Kaatjes Appel-Zuurkool ovenschotel (Original Dutch Apple - Sauerkraut oven dish – with a twist)

Ingredients: (Serves two hungry person as main dish – it’s always enough for us two)
Sauerkraut natural or in White wine (jar 680 gr, drained weight + 540gr)
4 – 5 reasonable sized potatoes (+ 900 gr)
1 jar of smooth applesauce (250 – 360 gr)
1 smoked (pork) sausages (230 gr – ready to eat variety,
like Unox rookworst

Empty sauerkraut jar into a large pan, add a tea-spoon water, place lid on pan and put pan on low fire on the gas. Stir regularly and add, only if really needed, more water to prevent the sauerkraut from cooking dry.

Peel potatoes and cut in small pieces. Boil in water with a sniff of salt added until done (kruimig).

Cut sausage, straight from the packaging, into small slices.
Pre-heat oven, gas mark 5
Wipe some olive oil into (glass) oven dish.

Just before potatoes are done, cover bottom of oven dish with the sauerkraut (don’t add left-over liquid in the pan with it) and cover sauerkraut with the sausage slices.

When the potatoes are really done, pour water from pan and put pan back on low fire to evaporate remaining moist until potatoes are crumbly (kruimig). Carful not to burn them!

Mash potatoes with the apple sauce (*) and spread over the sausage slice in the oven dish. (You can write a greeting or someone’s initials on the mash with a fork, surprise your guests!)
Place in gas oven for 20 – 25 minutes. Serve piping hot.
(Or place in gas oven for 10 minutes and switch to grill oven for 3 – 4 minutes to add ‘golden’ colour. Serve piping hot)

Eet smakelijk.

* = in the original recipe the potatoes are mashed with milk and the apple sauce is spread over the sauerkraut before the sausage slices are added. But since in our home we don’t drink milk, besides loads of coffee-milk, one day I forgot to buy milk for the mash. That’s why the applesauce now ends up in the mash, had to think of something!
To be honest, we both find my ‘twisted’ recipe better ;-)

Steak Casserole

From our new butcher we were sold some stewing steak, which was just one big piece of prime steak chopped up. No fat just pure steak cubes, which stewed amazingly.

This is what I did to to the beef:

Fried the beef along with 2 onions (sliced), added a beef oxo cube, fried some more then added a tin of sliced tomatoes (which already contained oregano and basil).

This was it, a let it simmer for a couple of hours and then served with some wild rice.

(The sliced tomatoes worked really well, I was supposed to buy chopped but we had picked up the wrong tin, although sliced were perfect as they clumped together nicely when cooking).

Springbok Sausage

This isn't really a recipe as you put the sausage on the BBQ (or braai seeing as it's springbok).
Then cut open a soft bread roll and put the sausage in.

We have just discovered a new butcher on Kloof which is looking like a great find. This is where the sausages came from.

Now every Saturday we take a drive to pick up the weekly meat, and mike gets treated to biltong.

Ciabatta (Part 2)

This bread was amazing and so easy to make, you can easily impress at a dinner party with very little effort.

Further Ingredients:
250g Bread Flour
10g yeast
190ml water
12g salt

To finish the bread, add the flour and yeast to the bread mixture and mix well. Gradually add the rest of the water, when the water has nearly been added, add the salt and mix together for a further 5 mins, until sticky dough formed.

Transfer the dough into a large oiled bowl and leave to rise for 1 hour

Transfer dough to a heavily floured work surface and leave to rest for a further 30 mins.

Preheat oven to 240c

Cut the dough into 3 strips and stretch them out to make long flat ciabatta loafs. Mine got a bit skinny so I made fat ciabatta sticks (which we actually great - like the ones that you can buy in woolworths).

Place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and leave for 10 mins.

Transfer the dough to the oven to bake for 25 minutes, or until risen and golden brown.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

We had these for lunch and they were very very good, would be great as a accompliment bread
to a starter, soup, pasta dish, or just for lunch with good ham and cheese.

(sorry no pics as we eat them too quick)

Spinach, onion & Prosciutto Focaccia: Part 2

This was amazing, so I am definitely adding this to my cookbook.

I must warn you this is not a recipe from Ready Steady Cook, it's a bread to be made when you have a whole afternoon to potter around the house.

The next day remove the started bread from the fridge about 2 hours before you need to start.

Ingredients:
500g all purpose flour
360ml warm water
2tsp sea salt
75ml olive oil
200g baby spinach roughly chopped
100g spring onions roughly chopped
200g parma ham chopped
80g butter
1 sachet dried yeast (10g??)

