Preheat your oven to 190℃. Peel, core and cut the apples into quarters. Cut the quarters into chunks. Add the apple pieces to a small saucepan with the sugar and 45ml water. Cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Spoon the apple into an ovenproof dish or individual ramekins. Put aside.
For the crumble: Add the oats, flour, butter, sugar and cinnamon to a mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the mixture with your fingers until it has an even crumb texture. Spoon the crumb mixture onto the apple chunks. Place in the oven and bake for 20 – 25 minutes. Serve slightly warm with vanilla ice cream.
100ml flour 2 eggs, lightly beaten 250ml breadcrumbs oil for deep frying
Grate the mozzarella into a mixing bowl and put aside. Cut the bacon into chunks and add it to a saucepan with a dash of oil. Cook until done. Spoon the bacon into the bowl with the grated mozzarella. Place the same saucepan back onto medium heat and add the 80ml of vegetable oil and chopped onion. Simmer/fry the onion while stirring occasionally until it is soft and translucent. In the meantime pour the milk into a jug and warm it slightly in your microwave oven. Now add the 160ml flour to the onion and cook through for about a minute, stirring until it starts to bubble lightly. Gradually pour in the warmed milk, stirring continuously. Turn up the heat once all of the milk has been added. Keep stirring until the mixture comes to a boil. Remove the mixture from the heat and add the salt, chives, bacon and mozzarella. Mix thoroughly. Grease a large roasting tin and pour the croquette mixture into it. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer until firm.
Line up three bowls: add the flour to the first; the eggs to the second and the breadcrumbs to the third bowl. Scoop a spoonful of the mixture into your hands, roll it into a small cylinder and then proceed to roll it in the flour. Dip it in the egg and finally into the breadcrumbs to coat completely. Place the shaped and breaded croquettes on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Keep going in this way until all of the mixture has been utilised. Heat some vegetable oil to 175℃ and fry a few croquettes at a time, until golden. Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm while cooking the rest. Serve warm.
Most cooks have a recipe for corn fritters but this is the one to keep AND it takes only 20 minutes to make, from start to finish!! Makes about 20 fritters, depending on the size of each fritter.
375ml flour 15ml baking powder 2,5ml salt 2 eggs 10ml butter, melted 1 can corn kernels, drained 1 can sweetcorn 125ml spring onion, finely sliced
Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a mixing bowl. Break the eggs in a small bowl and whisk together. Add to the flour. Melt the butter in the microwave oven and pour into the flour mixture. Now add the drained corn kernels, sweetcorn and sliced spring onion and mix everything together until you can not see any flour. Place a heavy bottomed frying pan onto medium-high heat and cover the bottom with sunflower oil. Scoop a spoonful of the corn mixture into the pan and flatten slightly so that it takes on a round shape. Fry a few corn fritters at a time without crowding the pan. Each fritter will need about two minutes cooking time per side before it is done. Keep the cooked fritters warm until you have utilised all of the corn mixture. Serve warm with sour cream or enjoy them plain.
This might just be THE easiest fudge you have ever made!! Add some more Pistachio and Goji berries if you like the tartness or opt for a smoothest of all chocolate fudge!
1 X 385g can of condensed milk 320g De Villiers Chocolate: I prefer the 85% dark; chopped 50g pistachio nuts 30g dried goji berries
Line a baking tray or ceramic dish of 19cm X 19cm with baking paper. Add the condensed milk and chopped chocolate to a saucepan and place on very low heat. Stir the mixture with a whisk until the chocolate has melted completely. Keep moving the mixture in the saucepan and keep the heat on low as the chocolate will seize if it becomes too warm, too soon. Remove from the heat and pour into the lined baking tray. Smooth the top with a spatula and sprinkle with the pistachio and goji berries. Lightly press the nuts and berries into the fudge with the back of the spatula. Place the fudge in the refrigerator for about 3 hours. Slice and enjoy. The fudge keeps well in a sealed container.
This cauliflower mash is silky smooth and makes the perfect base for a curry dish or stew. Add some steamed or roasted veg for a complete vegetarian meal.
about 700g cauliflower (one average head) 125ml milk 125ml cream 2,5ml salt 30ml butter
Cut the cauliflower into chunks, including the stalks, and place in a saucepan. Add the milk, cream and salt and bring to a boil – DO NOT LET IT BOIL OVER! Turn the heat down so that the liquid simmers lightly, put the lid on and allow to simmer until the cauliflower is soft enough to insert a toothpick into it easily. Pour the cauliflower-milk mixture into a blender and add the butter. Process until the mixture is smooth and silky. Season with salt, pepper and some more butter. Serve warm with your favourite casserole or as a delicious side.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
My Whisk and I 