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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Borrelbrood (Pull-Apart Bread)

May 17, 2021May 17, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This pull-apart bread is a traditional snack in the Netherlands and is an absolute guilty pleasure. Borrelbrood is the perfect addition to a casual BBQ as a tasty side for the meal.

1 Medium sized bread
100g Cheese spread
100g + 30g Butter
4 Cloves of garlic, minced
Smoked ham, sliced
Mozzarella cheese, sliced

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Make slits into the loaf of bread (without slicing through) about 3cm apart.
Now turn the bread and start making some more slits 3cm apart in the poolside direction to make squares.
Place the loaf on a large square of aluminium foil and place it onto a baking tray.
Add the cheese spread, 100g butter and minced garlic to a small saucepan.
Place on a medium-low heating stir until melted and completely amalgamated.
Spoon the butter-cheese mixture into the slits of the bread.
Lay the ham into every second slit and the mozzarella into the alternating open slits.
Melt the 30g butter and brush the bread to get that nice golden colour.
Cover the bread with the overhang from the aluminium foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Open the foil to reveal the top of the bread and proceed to bake it for another 10 minutes.
Remove the bread from the oven and serve warm!

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Balsamic Apple Pork Sausages

May 13, 2021May 8, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

An easy, one-pan dish with delicious caramelised apple and onions, served on buttery mashed potato.

8 pork bangers
62ml balsamic vinegar
62ml honey
45ml olive oil
15ml thyme, chopped
3 large onions
3 Granny Smith apples

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Peel and quarter the onions.
Peel, core and quarter the apples. Slice each quarter into half.
Add the sausages, balsamic vinegar, honey, oil, thyme, onion and apple slices to an oven dish and toss together to coat the onion, apple and sausages.
Place the roasting dish into the oven and roast for 30 minutes, shaking the dish every 10 minutes or so , so that the sausages brown evenly.
Remove from the oven and serve on buttery mashed potato.

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Persimmon Compote

May 12, 2021May 6, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

Persimmon is not one of the most popular fruits but this compote will change your mind forever!

4 ripe persimmons
250ml dry white wine
125ml sugar
1 star anise
1 cinnamon quill
a pinch of salt

Peel the persimmons and cut them into quarters.
Core each quarter and cut each into half. Put aside.
Add the white wine, sugar, star anise, cinnamon quill and salt to a saucepan and bring to a boil while stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved.
Turn the heat down and simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes.
Add the persimmon pieces and cover the saucepan.
Simmer the fruit for 15 minutes or until a toothpick easily pierces the fruit.
Transfer the persimmon slices to a bowl and simmer the liquid until syrupy and reduced by half. This should take about 5 minutes.
Pour the syrup over the fruit and allow to cool.
Refrigerate until chilled.
Serve the persimmon with vanilla ice cream.

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Bitter Chocolate Banana Bread

May 11, 2021May 8, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This banana bread is delicious and chocolatey without being sweet and has incredible depth of flavour. I have included the substitutes for ingredients in brackets, to make it vegan. Enjoy this tea-time bread with a spread of salted butter.

220g banana, mashed (about three bananas)
5ml apple cider vinegar
35g butter, melted (nut butter)
300ml milk (soy milk)
100g sugar (Erythritol/any other sweetener)
a pinch of salt
200g flour
2,5ml bicarbonate of soda
10ml baking powder
50g cacao powder
40g + 40g dark chocolate, chopped

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a small bread tin (22cm X 11cm) with baking paper.
Mash the banana with a fork in a mixing bowl.
Add the vinegar, melted butter and milk and mix through with a spatula.
Add the sugar to this mixture and stir through.
Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and cacao powder into the bowl and mix well.
Stir in 40g of the chopped chocolate.
Spoon the batter into the prepared bread tin and sprinkle the other 40g of chopped chocolate on top.
Bake the bread for 1 hour 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread, comes out clean.
Take the banana bread from the oven and lift the bread from the tin by holding the ends of the baking paper.
Cool the bread completely on a cooling rack before cutting.
Serve with a spreading of salted butter.

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No-Knead Olive Bread

May 10, 2021May 3, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This bread involves absolutely no kneading or fussing and I guarantee you that it will be one of THE best olive breads you have ever tasted.

360g bread flour
1,2ml instant yeast
10ml salt
310ml tepid water
250ml olives, stoned and sliced in half

Add the flour, yeast and salt to a large mixing bowl.
Pour the water into the bowl and mix.
Add the olives to the dough mixture and make sure they are evenly distribute – squish them with your hands.
Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave at room temperature to rest for about 18 hours.

Flour a working surface and scrape the dough onto it.
Form the dough into a ball shape and place it onto a square of baking paper. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rest for another hour.

Preheat your oven as well as a dutch oven to 230℃. (A dutch oven is simply a cast iron pot with a tight-fitting lid)
Once the oven temperature is reached, remove the dutch oven and lift the bread in the paper, into the dutch oven. Replace the lid of the dutch oven and immediately place the bread into the oven.
Bake for 30 minutes, remove the lid of the dutch oven and bake for another 25 minutes.
Take the bread from the oven an cool for about ten minutes before removing it from the dutch oven.
Cool the bread completely before slicing.

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Chocolate Cake with Prunes

May 7, 2021May 3, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

If you like chocolate and you like prunes, this flourless cake is what you have been waiting for!

