Tropical Fruit Pavlova powered by Caltex Fresh Stop

I am notoriously known as a liker of the excitement of the last minute. This past Sunday being a case in point, I was due to bring dessert to a ladies luncheon and had not had time on Saturday to do any grocery shopping.

Luckily, I have a Fresh Stop in my neighbourhood that stocks a great variety of fresh fruit and a couple of other kitchen staples.  A late Saturday night grocery run and 15 minutes, just under R200 later I’m armed with everything I need to whip up dessert.

Ingredients:

For the meringue:

3 large egg whites

pinch of salt

150g castor sugar

1tsp vanilla extract (from my pantry)

½ tsp white vinegar (from my pantry)

1tsp corn flour (Maizena, from my pantry)

For the pavlova:

1 mango chopped into bite size cubes

1 kiwi sliced

1 nectarine chopped into bite sized cube

pulp of one granadilla

250ml fresh cream

2 tbsp castor sugar

200ml plain yoghurt

mango sauce

For the mango sauce

1 mango chopped

1tbsp sugar

juice of half a lemon

2tsp water

Preparation time: 1hour 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour

Serves: 6 dessert lovers

Method:

• Preheat your oven to 150 degrees Celsius
• Place parchment/baking paper on an oven tray, draw one 20cm circle onto the paper. I used a medium sized bowl to do this
• Place egg whites in a clean bowl with a pinch of salt and whisk (medium speed) till firm peaks begin to form
• Add the sugar in batches slowly while continuously whisking
• Whisk in all the sugar until the meringues are shiny and glossy with soft peaks
• Sprinkle over the vanilla extract, vinegar and the cornflour and fold them into the meringue
• With a spoon transfer the meringue onto the baking paper, be sure to make the edges higher than the centre (this will allow it to hold the fruit topping)
• Tip: Use the back of a spoon to create a dip in the centre of the meringue
• Bake in the oven for 1 hour, till meringue is little golden
• Tip: I usually make my meringue the night before and then assemble just before guests arrive the next day 
• Tip: If you are making the meringue just before serving, then do all of the fruit prep and make the mango sauce, while the meringue is in the oven. Chop, chop and more chopping. 

• To make the mango sauce by placing cubed mango, lemon juice, sugar and water in a blender and blend till smooth. 
• After the hour take the meringue out of the oven and allow to cool 
• Mix all the cubed fruit and the granadilla pulp in a bowl. 
• Whisk the cream and sugar in a clean bowl until the cream forms peaks but isn’t stiff. 
• Next fold the yoghurt into the cream. 
• Now to assemble 
• Place the meringue on a serving plate, layer with mango sauce (1/2cm away from the edges of the meringue) 
• Top with the cream and yoghurt mixture 
• Then place the fruit on the top in the centre 
• Serve immediately! 
• Please note that all of the pantry items where also available at the Fresh Stop 

Get all of these ingredients at your nearest Caltex Fresh Stop!

Bradley's Summer Carrot Salad

This is my favourite salad to eat all the time not just in Summer and it is super quick to make, especially when the boyfie is doing the making. He says that this is a "whatever he has in his pantry" salad,  I have to say it's a well stocked pantry.

Ingredients:

For the salad

• 3 Carrots finely grated
• Chargrilled Artichokes chopped (The Woolworths ones)
• Small handful Parsley chopped
• Half a palm full of Raisins
• Half a palm full of Sultanas
• Small handful Sesame seeds
• Bed of greens (your preferred combination)

For the dressing

• Juice of half an orange or a full lime
• few drops of sesame oil
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper to season

Method:

• In a bowl combine the finely grated carrots (that's French style according to boyfie), chopped chargrilled artichokes parsley, raisins and sultanas. 
• Now squeeze the orange or lime over the salad, add the sesame oil and olive oil 
• Toss and season. 
• In the meantime heat a pan on medium heat and toast the sesame seeds
• Place the salad on top of the bed of greens and sprinkle the sesame seeds over.

This is also a great substitute for the traditional coleslaw served at a braai. Just keeping it healthy.

Happy Eating In!

