Tag: side dishes

Fondant Potato

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Fondant Potato
Fondant Potato

Fondant potatoes are delicious but quite cheffy to make… I have taken out the chewiness without compromising on any taste. Less fiddling and a delicious, stress-free side-dish!!

45ml vegetable oil
5 large or 10 medium potatoes
45g butter
a handful of thyme
250ml chicken/vegetable stock

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Peel the potatoes and slice off the rounded ends. Now half the potato so that you have 2 cylinders off at least 4cm in height when they stand on a flat/cut side. (not more than 5cm)
Place a cast iron pan on medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil.
Arrange the potatoes, flat side down in the pan and cook until golden – about 6 minutes.
Flip them around onto the other flat side and brown this side as well – about 6 minutes.
Add the butter to the pan and allow to melt.
Add the thyme (be careful it will spit!) and baste the potato with the butter.
Pore the stock around the potatoes and season with salt and pepper.
Place a lid on the pan and bake in the oven for 35 minutes.
Check that the potatoes are tender by inserting a sharp knife – if not, bake another 5 minutes.
Sprinkle with salt and fresh sprigs of thyme and serve immediately.


Greek Salad with Pesto

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Greek Salad with Pesto
Greek Salad with Pesto

tomato, cut into wedges
onion, cut into rings
calamata olives
feta cheese
1 batch Greek Pesto (from this blog)

Add all the ingredients except the pesto to a salad bowl, drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
Dollop several spoonfuls of greek pesto on the salad to add zing, flavour and happiness!!

Asparagus Gratin

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Asparagus Gratin
Asparagus Gratin

1 large bunch of green asparagus
80ml cream
5ml wholegrain mustard
5ml flour
2 cloves garlic, minced
2,5ml salt
black pepper
80ml Panko breadcrumbs
250ml mature cheddar cheese, grated

Set your oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 200℃.
Parboil the asparagus in salted water for 2 minutes.
Remove from the heat, drain and plunge the asparagus into ice cold water for a minute. Drain on kitchen paper.
Arrange the asparagus in a gratin (any ovenproof) dish and set aside.
Stir the cream, mustard, flour, garlic and half the grated cheese together and season with salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture over the asparagus and top with the breadcrumbs and the remaining cheese.
Bake for 12 minutes.
Increase the oven temperature and grill until golden brown – about 2 minutes.
Serve immediately.


Fried Rice

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Fried Rice
Fried Rice

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.

Potato-Ricotta Bake

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Potato-Ricotta Bake
Potato-Ricotta Bake

This potato dish is a quick weekday dinner for vegetarians or a substantial side dish to any meat. If you don’t have ricotta cheese on hand, get the recipe from this site and make your own. Yields 6 – 8 portions.

6 large potatoes
350g ricotta cheese
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 onion, finely chopped
a handful of chives, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
40g parmesan/pecorino cheese, grated

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and grease a 20cm X 28cm baking dish.

Peel the potatoes and boil them until just cooked.
Slice them into 1,5cm cubes and put aside.
Add the eggs to a mixing bowl and whisk together.
Add the chopped onion, chives, minced garlic and parmesan to the egg mixture and whisk together.
Now add the cubed potato and mix through.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 25 minutes until golden.
Serve with a green salad.