Put flour in a bowl and add the water, yeast and the mix you left overnight. Then add salt and olive oil. In food processor mix for 1/2-1minute or until get a clear dough. (or work by hand).

Now add spinach, onions and parma ham. Mix into the dough and put in a lightly greased bowl, and cover with cling film (or put bowl in a plastic carrier bag). Wait until the dough has risen threefold.

Punch the dough back and give it another rise. (15mins??)

Sprinkle flour onto worktop and tip dough onto surface. Cut into 3 and and shape each into a ball. Place on a baking sheet and cover gently with cling film. When slightly puffed up (30 mins??), put balls back on to floured surface. Dip fingers repeatedly into melted butter and massage the butter into the ball. As you work the dough, flatten it out and dimple until it is flat 3/4inch disk with dimples.

Put back onto a greased baking tray. Let it recover and prove for 30 mins and put it into the oven at 200c and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

(once baked you can drizzle a bit more melted butter over the top).

These were great, we ate one with a salad and then took the remainder cold the next day for a picnic.

Focaccia with Spinach, Onion & Parma Ham (Part 1)

This is also a 2 part operation as with the Ciabatta (both found on the BBC website).

Tonight:

Mix 60g flour with 60ml of water (luke warm) and 15g of yeast.
Mix this all in so no lumps, then leave for a couple of hours then transfer to the fridge over night.

If there is no part 2 then everything went wrong.

Ciabatta: Part 1

Hopefully if this all goes OK there will be a Ciabatta Part 2.

Tonight:
Mix 250g of Breadflour with 190ml (7floz) of water and 15g of dried instant yeast. Whisk for 3 minutes in a large bowl. Cover and leave to rise over night.

Lynda's Milk Tart

Pastry

2 cups flour
1/4 of 250g butter
2 TSP caster sugar
1 TSP cooking oil
1 egg

Bake in oven until golden brown +/- 20 minutes (prick with a fork).

Filling

1l milk bring to the boil

In a separate bowl beat together with cold milk:
1 TSP flour
1 heaped TSP mazinia
3 egg yolks
3/4 TSP caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Beat 3 egg whites together and fold into cold mixture, add cold mix into boiling milk, stir consistently until thick, pour into pie shell.

Leave to set at room temperature, sprinkle with cinnamon.

The Bartrum's Bar One Chocolate Sauce

410g can Evaporated milk
4 x 100g bars Bar One (Mars bars) chocolate

Place evaporated milk in a mixing bowl, microwave on 50% power (Medium)
for 3-4 minutes until heated
Cut chocolates into small pieces, add to milk.
Microwave on 50% power (Medium) for 3-4 minutes or until melted and
thickened, stirring frequently

Freddie's Orange & Lemon Sorbet

8oz (225 g)granulated sugar
3/4 pint (15fl. Oz)water
1/2 pint (10fl. Oz)fresh orange juice
juice of one lemon
zest of two oranges

Put the sugar and water into a saucepan and stir over a gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved.
Bring to the boil and boil for about 8 minutes, or until you have a light syrup. If you are using a sugar thermometer to 115 C, 230 F. Leave until it is at room temperature and stir in the orange and lemon juice and the orange zest. Pour the mixture into the ice cream maker and freeze/churn for approx 25 minutes.

Rachel's Chocolate Brownies (very goooeey!)

110g (40z) Butter
110g (4oz) Plain Chocolate
225 g (8 oz) Caster Sugar
2 Beaten eggs
110g (4 oz) Plain Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
a pinch of salt

Set the oven to 180C/350F
Grease a shallow oblong tin

Break the chocolate into a bowl and add the butter. Place the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water. When the butter and chocolate have melted, take the bowl off the heat and stir in all the other ingredients.

Spread the mixture into the tin and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Let the mixture cool in the tin for 10 minutes. It will sink a little in the middle. Cut the brownies into squares and cool on a wire rack.

Vicky's Cow Pat Pie

If you do not have any chocolate in the house or do not want to head out, do not read this recipe as it will start your chocolate cravings.

