8 eggs 62ml sour cream 200g roasted red peppers (store bought or home made) 45ml thyme leaves 140 potato crisps (chacalaka/tomato sauce/cheese and onion) 30ml butter 50-100g goats cheese
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Crack the eggs in a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Add the sour cream, season the mixture with salt and pepper and whisk again. Chop the roasted peppers into chunks and add to the egg mixture. Add the thyme leaves and all of the potato chips. Mix everything together with a spatula. Place an ovenproof frying pan on medium heat, add the butter and wait for it to melt. Add the frittata mixture to the pan and stir around for a few minutes, lightly scraping the bottom of the pan. Spread the ingredients evenly with the spatula and place the pan in the oven. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until the frittata is set. Dot the goats cheese on the frittata’s surface and serve warm with a side salad.
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.
This is the perfect one-portion shakshuka, all wrapped up into one omelette!
4 eggs 125ml baby spinach salt and pepper a 10cm piece of chorizo sausage (per portion), cut into small cubes 250ml cherry tomato, halved 80ml feta cheese, cut into small cubes 15ml butter vegetable oil
Add the eggs and baby spinach to a jug and blitz together with a stick blender. Season with salt and pepper. Melt 15ml butter and a splash of vegetable oil in a non-stick frying pan, set over medium-low heat. Pour the egg mixture into the frying pan and cook until the edges of the omelette begin to set. Push down onto the edges with a silicone spatula and gently push the edges towards the centre of the pan. Tilt the pan so that the uncooked eggs move to the edges. Repeat around the pan until the eggs are set but still soft. Scatter the chorizo, tomato and feta in a line down the centre of the omelette and cook for one minute longer. Slide the spatula underneath one side of the omelette and gently fold it over the filling. Repeat on the other side. Now tilt the pan and gently nudge the omelette onto a plate. The omelette is for one famished individual or two people, to share.
This chicken is terribly easy and quick to make and deliciously soft and moist. Yields 6 portions.
6 chicken breasts, skin removed 45mll butter 30ml vegetable oil 125ml chicken stock 125ml stout or any other beer 10ml dried tarragon 125ml cream
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Place an ovenproof frying pan onto medium-heat and add the butter and vegetable oil to it. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place it in the hot pan to fry. Cook the breasts for 4 minutes before turning and cooking the other side for another 4 minutes. Remove the chicken from the frying pan and keep on the side while you make the sauce. Pour the chicken stock into the frying pan and simmer for 3 minutes before adding the stout/beer. Bring the liquids back to a simmer, scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen the caramelised bits of chicken and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the tarragon and cream and stir through. Place the chicken breasts back in the sauce and place the pan in the oven. Cook for 20 minutes. Serve the chicken on couscous and spoon over some extra sauce.
More of an idea than a recipe but absolutely fabulous and delicious!!
Dressing: 45ml olive oil 15ml grape vinegar 2,5ml mustard 15ml honey a pinch of salt
Per portion/person: 1 fresh mango, peeled and sliced 1 smoked chicken breast, sliced a handful of rocket leaves
Mix all the ingredients for the dressing together and whisk until amalgamated. Dress the rocket leaves with half the dressing and set aside.
Layer the salad by arranging the mango slices on a plate, the chicken slices on top of that and finally top it with the rocket leaves. Drizzle with some of the remaining dressing and serve.
Cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions and allow to cool completely. Dice the sweet peppers, feta and peaches and chop the basil leaves. Mix everything together. Drizzle the pickling liquid from the sweet pepper over the salad or make the Lemon Dressing (search on this blog)
Preheat your oven to 160℃ and line the sides only, of a 22cm loose-bottom cake pan with baking paper. Add the biscuits to the bowl of a food processor and drizzle in the melted butter, with the engine running. Scoop the mixture into the prepared cake pan and press it evenly on the bottom. Place in the refrigerator. Put a frying pan on medium heat and add about 5ml vegetable oil to it. Add the bacon and onion to the pan and cook until done. Take the pan from the heat and set aside to cool. Add the ricotta, cream cheese, grated parmesan and eggs to the bowl of a food processor and process until you have a smooth mixture. Pour this mixture over the cooled bacon and onion and stir to combine. Spoon into the prepared base and bake the cheesecake for 45 minutes. Serve at room temperature with balsamic roasted beetroot (recipe on this site) and roasted onions.
30ml butter, melted 15ml olive oil 83ml balsamic vinegar 30ml water 15ml sugar 1,2ml salt about 12 small/medium beetroot baby spinach 5 fresh peaches, stoned and quartered 100g goats cheese 30ml honey
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Add the melted butter, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a small bowl and whisk everything together. Set aside. Wash and scrub the beetroot and cut off the hairy parts at the root. Half or quarter each, depending on its size and place them in an oven tray. Pour the balsamic mixture over and cover the pan with aluminium foil. Bake the beetroot for 30 minutes, remove the foil, turn the beets and bake for a further 30 minutes or until fully cooked and beautifully glazed. Remove the tray from the oven and allow to cool. Reserve the pan juices. Arrange the baby spinach, cooled beetroot and peach quarters on a serving platter and break the goats cheese over it. Mix together 45ml of the reserved pan juices and the honey and drizzle over the salad. Serve as a side or with a fresh crusty bread as a lunch.
450g sweet peppers/bell peppers 30ml + 15ml olive oil 30ml white wine vinegar 1 clove of garlic, minced 12 basil leaves, chopped 2 sprigs of thyme 5ml sugar 2,5ml salt 45ml pine nuts, toasted 125ml crumbed feta cheese 125ml olives, pitted
Turn your oven on the grill setting and line a baking sheet with aluminium foil. Drizzle the 15ml olive oil on the peppers and spread evenly over each pepper with your hands. Place the peppers on the lined baking sheet and grill for about 15 minutes, until their skins are black. DO NOT take the peppers out too soon….they can not be too blackened! Immediately place the charred peppers in a mixing bowl and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Set aside until the peppers are cool enough to handle. Break open the peppers, remove the core and seeds and pull the skin from each. It is easiest to use your hands to scrape the seeds out and it is quite all right for the peppers to tear into strips! Add the peppers, oil, vinegar, garlic, basil, thyme, sugar and salt to a mixing bowl and refrigerate for one hour. Arrange the marinated peppers on a serving plate and top with pine nuts, feta and olives.
This is the perfect food as a light starter or simply as a canapé served with drinks on the patio. It can also double up as a light lunch when served with a salad.
2 large pears 30ml butter 30ml honey 1 lemon 500g ready-made pastry 200g goats cheese a handful of pecan nuts a handful of thyme leaves egg-wash: 1 egg + 15ml milk
Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Peel and core the pears and cut them into thin wedges lengthwise. Place in a bowl and squeeze the lemon juice over. Mix up the slices with your hands so that the pear is covered with lemon juice. Add the butter and honey to a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the pear slices and any lemon juice from the bowl and cook for 2-3 minutes a side, until the pear is caramelised. Remove the pear slices but reserve the honey caramel in the pan. Roll the pastry to a 28cm X 38cm rectangle and score a 2cm border all around the edges. Place the pastry on the lined baking sheet. Arrange the pear slices over the pastry within the border. Now break up the cheese and arrange it randomly between the pear. Scatter the pecan nuts and the thyme leaves over the pear and goats cheese. Drizzle the leftover caramel from the pan over the tart. Whisk the egg and milk together and brush the pastry border with it. Bake the tart for 20 minutes until the pastry is beautifully golden. Serve slightly warm.
My Whisk and I 