vegetarian – Page 32 – My Whisk and I

Roasted Broccoli

March 28, 2022March 25, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This is a delicious, healthy side dish that feeds six people.

1,5kg broccoli, cut into florets
100g butter, cubed
15ml lemon zest
15ml lemon juice
60ml dry white wine

15ml olive oil
15ml butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
125ml panic bread crumbs (or homemade breadcrumbs)
30ml thyme leaves
60ml cashew nuts, chopped
45ml parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Place the broccoli in a large mixing bowl and pour enough boiling water over to cover it. Allow to stand for 2 minutes before draining.
Spread the broccoli in a roasting tin.
Add the 100g butter, lemon zest, juice and white wine to a small saucepan over medium heat.
Stir the mixture until the butter has melted.
Drizzle the sauce over the broccoli and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Add the oil and 15ml butter to a frying pan set over medium heat and allow the butter to melt.
Fry the garlic for one minute, while stirring it in the pan.
Add the breadcrumbs, thyme and cashews and stir around in the pan until golden.
Cool and mix through the parmesan.
Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the broccoli and bake for 20 minutes.
Serve with fresh lemon.

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Stuffed Flatbread (Aloo Paratha)

March 22, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

Aloo Paratha is a traditional Indian breakfast flatbread that is stuffed with spiced potato. My take on it includes corn kernels to add some crunch and can be eaten as an appetiser, side dish, breakfast, lunch or dinner, although tradition dictates that it is a breakfast dish.

300g flour
5ml salt
15ml oil
150-200ml water

Filling:
3 potatoes, cooked
2,5ml salt
5ml ground cumin
5ml dried chilli flakes
45ml parsley and chives, chopped
125ml corn kernels

Add the flour, salt and oil to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
Turn the mixer on low speed and add 150ml water. Add a little more water until the mixture comes together as a dough.
Knead/mix on medium speed for 4 minutes until you have a smooth, soft dough.
Cover and set aside for 15 minutes.

Filling:
Grate the cooked potato into a mixing bowl.
Add the salt, cumin, chilli, parsley and corn kernels and mix well.

Divide the dough in four equal pieces.
Roll each portion into a circle of about 20 cm in diameter.
Spoon a quarter of the potato filling onto one half of the dough circle and spread it evenly.
Fold the other half of the dough over the filling and press the edges together.
Place a pan on medium-high heat and add a dash of vegetable oil.
Fry the flatbread for 3-4 minutes per side. Regulate the heat so that the bread cooks slower rather than burn.
Cut the flatbread into three portions and serve with yoghurt and fresh lemon to dip into.

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French Onion Tart

March 21, 2022March 21, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

The South African cook and food blogger, Elmarie Berry has recently launched her recipe book Kosbaar. This is my interpretation of her delicious French Onion Tart.

1 batch Caramelised Onions, search the recipe on this blog
250g puff pastry, store bought
250ml sour cream
2 eggs
30ml thyme leaves
parmesan cheese, to grate on top

Preheat your oven to 200℃ and spray a 20cm loose bottom tart tin with cooking spray.
Line the tart tin with the puff pastry.
Spoon the cooled Caramelised Onions into the unbaked tart shell and spread it out evenly.
Whisk the sour cream, eggs and thyme together and pour over the onions.
Grate a good amount of Parmesan cheese on top and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Cool the tart on a cooling rack before taking it out of the tart tin.
Serve at room temperature.

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Frittata with Potato Crisps

March 16, 2022March 16, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

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.

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Kunafa ala Nawal

March 14, 2022March 15, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

Kunafa is a Middle Eastern dessert made with spun pastry and drizzled with rosewater and sugar syrup. This is my adapted version of Kunafa, inspired by my favourite tennis “tweeter”! Thanks Nawal!!

