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Sunshine food

June 29, 2012 in Woolies Pantry

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The weather in Cape Town has been a bit miserable recently so I thought I’d whip up my favourite sunshine food – corn fritters. Sweetcorn is one of our nation’s favourite foods and is high in insoluble fibre, which helps keep our digestive systems functioning properly, and low in fat. I find that sweetcorn keeps for longer if you store it in the leaves, this helps protect them from bruising. They are best eaten within a day or two of purchasing so they retain their nutrients and flavour.

Try making a flavoured butter to serve with chargrilled sweetcorn at a Sunday braai. Mix 1 chopped fresh chilli and 3 T chopped Italian parsley with 100 g softened butter, and add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season. Spread the butter over cooked sweetcorn, or wrap the sweetcorn in foil with a knob of the flavoured butter before cooking over the coals. I also like grating a little Parmesan or Gouda over cooked sweetcorn.

Sweetcorn is on Woolworths’ WREWARDS programme this month, so don’t forget to take your Woolworths card along with you when you go shopping to receive 10% off the marked price. I like to add grated baby marrow to this recipe to bulk it up and make the mixture go further. As luck would have it, baby marrows are on the WREWARDS list too!

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Sweetcorn-and –marrow fritters with fresh limes
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Recipe type: Main
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Create this zesty side or light lunch making use of a trio of ingredients, each less 10% for Woolies cardholders.
Ingredients
  • 6 pack supersweet sweetcorn
  • 1 kg marrows
  • 18 extra-large free-range eggs
  • 140 g cake flour
  • 2 free-range eggs
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 t baking powder
  • 1 t dried chilli flakes
  • ½ t ground cumin
  • ½ t coriander seeds
  • sprinkle of sea salt
  • 2 cups canola oil

Instructions
  1. Cook 2 cobs sweetcorn in salted boiling water for 5 minutes until tender. Drain, then remove the corn from the cob and mix the kernels with 2 grated baby marrows.
  2. Mix 140 g cake flour, 2 free-range eggs, ½ cup milk, 1 t baking powder, 1 t dried chilli flakes, ½ t ground cumin, ½ t coriander seeds and sprinkle with sea salt. Add the corn and baby marrows and mix to combine.
  3. Heat 2 cups canola oil in a saucepan and carefully spoon bite-sized portions of batter into the oil. Fry until golden brown, about 30 seconds on each side, remove using a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
  4. Serve hot with sea salt and a squeeze of lime juice.

 

I hope this brings a little sunshine into your kitchen this weekend!

Love

Hannah

Consultant Food Editor, Woolworths TASTE

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Pocket power

June 25, 2012 in Woolies Pantry

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Pita breads are, in my opinion, underappreciated. These gorgeous rounds of soft bread only get a fraction of the recognition they deserve. When heated, they yield a soft inside with a slight crunchy crust and create a perfect pocket for delicious fillings.

Making pita breads is quite easy and some say that it’s great for first-time bread makers, but if you get it wrong, the heat won’t penetrate the bread and give them that signature lift. Woolworths sells delicious pita breads; all you need to do is pop them into the oven for a minute or two until warmed through. You can also cut them in half and warm them in the toaster. I love pita breads stuffed with falafel balls – mix a can of drained chickpeas with cumin, add a little parsley and lemon juice, shape into balls and fry until golden and crunchy. Use to fill warm pitas and top with runny tahini and finely shredded cabbage pickled in red wine vinegar and peppercorns.

If I ever have a pita bread hanging around for a day longer than it should, I tear it into a pan with good-quality olive oil and toast it and it has absorbed the flavours of the olive oil. I serve it with ready-made hummus or tossed into a roasted red pepper salad with caperberries and white anchovies.

I’m also really enjoying this recipe for North African beef pitas at the moment. Add a tablespoon of Woolworths’ new Soup It Up Moroccan paste to give it extra spice:

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North African beef pitas
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Recipe type: Main
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 4
 

Add a tablespoon of Woolworths’ new Soup It Up Moroccan paste to give it extra spice.
Ingredients
  • Red onion 1, finely chopped
  • Tomatoes 2, finely chopped
  • Olive oil 2 T
  • Free-range beef mince 500 g
  • Coriander ¼ cup chopped, plus extra for serving
  • Garlic 2 cloves, finely chopped
  • Woolworths Soup It Up Moroccan paste 2 T
  • Warm pita breads, for serving
  • Pomegranate rubies, for serving
  • Limes, for serving

Instructions
  1. Fry the red onion and tomatoes in the olive oil over a low heat until soft. Increase the heat, add the mince and brown for 5 minutes. Add the coriander, garlic and Moroccan paste and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Generously spoon the mince into the warm pitas and top with fresh coriander, pomegranate rubies and a squeeze of lime juice.

