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Onion & Anchovy Beer Bread with Biltong Dip

May 15, 2012 in Bread & Pastry, Mediterranean Delicatessen, Recipe

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Onion & Anchovy Beer Bread with Biltong Dip

This post forms part of the series of recipes I am preparing for Mediterranean Delicacies. It is a Food and the Fabulous Endorsed project and I will be remunerated for it.

Kalimera!

I was given the challenge of preparing dishes with combinations chosen by Medi Deli. In this case, their anchovies with their biltong dip.

I combined the salty anchovies with onion to make a deeply savoury beer bread and served thick slices of it with the creamy biltong dip.

It’s really fitting I think, to post these recipes right now, as Medi Deli foods have a predominately Greek origin and I am currently in Greece, enjoying not only the warm Greek hospitality but the range of foods and flavors too.

Sharing food meze or tapas style has always been a favourite; I feel particularly privileged to share the classics here in the country of origin. Of course everything must be accompanied by the anise flavoured apéritif ouzo or a strong shot of raki sipped slowly. A shot of mastic at the end of the (often long, and several course-long) meal helps aid the digestion. Opa!

Recipe at Food and the Fabulous

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Raspberry & Lemon Semifreddo – Woolworths and MasterChef SA Week 8

May 10, 2012 in Desserts & Baked Goods, Woolworths & MasterChef SA 2012

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Raspberry & Lemon Semifreddo – Woolworths and MasterChef SA Week 8

Desserts are more than something to look forward at the the end of the meal. They are, in my opinion, a great part of the meal and in many cases make it. Perhaps that is my sweet-tooth talking, but if you apply moderation and sensibility there is no reason why desserts (or any food group, except those on red lists) should be banned.

I won’t eat rich chocolate pudding with each meal every night of the week, as tempting as that may be, but when I do, I enjoy it. I am happy to split a dessert at a restaurant and share the deliciousness (and the calories). I do think children’s diets should be monitored and fruit and healthy snacks encouraged, so that that they can grow up to be informed adults with balanced eating behaviours. The old saying of “don’t trust a thin chef” just simply isn’t true and, as with all things, moderation and healthful habits must come first. You want to be enjoying those sweet goodies for a very long time, right?

But, I detract from the important subject of desserts. I love spending time in the kitchen and when I throw dinner parties, or even have a few friends pop by informally, I like to serve a few savoury courses or share several tapas style plates. This means I’m sometimes scrambling around by the time I need to make dessert. My go-to options (as vanilla as they may be) are a panna cotta, chocolate fondants or this semifreddo. I change the ingredients according to what I have at hand – berries, nougat, meringues, passion fruit, figs. I love this semifreddo because of the unexpected, refreshing scent of lemon and and the freshness of the zest. It goes surprisingly well with rasberries and is creamy and indulgent.

Also, a good dessert to enjoy before winter kicks in.

Semifreddo translates to Italian for ‘half -cold” or half-frozen and sets in hours. Your guests will still feel like you put as much effort into dessert as you did with the rest of the meal. Easy points for the cook!

Full post at Food and the Fabulous

Ingredients

Serves 6

3 free-range eggs, separated

1/2 t vanilla essence (not extract) – optional

3 T castor sugar

1 x tub (250 g) mascarpone cheese

1/2 t lemon extract (or 1 t essence)

250 ml fresh cream (whipping)

1 t castor sugar

250 ml raspberries – fresh or frozen, slightly thawed if frozen (or berries of your choice), sprinkled with 1 T castor sugar

1 large lemon, zested

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Girl with the Red Spatula – Lisbon Part 1

April 24, 2012 in Food & Travel

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Girl with the Red Spatula – Lisbon Part 1

Join me at WeFeedback.org

 

I have been in Lisbon for four days now and settling in well. You know you’re becoming one with the people when you can hail a cab, recite your street address fluently, even if you have to hand over a piece of paper with your destination, purchase detergents and cleaning cloths for the apartment and drink vinho verde at every opportunity. I’ve also been enjoying some of the local food, as you can see in my pics and videos.

