3 potatoes, cooked (about 250 – 350ml cooked potato) 60ml butter 250ml cheese, grated (I use parmesan and cheddar) 5ml salt 5ml garlic salt 15ml chives, chopped 250ml yoghurt 375ml self-raising flour butter
Mash the cooked potato while it is still warm and mix in the butter, cheese, salt, garlic salt and chives. Set aside to cool. Add the yoghurt and flour to a bowl and combine. Knead until you have a smooth ball of dough – add a small amount of flour if the dough is too sticky. Divide the dough in two balls. Roll out into a circle of 1cm thickness. Add half the potato mixture, flatten into a smaller circle and gather the edges of the dough around the filling. Pinch together the dough to seal the potato filling. Flip the filled dough and gently roll it out to a disk shape that will fit your pan. Pan-fry on both sides on medium heat, until golden, brushing with melted butter. Serve the bread warm.
Slice the halloumi into fingers Add the sesame seeds to a shallow bowl and the flour to another. Roll each piece of cheese in the sesame seeds, pressing down to make them stick. Now press them into the flour to coat and place them on a plate. Add the honey and lemon juice to a small bowl and whisk together. Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat, add a splash of vegetable oil and wait for it until it is hot. Fry the halloumi in batches for 1 minute until golden brown, turning to colour evenly. Drizzle the warm fingers with the honey dressing and serve.
These roll-ups are the kind of food we graze on in summer. Pack a huge platter full of them, mix an exotic cocktail and sit back and relax.
4 tortilla wraps 250g cream cheese 190ml pickled sweet peppers, chopped 500ml grated cheddar cheese 625ml finely shredded chicken meat (leftovers are perfect!) a small bunch of chives, chopped salt and pepper
Add the cream cheese, pickled peppers, cheddar, chicken and chives to a mixing bowl and mix together. Divide the mixture between the four wraps and evenly spread it right to the ends so that it is completely and evenly covered. Roll the wrap as tight and evenly as you can and slice into discs. Arrange on a platter to serve.
This cheeseboard is a brilliant way of entertaining friends and family with the absolute minimum effort! The cream cheese is used as a base and smeared onto a wooden serving board and then topped with crunchy, punchy bits and bobs. One 250g tub of cream cheese should provide you with enough to feed 4 people as a snack with cocktails or even as a nibble before a meal.
250g tub of cream cheese (I used a chive flavoured cheese) red onion, finely chopped chives, chopped (garlic chives are especially good) fried onion bits (mine was store bought but feel free to make them yourself) pomegranate seeds lemon zest honey for drizzling over edible flower to make everything look pretty
Smear the cream cheese onto a wooden serving board. Sprinkle over the onion, chives, fried onion, pomegranate seeds and lemon zest. Drizzle a small amount of honey over and finish off with a few pretty edible flowers. Serve with crackers and cocktails.
2 avocado pears 60ml cream cheese, room temperature 1 small onion, finely chopped 2 tomatoes, seeds scooped out and cut into small cubes 250ml grated cheddar cheese balsamic vinegar reduction
foil nests to rest the halved avocado pears in while baking
For the pangrattato: Add the oil and butter to a frying pan set over medium heat and allow the butter to melt. Fry the garlic for 1 minute while stirring. Add the breadcrumbs, thyme and nuts and stir around in the pan until toasted and golden. Take the mixture off the heat, spoon it into a bowl and allow to cool.
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Prepare foil baking nests for the avocado pear by scrunching strips of aluminium foil into circular shapes where the avocado can rest without tilting. Be careful not to cut your hands!!! Place the nests on a baking tray. Cut the avocado pears in half and remove the stone. Place each half on an aluminium nest and spoon 15ml cream cheese into the hollow. Mix the chopped onion, tomato and cheddar cheese and divide the mixture in four equal portions. Pile the mixture onto the avocado halves. Place the baking tray in the oven for 10 minutes or until the avocado is warmed throughout and the cheese has melted. Spoon a generous amount of pangrattato onto each avocado portion. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar reduction and serve slightly warm.
Marinade: Pull the skin from the drumsticks and place them in an ovenproof ceramic dish. Mix the marinade ingredients together and pour it over the chicken. Turn the drumsticks so that it is covered in marinade and wrap the dish with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 8 hours/overnight.
Preheat your oven to 200℃. Mix the flour and salt in a shallow dish. Whisk the egg and milk together in another shallow dish. Measure the breadcrumbs into a third, last shallow dish. Now dredge each drumstick through the flour, then the egg and finally the breadcrumbs. Arrange the drumsticks in an ovenproof dish, spaced so that they do not touch. Melt the butter and drizzle it evenly over the chicken. Place it in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Pull out the dish and quickly turn each drumstick. Bake for another 25 minutes until crisp and golden. Serve the drumsticks piping hot.
The South African cook and food blogger, Elmarie Berry has recently launched her recipe book Kosbaar. This is my interpretation of her delicious French Onion Tart.
1 batch Caramelised Onions, search the recipe on this blog 250g puff pastry, store bought 250ml sour cream 2 eggs 30ml thyme leaves parmesan cheese, to grate on top
Preheat your oven to 200℃ and spray a 20cm loose bottom tart tin with cooking spray. Line the tart tin with the puff pastry. Spoon the cooled Caramelised Onions into the unbaked tart shell and spread it out evenly. Whisk the sour cream, eggs and thyme together and pour over the onions. Grate a good amount of Parmesan cheese on top and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Cool the tart on a cooling rack before taking it out of the tart tin. Serve at room temperature.
For the pasta: Cook the pasta, drain and return to the saucepan in which it was cooked. Crumble the feta over the pasta and mix together. Add the egg whites and mix through. Set aside.
For the meat sauce: Place a heavy bottom saucepan on medium-high heat and add the olive oil and onion. Fry for 2-3 minutes and then add the garlic, tomato paste and minced beef. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring and breaking up the beef while browning it. Add the red wine, tomatoes, sugar, bay leaf, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce is thick. Remove the bay leaf and cinnamon quill and take the mixture from the heat. Allow to cool slightly.
My Whisk and I 