Bits of Carey

This butternut soup has intense flavour because the butternut is roasted with the skin on for about a hour and a half. It’s sweeter and has a slight charred taste to it. Also, instead of cream, I stir in the some greek style yoghurt at the end – but that’s optional, you could easily eat it as is, cream or no cream.  So when you have extra time on your hands, I strongly suggest that you try this version!

Roasted butternut soup

serves 4- 6

1 large butternut, cut into chunks, seeds removed but leave skin on

30 ml (2 tbs) olive oil

salt, pepper

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 large onion

+- 1 L chicken or vegetable stock

 2ml (1/2 tsp) cinnamon

125 ml (1/2 cup) greek style yoghurt or cream (optional)

coriander to garnish

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celcius

place the butternut onto a roasting tray, drizzle with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 1 and a 1/2 hours.

In a large pot, saute the garlic and onion until soft and aromatic.

Add the roasted butternut as well as the stock and cinnamon, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Use a stick blender and pulse until velvety smooth. Stir in the yoghurt or cream and season to taste.

Garnish with fresh coriander.

Serve with crusty bread.

*freezes well*

More yummy winter warmers….

How about my deluxe potato skins? Baked potato flesh mashed with cream cheese, gruyere and peas and stuffed into the skins. Bake in a hot oven until golden and crispy and top with hot smoked salmon and watercress…

Or mussels in chunky tomato sauce…mmm…

Go to Crush Issue 6  and check out these recipes and 5 more on my Cooking Monday to Sunday feature.

Happy cooking this weekend!

C xx

Now this has to be the number one most eaten meal during my childhood.  Between my mom and gran, we were guarenteed to eat tomato bredie at least twice a week, summer or winter.   After school, we’d come home to the glorious smell of bredie on the go and hear the pressure cooker going wild in the kitchen. We never grew tired of it. How could we with tender lamb knuckles, soft potatoes and sweet tomato sauce. The best part was sucking all the marrow out of the bones. Ah good times!

So, if you feel like some nostalgia in your life, make a pot of this today! Perfect for this wintery weather we are having.

TOMATO BREDIE – traditional South African mutton and tomato stew

You will need:

15 ml (1 tbs) canola oil

1 kg lamb knuckles or stewing lamb or traditional mutton

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 chilli, seeds removed and chopped(optional)

1 cm peeled ginger, grated

2 onions, finely sliced

2 ml(1/2 tsp) ground coriander

2 sticks cinnamon

+- 500 ml (2 cups) beef or mutton stock

60 ml (1/4 cup) tomato paste

30 ml ( 2 tbs) sugar (less or more according to your taste – I like it sweet)

4 -6 potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, brown the meat in the hot oil, remove from the pot and set aside.

Gently saute the onions with the garlic, chilli, ginger, coriander and cinnamon until soft and fragrant.

Add the meat back into the pot as well as the stock, paste and sugar.

Cover and bring to the boil. Add the potatoes and simmer gently for 1 1/2 hours. Cook for 45 minutes in a pressure cooker.

Season well.

Serve with fluffy white rice and garnish with fresh italian parsley.

Thicken with a bit of corn flour paste if there is too much liquid.

Enjoy!

C xx

Everyone has their own way of making pancakes. Traditionally, they should be thin, fluffy and as light as air. However, for a savoury pancake, I prefer them thick and somewhat dense to hold the filling nicely. On Sunday evening, my MIL made a mountain of pancakes for us to enjoy with a savoury mince filling as well as the all time favourite, banana, caramel and icecream. It was heavenly. We took some plain pancakes home and this evening we enjoyed them with a creamy ham and mushroom fillling. All you need is 5 ingredients: spring onion, garlic, mushrooms, gypsey ham and sour cream! It was so simple to prepare and oh my goodness, divine! This filling can also be used as a pasta sauce or just served with rice. You choose what you want to do with this filling, but since it’s “pancake tuesday” tomorrow (and I had a wad of pancakes already prepared), I thought I’d use it this way.

J’s words were, “mmm…creamy goodness!” and “OMG, that’s nice!” – ha ha! 

I”ll post my MIL’s pancake recipe in my comment section later this week.

