250g bacon, cut into small pieces 45ml butter 83ml flour 6-8 chicken breasts 15ml garlic powder 250ml chicken stock 15ml lemon juice 250 ml cream
Place a frying pan on medium-high heat, add a very small amount of oil and fry the bacon pieces until just crispy on the edges. Remove the bacon pieces from the pan but keep the fat and keep the pan on the heat. Mix the flour and garlic powder together and dredge the chicken in the flour. Add the butter to the warm pan and brown the chicken breasts on both sides – about 3 minutes per side. Pour in the stock and allow the chicken to cook for about 8 minutes before turning and cooking for another 8 minutes. Add the cooked bacon, lemon juice and cream to the pan, give it a stir and cook for 3-4 minutes until the sauce is thick and glossy. Serve the chicken breast on a starch of your choice.
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.
6-8 pork chops 45ml + 30ml olive oil 10ml ground turmeric 10ml salt 125ml apple cider vinegar 375ml olives, pitted and crushed 3 cloves garlic, chopped 250ml soft herbs (sage, basil, parsley, chives) chopped 30ml water
Preheat your oven to 200℃. Place the pork chops on an oven tray and drizzle the front and back with 45ml olive oil. Sprinkle the turmeric and salt on the chops and give it a rub with your hands to spread evenly. Put a cast iron pan on high heat and brown the chops on both sides. Place them back on the oven tray. Mix the 30ml olive oil, vinegar, crushed olives, garlic, chopped herbs and water together and spoon over the meat. Place in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Serve the chops warm or at room temperature.
This simple apricot sauce transforms a baked sweet potato into a well-balanced, tasty meal. Easy, quick and utterly delicious!
6 – 8 medium sweet potatoes 250g dried apricots 125ml honey 30ml apple cider vinegar 2,5ml ground ginger 2,5ml ground coriander a pinch of salt
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Place the sweet potatoes on the baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes, until soft. Remove from the oven and keep warm. Turn your oven onto the grill setting. Add the apricots to a mixing bowl and sprinkle lightly with olive oil. Mix through so that all of the apricots are covered in oil. Spread out on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and grill until very lightly charred. Keep an eye on them, they burn quickly! Add half the apricots to a liquidiser. Add the honey, vinegar, ginger, coriander and a pinch of salt and blitz to a purée. Taste the sauce and adjust to your liking. Adjust the thickness to your liking by adding more apricots for a thicker sauce. Make a slit in the baked sweet potatoes and spoon the sauce over it. Serve on rocket leaves and the rest of the whole roasted apricots.
There is no pan frying involved in making these meatballs as they are cooked directly in the tomato sauce and therefore are wonderfully juicy and aromatic. The recipe yields about 16 large meatballs but may be easily halved.
2 onions, chopped 4 cloves of garlic, minced 2 tins of chopped tomato 15ml sugar 10ml salt 10ml dried oregano 250ml beef stock
Add the onion, garlic and a splash of oil to an ovenproof saucepan and place on medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chopped tomato, sugar, salt, oregano and stock and allow the mixture to simmer slowly while you get on with the meatballs.
Slice the crusts from the bread and place it in a bowl. Pour the milk onto the bread, turning the bread in the milk so that it becomes soggy and start falling apart. Add the beef and salt to the bread mixture and mix with your hands. Push your hand down into the minced meat and squeeze it through your fingers – repeat until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Scoop a tablespoon-full of the meat mixture into your hands and roll into a ball. Place the meatball directly into the slowly simmering tomato sauce. Keep going until you have no meat mixture left. Sprinkle the grated cheeses onto the meatballs and bake in your preheated oven for 30 minutes. Serve with a crusty bread or fluffy mashed potato.
A galette is simply a free-form French pastry with either a savoury or sweet filling. Easy and quick to make, this mushroom galette is creamy, has depth of flavour and makes a perfect light lunch.
400g puff pastry 125ml cream cheese at room temperature
45ml butter 30ml vegetable oil 500g mushrooms, sliced 3 cloves of garlic, minced 15ml thyme, lightly chopped 45ml port or sherry 250ml mozzarella cheese, grated
Egg wash of 1 egg and 15ml milk, whisked together
Preheat your oven to 200℃. Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll out the pastry big enough to cut a 26cm-diameter circle. Place the pastry circle onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Spread the cream cheese onto the pastry with the back of a spoon, leaving a 2cm border of pastry, all around. Set aside.
Heat a heavy bottom pan on high heat and add the butter and oil. (If your pan is not large enough to accommodate all the mushroom at once, add half the butter and oil). Add the mushroom to the pan and fry at high heat so that the mushroom caramelises, about 3 minutes. Now add the garlic and thyme and cook for about 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Spoon this mixture into a bowl to cool and put the frying pan back onto medium heat. Add a splash of oil and cook the onion until soft. Add this to the mushroom mixture. Put the pan back onto the heat once more and add the port, scraping down the pan with a spatula. Scrape the caramelised bits left in the pan as well as the reduced port onto the mushroom mixture.
Sprinkle two thirds of the grated mozzarella cheese onto the cream cheese and pastry. Spoon the cooled mushroom mixture on top of the cheese and finish with the rest of the mozzarella. Fold the 2 cm pastry that extends beyond the filling over and onto the mushroom mixture. Brush the folded pastry with the egg wash and bake the galette for 30 minutes, until the pastry is golden. Serve as an aperitif or as a light lunch.
My Whisk and I 