Mini Aubergine Schnitzels

Mini Aubergine Schnitzels

about 9 small aubergines
125ml flour
5ml salt and a few groundings of black pepper
125ml water
100g all bran breakfast cereal

Preheat your oven to 190℃ and line a baking sheet with aluminium foil.
Place the aubergine on the prepared baking sheet and prick the skin and flesh all over with a fork.
Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, remove and allow to cool completely.
Carefully peel off the skins and place the aubergines back on the tray.
Squash the flesh with a fork so that the flesh spreads out to an even thickness. Set aside.
Add the flour, salt, black pepper and water to a bowl and stir to make a thin batter.
Add the all bran flakes to a food processor and blitz to rough crumbs.
Pour the cereal in a shallow bowl.
Now dip an aubergine in the batter, covering both sides and allow the excess batter to drip off.
Place the aubergine in the cereal and coat on both sides.
Place a pan on medium-high heat and add some vegetable oil to it.
Wait for the oil to heat up and fry the aubergine for 2 minutes per side until golden and crispy.
Serve warm.

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.

Baked Burrata

Baked Burrata

250ml passata sauce, store bought
200g pickled sweet peppers, in olive oil
2 burrata cheese

Preheat your oven to 200℃.
Pour the passata sauce and peppers into a small ovenproof dish.
Place the cheese in the sauce and pour over the olive oil from the sweet peppers.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Serve the burrata and sauce with crostini or fresh, crusty bread as a delicious warm starter.

Biltong Borrelbrood

Biltong Borrelbrood

1 sourdough bread
200g cheese spread
100g butter
4 cloves of garlic, minced
80ml parsley, chopped
200g biltong, sliced

Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Place the bread on a wooden board and place a wooden spoon on either side of it, in its length.
Slice the bread on the diagonal, into 1,5cm thick slices WITHOUT slicing through – the wooden spoons should prevent this.
Now turn the bread and slice again so that you are left with squares that are attached at the bottom.
Place the sliced bread on a large piece of aluminium foil and then onto a baking sheet. Set aside.
Add the cheese spread, butter and garlic to a small saucepan and set it over a medium-low heat.
Stir every now and then until the mixture has melted and is amalgamated.
Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley.
Spoon generous amounts of the cheese mixture in between the sliced bread.
Push the biltong slices between the bread squares and cover with the aluminium foil.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
Serve immediately as a casual starter.


Prawn Croquettes / Hollandse Kroketten

Prawn Croquettes / Hollandse Kroketten

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
500g prawns, cleaned
375ml mashed potato
125ml grated cheddar cheese
2 eggs
about 500ml panko breadcrumbs
vegetable oil to fry

Place a saucepan over medium-high heat, add a splash of cooking oil and the onion and cook until soft.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Add the prawns and cook until pink – about 3 minutes.
Spoon the mixture into a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped.
Add the mashed potato and cheddar and pulse until the mixture is evenly incorporated.
Season with salt.
Beat the eggs together in a shallow bowl.
Add the breadcrumbs to another shallow bowl.
Scoop 30ml of the prawn mixture into you hands and shape it into a log.
Dit into the egg and then roll to cover in the breadcrumbs.
Refrigerate the shaped croquettes for a minimum of 30 minutes.
Heat the vegetable oil and fry in batches for 3-4 minutes.
Serve warm with a tartar sauce on the side.

Pap and Wors Canapés

Pap and Wors Canapés

1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
100g mature cheddar, grated
15ml salt
120g maize meal
30g butter
200g panko breadcrumbs
1 egg
vegetable oil for frying
cooked boerewors, sliced into 3 cm lengths

Place a frying pan on medium-high heat, add a splash of oil and cook the onion and garlic until soft. Set aside.
Pour 750ml water into a saucepan and add the salt. Wait for the water to come to a boil.
Add the maize meal slowly while whisking. Keep whisking until smooth.
Turn down the heat and cook until you have a stiff consistency.
Add the onion, garlic, grated cheddar and butter to the pap and stir through.
Cover with a lid and set aside to cool.
Add the breadcrumbs to a shallow dish.
Add the egg to another shallow dish and beat.
Scoop 15ml of the pap mixture into your hands and roll it into a ball. Keep going until you have no pap mixture left.
Roll each ball in the breadcrumbs, then dip into the egg and roll in the breadcrumbs again.
Heat the vegetable oil and fry the pap balls until golden.
Skewer a pap ball, then a piece of boerewors and another pap ball onto a wooden cocktail skewer.
Serve the pap and wors skewers with a chakalaka sauce on the side.