For now, it’s all about the filling…

Versatile creamy ham and mushroom filling:

Fills 6 pancakes

enough for a packet of pasta

Serves 2 if eating as is with rice

You will need:

2 spring onions or 1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

250 g mixed mushrooms, quartered

4- 6 slices gypsey ham or ham of your choice, chopped

1 tub sour cream/creme fraiche

freshly milled salt or pepper to taste

Saute the onion, garlic and mushrooms until softened and browned. Add the ham and sour cream, turn the heat down and simmer for +- 5 minutes, allowing the sauce to reduce slightly. Season with salt and pepper. Take care not to over salt, as gypsey ham is salty already.

Fill pancakes and roll, top with rocket.

For pasta, add the cooked pasta to the saucepan and toss until well combined. Finish off with some parmesan shavings and rocket.

Enjoy!

C xx

I’ve got a soup that will tantalize your tastebuds. If you love cream of chicken soup, you will LOVE this! Just to add a bit of life to this classic favourite, I squeeze some lemon juice into the mix. What a difference that makes! I’m not going to babble on and on about this one. All I can say is try it, you’ll love me forever! Enjoy with freshly baked bread(if you have the time) or slices of wholewheat with loads of butter…Simple soup supper, done!

“Lemony” cream of chicken soup

Makes +- 1L

You will need:

2-3 chicken breasts on the bone

freshly ground pepper and salt

30 ml butter

1 onion or 2 leeks, finely chopped

1 celery stick, finely chopped

2 large carrots, grated

30 ml flour

250 ml milk(or half milk, half cream)

+- 750 ml reserved chicken stock

1 lemon

Place the chicken into a pot, cover with water, season well and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove chicken from the stock and shred into bits – removing the skin and bone. Reserve +- 750 ml of the chicken stock.

In a large pot, melt the butter and saute the veggies until tender and fragrant. Whisk in the flour, followed by the milk. Continue whisking until thickened. Slowly add the reserved stock as well as the shredded chicken. Simmer for 10 minutes. Just before serving, add the zest and juice of 1 lemon. Season to taste. I like to add lots of black pepper! Garnish with flat leaf parsley( I didn’t have!).

Note: you can add as little or as much stock as you like, depending on how thick you want the soup.

Wrap your hands around a cup of this!

I’m taking full advantage of this wintery weather! Soups, pies and stews all the way!

C xx

There is nothing more satisfying than a hearty and flavourful homemade chicken pie.  I have been playing around with many different recipes for a while now; some are creamy, others thickened and flavoured with instant soup powder. I’ve done pies using left over chicken, chicken fillets and chicken pieces.  I’ve tried different combinations like chicken and leek, chicken and pumpkin, the famous chicken and mushroom….

After all the experimentation, I have come up with my version of the perfect chicken pie. No fuss and frills involved! When it comes to a good chicken pie, I say, keep it simple… tender and succulent slow cooked chicken enhanced with subtle flavours of leeks, carrots and celery, that’s it.  About the pastry, well, I just used frozen puff pastry.  To be honest, I love using it, it’s convenient (because you will not find me slaving away making puff pastry, hell no!) and the flavour and texture is pretty good too.

P.s this pie tastes even better the next day – if it lasts that long!

This pie could easily feed 6 people, in our case it fed 2 people over 2 days! Nom nom

You will need:

1 free range whole chicken

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 stick celery, chopped

Salt and pepper

Place the chicken in a large pot, add the onion, carrot and celery. Cover with water and season well with salt and pepper. Place lid on top and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the temperature and simmer for 1 ½ hours or until the chicken falls apart.  Remove the chicken from the stock(reserving the stock for the sauce) and allow to cool. Remove the skin and bones and shred the chicken into fine pieces.

FILLING:

50 ml butter

3 leeks, finely chopped

2 sticks celery, finely chopped

2 large carrots, grated

50 ml cake flour

500 ml (2 cups) reserved chicken stock

125 ml (1/2 cup) milk (optional)

Pinch of cinnamon

Salt and pepper to taste

1 roll of thawed out frozen puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 200 °C.

