Chilli Prawns (Gambas Pil Pil) on Couscous Nests
A gambas pil pil style prawn, atop herbed cheese, crunchy veg and a ras-el-hanout couscous nest - a fresh take on 3 weeks of travel- Costa Brava - Granada - Morocco. Hello Cape Town Summer!
Mushrooms en Papillote
Mushrooms and garlic butter. A dash of cream. Sea salt. What was once a bland chunk of fungi now becomes a morsel to savour, delicious juices and lip smacking ensue.Wrap them up in parchment paper for a fun baked starter.
Sweet Potato & Bran Rosti with Snoek Paté
In this recipe I used the Sasko Flour Quick Treats Bran Muffin Mix in combination with grated sweet potatoes to make a rosti. I think this combination would also work well using peeled, mashed sweet potato with the mix to make a fat flap jack, also to be served with smooth, salty snoek or smoked snoek paté or even a thick dollop of creme fraiche. I served this with lemon zest which always adds such lovely lift to dishes sweet and savoury.
Ricotta Double Mushroom Phyllo Pastry Tartlets
I was asked to be a part of the Afrikaans lifestyle programme Pasella and to showcase a cheese not often used. I chose Ricotta cheese and made these very simple ricotta cheese and double mushroom tartlets- using fresh and dried mushrooms, rehydrated for double the flavour in a crispy phyllo outer. I drizzled them lightly in a lovely white balsamic truffle glaze I brought back from Andorra last week.
Baked Figs with Smoked Salt, Ricotta & Crispy Bacon
So, while contemplating how I was going to use the delicate squid ink vermicelli, salts, unusual rices, dried mushrooms, tinned anchovies and the hoard of really lovely chocolate (oh, that required much deep and meaningful contemplation), as well as relate the culinary tales of trotting and discovery, I needed an afternoon snack. Step in, plump ripe figs, sweet and succulent, sprinkled with Spanish pepper smoked salt, extra virgin olive oil, a blob of fresh ricotta cheese, baked and then topped with crispy bacon bits.
Pickled Cherry Tomatoes with Dried Plums – Happy Chinese New Year!
My lovely friend Ming of Butterfingers blog, invited us to participate in cooking something for Chinese New Year, which falls on 23 January 2012. It's the year of the Dragon, not only an auspicious year, but the very year she was born in. We made this refreshing salad of cherry tomatoes marinated in a dried plum dressing.
Karela (Bitter Gourd) Stuffed with Sweet & Tangy Tomato Filling
On a recent visit to my folks in Kwa-Zulu Natal, I came upon these alien looking nubbly, wrinkled vegetables (they are actually fruit). I tweeted a photo of them and almost instantly received the reply that they were karela, or bitter gourds. They are tropical or sub-tropical vines, and the fruit vary in bitterness. Popular in South East Asian and Chinese cooking, bitter gourds are valued for their medicinal properties. It's best to use the young gourds and to follow a strict method of soaking in a saline solution to remove the bitterness. I took a small selection home to Cape Town, much to the amusement of my mother.
Potato & Coriander Pesto Salad with Pickled Quail Eggs
The potatoes in this dish, are steamed (or boiled) and dressed in a coriander and pistachio pesto that will blow many a standard tater salad dressing out the water and far away. The dressing is enhanced with the bite of spring onions and the freshness of lemon - both juice and zest. Feel free to use almond or walnuts for the pesto if you don't have pistachios. Pickled quail eggs make a humble potato salad something you want to serve guests at lunch or at a weekend brunch.
Malaysian Vegetable Pickle
Malaysian Vegetable Pickle- recipe for Yuppie Chef's Spatula Magazine.
Broad Bean Hummus with Lemon Zest & Mint
A touch of spring in winter with a bright, fresh broad bean hummus with lemon zest and mint, served on gorgeous charcoal crackers. A Nigel Slater inspired recipe. With tips on blanching.