White Bean Soup

White Bean Soup

30ml olive oil
30g butter
4 cloves of garlic, minced
3 x 400g cans of cannellini beans
500ml vegetable stock
5ml finely chopped rosemary
5ml finely chopped thyme leaves
sourdough croutons to serve

Place a saucepan on medium-high heat, add the olive oil and butter and wait for the pan to heat up.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Drain 2 of the cans of beans and add the beans to the saucepan.
Pour the third can of beans, liquid and all, into a liquidiser and blitz until smooth.
Add to the saucepan.
Pour in the stock and add the rosemary and thyme.
Grind over some black pepper and stir together.
Bring the soup to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every now and then.
Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.
Serve piping hot with freshly made croutons.

Aubergine Flatbread

Aubergine Flatbread

60ml olive oil
1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained
150g – 200g aubergine, cubed
3 cloves of garlic, minced
5ml sumac
lemon juice
pomegranate seeds
8 – 10 small flatbreads, about 8cm diameter

Pour the olive oil in to a pan and set it over medium to medium-high heat.
Add the chickpeas, aubergine cubes, garlic and sumac and cook for about 10 minutes, until the aubergine is soft.
Take from the heat and roughly mash together so that you have mashed chickpeas with texture.
Smear the mixture on to the flatbreads, drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle over some pomegranate seeds.
Serve as a canapé with drinks.

Aubergine with Sesame Dressing

Aubergine with Sesame Dressing

12 baby aubergine OR 2 large aubergine, cut into 2cm thick slices
30ml olive oil
250ml greek yoghurt
45ml tahini paste
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Slice the aubergine in half and score the flesh.
Brush the olive oil on the scored side and either grill over an open fire or in a very warm pan until cooked and slightly charred.
Arrange the aubergine on a serving plate.
Add the yoghurt, tahini paste and garlic to a small bowl and mix together. Smear the tahini paste against the side of the bowl and scrape it off again so that it mixes through the other ingredients.
Serve the sesame dressing on the aubergine at room temperature.

Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup

Chicken and Sweet Corn Soup

This is a nutritious soup and is perfect to make with cooked, left-over chicken.

2 chicken breast fillets
1,5l chicken stock
10ml sesame oil
2,5ml ground ginger
1 x 375g can of sweet corn
30ml cornflour
2 eggs
a handful of chopped chives
one packet baby corn

Place the chicken breasts in a saucepan set over medium-high heat and cover with 1 litres of the stock. Add a pinch of salt and cook until the chicken is done.
Remove the meat, but keep the stock.
Shred the chicken into large strips by pulling it apart with two forks.
Top up the chicken stock so that you have 1 litre again.
Add the sesame oil, ginger powder and sweet corn and bring to a boil.
Add the shredded chicken and bring the mixture to a simmer.
Add the cornflour to a small bowl and pour in about 60ml of the stock from the saucepan.
Stir to make a runny paste.
Drizzle the cornflour into the saucepan in a thin stream while stirring continuously.
Add the eggs to a small bowl and whisk together.
Add a spoonful of the stock in the saucepan to the eggs and whisk again.
Now, slowly drizzle in the egg while stirring.
Remove the soup from the heat, add the corn and chives and serve immediately.

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

60ml butter
1 onion, chopped
60ml flour
750ml vegetable stock
1 head of broccoli, chopped into small pieces, stems included
1 large carrot, finely diced
500ml milk
750ml grated mature cheddar cheese

Add the butter to a large saucepan set over medium-high heat and wait for it to melt.
Add the onion and cook for 5-10 minutes until soft.
Sprinkle the flour over the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, while stirring.
Drizzle in the stock while whisking continuously.
Season with salt and black pepper.
Now add the broccoli and carrot, bring the mixture to a boil and reduce to a low simmer.
Cook for 20 minutes, stirring every now and then.
Pour the milk into the mixture and stir to blend.
Decant about two thirds of the mixture into a blender and blitz until smooth.
Pour back into the saucepan and wait for the soup to come back to a low simmer.
Add the cheddar and stir through until melted.
Serve the soup piping hot with a crusty bread.

Orange Oatmeal

Orange Oatmeal

250ml oats, cooked
90ml butter, cubed
250ml caster sugar
finely grated zest of 2 oranges
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
juice of 2 oranges
juice of 1 lemon
segments of 2 oranges

Add the butter, caster sugar, orange and lemon zest and orange and lemon juice to a small saucepan set over medium-high heat.
Bring the mixture to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens and becomes syrupy.
Take the sauce off of the heat, add the orange segments and set aside to steep for 15 minutes.
Spoon the oatmeal into servings bowls and top with the orange and sauce.


Guava Breakfast Bowl

Guava Breakfast Bowl

about 500g guavas, peeled
500g sugar
granola/muesli
vanilla yoghurt

Add the sugar and 2 litres of water to a large saucepan, set over medium-high heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the guavas, wait for the water to come to a boil and then turn dow the heat to a low simmer.
Cook for about 30 minutes.
Turn the heat off and leave the guavas in the liquid to steep overnight.
Remove the fruit from the liquid and slice into o,5cm thick slices.
Now layer granola, yoghurt and guava in a glass.
Enjoy and be healthy!

Tomato-Eggs

Tomato-Eggs

The instructions are for one portion/person.

1 large tomato
2 eggs

Slice the ends off the tomatoes so that you have straight edges.
Place the tomato on one of the straight edges and halve it horizontally.
Cut out the flesh on the inside so that you are left with 2 tomato rings.
Place a frying pan on medium-high heat, add a splash of vegetable oil and place the tomato rings in the pan.
Cook for 2 minutes, until warm and flip around.
Now break an egg in each tomato ring, season with salt and pepper and place a lid on the pan.
Cook until the egg is set to your liking and serve at once.

Thick Chicken Soup

Thick Chicken Soup

If you need to speed things up in the kitchen you may make this soup with store-bought stock and rotisserie chicken.

45ml olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
a small bunch of salad onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1l chicken stock
2 eggs
60ml fresh lemon juice
375ml cooked rice
500ml cooked chicken breast, shredded

Place a saucepan on medium-high heat and add the oil, onion and salad onion.
Cook until the onion is soft and translucent.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Pour in the chicken stock and season with salt and pepper.
Bring the mixture to the boil, turn down the heat and leave to simmer.
Add the eggs, lemon juice and 60ml of the rice to a blender.
Blend until smooth.
Keep the blender running and slowly pour in 250ml of the hot stock.
Now pour this mixture into the stock mixture in the saucepan while stirring.
Add the rest of the rice and the shredded chicken.
Simmer the soup for 10 minutes, on a low heat (do not let it boil) until thick.
Spoon into bowls and serve immediately.

Edamame Hummus

Edamame Hummus

This spread or dip is packed with protein as edamame beans are green soy beans. Enjoy it on toast, crackers, as a dip or stirred into roasted veg.

250ml edamame beans, thawed
30ml tahini paste
30ml lemon juice
30ml olive oil
1,2ml salt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
30-60ml water

Add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend for one minute.
Add the water a little at a time and keep blending until the hummus is smooth and creamy.
Taste the hummus and adjust the seasoning – often it needs a pinch of salt and some lemon juice.
Serve on crostini or crackers as a canapé or simply spread on toast.