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Spiced Citrus Tarte Tatin with Butter Puff Pastry

January 23, 2012 in DESSERT

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Tarte Tatin……the word conjures up cold nights and comforting food eaten around the fireside with a delicious glass of sweetish wine to accompany it. Tarte Tatin also conjures up visions of firm crisp apples and caramel and delicious puff pastry. So easy and simple to prepare and yet so delicious and comforting. ClemenGold also conjures up wintry thoughts as it is a winter citrus and only available for that season….but I turned both into a wonderful summery delight this past week.

The new year has firmly entrenched itself and 3 weeks have just flown past in a blur. Here in the Western Cape where I live we have been overwhelmed by a heatwave of massive proportions. I have not been able to bear spending any time in my kitchen during the days. Nights are oppressive and everyone is battling to sleep. I think airconditioning companies have been benefiting from it all. In the bowels of my freezer I came across a bag of ClemenGolds this past week that I had popped in there towards the end of the 2011 season. As I was contemplating them the idea of using some for a tarte tatin  came to mind. Using my favourite spices of course for my ClemenGold goodness. It ticked all the right boxes for me….quick and easy to prepare and delicious with a big scoop of icy cold vanilla ice cream! I was sold on the idea and this is what I came up with…

Spicy citrus deliciousness with vanilla ice cream



SPICED CLEMENGOLD TARTE TATIN WITH RICH BUTTER PUFF PASTRY

Serves 4-6

Easy to prepare

Ingredients:

1 roll good quality Butter Puff Pastry – thawed but still cold

2 ClemenGolds (or other clementine/mandarin if you cannot get the ClemenGolds)

125 g butter

100 g Light Brown Sugar

½ Lemon – juice only

5ml NoMU Sweet Rub

1 Vanilla Pod – split and seeds removed with the tip of a sharp knife

2 star anise

1 Egg – lightly beaten for brushing the pastry

Method:

Wash and slice the ClemenGolds thinly (leaving the delicious peel on) and set aside. I am so in love with my new Lassar ceramic knife that is perfect for this job :)

Unroll the puff pastry and, using your skillet as a measure, cut out a circle  about an inch wider all round than the size of the skillet that you are using. Set aside in the fridge until needed

Place the skillet (it needs to have an oven proof handle) onto the hob over a low to moderate heat

Place the butter, sugar, sweet rub and lemon juice into the skillet and melt all together without stirring

Add the vanilla seeds and pod and star anise

Allow the mixture to caramelize and turn a medium golden colour giving it a bit of a shake every now and again.  Don’t allow it to go any darker than that as it can burn very easily

Remove the pan from the heat and place the ClemenGold slices in the caramel in circles, overlapping the slices slightly and placing the last one in the centre of the pan so the whole base is covered

Set aside to cool for 10 – 15 minutes

Preheat oven to 200C while the caramel is cooling

Remove puff pastry from the fridge and place it lightly over the top of the caramel in the skillet. Fold and tuck the extra bits down the sides carefully as the caramel might still be hot enough to burn your fingers

Brush lightly with the egg wash and bake on the middle shelf in the oven until the pastry is puffed up  and a deliciously medium golden brown colour

Remove from the oven then place a large flat serving plate over the top of the skillet

Using oven gloves or a couple of folded dish towels hold the plate and pan tightly together and in a quick motion flip them over and place plate down  on to the counter

Remove the pan – if any slices have remained behind gently lift with a spatula and place back into position

Allow to cool slightly then remove the star anise and vanilla pod and cut into wedges

Serve with whipped cream, crème frâiche or ice-cream (personally I prefer the iciness of ice cream with the still slightly hot tarte tatin!)

browniegirl tip: Wash the stickiness off the vanilla pod then let it dry thoroughly on your windowsill in the sunlight. Once dry pop it into a jar of sugar and cover tightly. In a week or two you will have delicious vanilla sugar for all your baking needs :)

To interact with Lassar ceramic knives visit their facebook page or take a peek at the Essentials page in the latest Crush online magazine edition to see how to slice and dice an onion…the Lassar way!

Enjoy,

browniegirl xx

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Fudgey Cheesecake Topped Brownies

December 19, 2011 in CHOCOLATE, DESSERT

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Who doesn’t love a dense, moist, decadently dark, fudgey brownie? My tagline on my browniegirl blog says there is more to life than brownies….but not much! I think chocolate cures just about anything!

I do apologize for my long absence….but with the changeover to wordpress my log in details got messed up (my own fault I guess as I was changing email addresses in the background) but thanks to the devs and Caro I finally got it all sorted. By then, however, time was spinning out for me with schools closing (I take care of grandsons) and deadlines looming for work and baking. Today the last of the Christmas cake orders left and I am up to date with other deadlines so things are looking up! I have been ill the past week with a throat and chest infection so I have not seen my two bugs….have missed them terribly and look forward to spending some happy baking time with them tomorrow.

