recipe – Page 21 – My Whisk and I

Hasselback Chicken

August 10, 2023July 31, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
200g ementhal cheese, sliced into 20 slices
250g smoked bacon, cut into 20 strips
12 bay leaves
125ml cream
1 egg

Preheat your oven to 190℃.
Place the chicken on a chopping board and season with salt.
Cut 5 slits at a slight angle into each chicken breast, making sure not to cut all the way through.
Place a slice of cheese into each slit.
Now insert a pice of bacon into each slit.
Randomly insert 3 bay leaves per breast.
Place the stuffed chicken in a casserole dish and grind over some black pepper.
Add the cream and the egg to a jug and whisk together.
Pour the mixture over the chicken and bake for 35 minutes.
Serve warm.

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Banana Cake

August 9, 2023July 29, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

4 + 3 ripe bananas
125ml yoghurt
2 eggs
250ml sugar
2,5ml ground cinnamon
5ml vanilla
a pinch of salt
500ml flour
15ml baking powder
150g butter, melted
160g sugar
30ml water

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 20cm x 20cm baking tin with baking paper.
Peel 4 bananas and halve them in their length.
Arrange cut-side down in the prepared baking tin and set aside.
Peel the other 3 bananas and mash them with a fork.
Add to a bowl with the yoghurt, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt.
Mix together.
Sift in the flour and baking powder and mix together until smooth. The mixture will be very stiff.
Add the melted butter and mix again until all of the butter has been absorbed into the batter. Set aside.
Add the 160g sugar and 30ml water to a small saucepan set over medium-high heat.
Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Simmer the mixture WITHOUT STIRRING until it turns a caramel colour.
Remove from the heat and pour it over the bananas in the prepared baking tin.
Now pour the batter into the tin and spread it out evenly.
Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
Remove the cake and cool in the baking tin for 15 minutes.
Invert the cake on to a serving plate and cut into squares to serve.

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Cock-a-Leekie Soup

August 8, 2023July 27, 2023by Karen Claassen1 Comment

4 large leeks, sliced into coins
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 litre chicken stock
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
250ml cooked chicken, finely shredded
2 bay leaves
125ml cream

Place a saucepan over medium-high heat and add some olive oil to it.
Add the leeks and stir-fry until it is really soft.
Take about 2 spoonfuls of the leak out of the saucepan and keep aside as garnish.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for another minute.
Pour in the chicken stock, add the potato, chicken and bay leave and simmer the soup for 30 minutes.
Remove the bay leaves and mash the potato against the side of the saucepan. I like my soup to have uneven bits of potato to add texture but you may blitz it at this stage if you prefer.
Pour in the cream and season the soup with salt and black pepper.
Cook for a minute or two before serving with a fresh loaf of bread.

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Spicy Fried Rice

August 7, 2023July 31, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

15g butter
15ml olive oil
1 large/2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 carrots, finely diced
50g curry paste (I used Rogan Josh paste – use a milder paste if you are not a fan of heat!!)
30ml tomato paste
500ml cooked rice
45ml soy sauce

Place a large pan over medium-high heat and add the butter and oil.
Add the onion and fry until soft and translucent.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Now add the carrots and fry for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the curry and tomato paste and stir to mix through.
Add the cooked rice and stir until the rice is evenly coated.
Pour in the soy sauce and cook for 2 minutes, until the soy has been absorbed.
Serve warm.

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Passionfruit Soufflé

August 6, 2023June 28, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

about 30g butter, melted – to brush the ramekins
2 egg yolks
90g + 90g caster sugar +extra for the ramekins
5 egg whites
350-375ml of passion fruit pulp (about 25 fruits if you are using fresh)
icing sugar, for dusting

Preheat your oven to 220℃. Brush 6 x 180ml ramekins with melted butter, dust them with caster sugar (bottom and sides) and place them on a baking sheet.
Add the egg yolks and 90g caster sugar to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric whisk for at least 5 minutes. The mixture should be pale and thick and hold a trail when the beaters are lifted.
Add the egg whites to another large bowl and whisk until soft peaks.
Gradually add the remaining 90g caster sugar, one spoonful at a time while beating.
Place a sieve over a bowl, add the 350ml passionfruit and gently stir so that the pulp and juice runs through and the seeds stay behind. Reserve the pulp/juice as well as the seeds.
Add 80ml of the pulp/juice to the egg yolk mixture and mix well.
Stir a third of the egg whites into the mixture and then gently fold in the remaining whites.
Fill the ramekins almost to the top with the soufflé mixture and run you thumb around the edge to lift the mixture away from the rim.
Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes.
Dust the soufflés with icing sugar and serve with the pulp and some seeds mixed through.

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Baby Dutch Pancake with Citrus Curd

August 5, 2023August 2, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

45ml butter, cubed
3 eggs
180ml flour
180ml milk, warmed in the microwave for 30 seconds
15ml sugar
10ml vanilla
a pinch of salt
125ml lemon curd
125g cream cheese, room temperature
2 blood oranges, peeled and cut into segments
icing sugar for dusting

Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Add the cubed butter to a 23cm ovenproof frying pan and place it in the oven to heat up.
Add the eggs, flour, milk, sugar, vanilla and salt to a blender and blitz until smooth.
Remove the hot pan from the oven and swirl the butter around so that it covers the bottom and sides of the pan.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
Remove the pan and stand on a cooling rack.
Add the lemon curd and cream cheese to a small bowl and mix.
Spoon the mixture onto the warm pancake and spread it out.
Scatter the orange segments over the curd and sift with icing sugar to serve.