400g prunes
200ml Port or Madeira
30g granulated sugar

For the prunes:
Add the prunes, port and sugar to a small saucepan and place on medium heat.
Stir to dissolve the sugar and then allow the mixture to simmer on a medium to low heat until the liquid is reduced to a syrup.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside to cool.

340g dark chocolate, chopped
170g butter, cubed
80g sugar
200g cooled prunes (from the mixture you have made above)
6 eggs, separated
1,2ml salt

Preheat your oven to 170℃.
Grease a 22cm loose-bottom cake tin and dust the bottom and sides with cocoa powder.
Add the chopped chocolate and butter to a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Allow to melt, stirring occasionally until completely melted and smooth.
Add half the sugar (40g) to the chocolate mixture and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the bowl from the saucepan.
Now take 200g of the prunes from the port syrup, drain and chop into small pieces and add these to the chocolate mixture.
Allow the mixture to cool for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate and stir to combine.

Add the egg whites and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Whisk the whites until they form soft peaks.
Now start adding the remaining half of the sugar, a teaspoon at a time, with the machine running.
The whites should hold their shape and be glossy.
Spoon a third of the whites into the chocolate mixture and stir it through to slacken the chocolate.
Fold the rest of the whites into the mixture with a metal spoon, until there are no white streaks left.
Gently pour the batter into the prepared cake tine and bake for 45 minutes.
Cool the cake in the baking tin.
Serve with the remaining prunes in the syrup.

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Pumpkin-Pecan Pie

May 6, 2021April 28, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This is one of the easiest and tastiest side dishes you will ever make and as a bonus, you will have one bowl and one jug to clean! You may prepare this dish the day before you want to serve it and simply heat it up when needed.

500ml pumpkin purée (cooked pumpkin, finely mashed)
375ml flour
250ml sugar
60ml butter, melted
250ml cream
3 eggs, lightly beaten
250ml pecan nuts, roughly chopped
45ml granulated sugar
5ml cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Add the pumpkin purée, flour and sugar to a mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Add the melted butter, cream and egg to a wide-mouthed jug and whisk together.
Pour the wet ingredients into the pumpkin mixture and mix to a batter.
Stir in the chopped nuts.
Grease a ceramic pie dish and pour the mixture into it.
Add the sugar and cinnamon to a small bowl and mix. Sprinkle onto the pie surface.
Bake the pie for 1 hour, until set.
Serve warm.

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Chicken in Mushroom Sauce

May 5, 2021April 28, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This creamy mushroom sauce adds richness to an otherwise very lean meat and transforms quick and ordinary to extraordinary and delicious.

4 – 6 chicken breasts
45ml butter
15ml vegetable oil
250g mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
15ml thyme leave (or 5ml dried)
45ml white wine
250ml cream
125ml parmesan cheese, grated

Cut the chicken in half horizontally so that you have 2 very thin breasts.
Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.
Put a heavy bottom pan onto medium-high heat, add 30ml butter and the oil and cook the chicken until golden – about 3 minutes per side.
Remove the cooked chicken, cover and keep warm.
Turn the heat onto high and add 15ml butter.
Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes – you want caramelised, golden brown mushrooms.
Now add the garlic and thyme and cook for another minute.
Deglaze the pan by pouring in the wine and scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get all the caramelised bits to come loose.
Turn the heat down to medium and the cream. Simmer for 3 minutes or until the cream thickens slightly.
Add the parmesan to the sauce and season well with salt and pepper.
Return the chicken to the pan and warm through for about 2 minutes.
Serve the chicken breast on rice, mashed potato or couscous, with lashings of the mushroom sauce.

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Basic Curry Mix

May 4, 2021April 28, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

A curry powder or mixture is basically flavour boosting spices that are blended together to add big flavour and balance to a dish. The heat content will be determined by what you add to the rest of the dish. One of the advantages of making a basic curry mix is that you will determine the taste of your homemade blend and you will have a consistent, balanced base to add your other flavourings too when cooking. Remember: this is the base that will balance the dish and from where you will add acid, heat and salt to round off and complete the taste.

15ml cardamon pods
15ml coriander seeds
10ml cumin seeds
5ml mustard seeds
5ml turmeric powder
5ml smoked paprika
2,5ml ginger powder
2,5ml ground black pepper

Add all the ingredients to a pestle and mortar or a spice blender and blend to a powder.
Store in an airtight container.

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Marmite-Feta Cupcakes

May 3, 2021April 28, 2021by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

If you cannot decide whether you want to have savoury or sweet it is best to go with both! These cupcakes are quite unusual but very satisfying and ticks all the boxes when you honestly don’t know what you are craving… it simply balances your tastebuds and it works! The recipe yields 12 regular cupcakes.

75g butter, cubed
160g sugar
1 egg
200g flour
10ml baking powder
2ml salt
250ml milk
250ml + 80ml feta cheese, crumbed

150g butter
45ml Marmite

Preheat your oven to 190℃.
Line a 12-hole cupcake/muffin tin with paper cups and lightly spray with a cooking spray.
Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until soft and creamy.
Add the egg to the mixture and beat a few seconds more.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
Add one spoonful of the flour mixture, alternating with the milk until everything is incorporated.
Switch off the mixer, add the 250ml of crumbed feta cheese and mix through with a spatula.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tin and bake for 25 minutes.

Add the 150g butter and marmite to a small saucepan.
Place on medium heat and once the butter has melted, take it from the heat and whisk to incorporate.

Take the baked cupcakes from the oven and spoon the marmite mixture over the cupcakes.
Cool slightly on a cooling rack before serving.