dinner inspo – Page 4 – My Whisk and I

Goat’s Cheese and Hazelnut Risotto

September 30, 2023September 8, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

100g hazelnuts, roasted
45ml grated parmesan
45ml olive oil
10 drops sesame oil
5ml red wine vinegar
a pinch of salt

100g goat’s cheese
45ml cream

50g kale, thick stalks removed
50g baby spinach
50g basil leaves
75ml olive oil

1,5 litres vegetable stock
45ml butter
45ml olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
200g arborio rice
80ml white wine
50g parmesan cheese, grated

For the hazelnut topping:
Place the hazelnuts in a pestle and mortar and grind it to a coarse texture. If you don’t have a pestle and mortar you may chop the nuts with a knife but make sure that you have a good mix of fine and coarse texture.
Add the parmesan cheese, olive oil, sesame oil, red wine vinegar and salt and stir through. Set aside.

For the goat’s cheese topping:
Break up the cheese into a small bowl, add the cream and mix through to loosen the cheese slightly. Set aside.

For the green sauce:
Blanche the kale and spinach in a saucepan of boiling water for 2 minutes.
Drain and run under cold water until cool.
Add to a bowl with the basil and olive oil and blitz to a paste/sauce with an immersion blender. Set aside.

Pour the stock into a saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring it to a simmer.
Place a large, wide saucepan on medium-high heat and add the butter and oil.
Wait for the butter to melt and add the onion.
Cook until translucent.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Now add the rice and stir to coat for 2 minutes.
Pour in the wine and wait for it to evaporate.
Add about 125ml of stock (two soup ladles) to the risotto, stir it around until most of the liquid has been absorbed and then add some stock again. Keep going – adding stock, stirring until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese.
Add the kale mixture to the risotto and stir until the risotto is bright green.
Spoon the risotto on to serving plates and top with some hazelnut mixture and a generous dollop of goat’s cheese.

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20-Minute Tuna Spaghetti

September 25, 2023September 7, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

250g spaghetti
45ml olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 spring onion, finely sliced
2 tins of shredded tuna, drained
1 lemon, zest and juice
125ml sour cream
30ml capers, roughly chopped
30ml chopped parsley
15ml chopped chives
parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente.
Drain the pasta and keep it in the pot too stay warm.
Place a large pan over medium heat, add the oil and wait for it to heat up.
Add the garlic and spring onion and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
Now add the tuna, lemon zest and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Pour in the cream and cook for 1 minute.
Add the spaghetti, capers, parsley and chives and stir until the spaghetti is well coated in the sauce.
Grate over a generous amount of parmesan cheese and stir through.
Now grate over some more parmesan, stir again and serve.

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Salad Lyonnaise

September 23, 2023September 1, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This is true French bistro style – a delicious warm bacon and egg salad!!
Serves two.

30ml olive oil
200g smoked bacon, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 slices sourdough bread, cubed
four handfuls of frisée salad leaves
half an onion, sliced into rings
15ml vinegar
2/4 eggs

Dressing:
half an onion, very finely diced
15ml red wine vinegar
15ml Dijon mustard
45ml olive oil

Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil and bacon to it.
Cook until the bacon is crisp.
Scoop the bacon out but leave as much of the rendered fat in the pan.
Add the garlic and cubed sourdough and toss in the bacon fat.
Turn the heat to low and fry for about 5 minutes, until golden and crisp.
Remove from the pan.

For the dressing:
Add the diced onion, vinegar, mustard and 15ml cold water to a small bowl and whisk together.
Gradually add the olive oil, whisking all the time until you have a thick dressing.
Taste the dressing and season with salt.

Now, add the bacon, croutons, sliced onion and salad leaves to a mixing bowl.
Drizzle half of the dressing over and toss together.
Pile the salad onto 2 plates.

Bring a saucepan of water to a gentle boil and add the 15ml vinegar.
Crack the eggs into small bowls and gently lower into the water.
Poach the eggs for 3 minutes.
Remove with a slotted spoon and place on top of the salad.
Drizzle the leftover dressing over the egg and salad and serve immediately.

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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.