I don’t know who is out there anymore, who of my old readers are still able to follow this blog, as I noticed after the changeover to WordPress that all my subscribers had disappeared. I keep thinking that if only we had been told maybe there might have been a way to let them all know to come here and re-subscribe. The other thing of course that has gone are all my sidebar badges :( But I guess that, if this is a much better, bug-free blogging platform that is going to run smoothly,  then it might be a small price to pay!

Seeing as we are new to this blogging platform, well give or take a couple of weeks, and as my blogging name is browniegirl (as opposed to the name of my blog Kitchen Diary) and I am known to all and sundry as browniegirl I thought I would share my namesake, my signature dish, with you all today. Yes, there is a reason that I am known as browniegirl……..and here it is!

Fudgy Cheesecake Topped Brownies
Print
Recipe type: dessert
Author: browniegirl
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Total time: 45 mins
Serves: 16 squares
a decadent, rich, fudgey and dense chocolate brownie, swirled with cheesecake. What more could you want? Original Recipe from “Cookies & Brownies” by Alice Medrich; Adapted by me!
Ingredients
  • Brownie Layer:
  • 125 grams Lurpak unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  • 150 grams 80% dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 250 grams granulated white sugar
  • Fresh Vanilla Bean – split and seeds scraped out with the tip of a sharp knife
  • 2,5ml pure vanilla extract
  • 2 Jumbo Free Range eggs – at room temperature
  • 90 grams Cake (or all purpose) Flour
  • 2.5ml Salt
  • Cream Cheese Layer:
  • 250g Philadelphia Cream Cheese at room temperature
  • 50ml Fresh Cream
  • 70 grams granulated white sugar
  • 2,5ml pure vanilla extract
  • 1 Jumbo Free Range egg – at room temperature
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and place the rack in the center of the oven.
  2. Melt a little regular butter then brush base and sides and line a 23 x 23 cm square baking pan with 2 sheets of baking paper across the bottom and up all four sides of the pan. The paper needs to come above the edges of the pan as you will use it to lift the baked brownies out of the pan. Brush the paper as well. Set aside.
  3. In a large glass bowl melt the butter and chocolate in the microwave – you can do this over simmering water but I prefer the micro method. It only takes one minute at about 40% power.
  4. Remove from microwave, stir well then stir in the sugar and vanilla extract and seeds.
  5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (with a wooden spoon) after each addition.
  6. Stir in the sifted flour and salt and beat, with the wooden spoon, until the batter is smooth and glossy and comes away from the sides of the bowl (about one minute).
  7. Remove 1/2 cup of the brownie batter and set aside. Pour the remainder of the brownie batter evenly into the prepared pan.
  8. Then in the bowl of your food processor (or with a hand mixer), process the cream cheese & cream until smooth.
  9. Add the sugar, vanilla and egg and process until creamy and smooth.
  10. Spread the cream cheese filling over the brownie layer. Spoon small dollops of the reserved brownie batter evenly on top of the cream cheese filling.
  11. Then with a table knife or wooden skewer, swirl the two batters a bit (without mixing them together) to make a marbled effect.
  12. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until the brownies start to pull away from the sides of the pan and the edges of the brownies are just beginning to brown.
  13. Remove from oven and place pan on a wire rack to cool.
  14. Once cool refrigerate the brownies (still in the pan covered with foil or cling wrap) for at least 2 hours
  15. Once chilled, remove the brownies from the pan by lifting with the ends of the paper and transfer to a cutting board.
  16. With a sharp hot dry knife, cut into 16 squares. It is a good idea to have a damp cloth handy to wipe your knife between cuts.
  17. These brownies can be stored in the refrigerator for several days. Bring to room temperature before serving if you want the fudginess!
  18. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
  19. Delicious with a scoop of ice cream!
Notes

browniegirl baking tips:

Don’t use a mixer when you make brownies….you don’t want to incorporate any air into the batter which will not result in fudgy dense brownies
Don’t use any leavening agent in your brownie mixture
Don’t over bake – You want your brownies to be a little bit moist in the middle when you take them out of the oven
Do use the best quality ingredients that you can afford to buy.
These days you can get a very good comparable local cream cheese called Lancewood Superior which I have started using.
Pegs come in very handy in my kitchen. Use them to peg the paper firmly into place onto the edges of the pan. Once the batter is in the pan you can remove the pegs.

