Pistaches et Chocolat

Follow on from the Sunday Lunch Part 1…

So for the carnivores, I decided to Roast the Leg of Lamb and after researching and paging through cookbooks for a recipe that could inspire me, I came across one on Jamie Oliver’s Website. Intead of gravy or mint sauce, he made a lovely tomato and aubergines sauce that goes nicely with the lamb and from seeing that recipe, I knew I wanted to try that.

Roast Leg of Lamb with Aubergines and Onions

Lamb

Tomato, Aubergines and Onions

Serves 6

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hr 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 1 x 2kg leg of lamb
2. olive oil
3. Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4. 3 round purple aubergines or 4 normal ones
5. 1 tablespoon dried oregano
6. a bunch of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
7. 4 Large potatoes, cut into quarters and par-boiled

For the tomato sauce:

1. 2–3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
2. 2 red onions, peeled and each cut into about 6 wedges
3. a large bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked, stalks chopped
4. olive oil
5. 2 x 400g tins good-quality plum tomatoes
6. sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
7. 2 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
8. 1 dried red chilli, crumbled

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7.
2. Rub your leg of lamb all over with olive oil and salt and pepper and place in a roasting tray.
3. Roast for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. While it’s cooking, cut the aubergines in half and then
into 5cm erratic wedges. Toss them with the onion wedges in a little olive oil with a sprinkling of salt
and pepper and the dried oregano.
3. When the lamb has come out of the oven, sprinkle the chopped
rosemary on to the lamb.
4. Scatter the aubergine and potato pieces around the lamb in the tray and put it back in the oven for
an hour.
5. Meanwhile, make your tomato sauce.
6. In a saucepan, fry the onions, garlic and chopped parsley stalks in a splash of olive oil for a minute, then
add the tomatoes, a pinch of salt and pepper, a good swig of balsamic vinegar and the dried chilli.
7. Simmer for 30 minutes.
8. Make a point of checking the veg and lamb after 20 minutes. Turn the lamb over and stir the
veggies, making sure they don’t go dry – add a splash of water if you need to.
9. When the lamb is cooked, remove the tray from the oven, put the lamb on to a platter with a
carving knife and fork and cover loosely with foil. Leave to sit for 10 to 15 minutes.

10. Add the roasted aubergines to the tomato sauce and allow to simmer on low heat for a few minutes. Be careful not to break up the veg too much as the sauce needs to be chunky.

11. Garnish the tomato sauce with fresh parsley and serve with the lamb as well as Home-made Bread (see recipe here).

Home-Made Bread

The Lunch Table

Yesterday we had a fabulous family reunion. My Mother-in-Law who has been working in Abu Dhabi is back in Cape Town for a week’s long holiday. Since she only has one Sunday, the whole family gathered around for a Sunday Lunch which I was tasked to prepare

A while ago, my Father-in-law gave us half a lamb and in there was a 2 kilos leg of lamb. We kept the leg waiting for a special occasion to make it as that will be more meat than both Leslie and I could ever eat even if we ate it over a week Now you might be wondering why am I talking about Lamb when this post is about Spinach and Potatoes however my inlaws recently converted to ‘Vegetariansm’ (if there is such a word a.k.a. Vegetarians) while the rest of us are still pretty much Carnivores

On the menu was:

• Potato and Spinach Pie (recipe inspired from My Easy Cooking)
• Roast Leg of Lamb with Aubergines and Onions
• Roast Potatoes and Baby Carrots
• Home-Made Bread
• Green Salad

Potato and Spinach Pie

Serves 4

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Baking Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

1. Roll of Shortcrust Pastry (400 grams)
2. 4 Large Potatoes, cut into cubes and par-boiled
3. 300 grams Spinach, washed
4. 1 Tablespoon butter
5. 2 teaspoon crushed garlic
6. 1 red Onion, finely sliced
7. Fresh coriander, chopped
8. 2 teaspoon curry powder
9. 1 teaspoon cumin
10. 1 teaspoon ground coriander
11. 1 teaspoon salt
12. Juice of half a lemon
13. 1 teaspoon Sesame seeds
14. 1 egg