Baked Spicy Tuna Fish Cakes

Inspired by The Counter's amazing salmon fishcakes I decided to try my hand at turning Lucky Star Tuna into a few tasty and SPICY fishcake morsels. These are perfect for a healthy dinner served on a bed of salad or as starters at a dinner party.

I turned these ingredients

 

In to these Tuna Cakes.

Ingredients:

2 Can Lucky Star Tuna in Brine drained and lightly rinsed

1 medium onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

1 tsp grated ginger

2 hot chili deseeded and chopped

1 lime zest and juice

2 eggs (a third may be needed)

Handful of coriander chopped

3/4 can of whole kernels

150g breadcrumbs

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves: 6 medium fishcakes or 12 small.

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees
• Heat a medium sized pan on medium heat, add the olive oil and sauté onions till translucent
• Then add the fragrants to the pan; garlic and ginger and sauté for a further 2 minutes and remove from heat.
• In a bowl combine the chopped coriander, whole kernels, chopped chili, onions and garlic, tuna along with lime juice and zest.
• Add a quarter of the breadcrumbs and two eggs, then mix with a spoon. At this point the tuna mixture should start coming together well.

Tip: Add a third egg if the tuna mixture does not come together well.

• On a separate plate spread half of the remaining breadcrumbs.
• Roll small handfuls of the tuna mixture into a balls and lightly press down onto the breadcrumbs.
• Top with the remaining breadcrumbs and coat the entire fishcake evenly.
• Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
• Heat a pan on medium high heat and coat with either spray and cook or oil.
• Pan fry the fishcakes for 5 minutes on each side till browned.
• Transfer onto a baking tray and bake for a further 10 - 15 minutes

Serve with a light salad and a citrus dressing

Happy At Home eating!

 

Seafood Masala in no time

My food memories are filled with simple items being turned into something special. To date one of my favourite quick easy meals is a smoor, tomato based curry flavoured sauce. In collaboration with Lucky Star (visit their FB page here), I get to stretch my recipe chops and show you that there's more to a can of Lucky Star Pilchards than putting them on a piece of toast. 

Taking the Lucky Star Pilchards smoor up a notch and turning it into a wonderful seafood masala.

Now to get down to it!

Ingredients:

1 Can Lucky Star Pilchards in tomato sauce

1/2 Can of Lucky Star mussels in oil (optional)

1/2 small onion finely chopped

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 tsp grated ginger

1 hot chili deseeded and sliced

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tin coconut milk

small handful of chopped fresh coriander leaves

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and a squeeze of lemon for seasoning

Preparation time: 10 minutes (I chop slowly)

Cooking time: 23 minutes

Serves: 2 big portions and 4 small portions.

Method:

• Heat a medium sized saucepan on medium heat, add the olive oil and saute the onions till translucent about 5 minutes. 

• Then add the fragrants; garlic, ginger and chilli saute for a further 3 minutes until the onions start to colour. 

• Add the dry spices; ground cumin, ground coriander and the garam masala mix thoroughly and allow the heat to build the flavour for a minute, add a little bit of water if the pan is too dry. 

• Add the can of pilchards in tomato sauce and the coconut milk to the masala mix. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes then reduce heat and slow simmer for another 5 minutes. 

• Stir occasionally and lightly so as not to break up the pilcahards

• Add the mussels, salt  & a squeeze of lemon to taste and chopped coriander leaves, turn down the heat and simmer for a final 3 minutes. 

Serve over basmati rice.

Tip 1: I usually add some sugar to all tomato base dishes to balance the acidity. In this case I don't because the tomato sauce is quite sweet so adding sugar is not necessary.

Tip 2: If you prefer more heat feel free to leave the seeds in the chilli

Happy Eating In!

Woolworths launches third annual cheese makers' challenge

For a Fromage fan and self-proclaimed turophile (“a connoisseur of cheese” – I learnt a new word ☺) I was delighted to be invited to the Woolworths Cheese Maker’s Challenge Launch. We indulged in an array of tantalising award winning cheeses and top notch vintages all stocked exclusively by Woolworths and paired perfectly with some stunning wines. Woolworths have been supporting local cheeses for years now 60% of their cheeses are from local markets. Local is lekker indeed!

