The Art of the Sandwich

Cooking is full of waxing lyrical about tastes, pontification on what and what shouldn't be done and snobbery as foreign (French and Italian) words are bandied about: Uttered  through the nose or with excessive gesturing. But food, as so many other things in life (and don't we so often forget it) does not have to be exotic or complicated to be enjoyed.

And what can be more simple than the humble sandwich? I have something of a love affair with sandwiches: their morish tastiness never fails to satisfy and astonish me with the enjoyment I take in having a good one with a cup of tea.

It started at school. Like so many South African school children, a sandwich was my lunch-time staple and  I had my fair share of end-of the week, peanut butter on dry-ish brown bread. This never bothered me that much at the time ( though now I might pull up my nose at one) because at school I always had an appetite to rival any of the boys' and so slightly dry or not, my lunch was generally finished before the bell had even begun to ring for break time, when I would oggle the contents of my friends' lunchboxes. But in all fairness, coming from a family that has always valued tasty food, my sandwiches were, more often than not, tasty and since I was so quick to gobble them up, the tomato never even had a chance to soak into the bread!

Fast-forward to life after the playground and my time has been dedicated to that well made sandwich. The idea that the Earl of Sandwich popped his delicate between two pieces of bread so that he could carry on eating without sullying his cards, sounds like the most sensible thing in the world to me, and I probably would have done exactly the same if only to be able to enjoy a tasty morsel while living through the characters of my favourite novels. Talk of warm bread and cheese in Lord of the Rings probably imparted more of the community and personality of the hobbits than all of Tolkien's description and the fact that they took time out of their epic journey to always sit down and eat the aforementioned bread and cheese (what better than a cheese sandwich?) impressed on my mind that these must, indeed be wonderful little creatures with an assured innate goodness.

Eating is more than essential, it is an art, even if it is just taking a moment to construct and enjoy the simple things. Taking a few moments to compose a delicious sandwich, in my opinion, is exactly a manifestation of that art. When, in the fifth book, Mostly Harmless, of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Arthur Dent eventually becomes the official sandwich maker of the small planet that his spacecraft has crashed into, I felt such a resonance that there can indeed be no better calling that Douglas Adams had indeed seen deep into my heart and published that short part of the story just for me. But then I think that, like so many other readers, Arthur Dent, for all his irritability, must be tolerated because he is in constant search for a good sandwich and cup of tea. That search and his unfulfilled desire for a lovely sandwich and cup of tea is, I would argue, the engine that propels the story! (It certainly drives my day. Who said that fantasy fiction is far removed from our world clearly knows nothing of the matter!

Well, having cleared up the importance of the sandwich in history, literature, morality (what else is Tolkien's epic about but the problems that the rustic English person faces?) so indeed, daily life!- you can see that it really is an art form.

I promised that I wouldn't be dogmatic about sandwich making, and indeed I recommend experimenting with all kinds of fillings. I even put a sprinkling of flax and sesame seeds onto mine (I'm nuts about these seeds at the moment). Only, keep these three rules in mind: Use a good bread that is still relatively fresh; If you use tomato on the sandwich make sure that the tomato is at room temperature( all the better if it has been ripening in the sun) and crack your fresh salt and pepper directly onto the tomato slices which should not to be too thin or too thick, but can be as many as you like. And lastly, since a sandwich is an entire meal in itself, balance the filling so that each bite gives you the best combination of the ingredients you have used to fill your sandwich.

Remeber every day is an opportunity to have a sandwich and cup of tea- As I have been writing this blog I realise that waiting for lunch time to aproach has created a longing almost as strong as Athur Dent's throughout his travels through the universe!

Bon Apetite!

My Favourite Cook Books

The other day, while sifting through a pile of cookbooks I came across The Return of the Naked Chef. And with it the Jamie Oliver mania that made Jamie Oliver to cookery what the Beatles were to music. I have fond memories of watching the programmes "The Naked Chef" and "The Return of the Naked Chef". If I remember correctly, the show used to come on on a Sunday afternoon and I couldn't wait to get my fix of the hot Essex boy who lived in a funky London flat and who drove a little Vesper to Borough Market  (where I would wonder through on my Friday lunch breaks when I worked on the South Bank in London - I would always take longer than my allotted hour perusing the stalls with all their wares- oops!) to get his fresh ingredients which he would then, with a lot of charm and very little effort - that was the idea of the Naked Chef: stripping it down to simple good tastes and easy methods- into something super tasty which they'd all enjoy at the end of the programme.

He'd give me the salad dressing to make and while I shook the jam jar

and batted my eyelids at him,

he'd smile and saying to the camera that he'd have to taste it,

"Wow! That tastes fantastic love!"

How I dreamed of being part of that scene: Jamie, would invite me over to his flat as they were filming one of the episodes and we'd whip up something wonderful. He'd give me the salad dressing to make and while I shook the jam jar (do you remember he had this brilliant idea of making salad dressings in a jam jar; no bowls to wash up) and batted my eyelids at him, he'd smile and saying to the camera that he'd have to taste it ( all good chefs do, you know!)  "Wow! That tastes fantastic love!" In the way that he does and then the programme would come to an end and all our friends would arrive and we'd all have an extraordinary amount of fun as the credits ran. All the viewers would strain to see us laughing as we went out of focus in the background, sorry that they couldn't see more as the production company's name and logo took over the screen signalling the absolute end of the episode. And twenty minutes later they'd still be wondering what the happy little dinner party was doing now.           

