Orange and raspberries with vanilla syrup

As much as I love making short crust pastry and whipping meringues to perfection, there's something that's just great about simple recipes that have that wow- factor. A fellow foodie once sent me a quote by Jamie Oliver, I probably won't get it exactly right, but it went something like this: "If you are the kind of person that can make their own puff pastry, you obviously have a good life and not enough work to do. Life is too short."I thought that was brilliant. Because to be honest, I am a lazy cook disguised as a pastry chef. 

So this little recipe, if you can even call it that, is dedicated to all those cooks who get me on this one. It's perfect for a summer lunch served with mascarpone or with some sweetened soft whipped cream, it's rather sexy and I don't often call food sexy...

So, simply peel oranges, cut them into rounds and arrange them on a platter. Scatter raspberries over them and drizzle the cooled vanilla syrup over the top a few hours before serving for the flavours to really infuse.

Vanilla Syrup

3 cups white sugar
3 cups water
1 vanilla pod, cut in the length

Heat the sugar, water and the vanilla pod on a medium heat until all the sugar has dissolved and allow to cool.

A new kitchen for Christmas...

Christmas madness is here, but all I can think of is my beautiful creamy travertine tiles and the mess that will soon be my dream kitchen…I am day-dreaming about what colour to paint the walls to compliment my cream oven and actually feeling a little stressed about getting it JUST right... You see, in true domestic-goddess-style I have planned a house warming slash Christmas garden party before my house has even had time to shake it’s self  from the dirt and debris… what I DO know is that fun will be had, it will most definitely be merry and there’ll be great food.

This year has been a whirlwind of change. I put my blogging hobby on hold to simmer and stew and I am hoping to produce something new and exciting to give my readers something to draw them back after months of silence. Frankly, I realised I needed to lift the bar a little. So, cheers to new beginnings, lots of new blog posts, improving my photo-taking skills, and allowing my blog to change as the seasons do, oh and 2012 of course!

Inspiration will not be hard to come by with my herb garden, my planned sprouting kitchen garden (for sprouts and other baby lettuce varieties to be grown in my kitchen sill) and my long awaited brand spanking new kitchen! The way to a man’s heart might be through his stomach, but the way to a woman’s’ heart (well most) is a brand new kitchen!

So on this cheery Christmas note I’d love to share one of my all time favourites with you - my raspberry, pistachio and frangipane tart. In my mind, this tart doesn’t need an excuse to be baked, it’s simply that good. But if you do need one, the Christmas season is as good as any.

Raspberry and Pistachio Frangipane Tart

The lovely thing about this recipe is that the tart shell doesn’t have to be prebaked. Simply refrigerate while making the filling, fill and bake!

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Pastry Ingredients:

85g icing sugar

250g cake flour

1 egg

125g butter

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in a food processor until it comes together. Roll it into a ball with your hands and cling wrap it. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Line the tart shell and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Frangipane Filling

100g butter

125g castor sugar

1 egg

 20 ml fresh orange juice

25g cake flour

100g ground almonds

1 cup Frozen raspberries

1 ml almond essence

Zest of one orange

Handful of pistachio nuts, roughly chopped

Method:

Cream the butter and the sugar until pale, add egg.

Simply add the almond flour, flour, essence and orange juice and mix until combined.

Spread the filling into the cold lined pastry shell.

Sprinkle the frozen raspberries and pistachio nuts over the top.

Bake at 180 degrees for approximately 45 minutes.

Glaze with hot smooth apricot jam when cool.

Pomegranates in Winter

I simply can’t let this winter go by without featuring one of my favourite fruits in season this time of the year, the pomegranate. I first fell in love with the crisp flavour and beautiful colour of pomegranate seeds while travelling in India. Along the roadsides men would sell freshly squeezed fruit juice blended to order. Cut plastic bottles containing the fruit, lined the stalls and among them were always handfuls of pomegranate seeds, which was my obvious choice. The fruit was often liquidized with manual aluminum juicers, something we only find in antique shops, yet the whole livelihood of an extended family was reliant on this one juicer and a steady supply of fresh fruit. The juice was then strained through a sieve and served with a smile in a rinsed reused plastic cup, Indian-style.

