Edible flowers (or fruits like berries) 45ml water 10ml powdered gelatine 45ml sugar 150ml hot water 75ml sparkling wine
Prepare your moulds/cups by lining them with plastic wrap. Place the flowers inside the moulds and set aside. Pour 45ml cold water into a small mixing bowl and sprinkle the gelatine over. Set aside to bloom for 5 minutes. Add the sugar to the gelatine and pour in the hot water. Stir to dissolve. Add the sparkling wine and mix well. Allow the liquid to cool to the point where it is cold but still completely runny. Pour into the moulds and refrigerate until set.
2 pears 30ml lemon juice 60ml brown sugar 2,5ml ground cinnamon 30g butter, cubed
For the oatmeal: 250ml rolled oats 250ml water 250ml milk a pinch of salt 1,2ml ground cinnamon honey a handful (or two) of almonds
For the pears: Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a small baking tray with baking paper or aluminium foil. Halve the pears and remove the core. (I use a melon scoop for this) Place the pears, cut-side up, on the prepared baking tray and drizzle with the lemon juice. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon on the fruit and place a piece of cubed butter on each. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, flip them over and bake for another 10 minutes.
For the oatmeal: Pour the oats, water, milk, salt and cinnamon into a saucepan and place on medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-6 minutes, while stirring often.
Spoon the porridge into 2 bowls and place 2 pear half on top of each bowl. Drizzle the oatmeal with honey and a generous scattering of almonds and serve warm.
1,5kg lamb shoulder or leg, cut into 2cm cubes vegetable oil 10 whole cardamom pods 15ml mustard seeds 2 bay leaves 6 whole cloves 10 black peppercorns 1 stick cinnamon 2 onions, finely chopped 8 cloves of garlic, minced 5ml ground coriander 10ml ground cumin 20ml paprika 15ml ground ginger 5ml crushed dried chillies 5ml salt 2 red chillies, chopped 120ml yoghurt 2,5ml garam masala
Place a heavy-bottom saucepan on a medium-high heat and cover the base with vegetable oil. Brown the meat in batches and set aside in a bowl. Add the cardamom, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon and stir the mixture for about 1 minute. Add the onion and fry for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and fry for another minute. Now add the coriander, cumin, paprika, crushed chillies, salt and fresh chillies and stir-fry for another 30 seconds or so. Add the meat and stir through to cover with the spices. Add a spoonful of yoghurt and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the remaining yoghurt in the same way, so that the sauce does not split. Pour in 375ml of water and bring the curry to a boil. Turn the heat down to a slow simmer and cover the saucepan with a lid. Cook for 1 hour or until the lamb is tender, stirring frequently. Remove the lid and cook the curry for another 30 minutes, stirring and waiting for the sauce to become beautifully thick. Sprinkle over the garam masala, mix through and serve with fragrant rice.
3 cardamom pods 750ml red wine 1 orange, sliced 2,5ml allspice berries 2,5ml whole cloves 2 star anise 2 cinnamon quills/sticks 62ml brown sugar
Bruise the cardamom pods by placing them on a work surface. Place a saucepan on top and press down onto it to crack the pods. Add the pods, wine, orange, allspice, cloves, star anise and cinnamon to a saucepan set over medium heat. Heat the mixture but do not allow it to boil – you want the wine warm to the point before boiling. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Allow the wine and spices to sit for 30 minutes at room temperature so that it can infuse. Strain the Glühwein and serve warm with fresh orange slices.
Pomodoro is a simple tomato sauce that is smooth, thick and concentrated. Cook it in a wide sauté pan as it will help the moisture from the tomato to evaporate. Pomodoro can be served with pasta and chicken and may be kept in the refrigerator for one week.
1 onion, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 2 x 400g cans chopped tomato 30ml sugar 2 x 500g packs of gnocchi a handful of basil parmesan cheese
Set a large, wide sauté pan over medium-low heat and add 45ml of vegetable oil to it. Add the onion and garlic to the saucepan and gently cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every now and then. Add the tomato to a liquidiser and blitz until smooth. Pour the tomato into the saucepan and add the sugar. Stir through. Simmer the sauce on a medium-low heat for 10 minutes. You want the liquid from the sauce to evaporate so that you are left with a thick, concentrated tomato sauce. Cook the gnocchi according to the packet instructions. Drain and add it to the sauce. Tear up the basil leaves, stir it through and remove the saucepan from the heat. Serve the gnocchi with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Jodetert is a traditional South African bake of years gone by. It is a wonderful concoction of light and buttery biscuit discs, layered with a soft custard and literally melts in one’s mouth. Without doubt, one of my all-time favourite eats – do try it!