In a medium pot, melt the butter and gently sauté the leeks, celery and carrot until fragrant and soft (should take about 15 minutes) .

Stir in the flour, followed by the 500 ml of stock, use a whisk to break up any lumps and continue whisking until thickened. Add the optional milk at this point and heat through.

Add the shredded chicken to the thickened sauce and season with cinnamon, salt and pepper .  The mixture should be thick.

Spoon into a greased baking dish and allow to cool for 15 minutes before covering with the rolled puff pastry. Make a little cross in the centre of the pastry to allow the air to escape. Brush with beaten egg.

Bake for +- 40 minutes.

Serve with roasted veggies or a green salad

Yummy chicken goodness, perfect for chilly Cape Town weather.

Have a great 4 day week all!

C xx

Fish pie, glorious fish pie! I can’t help but be nostalgic when it comes to this classic dish. I must have prepared close to a hundred fish pies during my time in London. It’s understandable why it’s such a popular dish up north. So warm, delicious and comforting during the many cold and wet months. Cold weather or not, I do enjoy a luscious fish pie from time to time, it’s a gorgeous meal on its own and as you all may know by now, I’m a big fan of “all-in-one” meals (veg, protein and carbs all mushed together!).

Speaking of cold months, I must be honest, I do long for winter. I love the sound and smell of the rain, the sound of a crackling fire, snuggling in bed with the electric blanket on, winter fashion(boots, boots, boots – like the Woolies ad, ha ha!), walking around in my gown and slippers after work and over the weekends…and most importantly, I love winter comfort food.

Everybody makes fish pie differently; this one is made according to my personal needs and taste. Feel free to tweak it as you go along.

The beloved Fish pie

Serves 6

750 g fish (a combination of white sustainable fish and smoked haddock) – frozen fish works well too

1 cup water and 1 cup milk

750 g combination of potato, butternut and sweet potato, peeled and cubed

25 ml butter

1 onion or 4 leeks, finely chopped

1 cup frozen sweet corn or peas

25 ml cake flour

1 cup grated cheddar or “tussers” if you are watching your weight

Knob of butter

3 T warm milk

Salt, pepper and nutmeg

Handful of breadcrumbs

• Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
• Place the fish, water and milk into a pot and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat when the fish starts to flake. Leave to stand to allow milk to infuse.
• In another pot, boil the potatoes, sweet potato and butternut until tender – keep hot.
• Strain the fish form the milk, reserving 250 ml of the cooking liquid.
• In the same pot the fish was in, sauté the onion in the butter until soft and glossy, add the sweet corn and heat through for a minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour. Return back to the heat and add the reserved liquid, stirring constantly until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in ¾ of the cheese and add the flaked fish. Combine gently. Season to taste. Spoon into a baking dish, flatten the mixture out a bit.
• Drain the vegetables for the mash. Add the warm milk and butter and mash the veg up. I like to use a whisk to fluff the mash up a bit. Season well.
• Spread the mash onto the fish mixture and use a fork to rough up the surface for texture. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and the remaining cheese.
• Bake for 30 minutes or until golden on the surface.
• Serve with a green salad to “lighten” the dish up a bit during these hot days we are experiencing.
• TIP: If you do not have smoked haddock, simply fry 250 g bacon with the onions to give it that delicious smoky taste that we all love so much.

What’s your most comforting dish? Fish pie is definately my top 5 but I think my number 1 would be oxtail stew.

C xx

This is my version of a chicken and broccoli bake. I use a few slices of streaky bacon and make a bechamel sauce to really pack in the flavour. I also tried to “skinny” it up where I could by replacing cheddar with mozzarella and parmesan(because a little goes a long way) and used fresh low GI brown bread crumbs instead of white bread for the topping. The only thing I did not substitute is butter, I’m sorry but that is one thing I will not replace or reduce! Feel free to replace it with heart healthy margerine or use half butter and half olive oil. This dish is a perfect meal on it’s own, saucy chicken and tender broccoli topped with a generous layer of crispy cheese and breadcrumbs. Hubby loved it, he said it was the tastiest thing he has eaten in a long time and it brought tears to his eyes. Ha ha! So this one is definately a winner in my book. P.s. I know it’s a bit of a mission to make a bechamel but I can guarentee that this dish will be so flavoursome and well balanced, you will not want to do it any other way.