Ok, so I had a tendency to daydream- and besides, Jamie was already married at that stage to his missus, "the lovely Jools", to whom he dedicates Return of the Naked Chef. But my, who thought that advertising organic ingredients (a buzz word that was relatively new at the time in SA) could be so sexy. But then, as an 18 year old food-lover, the blond 24 year old chef on TV didn't have to try very hard to make it onto my list of most desirable men. Who says that food is only the way to a man's heart? Give me a man who can russel up a peach, rocket and goats' cheese salad or sticky ribs any day!

On a meagre allowance, I remember saving up to buy the book with Jamie's smiling face on it. I had previously wangled The Naked Chef as a Christmas present and I would lovingly turn the glossy pages with their large, bright pictures of food between the recipes. I was startled, paging through the book now, to see how young he looked! Now that I'm older, bad-boy Gordon Ramsay's sharp looks catch my imagination.

But this post is about Jamie. You can't stop the passage of time, but the recipes and Jamie's philosophies in the cookbook are still valid, but looking back it is interesting to remember that in so many ways he pioneered the idea of cooking being hip. No fuss, just fresh, pukka food, though there is no doubt about it, that he was also part of the Italian food obsession revolution. But who can blame him - the Italians know            how to eat.

I still follow Jamie's "Food Revolution" on Facebook, but it seems a little bit more like cooking and politics- a tad too serious. But then I guess, we all have to grow up sometime....

Thai Vegetable Soup with Coriander Pesto.

The First of September announces spring in the Southern Hemisphere, but here in Cape Town, despite the tantalising appearances of sunny days, the wind still has a chill about it as it ushers in cold-fronts which deliver rain well into October.

And on those rainy days, as on cold ones, there are few things more comforting in winter than a warm soup, and at that one that has a little heat. Soups are also perfect for winter because they are packed with vitamins that ward off colds. I love soup, from the simple to the thick vegi-packed variety. But this soup has a delicate aroma which sets it apart and hints at the balmy warmth of those places which are famous for their spicy foods in the same way that spring hints at the heat of the summer that is to come. I really think that this soup is something of a treat in terms of flavour which comes from the sesame, flax and sunflower seeds which you heat up with coriander seeds before adding the vegetables. Garlic is fantastic in all seasons not only because of its flavour, but also because it has mild anti-septic and decongestant properties that help guard against colds and flu.

The coriander pesto is an addition which makes this a soup that can be served at a dinner party and will impress. The chili in this pesto adds punch to the soup.
Add a few prawns (two or three per person) to add body and serve as a main.


Ingredients:

Soup
15ml sesame seed oil
1 tblsp sesame seeds
1 tblsp sunflower seeds
1 tblsp flaxseeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds

1 small cinnamon stick

small clove of garlic

2 leeks

4 spring onions

a small bunch of coriander

2 medium sweet potatoes

1 small butternut

3 large carrots

1 litre chicken stock

Coriander pesto

a large bunch of coriander

1/2 cup of lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

30ml flaxseed oil

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1 chili

1 large clove of garlic.

Cut up the spring onions and leeks into rounds and toss together with the shredded coriander. Crush the garlic. Cut the carrots julienne. Cut the sweet potato and butternut into small cubes. (This part requires a little effort and can also be done in advance and frozen and taken out when needed) Alternatively, just get it ready cut from the shops! No need to slave away when the convenience is there for the taking (off the shelf)

On a heavy-based pot, throw in the seeds and allow them to slowly toast. Be careful not to let them burn and you should see oil from the sesame, sunflower and flax seeds. Add the cinnamon stick. The cumin seeds may pop, so just be careful and when the seeds are toasted, remove from the heat. Add a little more sesame seed oil, if you need to, and then throw in the leeks, spring onions and garlic. Allow this to become translucent. Add the rest of the vegetables and stir while they fry briefly. Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil, topping with water as required until the vegetables are tender.

The coriander pesto is easiest to make with a hand held blender but can be made in an ordinary blender if you stir the mixture around the blades. Needless to say- BE VERY CAREFUL when you do this and make sure that the blender is off: I switch it off at the plug each time, just out of caution. You can also shake the blender when the power is on, but be careful again, not to overheat the motor. If you are using a hand held blender simply pop all the dry ingredients and lemon juice into a bowl. Drizzle in the oil and blend until smooth. Otherwise place the same ingredients into the blender blend as best you can as you drizzle in the oils. It may not turn out super-smooth but the texture that you do get is interesting and, I think, adds to the flavour. Pop into an airtight, sanatised jar to keep in the fridge or spoon a tablespoon immediately on each serving of soup . Stir in the pesto before eating and serve with crispy chiabatta rounds drizzled with flaxseed oil.

You can make the pesto a day before and the flavours will intensify. The pesto will keep for a week in the fridge and can be tossed into warm couscous and served as a side dish or add a tomato and onion salsa and crumble a hard-boiled egg (one per person) on the top and grind some fresh salt and pepper and serve as a light meal. Otherwise this makes a great base on crackers topped with a dollop of Crème Fraîche, lemon zest and a smoked mussel.

Bon Apetite!

Vegaterian Dinner Party Part 1 What is a dinner party?

For the first time last week I threw a vegetarian dinner party. I must say that I love a dinner party and it is something that people seem to do very little in Cape Town, perhaps because doing it properly is something of a logistical challenge. I read a lot about dinner parties in the UK Gaurdian; the English seem to be obsessed about their possible demise in society, what constitutes one and whether the said gathering, that constituted both guests and dinner was, in fact, a dinner party. Just the other day I read how week Jay Rayner of the Gaurdian was moved enraged by Alan de Botton's comments in The Times on dinner parties.

