comfort food – My Whisk and I

French Style Hot Chocolate

August 14, 2024August 13, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

250ml + 60ml milk
125ml cream
15ml vanilla
30ml cocoa powder
7,5ml cornflour
a pinch of salt
150g chocolate, finely chopped

Add the milk and cream to a small saucepan and place it over medium heat until it is steaming hot.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Set aside.
Add the cocoa powder, cornflour and salt to a small bowl.
Now add a few spoonfuls of the warm milk to it and stir to form a runny paste.
Pour the paste back into the saucepan and stir to combine.
Add the chopped chocolate and place the saucepan back over a very low heat.
Stir until the chocolate has completely melted.
Pour the hot chocolate into serving cups and add a dollop of whipped cream to serve.

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Potato-Chorizo Soup

July 23, 2024July 22, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

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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Beef and Pumpkin Coconut Curry

April 28, 2024April 23, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

30m vegetable oil
80ml rogan josh curry paste
10ml ground ginger
15ml sugar
1,5kg beef chuck, cut into 3cm cubes
1 x 385g tin chopped tomato
250ml beef stock
600g pumpkin, cut into 3 cm cubes
15ml cornflour
1 x 385ml tin coconut milk

Place a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil to it.
Add the curry paste, ground ginger and the sugar and cook while stirring for 2-3 minutes.
Add the cubed beef and stir to coat in the curry paste.
Pour in the chopped tomato and stock and bring to a boil.
Turn the heat down and simmer the beef for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Now add the pumpkin cubes and simmer for another 20 minutes or so.
Mix the cornflour with 3 spoonfuls of the coconut milk and drizzle this slurry back into the remaining coconut milk while whisking.
Pour the coconut milk mixture into the curry and simmer for 5 minutes.
Serve the beef and pumpkin curry on fragrant, steamed rice.

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Orzo Carbonara with Mushroom

March 14, 2024March 13, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

500g mushrooms, sliced
200g smoked bacon, cut into pieces
30ml + 30ml butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
500ml orzo
1 litre chicken stock
15ml chopped parsley
30ml thyme leaves
125ml cream
125ml grated parmesan cheese

Place a large pan on medium-high heat, add 30ml butter, a dash of cooking and the mushrooms.
Cook until golden, spoon into a bowl and set aside.
Add the bacon pieces to the same pan and cook until crispy on the edges. Spoon into a bowl and set aside.
Add the other 30ml butter and onion to the pan and cook until soft.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Pour the orzo and stock into the pan, turn the heat down to medium and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring every now and then to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan. You want a cooked orzo that has absorbed most of the water.
Add the parsley, thyme and cream and stir through.
Now add the mushroom and bacon back into the pan and warm through while stirring.
Sprinkle over the parmesan, add a few grindings of black pepper and serve immediately.

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Mini Cinnamon Swirls

September 24, 2023September 6, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

500ml self-raising flour
30ml flour
30ml caster sugar
150g butter, cubed
125ml milk
1 egg
10ml vanilla
125ml brown sugar
5ml ground cinnamon
25g butter, cubed
20g butter, melted

Glaze:
375ml icing sugar, sifted
15ml boiling water

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a 24-hole mini-muffin tin with cooking spray.
Add the self-raising and regular flours, caster sugar and butter to a food processor and process to fine crumbs.
Tip the mixture into a mixing bowl.
Add the milk, egg and vanilla to a jug and whisk together.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. The dough will be very sticky. Set aside.
Add the brown sugar and cinnamon to a bowl and stir to mix.
Add the 25g butter and rub it into the sugar with your fingers.
Flour a work surface and divide the dough in half.
Roll out to 35cm x 20cm rectangle.
Sprinkle half the sugar and butter mixture evenly over the surface and roll it into a long, tight log.
Trim the edges neatly and then cut the log in to 1,5cm slices.
Place each slice in a hole in the muffin tin.
Melt the 20g butter and brush it on to the swirls.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Remove and cool on a cooling rack.

For the glaze:
Add the icing sugar to a small bowl and pour in 15ml of boiling water.
Mix together and drizzle over the swirls.
Stand the cookies for 20 minutes to set, before serving.