 

What are your favourite pita bread fillings?

Love

Hannah

Consultant Food Editor, Woolworths TASTE

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Smoked chicken and litchi rice noodles

June 22, 2012 in Woolies Pantry

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I was never a big fan of smoked chicken breasts in the past, but that’s probably because I usually ate them on a sandwich without anything to make them more exciting. There are plenty of things that are delicious nestled between two thick slices of fresh bread: egg mayonnaise with super-thin slices of cucumber, thick lashings of crunchy peanut butter with strawberry jam, or good old ham with butter and English mustard. Most ingredients need the right combination to turn them into magic.

I’ve learnt to appreciate smoked chicken by thinking out of the box and pairing it with something a little different, such as spicy chorizo. The sweet, smoky flavour of the chicken goes beautifully with the robust spicy flavours of the chorizo. I also love eating it on home-made pizza bases topped with torn mozzarella, lots of freshly chopped chilli, finished off with scoops of creamy avocado and a pile of peppery rocket. Now that’s the magic I was talking about – with the support of other simple flavours, this makes for a mean combination.

Sweet fruit such as litchis, watermelon or strawberries work wonders with smoked chicken breasts. Perhaps it’s the different types of sweetness that complement each other.

I love the sweet and salty flavours of this Asian-inspired noodle dish. I enjoy all kinds of noodles: these rice noodles are thick, perfect for gathering up all of the flavours and juices of this dish.

Here is what you will need for my Smoked chicken and litchi rice noodles:

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Smoked chicken and litchi rice noodles
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Recipe type: Main
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
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Serves: 2
 

Skinless and boneless, low in fat and ready to eat, Woolworths’ beech-smoked chicken breasts are the starting point for this easy meal.
Ingredients
  • 2 carrots, cut into thin battons
  • 200g rice noodles, cooked
  • 2 t fish sauce
  • t sesame oil
  • 2 smoked chicken breasts, sliced into bite sized pieces
  • 4 purple salad onions, thinly sliced
  • Litchi’s, to serve
  • Fresh mint, to serve

Instructions
  1. Simply toss all the ingredients together. You can also try experimenting with strawberries and watermelon when they come into season, they’re fantastic in this dish, too.

 

Remember to visit Woolworths The Pantry for more ideas and recipes.

Enjoy!

Hannah

Consultant Food Editor, Woolworths TASTE

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A spiced parsnip renaissance

June 18, 2012 in Cooking with Woolies, Woolies Pantry

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I can’t believe it’s five years since I started working at TASTE! When I first started I was 19, overwhelmed, over-excited and super eager to learn.

About a year into my time here, we did a travel story to the Karoo and I was lucky enough to tag along. It’s still one of the best travel stories I have ever worked on. We visited Prince Albert and the people were so lovely and friendly, giving us a typical small town welcome.

News of the TASTE team’s arrival quickly spread, and we were shown around and introduced to the local bakeries, antique shops and farms. We went to olive farms and fig farms, amongst many others, but my favourite was the farm owned by a man who goes by the name of Brett the Vet, owner of the most beautiful ridgeback puppies and grower of gorgeous vegetables. I have a vivid memory of pulling fresh parsnips out of the earth after the first frost of the season.

Parsnips are in season now, and perfect for a warm winter’s dinner. When buying them, make sure they have pale, firm skins. They should be crisp and snap easily, and have a sweet taste. Older parsnips will be slightly discoloured and woody, and have little flavour so hunt out the freshest ones you can find.

Parsnips are often neglected but can be surprisingly versatile. This spiced soup is one of my favourite uses for them and is the perfect antidote to that miserable winter cold. I also love roasting them with a few knobs of butter, a good drizzle of honey and lots of sea salt. Eat them whole or purée them and serve with a roast chicken, delicious!