Well, I had to concur with Jay, that a dinner party is more than just serving out microwave dinners and asking intimate questions. The dinner is an intimate affair, yes, but the resulting conversation is only intimate if it is unforced and usually the feeling is enhanced by wine, selected especially to compliment the meal.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/may/28/alain-de-botton-dinner-party
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/real_food/article7137210.ece

But a dinner party doesn’t have to be excessively formal because the cook has gone to the trouble of exciting their guests’ tastebuds with delicious and thoughtfully prepared food that has been paired with wine. Ok, wine pairing is not always strictly necessary since I usually ask my guests to bring some to supplement what I have got, but I do feel that there should be a moment in each of my guest’s evening when, as they are eating and drinking in a wash of entertaining chatter, that they stop to think, hmm, this tastes delicious, and thus that they are really enjoying themselves. Putting the right people together is also essential, but on the off chance that as the host, you’ve misjudged your guests, then they should at least be happy that they came for the food and wine!

The Awe of Aubergine : Aubergine Rolls

Aubergine, also known as eggplant and perhaps more commonly known as the Brinjal or melongene, is a wonderful vegetable, I must admit to the fact that the deep purple colour of the skin never fails to elicit a sense of mystery and luxury about the fruit. One cannot help but feel that there is something magical about the fruit or, and indeed it was believed that because of the skin’s deep and ethereal colour, that the fruit was poisonous – but rest assured, it is not!
Aubergines actually come in a range of colours and are closely related to the tomato. Well no wonder- tomatoes must be one of God’s best gifts to the world and its relation; the aubergine does not fall short of the family accolades. Aubergine can be substantial without being heavy and it is unsurprising that tomato and Aubergine marry wonderfully together in a dish.
Aubergine appears in a range of countries' dishes, from the  Middle East, Thailand and China, North Africa, Turkey, Greece and Spain.  
Whenever I make aubergine, I always wash it, cut it and then cover the cut pieces with quite a layer of refined or coarse salt. I then leave this for anything from ten minutes to an hour. This known as "degorging". Many people say that you don’t have to do this, especially since the flavour of aubergine changes when it is cooked. But for me this does more than just remove any bitterness from the fruit (caused by the nicotinoid alkaloids in the plant which you can see in the brown watery runoff) as well as the fact that it helps to reduce the instance of oil absorption which happens because the fruit is rather spongy– which is not cool if you are using an expensive olive oil or if you are watching your weight! I also know some people who seem react badly and get terrible headaches from the nicotinoid alkaloids even after the fruit has been thoroughly cooked. Here I think that degorging helps and, though I am no scientist, I suspect that cooking aubergine with tomato also counteracts their affect.
But enough of that, let’s get back to the deliciousness of what can be made with the aubergine! Because the fruit is quite a rich, this also makes a substantial vegetarian dish if you leave out the chicken.
Ingredients
2 large aubergines, sliced into rounds to a medium thickness ( +/- 1cm)
4 chicken breasts, cut into thin slices (one for each slice of aubergine)
Sundried tomatoes, washed and left to soak in crushed garlic, 3 generous tblsps olive oil and a healthy dose of Oregano.
Calamata olives (depipped and finely chopped)
100g Mozzarella or ricotta cheese, depending on your preference
Two cans of whole peeled tomatoes
Salt and fresh black pepper
Toothpicks
small bunch flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped.
To make
Degorge the aubergine slices as described above. You will find that this also makes the slices more pliable and easier to roll.
If you are using ricotta cheese, you can add the chopped olives, a good pinch of salt and crack of black pepper and mix it up.
Rinse the aubergine slices well.
Season the chicken slices with the salt and pepper.
The rest is fairly easy:
Take a slice of aubergine. Place a slice of chicken on top of that. Then add a bit of the olives (if they are not in the ricotta cheese), one or two sundried tomatoes, a slice of mozzarella or spread a teaspoon of the ricotta mixture and roll up the slice and secure with a toothpick. Place in an ovenproof dish that has been lightly greased with olive oil. Drizzle the remaining oil and herbs from the sundried tomatoes over the top (pop in any sundried tomatoes that you may have left over too. Save about half for the top. Squash over two cans of whole peeled tomatoes with all the juice. Drizzle over remaining flavoured oil and a bit of crumbled ricotta.

Pop in a hot oven (220 degrees Celsius) and allow to cook for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 150 degrees Celsius and cook for a further 20 minutes.
Serve on top of cous cous that has a little bit of nutmeg sprinkled into it and then top with the tomato sauce that has formed as part of the dish with a generous pinch of freshly cut flat-leaf parsley.

Enjoy!

Quick and Easy... but is it food?

Sometimes time is just short, dear readers. And it is in times like these, when we turn to… convenience meals. And what is more convenient than a packet of  Knorr Fresh Ideas that comes free with your latest fashion magazine? Well it was convenient enough for me, a very much an I-look-down-my-nose-at-convenience-food kind of person.

But like I said, sometimes time is short, and you / your family are hungry. So as I opened the packet and followed the instructions, I started to wonder what the dinner would taste like. Would it be good? I didn’t know. But what I did want to know was this: Was there a good prepared / convenience dinner out there?

So this column, I thought, could become a regular as I take on the task of testing and searching for good convenience dinners. I’ll take into account the time that it takes to make the meal, the clarity of the instructions and the ease with which they can be followed and the meal made. I’ll also put up the price and the number of calories that it consists of. And, naturally, assess how it tastes.