Pomegranates are native to the Iranian Plateau and North Indian Himalayas but they are now cultivated in various parts of the world from the Mediterranean, to the East and even in South Africa. There are many varieties with different coloured arils (seed castings) ranging from deep red to a subtle light pink with flavours ranging from sweet to sour depending on the ripeness.

My other fond memory of ruby red pomegranates is from Neil Island, the so-called fruit basket of the Andaman Islands. With limited Hindi words, and lots of smiles we befriended a man selling fruit from a stall pulled behind his bicycle. Every day he would cycle to the town centre, a buzzing concrete slab of vendors, where he’d sit cross legged in his mobile stall selling locally grown star fruit, mango’s and pomegranates to the passing locals and tourists.

I like to use pomegranate pips more as a garnish and add them without hesitation to any dish I think needs a little crunch and freshness this time of year, which seems to be more often than not – be it winter salads, cheese platters or desserts.

Quinoa, Herb and Pomegranate Seed Salad
Serves 4

Dressing:
Juice and zest of 1 orange
2 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar

Ingredients:
300g quinoa
½ vegetable stock cube
75g pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 pomegranate, seeds removed
20g mint, chopped (a small handful)
20g coriander, chopped (a small handful)

Method:
Cook the quinoa by boiling three times the volume of water to quinoa, adding the ½ stock cube to the water. Once the water comes to the boil, place a lid on the pot and simmer on a low heat for approximately 10 minutes or until all the water has cooked away and the quinoa is light and fluffy.
Allow the quinoa to cool.
Meanwhile, make the dressing by adding all the ingredients into an empty glass jar and giving it a good shake. Once all the ingredients are combined pour this over the quinoa.
Toss the roasted pine nuts, the pomegranate seeds and the fresh herbs into the salad.
Season the salad with salt and pepper, to taste and serve as an accompaniment to lamb chops or a Middle Eastern-style dish.

Lemony Ricotta Cheese Cake with Pomegranate PipsServes 6

Ingredients:
100g biscuits (Marie biscuits or Tennis biscuits)
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 cups ricotta cheese
½ cup cream
¾ cup castor sugar
2 tbsp corn flour
1 tbsp cake flour
3 extra large eggs
Juice and zest of 1 large lemon
1 pomegranate, seeds/arils removed

Method:
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
Blend the biscuits to fine crumbs in a food processor.
Mix the melted butter with the crumbs.
Press mixture into a greased 20cm spring form cake tin and refrigerate while you make the cheese cake filling.
Beat the ricotta cheese, the cream, castor sugar, flour, corn flour and eggs together until they are smooth.
Stir in the lemon juice and the zest.
Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for one hour. Increase the temperature to 180 degrees Celsius and bake for a further 10 minutes until set and golden brown.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin, remove and refrigerate overnight.
Serve cold sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and mint leaves.
Optionally drizzle the cake with pomegranate syrup found in most delicatessens.

Making chutney on an Autumn afternoon...

There’s something intensely satisfying about seeing a row of brightly coloured bottles filled with home-made chutney on my kitchen table, glistening in the autumn sun.

My love for chutney stems from a childhood of eating Cape Malay curries and bobotie - my mother’s specialties. She had and still has, a heavy hand with chilli and when we could barely handle the heat, she would tell us that’s she’s burning the naughtiness out of us, something we still laugh about today. She has however, gifted us with a love for all things spicey, which was probably one of my inspirations to explore beautiful India and experience the diverse food culture there.


On a recent visit to my parent’s homestead in George, we harvested a huge basket of late-ripened vegetables from the garden. Green peppers, pepperdews and red baby aubergines made for the most delicious Mediteranean chutney, with a kick of course! My father brought baby red aubergine seeds from Italy, only to discover they had rather tough skins which made them unsuitable for roasting, but perfect for a chutney.