2.1.7
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Easy Boerewors Wasabi Mash and Gravy

November 16, 2011 in MAIN MEALS, MEAT

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Boerewors (literal translation farm sausage) is such a versatile ingredient to have on hand in the freezer. You can pop it onto the grid over hot coals, into the oven to bake, remove it from its casing and make meat balls to serve with pasta or in soup, or make hamburger patties or any other number of delicious things. Or you can cook it on the stove top like I did last night. This is the method that I enjoy the most. You can zwoosh it up in any number of ways by what you add to the pan…and the beauty of it all is that rich, delicious gravy that you have to pour over your hot mash

Now we all know that there is wors in the fridges at the stores…..if it is labelled just WORS it does not have a high percentage of ground meat in it and can have lots of cereal additives to bulk it up….then there is BOEREWORS….which has to contain 90% and upwards of meat product. That is the real McCoy!  Boerewors comes in a mulitude of flavour (herb and spices)combinations, some nicer than other but it all depends on your personal flavour choices. My family has always enjoy the thick Grabouw boerewors made with ground beef and pork and flavoured delicately with clove and nutmeg. We love it on the braai and always cook more than we need so that we can enjoy the ubiquitous boerie roll the next day for lunch – on a soft hot dog roll smothered in oozy delicious home made tomato and onion smoor. But I digress….back to the stove-top creation. . The surrounding mountains have been covered in a very late Spring dusting of snow, thunder, rain and hail accompanied by icy winds have been the order of the day around here….while the rest of the country has been melting in the midst of a heatwave. At this time of year I am usually complaining about the heat as I bake Christmas cake orders and so it has been very comfortable for me to bake while it is chilly outside! Sorry rest of the country! And we have enjoyed lovely comforting meals like this boerewors with wasabi mash, gravy and steamed green veggies.

BOEREWORS AND GRAVY WITH WASABI MASH AND STEAMED GREEN VEGETABLES

Serves 4

Ingredients:

700g Boerewors

20ml Olive Oil

2 Red Onions

1 Clove Garlic

Few sprigs of Fresh Thyme

100g Cherry or Baby Rosa Tomatoes – whole

Sweet Balsamic Glaze – I used the Verlaque Wild-Flower Honey Infused Balsamic Reduction

Splash of Verjuice to deglaze the pan

10ml NoMU Beef Fond

250ml Boiling Water

20mls Tomato Sauce/Ketchup

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Ice cold cubes of butter – about 50g

Method:

Place the boerewors in a large saucepan or deep frying pan with a glug of olive oil and brown gently on both sides, remove and set aside

Peel and slice the onions (no need to chop),add to the pan with a bit more olive oil and the balsamic glaze and saute gently until limp and transparent

Add the  thyme (I add the whole sprigs and fish them out before serving) garlic and cherry tomatoes and saute a few minutes longer

Deglaze the pan with a splash of Verjuice (you could use red or white wine or even Sherry or Masala) then add the beef stock (mix the fond in the boiling water), tomato sauce, a good grinding of black pepper and the browned boerewors.

Bring to the boil, reduce heat and cover with a lid. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down a bit and the sauce has reduced.

Turn off the heat and stir in the butter cubes  to give a thick glossy rich sauce/gravy

Serve with steaming hot Wasabi Mash and Steamed Vegetables

WASABI MASHED POTATOES

Serves 4 hungry souls

 

Ingredients:

 

800g Potatoes – peeled, cubed and boiled in slightly salted boiling water

Milk

Butter

10-15ml Wasabi Paste – I use Wasabi-O  putting the OOOOOH into Wasabi :)

Ground White Pepper (my secret ingredient in any mashed potato!)

Method:

Boil the potatoes in slightly salty water until just done – never overboil that they turn to mush!

Drain the boiled potatoes completely then add a generous splash of milk (sorry I never measure) and about 50g Butter and return to the heat just to warm the milk and start the butter melting

Remove from heat and mash all the ingredients together, sprinkling on some white pepper and a bit more salt if needed

Serve piping hot with boerewors and vegetables of your choice  – The wasabi just gives extra oomph to the boerewors…like hot english mustard or horsradish does to a rare roast beef sarmie :)

A simple meal, made real easy!