SERVES 4
Ingredients
125g/5oz self raising flour
15g/5oz cornflour
15g/5oz cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
75g/3oz butter
75g/3oz caster sugar
1 large beaten egg
5-6 tablespoons cold milk
for mixing

Method
Sift flour, cornflour, cocoa powder and salt into bowl
Rub in butter finely
Add sugar. Mix to fairly soft consistency with egg and milk
Stir briskly until well combined.
Transfer to 1/2 to 1 litre (1 1/2 - 2 pint) buttered pie dish. Put into the centre of moderately hot oven (190C/375F) and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to moderate (160C/325F) and bake a further 35-40 minutes (or until wooden cocktail stick inserted into centre of pudding comes out clean). Remove from oven and turn out on to warm plate.
Serve with fresh cream or a sweet sauce (We usually use a chocolate sauce which, you will understand, has been given a similarly appropriate name!)

UNMENTIONABLE SAUCE
SERVES 4-6
Ingredients
1 level tablespoon cornflour
300ml/ ½ pint milk
50g/2oz grated plain chocolate
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
15g/1/2 oz butter
1 to 1 1/2 level tablespoons caster sugar
Method
Mix cornflour to smooth paste with a little of the cold milk
Put remainder of milk into saucepan and add chocolate. Heat very slowly until chocolate melts
Pour onto cornflour paste and mix well. Return to pan
Cook, stirring, until sauce comes to the boil and thickens
Add vanilla, butter and sugar. Simmer for 3 minutes

Grandmother (Bab's) Bartrum Genoa Cake

3oz Brazil nuts
8oz sultanas
4oz glace cherries
4oz candied peel
1 lemon rind and juice
12oz flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
8oz margarine or butter
8oz caster sugar
3 eggs

Line an 8” square cake tin. Pre-heat oven to 375F. Cream the butter, add the sugar and beat again, add the eggs slowly beating thoroughly. Chop the cherries and nuts keeping a few aside to put on the top of the cake before baking. Grate the lemon rind into the flour and baking powder. Fold all the dry ingredients into the mixture with the lemon juice. Place into the tin and decorate the top. Bake for 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hrs. Test with a skewer if in doubt.
Leave to cool in the tin before turning out.

Pip's Apple Cobbler

Ingredients
225g/8oz self raising flour
Pinch of salt
75g/3oz butter
50g/2oz castor sugar
1 egg
4 tablespoons milk
4-5 large cooking apples
Sugar for apples

Method

•Sift flour and salt together into mixing bowl.
•Rub in butter then add sugar
•Use fork to stir in lightly mixed egg and milk and mix into a rough dough in the basin
•Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Kneed lightly for a minute to make a soft scone dough
•Roll dough out to 1/2” depth.
•Use a round cutter to cut out as many scones as possible (9 or more).
•Peel, core and slice apples thinly and arrange in a deep pie dish
•Arrange the scones with the seams slightly overlapping to cover the top of the fruit.
•Brush with a little extra milk and sprinkle with sugar.

Place in centre of hot oven (200C/400F) and bake for 15 minutes.

Then lower the heat to 180C/375F for a further 15 minutes.

Serve hot with custard (Pip’s favourite) or cream.

Grandma Moorhouse Apple Cake

Unsure how Grandma Moorhouse fits into the family tree, but here is her apple cake:

6oz butter
6oz flour
6oz sugar
1 tspn mixed spice
1 egg
1 cup sweet apple sauce
2oz raisins or chopped nuts
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
(optional)

Cream the butter and sugar, add the egg and cream again. Put the bicarb into the apple sauce and add to the creamed mixture slowly, alternately with the flour and spice. Mix thoroughly and turn into a well greased 2lb loaf
tin. Bake in a moderately hot oven 375F for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours. Allow to cool and turn out very carefully.

Oma's Unfloppable Raisin Bread

3 cups self raising flour
small 3/4 teaspoon salt
1 small cup sugar
currants or cake mix
1 egg
Optional: Nuts, cherries, marzipan

Beat together 1 egg and one and half cup warm water.
Mix together dry ingredients and bake for 1 hour at 160/180 degrees.

Rhett & Erin's Malva Pudding

A favourite of Rhett and Erin’s, but without the Kahula
Marshmallow pudding, named for its spongy texture, is a favourite Cape Dutch recipe.

250 ml sugar
1 egg
15ml soft butter
60ml smooth apricot jam
250ml cake flour
5ml bicarbonate of soda
1ml salt
250ml evaporated milk
10ml vinegar
10ml vanilla essence
Set oven at 180°C.