So the Knorr Fresh Ideas, Bacon Carbonara flavoured Pasta and Sauce is described as “Tagliatelle pasta in a creamy cheese and bacon flavour sauce”. The green packet gives the impression that it is really healthy, but the blurred pictures of tomatoes, parsley and garlic on the back of the foil cover is about as close to any real vegetables as you will get in the dish. That said, when the dish was done, a small fresh salad was a really good accompaniment.

I liked the way that there was a tab on the front of the packet that told you exactly what you needed: 125 ml cold milk;
             375 ml hot water
             30ml / 2 tbs margarine.

The tab at the back of the packet states that they have taken out the (does that mean all the?) artificial colourants. Well, maybe it doesn’t because no sooner had my eyes wondered to the ingredients’ section and I spotted an E-number. Plus, I had to wonder how the strong smell, reminiscent of bacon that wafted off the top of the powder that escaped, as I cut open the packet, could really be “natural”.     

Well as I pondered the issue of to what degree chemical composition was classified as “natural”, I threw the water and milk into a pot. I was about to throw in the second of the two tablespoons of marg, when I judged against it, my rational being that anything with such a strong smell in its raw state could not possibly need this for flavour. 

“Bring to the boil,” the instructions said.

So far so good. All I had to do was switch on the stove. But then, dear readers, I made the ultimate convenience food mistake. I walked away while I waited for the ingredients to come to the boil. Somewhere in my mind, as I turned on the TV, I had convinced myself that this convenience food thing was so easy that it could practically cook itself.

Not so, and the promised 10-12 minutes cooking time slowly increased as I found myself scrubbing boiled-over milk and marg. off the stovetop.

But there was still hope. I topped up the milk and water, perhaps rather recklessly, but with well-educated guesswork and brought, under my watchful eye, the liquids to the boil.

From there it’s a simple matter of tipping in the contents of the divided sachet, divided, the product says on the outside so that the closed package will last for longer. I thought, rather cynically, that this powdered concoction would outlast me if it were never opened, it was so deconstructed from any original organic form.

None the less, I stirred, not at regular intervals but constantly – I had learnt my lesson, and just as well because for the next four minutes the mixture thickened alarmingly quickly and would have burnt at the bottom of the pan if I had not. But that the dish cooked quicker than anticipated (by 2 minutes, excluding the post-bring-to-the-boil disaster) certainly impressed me. If, however, you cook convenience meals because you believe you can’t cook and follow instructions to a T, then you may have ended up with considerably mushy pasta!

Overall, the final dish looked a little on the pale side, but tried bravely to add some colour in the form of dehydrated chives. Here, I added a basil leaf for presentation purposes. This, unfortunately was the entire contents of the sachet which says it serves two. At 1890 kJ or 450 odd kcals, eating the whole dish one’s self is really not so indulgent. I did get full about three-quarters of the way through, though this was maybe because it had gotten cold and a little stiff… and monotonous.

The sauce was really nice and creamy and the bacon flavour, while not very natural, was tolerable, especially when accompanied by a side-salad. Also, I cut up a bit of spring onion and stirred it in and this also lent a bit of a fresh taste and crunchiness to the texture.

I probably wouldn’t make this again unless I was camping and I had to carry all the cooking utensils and ingredients myself. (I’m pretty convinced that it would taste just the same if you substituted the milk with extra water). 
It costs R15.95 at Pick and Pay

Easter Pavlova

Easter came as a wonderful time for culinary indulgences. After mass, we started off the morning with a traditional Dutch dish called an uitsmuiter. This is basically an egg on top of a good piece of ham, like gypsy ham on top of a white roll. On the side you have cut up tomato and pickles like picked gherkins, piccalilli, and pickled onions all with a good seasoning of salt and white pepper.

Then I had lunch with friends, which was a delightful spread of greens, a roast chicken and a roast lamb!

But dessert was my department and I made sure not to disappoint. I made, most appropriately because of all the eggs it uses, I thought, a Pavlova. I’d never been very good with meringues, but, as it turns out, the trick is to let them dry out in the oven. Getting the ratio of sugar to egg-whites is also pretty important. Too much sugar and you’re sure to end up with a chewy mess! Baking is always a little more of a science than cooking. Sure you can do it to feel, but then you’d better make sure that you feel more towards accurate measurements rather than not!

Lastly, it also helps to have a clean stainless steel bowl since this will make sure that the egg-whites stiffen.

Anyway, the recipe that I used was great and I’ll repeat it here now. Be warned though, this takes time. Four hours all together!



What you need is:
8 egg-whites
440 g of caster sugar
2 cups whipping cream
Fruit of your choice. Berries work well or any other combination of tropical fruit, I used mango, litchis, banana and granadilla pulp. I wouldn’t have minded a bit of papaya in there too! Cut these up into fruit-salad sized pieces and I let them wallow in 3 tablespoons of white dessert wine.

Heat the oven to 140 degrees Celsius. Make sure that the rack is in the middle of the oven.

With your egg-whites in the stainless steel bowl, froth the eggs with the hand-beater on low. Once the whites are frothy, put the mixer on high speed and beat until the egg-whites form stiff peaks.

Now start adding the sugar, a little at a time, all the while beating the egg-whites with the beater on a high speed, making sure that the sugar dissolves each time. Eventually the mixture will get very stiff.

On a baking tray that is covered with wax wrap (the non-stick side up) and bake for 1 hour. Then turn the oven off and leave the meringue in the oven for another 3 hours to dry out.

