Tag: treat

Uncategorized

Creamy Parmesan Chicken

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Creamy Parmesan Chicken
Creamy Parmesan Chicken

80ml flour
8 chicken breasts, skin and bone removed
vegetable oil
62ml butter
25ml flour
125ml white wine
62ml milk
62ml chicken stock
125ml finely grated parmesan cheese
30ml chopped parsley

Place the chicken on a work surface and dust both sides with the flour and some salt.
Place a saucepan over medium-high heat, add some vegetable oil and brown the breasts to golden brown. Work in batches and keep the browned breasts on the side.
Add the butter and wait for it to melt.
Sprinkle the flour over the butter and stir while cooking for 2-3 minutes.
Add the white wine, milk and chicken stock and stir the mixture until smooth and thickened.
Place the chicken breasts in the sauce, cover with a lid and reduce the heat to a low simmer.
Cook for 20 minutes, turning once or twice.
Remove the lid and sprinkle the parmesan over.
Stir the sauce for another 4 minutes before taking it from the heat.
Sprinkle over the parsley and serve.

Uncategorized

Lime Mousse

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Lime Mousse
Lime Mousse

8 eggs
250ml + 60ml sugar
2,5ml salt
juice and grated zest of 4 limes
250ml whipping cream
5ml vanilla extract

Separate 4 eggs into two bowls.
Add four whole eggs to another bowl and add the egg yolks to it.
Add 250ml sugar and whisk together until incorporated.
Pour this mixture into a small saucepan.
Add the salt, lime juice and finely grated zest and stir through.
Place the saucepan over low heat and stir continuously until the curd thickens. About 10 minutes or so.
Take the mixture off the heat and strain it through a sieve.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until chilled.
Whisk the four egg whites to stiff peaks.
Add the 60ml sugar a little at a time while whisking continuously. Keep going until all the sugar is incorporated and you are left with a stiff, glossy meringue mixture.
Add this mixture to the chilled lime curd and fold through.
Whisk the cream and vanilla in a separate bowl until stiff and fold it into the curd mixture.
Spoon the mousse into serving cups and chill until needed.

Uncategorized

Roasted Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Roasted Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce
Roasted Cauliflower with Cheese Sauce

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.

Uncategorized

Tiramisu

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Tiramisu
Tiramisu

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.

Uncategorized

Butter Candle Bread

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Butter Candle Bread
Butter Candle Bread

Prepare the butter candle the day before you intend to serve it:

80g salted butter
5 cloves garlic, minced
a small bunch of chives, finely chopped
1 small round bread
2 muffin paper cups
15cm length of cotton string

Place one paper cup in a muffin tin.
Take a second paper cup and make a small slit in the bottom.
Insert the string through the slit and pull about 2cm through to the bottom of the cup.
Place this second paper cup in the cup that is in the muffin pan.
Place a wooden dowel/chopstick across the paper cup and tie the string to it, so that you are creating a wick for your candle.

Melt the butter in the microwave, add the garlic and chives and stir together.
Pour the mixture into the prepared paper cup and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

Place a biscuit cutter, more or less the size of the muffin cup into the centre of the bread and hollow out the inside with your hands.
Keep the biscuit cutter in place and slice the rest of the bread into squares.
Remove the cutter and place the candle in the hollow.
Light the butter candle and wait for it to melt sufficiently to dip small pieces of bread into it.

Uncategorized

Banana Muffins

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Banana Muffins
Banana Muffins

You may add 125ml of chocolate chips or the same amount of chopped nuts to these delicious, moist muffins.
Yields 12 muffins.

500ml flour
10ml baking powder
5ml bicarbonate of soda
2.5ml salt
5ml ground cinnamon
200ml brown sugar
100ml greek yoghurt
125ml sunflower oil
5ml vanilla
250g/3 very ripe bananas
2 eggs

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cups.
Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon into a mixing bowl.
Add the brown sugar and stir through. Set aside.
Add the yoghurt, vegetable oil, vanilla and eggs to a jug and whisk together. Set aside.
Add the bananas to a bowl and mash them.
Add half of the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir through.
Now add half the banana and mix again.
Add the rest of the liquid and the rest of the banana and mix with a spatula.
Spoon the mixture into the paper cups and bake for 25 minutes.
Cool the muffins on a wire rack.


Uncategorized

Hummus Wreath

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on Hummus Wreath
Hummus Wreath

This is a quick throw-together as a starter or snack board and can easily be made from ingredients you already have in your refrigerator. If you want to make the hummus from scratch you will find a few recipes with slight variations under my search button if you type in HUMMUS.
Quantities are for you to decide and adapt to your taste.

hummus
chopped herbs like chives and parsley
crumbed feta or ricotta
cocktail tomatoes
olive oil to drizzle over before serving

Serve the hummus wreath with crackers or melba toast.

Uncategorized

How to make a Creamy Salad Dressing

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on How to make a Creamy Salad Dressing
How to make a Creamy Salad Dressing

This recipe yields about 200ml of dressing and can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 days.

15ml honey
60ml apple cider vinegar
125ml oil
45ml greek yoghurt
the juice of half a lemon

Add the honey and vinegar to a small bowl and whisk together.
Drizzle in the oil, a little at a time while whisking continuously until all the oil has been incorporated.
Add the yoghurt and whisk until amalgamated.
Finally add the lemon juice and season the dressing with salt.
Keep unused dressing in a glass jar in the refrigerator.

Uncategorized

PaneScone

by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment on PaneScone
PaneScone

450g flour
2,5ml salt
10ml baking powder
150g butter, cubed
120g sugar
120g candied citrus peel
120g raisins
1 orange, zested
1 lemon, zested
250ml milk

Preheat your oven to 200℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Add the flour, salt and baking powder to a mixing bowl and stir to mix.
Add the cubed butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Add the sugar, citrus peel and raisins and lightly mix through.
Add the grated zest of the orange and lemon and stir again.
Add small quantities of milk, stir and repeat until the mixture comes together as a dough.
Flour a work surface and place the dough on it. Flatten with your hands so that it is 5cm thick.
Cut out rounds with a biscuit cutter or a glass and place the scone on the prepared baking sheet, spaced apart evenly.
Bring the dough together to a 5cm thickness again and cut out some more rounds.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Remove the scones and cool on a cooling rack.
Dust with icing sugar to serve.