Method:

1. Preheat Oven to 180 degrees
2. Boil the potatoes in salted water for about 10 minutes or just soft
3. In a pot, melt the butter and fry the crushed garlic and onions.
4. Once the onions are soft, add the curry powder, cumin and ground coriander and stir on low heat for 1 minute.
5. Add the cooked potatoes and coat the potatoes in the spices.
6. Remove from the heat and add the coriander, salt and lemon juice.
7. Pour some boiling water over the spinach to welt it and squeeze all the water out.
8. Mix the Spinach and the Potato mixture together.
9. Line the pastry in a greased oven dish.
10. Blind bake the pastry for 10 minutes
11. Spoon the filling in the pastry nest and place pastry lid to cpver the filling.
12. Brush the pastry lid with egg and sprinle some sesame seeds over the top.
13. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

I think everyone must have a version of Spaghetti Bolognaise that is a total hit in their household. Its one of those dishes that are loved by young and old. What I love about this dish is its versatility. You can tweak it however you want depending on the crowd you are feeding. I have oftened loaded it with veggies if I am entertaining a few kidlets or added some chillies for a bit of zing. Either way, it has always been a smashing hit.

I am going to share with you my last Spaghetti Bolognaise recipe that tasted very differently from the usual ones that my dear husband makes. In my humble opinion, it tasted better than his Lol! (Thats an on-going competition in my household and a story for another day ) Lol!

Serves 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 1 Packet of Spaghetti
2. 500 grams Beef Mince
3. 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
4. 2 teaspoon garlic and ginger paste
5. 1 onion, sliced
6. 2 teaspoon crushed garlic
7. Thyme
8. Mixed herbs
9. Basil leaves, finely chopped
10. 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
11. 1 teaspoon of sugar
12. 1 tablespoon tomato paste
13. 1 can Tomato and Onion Mix
14. 1 chilli beef stock cube (Optional but I reckon that is what gave my spag bol a new twist)
15. Salt and pepper to taste
16. Grated cheddar cheese

Method:

1. Boil the spaghetti according to the instructions on the packet. Add enough salt and a dash of oil to the water.
2. Mix the Garlic and Ginger paste to the mince and season with salth and pepper.
3. Heat some oilve oil in a seperate pan and brown the onions with some thyme and mixed herbs.
4. Add the mince and crushed garlic to the onions and allow to cook for 10 minutes.
5. Add the basil leaves, 1 cube of chilli beef stock and the tomato paste to the mince.
6. Add the can of tomato and onion mix, lemon juice and sugar. Allow to simmer until the sauce thickens.
7. Should the sauce require more salt, add according to your taste.
8. Drain the cooked spaghetti and mix with the mince.
9. Top with grated cheddar cheese before serving.

Bon Appetit!

It has been a long busy week for us on this side of the world. Between work, running after a very active toddler and preparing for our trip to Mauritius, there has not been much time left for developping recipes or even for paging through recipe books for inspiration on what to cook.

Today I had a bit more time to make a dish from scratch as my helper, Rosemary, was here to take care of the house How grateful was I!

I made a ‘Bifteck’ which is a very popular dish among the Muslim community of Mauritius. As with a lot of mauritian dishes, we can find a strong french influence in this dish along with a creole twist.