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Turkish Rice Pudding / Sütlaç

August 2, 2023June 28, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

125ml uncooked rice
500ml water
1 litre + 125ml milk
250ml sugar
grated zest of 1 lemon
37,5ml cornstarch
50g pistachios nuts, finely ground

Preheat your oven to 200℃ and place 6 ramekins in an oven tray that is at least 7cm deep.
Add the rice and water to a saucepan and cook over medium heat until tender – the rice should be creamy and not dry.
Pour in the 1 litre milk and add the sugar.
Stir, bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a slow simmer.
Cook for 10 minutes.
Add the lemon zest and stir through.
Add the cornstarch to a small bowl and pour in the 125ml milk. Whisk together to make a slurry.
Now drizzle the slurry into the simmering rice mixture while stirring the whole time.
Keep stirring and allow the mixture to become thick – about 10-15 minutes.
Spoon the mixture into the ramekins and fill the oven tray with enough warm water to come halfway up the side of the ramekins.
Place the oven tray on the top shelf of your oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden brown on top. WATCH THE PUDDINGS AND REMOVE THEM FROM THE OVEN WHEN YOU ARE HAPPY WITH THE COLOUR – THEY BURN EASILY!
Take the ramekins from the tray, allow them to cool and then refrigerate them for 1 hour.
Sprinkle the ground pistachio over the rice puddings and serve.

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Cheese Crinkle Pie / Borek

August 1, 2023June 28, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

1 box phyllo pastry
125g butter, melted
300g feta cheese, crumbled
200ml sour cream
3 eggs
100ml milk
30ml black sesame seeds

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and brush a 18cm x 26cm ceramic dish with melted butter.
Crinkle together two sheets of phyllo pastry by folding them like an accordion. Place them against the longer side of the dish.
Repeat with the remaining pastry and keep stacking the crinkled sheets until the dish is filled and you have no phyllo left.
Take a butter knife and open up/space the crinkles of the pastry evenly within the dish.
Place the pastry in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and drizzle over the melted butter.
Put the dish back into the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
Crumble the feta in to a bowl and set aside.
Add the eggs and sour cream to another bowl, whisk together and pour over the feta.
Add the milk and whisk everything together.
Pour the mixture evenly over the stacked phyllo sheets and sprinkle the sesame seeds over.
Nudge the side of the pastry with a spatula to distribute the custard evenly on the sides of the dish.
Bake the pie for 40 minutes and serve immediately.

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Pistachio, Date and Honey Cake

July 31, 2023June 28, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

175g butter, cubed
100g brown sugar
30ml + 15ml honey
2 eggs
225g self-raising flour
2,5ml ground cinnamon
2 ripe bananas
100g stoned dates
50g pistachio nuts, roughly chopped

Preheat your oven to 160℃ and line a medium loaf tin with baking paper.
Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together.
Add the honey with the mixer running and then add the eggs one at a time.
Scrape the mixture down and mix for another minute.
Mix the flour and ground cinnamon and add a tablespoon of flour to the mixture while mixing. Continue adding flour until you have none left.
Mash the bananas and cut the dates into small pieces with scissors.
Add the fruit to the the batter and mix for 2 minutes.
Spoon the batter in to the prepared loaf tin and level out the top.
Scatter the pistachios over and bake in the oven for 1 hour 10 minutes – check the loaf with a skewer to see if its done.
Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes before lifting it out of the baking tin.
Drizzle the remaining 15ml honey over the warm cake and allow to cool.
Slice into thick slices and serve along a cup of Turkish coffee.

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Shoulder of Lamb

July 30, 2023June 27, 2023by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

2kg lamb shoulder
6 cloves of garlic, minced
15ml ground cumin
15ml ground coriander
5ml chilli flakes
10ml smoked paprika
10ml salt
5ml black peppercorns, crushed
62ml olive oil
62ml lemon juice

125ml pomegranate seeds
60ml pine kernels, roasted

Preheat your oven to 160℃.
Place the lamb shoulder in a roasting dish with the fat side up.
Add the cumin, coriander, chilli, paprika, salt, peppercorns, olive oil and lemon juice to a small bowl and mix together.
Smear the paste all over the meat.
Pour 500ml of water around the lamb and tightly cover the roasting dish with aluminium foil.
Roast the lamb for an hour, open up the foil and spoon the liquid in the pan over the meat.
Cover again and roast further. Open the lamb once more after another hour.
The total roasting time should be 3 hours, with the foil covering.
Remove the foil after 3 hours of roasting and place the meat back in the oven for 30 minutes.
Remove the meat from the roasting tin but reserve the juices.
Slice or shred the lamb in a serving dish and drizzle with the pan juices.
Sprinkle the pomegranate seeds and pine kernels over the shredded meat and serve.