cheese, sliced

Preheat your oven to 180℃

Place a large pan on a medium-high heat and add a splash of olive oil to it.
Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Now add the baby spinach and cook until just wilted.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Chop the mixture and add it to a mixing bowl with the ricotta cheese.
Season with salt and pepper and scoop it all into a piping bag.
Add the tomato to a small saucepan and gently cook it down to get rid of the moisture – about 15 minutes on medium heat.
Now fill each cannelloni tube with the spinach mixture. Pipe it in as tight as you can get it and arrange it tightly in a 28cm x 18cm ceramic dish.
Spoon the tomato mixture over and spread it out evenly so that it covers all of the pasta.
Now sprinkle the basil leaves over and lay the mozzarella slices on top.
Bake the cannelloni for 35 minutes until golden.

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Weekend Mushroom Brunch

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Weekend Mushroom Brunch

6 large brown mushrooms
90ml pasta sauce
6 eggs
50g mozzarella cheese, grated
50g mature cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. PLACE THE OVEN RACK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OVEN!
Gently break the stalks from the mushrooms and place them on the baking sheet.
Spoon 15ml of the pasta sauce into each mushroom, break an egg on top and season with salt and pepper.
Bake the egg-mushrooms for 10minutes or until set to your liking.
Place a handful of cheese on each egg and grill for another five minutes until the cheese has melted.
Serve warm.

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Pea and Bacon Soup

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Pea and Bacon Soup

400g smoked streaky bacon
15ml olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
650g frozen peas
750ml vegetable/chicken stock
15ml butter

Place a saucepan over medium-high heat and pour in the olive oil.
Cook the bacon until crispy. Set aside.
Add the onion to the same saucepan and cook until soft.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Add about three quarters of the peas and all of the stock.
Bring to the boil and then turn the heat down to a low simmer for 15 minutes.
Blitz the soup with a plunge blender until smooth.
Now add the peas that you kept aside, break the bacon into pieces and add those and the butter.
Gently simmer the soup for 5 minutes.
Serve with bacon and cheese toasties.

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Milktart Cake

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Milktart Cake

250ml + 30ml + 30ml granulated sugar
2,5ml + 2,5ml + 2,5ml ground cinnamon
1litre + 250ml milk
125g butter, cubed
125ml cornflour
125ml self-raising flour
5ml salt
6 eggs, separated

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line the bottom and sides of a 22cm diameter loose-bottom cake tin, with baking paper. NB: the paper should stick 10cm above the rim of the cake tin as the cake will rise up.
Sprinkle 30ml of the sugar and 2,5ml of the ground cinnamon on the bottom of the baking tin and then set it aside.
Place a saucepan on medium-high heat and pour in the 1 litre milk, butter, 250ml sugar and another 2,5ml cinnamon.
Remove the saucepan from the heat as soon as small bubbles start appearing on the sides of the pan.
Add the cornflour, flour, salt, egg yolks and 250ml milk to a bowl and whisk together.
Drizzle the milk into this mixture while whisking.
Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place it over medium heat. Stir the mixture until it thickens and has a custard consistency. Remove from the heat.
Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold it into the custard.
Gently pour the custard into the prepared cake tin.
Sprinkle the leftover 30ml sugar and 2,5ml cinnamon over the batter.
Bake the military in the oven for 50 minutes.
Remove and cool completely before serving.