Chutney proved to be the ideal end for the huge basket of vegetables harvested, capturing something of summer for another day and another dish. What better way to preserve summer in a bottle!


Here are two delicious, tried and tested chutney recipes, both with a unique flavour and beautiful colour.

Mediterranean Vegetable Chutney:
Ingredients:

450g onions, chopped
900g ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 aubergine, trimmed and cut into 1cm cubes
450g sliced courgettes
1 red pepper, quartered, seeded and sliced
1 yellow pepper, quartered, seeded and sliced
3 crushed garlic cloves
1 small sprig of rosemary
1 small sprig of thyme
2 bay leaves
15ml/1tbls salt
15ml paprika
300ml red wine vinegar vinegar
400g (2cups) granulated sugar

Method:

Prepare all the vegetables.
Add all the vegetables along with the herbs, bay leaves, salt, paprika and half of the vinegar to a big pot.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 30-40 minutes without a lid.
Add the sugar and the other half of the vinegar and continue to simmer without a lid, on a low heat for 1 ½ hours to 2 hours.
When the chutney looks dark and sticky in colour and coats the back of a spoon, remove from the heat.
Bottle in sterilized bottles.


Yellow Plum Chutney:
Ingredients:
900g yellow plums, halved and stones
1 onion, finely chopped
7.5cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
3 whole star anise
1 ½ cups white wine vinegar
1 cup soft light brown sugar
5 celery sticks, thinly sliced
3 green chillies, seeded and finely sliced
2 crushed garlic cloves
Method
Prepare the fruit and the onions, ginger, celery, chilli and garlic.
In a big pot, bring all the fruit and vegetables to the boil with half of the vinegar.
Simmer without a lid on the pot, for 30-40 minutes.
Add the remaining vinegar and the sugar and simmer on a low heat for a further 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Simmer until all the fruit is glossy and cooked and the chutney coats the back of a spoon.
Remove from the heat and bottle in sterilized bottles.
- Show quoted text -

Pizza, the Italian way...

It seems rather strange that I learnt what I know about authentic Italian pizza in Ireland. Having an Italian flat mate, who loved to answer my never-ending stream of questions about her food culture, was at that time, the closest thing to visiting Italy!

Franchesca was passionate, just the way I imagine a young Italian woman - passionate about family, passionate about her friends, but mostly passionate about food. She and I would exchange ideas while cooking together in our tiny kitchen (although it was mainly me asking the questions). Pizza was seemingly the standard dinner option. She made it simply with a chunky home-made tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and herbs. The base was thin and squared out in an oven tray, ready to be cut into big, easy-to-eat rectangles (a meal begging to be shared).

The traditional way to eat pizza is with your hands, ‘like a man’ (as Jamie Oliver describes it) folded over like a sandwich with an oozing, juicy centre - delicious. This is how pizza originated, a simple, affordable street food, easy to grab while on the go. Somehow, we got carried away with all the elaborate toppings and lost the appreciation for a crisp, hand-rolled base with a simple combination of two or three toppings.

Apart from simple toppings, a thin base is essential and a wood-fired oven does lend that unmistakable smokey flavour and crunchy crust. Very few of us have access to a wood fired oven at home. I have, however, stumbled across an alternative: by par-baking your crust in the oven, assembling your pizza and baking it in a Weber braai you’ll get a near authentic crisp, smokey pizza. Proving, sometimes it takes a little adventure in the kitchen (or out) to get the best result!

Tip: Make sure you use charcoal or wood (not briquettes) for your fire. Bake pizza in closed Weber for 10 - 15 minutes, and then put in the next one!

Pizza Toppings – Great Combinations

• Goats milk cheese, fig and caramelized onions with fresh rocket.
• Baby potatoes (boiled and sliced) with mozzarella, rosemary, thyme on a chunky tomato sauce.
• Parma Ham, artichokes, olives, mozzarella on a tomato base with freshly torn basil leaves.
• Spicy salami with oven-roasted courgettes, basil and mozzarella cheese on a tomato base.