Enjoy!

browniegirl xx

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Butternut Rocket and Parmesan Penne

November 2, 2011 in Uncategorized

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I don’t often participate in Meatless Monday posts although we do try to have at least one meatless dinner per week. I have a husband who loves his meat. I on the other hand can do without it for days, if not weeks, on end. We have been enjoying the lovely little crop of rocket that my patio garden has blessed us with. As well as the most awesome fresh broad beans. The wind has knocked the stuffing out of the poor plants and I thought they had seen their day but this morning when I went out there I saw new flowers on them…so await another crop with anticipation! When I saw that Tandy over at Lavender and Lime had chosen rocket as her regional and seasonal ingredient for the current challenge I was rather excited at the prospect of popping out onto the patio and picking my own.  How much more regional can you get than your own front garden? And seasonal as in it is out there growing right now hehe! Now the instruction, as I understand it, is for us to actually COOK with rocket. I usually use it as a salad green, or in a delicious wholewheat sandwich with smoked chicken or cheese and tomato and basil pesto…there are endless opportunities to use this awesome peppery green leaf! For those friends over on the big continent with many united states rocket will be known to you as Arugula. I must say that Rocket sounds way more spiffish to me :)

 

 

When you type  rocket into the Google search bar this is what you find……

A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. HAHAHA! I am SO not talking about that kind of rocket! Nooo, the rocket I am talking about is this one….(and I only found it because I had to change my search to edible rocket!!)

Eruca sativa (syn. E. vesicaria subsp. sativa (Miller) Thell., Brassica eruca L.), is an edible annual plant, commonly known as rocket, roquette, rucola or arugula. Rich in Vit C and Potassium, this leafy plant has a strong peppery taste that goes incredibly well in salads and cooking. According to Wiki it is considered an aphrodisiac.[9]  In addition to the leaves, the flowers (often used in salads as an edible garnish), young seed pods and mature seeds are all edible. And I find that out after I just returned all the seeds to the earth!

This is what I did with my rocket – I have two varieties growing, the regular larger leaf one you see in the centre of the photo and then a small, delicate, spikier leaf that was labelled Italian Rocket at my nursery….see left front and far right of the photo

BUTTERNUT PARMESAN AND ROCKET PASTA

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 Medium sized Butternut – peeled, seeded and cut into small cubes the size of a dice

1 Red Onion – chopped

1 Clove Garlic – peeled and finely sliced

1/2 Red Chilli – seeds and white pith removed and finely sliced

20ml Olive Oil

20g Butter

200ml Sour Cream

50g Parmesan – freshly grated

50g Blue Cheese (I used Simonzola which is a mild tasting gorgonzola type cheese)

50g Rocket – washed and roughly cut if large leaves

1 packet Penne Pasta – I used wholewheat

Salt & Pepper

 
Method:

Heat the butter and oil together in a large saucepan over moderate heat.

Add the butternut and toss well. Saute until the edges start caramelizing and the butternut is almost tender

Add the onion and chilli to the pan and continue sauteeing until the onion is glazed and translucent.

At this stage bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and add the penne pasta. Cook for about 8 minutes until al dente

Add the garlic and saute very briefly, you don’t want the garlic to burn and turn bitter

Mix the sour cream and cheeses and add to the pan with the butternut. Toss all together well and turn off the heat

Season to taste

Strain the pasta through a colander, reserve about 100ml of the water for thinning the sauce if needed

Toss a drizzle of premium quality extra virgin olive oil and the rocket leaves through the pasta then add to the saucepan of butternut, together with the pasta water if you want a saucier dish.

Serve with extra rocket leaves and a grating of parmesan cheese.

My meat eater declared this a winner for our meatless days. It was more than delicious! I hope you try it yourself for your next vegetarian meal.

I am also submitting this to Ruth, for this week’s Presto Pasta Night #237  I’m surprising myself by being so on the ball  :)  

Enjoy the rest of your week,

browniegirl xx

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GLUTEN FREE DAIRY FREE CLEMENGOLD CAKE

October 21, 2011 in Uncategorized

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Hellooo there from down by the bay! There is nothing spring like about the weather today, well the whole week actually, so I have spent a lot of time in the kitchen baking and cooking. We had a wonderful holiday and rested and relaxed to our hearts content and have returned fresh and ready to work again. I have a LOT of work to catch up, but thats generally what happens after you have a break. Top of my list of course is working with the last of the ClemenGold fruit that I have and developing some more delicious recipes. The first one on my list has to be this one…the most deliciously dense, moist and fruity ClemenGold Cake. WOW! This is a winner and something that you should all try. Its really easy to make and is quite sublime!

COLLEEN’S CLEMENGOLD CAKE

Servings:  8 – 10 slices

Ingredients:

250g Whole Blanched Almonds (OR finely ground Almonds if you have them on hand)

6 Extra Large Free Range Eggs

5ml Baking Soda or Baking Powder

230g Sugar

4 ClemenGold (total weight between 375 and 400g)

2ml Salt

For the syrup: (Optional but delicious)

Juice of 3 ClemenGolds (about 150ml)

60g Sugar (I used Agave Crystals)

5 Cardamom Pods – bashed slightly

Method:

Wash the ClemenGolds well then place in a saucepan and cover well with water

Bring to the boil over medium heat, cover saucepan and boil gently for about  an hour until the fruit is tender

Allow to cool then remove the tiny green stem bit and discard. Cut the fruit into halves then blitz the fruit (peel and all) with a handheld stick blender or food processor to make a puree. Set aside.