Whip up the cream and spread over the top of the meringue just before you’re about to serve. Top with the fruit or fruit salad and then with the granadilla pulp.





 I served mine with a Môreson Brut sparkling wine. The dry taste complimented the granadilla and tropical fruits and balanced off the sweetness of the meringue beautifully. And well, the bubbles just complimented the lashings of cream and the general fun sense of extravagance and indulgence that eating such a decadent dessert brings!

Tomato Risotto - Finally, The Recipe

After much raving about the tomato risotto, and many promises about bringing you the recipe soon, here it is.

30 g butter
1 small onion, finely sliced
1 large garlic clove
Salt
Black pepper
1 ½ cups of Arborio rice
¾ cup white wine
+/- 750 ml home-made chicken stock.
250 g baby tomatoes
A drizzle of olive oil
A can of chopped plum tomatoes
½ cup cream
Medium bunch of basil leaves

Cut up the baby tomatoes into quarters and liberally season with salt and black pepper. Drizzle over the olive oil and roast under the grill till the tomatoes are caramelised and a little charred on the edges.

Melt the butter in a heavy –based pan. On a medium heat,  add the onion, salt  and pepper and the garlic. Gently sauté, allowing the garlic to flavour the oil and the onion to turn sweet and translucent.  Add the rice and stir, allowing it to be covered with the butter. I like to turn up the heat a bit here and then throw the wine over. Stir until it evapourates.
A soup ladle or two at a time, add the stock. (I will save my rantings about the taste-value that comes from making stock yourself rather than using the cubes diluted in water- I’ll do a post on how to make chicken or vegetable stock)
Stir until each addition of stock has been absorbed.  Repeat until the rice is al dente.  Allow the moisture to evapourate a little and then add the can of chopped tomatoes.  Then toss through the baby tomatoes.
Stir through the cream and then tear the up the bunch of basil leaves and stir them through too.

Serve with a green side salad with a light vinaigrette.  Also lovely with some pancetta or black forest ham on the side.  Otherwise it makes a lovely vegetarian meal.
I had mine with the Lourensford Shiraz rosé which complimented the tomato flavours very well.

Tomato Risotto - The food that should be reserved for lovers!

This weekend saw me making one of my favourite Italian dishes, the Risotto. Hmm, how do I describe the risotto? It is one of those dishes that when you taste it, it is heaven in your mouth and so completely satisfying and infused with such delectable flavour that it makes you immediately well disposed to all those around you. It is a moment to savour, it is a moment you could fall in love! No wonder the Italians are such a passionate people!

Being  at my happiest when I’m cooking for others  I have often wanted to implement a tactical turn to my dinner parties. That is that each person that I invite must also invite someone that I don’t know. Preferably with the view of meeting ‘the one’.  Yes, I could be cooking and sharing with someone I don’t turn out to like, but on the other hand I could be cooking for someone I do, and what’s more, I’d be in my element as the gracious host and elegant chef. Ok, sometimes I’m not gracious nor elegant (throwing out, along with a teeny tiny temper tantrum, lumpy cheese sauce for a fondu, because it wasn’t perfect, springs to mind. A friend insisted on saving the sauce and it actually wasn’t all that bad in the end! ) Either way it guarantees an evening of entertainment!

 One of my regular flavours is a mushroom risotto. I’d heard horror stories about risotto, hours of stirring and well nothing but a(nother) lumpy mass resulting. But this is a dish which, luckily I have perfected and therefore like to indulge my guests, and...well none of them have been gracious enough to bring a nice looking man, as yet unknown to me, to dinner.

But back to the mushroom risotto- a delicious dish that is diffused with delicate morels.  But if you are pedantic about having the diverse woody and nutty tastes that various mushroom types can bring to the dish, then being out-of-pocket is not one of the times that you can make this dish in its entirety. Also, I like to use a fairly good oak barrel –rested chardonnay. While it need not be a wildly expensive one, which would just be sacrilege to throw into the pot, rather than enjoy direct from the glass, a goodish one is still important since the flavours of the wine ultimately add to the flavour of the dish.

It was Saturday evening and not having had anything particular planned, but longing for a bit of company, I decided to invite some friends around for dinner.  But what to make?

It being Autumn, that awkward, but also very exciting time of year when the days are hot, but the evenings cool, I decided on something for dinner that would pay homage to the two seasons that it lies between and settled on a tomato risotto. This Risotto I also make with a less heavy wine, one that has a little more zest to it and is a little more refreshing with a slight summer sweetness (tropical fruit) to it. This along with the tomato and a light side salad of a variety of lettuce greens, tossed lightly in raspberry vinegar and olive oil (don’t forget a pinch of salt and black pepper), is testament to the summer. The cream, which I’m sure the Italians would feel is a culinary profanity in the summer, and also because a risotto has a naturally creamy texture, is a taste and preparation of the winter to come.  You can also serve this with a few slices of prosciutto (or black forest ham) on the side to complete the dish.

Valentine's Day Cupcakes

You don't need to be romantically involved to enjoy these. You don't even need to have Valentine's day as an excuse to make them. I love baking over the weekends because I have more time to play around with decorating. It's like having your own edible canvass to work on. This Sunday just happens to be Valentines Day and there is nothing nicer than having a sweet treat to present to your sweetheart. But like I said, if you're not attached this is no reason that your romantic sensibilities shouldn't take over when you decorate these, and I can tell you that I feel similar heart-racing, giddy and indulgent sensations to being in love everytime I bite into one of these little cupids.