Beat together the sugar, egg, butter and jam until pale and fluffy. Sift together the flour, bicarb and salt. Mix together the milk, vinegar and vanilla essence. Fold alternately into the egg mixture until thoroughly mixed. Pour into a buttered baking dish, cover with lightly oiled foil and bake for about 45 minutes until firm.
While the pudding is baking mix sauce
SAUCE
Mix together 250ml cream, 100g butter and 125ml sugar. Bring to the boil and remove from heat. (Make sure sugar has dissolved)
Mix 25ml Kahula and 75ml hot water and add to above.
Pour mixture over hot pudding
Serve warm with softly whipped cream or custard
Serves 6.

Aunty Mavis Bread Rolls

4 tablespoon yeast
1 dessertspoon sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup oil
2 cups warm water
6 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 tablespoons yeast dissolved in desert spoon of sugar.
Add egg beaten in 1/2 cup of oil. Add 2 cups of warm water. Lastly, knead in 6 cups of flour, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt. When well kneaded put in a well oiled baking tin in the fridge to rise overnight. Form into rolls and let rise. Bake in the oven 400F for 12min.

Lynda's Cheese Muffins

2 cups flour
2 cups grated cheese (cheddar)
4tsp baking powder
2 cups (in each cup 1 egg and fill with milk)
pinch of salt
mustard powder – optional

Preheat oven to 200C – bake for about 20 mins

Terry & Traer's Fried Oyster Lettuce

Ingredients

Chinese lettuce
Oyster Sauce
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Cut and wash lettuce.

Dry off leaves.

In a bowl mix the leaves with a splash of olive oil and oyster sauce
(depending how strong you want the flavour to be).

Preheat some oil in a wok till hot.

Throw in lettuce leaves and shake them around for thirty seconds.

Remove leaves from wok and serve immediately

Heather's Onion Potato Bake - for Braais

You can never find white onion soup powder in the UK, so If anyone would like any I can bring some home.

8-10 medium sized potatoes
250g marge, melted
1 pkt cream of white onion soup mix

Slice potatoes, but not quite all the way through (they should stay as a whole) Place in a large greased baking dish Mix onion soup into melted marg. and pour over potatoes. Bake for about an hour at 180C (350F)

Mim's Broccoli Salad

Another Vegetable dish from Aunty Mim:

Break fresh uncooked broccoli into fairly small pieces.
ADD: 1 cup grated cheese
1 cup sunflower seeds (lightly roasted)
1 pkt. (250g) bacon (chopped and crisply fried)
a few spring onions (chopped small)

For dressing mix: 3 Tbls grape vinegar
1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sugar
Pour the dressing over the salad and chill.

Mim's Microwave Mustard Cauliflower

Sounds like a good recipe to disguise cauliflower:

1 medium head cauliflower
80ml water
120ml mayonnaise
1Tbls finely chopped onions
2 tsps mustard powder
5ml salt
175g grated cheddar cheese
Paprika

1) Place cauliflower in deep casserole dish, add water.
Cover and micro on high 10-15 mins until tender.
2) Combine all ingredients, except cheese and paprika.
Spoon mixture over cauliflower then sprinkle cheese
and paprika.
Micro uncovered – power Med-High for 1-3 mins.

Nigel's Chicken, Rice and Peas

INGREDIENTS
One whopping chicken
Some onions
Several carrots
(Possibly a chicken stock cube) (Oh, and possibly some salt & pepper to taste)

INSTRUCTIONS
Clean chicken and keep giblets (if you like them).
Roughly chop onions and cut carrots lengthwise


QUICK METHOD
Place whole lot in the pressure cooker and cook for 30 minutes. When Chicken is very tender remove all flesh from bones and replace (add more liquid if necessary).
Boil rapidly for several more minutes.

To serve boil rice and cook peas then place these at the bottom of a ridiculously large bowl and pile the chicken pieces and soup on top.

SLOW METHOD
Do the same as for quick method but cook the chicken in a large saucepan for hours and hours and hours…..zzzzzzz

Aunty Diana's Stuffed Chicken

1 Roasting Chicken washed and dried inside and out.

Filling:
3 tablespoons oil
1 small onion finely chopped
5oz prunes soaked, stone & chopped
2 apples peeled, cored and chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon brown sugar
5oz dried apricots soaked & chopped
2oz seedless raisins.

Fry the onion in the oil until soft. Add the prunes, apricots, raisins and apples and fry for a further 2 mins stirring constantly. Add the seasoning and fry for 2 mins more. Spoon the mixture into the cavity of the chicken and close securely. Rub the chicken with salt and pepper and brush with melted butter. Roast in pre-heated oven 350F for about 2 hrs. Baste regularly and serve on a bed of rice.

