Author: Karen Claassen

This recipe is straight from the kitchens of fine dining restaurants and really easy to make. Serve it on grilled Salmon or Yellowtail and taste absolute perfection!

20g butter

half an onion, chopped

125ml white wine

300ml cream

10ml dried tarragon

salt and pepper

Add the butter to a small saucepan and allow to melt.

Cook the onion in the butter until soft and translucent.

Add the wine and bring the mixture to the boil.

Reduce the heat for the mixture to simmer until reduced by half.

Add the cream and simmer uncovered for another ten minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the tarragon.

Season the sauce with salt and pepper and serve warm.

These hamburger rolls are absolute perfection: light, with a brioche like crumb and straight forward to make. The buns freeze well. Makes about ten rolls.

250ml water, lukewarm

45ml milk, lukewarm

10g instant yeast or active dry yeast

37,5ml sugar

1 egg, beaten with a fork

750ml bread flour

83ml cake flour

7,5ml salt

37,5ml butter, cubed

Egg wash:

one egg beaten with 15ml water

Add the water, milk, sugar and yeast to a bowl and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Allow to stand for 5 minutes.

Add the bread flour, cake flour and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer.

Add the cubed butter and rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips, creating an even sized crumb.

Fit the mixer with the dough hook and mix the dry mixture through on slow speed.

Pour the yeast mixture into the dry ingredients, add the beaten egg and turn the mixer onto slow speed for about 2 minutes.

Now turn the speed to medium and knead for 5 minutes.

The dough will be very sticky and if it is REALLY too sticky to handle you can dust it lightly with flour but do try not to add flour as the buns will loose their softness.

Lightly oil a clean bowl, place the dough into it and cover with plastic wrap.

Allow the dough to double in size – about 2 hours.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 180℃.

Weigh the dough and divide it so that you have rolls that are about 100g each. I get about ten on a warm summer day.

Now shape the rolls: Stretch the top to create a high-tension, smooth surface; flip the dough ball over and stretch the sides in towards the centre and pinch it together. Flip the ball over so that the pinched part is facing down.

Place the shaped rolls onto the lined baking sheet, cover with a clean tea towel and allow to rise for two hours.

Brush each roll with the egg wash and bake for 15 minutes.

Cool completely on a cooling rack before serving or freezing.

The combination of warm North African spices and a herby chimichurri makes these lamb chops truly delicious.

16 lamb chops, fat trimmed

olive oil

10ml ground coriander

5ml salt

5ml black pepper, ground

Sauce:

3 cloves garlic, minced

83ml fresh parsley, finely chopped

83ml fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

10ml red wine vinegar

7,5ml paprika

5ml salt

10ml ground coriander

2,5ml black pepper

83ml olive oil

Take the chops from the refrigerator at least one hour before barbecuing them.

Brush each chop with some of the olive oil.

Add the ground coriander, salt and pepper to a small bowl, mix through and season the chops with the dry mixture, pressing lightly onto the meat for the seasoning to adhere.

Pack the seasoned meat into a large baking tin, cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Prepare your fire.

In the meantime add the sauce ingredients to a bowl and whisk together. Put the sauce aside.

Cook the meat on direct, high heat, 3 – 5 minutes in total, turning once.

Remove the lamb chops from the fire and spoon the chimichurri sauce onto it.

Serve warm.

This pasta dish is perfect when you do not feel like cooking but still want something healthy and nutritious. You will make this entire dish in twenty minutes and have only one saucepan to clean!! The recipe feeds six adults and is delicious served hot or cold.

500g penne pasta

6 cloves of garlic

400g spinach or swiss chard

30ml olive oil

50g parmesan cheese

625ml frozen green peas

one lemon

100g ricotta cheese

Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the packet.

Once it is cooked, scoop out 250ml of the pasta water before draining the pasta.

Set the pasta and pasta water aside.

Cut the stems from the spinach leaves and peel the garlic cloves.

Put a casserole with water onto the burner and add the spinach and garlic as soon as the water starts boiling. Simmer the leaves and garlic for 5 minutes.

Scoop the spinach and garlic directly into the jug of a blender and add the olive oil and pasta water.

Add the peas to the spinach water left in the saucepan and cook for 2 minutes. Drain the peas and keep it aside.

Grate the parmesan cheese and add that to the blender jug as well.

Process the ingredients until it is very finely chopped.

Now pour the spinach mixture and drained pasta back into the empty saucepan and turn the heat on to medium.

Add the peas and allow the mixture to warm through – about 2 minutes.

Season the dish with salt and white pepper.

Take the pasta from the heat and squeeze a generous amount of lemon juice onto it.

Serve the pasta with fresh ricotta cheese.

These traditional-style scones are perfectly moist and light. Serve them with Chantilly cream, strawberry jam and fresh, sliced strawberries or leave out the sugar if you would like to serve them as a savoury treat.

There is no secret to perfect scones: follow the instructions and success will be yours!!

280g flour

2,5ml salt

8ml baking powder

100g butter, ice cold

25g sugar

62ml cream

62ml yoghurt

1 egg

Egg wash:

1 egg

15ml milk

Preheat your oven to 180℃, dry heat (i.e. not on fan setting)

Grease a small baking tray and set aside.

Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Repeat twice more. Do not skip the sifting stage as it really makes for a fluffy, light scone!

Grate the cold butter directly into the bowl with the flour.

Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers. Work quickly so that the mixture stays as cold as possible.

