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by Chef Caro

How to oven-dry tomatoes

March 7, 2012 in Easy dinners, Healthy eating, Vegetable garden

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Hello foodie folk,

Our beautiful tomatoes have been so good to us this year, bursting onto their vines and blushing redder than red. We’ve picked them in basket fulls and one of the easiest and most versatile way to preserve them is to dry them out in the oven.

4.0 from 2 reviews

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Oven-dried tomatoes
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How to oven-dry tomatoes and preserve them.
Ingredients
  • 1 large basket of tomatoes
  • 500ml olive oil
  • 1 head garlic
  • 1 large bunch fresh basil

Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 150 C.
  2. Cut the tomatoes in half and place cut side up on a baking tray.
  3. Depending on how dry you like them, cook slowly for 1-2 hours.
  4. Let them cool when they are done to your liking.
  5. Peel and cut the garlic into thin slices.
  6. Wash the basil and remove leaves from the stalks.
  7. Place in serilised jars (2 mins in microwave) with the garlic and basil interspersed and fill with the olive oil.
  8. It will last for about a month, but I guarantee it will be gone by then.

Notes
These can be used on fish, chicken, chopped into pastas and on their own on toast!

That’s it!!! It depends on how plump or dried-out you like them, I personally prefer juicy-ish one’s, not the chewy, un-cuttable ones.
*Quickie pasta – boil pasta and chop in some of these babies, crumble on goats cheese and some crispy bacon – heaven.

Or try this previously blogged recipe – Chicken pasta with oven-dried tomatoes and pesto.

Enjoy everyone!

Here’s a latest piccie of my little monsters – are they growing up or what?

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by Chef Caro

Spicy calamari salad

February 22, 2012 in Easy dinners, Healthy eating

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This recipe is a new favourite of mine. It kicks ass. Spicy, Cajun-ey, chilli ass with peppery salad leaves wilted into it just before serving.

It’s a winner as a starter or fatten it up with fresh, popping baby tomatoes, colourful peppers and perhaps some baba potatoes. You can also use all sorts of leaves for this. Butter lettuce would be lovely and soft, rocket would pack a punch or you could Asian things up with some lovely fresh bok choi (Chinese scabbage).

4.0 from 3 reviews

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Spicy calamari salad
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Recipe type: Starter or main
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Serves: 4
 

Warm Cajun calamari salad with fresh chilli and wilted greens.
Ingredients
  • 500g baby calamari tubes and tentacles
  • 3 T Cajun spice
  • 1 t smoked paprika (you can use normal if you like, then make it 2 t)
  • 2 fresh chillis (depending on hot you like it)
  • 1 pinch saffron (if you have it hanging around)
  • 4 cloves garlic, grated
  • 1 packet Italian salad leaves
  • Vegetable/canola oil
  • Salt and black pepper

Instructions
  1. Place the calamari into a colander and run fresh water over it to get rid of any sliminess from being in packaging. Shake it to remove as much water as possible.
  2. Place all the spices, garlic and calamari in a bowl and marinade from 10 mins – 1 day. A few hours will do just fine.
  3. Heat a pan until very hot, add some oil and pan-fry the calamari in batches until just cooked. +- 3-5 mins per batch.
  4. Place it all back into the pan with the leaves and turn for literally 30 seconds until everything is mixed and coated and the leaves are starting to wilt. You don’t want them to shrink to nothingness.
  5. Serve immediately.
  6. TIP: I always cook the little heads for longer until they are starting to get crispy.

 

Couldn’t you just DIG in right now…?