250ml sugar
125ml water
5ml rose water
450g vermicelli noodles, cooked and cooled
140g butter, melted
300g mozzarella cheese, grated
a handful of pistachio nuts
icing sugar to dust

Preheat your oven to 200℃ and butter a 25cm loose bottom cake tin. Place the cake tin on a large baking sheet and set aside.
Add the sugar and water to a small saucepan set over medium high heat.
Stir the mixture until all the sugar granules are dissolved and then bring it to a simmer for 1 minute.
Take the saucepan from the heat, add the rosewater and set aside.
Place the cooked noodles in a large mixing bowl, drizzle with the melted butter and mix with your hands to spread the butter over the noodles.
Place half of the noodles in the prepare cake tin, in an even layer.
Spread the mozzarella over the noodles and top the cheese with the remaining noodles.
Press the layers down into the tin and bake for 50-60 minutes, until golden.
Remove the cake tin (still on the baking sheet) from the oven and immediately drizzle the kunafa with the rosewater syrup.
Leave to stand for 10 minutes.
Take off the ring of the tin and sprinkle the kunafa with pistachio nuts.
Sieve over some icing sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.

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Asparagus Pea Salad

March 11, 2022March 10, 2022by Karen Claassen1 Comment

1bunch asparagus, blanched and cooled
250ml frozen peas, blanched and cooled
1 punnet sugar snap peas, blanched and cooled

For the dressing:
1 egg yolk
5ml dijon mustard
250ml olive oil
50 grated parmesan cheese
15ml lemon juice

Add the yolk and mustard to a medium mixing bowl and whisk together.
Add a few drops of the olive oil and whisk to incorporate – repeat, adding only a few drops of oil at a time, until you have about half of the oil left.
Slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture while whisking continuously. Keep going until all the oil is incorporated.
Add the parmesan and lemon juice and whisk to combine. Season will salt.
Arrange the asparagus, peas and sugar snaps on a serving plate and add a few dollops of the dressing to serve.

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Fried Aubergine (Eggplant/Brinjal)

March 9, 2022March 7, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

This recipe is enough for one large aubergine – adjust according to how many people you need to feed.

1 egg
2,5ml salt
80ml cornstarch
1 aubergine, cut into 1cm thick slices
250ml panko breadcrumbs
vegetable oil
lemon wedges

Beat/whisk the egg and salt together in a small, shallow bowl and set aside.
Measure the cornstarch into a shallow bowl and the breadcrumbs into another.
Dredge each slice of aubergine in cornstarch, then in egg mixture and then in the breadcrumbs, pressing down onto the crumbed slices to help the breadcrumbs stick.
Place the coated aubergine slices on a wire rack for 20 minutes so that the coating can dry out and set.
Pour about 0,5cm of vegetable oil into a shallow saucepan set over medium-high heat.
Fry the slices in batches for 2 minutes per side.
Transfer to kitchen paper to drain and season with salt and pepper while warm.
Serve the fried aubergine with a squeeze of lemon and a dipping sauce if you like.

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Classic Potato Salad

March 8, 2022March 7, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

1kg potatoes
15ml wine vinegar
125ml sour cream
62ml mayonnaise
15ml wholegrain mustard
half an onion, very finely chopped
2 dill cucumber pickles, finely chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
62ml parsley, chopped

Cook and peel the potatoes.
Chop the potato into bite sized chunks and add it to a large mixing bowl.
Sprinkle over the wine vinegar and season with salt.
Mix the sour cream, mayonnaise and wholegrain mustard together and pour over the potato.
Add the onion, pickles, eggs and parsley and mix through.
Taste and season the salad.

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Aubergine and Halloumi Vegetable Bake

March 2, 2022March 2, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

4 aubergines
1 onion, chopped
8 celery sticks, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomato
600-800g halloumi cheese
250ml olives, pitted
a bunch of thyme
a bunch of basil leaves

Preheat your oven to 190℃ and grease a 18cm x 28cm baking dish.
Cut the aubergine lengthwise into 3mm thick slices.
Pour some vegetable oil into a saucepan set over medium-high heat and fry the aubergine on both side, until golden.
Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Add the onion, celery and garlic to the same saucepan and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the tomato and cook the sauce for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Cut the halloumi into sticks that are more or less 8cm x 1,5cm. You need the same amount of cheese sticks and aubergine slices.
Place a cheese stick on an aubergine slice, roll it up like a pancake and place in the prepared baking dish.
Pour the tomato sauce over the aubergine rolls and scatter the olives and thyme leaves over.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
Scatter the basil leaves over the baked dish and serve warm or at room temperature.

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Fried Rice

March 1, 2022March 1, 2022by Karen ClaassenLeave a Comment

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.