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by bitsofcarey

The B.O.C spud! Baked potato topped with mushrooms in sour cream & biltong

January 17, 2011 in Sauces, vegetables

18 Comments »

Yes B.O.C – The Bits of Carey Spud/potato/tato! ha ha ha!

This is a quick and delish weeknight dins for you! A few nights ago I felt like a mushroom “stroganoff-y” dish, but wasn’t in the mood to eat rice or pasta with it, instead, I did cheat’s baked potatoes. These squishy potatoes were topped with mushrooms in sour cream and biltong shavings – for the “meaty” bit – leave it out if you like, but it was rather scrummy if I do say so myself! Also try with sweet potatoes- it’s a great combination of sweet, sour and salty.  As always in this blog…quick, quick, quick and yummy too! Promise!

What you will need:

4 large potatoes, boiled until soft in the centre – but not mushy

olive oil

salt and pepper

1 small onion, sliced

200 – 250 g button mushrooms

1 sprig rosemary

1 tub(250 ml) sour cream

125 ml chicken stock(5 ml Ina’s stock powder with 125 ml water)

pinch of paprika

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat then oven to 220 degrees celius.

Prick a few holes in the cooked potatoes, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes.

Saute the onions until golden and soft, add the mushrooms in batches and fry until browned or until the liquid has cooked away.

Over medium heat stir in the cream and stock and simmer gently for +- 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning if need be. This can be made in advance and reheated too!

Remove the potatoes from the oven – the skin should be crisp with a soft centre. Cut each one and squash open.

Top with creamed mushrooms and end off with some biltong and black pepper.

Squishy, mushy goodness! mmm…

 

 

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by bitsofcarey

Mushrooms baked in creamy spinach and feta sauce

September 22, 2010 in Meatless meals, Sauces

9 Comments »

You know you’re a foodie, when you get more excited over big beautiful mushrooms in the fruit n veg department than a clothing sale happening nearby! So I came home with 2 stunning “braai” mushrooms and a fresh bunch of spinach. Now what to do? I did not want to cut these beauties up, so I decided to make a thick spinach and feta sauce, pour it over the mushrooms, top them with cheese and bake until golden…not too shabby I say… Be warned this is an extemely filling dish!

Wipe the mushrooms clean,  pull the stems out(use in the sauce) and place them in desired individual dishes.

For the sauce: Serves 2 – 4

45 ml butter

1 onion, chopped

stems of mushrooms, chopped

2 cloves, garlic, chopped

1 bunch of spinach(swiss chard), washed and chopped

45 ml flour

+- 300 ml milk or cream

1 wheel of feta, crumbled

nutmeg to taste

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

Heat the butter in a large saucepan, saute the onion, mushroom and garlic until soft. Add the spinach and saute until wilted and most of the liquid had cooked away.

Remove from the heat and stir the in flour, coating the veg. Place back onto the heat and add the milk, stir continously until thickened. Remove from the heat and add the feta, season well.

Pour the sauce generously over the mushrooms and cover each one with a handful of grated cheese(mixed cheddar and parmesan).

Bake in a preheated oven for +- 40 minutes (or until golden and the mushrooms are tender).

The liquid from the mushroom created a slightly thinner sauce , so it is best served with some cooked tagliatelle(or any other pasta) on the side. Alternatively, serve with crusty bread to mop up all the sauce.

TIP: Add some chopped bacon / try with brown mushrooms / use baby spinach.

Perfect for a chilly night x

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by bitsofcarey

A fish “braai” and Sunday loving!

September 15, 2010 in Fish, Sauces, vegetables

16 Comments »

A few Sundays ago, we were going through a serious fish craving. I bought a beautiful fat angel fish and got the fishmonger to butterfly it for me. Angelfish has such a clean delicate flavour, so I wanted to keep the flavours simple. I chose to wrap the fish in foil and steam it rather than cooking it directly onto the heat of the braai. I even wrapped asparagus in foil with some butter etc, and steamed that over the fire. The end result was a flavour and texture sensation. I quite liked the foil idea, I saved myself from plenty of dishes, serving the fish and veg as is and everybody just helped themselves. I suppose you could’ve done this all in the oven, but it was superb just sitting in the garden next to the crackling fire, a glass of bubbly brut in hand and munching copious amounts of olives and bread while we wait for the “piece de restistance”. This is what Sundays are made for!

Wash and dry the fish

  • Fish: Top the one side with blocks of butter, a handful of parsley, crushed garlic and the zest and juice of 1 lemon.Season. Then fold the other side over the filling and wrap tightly in foil. The fish takes 20 minutes on each side to cook over a medium heat from the coals.
  • For the asparagus, just add butter and seasoning and wrap in foil. Place the asparagus on the heat for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
  • For sweet potato wedges: boil 2 large sweet potatoes until tender, then cut them into wedges. Place onto a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, season and Just before the fish goes on the braai, roast at 220 degrees for +- 30 minutes or until super crispy. I like them almost cajun!!
  • For smoor(tomato and onion sauce): Fry 1 chopped onion and some garlic in a bit of oil until soft and caramelised. Add 4 chopped tomatoes(or 1 tin), 2 Tbs balsamic vinegar, 2 tsp brown sugar, salt and pepper, 1/2 tsp mixed herbs, cover and simmer for +- 30 minutes until reduced, sweet and delicious! Serve with the fish and wedges!

While prepping the food, J made freshly squeezed OJ….yum yum yum… we just love this mellerware juicer thingy mabob.

Our lovely array of nibbles and delicious, crispy Rhebeek Cellar Brut.

And there you have it! the smoor, the buttery asparagus and the fall off the bone lemony angelfish.

Crunchy asparagus, tender fish, crispy sweet wedges and sweet and sour tomato smoor finished off with some lemon of course!

 

All together, a lovely Sunday late lunch!

 

We all loved the angelfish and we will definately be eating it more often!

 

Isn’t this the healthiest looking “braai” ever?

 

Excuse the pics, wasn’t in the food styling zone at the time! :-)

 

Well, it’s cold and rainy in CT and I feel like a big bowl of soup!

 

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by bitsofcarey

Rocket Pesto!

May 24, 2010 in Sauces, Uncategorized

10 Comments »

Make your own! Delicious mixed into pastas, on brushetta, part of an Italian-style mezze platter or serve with salads! So versatile.  It has an amazingly fresh, earthy and peppery taste!

I replaced traditional pinenuts with sunflower seeds(I love them and so healthy!).  You could use almonds or even walnuts would be fab!

Rocket Pesto!

Here’s how…

 

You will need:

 

Makes + – 200 ml

 

2 huge handfuls of fresh rocket (+ – 60 g)

1 or 2 cloves garlic, peeled(optional)

50 g grated Parmesan or Pecorino

50 g toasted sunflower seeds or almonds or a mixture of both

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

+- 100 ml extra virgin olive

S&P

 

Place all the ingredients into a blender and pulse until well combined but still chunky. Add more olive oil if needed. Season.

Keep refridgerated.

 

HINT: replace the Rocket with other herbs like Basil or Coriander.  Try it out with various nuts and seeds!

 

 

Just an example of what you can do with it

 

A simple Caprese Salad with pesto. Served with Crusty Bread.

What a delight!

 

This did not last long!

 

Enjoy!

 

C xx

 

 

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