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Pork Sausages with Onion Gravy

September 22, 2023September 1, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

8 – 16 pork sausages
15ml + 45ml vegetable oil
1 large onion, sliced
3 leeks, washed and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
45ml flour
500ml beef stock
1,2ml salt
black pepper

Place a large saucepan/pan over medium-high heat and pour in the vegetable oil.
Add the sausages and cook until browned. Turn them every now and then to get an even golden colour. Cook for 10 minutes or so.
Remove the sausages from the pan and lower the heat to medium.
Add the onion and leek and cook for about 5 minutes or until soft.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Spread the onion and leek out in the pan and sprinkle the flour over.
Stir and cook for about 2 minutes to cook out the flour.
Add 60ml of the stock to the pan and stir.
Add another 60ml, keep stirring and wait for it to become more saucy.
Slowly drizzle in the rest of the stock while stirring – if you pour it all in at once the sauce will be lumpy.
Simmer the gravy until it thickens. It won’t look as thick as you will want it to be but it will thicken more, later on.
Add the salt and a few grindings of black pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Place the sausages back in the pan and heat through on a low heat for between 5 and 10 minutes.
Serve the sausages on potato mash and slosh it with the gravy.

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Slow-Cooked Saucy Curry

September 19, 2023September 1, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
5ml salt
15ml ground ginger
15ml curry powder
15ml turmeric
15ml sumac
15ml sugar
30ml lemon juice
2kg stewing lamb
2 x 400g tins of coconut milk
750ml + 250ml vegetable stock
5 carrots, peeled and cubed
5 potatoes, peeled and cubed

Place a large saucepan over medium-high heat and pour in enough oil to cover the base.
Add the onion and cook until soft.
Add the garlic, salt, ginger, curry powder, turmeric, sumac, sugar and lemon juice and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
Add the lamb and stir to cover the meat in the spices.
Pour 1 can of coconut milk and 750ml stock into the saucepan and bring to a boil.
Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for an hour.
Add the carrots and potato and pour in the 250ml stock.
Simmer for another hour.
Now add the last can of coconut milk and crusty some of the potato against the sides of the saucepan to thicken the sauce.
Cook for 5 minutes and serve on steamed rice.

curries, dinner, food, lunch, recipes

Lamb Curry

August 24, 2023August 3, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

45ml sunflower oil
2 onions, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
5ml salt
15ml ground ginger
5ml chilli flakes
10ml ground coriander
5ml ground cumin
15ml turmeric
2,5ml smoked paprika
30ml sugar
4 cloves
3 cardamon pods
2 bay leaves
2 star anise
1 x 400g can of chopped tomato
2kg stewing lamb
4-5 potatoes, peeled and diced
fresh coriander leaves

Add the sunflower oil and onion to a large saucepan set over medium-high heat.
Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until it begins to caramelise.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Now add the salt, ginger, chilli flakes, coriander, cumin, turmeric, paprika and sugar.
Stir through and then add the whole spices: cloves, cardamon, bay leaf and star anise.
Pour in the chopped tomato and give everything a good stir.
Add the lamb and stir until all the meat is covered in the spices.
Pour in enough water to cover the meat.
Bring to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 90 minutes, stirring every now and then.
Add the diced potato, stir through and simmer the curry for another 30 minutes.
Serve on white rice with fresh coriander and a good chutney.

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Baked Burrata

August 18, 2023August 2, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

250ml passata sauce, store bought
200g pickled sweet peppers, in olive oil
2 burrata cheese

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Pour the passata sauce and peppers into a small ovenproof dish.
Place the cheese in the sauce and pour over the olive oil from the sweet peppers.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Serve the burrata and sauce with crostini or fresh, crusty bread as a delicious warm starter.

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Banana Cake

August 9, 2023July 29, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

4 + 3 ripe bananas
125ml yoghurt
2 eggs
250ml sugar
2,5ml ground cinnamon
5ml vanilla
a pinch of salt
500ml flour
15ml baking powder
150g butter, melted
160g sugar
30ml water

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 20cm x 20cm baking tin with baking paper.
Peel 4 bananas and halve them in their length.
Arrange cut-side down in the prepared baking tin and set aside.
Peel the other 3 bananas and mash them with a fork.
Add to a bowl with the yoghurt, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt.
Mix together.
Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix together until smooth. The mixture will be very stiff.
Add the melted butter and mix again until all of the butter has been absorbed into the batter. Set aside.
Add the 160g sugar and 30ml water to a small saucepan set over medium-high heat.
Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Simmer the mixture WITHOUT STIRRING until it turns a caramel colour.
Remove from the heat and pour it over the bananas in the prepared baking tin.
Now pour the batter into the tin and spread it out evenly.
Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
Remove the cake and cool in the baking tin for 15 minutes.
Invert the cake on to a serving plate and cut into squares to serve.