1kg potatoes 15ml wine vinegar 125ml sour cream 62ml mayonnaise 15ml wholegrain mustard half an onion, very finely chopped 2 dill cucumber pickles, finely chopped 2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped 62ml parsley, chopped
Cook and peel the potatoes. Chop the potato into bite sized chunks and add it to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle over the wine vinegar and season with salt. Mix the sour cream, mayonnaise and wholegrain mustard together and pour over the potato. Add the onion, pickles, eggs and parsley and mix through. Taste and season the salad.
110g butter, room temperature 175g caster sugar 4 eggs, separated 110g almond meal/ground almonds 110g dark chocolate, very finely chopped or grated 150ml milk 175g self-raising flour
Preheat your oven to 170℃ and line two 12-hole muffin tins with paper cups. Add the butter and caster sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream together until very pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolks to a bowls and whisk together. Run the mixer on low speed and add a spoonful of the yolks at a time. Beat well after each addition. Remove the mixing bowl from the mixer and fold in the chopped chocolate, almond meal and milk. Add the egg whites to a clean mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk until soft peak stage. Gently fold the whites into the almond mixture. Now add the flour and gently fold it in with a spatula. Spoon the mixture into the 24 paper cases and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes on a cooling rack before icing/decorating.
Chocolate Ganache: 160g chocolate 125ml heavy cream
Chop the chocolate into pieces and place it in a heatproof mixing bowl. Pour the cream into a small saucepan on medium heat. Take the cream from the heat as soon as small bubbles appear at the edges of the saucepan. Pour the cream onto the chopped chocolate and allow to stand for 2 minutes. Now stir the mixture until the chocolate has melted and it is completely smooth and silky. Cool completely before whipping for 4 minutes. Use to decorate.
Marinade: 80ml soy sauce 80ml brown sugar 4 cloves of garlic, minced 15ml fresh ginger, minced 30ml sesame oil 30ml wasabi paste 5ml fish sauce
Place the fillet in the smallest container that it fits into comfortably. Mix all the marinade ingredients together and pour over the fillet. Cover the container with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or overnight). Take the beef from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before cooking it. * Turn the beef throughout its marinating time so that the entire fillet is covered with marinade. Cook the fillet on a rotisserie over a medium-warm fire for 1 hour 15 minutes. Wrap the meat in 2 layers of aluminium foil and rest it for 15 minutes. Slice the fillet into very thin slices and spoon over the leftover marinade.
4 aubergines 1 onion, chopped 8 celery sticks, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomato 600-800g halloumi cheese 250ml olives, pitted a bunch of thyme a bunch of basil leaves
Preheat your oven to 190℃ and grease a 18cm x 28cm baking dish. Cut the aubergine lengthwise into 3mm thick slices. Pour some vegetable oil into a saucepan set over medium-high heat and fry the aubergine on both side, until golden. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Add the onion, celery and garlic to the same saucepan and cook for 3 minutes. Add the tomato and cook the sauce for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Cut the halloumi into sticks that are more or less 8cm x 1,5cm. You need the same amount of cheese sticks and aubergine slices. Place a cheese stick on an aubergine slice, roll it up like a pancake and place in the prepared baking dish. Pour the tomato sauce over the aubergine rolls and scatter the olives and thyme leaves over. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Scatter the basil leaves over the baked dish and serve warm or at room temperature.
One of the secrets to perfect fried rice is the temperature: cold rice fries brilliantly and thus this is the perfect dish for those leftovers in the refrigerator! The other secret? Butter!
45ml butter 2 onions, chopped 2 cloves of garlic, minced 3 carrots, cut into small cubes about 750ml of cooked, cold rice 250ml frozen peas 1 x 400g tin of corn kernels 15ml sesame oil 15ml soy sauce 15ml fish sauce (optional)
Add the butter to a large non-stick pan set over medium heat and allow to melt. Add the onion, garlic and carrot and stir-fry until the onion starts to catch a little. Add the rice, peas, corn, sesame oil, soy and fish sauce and turn the heat up to high. Fry the mixture and stir it around every now and then for 3-4 minutes. The high heat will crisp up and caramelise the rice. Take the pan from the heat and taste the fried rice. Drizzle with some more soy sauce if it needs it. Serve warm.
