lekker kos – My Whisk and I

Mini Aubergine Schnitzels

March 23, 2024March 22, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

about 9 small aubergines
125ml flour
5ml salt and a few groundings of black pepper
125ml water
100g all bran breakfast cereal

Preheat your oven to 190℃ and line a baking sheet with aluminium foil.
Place the aubergine on the prepared baking sheet and prick the skin and flesh all over with a fork.
Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, remove and allow to cool completely.
Carefully peel off the skins and place the aubergines back on the tray.
Squash the flesh with a fork so that the flesh spreads out to an even thickness. Set aside.
Add the flour, salt, black pepper and water to a bowl and stir to make a thin batter.
Add the all bran flakes to a food processor and blitz to rough crumbs.
Pour the cereal in a shallow bowl.
Now dip an aubergine in the batter, covering both sides and allow the excess batter to drip off.
Place the aubergine in the cereal and coat on both sides.
Place a pan on medium-high heat and add some vegetable oil to it.
Wait for the oil to heat up and fry the aubergine for 2 minutes per side until golden and crispy.
Serve warm.

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Dressed-up Chicken Pie

February 25, 2024February 24, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

6-9 chicken breasts, skin removed
1 litre chicken stock
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
15ml turmeric
15ml chicken spice
15ml salt
10ml thyme leaves
250ml greek yoghurt
1 x 400g roll puff pastry
egg wash: 1 egg yolk + 15ml water whisked together

Cut the chicken into chunks and add it to a large saucepan.
Pour in the stock and add enough additional water to cover the chicken.
Bring to a simmer and cook for one hour.
Turn off the heat and allow the chicken to cool in the liquid. (This will ensure you have juicy, tender chicken for your pie!)
When it is cool enough to handle comfortably: drain and discard the liquid and pull the chicken meat into shreds.
Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Put a saucepan over medium-high heat and add a splash of oil.
Add the onion and cook until soft.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Now add the turmeric, chicken spice, salt, thyme, yoghurt and shredded chicken and simmer for 20 minutes.
Spoon the mixture into a 20cm x 28cm ovenproof dish and allow to cool.
Lay the pastry flat on a work surface and cut long strips from it that is 2cm wide.
Lay two strips over the cooled chicken, forming an X. Lay another two strips 3mm to the outsides of the X-shape. Keep going until the chicken is covered in a non-weave lattice pattern.
Use a flower shaped cookie cutter to cut multiple pastry flowers and stick them onto the lattice by wetting only with water.
Brush the decorated pastry with egg wash and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until golden.
Serve warm with a salad.

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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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Mushroom Chicken

February 13, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

4-6 chicken breasts
60ml flour
45ml + 30ml vegetable oil
30ml butter
300g mixed mushrooms
5ml thyme leaves
2 cloves of garlic, minced
15ml wholegrain mustard
15ml sour cream
125ml dry white wine
125ml chicken stock
30ml lemon juice

Place the chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap and beat them so that they are an even thickness.
Pat the meat dry, season with salt and pepper and dredge them through the flour.
Add 45ml vegetable oil to a pan set over medium-high heat, add the chicken and cook until golden on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add 30ml vegetable oil and the butter to the same pan and wait for it to heat up.
Add the mushroom and thyme leaves and fry for about 4 minutes – the mushroom should be caramelised and golden on the edges.
Turn the heat down, add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Add the mustard, sour cream, white wine and chicken stock and stir to mix.
Place the chicken back in the pan, cover with a lid and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes.
Remove the lid, drizzle the lemon juice over and serve immediately.

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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.

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Roasted Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce

January 4, 2024by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

1 head of cauliflower
80g butter, melted
5ml salt

Cheese Sauce:
15ml butter
15ml flour
190ml milk
125ml grated cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Remove the leaves and cut down the stem of the cauliflower so that it sits without rolling around.
Place the trimmed head on a roasting tray and brush a third of the melted butter onto the bottom section, allowing the butter to run through.
Turn the head upright and brush it all over with the rest of the butter.
Sprinkle with the salt and a few grindings of black pepper.
Now cover the roasting tray with aluminium foil and roast in the oven for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil and brown the cauliflower – about 15 minutes.

For the cheese sauce:
Add the butter to a small saucepan set over medium-high heat and allow it to melt.
Sprinkle over the flour and a pinch of salt and stir to make a paste.
Cook the butter and flour for 2 minutes while stirring, until it reaches a golden colour.
Add the milk and whisk until blended and the sauce has thickened.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the cheese.
Stir until melted.
Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning to your taste.
Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower to serve.

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Tiramisu

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

Yields 12 individual or one 18cm x 28cm dessert.

175g lady fingers
400ml strong coffee, cooled
83ml marsala or dessert wine
4 eggs, separated
100g caster sugar
750g mascarpone

Add the egg whites to a bowl, add a pinch of salt and whisk until stiff peaks. Set aside.
Add the sugar to the egg yolks and beat with an electric whisk until dissolved.
Add the mascarpone and incorporate with the whisk until mixed through.
Add the whites to the mixture and fold through.

Assembly:
Pour the coffee and marsala into a flat bowl.
Dip the lady fingers in the coffee mixture and lay them in an even layer in a glass/individual ramekin.
Now scoop some of the mascarpone mixture onto the biscuits and level it out.
Repeat with a layer of soaked lady fingers and mascarpone mixture.
Refrigerate the desserts for 2 hours.
Dust with cocoa powder to serve.

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Falafel

July 21, 2023June 26, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
a big handful of parsley, chopped
a big handful of coriander leaves, chopped
5ml ground coriander
5ml ground cumin
2,5ml salt
45ml flour
vegetable oil for frying

Add all of the ingredients, except the vegetable oil, to a mixing bowl and blitz together with a stick blender.
Lift the blender often and stir the mixture around – you want everything mixed together but not too fine.
Wet your hands and scoop up 15ml of the mixture. Roll into a ball and place on a tray.
Keep going until you have rolled all of the mixture into balls.
Pour enough oil to come 7cm up the side of a saucepan and allow to heat up.
Fry a few of the falafel balls at a time until beautifully golden and crisp on the outside.
Serve with a dipping sauce as a starter or fill a pita bread with falafel, salad and tzatziki sauce.