Enjoy lovely people,

Caro xx

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by Chef Caro

Aubergine and broccoli salad

January 19, 2012 in Easy dinners, Healthy eating

2 Comments »

Aubergine and broccoli salad
Recipe Type: Warm salad
Author: Caro de Waal
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Total time: 35 mins
Serves: 2-4
Roasted aubergine slices with honey and cumin and broccoli trees tossed in ginger and garlic.
Ingredients
  • 10 baby aubergines
  • 1/2 broccoli
  • Roll of goats cheese
  • 1 plum
  • 1 thumb ginger
  • 2 fat garlic cloves
  • 2 T honey
  • 2 t cumin
  • Vegetable oil
  • Extra Virgin olive oil
  • Seasoning
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 220 C.
  2. Slice the aubergine about 1/2 cm thick.
  3. In a large bowl, mix the cumin, honey, salt and pepper and about 2 T vegetable oil together.
  4. Toss the aubergine slices into the mixture and make sure they are all coated.
  5. Lay them out on a baking tray and place in the oven for about 10-15 mins or until just starting to brown.
  6. Cut the broccoli florets into flat trees (the same thickness as the aubergine).
  7. Great the garlic and peel and grate the ginger on the small (not smallest) eye of the grater.
  8. Toss the broccoli in a pan with a little vegetable oil and the ginger and garlic, season well until just done.
  9. Skin and dice the plum into small blocks.
  10. Lay the aubergines and the broccoli onto a platter and crumble over the goats cheese.
  11. Garnish with the diced plum.

 

 

 

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by Chef Caro

Shiny new blogs… and a healthy pasta

November 28, 2011 in Easy dinners, Healthy eating

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Well everyone, today is the day!

I am FULL of excitement and pride at our beautiful new platform.

Isn’t it just delicious?

Now before you all panic, please go and READ our lovely Help Wiki and FAQ’s, there’s also a detailed Create a Post section for you.

WordPress is a seriously powerful and fantastic platform and there are SO many options you can choose re: themes, social sharing, SEO and even have your own advertising – cool né?

So away we go me hearties!

Here’s a pasta that I entered using the juicy new Add a recipe plug-in (that cute little chef icon in the top menu bar, when adding a post) – it’s wonderballs!


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Sun-dried tomato, pesto and chicken pasta
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Recipe type: Main
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Serves: 4
 

A healthy pasta dish with intense sun-dried tomatoes, zinging basil pesto and
Ingredients
  • 1 punnet of sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1 punnet of basil pesto
  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 500g fresh pasta
  • 1 handful pine nuts
  • Black cracked pepper
  • Flakey salt

Instructions
  1. Place a pot of water (for the pasta) on to boil.
  2. Flatten the chicken breasts by placing them (one at a time) under some clingfilm and bashing them with the back of a pan. (It’s very therapeutic).
  3. Pan-fry them in a little vegetable/canola oil – about 2 mins a side – and set aside. They should cook through on standing.
  4. Place the pasta into the water with a good big pinch of salt.
  5. To toast the pinenuts, place them in a small pan and make sure to constantly roll them around. They burn very easily so take care.
  6. Drain the pasta and pile it all on plates, sprinkling the pine nuts on at the end and garnishing with fresh basil.

 

 

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by Chef Caro

Stuffed calamari

August 17, 2011 in Easy dinners

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In the mood for tapas? This tapa is a healthy and colourful dish packed with flavour and is super-quick to make.

Soft Patagonian calamari stuffed with smokey rice, draped in sweet peppers and covered in garlicky basil pesto.

Ingredients

250g calamari tubes
1/2 onion
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 small red chilli
1/2 cup brown basmati rice
2 red peppers
1 tub basil pesto

Olive oil

Seasoning

Method

Make the rice according to the packet instructions.
Grill the red peppers, turning every so often until the skin blackens all over and place in a plastic bag.
Dice the onion finely and sauté in some olive oil.
When it starts to go translucent, add the paprika and chilli and fry until fragrant (1-2 minutes), stirring all the time. Add to the rice.
Remove the peppers from the bag, peel off the blackened skin and slice it into strips.
Stuff the calamari with the rice mixture and secure the open end with a toothpick (take care not to over stuff or it will burst).
Repeat with all the calamari.
Toss in a pan with some olive oil for a minute or 2 until the calamari is cooked, add at least 2 T of pesto (but to your tastes) and the red pepper strips for the last minute or 2 to warm through and bring out the flavours.
Add a fresh tablespoon of fresh pesto just before serving and toss.
Season with cracked black pepper and salt.

It took me just over half an hour from start to finish, it’s a great healthy, low GI tapas.

Make it a starter by adding a bed of rocket drizzled with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.

Enjoy!

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by Chef Caro

Baked fish on a bed of roasted vegetables

July 27, 2011 in Easy dinners, Healthy eating

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baked fish

Succulent fish with juicy Mediterranean flavours. A fabulously easy one-tray-wonder that is filled with colourful roasted vegetables, salty olives and juicy tomatoes.