*note, noisy – at Cape Town International airport*

To join me on this journey of sharing, simply click on this link here and join my WeFeedback Network.Together we can share more and make a bigger difference to keep children in schools and hunger-free.

Do I really think any of this will make a difference?

Is it a way of assuaging my guilt for living it up in Europe? Ha. What about concentrating work and energy to raise funds in Africa and South Africa, more specifically? Will there be those who conclude I am misguided and the project is worthless?

I’ve thought about all this. Maybe you are right. But, maybe you are wrong and it’s on that premise that I will (to the embarrassment of my husband), wield the Red Spatula in restaurants, malls, markets and even private supper clubs and push out of the comfort of my shell to show food lovers how easy it is to share meals.

*dinner at BocdeSantos restaurant*

How does it work?

1. Wefeedback is the world’s largest community for sharing food via easy to make online donations, and thereby changing lives.

2. I am sharing a variety of meals and calculating the value per plate or meal.

3. Join my network on the link above and donate the value of the meal, a multiple of it or a faction of it. So, if a meal cost € 5, that would feed 25 kids. You can donate the €5, multiples of it, €10, €15 etc or even a part of it, say €2. In rands €2 will equate to around R20.

4. Follow my journey through Europe as I try to raise awareness about the value of our meals.

Remember: the biggest difference comprises a cumulative of the smallest actions. Avoid food wastage wherever you can: share food with those around you, use up left overs, recycle and compost where you can.

Images will be posted on Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/foodandthefab/girl-with-the-red-spatula/

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Goodbye Cape Town – but only for a while

April 19, 2012 in The Fabulous

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Goodbye Cape Town – but only for a little while

View from under Torell Gardens in Lisbon

Adeus Cape Town and dear, dear friends.

Tomorrow morning, after around 24 hours of travelling, via le chic ooh la la city Paris, we will (hopefully) arrive in Lisbon, our new base for the next few months. I fell in love with Lisboa a few years ago and we vowed to return. In the morning, grumpy and in need of a shower and a good breakfast, we look forward to opening up that phrase book and calling out a confident “Bom dia!”

I am taking with me every electronic gadget in the office, bar a few – we are going to Lisbon on a food adventure with many, many unknowns and several bits of red tape yet to cross. We decided to extend our May month holiday to include as much of the days I am allowed out of the country and in the Schengen states.

What will I do? I will eat and drink, of course. And communicate (as best I can) with the people like you and I, who enjoy food and sharing it. Because we are entirely self- sufficient (honestly, the best way to do it in my opinion – no expectations apart from your own) we will be working too. So, innerwebs, I hope you are listening – we need you to perform! Max speed, all day, every day.

Alfama district and buildings typical of the area

The girl with the Red Pot Spatula

Girl with the red pot

I have an incredibly exciting start to the trip which roller-coasts into May and June – I predict one very frazzled girl with the red pot. Except, in place of that heavy pot (cast iron, nogal), I will be taking my red spatula around. Unless I lose it along the way, or it’s confiscated (Noooooo!), the spatula is coming along on a set of rip-roaring cooking and mingling adventures.

 

Follow the Red Spatula

Let’s share my meals and feed the kids who depend on it most!

I will also be sharing one or two meals, maybe more, per week (and per country) and will encourage you, and you, and you to donate its value to children on the school feeding schemes at WeFeedback, the initiative of the World Food Programme. Click on the link to join my network in a few steps and to read all about it. Also click here to read about what other food writers and bloggers have done to help.

If you’re lucky, I may post a video or two of these meals. Pasteis de Nata, bachalau, salty sardines on the grill, Port and more. Delicioso!

Stay in touch

Please spread the word and follow my journey on twitter @Foodandthefab or via the Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/Foodandthefab

Visit the main page: Food and the Fabulous

I’m looking forward to meeting some incredibly talented folk and sharing their stories with you.

P.s next destination involves the need for a pair of Prada or Jimmy Choos heels – neither of which I own. Eeeep!

P.p.s I have the nasty task of dealing with a mere two pages left in my passport; after much bureaucratic hassel, I opted to take the risk (and if you know me, I’m more a medium- low risk profile not high risk at all). Won’t lie – I am concerned! I may return sooner than you, or I think after all!