Turn the oven on to 190oC and spray the base and sides of a 23cm springform cake tin. Line the bottom with baking paper

(Omit this next bit if you already have almond meal)

Place the almonds in a dry frying pan and toast over a medium heat until the aromas start wafting up from the pan and the nuts are turning lightly golden. Keep agitating the pan and tossing the nuts so they don’t burn on the one side. Cool almonds a bit then grind finely

Sift over the baking soda and salt and mix into the almonds

Beat the eggs and sugar until pale and thick, fold in the almonds and then the ClemenGold puree

Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and bake for 30 minutes then turn the oven down to 180oC cover the cake with a sheet of aluminum foil and continue baking for another 15 to 20 minutes. Test with a skewer to see if it is done in the middle. The skewer should come out clean

While the cake is baking for the last 15 minutes or so juice the ClemenGolds and add to a small saucepan with the sugar and cardamom pods

Boil rapidly for a few minutes to reduce and form a thickish syrup

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven pour the hot syrup over the cake. It will all absorb.

Allow cake to cool completely, in the tin, on a cooling rack then turn out onto a plate, dust with some icing sugar and serve with a dollop of crème fraiche, mascarpone, Greek yoghurt or vanilla ice cream

Although delicious once cold, the texture and flavor of the cake improves overnight so bake this the day before for maximum flavor

The syrup poured over the cake is an optional, but extremely delicious, extra

 Just look at that bright orange colour that comes out in the cake and in the syrup. You just don’t get colour like that from other citrus!! It brings instant sunshine into my heart every time. Sadly the season is over now in South Africa so the waiting begins for Autumn and Winter 2012! Who knew I would wish my life away for a little, perfectly round, bright orange, sweet, intensely aromatic citrus fruit??

And the beauty of this cake is that those with gluten or dairy intolerances can eat it as it is totally dairy and gluten free! What a bonus!! It has no butter….I would say this cake should be classified as Low GI :) 

Tandy, over at Lavender and Lime Blog is organizing a Secret Santa event for bloggers world wide. If you would like to participate in this lovely event then do go over and read this post and let her know that you would like to play! The idea is that you give your details to Tandy and she will randomly allocate another blogger (in the same country if possible) that you will send a secret gift to for Christmas.  The more the merrier Christmas will be…so head on over and join in the fun. I think its a fabulous idea!! Well done Tandy!

If you are participating you can put this very cute Santa hat onto your blog as a widget using the following html code….

[<a href="http://tandysinclair.com" target="_blank"><img title="" src="http://tandysinclair.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/c2a9-secret-santa.jpg?w=150" alt="" width="150" height="150" /></a>] 

Have an awesome weekend!

browniegirl xx

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Easy No Bake Milk Tart

September 26, 2011 in Uncategorized

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I promised you my easy no bake milk tart recipe today so here I am keeping my word! No lenthy intro today as I am chasing my tail trying to get things sorted so that we can head out of here on Thursday morning. Yes, the brownies are going on a 3 week holiday! We are both feeling rather jaded and tired…its been a hard year so far!

 

I have no idea where this recipe originated. I have it written by hand in my very first recipe book that I started as a young bride 33 years ago! I have adapted it slightly to suit our tastes!

EASY NO BAKE MILK TART

 

Ingredients:

 

200g Nuttikrust Biscuits

397g Can Condensed Milk

700ml Boiling Water

15ml Butter

40g Cornflour

50ml Cold Water

2 Large Eggs – separated

½ Vanilla Pod – split and seeds removed with a sharp knife

1 Mandarin (I use ClemenGold) – finely grated zest only

Finely Ground Cinnamon for sprinkling on the top

Method:

 

 

Lay the biscuits close together over the bottom of a lightly greased pie dish. I use a rectangular dish as the biscuit shape lends itself to a rectangular or square dish

Place condensed milk, boiling water, vanilla, zest and butter into a medium sized saucepan over medium heat and bring to the boil

In the meanwhile mix together the cornflour and cold water to make a paste, add the two egg yolks and salt and whisk together

Remove the saucepan from the heat, whisk in the cornflour egg mixture then return to a low heat and keep whisking or stirring quickly until the mixture has thickened. It happens quickly

Remove from heat (now take note of this tip before the next step – egg whites will scramble if you add them all at once to hot mixture :)  - ask my friend Douglas hehe)

Beat the egg whites in a clean metal bowl until stiff peaks form, quickly whisk one big spoon of the hot mixture into the white mixture then add 1/3  of the white mixture to the hot mixture and whisk in. Now add the rest of the whites to the hot custard and fold in quickly.