Basic Pizza Dough (Makes 6-8 medium sized thin pizza bases)

Ingredients:
800g strong white bread flour
200g fine ground semolina flour/whole wheat flour
1 level tsp of salt
15g dried yeast
1 tablespoon castor sugar
650ml lukewarm water

Method:
• In a big bowl or on a clean smooth surface, mix the salt and the flour and make a well in the middle to hold the liquids.
• Mix the yeast and the sugar with the tepid water and allow it to stand for a few minutes.
• Pour the yeasts mixture into the flour and using a fork and a circular movement; slowly bring the flour into the centre mixing the dough until it comes together.
• Pat the dough into a ball and flour a clean surface for kneading the dough.
• Knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until you have a smooth, soft ball of dough.
• Dust the dough with flour, cover it loosely with cling film and let it rest for about 15 minutes at room temperature.
• Divide the dough into as many pizza bases as you like, depending on the size you’d like. It’s good to roll out the bases about 15-20 minutes before baking them, this gives them time to rest and prove slightly.
• Preheat your oven to about 230-250 degrees Celsius or prepare your Weber fire.
• Roll your bases out into ½ centimeter thick bases. Arrange your toppings and bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on the temperature.
• Garnish with fresh herbs and enjoy warm, straight from the oven!

Along came Molly

Along came a little book by Molly Wizenberg that competely revolutionized the way I see my blog. My blog spot was birthed late on a winter’s night around a kitchen fire when my brother, a fellow blogger, convinced me how inspiring and rewarding writing about my food adventures could be. So, by the end of the evening, me and my mum, were bloggers, each about our respective passions.

I started simply by posting my weekly newspaper food column that I had a deadline for anyway – my way of working smart, a sign of a true chef. But recently have been re-inspired to change my design, my focus, my whole motivation. I have a tingling feeling in my fingers, an excitement that feels more like nervousness, but I know this will be the start of an exciting chapter in my journey towards becoming a food writer.

Molly has burst into my life at precisely the moment when I was in need of a friend and serious inspiration. Her book “A Homemade Life” has left me weeping with laughter, itching to try her recipes and feeling moved by her heart-warming personal stories and her love of food. I truly feel like she’s unleashed the little writer in me - thanks Molly!

This blog is newly dedicated to the cause – documenting my food adventures, because how my brother puts it…it’s not everyone who makes ice cream from scratch, grows their own vegetables and has a never ending desire to try new recipes.

Welcome to my blog.

Nelleke

Artichokes

Eating an artichoke is a labor of love, but like most delicacies, it’s worth the effort...

Artichokes have a subtle flavour that compliments smoked- and spicy meats like Parma ham and Chorizo sausage. They are usually eaten warm and dipped in a hollandaise sauce, melted butter or a home-made garlic mayonnaise. The leaves are peeled off and held on the tip while the inner fleshy part of the leaf is dipped into the sauce and eaten off. This is a fun and delicious starter to enjoy around the table together.

When all the leaves are removed, using a spoon, discard the inedible fuzzy part (called the choke) covering the artichoke heart. The remaining base of the artichoke is the heart and the most flavorsome bit. Cut this into pieces and dip it in the sauce or preserve it in a good quality olive oil with fresh herbs to use on a meat platter or as a pizza topping.

How to prepare and cook an artichoke
TIP: The lemon juice is to prevent the artichoke from discolouring during oxidation.

Step1: If the artichokes have little thorns on the end of the leaves, take a kitchen scissors and cut off the horned tips off all the leaves- this is simply for aesthetics and makes the leaves easier to hold when eating.

Step2: Cut about 2 cm off the tip of the artichoke.

Step3: Pull off any smaller leaves towards the base of the stem.

Step4: Cut excess stem off leaving about 2 cm on the base, alternatively, cut the stem off, remove the fibrous outer layer (which can be bitter) and cook the stems along with the artichokes.

Step5: Rinse the artichokes.