Spiced parsnip soup
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Spiced parsnip soup
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Recipe type: Entree
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 4
 

Ingredients
  • 12 parsnips
  • 1 T olive oil
  • 1 t ground cumin
  • ½ t dried chilli
  • ½ t ginger
  • A pinch of sea salt
  • 2 onions
  • 1 potato
  • 1 t olive oil
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 2-3 T milk

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Peel and slice parsnips, toss in olive oil and arrange on a baking tray.
  2. Scatter over ground cumin, dried chilli, ginger and a pinch of sea salt. Roast for 15 – 20 minutes until sticky and golden.
  3. Chop onions and one potato. Place in a saucepan with olive oil and sweat for 10 minutes, then add the roasted parsnips and chicken stock.
  4. Simmer for 10 minutes before removing from the heat and blending with milk. Season and reheat in a clean saucepan.

 

The time is ripe for a parsnip renaissance so give them a try and let me know what you think!

For more tips on how to shop and cook like a chef, head over to the Woolworth’s Pantry

Hannah

xx

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Divine cheese-and-herb chicken breast roasts

June 15, 2012 in Cooking with Woolies

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Remember my post about food for men from just a few days ago, Monday in fact! That really was a weekend of seriously rich food, great wine and good company which was awesome.

Before that it had been a few weeks (ok more than a few weeks) of pure self indulgence! I am officially addicted to butter-lovers microwave popcorn as well as munching down on my old school-favourite chocolates like Lunch Bar, Bar One and Chomp.

When last did you sink your teeth into one of those bad boys? My local Woolworths, like most, have strategically moved their great value big box gummy sweets to the aisle before the tills and caught me off guard, so much so that they were in my shopping basket and swished through the scanner before I could say “Yummy”. Cringe yes?

I have been hiding behind the excuse of winter and getting away with it by wearing more chunky knits and oversized jerseys, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t have to face myself in the mirror every morning, even in the dimmer light of the grey June sky.

So this week has been the week of avoiding that popcorn aisle and giving away the last of my gummy sweets to Callan (ok there were only four, lonely liquorice-flavoured dinosaurs left) but one thing I can’t give up on these freezing cold winter nights is crumbed chicken! Yes that’s right, I said it!

The delicious chicken breasts are my favourite, patted with gorgeous golden crunchy crumbs hot out of the oven and served with steamed tenderstem broccoli and asparagus piled onto creamy mashed potatoes. Now that is my kind of comfort meal.

I recently tried Woolworths cheese and herb breast roast, a roll of succulent chicken crusted with the same golden-crumbed crust hugging a sage, onion and Cheddar stuffing. Delicious! With my new healthier self in mind, balance is vital so I always make sure I have a hefty side serving of greens.

The oven-ready roast cooks in its foil tray in under an hour at 180°C and pairs perfectly with crisp green beans glistening with burnt butter and scattered with crushed nuts.

This is how I make my favourite gourmet green beans.

You will need 250g fine green beans. I like to snap the harder stalks off of the top of each bean but I leave the softer ‘tail’ on because you hardly even notice they are there. I like to add my beans to a saucepan bubbling with salted boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes so they stay a vibrant green and crunchy before draining them.

While they are cooking, add 50g of butter to a small saucepan (you can add more depending on how much sauce you want) and keep your eye on it when the butter melts.

When it starts to bubble it will turn a golden brown colour fairly quickly and you don’t want it to burn. When it browns, remove it from the heat as it will keep cooking in the hot saucepan, even off the stove.

Add some crushed walnuts or almonds to the sauce with some crushed garlic and sage, if you like, to go with the stuffing. Toss the butter onto your hot drained beans so they glisten with a lovely coating of burnt butter and crushed nuts and serve immediately.

Enjoy it if you are making it this weekend. It’s perfect for a cheat’s Father’s Day meal. And don’t forget to pop in at the Woolies Pantry for more easy cooking inspiration this weekend.

Hannah

Consultant Food Editor, Woolworths TASTE

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The ultimate man-wich

June 11, 2012 in Cooking with Woolies, Woolies Pantry

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I was visiting my friend Claire at her Dad’s house in Port Owen up the West Coast, when I was reminded of how much men love their meat. My boyfriend, Callan, is no different – almost every meal we cook together has red meat in it!

I arrived on Saturday just in time for the ultimate braai, the griddle heavy with a large free-range steak, the fat rendering into the flames and crisping up beautifully.

It was served nicely pink and super tender alongside heaps and plates of pork chops, sausages, boerewors and cheesy braaibroodjies. Sides were steamed meilies and the perfect garden salad.