Pour the filling over the biscuit base and allow to cool then place in fridge to cool and set completely

Sprinkle ground cinnamon over the top and serve

 

You can leave out the mandarin zest if you like and this will taste just like the traditional custard tart flavour, or you can ring the changes and add other flavours that you might like but I can assure you this one was delicious! Even my citrus weary son said it was very very good! :)

I like the oatiness of the nuttikrust biscuit but you can use any other plain flat cookie/biscuit. I think the original recipe called for tennis biscuits!

Have a great week everyone, I will try and pop in before we go away and if the weak edgy Cell C dongle signal will allow I will try and blog a post or two while we are away!

browniegirl xx

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Braai the Beloved Country

September 25, 2011 in Uncategorized

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The delightful Jeanne over at Cooksister blog has an annual event that she invites anyone to attend via the blogs. Called Braai the Beloved Country it is in celebration of National Heritage Day/National Braai Day in South Africa. Now we all know that everyone loves a barbecue in the summer but we South Africans enjoy our braais all year round….I know some people who stand under an umbrella (mostly to protect the fire and the meat or braaibroodjies from becoming soaked and not actually the one brandishing the tongs :) ) in the pouring rain and cold in the middle of winter just so that they can have their beloved braai and beer!!  Well, yesterday we needed no excuse at all to fire up the braais. We had a national holiday celebrating our wonderful South African heritage and all over the country fires were lit and the smell of delicious meat being grilled over an open fire filled the air. Happy laughter and music wafted over on the breeze to tickle the ears…including much of ours….because you see…..the brownie family also had a big braai party to celebrate our heritage and partake in a bit of braaied meat, salads, breads and of course some beers for the boys and chilled wine for us girls and a yummy South African pudding to round off the party. Delightful fun for all……

On our fire we had some of the ever present boerewors (loosely translated as farmers sausage), some wonderfully tender, aged rump steaks that we bought from Woolworths and a few little lamb chops for the grandsons who just love them. Unfortunately lamb is so expensive in this country now that we don’t buy it too often anymore, but today was a special occasion. For myself of course there was some lovely oak smoked rainbow trout because, although I have progressed slightly from a liquid diet, I am still unable to get my jaws around a good piece of steak. 

 

We treat our braai meat simply before putting it on the coals, just a good rubbing of olive oil with my hands and a massage of good quality spice rub. The newly launched NoMU Jan Braai spice  eluded me so I had to make do with NoMU’s delicious Barbecue Rub instead. These are then braaied to perfection over hot coals and served with some country bread (or pre baked Portuguese rolls that  I drizzle with a fruity extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with a bit of sea salt flakes and then finish off in the oven while the meat is cooking, giving you delicious warm fresh rolls), a salad or two and a carb dish….today’s one was one of my very favourite ones that I inherited privately from fellow blogger Tronkie (whom I see has not blogged in a very long time) over at Litnet blogs about 2 or so years ago……sweet potatoes baked in their skins and then given a special treatment under the hot grill….. so so delicious!

 

 

 

CITRUSSY BAKED SWEET POTATOES

 

To make this delightful dish you will need:

 

6 Medium sized Sweet Potatoes – scrubbed well under running water

Tin Foil

1 ClemenGold (or other mandarin/naartjie) - zest and juice

2 Lemons – zest and juice

60g Butter

Dark Brown Sugar – about 15mls per sweet potato

Freshly ground Black Peppercorns

 

Method:

 

Wrap the washed sweet potatoes in a double layer of  foil then bake in the coals or on top of the fire until they are soft enough for a knife to go through them easily.

Remove from fire and allow to cool slightly until you can handle them. Place them in a heat proof dish, cut a cross in each one then push them fairly wide open as you would for a baked potato

Grate the zest from the lemons and ClemenGold over each sweet potato then squeeze all the juice over

Place 10g butter into each open potato then sprinkle a good bit of dark brown sugar over each one.

Grind a decent amount (and I mean a lot!) of black pepper over the dish then place under the hot grill until they are caramelized and bubbling.

 

Serve hot with your meats and salads!