A little funny take on this piece of history:

‘Biftek’ comes from French “le biftek”, which is borrowed from the English “beefsteak”, while the English “beef” is originally from the French “le bœuf”

Serves 4-6

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 1 KG Tenderised Beef Steak
2. 1 tablespoon Garlic and Ginger paste
3. 100 ml plain Yoghurt
4. 1 teaspoon chilli powder
5. Pinch of ground pepper
6. Pinch of salt
7. 3 tablespoon sunflower oil
8. 1 can of plum tomatoes
9. 2 fresh tomatoes, sliced
10. 1 large onion, sliced
11. 1 tablespoon tomato paste
12. Freshly chopped coriander

Method:

1. Marinate the meat with Ingredients 2 – 6 above
2. Heat oil in a pot
3. Brown sliced Onion and add marinated meat
4. Allow meat to cook for 15 minutes
5. Blend the plum tomatoes
6. Add the blended tomatoes, tomato paste and fresh tomatoes to the meat and allow to simmer for a further 30 minutes
7. Add salt to taste
8. Top with fresh coriander and serve with pappadums on a bed of basmati rice

A myriad of spices are combined with prawns, tomatoes and aubergines to make this mouth-watering seafood curry…

In this recipe, I have used curry powder just to prove that you can achieve a delicious curry without the hassles of combining, crushing (often with a mortar and pestle) all the raw ingredients together to season your curries.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1. 16 tiger prawns (Do not de-shell)
2. 1 tsp salt
3. Garlic and Ginger paste
4. 1 tsp lime juice
5. 2 medium aubergines
6. 1 big onion
7. 1 plum tomato
8. 2 tablespoon seafood curry powder
9. 250 ml cold water
10. 6 tablespoon Sunflower Oil
    
11. Optional: 1 tablespoon ‘Amienah’s Prawn Curry Paste’

Method:

1. Prepare the aubergines ahead of time by chopping aubergines lenghtwise and soaking in salted water for about 30 minutes.
2. Marinate the tiger prawns in 1 tsp Garlic and Ginger Paste, salt and lime juice.
3. Heat up the oil and fry the prawns. Once they turn pink, remove the prawns and drain on a paper towel.
4. Process the onions, tomato and 1 tablespoon Garlic and Ginger to form a paste.
5. Drain the aubergines and pat dry.
6. Add the aubergines to the heated oil and reduce heat to low.
   
7. Add the onion mixture and allow to cook for 30 minutes. Stir every now and then to prevent burning.
8. Mix the curry powder with the cold water and add to the aubergines. At this stage you can add 1 tablespoon of Amiena’s Prawn Curry paste.
9. Allow to cook on low heat for another 50 minutes.
10. Add the prawns that were fried initially to the curry 10 minutes before the cooking time is over.
11. Garnish with fresh coriander and served with basmati rice.

Note:

• For this recipe, I have used ‘Lazzat’ curry powder which is a brand that can be obtained from Mauritius. Rajaah curry powder is another brand that I can be used as well.
  

Everyone that has a picky 15 16 month old little girl know how difficult it can be to get them to have just one bite of food . Kamilah has always been a healthy eater. She used to eat all her food starting at 6 months old and she did not mind the piece of carrot or the pea that was on the spoon. At 16 months old however, I have had to start getting creative as she can now pick out what she does not want in her food and hence I feel that she is not eating enough veggies.

Since she loves muffins, I decided to disguise some courgettes (Zuchinni) in the muffins along with some chicken . These tasty treats are actually great for the whole family to enjoy. Daddy will surely be happy when he finds one of these in his lunchbox tomorrow

Makes 12

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Baking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 250 grams self-raising flour
2. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3. 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4. 1/2 teaspoon salt
5. 250 ml milk
6. 2 eggs
7. 90 grams melted butter
8. 140 grams chicken mince
9. 140 grams courgettes (Zuchinni)
10. 100 grams grated Cheddar Cheese
11. 1 teaspoon olive oil