Add the sugar, cream, yoghurt and egg to a separate bowl and give it a whisk until blended.

Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Scrape out every drop of the liquid!

Cut the mixture with a palette knife or a blunt kitchen knife to mix the ingredients together, i.e. cut straight down into the ingredients and turn the bowl. Keep cutting and turning until a dough comes together.

Lightly dust a work surface with some flour and turn the almost-dough mixture out onto it.

Push the dough together even if there are bits that look as though they should be kneaded in. NOTHING WENT WRONG if the dough seems flaky and not quite together – that is exactly what you are looking for!

Shape the dough into a rectangle by lightly rolling it out on the surface.

Now turn up a third of the length and then turn over the third of the top part. Roll this folded piece to a thickness of 3,5 cm.

Select a biscuit cutter (about 7cm in diameter), dip it in some flour and press straight down into the rolled dough. Do not twist the cutter when you press down as it will prevent your scones from rising. Keep rolling and cutting until you have no dough left.

Place the scones onto the baking tray.

Mix together the egg wash and brush ONLY the top of the scones – be careful not to let the wash run down the sides.

Bake the scones for 15 minutes.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and cool the scones on a cooling rack.

Serve with jam and cream.

Summer cocktails call for ice cold refreshment and this cherry lime soda certainly ticks all the boxes!

Fresh Cherry Syrup:

83ml sugar

83ml water

500ml cherries, pitted

Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan and place on medium heat.

Stir the mixture until the sugar has dissolved.

Add the pitted cherries and bring the mixture to the boil.

Turn down the heat to a light simmer and leave to bubble for 10 minutes.

Turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly before blitzing the mixture with a stick blender.

Set aside to cool completely. Refrigerate.

Cocktail:

125ml lime juice

125ml vodka

100ml fresh cherry syrup

500ml soda water

crushed ice

Mix the lime juice, vodka and cherry syrup together.

Half fill a glass with crushed ice and pour the cherry mixture to about three quarters full, into the glass.

Top up the cocktail with soda water, add some fresh cherries for decoration and serve.

These bran muffins are packed with fresh cherries and truly celebrates summer! Makes 24 muffins.

300g cake flour

100g bran flakes

300g brown sugar

2 eggs

500ml milk

15ml bicarbonate of soda

100ml vegetable oil

1,2ml salt

5ml vanilla

about 500g fresh cherries, pitted

Preheat your oven to 180℃.

Line two 12-hole muffin tins with paper cups.

Add the flour, bran and brown sugar to a mixing bowl and mix through.

Add the eggs to another mixing bowl and give it a whisk.

Now add the milk, bicarbonate of soda, vegetable oil, salt and vanilla to the eggs and whisk together until well blended.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix together by hand.

Scoop the batter evenly between the muffin cups, filling them about three quarters full.

Now push about 3 – 4 pitted cherries into each muffin cup.

Bake for 17 minutes.

Cool the muffins completely before serving with Chantilly cream.

These hasselback sweet potatoes are quite unique in that they are wonderfully fluffy and drenched in cinnamon-butter. Perfect as a meal with a salad or as a side to a meat dish.

enough sweet potatoes for six people

100g butter, melted

2,5ml salt

2,5ml ground cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 180℃.

Line a large oven tray with foil, shiny side facing down.

Cut the sweet potatoes into hasselbacks and place them in the prepared tin.

Melt the butter over low heat, add the salt and cinnamon and stir together.

Baste the sweet potatoes with the butter mixture – be liberal, the butter should dribble down each slice.

Place in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes, basting 2 -3 times during the cooking time.

Serve warm.

I would not go so far as to say ALL, but most South Africans enjoy homemade ginger beer. During the warm summers it is definitely the drink to serve as an ice cold thirst quencher! Warning: this is the real traditional ginger beer that becomes stronger the longer it is kept…not for the faint hearted!

4 litres warm water

45ml ground ginger

7,5ml cream of tartar

10g instant yeast

4 X 250ml sugar (i.e. 1000ml sugar)

10ml fresh ginger, grated

250ml raisins

Add all the ingredients to a large container (I use my stock pot) and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Cover the container with a large tea towel and leave to stand in a warm place, but not in direct sunlight, for 24 hours.

Pour the mixture through muslin cloth (or a clean tea towel) to strain.

Pour the ginger beer into clean bottles and add 5 fresh\new raisins to each bottle. DO NOT secure the cap of the bottle; simply place the cap onto the bottle for the first two days as the ginger beer will ferment and the gas in the bottle will expand.

Store in the refrigerator for three days before drinking.

Serve ice cold.

If you like savoury biscuits, you might have just found a recipe that will become a reliable fall-back to accompany pre-dinner drinks! Deliciously crispy and very, very cheesy, these biscuits can double up as a carrier for dips or spreads. The recipe makes about 40 small biscuits.

100g butter, room temperature

230g cheddar cheese, grated

80g plain flour

1,2ml salt

Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment.

Cream the butter and then add the grated cheese, flour and salt.

Gather the ingredients to form a dough and transfer the dough to a floured working surface.

Shape the dough into a cylinder about 4cm in diameter.

Place the dough cylinder onto a piece of wax paper and lightly wrap it. Place in the refrigerator and chill for 2 hours.

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and lightly grease two baking sheets.

Slice the dough cylinder into 5mm thick rounds with a sharp serated knife. Arrange the rounds on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Serve with a glass of chilled chardonnay!

The biscuits keep well for 2 – 3 days.