150ml olive oil 250ml tightly packed basil leaves 1 clove garlic, minced 2,5ml salt 15ml lemon juice 15ml apple cider vinegar
cos lettuce 1 small melon 200g feta cheese 3 tomatoes
For the dressing: Add all the ingredients to a blender and blitz at high speed for one minute. Set aside.
Arrange some lettuce leaves on a serving platter. Slice the melon in half and take out the seeds. Cut the melon into slices and then cut the flesh out of the skin, Scoop a few melon balls from the flesh if you have a melon scoop. Arrange the melon on the lettuce. Slice the feta and tomato into slices and add it to the melon and lettuce. Drizzle the basil dressing over the salad and serve.
This is a delicious tartare sauce made from the easiest ever homemade mayonnaise!!
Mayonnaise: 250ml oil of your choice – I like a specific brand of olive oil but you may use any seed oil you like) 2 egg yolks 15ml English mustard 60ml lemon juice
Add the oil, yolks, mustard and lemon juice to a mixing bowl and blitz at high speed with a stick blender. Keep going until you have a thick and creamy sauce. Season with salt. You may keep the mayonnaise in a glass jar in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Tartare sauce: 250ml homemade mayonnaise a handful of basil leaves 4 gherkins, chopped 15ml capers, chopped
Add the mayonnaise and basil leaves to a mixing bowl and blitz with a stick blender. Add the chopped gherkins and capers and mix through. Check the seasoning and serve with fish.
500g pasta of your choice 1 x 245g sachet pickled peppers, diced and liquid reserved 500g prawns, deveined 250ml salad cream/creamy mayonnaise 250ml yoghurt 2 big handfuls of basil leaves half an English cucumber, diced
Cook the pasta according to packet instructions and drain. Take the pickled peppers from the sachet and chop. Set the peppers aside. Drizzle the pickling liquid over the warm pasta and stir through. Set aside to cool. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil, add the prawns and cook for 4 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool. Add the salad cream, yoghurt and basil leaves to a blender and process until you have a light green dressing. Season the dressing with salt and pepper. Add the pasta, prawns, cucumber, peppers and basil dressing to a large bowl and mix through. Scatter some basil leaves on top and serve.
4-6 chicken breasts 45ml olive oil 45ml balsamic vinegar 150ml fresh orange juice 150ml chicken stock 30ml finely chopped rosemary 30ml sugar a knob of butter
Place a chicken breast between two pieces of plastic film and flatten it slightly by gently bashing it with the flat bottom of a pan. Flatten all the breasts in this way so that they are slightly thinner and has an even thickness. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat and fry the chicken for 3 minutes before flipping it over and frying for another 2 minutes. Pour half of the balsamic vinegar over the chicken and add the orange juice and stock to the pan. Sprinkle the rosemary over and season the chicken with salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, turn down the heat to a slow simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Spoon the sauce over the chicken while simmering and turn halfway through cooking. Now stir in the sugar, butter, the remaining balsamic and cook for a few minutes more – you want a reduced sauce that is beautifully glossy. Serve the orange chicken on couscous to soak up the wonderfully fragrant sauce.
Quick marinade: 9 chicken breasts, skinless and deboned, cut into bite-size portions 250ml yoghurt 15ml ground ginger 15ml garam masala 10ml turmeric 5ml ground cumin 2,5ml smoked paprika 3 cloves of garlic, minced 5ml salt
Sauce: 45ml vegetable oil 45ml butter 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1cm fresh ginger, grated 10ml garam masala 5ml ground cumin 5ml turmeric 5ml ground coriander 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes 5ml smoked paprika 5ml salt 375ml cream 30ml brown sugar
For the marinade: Add all the ingredients, including the chicken, to a mixing bowl and stir together. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes or overnight.
Add half the oil and butter to a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in small batches and fry for about 3 minutes before removing and adding the next batch of chicken. Keep the fried chicken to the side and keep going until all of the chicken has been fried. Add the remaining oil and butter to a saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft. Now add the garlic and fresh ginger and stir-fry for one minute. Add the garam masala, cumin, turmeric and coriander and cook for another minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, paprika and salt and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes. Decant the sauce to a blender and whizz until smooth. Pour the sauce back into the saucepan and add the cream, sugar and chicken pieces and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Serve the tikka masala with a fragrant rice and lashings of the sauce.
Traditional Amsterdammers will insist that this soup be made with Groninger mustard but any good quality granulated mustard is perfect for this delicious soup. Serve it with fresh bread and extra fried bacon. Serves 4.
2 leeks, rinsed and sliced 1 onion, chopped 2 large potatoes, cut into small chunks 1 clove garlic, minced 50g flour 1 litre vegetable/chicken stock 62ml cream 30ml Groninger/granulated mustard salt and pepper
Pour enough oil into a saucepan to cover the bottom and place on medium-high heat. Add the leeks, onion and potato and cook until the leeks are soft. Stir often. Add the garlic and fry for another minute. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir-fry for another minute. Pour in the stock and bring the soup to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer until the potatoes are very, very soft. Blitz the mixture with a stick blender/liquidiser until completely smooth. Add the cream and mustard and stir through. Simmer the soup on a low heat for 15 minutes, stirring every now and then. Add the bacon to a non-stick frying pan and cook until slightly crispy. Drain on kitchen paper. Season the soup with salt and pepper. Serve the soup piping hot with extra bacon scattered on top.
2 avocado pears 60ml cream cheese, room temperature 1 small onion, finely chopped 2 tomatoes, seeds scooped out and cut into small cubes 250ml grated cheddar cheese balsamic vinegar reduction
foil nests to rest the halved avocado pears in while baking
For the pangrattato: Add the oil and butter to a frying pan set over medium heat and allow the butter to melt. Fry the garlic for 1 minute while stirring. Add the breadcrumbs, thyme and nuts and stir around in the pan until toasted and golden. Take the mixture off the heat, spoon it into a bowl and allow to cool.
Preheat your oven to 180℃. Prepare foil baking nests for the avocado pear by scrunching strips of aluminium foil into circular shapes where the avocado can rest without tilting. Be careful not to cut your hands!!! Place the nests on a baking tray. Cut the avocado pears in half and remove the stone. Place each half on an aluminium nest and spoon 15ml cream cheese into the hollow. Mix the chopped onion, tomato and cheddar cheese and divide the mixture in four equal portions. Pile the mixture onto the avocado halves. Place the baking tray in the oven for 10 minutes or until the avocado is warmed throughout and the cheese has melted. Spoon a generous amount of pangrattato onto each avocado portion. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar reduction and serve slightly warm.
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.
Place a heavy based frying pan on medium-high heat and add some vegetable oil to it. Mix the flour and salt together in a shallow dish. Dredge the chops in the flour and fry 4 minutes per side. Keep warm. Add the stock, coconut milk, peanut butter, honey, ginger and salt to a small saucepan and place on medium heat. Whisk the ingredients together until the peanut butter has melted and the sauce comes together. Allow the sauce to simmer on a low heat for 3-4 minutes. Spoon the sauce on the pork chops and sprinkle some peanuts on top. Bon Appetit!
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.
My Whisk and I 