I have chosen royal icing, which is traditionally used on gingerbread or Christmas biscuits, because it has a decadent texture and richness. It also comes out glamorously glossy and makes the cupcakes look especially exciting!

Makes a dozen cupcakes

175g butter
1 cup castor sugar
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla essence
2 cups self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder

Royal Icing
1 egg white
+/- 1 cup icing sugar

To make the cupcakes simply smooth the butter and the sugar together. When smooth and soft beat in the eggs. Add the vanilla essence. Fold in one cup of sifted flour and at a time. Mix together whipping in plenty of air. Heat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius. Fill the cupcake holders in a cupcake tray and bake for approximately 20 minutes, turning the tray round half way through baking so that each of the cupcakes rise equally.

Allow to cool.

To make the icing place the egg white in a bowl and slowly mix in the icing sugar (make sure that it is separated and smooth) until the icing gets thick. Colour with food colouring of your choice- red or pink for Valentine's fun. Ice the cakes and decorate with by piping on your decoration or pattern.

These make a delightful desert for picnic lunches and are easy to pack. Or simply make a cup of tea and indulge alone or with the one you love on the couch!

Weekend Treats: Baby tomato, basil and mozzarella tartlets

The Spanish, in fact many, mediterranean countries will not let you have a drink without a little something      on the side to absorb the alcohol-                    How civilised!  
And in that country (Spain) where the sun goes down after ten in summer and where dinner doesn't officially happen before 9pm, "a little something" is all to well appreciated at the beginning of the evening. But having to make a tapas (as evening snacks are called in Spain or pintxos in Basque Country - pronounced 'pinchos'), should not take a great deal of time. After all, who wants to be slaving away when what you should really be doing is indulging in a cold cerveza (a beer - usually a draft-  in Spanish, which come standard at 250ml) or a glass of white wine and the balmy evening.


These little tomato, basil and mozzarella tartlets take just minutes to prepare and are full of punchy flavour!
Here's what you'll need:
Makes 20



One packet of puff pastry
Olive oil
20 mini Italian tomatoes
20 basil leaves
50 grams (about) grated mozzarella cheese


Roll out the puff pastry so that it is about a quarter bigger in size. Then cut into squares (four strips down and five across). Brush each square with olive oil. Place a basil leaf on each, top with a good pinch of mozzarella cheese (grate more if you run out) and then a mini tomato cut into halves. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place on a greased baking tray and cook for 20 minutes or until golden brown at 180 degrees celsius.

Serve with drinks!  

Mid-week Baking

I always find that by Wednesday or Thursday, the weekend looks dauntingly far away. The notion of having time to yourself or for having any kind of indulgence seems impossible. How often don't we start the week with a new resolution that we will "be good" exercise and lay off the sweets and cakes until the weekend. Not a bad resolution; but only in theory. By mid-week "Arg! it's only Wednesday!" takes on a panic all of it's own. So here is a solution, take some time out to do a bit of mid-week baking. I love baking, not only because of the goddies that it produces, but because it can be a quiet, cathartic and creative moment in the mists of a busy week.

And if you suffer horribly from guilt for breaking your "diet" mid-week, don't.
These banana, raisin and peacan muffins contain no butter, are fruity and have low-gi oats and have no sugar in them. They also only take a few minutes to make... a few precious minutes to yourself after work or in the evening.  What I also like about these is that they also make a great breakfast muffin. So have it on a Thursday or Friday morning with your morning coffee and it will lift your spirits with promises of the weekend to come.


For the muffins you'll need:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup pecan nuts, chopped
1/4 cup raisons

2 eggs
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup oil
1 cup yoghurt


Sift the flour and add all the dry ingredients together. Wisk the eggs, honey and oil together in a separate bowl. Create a well in the dry ingredients and add the egg mixture. Mix together. Add the yoghurt and mix again.  Spoon the mixture into cupcake holders in a cupcake tin.
Sprinkle some oats on the top.


Bake for 25 minutes on 180 degrees celsius.

Enjoy!

Glorious Butternut

About five or six years ago, I remember being at a friend's house and watching the BBC food channel on DSTV. I cannot tell you exactly which program it was, but I will never forget this: The presenter said that she had come across a vegetable, quite unknown to her and quite wonderful to her.  And so she introduced the butternut.


Indeed I couldn't help but laugh- for us in South Africa, the butternut was a staple veg from when we were children. But she was right about one thing, though, and that is that the humble butternut is wonderful. It is a fantastically diverse vegetable and from its bright orange colour, rich in beta carotene. Butternut is also slightly starchy and can be roasted, boiled, made into soups, is wonderful in stews and curries and on top of all that marries well with traditional Italian flavours (basil, garlic and tomato) so that it becomes a great filling for pasta and an even nicer sauce. Sage is another herb that compliments butternut. Try it roasted with olive oil and rosemary to accompany any roast: lamb, beef or chicken. Another fantastic way to cook butternut is to cut it in half, remove the seeds and fill it with feta or any crumbly cheese (try ricotta with rosemary and generous sprinklings of salt and black pepper and a couple of lashings of olive oil) wrap each half in foil and place skin-side next to the coals. Because the butternut is not whole and heat escapes through the side that has no skin, this can take quite a while so don't wait till the coals are too cold, but bear in mind to make sure that it doesn't burn either. Howerver, if the skin gets blistered (and it's protected buy the foil) this is not a problem. No coals? Just pop them in the oven for 30-45 mins or until tender. Serve with a green salad or baby spinach leaves tossed in a vinaigrette with baby tomato halves.