Uncle Mike's Lamb Potjie

Traditionally, this dish is cooked outside over a braai by the man of the house, using a cast iron 3 legged pot, the likes of which were brought to SA by Jan van Riebeeck. Later, the pot and the special way of cooking that goes with it was carried across the country by the Voortrekkers. A flat-bottomed cast iron pot may also be used, although the pot should not be directly on the coals - traditionally it is hung over the fire.

1.5 kg mutton neck chops, thickly cut and halved
1 TBS butter
1 TBS oil
1 chicken stock cube
Sweet (fortified) wine to taste
1 clove garlic, very finely chopped
4 medium-sized carrots, scraped & cut into 2.5" (5cm) lengths
6-8 button onions
3-4 potatoes
225 g Frozen peas
3 small white turnips, halved
2 TBS finely chopped parsley
Salt, black pepper, coriander
4 Bay leaves

Brown meat with garlic in butter and oil, then add a little water, the wine and the seasoning and simmer gently until meat is nearly tender. Add vegetables and simmer for a further 20 minutes. Finally, stir in peas and parsley and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes.
Adjust seasoning and serve with rice.

Batrum Cornish Pasties

Mike's Gran's recipe mixed in with Heather's family pastry:

"I don't have the specific pastry Big Mom used, so will give you the
Nicolson one which came from my Gran, its lovely and light, without all
the effort of traditional flaky pastry. Heather."

Soda water pastry:
1lb flour (2.5 cups)
1/2lb butter
Pinch salt
1 small bottle chilled soda water(about a cup)

Grate chilled butter into flour with coarse grater
Use 2 forks to mix slightly, pour the iced water over and mix again.
Roll out once only, wrap in greased paper and refrigerate until required

Filling:
Rump steak cut into small cubes
Potatoes, cut into cubes
Chopped onion
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt

Fill pastry rounds, close by wetting the edges with wet fingertips,
bring edges together pastie style and seal, brush with egg & bake at
200?C (400?F) for about 40 minutes

Pete's Skottle Braai

Uncle Pete is famous for his breakfasts cooked on the Skottle (a type of flat gas stove)

Ingredients:
Streaky Bacon, lambs kidneys, onions, tomatoes, bananas, button mushrooms.
Eggs. Salt, pepper and sugar


Preparation:
Cut tomatoes into three slices and sprinkle with sugar, black pepper and salt.
Split the bananas lengthwise and sprinkle with black pepper and salt.
Slice onions to form rings. Slice mushrooms in half and sprinkle with black pepper and salt.
Slice the kidneys in half and remove fat them spice to taste.

Cooking:
Wipe the skottel or plough disc with a little oil or fat and place all the bacon in the middle of the disc and light the gas. Add the kidneys around the bacon and then the tomatoes and bananas. Once the bacon is cooked move it to the outside of the disc to keep warm and then fry the onion rings in the bacon fat until golden brown then move to outer area of disc to keep warm. Now add the mushrooms and cook in bacon fat until soft and remove to outer edge to keep warm. By this time the tomatoes, kidneys and bananas should be cooked and one can start to fry the eggs, one or two at a time in the bacon fat in the centre of the disc. If there is not enough fat left just add a little cooking oil or butter. Get someone else to make the toast and then serve directly from the disc as the eggs are ready. ENJOY!!

Mim's Lasagne Verde Alfono

When Warren saw this recipe was in the book he was very happy, therefore we can be assured it is a good one:

Ingredients (for 6):
500g Green Lasagne
250g bacon sliced
1clove garlic chopped
1 large onion chopped
1 large carrot diced
10 button mushrooms sliced
2 tsps butter
500g minced beef
250g chicken livers (optional)
65gm tin tomato concentrate/puree
1/2cup dry white wine
1 cup beef stock (optional)
1 level tsp caster sugar
salt and pepper and 2 tsp mixed herbs
1 cup bechamel sauce
1 cup grated cheese
1 Tbls Parmesan cheese

Melt half the butter in a large, heavy-based pan over low heat and fry bacon until fat runs, then add the veg. And fry them lightly. Crumble in the minced beef and add the cleaned and chopped chicken livers if used. Blend in the tomato concentrate. Continue frying, and stir continuously until the meat has browned. Add the wine and let the mixture bubble for a few minutes before adding the stock. Season to taste with sugar,
Salt, pepper and herbs. Cover with lid and simmer over low heat for 30-40 minutes. Meanwhile make a thick Bechamel sauce.
BECHAMEL SAUCE
1/2 pint milk 1/2 small bay leaf sprig of thyme 1/2 small onion 1/2 level tsp grated nutmeg 1oz butter
1 oz plain flour salt and black pepper 2-3 Tbls single or double cream (optional)

Put the milk with the bay leaf, thyme,onion and nutmeg in a pan, and bring slowly to the boil. Remove from heat, cover with a lid and leave the milk to infuse for 15 minutes. In a clean heavy-based pan, melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook the roux for 3 minutes. Strain the milk through a fine sieve and gradually blend it into the roux. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously, then simmer for 2-3 mins. Adjust season and stir in the cream.