Sunday breakfast consisted of bacon and plump pork sausages served with home-made farmstyle bread and a big pile of creamy scrambled eggs. Sunday lunch was a slow-roasted lamb smothered in gravy with butternut mush, buttery new potatoes and cauliflower cheese.

So now you see why I was reminded of how much men like their meat. It inspired me to share my favourite show-stopping steak sarnie with you, in the spirit of men and their meat and this up coming Father’s Day.

The steak has to be seared over hot flames for that distinctive smokey, charred look and flavour. Slicing up the steak lets your meal go further and everyone will get a good portion of the sarnie, bulked up with gorgeous grilled mushrooms. I love Woolies free-range beef fillet, it’s always tender and free-range beef is so sublime.

Portuguese-style steak rolls

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The ultimate man-wich
Author: 
Recipe type: entree
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 4
 

Ingredients
  • 1 x 700g free range beef fillet
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
  • 4 T olive oil
  • 1 x loaf ciabatta
  • 6 brown mushrooms
  • 3 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 T Harrissa paste
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1 cup plain yoghurt
  • pickled beetroot

Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 180⁰C. Cut your ciabatta loaf in half lengthways and pop it in the oven until heated through.
  2. Drizzle your mushrooms with 2 T olive oil, sprinkle with crushed garlic and season to taste before arranging on a baking tray and roasting in the oven for 10 minutes until cooked.
  3. Rub your fillet with 2 T olive oil and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Sear the fillet over a medium to hot fire on a grill for a few minutes on each side before removing to rest ( If you don’t have a braai at hand, simply sear the steak in a hot non-stick pan for a minute or so on each side and place on a baking tray and continue to cook in the oven for 5 minutes before removing to rest and slice).
  4. Stir the harissa and lemon juice into the plain yoghurt and spread over the halved ciabatta’s before topping with pickled beetroots.
  5. Top with your juicy mushrooms and your sliced fillet to serve.

 

Remember to pop in at Woolworths The Pantry for more super ideas on how to cook like a chef.

Enjoy!

Hannah

xx

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Shortcuts with frozen foods in winter

June 8, 2012 in Cooking with Woolies, Woolies Pantry

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Frozen food shelves today are heavy with innovative and delicious fruits, vegetables and prepared foods. They aren’t at all like the frozen foods selection that I had when growing up. To be honest, we hardly ever even went down that aisle on our shopping trips.

Now that there are so many great products on offer, it’s hard not to give them a try. These are things that you will always find in my freezer.

• Peas – said to be more nutritionally valuable to our bodies if eaten from frozen (as opposed to fresh) and they are so easy to prepare.
• Fish can be cooked straight from the freezer in a hot oven with a drizzle of olive oil, lots of fresh cherry tomatoes, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, crumbled feta and torn fresh basil. It turns out just as firm and succulent as fresh fish.See more ideas from my previous blog post on cooking with hake.
• A fun and easy way to entertain friends or the family is to buy frozen pizza bases and let everyone add their own toppings.
• We all love chips and instead of the traditional fries, you can buy frozen ones that go straight into the oven for a quick bake and are just as delicious but also much healthier.

As well as the utmost convenience of being able to cook straight from the freezer, freezing also means that fruits like mango and berries are now available all year round, which is fabulous. At the moment, I try to make sure I have a packet of frozen summer berries or blueberries from Woolies in my freezer.

For a list of all the delicious, convenient foods available from Woolies, visit their Frozen Food section.

I love them roasted on top of homemade sweet focaccia, stewed with spices and honey for chocolate puddings or to make berry coulis for baked cheese cake. I am a huge berry fan so this is the perfect easy way to indulge during the cooler winter months.

This is my go to easy entertaining dessert in minutes for winter nights when I have a few of my friends over.

Croissant bread and butter pudding with berries

Croissant bread-and-butter pudding with summer berries

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Croissant bread and butter pudding
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Recipe type: dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 4
 

Ingredients
  • Ingredients:
  • 4 croissants in half
  • Butter
  • Raspberry or strawberry jam
  • 4 extra-large free-range eggs
  • 1 t vanilla extract
  • 2½ cup milk
  • 1 t grated lemon zest
  • 2 to 3 generous handfuls of frozen mixed berries

Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Slice croissants in half, butter one side and spread with raspberry or strawberry jam.
  3. Arrange in a greased baking dish.
  4. Whisk together extra-large free-range eggs, vanilla extract, milk, grated lemon zest, then pour the mixture over the croissant slices and top with generous handfuls of frozen mixed berries.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes, then serve warm.