 *My sincere thanks to the very special people I have chatted to, who have agreed to chat or meet or whom have offered contacts and restaurant suggestions and more. Truly grateful*

 

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Semolina Soji – Childhood Memories MasterChef SA Week 4

April 10, 2012 in Desserts & Baked Goods, Recipe, Woolworths & MasterChef SA 2012

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Semolina Soji – Childhood Memories MasterChef SA Week 4

 

This post forms part of the series of recipes I am preparing for Woolworths, the food sponsor for MasterChef SA. It is a Food and the Fabulous Endorsed project and I will be remunerated for it

You can read it on Woolie’s blog here: http://www.woolworths.co.za/Home/Week-4/Ishay-s-Blog-Childhood-Memories/cat595030.cat

Childhood Memories & Comfort Food

I spent my childhood in Pietermaritzburg in the Natal Midlands, with frequent visits to my grandparents in Durban. I have fond memories of eating with my family – every gathering, whether a special prayer or a meal shared after a short drive to a relative’s home was marked by a meal or at least a hot snack served with Crerars cool drink (the Natal equivalent of the Cape’s Bashew’s) or a cup of tea. Always Ceylon.
I remember the sticky hot summers, eating stringy, over-ripe mangoes and plump litchies in my maternal grandparents’ garden with my brother, watching my Ayah (what to we lovingly called our gran) cut green mangoes from the trees, to be dried in the sun and made into tangy, spicy pickle.
I recall the comfort of potato curry and steaming hot rotis, rolled up and eaten with our hands while we sat inside the kitchen as the afternoon rains wet the earth. That smell too, of the rains in Natal is etched lovingly in my memory. Second to my parents, it is one of the things I miss most about living in the Midlands.
On cold or rainy days, my mother would often make a small pot of soji – a rich, buttery semolina dessert made with cardamom, cinnamon and slivered almonds. In later years my mother used flaked almonds that she’d toast. My brother didn’t care for the golden sultanas she added, juicy and sweet, but I loved them.
The smell of the semolina browning in butter is heady and welcoming, an instant reminder of my mother’s kitchen. Soji is akin to nursery food -a buttery bowl of simple, soothing comfort, and home

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Slow Cooked Pork Adobo with Fresh Pineapple

April 4, 2012 in Recipe, Stews and Bakes

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Slow Cooked Pork Adobo with Fresh Pineapple

I’m a strong advocate for and user of social media.

Of all the platforms I have tried out, twitter has been one of the most fulfilling and amusing. It can be frustrating if you’re starting out and you will encounter the type of people you may never associate with in the normal course of events, but there are oodles of positives, many of which will surprise you. Amongst the celebrities, the accountants moonlighting as stand-up comics with witty one-liners, the insomniacs constantly berating their sleep deprived states, the writers banging their heads on their laptops, trapped by writer’s block and the distraction of angry birds, amongst the endless stream of news and the occasional rant or case of TMI (too much information), you meet a handful of ‘real’ people. People with whom you’d go out for a drink or share a meal and a belly laugh.

Sometimes, these people live oceans away and said drink and meal and laugh will have to take place over the internet. In this case, my friend Trina, an ophthalmologist living in Manila and a proud Filipino, as well as a  F.C Barca supporter (rah-rah!), shared a meal – a Pork and Chicken Adobo in a private cooking lesson that she and her  husband created by way of a recipe with step-by-step photos.

She also mailed me some special local spice blends to make the task easier. Adobo is one of the national dishes, if not the quintessential dish of the Philippines and includes the unique method of stewing meat in vinegar. When the Spanish discovered this local method, they named it adobo, meaning ‘to marinate’ or season. Chicken, pork or seafood is cooked with garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns and vinegar until tender. The vinegar reduces and caramelises in the sauce. This dish can be taken to picnics or transported to functions without refrigeration, as the vinegar acts as a preserving agent.

I studied Trina’s instructions and suggestions and adapted her family recipe to make this Pork Adobo. The fresh pineapple added to the stew in the last 10 minutes provides the perfect fresh bite to cut through the richness of the tender but fatty pork.