 

 

For the rainbow trout I use a recipe that I got from my sister a long time ago. It is another firm favourite of mine…works well with salmon as well…I usually do this dish in the oven but today it was done over the coals and it was also really delicious

 

MO STYLE BAKED RAINBOW TROUT

 

Ingredients:

 

1 side of Oak Smoked Rainbow Trout

5ml Thick Soy Sauce

5ml Runny Honey

Juice of 1/2 a ClemenGold and 1/2 a lemon

Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon and 1/2 ClemenGold

5ml Grated Ginger

1 small Red Chilli – deseeded and finely chopped

1/2 Garlic Clove – finely chopped or grated

5ml Finely chopped Coriander leaves (Cilantro)

 

Method:

 

Place the trout onto a greased sheet of tin foil and fold it up around the fish to make a bowl for the marinade

 Mix all the other ingredients in a small just then pour it over the fish

Bring the sides of the foil together and seal up as a loosely wrapped parcel.

Place over medium coals right at the end of the braai time for the other meat. You only need about 7-10 minutes to cook this.

Open up the foil parcel, place briefly under a hot grill to lightly brown the top if you want to, and serve immediately

 

 

All the meat was served with a colourful garden salad and then for dessert I made a wonderful milk tart that I have not made in a looooong time. I took out my very first recipe book that I wrote for myself as a young bride and was paging through it last night when I came across this very easy no bake milk tart recipe that I used to make and then forget about it along the way. Such a pity really as it is another winner.  Here is a teaser…….

 

 

I will give you the recipe next time…..very soon because I have a few friends baying for it over on facebook :)

This is my entry into Cooksister’s event Braai, The Beloved Country. You have today only to put up your braai day posts if you would like to participate! Thank you Jeanne, such a lovely event!

BTBL logo

 

browniegirl xx

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by browniegirl

Super Diletto Hamper Giveaway with FBI2012

September 20, 2011 in Uncategorized

6 Comments »

Good morning blogland,

I have a lovely giveaway running on the FOOD BLOGGER INDABA blog…….

A hamper to excite all foodies out there……kindly donated by the two awesome dudes who own and run Diletto Online Deli who have also joined the list of sponsors for next years Food Blogger Indaba.

Take a peek at what’s inside and read below how to enter.

So_go lime juice

Chaloner Strawberry and Mint Jam

Chaloner Plum and Onion Marmalade

Skimmelberg Organic Rooibos Tea

Buchulife herbal water (1 * lime, 1 * cranberry, 1 * natural) bottles

Rosemary infused Grape Seed oil 250ml

Chaloner Blueberry Raspberry and Lavendar Jam

Olive Boutique Kalamata Olives in Blueberry dressing

Dried Pomegranate Arils

All valued at over R500!

To enter the giveaway please pop over to the FBI BLOG and leave a comment there as to what you would do with the Rooibos Tea.

Only South African readers eligible to enter.

Have a great day,

browniegirl xx

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by browniegirl

Simply Vegetarian A Garden Cottage Pie

September 19, 2011 in Uncategorized

16 Comments »

It was back to winter again briefly yesterday with bucketing rain and freezing cold north westerly gales driving the rain in everywhere. On days like this I just love spending time in my little kitchen. It gets all steamy, warm and cozy in there and the wonderful smells wafting up from the gently bubbling pots on the stove envelope me in an aromatic fog. Nothing better on a cold day!! Earlier in the day m lovely neighbour returned from hospital after undergoing knee replacement surgery so I decided that I would make a love meal to welcome her back home and to help out a little bit. Seeing as Mr Neighbour is a vegetarian I decided to do a comforting garden cottage pie using pulses and vegetables for the filling. While I was doing that my hubby, who declares that he has got to have meat, rushed out and bought some mince and more potatoes so that he too could have his own cottage pie for supper :) So I really did end up cooking up a storm!

Here is my delicious garden cottage pie…..so so delicious that the declared meat eater announced, on tasting, that he too would’ve eaten it with gusto!! Grrrr….gotta love that man!

GARDEN COTTAGE PIE – A VEGETARIAN TAKE ON AN OLD FAVOURITE

Serves 4 hungry souls

FOR THE FILLING:

30mls Olive Oil

15ml Butter

1 Large Onion – peeled and finely chopped

1 Red Or Yellow Pepper – seeds removed and finely chopped

1 Stick Celery – finely chopped

100g Button Mushrooms – wiped clean and finely chopped

2 Medium Carrots – peeled and finely chopped

1/2 Butternut – peeled and finely diced (make sure all your veg are the same size dice)

2 Garlic Cloves – peeled and finely grated

1/2 Red Chilli – seeds removed and finely chopped

1 Can Lentils – drained and rinsed

1 Can 4 Bean Mix – drained and rinsed (use cannelini or red kidney beans if preferred)

125ml Passata – use 1/2 can chopped tomatoes if preferred

500ml Vegetable Stock – NoMU has a fabulous one

5ml Dried Thyme

5ml Dried Oregano

5ml Ground Coriander

2.5ml Ground Cinnamon

Freshly ground Black Peppercorns  – to taste

Salt – to taste

10ml Sugar

FOR THE TOPPING:

4 Large Potatoes – peeled and cut into pieces

2 Large Sweet Potatoes  – peeled and cut into pieces

Olive Ol

Milk

Ground White Pepper

METHOD:

Chop and dice all your vegetables first and set aside ready to use. Drain lentils and beans and rinse under running water in a sieve. Set aside. Have all your spices and herbs to hand so that that you don’t have to run back and forth looking for ingredients. This makes it all so much easier when you have quite a few ingredients for a recipe.