There are some spectacular cheeses being made locally among them - Kilimanjaro, produced by Belnori Boutique Cheesery in Gauteng -  a delightful nutty goat’s milk cheese which not only was the winner of the 2012 Cheese Makers Challenge but also won a silver medal at the 2012 World Cheese Awards. From strong and creamy Blue Rock – a blue-veined “Roquefort style” cheese with a full creamy texture, to melt-in-the-mouth Cambozola Camembert – a traditional fully ripened cheese with a blue vein adding a subtle deep buttery texture and nutty flavour the variety on offer at Woolworths is astounding.

My personal favorite was the Fig and Pecan Nut Duetto – a decadent fresh mascarpone – interlayered with figs and pecan nut. The buttery melt in your mouth cheese with the sweetness from the fig and crunch from the nut is food heaven! The Brie de Roche and Franschoek White with Truffle Butter were also delicious and go perfectly with the Weltevrede Vanilla Chardonnay – the sweet vanilla from the wine lingers and accentuates the flavour of the cheese without overpowering it.  But another favorite was the Taleggio – a buttery delicate semi-soft Italian cheese with a rough crust hiding sweetness.

The Royal Ashton and Woolworths Vintage Cheddar were enjoyable dry strong cheeses with depth of flavour and a smokiness which brought out the spices of the Laibach Ladybird Red – a multi award winning wine named after the ladybirds that live in a fennel bushes surrounding the vineyards

The cheeses were served with platters filled with Woolworths green fig preserve, exotic fruit chutney and onion marmalade as well as crackers, olives and fresh fruit like grapes and strawberries which when combined with the cheese added to the tastes experience .

The cheeses were paired perfectly with some multi award winning wines. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to wine and cheese pairings . You should let your palate guide you and find a harmony and balance between the flavours. The wine should not dominate the flavour of the cheese and vice versa. As a general rule white wines pair well with softer, milder creamier cheeses and red wine with the richer harder cheeses.

Go out and try some of  Woolworths' delectable South African cheeses and the wonderful variety they have on offer.

Peace out,

Nishal

For dessert - Chenin Blanc baked pears

This is the perfect dessert after a hearty meal, I paired it with Moroccan style lamb shanks over the weekend.

I baked the pears in chenin blanc, citrus rind and juices, Mauritian spices (Cinnamon, cloves & vanilla pod) seved with a zesty double cream. I adapted a Jamie Oliver baked pears with wine recipe, you can find it here

Afternoon Snack - Homemade chocolate brownies

I made these yummy Nigella triple chocolate brownies (see recipe here) week before last, as dessert for a dinner date. The brownies have a combination of white and milk chocolate chips in them. the are crunchy on the outside and fudgy on the inside - Yum O! They're great after dinner or as an afternoon tea snack with a piping hot cup of tea.

Afternoon snack - Chocolate cake

I have been in a serious baking mood these days and it started with the Baklava, which you can see here. After leafing through the Elle (the South African one) I came across Sam Linsell's (of Drizzle and Dip) ultimate chocolate cake, you can see it here.

So I succumbed to the craving and decided to bake the ultimate chocolate cake. It's seriously chocolatey, rich and oh so moist. What I learnt is that it needs patience, make sure the cake is all the way cooled before icing it. I couldn't wait and the result was a slightly lopsided cake. It still tasted amazing!

If you start right now the cake will be ready by tea time, afternoon tea, evening tea or midnight tea. If the kettle is on the boil it's tea time in my house.

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Afternoon snack - Homemade Baklava

Baklava is the perfect afternoon snack pick me up, it's sticky sweet jam packed with pistachio nuts. Bite sized crispy, crunchy, sweet and protein filled what more can we ask for. I made these myself, I was channelling my inner Greek self.

I had phyllo pastry, Mediterranean Delicacies, in the freezer and decided it was time to put it to good use. For these baklava I used a Nigella Lawson recipe, which you can see here. Honestly, the recipe is straight forward but working with phyllo pastry requires planning, being organised and having nimble hands. I have to admit that I consulted twitter to find out whether I pour hot syrup or cold syrup over the Baklava. I was told col, cold, COLD! This is the end result! 

Next time I plan to try Baklava with a South African twist and I think Alida's Baklava with Pistachios & Fynbos Honey recipe would be perfect. 