Chicken and Broccoli Bake:

Serves 4

You will need:

BECHAMEL SAUCE:

1 L low fat milk

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 stick of celery, sliced

3 bay leaves

a few peppercorns

100 g butter ( or 50 ml olive oil and 50 g butter)

100 ml cake flour

freshly milled salt and pepper

Freshly ground nutmeg

50 ml grated parmesan

4 slices of streaky bacon, chopped

4 chicken breast fillets, cut into large cubes

1 head of broccoli, cut into bite size florets, steamed for no more than 5 minutes

TOPPING:

25 ml grated parmesan

250 ml grated mozzarella

125 ml brown bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Add the milk, onion, celery, bay leaves and peppercorns to a pot and bring to the boil, keeping a watchful eye that it does not boil over. Turn off the heat and allow the flavours to infuse while preparing the other ingredients.

In a non stick frying pan, saute the bacon until crispy, remove form the pan and set aside. In the same pan, brown the chicken pieces and add to the bacon.

Strain the milk out of the pot, place into a jug or bowl and discard the onions etc.

In the same pot, heat the butter, then whisk in the flour, followed by the milk. Continue whisking until thickened. Whisk in the 50 ml of parmesan and season to taste.

Arrange the chicken cubes, bacon and broccoli into a casserole dish. Pour over the bechamel sauce(make sure you cover all the broccoli florets or it will get burnt and will not taste pleasant) and top with the parmesan, mozzarella and breadcrumbs.

Bake for 30 – 35 minutes.

Serve with brown rice to make the meal even more substantial.

P.S The latest Crush online mag is available online. See 7 more of my “quick and delicious” meals as well as other food features by fabulous foodies!

Happy mid week all!

C xx

It feels as though I’ve been off the face of the earth for the last 2 weeks! Lets just say, I have been MIA because of flu, bronchitis and a heavy detox, but all is good and I’m ready to start cooking yummy food again. One really takes the flavour and texture of food for granted, being deprived of everything (limited to veg broths and fruit) and then finally tasting a piece of fried chicken with the fat dripping down my hands has to be the most amazing feeling. I hardly eat junk food but because I couldn’t have it, I just wanted all things carby and fried! My deprivation induced cravings are almost over now and things are getting back to normal.

In in the spirit of new beginnings, I want to share my favourite spinach and feta muffin recipe with you. Play around with it by adding chilli, peppadews, a variety of cheese (cheddar, goats cheese, pecorino) or fried bacon. I’m starting the week off on a “healthy-ish” note, so it’s plain spinach and feta for me! These can be frozen and reheated in the oven or microwave, or store in an airtight container for 3-4 days – heat them up for best results. Perfect for brekkie, lunch or a snack. Try with jams, marmalades, grated mature cheddar, delicious with chicken liver or snoek pate. Another tip, if the muffins are slightly stale, slice up and make “french toast” with them. I’ve even done mini muffins as part of a finger food brunch – simply cut them open and fill with cream and a slice of salmon. Muffins are versatile little things, quick and easy to make and very hard to screw up!

Spinach and feta muffins

makes 12 or 8 large ones

375 ml (1 1/2 cups) cake flour

10 ml (2 t) baking powder

3 ml ( 1/2 t) salt

pinch of cayenne pepper

1 X 300 g packet baby spinach, steamed and chopped

250 ml( 1 cup) crumbled feta

100 ml milk

100 ml vegetable oil( it seems like alot but this prolongs the shelf life)

1 egg

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees.

Sift the dry ingredients together and add the chopped spinach and feta.

Beat the milk, oil and egg together and stir into the flour mixture. The batter should look a bit lumpy, don’t worry. Do not over mix.

Spoon the batter equally(3/4 full) into a greased muffin tin.

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, depending on the size of the muffins.

10 – 12 minutes for mini muffins.

Serve hot with butter (lots of butter!)

Can you believe it’s March already?

Have a fabulous week all and it’s good to be back!

C xx