Freshly layered Broccoli and Stilton Lasagne

So it's Friday and if all you want to do is settle down comfortably on the couch with a glass of red and something delicious and just a little bit indulgent, then this is the dish. Fresh layered lasagne is all the rage at the moment. No more of long prep only to be followed by an hour of cooking time in the oven. This lasagne is so easy it can be made in one pot before you plate it up - another plus for a Friday night, who after all wants to have a pile of dishes to do after a hard week of work and your plan is to lull off to sleep watching a DVD?

Oh, and who said that broccoli has to be boring? This is a flavoursome and morish vegetarian lasagne. If you wrinkle up your nose at (what I think is a particularly diverse, not to mention vitamin and mineral-packed vegetable) this recipe should change your mind. Many people discard broccoli stems, but this is my favourite part- cut it into centimetre-thick disks so that it gets tender when you cook it. But this is not a lesson in there virtues of broccoli; it’s a post about lazy Friday nights. But I will say this: Broccoli olive oil, origanum (oregano, as it’s known in some places) and crushed garlic is a combination made in culinary heaven. Add shavings of parmesan, or a sprinkle of feta, stilton, blue cheese, goats milk cheese and you have a most delicious side-dish which I could gobble just on it’s own! But for a more filling and satisfying meal, then just add pasta as I have here. Adjust accordingly, but here I have given the quantities for four people.

Fresh layered broccoli, stilton and olive vegetarian lasagne

300g Broccoli (divided into florets and the stem thinly cut)
30 pipped Calamata olives
3 good lugs of olive oil
1 clove crushed garlic
1 small red chili
A pinch of salt
Fresh black pepper
Origanum
40g Stilton cheese

6 pieces of lasagne pasta, broken in half

Parmesan cheese for serving



Bring a large pot of water to the boil with a good pinch of salt. Place the pasta into the water. In a steel colander, place the broccoli and place this on top of the pasta and cover with a lid.

After three minutes remove the florets. If the pasta is al dente, then remove that into a bowl and cover with some of the pasta liquid.

In the pot, heat up the oil, garlic, chilli, salt and pepper and origanum. Toss in the broccoli and the olives. Take off the heat and sprinkle over half the cheese. Toss again and add a little of the pasta water so that you get a little bit of a creamy sauce.

Place a layer of pasta (one per person) and cover with broccoli and sauce. Add another layer of pasta and some more broccoli. Distribute the left-over stilton between the portions and the layer. On top put a final layer of pasta and then grate on a sprinkling of Parmesan, a crack of black-pepper and another lug of olive oil. If you want, you can pop this under the grill for a minute or two, but if you have worked quickly, it should still be warm, so serve immediately.

Drink with a wooded Chardonnay (if you want to be fancy) but the stilton will happily accommodate the tannins of your favourite red blend.

Starting the Week Right

Is it just me, but after a gloriously relaxing weekend, Mondays can seem a little difficult to negotiate, especially in the mornings. There is no time for slow brewed coffee and lazy breakfasts until half ten. So, it being a Monday morning, I thought that I would put up a breakfast recipe that is both tasty and nutritious. It will give you the energy you need to start the day (and the week) well and since it is well balanced, will leave you feeling light but sustained throughout the morning. And is a perfect way of getting at least one of your fruit servings in for the day.

Breakfast oats may seem like a something for winter mornings, but I love them and eat them all year round. For those in summer now, add summer fruit, like I have added papaya to mine, but for those of you whose January means being in the mist of the coldest months, use apples or pears, which work eaqually well in this recipe. You can make your oats in the microwave if you are in a hurry, but I like to make mine on the stove, because this way they definitely come out creamier. Adjust the recipe for however many family members you're making it for. Also these quantities are just a guideline so use any cup size according to what you can manage eating in the morning.

1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup water
Pinch of salt
2 dried peaches
1/4 cup low fat milk or soya milk
2 teaspoons flaxseed oil
Flaked almonds

1/2 a papya peeled and cubed                                       

Honey for drizzling.                                                     

Put the oats, water and pinch of salt into a bowl and microwave or microwave oats as per product instrucstions.

Alternatively, bring the water to the boil in a saucepan on the stove. Add the pinch of salt and then the oats. Stir so that the oats become creamy.


Using the kitchen sissors, cut the dried peaches into the oats and at the same time add the flaxseed oil and almond flakes. Stir well.

Add the milk. And stir again.

If you've been doing this on the stove, then dish into individual bowls and add the fruit to the top. Drizzle over the honey and if you are really mad about almonds, then spinkle some of those ontop as well.

For an even more comprehensive breakfast you can add a dollop or two of low-fat Bulgarian yoghurt onto your fruit or ontop of the oats before you add the fruit. Also try with mango.

If you're doing the wintery version with pear or apple you can grate this fruit over the top. For a little more wintery comfort, which we all need on those dark mornings, serve with chopped peacan or wallnuts and drizzle you honey over this.

Enjoy with your favourite morning blend.

Mango, Litchi and Coriander Salad with Chilli and Lime Dressing.

As promised, here is the salad. While there is a lot of sweetness in the salad from the fruit this is well balanced out by the saltiness of the cheese and the sourness of the lime. The coriander leaves (also known as Cilantro in the States, and in Indian cooking as Dhania) adds the greens but also it's own flavour to the salad. The chili adds a spicy tang which balances the dish. This salad would go well with grilled lamb chops, and some simply boiled potatoes tossed in olive oil. You could also substitute the potatoes with Naan bread.