NOW: Cook the lasagne in a large pan of boiling salted water for 10-15 minutes or until just tender, stirring occasionally. Drain the pasta through a colander and drop it into a large basin of cold water to prevent it sticking together. Thoroughly butter a shallow ovenproof dish , about 10 in by 8in. Cover the base with a thin layer of the meat mixture, then Bechamel sauce and lastly the drained lasagne – add a handful cheese.
Repeat these layers until all the ingredients are used up, finishing with Bechamel sauce. Sprinkle the top with cheese and Parmesan cheese.
Bake in the centre of oven, pre-heated to 400 degrees F (mark 6) for about 15-20 mins or until the top is crisp and bubbly. Serve straight from the dish accompanied by a tossed green salad.

Ben's Salmon en Croute

Ben is famous for his Banoffi Pie and is a must for every party/bbq, I will try and dig out the recipe. But here is his salmon dish:

1 Small filleted Salmon
1lb. Asparagus
2 Tablespoons Double Cream
1/2 level teaspoon of chopped Dill
Salt and Black Pepper
3 thin Gammon Rashers
8oz. Puff Pastry
1 Egg Yolk
1 Tablespoon of Milk


Wash and trim the Asparagus and cook tied in a bundle upright in a saucepan of boiling water for 20 minutes or until the tips are soft to touch. Drain well and cut the top third and rub through a course sieve or liquidise. Blend the cream and dill into this asparagus puree and season with ground black pepper.

Spread the asparagus over one half of the salmon and put the halves together (any remaining puree can be spread on the top). Wrap the gammon slices around the salmon and put aside.

Roll out the puff pastry to a rectangle, which is large enough to wrap around the salmon. Place the fish in the center and wrap the pastry around it. Beat the egg yolk lightly with the milk and brush the edges of the pastry. Seal the long join firmly with more egg. Tuck in the short ends neatly and seal with egg.

Place the salmon on a wet baking tray with the seam down. Cut a few holes in the top to allow steam to escape and decorate the top with the pastry trimmings cut into leaves.
Brush with the remaining egg and milk.

Bake in the center of an oven pre-heated to 210C/425F for 20 minutes then lower the heat to 190C/375F and bake for a further 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve hot or cold cut into thick slices

Harrie's Herb Salmon with Garlic Cream Sauce

Ingredients
450g/1lb Salmon fillets (2.5cm/1 inch thick)
6 table spoons chopped herbs: tarragon, chervil, dill and parsley
50g/2oz butter
1 clove garlic, squashed flat
4 table spoons crème fraîche, double cream or even Mascarpone cheese
Lemon juice

Method
Cut the salmon fillets into pieces across their width, about 4cm/1.5 inches wide. Scatter the chopped herbs on a plate and roll the salmon pieces in them, pressing down on them to make them adhere to the fish.
Melt the butter in a shallow pan over a medium heat and add garlic. When the butter starts to foam, place the herbed salmon in that pan. Cook for 2 – 3 minuets or just until the fish becomes opaque. By now the butter will be brown in parts and fizzing wildly. Stir in the crème, cream or what ever and leave to melt into the butter. Season with black pepper and salt if you wish.

Just before you scoop the fish out of the pan squeeze the lemon juice lightly over the fillets. It will lift the flavour and prevent the sauce from

Ed's Salad

I could not have a recipe book without the famous Green Salad:

Anything Green in the Fridge
&
1 Apple

Mike's Double Up Salad

Spectacular salad for those who like to eat raw meat:

This salad has a basic base of ingredients and then you have the option of fruiting it up or meating it up. Although this may seem very similar to a famous Jamie recipe, the subtle difference is the amount of wine I drink whilst making it.