Step6: In a large pot, add enough water for your artichokes to be covered as well as a garlic clove, a slice of lemon and a bay leaf and bring the water to the boil.
Add the artichokes and simmer at a low heat for 25-45 minutes, depending on the size of the artichokes. You’ll know that they are ready when the outer leaves peel off easily.

Artichoke Hearts with Hollandaise sauce (Serves 4)

Ingredients:
8-12 artichoke hearts
100g butter
3 egg yolks
Juice of ½ lemon
20 ml water
Salt and freshly milled black pepper, to taste

Method:

• Cook the artichoke hearts in boiling water with a few drops of lemon juice to prevent the artichokes from discolouring. Simmer them for 7-10 minutes or until they are soft.

• Melt the butter until hot and foamy, but not browned.

• Beat the eggs and the lemon juice together and gradually add the melted butter, then the water. Return the sauce to the pot and cook on a low heat for a few minutes until it has thickened slightly.

• Arrange the artichoke hearts on a platter season the hollandaise sauce and drizzle it over the artichoke hearts.

• Garnish with fresh herbs and serve as a start for a summer dinner party.


Artichoke Risotto with Parmesan and wild rocket (Serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
60ml olive oil
100g risotto rice (Arborio rice)
125ml white wine
1, 2 liters chicken stock
6-8 artichokes hearts, cooked and halved
40g grated Parmesan cheese
30-50g rocket leaves
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

• Fry the onion and the garlic in some of the olive oil until translucent.

• Add the rice and fry for a minute more. (you’ll hear a crackling sound-this is the rice cracking)

• Add the wine and stir until it is all absorbed.

• Begin to add the warm stock, ladle, by ladle while stirring continuously. Keep adding more stock until all the stock is absorbed and the rice is cooked. This will take 20-30 minutes.

• Add the cheese to the risotto, some of the rocket leaves and the artichokes.

• Season the risotto with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

• Serve it topped with fresh rocket leaves, Parmesan shavings and a drizzle of olive oil.

Quick recipe ideas:Toss fresh tagliatelle pasta with artichokes, sun dried tomatoes and olive for a quick, delicious Mediterranean meal.

Blend cooked artichokes with kalamata olives to make a delicious tapenade with a difference to be served with brushetta.

Try artichoke hearts on pizza with spicy chorizo sausage.

Creative Camp Food

I recently returned from camping in Namibia where I was reminded how fun cooking on a fire in nature, with limited ingredients and good company, is.

I find holiday is the time when we are really able to enjoy cooking and for South Africans the braai fire is a place that brings people together, be it in your backyard or in the middle of the Kalahari.
The braai is a meal where everyone contributes and the rules of the kitchen are out of the window, so to speak. Most of us have fond childhood memories of tomato, cheese and onion braaibroodjies, warm roosterkoek with apricot jam or home-made sosaties straight off the grid.

These are a few of my favourite outdoor cooking recipes, but be adventurous and add your own flavour!

Enjoy!

Poached eggs in chunky tomato sauce
This is one of my all time favourite camp meals and on a Sunday evening, it becomes the ultimate comfort food – quick, easy and delicious.
Optionally, add chorizo sausage to add a hint of smokiness.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp of olive oil
10 ml tomato puree
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
1 onions, chopped
1 tsp dry oreganum or a bunch of fresh oreganum or thyme
1 tsp sugar
Salt and black pepper, to taste
2 eggs per person
1 chilli or 1 tsp paprika

Method:
A big, deep non-stick pan works best for this dish, but a pot can also work.

• Heat the pan, add the olive oil, chilli, tomato paste and onion and cook on a low heat until the onion is soft. Then, add the tinned tomatoes.
• Add ½ c to 1 cup water, the sugar and the herbs and allow the sauce to simmer without covering the pan.
• Once the sauce has reduced slightly, you can add the salt and the pepper, to taste.
• Now carefully break the eggs into the tomato sauce evenly spaced, reduce the heat and cover the pan with a lid until the eggs are cooked, but the yellow of the egg is still soft.

Serve this with warm pot bread for a rustic feast!
