Just one last note before I get to the recipe, and that is that I think that this dish displays the most important part of any dish and that is balance. I cannot emphasise enough how important the following elements are and how balance holds the ultimate key to a good meal: Variety is, after all the spice of life!

As I pointed out above the tastes compliment and balance each other out, even though each of the ingredients have distinct individual flavours, they compliment each other and fuse to become something new. Similarly there is a balance of colours and textures. The bright orange colour of the mango, the green of the coriander and the white of the cheese and the translucence of the litchi, be-speckled with red chili all serve up a visual feast. Lastly texture is balanced out with the succulence of the mango and litchi is set off against the creaminess of the cheese and the crunchiness of the coriander and the chili.

Salad:
One large mango
Eight litchis (peeled and pips removed)
A small bunch of coriander leaves (about a cup when roughly chopped)
80grams of feta cheese (or ricotta)

Dressing:
One lime
One small-deseeded red chili
A piece of ginger, about 2cm thick
30-40mm olive oil (extra virgin if you have)


Peel the mango and cut around the large pip. Then cut the mango into thin (about half a cm thick) strips. Shred the litchis. Place the chopped coriander on a platter. Arrange the mango strips on top. Place the shredded litchi in between the mango and then crumble the cheese on top of that. Season with salt and black pepper (but hold off on the salt if you are using a salty feta)


For the dressing, grate the zest of the lime into a container and then juice the lime on top of that. Finely chop the chili and grate in the ginger. Add the olive oil (it should be about a third of the dressing, so add accordingly), mix and pour evenly over the salad.

If you like you could also add boiled prawns to the salad, at the stage before you dress it. Serve with a garlic naan.

If you have this salad with just the garlic naan I would recommend a Chenin Blanc or with it as a meal or a light Sauvignon Blanc that has citrus overtones in it.

The same Sauvignon with or a Rosé if you make it with the prawns I’d probably opt for a dry Pinotage Rosé, Delheim makes and excellent one.

If you have it accompanying your lamb chops I’d leave it up to you to have a red or a rosé of your choice. But in the red category I’d probably go for a Merlot as that is lightly oaked or a dry red blend.

I don’t think that there is a single wine that you can have with this, for one different wine estates bring out different flavours in their varieties and then two different types of wine can be equally enjoyable but produce a totally different taste experience.

Bon Appétit

Summer Fruity Fun

Yesterday I was perusing the shops when I was overcome by the scent of ripe mangoes lingering in the air mixed with the sweet essence of litchis that was escaping from where a naughty child was peeling some and popping them in her mouth, while her mother had her back turned away. Nectarines gleamed round and red as cricket balls and cling-peaches were solidly yellow. Pawpaws lent their own subtle tang to the air. Each fruit promised, that if you bit into it, it would  not only quench your thirst and tantalise your tastebuds with sweetness but also deliver, in its juicy wholeness, the elixir of longevity.
Ah, I love summer!
On the other side of the stall stood fresh lemons and limes, also gleaming their dazzling yellows and greens, while adding to the spectacular performance of fragrances that filled the air.

The abundance and heady perfumes were too much for me to resist, and soon I was plucking fruit from the stalls and filling my shopping basket. At the same time, ideas of exotic flavours swirled together in my mind and thoughts of suddenly being on an Asian island in the mist of pristine aquatic-blue Pacific Ocean filled me with excitement. Oh, what I would do to savour those tastes and be transported there. So I came up with a few ideas on how to make the best of these flavours. Tomorrow I promise to put up a recipe for a mango and litchi salad with corriander and a chili and lime dressing. But why stop there? I'll explore several other recipes as I take full advantage of the texture and colours that make up summer!

The Art of Eating

Gourmandize: n. appreciation or consumption of good food. (Concise Oxford English Dictionary)

It may seem stranage to speak about 'the art of eating' especially when in so many parts of the world, just getting enough food is a matter of survival. But for those of us lucky enough to have the resources of the modern world, where virtually every type of food is now globally available, I do feel that it is my duty to share with you the are of eating well. It is a sin, I think to thoghtlessly plunder one's tastebuds with food that is composed of inorganic chemicals.

As the title suggests I am a lover of good food; a gourmet (though not in the strictest sense of the title). The gourmand may be tempted, in their relishing in the shining joy of wonderful taste experiences to overindulge (indeed the word gourmand has a connotation of excessive eating - which we must guard against!) While we all have our moments of overindulgence, the true value in food lies not in over-eating but in making the choice to eat discriminatingly. Balance is the key here.

The result will certainly seem as if you are being all the more indulgent. Let me try to explain: Simplicity compliments complexity in cooking and in food's taste. Having less of something truely divine tasting often means more enjoyment if you take the trouble to savour the moment.
Now I don't mean to sound regimental. Au contraire savouring means to derive more enjoyment from one's food. And even this is a dicipline- but one that allows you to become a gourmet!
And if you do anything in excess, let it be giving yourself over to relishing the moment you take your first bight of something delicious. Or let it be to the excessive pleasure that providing good food for those you love (and even those you don't so much) around you can bring.

In this blog I will share with you some of my thoughts about food and some of my favourite recipes, some of them simple (and these are often the ones I like best) as well as more complicated and daring ones, which lend a certain amount of excitement to the palate. I will discuss wines and food combinations, gathering people together for meals, preparing for dinner parties and little tricks that make such gatherings work, as well as various texts that I have read on food and cooking.

More than anything though, I hope that I can awaken in you a new sensation: an enthusiasm for good food and the joy that this can bring into your life; as the gourmand, already knows, if food is the source of life, then to love food is to love life.

Mon Bonne