healthy – My Whisk and I

Brown Rice Salad

December 21, 2025December 20, 2025by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

250g cooked brown rice (I use a store bought sachet)
400g broccoli flowers, ends trimmed
190ml cranberries
4 spring onions, sliced
125ml slivered almonds
100g goats cheese

Dressing:
45ml olive oil
60ml fresh orange juice
finely grated rind of one orange
15ml apple cider vinegar
2,5ml ground ginger
15ml honey

Add the brown rice to a mixing bowl and set aside.
Cook the broccoli until just tender, rinse under cold running water and drain well. Add it to the rice.
Place the cranberries in a bowl and pour boiling water over. Stand for 5 minutes and drain well.
Add the cranberries and sliced spring onions to the rice.
Toast the almonds in a dry pan over medium heat and add to the rice.
Crumble the goats cheese into the rice and mix all ingredients together.

Add the olive oil, orange juice, rind, vinegar, ginger and honey to a small bowl and whisk together until amalgamated.
Pour the dressing over the salad and give it another good mix through before serving.

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Asparagus Lemon Chicken

October 16, 2024October 15, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

4 skinless chicken breasts
80ml flour
30ml olive oil
30ml butter

Sauce:
125g butter
50ml flour
125ml chicken stock
250ml white wine
125ml lemon juice
1 bunch green asparagus, trimmed
125ml grated parmesan cheese
30ml chopped parsley
lemon wedges, to serve

Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness.
Season the 80ml flour with salt and pepper and dredge the chicken in it.
Add the olive oil and butter to a pan set over medium-high heat and wait for it to warm up.
Fry the chicken for 2-3 minutes preside and remove from the pan.

For the sauce:
Turn the heat down to medium.
Melt the 125g butter in the same pan and sprinkle the flour over it.
Cook while stirring for one minute.
Add the chicken stock to the pan and whisk the sauce continuously.
Pour in the white wine and lemon juice and stir until blended.
Return the chicken to the pan, cover with a lid and cook for 20 minutes.
Remove the lid and add the asparagus.
Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Take the pan from the heat, stir in the parmesan and sprinkle over the chopped parsley.
Serve the chicken with lemon wedges on the side.

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Black Bean Protein Muffins

September 12, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

2 eggs
1 x 400g tin of black beans, drained
100g syrup
50g sugar
10ml vanilla
a pinch of salt
70g cocoa powder, sifted
5ml baking powder
2,5ml bicarbonate of soda
30ml vegetable oil

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a muffin tin with 6 paper cups. Spray the linings with cooking spray and set aside.
Add the eggs to a blender and blitz together until frothy.
Now add all the other ingredients and process for 1 minute.
Divide the mixture between the cups and bake for 25 minutes.
Cool the muffins on a cooling rack, in the baking tin.
Serve at room temperature.

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Blood Orange Cordial

August 20, 2024August 19, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

the zest of 3 oranges
1 litre freshly squeezed orange juice, strained
500ml sugar
4 bay leaves

Add all the ingredients to a saucepan placed over medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Turn the heat down to low and simmer the mixture for one hour – you want a syrupy consistency.
Cool the liquid completely and strain into a glass bottle.
Serve the cordial over ice and sparkling water.
Store in the refrigerator.

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Green Cheesecake

August 3, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

260g oreo biscuits
115g butter, melted
900g cream cheese, room temperature
83ml sour cream
15ml lemon juice
45ml matcha powder or protein shake
120g icing sugar, sieved
15ml vanilla
125ml whipping cream

Break up the Oreo biscuits and place them in the bowl of a food processor.
Process on the pulse setting until the biscuits are broken down to crumbs.
Drizzle in the butter while the engine is running.
Sprinkle the sugar over the crumb mixture and stir through.
Tip the mixture into a 22cm loose-bottom cake tin and press into the bottom and sides.
Freeze the crust while preparing the filling.
Add the cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until soft.
Add the sour cream, lemon juice, matcha powder, icing sugar and vanilla and beat on high speed for one minute.
Scrape down the bowl and beat for another 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
Pour the cream into a clean mixing bowl and whisk to stiff peaks.
Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
Remove the crust from the freezer and spoon the filling into it. Smooth the top and cover the cake tin with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate for 6 hours.
Sprinkle/sift over the macha and slice to serve.