If you're in Linden: Cheese Gourmet

I'd like to say if you're in Linden and hankering after a piece of cheese, but really if you're in Johannesburg and looking for a large selection of local (South African) cheese with a few imports thrown in then Cheese Gourmet is the place.

Cheese Gourmet is owned and run by Brian and Jo Dick, those who visit the Irene market must know Brian, he's been there for 22 years. The store is stocked with local and imports, but they do strive to support local and smaller farms, such as Klein River cheese. Along with a selection imported cheeses including Tallegio and Stilton.

Cheese is not the only thing you'll find Cheese Groumet also offers a selection of charcuterie, pork pies and frozen homemade meals. Along with cheese condiments like konfyt, honey and of course teas & coffees.

I'm a cheese lover and had to stop myself from breaking the bank. I am going back tomorrow though for hotcross buns and to pick up some of the Eat Out award winning fare. The dairy (cheese) winner Pepe Charlot crotin and the dairy (other) winner Gourmet Greek greek yoghurt.

Cheese Gourmet
71 7th St Linden
011-888-538
Best for: Need I say it, local and imported cheese. They stock Buffalo Ridge Mozzarella and Eat out produce award winners Pepe Chalot and Gourmet Greek
Going back for: Goat's milk ice cream and to have a cuppa at the Cheese Cafe

Afternoon snack - Emmentaler & onion marmalade grilled cheese

This post is especially for my American friends, who love themselves a grilled cheese. I had a craving for a grilled cheese yesterday but decided a simple gouda or cheddar grilled cheese just wasn't enough, I wanted to add a little fancy and honestly was craving a sweet savoury combination. Emmentaler and onion marmalade it was.

What's the difference between a toasted sandwich and a grilled cheese you ask? Essentially, the cooking method.
The grilled cheese is made in a pan with butter. Slices of white bread spread with a thin layer of onion marmalade and filled with a few slices of emmentaler and organic Gouda. Place the sandwich in a preheated buttered pan toasting each side for 3 to 5 minutes till sides are golden. Then finish it off in a warm oven, just to get the perfect melt without burning the bread.

This is best for lunch or an afternoon snack, savoury with a touch of caramelised onion marmalade sweetness. Yum!

Afternoon snack - Chickpea salad

Of all the legumes chickpeas are my favourite. I must admit they are a chore to make with the soaking, I had in fact left them to soak for three days in the fridge, having totally forgot about them on day 1.

Once cooked in water with bayleaf, mustard powder and a red onion, I dressed them in a white wine vinegar dressing (add olive oil, honey, seasoning & mustard) then add whatever is in the fridge to make a salad. In my fridge that meant whole kernels, cucumber, slivers of red onions, slices of peppadew and feta.

Today's Craving - Jamie Oliver's chicken soup

I can feel the summer flu coming on and I happen to have lost my voice over this weekend. All I want, as I sit at my desk at work with a Jozi storm slowly gaining momentum outside, is a bowl of Jamie Oliver's poached chicken and vegetable soup.

Courtesy: Google & JamieOliver.com

It's a great soup, tasty, healthy and easy to make if I were in mood. It does take a little bit of work pulling the chicken meat off the bones and cavity.  All I want is to get home and for a bowl of it to magically appear. Ok I'm even willing to blink for it.

What do the French call French Toast?

PAIN PERDU of course!

My friend Amy (of LittleMissConception) made light and asked me "What do French people call french toast?" she also inserted a *hides*.

Pain Perdu, lost bread, in fact lost or wasted bread. So stale bread that is reformed, with a egg mixture, into a dish which is now a popular brunch item. What started as a way of making the most of every crust and crumb is now a decadent item made often of brioche and even croissants.

This is Raymond Blanc's, my go to Frenchman, Pain Perdu 

Courtesy: www.raymondblanc.com

On THE WKND SOCIAL brunch menu

We are in the thick of finalising the finer details of THE WKND SOCIAL brunch menu for this Saturday. I have a tasting today in fact.
The menu is a combination of my brunch favourites with a few Americanisms. Although the menu is executed by the restaurant (yes it's a secret location still) I am serving a helping of my love into the dishes by making the bacon jam and the dulce de leche myself.

So this week I'm making fresh batches of Dulce de leche and Bacon jam that are featuring on the menu.