Beer bread baked in a cast iron pot

Tip: Add onion, dried herbs or sundried tomatoes to give your bread extra flavour. Roll the dough into individual rolls after knocking the bread back and pack them closely together to make small breads that can easily be broken apart, when cooked.

Ingredients:
20g dried yeast
2 tsp sugar
300ml beer
300-350ml tepid water
1kg bread flour (brown or white)
30g salt
Some extra flour for dusting and kneading

Method:
• Dissolve the yeast and the sugar in the tepid water.
• In the same pot that you’ll be baking the bread, measure the flour and the salt and make a well in the centre.
• Pour all the dissolved yeast mixture into the centre and with four fingers of one hand make circular movements slowly mixing more and more of the dry flour into the dough. Add your 300ml of your favourite beer and continue mixing until all the flour is incorporated to make moist dough. You might need to add some extra water.
• Now knead and dough on a clean, floured surface, folding and rolling the dough over for about 5 minutes. If the dough sticks to your hands, simple rub them together with some extra flour and continue kneading! This is the time to add any additional ingredients, like herbs.
• Shape the bread into a round or oval shape, dust it with a little extra flour and scour the surface of the dough, if you like. Clean the pot and dust it with a little flour. Place the dough in the pot, cover and place it near the fire for about an hour, turning it, if needed.
• When the bread has doubled in sized, it’s time to ‘knock it back’, this is simply kneading the dough again and reshaping the bread. Place it back in the pot and allow it to prove for another 30-40 minutes next to the coals. When it has doubled in size again, it’s time to bake!
• Make sure you coordinate your preparation time and the coals being just perfect for baking your bread.
• Place the pot on a bed of coals as well as placing some coals on top of the pot lid. Check the bread after 30 minutes to make sure it’s not burning and is baking evenly, bake for a further 30-40 minutes until golden brown and hollow sounding when you tap the bottom on the bread.
• Allow the bread to cool slightly before slicing it.

Fruit Skewers with chocolate fondue
Ingredients
200g dark chocolate
60g butter
60ml sugar
180g evaporated milk
30ml brandy or liqueur of your choice
Ripe nectarines, peaches, pineapple or other fruit of your choice.

Method:

Melt the chocolate and the butter in a small pot over a low heat.
Add the sugar and gradually add the evaporated milk, while stirring.
Once the sugar has melted, add the brandy or liqueur of your choice.
Cut the fruit into bight sized chunks and make fruit skewers.
Cook over a hot fire for 3-5 minutes, turning them once.
Dip in warm chocolate sauce and enjoy a delicious dessert around the camp fire.

West Coast Meander

On a recent weekend adventure I found myself stumbling across a well hidden, food- lover’s paradise and discovering a unique aspect of South African cuisine in the little village of Paternoster. With the current trend of using fresh, regional ingredients, Paternoster has so much to offer, from surings (an edible long stemmed flower) to fresh mussels picked off the rocks. This little hamlet has a colourful food culture evolved from years of its people living off the harsh terrain and harvesting the treasures of the sea.

Paternoster’s white washed village and seemingly never ending shoreline, dotted with brightly coloured fishing boats is worth the visit alone. But, more than that, I loved the authentic west coast cuisine on offer at the local ‘Winkel op Paternoster’- moskonfyt snoek, bokkoms and potbrood. Another culinary discovery was the wafer thin, pure sea salt flakes harvested nearby - they add a delicious crunchiness to roast potato wedges and salads.

With the shouts of “vars kreef, sappige kreefstert” and the smell of braai fires on the salt-infused air, it’s a picture perfect place to relax and savour authentic South African cuisine.

Snoek Pate

A delicious variation is to add a few finely chopped, dried apricots after blending the pate.
Serve this with fresh, crusty bread as a starter.

Ingredients:
3 medium potatoes, peeled
300g smoked snoek
3 tsp tomato paste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
½ tsp sugar
Freshly ground black pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed
¾ cup olive oil
20g flat leaf parsley
20g chives, finely chopped

Method:
Boil the potatoes in a pot and mash them with a fork.
Remove the skin and bones of the fish and flake the meat.
Mix all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
Taste and add seasoning, if needed.
If it looks slightly dry add additional olive oil.
To serve, garnish with finely chopped chives.