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New Retro Apricot Chicken

September 15, 2023August 30, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

125ml flour
45ml vegetable oil
8 chicken breasts, skin and bone removed
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
15ml sumac
10ml salt
2 x 400g tins of halved apricots
250ml chicken stock
almond flakes

Add the flour to a shallow bowl and season with salt.
Place a large, heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat and add the oil.
Dip the chicken in the flour to coat both sides and fry in batches for 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown. (Add extra oil to the pan if you need to)
Keep the browned chicken on the side.
Add the onion to the pan and cook until soft.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Sprinkle the sumac and salt over and stir.
Pour the syrup and fruit of one of the tins of apricot into a blender and process until smooth.
Pour into the pan, add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the chicken breasts.
Cook for 20 minutes with a lid on, stirring every now and then.
Drain the second tin of apricots and add the fruit to the pan.
Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
Serve on couscous with almond flakes scattered over.

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Banana-Meatball Bake

September 12, 2023August 30, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This recipe makes about 30 medium sized meatballs.

Meatballs:
4 slices white bread, crusts cut off
500ml water
1kg minced/ground beef
2 eggs
15ml salt
2,5ml ground coriander
2,5ml ground cumin
5ml white pepper
10ml ground ginger
125ml flour
vegetable oil

Banana and Onion Sauce:
3 onions, sliced
10ml ground turmeric
20ml curry powder
20ml sugar
25ml flour
30ml apricot jam
50ml vinegar
500ml water
4 bananas, sliced
125ml desiccated coconut

For the meatballs:
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a large ceramic dish with cooking spray.
Place the bread in a bowl and pour over the water.
Stand for 1 minute. Drain the water and squeeze out any excess.
Add the bread to a large mixing bowl and break it up.
Add the minced meat, eggs, salt coriander, cumin, ginger and white pepper.
Mix together with your hands, squeezing it through your fingers.
Roll medium sized meatballs (about 15ml scoop) and place them on a baking sheet.
Add the flour to a shallow bowl and lightly roll each meatball in it.
Place a large pan on medium-high heat, add enough oil to cover the surface and fry the meatballs in batches until brown.
Place the meatballs in the prepared baking dish and set aside.

For the banana and onion sauce:
Place the same pan in which you browned the meatballs over medium-high heat, add the onions and cook until soft.
Add the turmeric, curry powder, sugar and flour and stir-fry for one minute.
Now add the jam, vinegar and water and stir while cooking, until you have a thickened sauce.
Season with salt.
Add the banana and stir through.
Pour the sauce over the meatballs, sprinkle over the coconut and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
Serve the meatballs and sauce on fluffy steamed rice.

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Open Vegetable Pie

September 11, 2023August 30, 2023by Karen Claassen1 Comment

350g sweet potato, cut into 1-1,5cm cubes
350g potato, cut into 1-1,5cm cubes
1 small cauliflower head, 350-400g, cut into florets
45ml olive oil
3 eggs
250ml cultured buttermilk
5ml salt
100g mature cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat your oven to 170℃ and spray a 20cm x 20cm baking dish with cooking spray.
Spread the cubed sweet potato, potato and cauliflower florets on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and roast in the oven until cooked but not mushy.
Set aside to cool.
Add the olive oil and eggs to a large jug and whisk together.
Pour in the buttermilk and salt and whisk until the mixture is amalgamated.
Add the grated cheese and stir through.
Place the pastry on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to a square.
Line the prepared baking dish on the bottom and sides and trim the edges.
Spoon the cooled vegetables in the pastry shell and pour the buttermilk mixture over.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
Serve as a side dish or as a vegetarian main with a salad.

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Tortilla-Pizza Snack

September 10, 2023August 30, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

I am listing the ingredients and the method but the quantities are loose and depends on how many people you will feed.

tortilla wraps
marinara or any other tomato-based pasta sauce
salami or pepperoni
mozzarella cheese
fresh basil leaves
a hard cheese like parmesan

Preheat your oven to 190℃.
Once the cheese has melted (about 15 minutes) the tortilla snack is ready to serve.

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Whipped Feta Salad

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

200g + 50g feta, crumbled
100ml milk
350g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small cucumber, diced
a handful of basil, chopped
half an onion, finely chopped
30ml balsamic vinegar
30ml olive oil
20g pine nuts, toasted

Crumble the feta into a blender’s cup and add half the milk.
Blitz with an immersion blender until it becomes emulsified – add the rest of the milk a little at a time, aiming for a creamy consistency that will sit on a plate.
Crumb the 50g feta into the whipped feta and spread on a serving plate.
Add the halved tomatoes, cucumber, basil and onion to a mixing bowl and pour over the balsamic, olive oil and salt and pepper.
Mix together and spoon on to the whipped feta.
Scatter over the toasted pine nuts and a few extra basil leaves.