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven at 200 degrees celcius
2. Marinate the chicken mince in your favourite spice (For this recipe, since I was pressed for time, I sprinkled Ina Paarman’s Cajun Chicken spice over the mince)
3. Chop the courgettes and steam for 5 minutes
4. Cook the chicken mince in a little bit of olive olive oil
5. When the chicken is done, add the steamed courgette and mash together to form a fine paste.
6. Sift the flour along with the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and form a well
7. In a seperate bowl, whisk the butter, eggs and milk together
8. Pour the butter mix in the center of the well and fold the flour using a fork
9. Add the chicken-courgette mix and grated cheese.
10. Fold quickly (Note: Be careful not too overmix). At this stage the batter should still be lumpy.
11. Spoon the batter in muffin cases and allow to bake for 20 minutes or until golden

Note:

• The courgettes can be grated as well instead of mashed up. I have mashed it up to disguise the veggies in the muffins.

So where do I begin? Well first of all I owe my readers an apology for once again going MIA. Things have been a bit hectic these last few weeks and had to divert my attention to other things besides baking. I also got involved with one of the places of safeties after the recent “baby dumping” headlines in Cape Town and was working on a plan of action to get these young moms educated on their options. Luckily a dear friend has taken that over because she has more time on her hands to go on the ground and work with the places of safeties.

Other than that, we are going to Mauritius (the island where I come from) in less than 2 months and I have started a mini diet to lose the love handles that I grew over winter

For those that have been in Mauritius, you will know that the women there are tiny and to fit in with the crowd (that I once was part of ) and to avoid causing a mini tsunami when I get in the waters, I definitely need to lose the extra winter weight Lol!

Low-Fat Baked Chicken Nachos

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• Tortilla Chips (For this recipe I used a packet of Doritos)
• 500 grams Chicken mince
• Low Fat Cheddar cheese grated
• 1 can Mexican All Gold Tomato
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 250 grams of a mix of red, yellow and green peppers, chopped
• Sliced olives
• Fat free Sour Cream
• Guacamole
• Taco seasoning
• Coriander
• Lime juice (or use some juice from the banana peppers jar)

Method:

This chocolate cake is so simple to make and perfect for an everyday treat.

Ingredients:

1. 115 grams plain chocolate, broken into squares
2. 3 tablespoons of milk
3. 150 grams cup unsalted butter, softened
4. 150 grams light brown sugar
5. 3 eggs
6. 200 grams self-raising flour
7. 15 ml cocoa powder
8. Chocolate Buttercream for icing

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius
2. Grease an 18 cm round cake tin
3. Melt the chocolate with the milk in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water
4. Cream the butter with the sugar in a mixing bowl until pale and fluffy
5. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition
6. Stir in the chocolate mixture until well-combined
7. Sift the flour and cocoa over the mixture and fold in with a metal spoon until evenly mixed
8. Scrape into the greased tin, smooth level and bake for 35-40 minutes
9. Spread a layer of buttercream icing on the cake and decorate with almonds

First of all, I would like to apologise for my lack of posting last week. Both Kamilah and myself were sick and thank goodness, it was nothing serious and we are fully recovered. 

I love bread I just love everything about it from making it to the final product. Nothing beats the aroma of freshly baked bread on a saturday morning or to end off a lovely Sunday evening. Here is a bread dough recipe that you can use to make a baguette as well as for a pizza base.

On Saturday, I made some bread dough and used half of it for pizza bases and froze the rest for a baguette. Thats why I love bread dough! Its so easy to make and you can freeze whatever you do not use on the same day

So here is my fool-proof bread dough recipe:

Ingredients: 

• 1kg bread flour (white/wholewheat depending on your taste)
• 625ml tepid water
• 3 x 7g sachets dried yeast
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 level tablespoon fine sea salt
• extra flour for dusting

Method:

There are 6 steps to making bread dough (it might seem like a lot but they are quick steps)

Step 1: Make a well

Pile the flour on to a clean work surface and make a large well in the centre. Add half your water into the centre of the well, then add your yeast, sugar and salt and stir using a fork.