Preheat oven to 200deg Celcius

Spray a medium sized rectangular or round deep casserole dish

Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat then saute the onion, celery and red pepper until limp and translucent.

Add the garlic, chilli, herbs and spices and stir fry for one minute

Add the rest of the vegetables and stir to coat with the spicy oily mixture

Add the remainder of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until all the excess liquid has evaporated and the veggies are all cooked through

Meanwhile boil the potatoes and sweet potatoes in lightly salted water until softened. Drain and mash well with a drizzle of olive oil and some milk and a sprinkle of white ground pepper (my secret ingredient to very good mash!)

Once the filling is done place it all into the bottom of the casserole dish, filling it up about 3/4 the way up.

Top with the mashed potatoes and swirl attractively with a fork.

Optional extra is to sprinkle some grated parmesan or cheddar cheese on top.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes until bubbling and golden on top.

Serve with extra veggies or a garden salad.

The beauty of this meal is that you can add in more veggies or take out whatever you dont want to use. It really is entirely up to what you have in your fridge and store cupboard at the time. You can add frozen corn and peas as well for more variety if desired. The addition of some curry paste and ginger lifts it to another dimension entirely :)

Enjoy….just in time for Meatless Monday!

browniegirl xx

Footnote: I was very fortunate to be chosen as the winner in the Battle of the Scanpans Competition run by Banks Kitchen Shop. Included in the prize, together with a Scanpan frying pan and saucepan (which I love because it has pouring spouts on both sides….a real boon for a south paw like myself) was a stunning Scanpan chefs knife which I used with great glee to chop chop chop up all my veggies in no time! Thank you Banks for my awesome prize. And using the knife sharpener (that came with the knife) every day ensures that my knife stays honed and ready!!

3 y/o Jay admiring my Scanpan Hamper and asking if he can cook with me!

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by browniegirl

POACHED EGG ON TOAST WITH BROAD BEAN AND PARMESAN PUREE

September 16, 2011 in Uncategorized

20 Comments »

It is broad bean time in South Africa and my tastebuds are clapping their hands! For the first time ever I have actually grown my own broad beans in a container on my patio and they are rewarding me richly for the care and love shown to them throughout the winter months! This morning early I was looking at JungleFrog Cooking for some photographic tips and inspiration and I came across an old post  there with broad beans on toast topped with a poached egg (original recipe from Delicious magazine Aug 2008 issue). I simply had to have it for my breakfast so I stepped out onto the patio, picked myself a big bunch of broad beans, podded them and proceeded to make this simple but delicious meal.

POACHED EGG AND BROAD BEAN PARMESAN PUREE ON TOAST WITH PARSLEY OIL

Adapted by me from original recipe 

Serves 1

80 g Broad Beans (podded)

10ml Olive Oil

5ml Lemon Juice

Freshly cracked Black Pepper

Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese – I used about 5ml

Handful of fresh parsley (no stalks)

65ml Olive Oil

1 Free Range Egg

1 Slice of Wholewheat Bread – toasted and buttered

Tip the podded broad beans into a small saucepan of rapidly boiling salted water for about 3 minutes

Drain and allow to cool slightly so you can handle them then squeeze each bean out of the thick shell so that all you have is the bright green sweet inner bean halves. Discard shells.

Finely chop the parsley leaves then using a pestle and mortar pound them with half the olive oil. Drip the rest of the oil on while pounding to make a bright green oil. Set aside

Using a fork mash half the beans toughly with the olive oil, lemon juice, black pepper and parmesan then add the rest of the whole beans and mix together. Set aside

Poach the egg in a small saucepan of boiling water (reduce the heat to simmer) for about 2 to 3 minutes. You want the white to be cooked and the yolk to be runny.

Scoop the broad beans onto the toast, drizzle with some of the parsley oil, top carefully with the drained poached egg.

Garnish with some parmesan shavings and some freshly cracked black pepper and a pinch of salt flakes. Be careful with salt as the parmesan  is fairly salty

Enjoy for a perfect Saturday or Sunday brunch!

Have a good weekend everyone,

browniegirl xx