This bread and butter pudding looks ovely at the table and can be made with things that you already have in the cupboard, like butter, eggs and milk. Just make sure you pick up a few croissants when you get your frozen berries and keep them in the freezer until you need them.

Pop on over to the Woolworths Pantry for more delicious ideas and recipes!

Enjoy the weekend,

Hannah

xx

Consultant Food Editor, Woolworths TASTE magazine

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Return of the classic crouton

June 4, 2012 in Cooking with Woolies

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Beautifully crisp and fragrant croutons have been one of the food gods’ biggest gifts to soup and salad, but in recent years they’ve been down-scaled to overly crisp bits of stale bread or oily little blocks of French loaf – nothing we remember the true crouton to be.

Butternut soup with chunky croutons

I recently rediscovered them and my boyfriend Callan and I have spent quite some time perfecting them – to the point that we’re eating them like chips!

This is our recipe for classic croutons

You’ll need:

  • A good loaf or at least half a loaf of stale bread (the staler the better) – Callan prefers ciabatta because it soaks up the flavours nicely and looks great when the croutons are done too.
  • Three or four sprigs of fresh rosemary or thyme – these hardy herbs are more resistant to heat and release their flavours better than the more delicate fresh herbs
  • 2 T good olive oil – you want the olive oil to help crisp up your croutons until lovely and golden, not dripping with oil, so use sparingly.
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 4 or 5 cloves of garlic
What to do:

Preheat the oven at 180C⁰. Cut or tear your bread into pieces, depending on what size you prefer. I like them generous and chunky. Crumble your herbs over the bread in a baking dish, add salt and pepper and olive oil and toss to ensure each crouton is infused with flavour. You can also add four or five cloves of garlic (skin on) to the baking dish for a touch of garlicky sweetness.

Bake for about 10 minutes, keeping an eye on your croutons as some types of bread bake faster than others. Turn them once or twice to ensure they brown evently.

Now, instead of serving slices of buttered toast with our soup, we have these delicious chunky croutons.

You can also add them to juicy, seared steak or mushroom salads with lots of rocket and Parmesan, or serve them alongside big bowls of piping hot pasta instead of garlic bread.

Croutons may still be a touch retro, but some things you need to celebrate. If you’re short on time, pop in at Woolies where they have a super selection of ready-prepared croutons. I love the sweet chilli croutons in butternut soup or salad. Or try their ‘Soup it up” honey and mustard dunkers and, if you want something a touch more healthy, go for their limited edition seed croutons with sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

Hannah

xx

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My favourite tagliatelle Bolognese

June 1, 2012 in Cooking with Woolies

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Few dishes get me as excited as a big bowl of perfectly al dente pasta, the simpler the better!.

Even though my boyfriend Callan and I recently discovered the utter joy of making our very own fresh pasta, it’s not always realistic to come home and whip out your machine.

Then, there’s only one thing for it and that is Woolies’ egg-free dried tagliatelle. It’s on the WRewards programme at Woolworths right now, so you save every time you buy (that’s if you’re a Woolworths cardholder!)

Long strands of pasta like tagliatelle are superb with thick sauces because it coats and clings to very string. My sauce of choice is Bolognese, and this is my favourite way to make it.

Tagliatelle bolognese

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Bolognese sauce
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Recipe type: sauce
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 4
 

Ingredients
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
  • 1 fresh chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 3 T olive oil
  • 2 x 400g cans of chopped tomatoes
  • 2 t brown sugar
  • 1 t red wine vinegar
  • 500g free range beef mince
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 500g egg-free tagliatelle

Instructions
  1. Add the garlic, onion and chilli along with 1 T olive oil to a saucepan and gently fry over a medium to low heat until the onions are soft and the garlic is fragrant.
  2. Now you can add your canned tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes before adding your brown sugar and a little seasoning.
  3. Simmer for a couple more minutes until the sauce has thickened, then add a splash of red wine vinegar.
  4. Panfry your beef mince in the remaining olive oil until browned.
  5. Add your mince to your sauce with the fresh thyme, simmer for 10 more minutes and serve hot with freshly cooked, al dente tagliatelle.

 

Lovely for winter evenings!

Hannah

xx

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