For the biscuit: Preheat your oven to 180℃. Cut 8 pieces of baking paper the size of a large baking tray. Spray each paper sheet with cooking spray. Add the butter, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to mix. Add the beaten egg in a thin stream while the engine is running, until the mixture comes together in a dough ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Divide the dough in to 7 equal portions. Place one piece of dough on a sprayed piece of baking paper and dust with flour. Place another piece of baking paper on top and roll the dough to a thickness of 5 mm and a 20cm diameter circle. Remove the baking paper on top and place the dough circle on the baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden. Repeat with the other 6 pieces of dough.
For the filling: Add the flour, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla to a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Pour the milk into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Drizzle the milk onto the flour mixture in a thin stream while whisking continuously. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and place over a low heat. Stir with a whisk until it thickens. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Pour the custard into a clean bowl and place some plastic wrap directly onto the surface. Allow to cool completely.
Assembly: Spoon the custard into a piping bag fitted with a 1cm nozzle. Place the first biscuit disc on a serving plate, pipe a spiral of custard onto it and place the second biscuit circle on top of it. Repeat the process of piping custard and stacking the biscuit discs until you have none left. Dust the Jodetert with some icing sugar and serve with a good cup of coffee.
400g vine tomatoes/cherry tomatoes olive oil balsamic vinegar 20ml capers, roughly chopped 2 leeks, thinly sliced 3 cloves of garlic, minced 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes 30ml sugar 10ml salt a handful of basil leaves, chopped 200g mixed mushrooms 300g penne pasta parmesan cheese
Preheat your oven to 160℃. Spread the tomatoes on a baking tray and drizzle with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a sprinkling of salt. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or so, until the skins burst open. Remove the tray and sprinkle the capers over the hot tomato. Set aside. Add the leeks and a splash of oil to a saucepan and cook on medium heat until soft. Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute. Now add the tinned tomato, sugar, salt and basil leaves and gently simmer for 10 minutes. Blitz the mixture with a hand blender until you are left a with a thick, chunky sauce. Set aside. Place a frying on high heat and allow to become hot. Add some butter to the pan and then the mushrooms and fry until the mushrooms are caramelised. Cook the penne according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and pour the pasta into a serving bowl. Spoon the roasted tomato, capers and all of the juices onto the warm pasta. Add the blended tomato sauce and the mushroom and stir everything together to coat the pasta. Grate a generous amount of parmesan cheese over the pasta and sprinkle with extra basil leaves to serve.
180g butter, melted 170g sugar 3 weet-bix bars, crushed or about 150g of crumbs/broken pieces 150g self-raising flour 85g desiccated coconut 2 x 395g cans condensed milk 310ml lemon juice (strained if using fresh) about 150g raspberries and blueberries
Preheat your oven to 170℃ and line a 20cm x 30cm oven tray with baking paper, allowing an overhang so that you can easily remove the fruit slices when set. Add the butter, sugar, weet-bix, flour and coconut to a mixing bowl and stir to combine. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking tray and smooth it out. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Add the condensed milk and lemon juice to a mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Scatter the raspberries and blueberries over the cooled base. Gently pour the condensed milk mixture over the fruit and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight before slicing into squares to serve. Keep refrigerated.
4-6 chicken breasts 45ml olive oil 45ml balsamic vinegar 150ml fresh orange juice 150ml chicken stock 30ml finely chopped rosemary 30ml sugar a knob of butter
Place a chicken breast between two pieces of plastic film and flatten it slightly by gently bashing it with the flat bottom of a pan. Flatten all the breasts in this way so that they are slightly thinner and has an even thickness. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat and fry the chicken for 3 minutes before flipping it over and frying for another 2 minutes. Pour half of the balsamic vinegar over the chicken and add the orange juice and stock to the pan. Sprinkle the rosemary over and season the chicken with salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, turn down the heat to a slow simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Spoon the sauce over the chicken while simmering and turn halfway through cooking. Now stir in the sugar, butter, the remaining balsamic and cook for a few minutes more – you want a reduced sauce that is beautifully glossy. Serve the orange chicken on couscous to soak up the wonderfully fragrant sauce.
2 onions, chopped 3 cloves of garlic, minced 4 carrots, chopped 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes 1 x 400g tin of butter beans (or any other white bean, cooked) 4 x 250ml vegetable stock 2 bay leaves 5ml dried thyme 250ml small pasta, e.g. elbows, shells, vermicelli 125ml fresh parsley, chopped salt and black pepper
Add some olive oil to a saucepan set over medium-high heat and fry the onion until soft. Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute. Now add the carrots, tomato, beans, stock, bay leaves and thyme. Cover the saucepan with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the pasta and cook uncovered until done – about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the soup and serve piping hot.
My Whisk and I 