Trina suggested I cook the pork with the fat on, and strain the stew and remove the fat at the end. I did this, but the next time I make it I will remove most of the fat before cooking. Cooking the adobo with the fat on the meat results in an exceptionally rich stew.

So, while I have not been to the Philippines yet, this is a taste of it to tide me over till I get there.

 For the recipe, visit Food and the Fabulous

 

 

 

 

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Hear it from my side

April 2, 2012 in Uncategorized

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Hello! I trust you are all well!

Now, in reply to this post: http://blogs.food24.com/ilovecooking/2012/03/30/not-so-good-today/ my comment is yet to moderated.

I thought it would be wise to publish it here, though this platform, in my opinion should be all about the FOOD and sharing the FABULOUS FOOD. Not to lecture or share agendas or the like. Having said that, and knowing that silence can be misconstrued, I am sharing this with you.  This isn’t here to entertain conversation, but to merely state my case. There are always two or more sides.

Thank you for your time,

Ishay

Dear Anne

Thank you for taking the time to write this. I’m certain, as the very busy executive that you are, it must have infringed upon your time – it’s no mean feat writing a post, adding swirls of humour and pleasantries, let alone the research you’ve embarked upon in the name of blogging ethics and the community’s welfare in general. Valid points in this post, as there were in numerous others last year.

Allow me first, and foremost, to claim the darling dark chocolate soufflés as mine. I have tested them, run about with them on a tray trying to capture their puff before the disappointing flop, and berated myself for not having a cleaner ramekin to show for it by the end of it all. In the first lot I made, I added chocolate with Bergamot from Cacao Sampaka in Barca – wish I could tell you of the taste and fragrance. Makes running a blog worth it, just for one bite!
Also, did you all read my write-up about eggs? I thought it quite successful (considering the word limit) in motivating people to get back to cooking with this most basic of ingredients. The basis of my blog, now that we mention it, is to encourage people to get back into the kitchen and to cook fearlessly. And to have fun and share. Food is about sharing. Sad and empty is the moment when a meal must be eaten alone.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself now. Anyone who has been a reader of my blog will know a few things about me, and while I dislike the long stories and self indulgence, here goes. I am well versed in Intellectual Property law, it’s an area of one of my specialisations. My recipes, like your recipes, could never ever be truly original. I always give credit to the source or sources where I find ideas. In most cases, recipes I feature are based on my family, travels or late night brainstorming sessions.
While I am the humourous sort, I take exception, no, let’s make that enormous exception to an accusation tantamount to one of plagiarism.
Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing, one I advocate, but how much do we know when we post what we feel is a true reflection of the truth, dear Anne, without consultation of all sides?
Or, are we living in a society where we pick up a flame (or a stompie), and run with it like heroines into the sunset, spurred on by the cause, come what may. That’s not really a question.

Secondly, anyone who has been involved with any project I have run or supported, will also know, I stand for uniting the food community. From hosting charity baking sessions, to Cape Town’s First Cookie Swap, to dinners for the World Food Programme and getting the twitter literati (mostly from the food and wine community) to support a local literacy organisation’s fundraising dinner, I, and Food and the Fabulous stand for uplifting, supporting and encouraging individuals, within our community and outside of it, to be the very best they can be.
What does this have to do with my soufflés? My soufflés were not only a brave choice, you will agree, but they were served in an open and transparent manner. I shared the recipe, to people (consumers, food bloggers etc) who I hope will don the aprons, get into the kitchen and enjoy making them. I set out numerous steps, that I discovered myself by trial and error. Is this the platform for me to tell you that Woolworths did not include my very specific disclaimer and/or to defend myself point for point?

There are great lessons to be learned as a united community, just from this post. Thank you Anne. Signalling one or two or more, for the “benefit” of this small community, without fair opportunity to respond or reply (which in the world of adults who don’t need spotlights or soap boxes would happen privately) makes the very issues you try to highlight, take strain under your approach.

I take this hobby and food journal of mine seriously in terms of work output and quality of content and I have no option but to take my attorney’s advice and deem the part meant specifically for me, defamation. I will not be indulging in any further comment here, as a result.