Recipe

2 fillets linefish (I used yellowtail)
3 baby marrows
4 small carrots
1 red onion
3 bell peppers (red, yellow and green)
1 head garlic, sliced lengthways
8 olives
1 punnet baby tomatoes
6 baby potatoes
1 lemon
Thyme
Fresh basil
Olive oil
Seasoning

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cut vegetables into rustic chunks.
Microwave the potatoes for five minutes until almost cooked.
Place all remaining ingredients (except fish) in a deep baking dish with a generous splash of olive oil.
Season to taste. Place in the oven.
Season and pan-fry the fillets in olive oil until browned.
Take out the vegetables and lay the fish on top, cook for a further 20 minutes until the fish is just done.
Take care not to overcook the fish. (I prefer medium rare, but that is my preference).

Serves 2

This is a great dish for the wonderful summer in winter we’re having here in Cape Town.

My little one’s are just flourishing in this lovely weather and growing like crazy, the RABBIT has 5 teeth now and juuust started crawling and the SOSS is as cheeky as ever! Cute little rotters that they are.

sosses

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by Chef Caro

Butternut soup with honeyed chickpeas

May 24, 2011 in Easy dinners, Healthy eating

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butternut soup

This is a lovely soup for Winter. The spice really warms it up and the honeyed chickpeas give great texture and a lovely sweetness. The ginger and garlic keep the germs at bay too – bonus. Make big pots people!

500 g chopped butternut

2 cloves garlic

1 small thumb ginger

1 tspgaram marsala

1 medium onion

4 Tbs plain yoghurt

1 tin chickpeas

2Tbs

honey

1 l

good chicken stock or vegetable stock

Seasoning

Slice the onion roughly and grate the garlic and ginger.
Sauté the onion until soft and then add the ginger, garlic and garam marsala and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the butternut and toss for a few minutes.
Make the stock and add to the pot.
Bring to the boil and then turn down and simmer for 20 minutes.
To make the honeyed chickpeas:
Drain the chickpeas and place in a pan with the honey.
Toss until the chickpeas are nicely caramelised.
To serve:
Pour the soup into bowls.
Dollop a tablespoon of yoghurt on top of each bowl of soup and sprinkle over a tablespoon or 2 of chickpeas.

Eat with crusty seedy rolls and lots of butter.

Serves 4

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by Chef Caro

Aubergine rolls with goats cheese

April 20, 2011 in Easy dinners, Healthy eating

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aubergines

Hi everyone,

I am having a SERIOUS aubergine craving at the moment… I eat them almost every day.

I slice the suckers lengthways – about 1cm thick. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with rosemary salt.

Leave them in the oven at 180 C for about 15-20 mins or until caramelised.

It is heaven… crispy chewy skin and creamy flesh. I’m hooked!

So when it came to pairing our wines for the April vegetarian Vin-atics, I had to do something with aubergines.

Check out the recipe here.

If you feel like winning R500 Cybercellar vouchers have your own fun evening and let us know! See more about this here….

slices

Lots of brinjal love,

Caro xxx

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by Chef Caro

Homemade pasta with bacon and butternut with sundried tomatoes

March 8, 2011 in Easy dinners, Healthy eating

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pasta

Isn’t it beautiful? A very clever and fabulous couple made this GAWjus homemade pasta for a lunch for over 30 people on Sunday (they are o.r.g.a.n.i.s.e.d) and I luckily made away with enough to stuff my face with last night.

In the spirit of the Argus and the great carbo-load, here is an easy pasta to up your energy levels.

Serves 4

1 medium butternut

1/2 pack streaky bacon

3 garlic cloves, sliced thinly

1 small tub of sundried tomatoes

A small handful of fresh basil leaves.

Olive oil

Preheated the oven to 180 C.

Cut the butternut into small blocks and toss in a little vegetable/canola oil and season.

Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes until done.

Boil a large pot of water.

Cut the bacon into small strips and pan fry with the garlic in some veg/canola oil.

Add the butternut and the sun-dried tomatoes.

Boil the pasta in the water for 5 minutes and drain.

Serve with some good olive oil drizzled over and some freshly sliced basil.

butternut pasta

I’m quite proud as we grew the butternut, basil and tomatoes – isn’t it just so irritatingly homey? :-)

Enjoy!

Caro xxx

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