 Step 2: Mixing the Ingredients
Without breaking the well, slowly bring in the flour from the inside of the well. Continue to bring the flour in to the centre until the water has mixed with the ingredients to form a porridgey consistency

Add the remaining half of the water (from step 1) and continue to mix  bringing in all the flour and making the mix less sticky. Flour your hands and continue mixing until a neat ball of dough is formed

 Step 3: Knead
Simply push, fold, slap and roll the dough around, over and over, for 4 or 5 minutes until you have a silky and elastic dough.

Step 4: First Prove

Flour the bottom of a bowl and place the kneaded dpugh in the bowl.

Cover with clingfilm, and allow it to prove for about half an hour until doubled in size – ideally in a warm, moist, draught-free place.
 

Step 5: Second Prove
Once the dough has doubled in size, knock the air out for 30 seconds by squashing it.

Shape the bread (flat for pizza bases or baguette shaped) and allow to rise again for 30 minutes to an hour until it has doubled in size once more.

This step is very important as it will give the dough the air that finally ends up being cooked into your bread, giving you the really light, soft texture that we all love in fresh bread.

Step 6: Cooking
Very gently place your bread dough on to a flour-dusted baking tray and into a preheated oven (180 degrees celcius) for about 20 minutes or until the dough is slighly golden.

Allow 30 minutes for the bread to cool down before cutting.

Feel free to freeze any leftover bread

1. Baguette (Serve with butter and Jam or add your favourite cold meats and a salad): 

2. Pizza:

1. Preheat oven to 220 degrees celcius
2. Spread your favourite sauce and cheese on the pizza base
3. Add your favourite topping
4. Place pizza base towards the bottom of the oven and bake for 8 minutes

Cook up a Moroccan feast right in your kitchen…

Tagines in Moroccan cuisine are slow-cooked stews braised at low temperatures, resulting in tender meat with aromatic vegetables and sauce. They are traditionally cooked in the tagine pot (hence the name of the dish), whose cover has a knob-like handle at its top to facilitate removal.

This recipe was shared with us by a Moroccan friend. I used a heavy based pot to make this dish (due to not having a tagine dish) and this is as close to what I could get to the real tagines served on the streets of Morocco.

Ingredients:

1. 600g stewing beef
2. olive oil
3. 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
4. a small bunch of fresh coriander
5. 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained
6. 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
7. 400ml vegetable stock
8. 3 medium potatoes, cut in quarters
9. 100g prunes, stoned and roughly torn
10. 2 tablespoons flaked almonds, toasted
11. For the spice rub:
    • sea salt and freshly ground
    black pepper
    • 1 level tablespoon
    ras el hanout spice mix* (if this spice is not available, you can use the woolies Moroccan rub)
    • 1 level tablespoon
    ground cumin
    • 1 level tablespoon
    ground cinnamon
    • 1 level tablespoon
    ground ginger
    • 1 level tablespoon
    sweet paprika

Method:

1. Mix all the spice rub ingredients together in a small bowl

2. Put the beef into a large bowl, massage it with the spice rub, then cover with clingfilm and put into the fridge for a couple of hours – ideally overnight

3. Heat a generous lug of olive oil in a tagine or casserole and fry the meat over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add your chopped onion and coriander stalks and fry for another 5 minutes. Tip in the chickpeas and tomatoes, then pour in 200ml of stock and stir. Bring to the boil, then put the lid on the pan or cover with foil and reduce to a simmer for 1½hours.
4. Add the potatoes, the prunes and the rest of the stock. Give everything a gentle stir, then pop the lid back on the pan and continue cooking for another 1½hours. Keep an eye on it and add a splash of water if it looks too dry.

5. Once the time is up, take the lid off and check the consistency. If it seems a bit too runny, simmer for 5 to 10 minutes more with the lid off. The beef should be really tender and flaking apart now, so have a taste and season with a pinch or two of salt. 6. Scatter the coriander leaves over the tagine along with the toasted almonds, and serve with couscous or bread