Crayfish, smoked Salmon and Avocado Salad
(Makes 6 portions)
A modern version of the classic avocado Ritz salad


Ingredients:
3 ripe avocados
Juice of 1 lemon
Rocket leaves, watercress leaves and butter lettuce, as desired
300 g smoked salmon
2 crayfish tails, boiled and cut into medallions
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
A bunch of fennel sprigs, roughly chopped

For the dressing:
½ cup home-made mayonnaise
1 tsp tomato paste
1 tbsp brandy (optional)
5 drops Tabasco sauce
½ cup pouring cream
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Method:
Toss the lettuce leaves in olive oil just before plating the salad.
Cut the avocado into wedges and squeeze lemon juice over the wedges to prevent discolouring.
Combine the sauce ingredients.
Arrange the dressed leaves on a big platter and toss with crayfish tail medallions, avocado wedges and ribbons of smoked salmon. Drizzle the sauce over the salad and serve as a starter salad platter.
Garnish with roughly chopped fennel and freshly grated black pepper.

Summer Salads

I am so easily inspired to cook at this time of the year. All I need is to walk through the markets and breathe in the sweet, distinctly summer smells of peaches, watermelon, mango’s. The first thing that comes to mind is the many delicious salads recipes I’ve collected and created over the years. Also, I also can’t resist making brightly coloured stir fries and clear broths like the ones I tasted in Malaysia – healthy, light summer food.

Summer to me is a season of simple dishes, of reusing leftovers and creating something delicious out of what you have in your fridge or if you’re lucky, your garden! It’s a time when we should enjoy the outdoors and cooking should be kept simple and fun involving the whole family!

I recently visited my parents in George, what a pleasure harvesting a basin of rhubarb and little tart nectarines from the garden – stewed with brown sugar and a vanilla pod for ten minutes, this makes the most delicious breakfast compote! I love the challenge of using what’s fresh and the luxury of walking into the garden to pick a handful of herbs for my sauce bubbling on the stove.

Using fruit in savoury dishes is nothing new to us South Africans, with our love for chutneys and atchars stemming from the Malays. These are two faithful recipes that have stuck with me since the watermelon salad trend hit our shores. Feel free to change the ratio’s slightly to suit your taste. Rope in the kids, get chopping and enjoy the taste of summer!


Watermelon, Rocket and Feta Salad
(Serves 6)

Ingredients:
¼ ripe watermelon
60g or two handfuls of rocket leaves
6 sprigs of mint
½ tub of plain feta cheese
Handful of toasted pumpkin seeds
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:
Cut the watermelon into bight sized blocks and remove as many of the seeds as possible.
Toast the pumpkin seeds and set aside to cool.
Wash the rocket and the mint leaves.
Cut the feta cheese into cubes.
Toss all the salad ingredients together.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste
Sprinkle the seeds on top of the salad.
Lastly, chop the mint leaves or simply break them off the stem and leave them whole.
To serve, drizzle a balsamic reduction and a light olive oil over the salad.



This recipe is one that I used frequently when I was managing a café with a daily lunch buffet. This salad was never served without raving reviews from the customers - the salty pork sausages and the sweet nectarines taste magical together!


Plum and Pork Sausage Salad
(Serves 4)

Ingredients:
4 nectarines
1 head of fennel, finely sliced
2 small butter lettuce heads
½ cucumber, peeled and sliced
8 pork sausages, cooked and diagonally sliced
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic reduction, to drizzle
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:
· Cut the nectarines into wedges, discarding the pip.
· Wash your lettuce leaves well and pat dry.
· Fry the pork sausages in a hot pan until cooked and set them aside to cool.
· Arrange the plums, fennel, greens, and the cucumber on a platter and top with the sausages.
· Season with salt and milled black pepper. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, just before serving.