Ingredients – Serves 4:

The Base Ingredients
Bag of Rocket from Tescos (enough to cover each plate you are serving it on).
Red Chili
Buffalo Mozzarella - One ball
Olive Oil
One Half Lemon

Option One
Tin of Peaches (in juice not syrup)
4 slices of Parma Ham

Option Two
Joint of Beef (the perfect size is one you can fit your two hands around if you are making a circle with your thumbs and forefingers)
Pepper (Black and Red if you can get it)


Preparation:

Lay the rocket out on the base of a large silver-serving tray. Deseed the chilies and cut into very thin slivers. Sprinkle over the rocket.

Rip the mozzarella up into small bits and sprinkle them over the rocket as well.

Option One

Drain the tin of peaches, drink the juice, and spread the peaches over the salad. Cut long strips of Parma ham and delicately place over the salad as well. Drizzle over the olive oil and squeeze half a lemon on top.

Option Two

Take the beef joint and roll it in a tray of black and red pepper. Get a frying pan (ideally a griddle) very very hot and pour a thin layer of olive oil in. Place the joint in the pan and leave till the side is well done. Then turn until all the sides are well done. Take the pan of the heat and leave to rest for 5-10 minutes.

Cut the very rare beef into very thin slices and place over the salad. Drizzle over the olive oil and squeeze half a lemon on top.

Saskia's Italian Chicken Salad

I am finding so many recipes that I must try:

50ml olive oil
salt/pepper
8 chicken breasts

Oven 240 degrees-on grill. Put oil, salt, pepper in bowl and cover fillets. Grill for 4 minutes-turn and grill for 4 minutes. Cool and cut in strips.

Marinade

25grms sun dried tomatoes
325ml olive oil
90ml vinegar
30ml lemon juice
75ml pine nuts (sunflower seed)
75mil raisins
12 black olives
3 bay leaves
salt/pepper

Put tomatoes in hot water for 10 minutes and cut. Mix everything – over chicken for 24 hours

Micky's Cheese & Broccoli Soup

I have not made this yet, but if it is as nice as Mike's Broccoli and Stilton Soup - I must give it ago:

1kg broccoli
50g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 large potato, peeled and quartered
1,5 liters vegetable stock
120ml cream
1tbsp lemon juice
a few drops of Tabasco sauce, to taste
125g cheese salt and pepper, to taste

Remove the stalks from the broccoli and cut them into 2cm pieces. Break the florets into very small pieces and set them aside. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the onion and broccoli stalks and cook covered for 5 minutes over a moderate heat, stirring frequently. Add the broccoli florets, potato and vegetable stock, bring to the boil, cover and boil for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and continue cooking for +- 20 minutes or until the broccoli is soft. Using a blender or food processor, puree the mixture until smooth. Pour into a clean saucepan. Add the cream, lemon juice, and Tabasco sauce and simmer for 3 – 5 minutes. Just before serving, stir in the cream cheese until it is well mixed. Serve hot with fresh bread.

Micky's Savoury Cheese Biscuits

2 cups cheddar cheese (grated)
1 cup flour
150 gms potato crisps (cheese & onion)
100 gms margarine

Combine all ingredients, roll mixture into small balls and place on greased
baking sheet.
Flatten a bit with a fork.
Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Can freeze for 6 months

Chareen's Yummy Nut Snack

I forgot this recipe was in the book, I made a similar nut snack the other week. Next time I will definitely try Chareen's:

This is the MOST brilliant nut snack. I make it often when we have people around. Very Yummy!!

Assorted nuts – Eg: Pecan, Cashew, Hazelnuts, Almonds, Walnuts, Brazil etc
Sunflowers seeds

Olive oil
Butter
Salt
Brown sugar (2 heaped teaspoons – to taste)
Fresh Rosemary – chopped relatively finely
Chilli powder / cayenne pepper (1/2 teaspoon – to taste)

➢ Put nuts into a heavy base frying pan and gently roast (this can be done under the grill in the oven)
➢ In a saucepan, melt the butter in the olive oil
➢ Add all other ingredients. Stir in the sugar so it melts. Do not allow the mixture to boil up.
➢ Once the nuts have been roasted sufficiently, remove and pour the mixture over the nuts. Ensure that the nuts are coated in the mixture.
➢ Serve warm and fresh.




CAUTION: THIS IS AN EXTREMELY ADDICTIVE SNACK – SO SERVE UNDER SUPERVISION.

Mulled Rose Wine

I made this one Christmas instead of the traditional mulled wine made from red wine.