But, I do leave you with the requisite number of hugs and smiley faces and hopefully the urge to always consider the other side, and to do so in a manner that befits the basic dignity of whomever it is we write about. Kindness is what builds a community, and in this one, the people come before the blogs. In my opinion.

Right, hot chocolate (based on Nigella’s recipe, sans the rum) on a coldish evening waits for no thirsty soul. Off I go to the kitchen.

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Poached Eggs on a Chilli Tomato Sauce – Woolworths and MasterChef SA

March 28, 2012 in Recipe, Woolworths & MasterChef SA 2012

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Poached Eggs on a Chilli Tomato Sauce - Woolworths and MasterChef SA

image by Catherine Scott, styled by myselfI’m honoured and excited to have been appointed one of four official Woolworth’s bloggers for MasterChef SA. Woolworths is the pantry sponsor for the series.

As a food and wine loving community, we have been a-buzz and a-flutter since last year awaiting South Africa’s first MasterChef series – after all we have cooking and blogging friends who entered the competition and some who are contestants, and chefs from our community who are either judges, working in the background on the show or will appear in later episodes. It’s a truly proud moment for all of us.

The first in my contributions to the MasterChef themes is on Eggs. I submitted three recipes and my Rich Dark Chocolate Soufflé with Honey Almond Cream was featured on Woolworth’s Pantry page. I also encourage you to have a look and try out this easy step-by-step  Healthy Poached Eggs with a Spicy Tomato Chilli Sauce and my fantastic  all-in-one Bacon and Egg Breakfast Cups too.

All images here styled by myself and shot by my talented friend Catherine Scott.

Cooking with Eggs

Most people who cook regularly (chefs and home cooks alike) will attest to the incredible nutrition contained in and the versatility of the humble egg. When the pantry and fridge are bare, a frittata or omelette made with left over veggies and herbs will feed a family. On other occasions, an egg can be dressed up as the perfect brunch- poached eggs on steamed asparagus for example or in a light-as-air soufflé for dessert. I understand that the more complicated dishes can seem daunting. The answer to perfecting these egg dishes lies in two very simple aspects. Firstly make sure you get the freshest, and best quality free range eggs and secondly practice! When you remove fear from the equation, anything can be achieved in the kitchen. Cook with confidence and the eggs will know who’s the chef.

Poaching Eggs

This recipe for Poached eggs on a thick Chilli Tomato sauce is a healthy spin on the classic Eggs Benedict (a buttery egg yolk sauce). A sprinkling of chopped chives and a squeeze of  fresh lime add a flavourful zing to this summery dish.
After trying several techniques, I find this to be the best way to poach eggs. Use fresh free range eggs and familiarise yourself with the procedure before you start. Have everything, including the slotted spoon and the bowl of ice ready, once the water starts to boil.  It really is over in under three minutes! Grill the English muffins and prepare the thick chilli tomato sauce in advance so you can plate up with ease. One egg is poached at a time, but for a crowd, you can slip the eggs back into the warm water to heat just before serving. Prepare the yolk to your liking- I find that two and a half minutes on my stove is more than sufficient for a cooked egg but runny yolk consistency. Cooking times differ according to heat of your stove plate. Have fun Chefs!

Poached Eggs on a Chilli Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

4 extra large free range eggs
2 T white spirit vinegar
2 English Muffins, sliced in half and toasted
6 chives, finely chopped
½ small lime

For the sauce

1 T olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
410 g chopped, peel tomatoes
½ t sugar
1 red chilli, diced
salt and pepper to taste

Cooking instructions

Sauce

Heat a pan on medium heat and add the oil. Add the onions and fry till they just start to brown.
Add the garlic and chilli and fry for a few seconds.
Add the tomatoes, sugar and salt. Cook for 5 minutes and reduce the heat.
Cook until the sauce thickens by half, stirring so that the sauce does not catch at the bottom of the pan. Adjust the seasoning if necessary and add freshly ground pepper.
Set the sauce aside.