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Roasted Hake with Onions

June 15, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This recipe is my adaptation to make it easier/quicker/simpler to make Ottolenghi’s Roasted hake with fenugreek onions. The original recipe can be found in his book OTK on page 191.

5ml fennel seeds
5ml mustard seeds
10ml ground cumin
5ml ground turmeric
60ml + 45ml olive oil
40g + 40g + 20g butter, cubed
6 large onions, peeled and sliced
5ml salt
1 green chilli, finely chopped
5ml + 2,5ml sugar
12 hake medallions, unfrozen and dried on kitchen paper
10ml lemon juice
3 lemons cut into wedges

Mix the fennel, mustard, cumin and turmeric together in a small bowl.
Spoon 5ml of this spice mixture out into another small bowl and set both bowls aside.
Place a large pan over medium-high heat and add 60ml olive oil and 40g butter to it.
Wait for the butter to melt before adding the onions and salt.
Turn the heat down and cook for 20 minutes, stirring every now and then.
Add the chopped green chilli and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the 5ml sugar and the spice mix, stir for 30 seconds and remove it from the heat. Set aside.
Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Add the 45ml olive oil, 40g butter, 2,5ml sugar, 5ml spice mix and a pinch of salt to a 24cm x 24cm ceramic dish and mix together in the dish so that it covers the bottom.
Pack the fish tightly into the dish and season with salt and pepper.
Spoon the onion mixture over the fish medallions in an even layer and dot the surface with small pieces of the 20g butter.
Place in the oven and roast for 25 minutes.
Drizzle 10ml lemon juice over the fish and serve with the lemon wedges on the side.

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Rocket/Aragula Salad

June 12, 2024June 11, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

Dressing:
30ml olive oil
30ml lemon juice
1 clove of garlic, minced
2,5ml salt
1,2ml black pepper

120g rocket/aragula leaves
Parmesan cheese shavings
balsamic vinegar reduction

Add all of the ingredients for the dressing to a small bowl and whisk together. Put aside.
Place the rocket leaves in a salad bowl and add parmesan shavings by pulling a vegetable peeler over the surface of parmesan cheese.
Drizzle the dressing over the salad, mix together and arrange on a serving platter.
Drizzle some balsamic vinegar reduction over and serve.

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Quince Leather

May 7, 2024April 25, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

Follow the recipe as for the Membrillo.

Preheat your oven to 50℃.

Line a large baking sheet(s) with baking paper.
Pour the blitzed quince on to the paper and spread it out, about 3mm thick and as evenly as you can.
Place in the oven to dry for 7 – 8 hours. The fruit will remain slightly sticky when it is ready.
Once out of the oven, cool completely before rolling and slicing.

Store the quince wrapped in baking paper in a dry, well ventilated area.

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Cauliflower Chicken

February 22, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

30ml vegetable oil
15ml butter
1 cauliflower head, cut into florets
200g bacon, chopped
200g baby spinach
250ml cream
15ml thyme leaves, chopped
6-8 chicken breasts
200ml grated mozzarella cheese
3 salad onions, sliced

Preheat your oven to 190℃ and spray a 28cm x 21cm ovenproof dish with cooking spray.
Place a large pan over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil and butter to it. Wait for the butter to melt.
Add the cauliflower florets and bacon bits and stir-fry for 10 minutes.
Add the baby spinach and cook until wilted.
Turn off the heat and add the cream and thyme and mix through.
Spoon this mixture into the prepared oven dish and set aside.
Wipe the pan clean and spray with cooking spray.
Season the chicken and then brown the breasts by cooking them for about 2 minutes a side.
Arrange the chicken on top of the cauliflower mixture and then push it down slightly.
Sprinkle the cheese around the chicken and then the salad onions over everything.
Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, until golden.

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Red Sorghum Salad

February 1, 2024January 31, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

250ml uncooked sorghum
250ml black olives, pips taken out and quartered
250ml cubed feta cheese
500ml cubed tomato
a bunch of basil, shredded
125ml mayonnaise
30ml chilli oil (or regular olive oil)
15ml lemon juice

Cook the sorghum according to the packet instructions and allow to cool completely.
Add the sorghum, olives, feta, tomato and basil to a bowl and mix together.
Add the mayonnaise, chilli oil and lemon juice to a small bowl and whisk together until amalgamated.
Drizzle the dressing over the salad and mix to serve.