250ml wholewheat flour 250ml cake flour 250ml blueberries 125ml sugar 7,5ml baking powder 2,5ml bicarbonate of soda 2,5ml salt 250ml buttermilk zest of 1 lemon 1 egg 62ml vegetable oil 5ml vanilla
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 23cm x 13cm loaf tin with baking paper. Add the two flours to a mixing bowl and stir to mix with a spatula. Place the blueberries in a separate bowl and sprinkle 4 tablespoons of the flour over the fruit. Mix through so that the blueberries are coated with flour. Set aside. Add the sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt to the flours and stir through. Add the buttermilk, lemon zest, egg, oil and vanilla to a wide-mouthed jug and whisk together. Pour the liquids into the dry ingredients and stir together until all the flour has been incorporated and you are left with a shaggy, wet batter. Add the blueberries and stir through. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf tin and pat it into the corners. Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the bread, comes out clean. Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove the bread from the tin and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack. Slice to serve.
This is without doubt my favourite salad! If you are a fan of tomato, this is a must-try.
4 x 2cm thick slices of sourdough bread 6-8 fresh, ripe tomatoes at room temperature half a cucumber 1 small red onion 2 cloves garlic, minced 125ml olive oil 60ml balsamic vinegar juice of 1 lemon a bunch of fresh basil leaves
Preheat your oven to 190℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Cut the sourdough slices into cubes of 1,5 – 2cm. Spread the bread cubes on the prepared baking sheet and liberally drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Place in the oven for 20-30 minutes, until the bread is golden and crisp. Remove from the baking sheet and set aside to cool.
Dressing: Chop 3-4 tomatoes into very small pieces. The chopping is best done in a shallow bowl so that you preserve all of the tomato’s juice. Add the tomato and the juice to a small mixing bowl. Chop the onion as finely as you can, mince the garlic and add to the tomato. Now add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lemon juice. Mix these ingredients together and seasonal with salt and pepper. Make adjustments according to your liking.
Slice the remaining 3-4 tomatoes into chunks and place in a large mixing bowl. Cut the cucumber into chunks and add that as well. Pour the dressing over the tomato and cucumber and mix through. Scatter the croutons and basil on top of the salad and mix through. Transfer to a serving platter.
When it comes to a galette the success thereof is often determined by the pastry! But then again, if you do not have the time to make the pastry it can be equally successful if you replace the homemade pastry with a store bought short crust pastry. I include the recipe for a classic flaky pastry and would highly recommend that you try it when the time is right…..
Classic Flaky Pastry
65g bread flour 150g cake flour 3,5ml salt 105g butter, cubed 35g shortening, cubed (you may replace this with butter) 70ml ice cold water
Add the bread flour, cake flour and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to mix. Add the cubed butter and shortening and pulse until the mixture forms tiny clumps, the size of lentils. Keep the engine running and slowly drizzle in half of the water. Now keep adding very small amounts of water until the pastry JUST comes together. Wrap the pastry in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour.
For the galette:
1 batch Classic Flaky Pastry or short crust pastry 250g cream cheese 1 batch Caramelised Onions (search the recipe on this blog) 12 fresh figs 12 bocconcini balls or other soft cheese olive oil Balsamic vinegar thyme 1 egg yolk
Preheat your oven to 190℃ and line a large baking sheet with baking paper. Roll the pastry to a 30cm circle and mark a 5cm border on the outside edges. Place the pastry on the prepared baking sheet. Spread the cream cheese evenly on the pastry, keeping the border clear. Spoon the caramelised onion on the cream cheese and spread it evenly. Cut 2 slits down the centre of each fig (or half/quarter each) and arrange onto the caramelised onion. Now arrange the bocconcini on and between the figs, drizzle the galette with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and scatter over the thyme. Fold the clear border of the pastry up/over the figs. Whisk the egg yolk and 15ml water together and evenly brush a thin layer onto the pastry. Bake the galette in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with more balsamic vinegar before setting aside to cool down slightly. Serve the fig galette at room temperature.
When onion is caramelised to perfection it has a rich flavour and makes a great accompaniment to cold meats, patés, terrines and even a base for savoury tarts. This recipe yields about 500ml of caramelised onions that will keep for 2-3 days in the refrigerator.
30ml butter 15ml vegetable oil 5 large onions, sliced a pinch of salt 30ml brown sugar 45ml balsamic vinegar
Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan over low heat. Add the sliced onions and a generous pinch of salt and cook for 20 minutes. Stir the onions once or twice to prevent them from catching but not too often as it will prevent the caramelisation process. Add the sugar and balsamic once the onions are soft and golden in colour. Cook over a low heat for another 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally until the onions are sticky and caramelised.
My Whisk and I 