 Full recipe on Food and the Fabulous

Poaching Eggs – how to: step-by-step

L-R, TOP-BOTTOM: Simmer, add vinegar, vortex, slip egg in, turn with spoon, timer, remove, ice bath

 

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Indian Lamb Koftas for Summer Feasting

March 16, 2012 in Recipe, Red meat

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Indian Lamb Koftas for Summer Feasting

It’s mid March and I keep mouthing the very words that you do. No, not “how on earth did I get here?” but the fascination that time does not stand still enough for one to enjoy that iced coffee without it starting to melt. So, you suck harder on that straw. And poof, two and a half months of the brand spanking new year have litearlly evaporated.

Please check in with me this time next year. I suspect this is a pattern repeated with equal measure regularity and surprise.

I find myself restless again. It’s a thing I battle with. I’m not sure if it’s specific to March, but it’s visiting me now. I’m busy, and I’m grateful for opportunities but I’m doing the deep breathing followed by languid sighing. A slight distraction and the extra effort is required to pull myself back into focus. It is particularly easy when I feel like this, to dip into daydream land and to ask those open, evocative (read: terrifying) questions about life and its meaning, about purpose and why afternoon teas are not more of a serious sport. It’s a wonderful time for creativity, if one had the time to indulge.

I’m back to being in the classroom during art class, staring out the open door, the one class during which I could tear my attention away from the words and formulas, and dream about countries unknown, people I’d never seen, food I’d never eaten, all the while moulding clay with my hands.

I live in my head. I’ve had to accept and embrace it. It’s been the most challenging but internally rewarding aspects of my personality.

For the recipes, visit Food and the Fabulous

A dish that I could probably make whilst daydreaming, because it is so familiar are these Lamb Koftas (just not during the pan frying part). I originally prepared the recipe here: Mrs Reddy’s Spicy Lamb Meatballs. In essence kofta translates to meatball, though the shape varies throughout the Middle East and South East Asia.

Mediterranean Delicacies approached me to craft a range of recipes to showcase some of their products. I have been buying their products for a long time, and they fit in well with the style of foods I enjoy preparing. We decided to inject a little spice to things, and I made these koftas using really beautiful lamb mince from Frankie Fenner Meat Merchants and I toasted cumin seeds, coriander seeds, curry leaves and a few cardamom pods. Once finely ground in a spice grinder, I added them to the mince. It’s not essential to add them to the mix, as originally this was intended as a quick recipe, but it adds glorious fragrance and  flavour.

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Garlic and Parsley Lamb Chops with Smoked Almond Crust

March 6, 2012 in Recipe, Red meat

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Garlic and Parsley Lamb Chops with Smoked Almond Crust

Barcelona in winter, when it isn’t raining, can be glorious. The sun is out, the air is crisp and biting, you don a coat and wrap a scarf around you. Boots over jeans or tights complete the look and with shopper in hand you’re ready for a marvelous food adventure. So many markets to explore and shops tucked away in tiny cobbled streets in old neighbourhoods.

One such shop is E & A Gispert Mestres Torradors (Master Roasters) a grocery store founded in 1851, selling nuts, dried fruit and vegetables mainly. The roaster that they’ve been using for well over a hundred years is still in operation and purveyors of the best quality roasted and smoked nuts come especially to this store.

I had to have some of the famous Barcelona hazelnuts (Catalans are crazy for this, as is evident in the hazelnut oil and purees used by many of the Michelin starred chefs in the city- and I had a fair amount of that at a few amazing restaurants during this visit too – will tell all soon). I also picked fat, lightly salted macadamias, sun dried tomatoes, raw and blanced smoked Spanish almonds.

Recipe at Food and the Fabulous

Spanish almonds are different to the almonds we’re accustomed to – they are flatter, rounder and as you can see, less pointed at the ends.

I thought these smoked Spanish almonds would make a beautiful crust for my garlic and parsley lamb chops, instead of bread crumbs, and they did.

Substitute with blanched almonds crushed with a generous grind of smoked salt if you can’t find any smoked almonds.

Ingredients

Seves 2

4  free range lamb chops

4 large cloves garlic

4 T parsley (curly or flat leaf)

40 ml extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste

125 ml smoked almonds, crushed coarsely in a pestle and mortar

2 T olive oil