The Bacon Jam Journey
I turned these ingredients

Into full on bacon jam goodness! Bacon jam is the best parts of breakfast, bacon maple syrup & coffee all in one jar.

Bacon Jam on toast with cream cheese

Homemade dulce de leche

While dulce de leche was doing it's thing in a water bath in the oven. It's pure decadence but uber cheap to make, I love a good sweet deal!

Pescatarian Chronicles: Lovely veg

This week has involved getting home late for dinner and making whatever is available. Lunch as always is Woolworths prepared meals.

So yesterday, Tuesday, I had the Woolworths lovely veg pea and mint ravioli. The ravioli is served with leek rounds, courgette ribbons, peas and endamame beans on basil pesto. The pesto had the entire office drooling over my meal. Honestly, I couldn't taste much mint but I am having sinus issues so maybe it's just me.

Almost all gone

Dinner was more lovely veg, this time home made with a piece of hake. Minted peas and broad beans, served with stir fried bok choy drizzled with a sesame oil dijon mustard dressing and pan fried hake.

Bok Choy, minted peas & broad beans, pan fried hake

Pescatarian chronicles: Seafood stew

I'm super excited about day 4 so I'm going to skip right to dinner. For dinner I made a seafood stew based on  Jamie Oliver's baked white fish with olives and a simple tomato sauce. I have to be honest, online Jamie is my go to for easy to execute recipes, followed by Nigella and Gordon. Yes I'm know them by first name.

I followed the recipe with two exceptions I used seafood and not just fish and I added some white wine, a la Keith Floyd, to the tomato sauce. The seafood I grabbed after work from Woolworths Nicolway was  monkfish (on 2 for 1 special - I love a deal), prawns, mussels and calamari tubes.

About to head into the oven

Fresh out of the oven

Served with slices of ciabatta, bellissima!

After this I definitely think I would be able to make a wonderful deep seafood cacciucco. Watch this space!

Pescatarian chronicles: Oats & Haddock

So day 3 was a manic Tuesday, all I could grab in the morning were two bowls of oats with honey, cinnamon and raisins. Yes I got that idea from Vida e Caffe. I was convinced I'd be able to survive the entire day on the oats but at 2pm I felt the hunger pang, so off to Woolworths I went. It's down the road from my job.

I decided to try the Oriental prawn and noodle pot salad. All that needs to be done is tear open the dressing sachet pour over the noodles, crunchy carrot, cabbage, spinach slaw and prawns then give it a mix. This is definitely someone looking for an uber light meal.

Dinner was poached haddock with a green salad, alas I was starved and didn't take a picture.

Pescatarian chronicles: Woolworths lovely veg

Yesterday was Day 2 and I didn't have time to pack a lunch which meant I did the next best thing, Woolworths prepared food. I know there are people that are anti-prepared food, I am not one of them. I love convenience but it has to be tasty.

Being that it was Meat free Monday I opted for an all vegetable lunch, a bulgar wheat with sundried tomato meal from the Woolworths lovely veg range. It has bulgar wheat, courgette ribbons, feta, rocket, roasted red onion and of course sundried tomato. Light fresh and tasty, all you need to is add a touch of seasoning to taste and microwave for two and a half minutes.

Almost gone

Rhubarb crumble

This is the tale of to crumbles one rhubarb one apple...... Winter has finally hit Jozi and that gets me into a fierce dessert craving home cooking kinda mood. I'm notoriously terrible at baking so I decided that making a crumble is the first step. I started with a rhubarb crumble last week and made a apple crumble yesterday.

Rhubarb should come with a warning:

"You just can't imagine know how tart I am, I'm the tartiest tart a real tramp!" 

a piece of my rhubarb crumble with cream

The crumble topping was wonderful but I have to say that rhubarb is a bit too tart for my liking. My brother and his gf (Themiffany as they are affectionately known by me) loved it! Next time I'll add a few apples just for me to balance it. 

I used Nigella Lawson's rhubarb crumble recipe from her book Feast I adapted it slightly and added a few slices of fresh ginger to the rhubarb. For those looking for rhubarb in Jozi try; Athol oaklands fruit and vegetable or the food lovers markets 

Happy crumbling!