1 Bottle rosé wine
150ml Cointreau
3 star anise
10 cloves
3 slices of Clementine or Satsuma
1 cinnamon stick

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and gentle heat, without allowing the wine to boil. Leave to infuse for a few minutes then serve.

White Chocolate Cheesecake

This is an amazing cheese cake, I get asked to make it so many times, unfortuately it takes hours to prepare, so is a rarity.

I can not be married to Mike and not be able to make cheesecake, luckily we have found that Fegos across the road from us does the best baked cheesecake in Cape Town.

200g digestive biscuits
90g butter
75g white chocolate, broken
200g cream cheese
150g caster sugar
4 eggs, separated (discard 2 whites)
568ml carton double cream
4 leaves gelatine
(lots of mixing bowls)

Put biscuits in a plastic bag and crush. Stir in the melted butter. Press mixture into the base of 24cm loose bottomed tin, sides lined with baking paper. Press the biscuit mix into the base. Chill while preparing the topping.

Put the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water and leave to melt. Whisk the cheese, sugar and egg yolks in a bowl until smooth.

Gently warm 100ml cream in a small pan. Turn off the heat. Add the gelatine. Leave for 5 minutes to soften. Whisk until smooth. Set aside.

Lightly whip the remaining cream until it holds soft peaks, then fold in the melted white chocolate.

Whip egg whites until stiff, set aside. Stir the gelatine mixture into the cream cheese mixture. Fold in the cream and chocolate mixture, then the egg whites. Pour over the biscuit base. Put in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

Sandy's Chocolate Cake

I think the story behind this recipe is that Aunty Mim made Sandy steal it from a friends mum.

I have not made this yet, but is supposed to be the best chocolate cake.

Sift together (in smaller bowl)
2 cups self raising flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
Pinch salt

Separate 3 (three) eggs
Beat egg whites until stiff –set aside

Beat egg YOLKS and add (in large bowl)

1 cup oil 1 tsp vanilla ess. 1 cup boiling water

Add sifted dry ingredients to above
Lastly fold in stiff egg whites

Bake at 180 degrees c for 25 to 30 mins

Mom's Tiramisu

An impressive dessert with little effort. yum, yum, yum

400g Mascapone
100g caster sugar
4 egg yolks
2 egg whites
Amaretto/Tia Maria/Rum 3 tablespoons
100ml strong coffee
sponge fingers

Whisk yolks and sugar until a white cream.
Add the mascarpone.
Add Liqueur.
Beat whites until stiff, then fold into cream mixture.
Dip sponge fingers in coffee, then layer them in a dish with the cream mixture.
Then chill in the fridge.

Oma's Apple Crumble

If you are like Mike & I the best bit of a crumble is the crumble. Oma's crumble here is great - very thick and crunchy.

I always remember that if my Grandad George had upset my Nan then she would always make him a crumble rather than a pie.

1 tin of apples
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter/marg
1 egg
10ml vanilla essence

Put apples in a dish, mix all ingredients and put on top.

30 minutes on 350F / 180C
15 minutes at 100F

So quick - thanks Oma

Han's Sambal

Sambal - An Indonesian condiment made of crushed chillies

Sounds dangerous - so beware:

My Indonesian friends, Hadjiwibowo and wife Widji, living in Jakarta, visited us several times and invariably brought along their own sambal (chillie).
I loved the taste but could not eat it, it being too bloody hot.
So in several sessions Widji helped me to modify the recipe to the extent that also people without leather tongues could enjoy it.
You'll find the resulting recipe below. As Hadji and Widji only visited us every few years and I wanted to make sure I had enough of the stuff to last for years, the quantities are enough to fill some 30 smallish jars. That's
OK because a) you can give half to me b) it will keep and c) making it is a real pain but the result is well worth it.

1 very big pan
8 medium large onions chopped
1 complete bunch of garlic cloves
12 small pots of sambal oelek (Waitrose)
5 lbs of tomatoes
3 1/2 blocs of coconutcream
2 kg of demerara sugar

Blanch the tomatoes and chop them. Keep around.
Fry the chopped onions and all the garlic cloves till done. (leave windows open)
Add all the sambal from the little pots to it (open more windows)
Add the chopped tomatoes.
Boil the lot up. Put in 3 coconut cream blocs and let them melt down while stirring,
Add the sugar. Stir it in gradually.
Now keep it simmering for hours occasionally stirring till it has the right consistency, roughly equivalent to a soft cowpad.
Cool down and taste. I suggest tasting it on a bit of cucumber, it should be hottish and sweetish and if necessary add the remaining 1/2 bit of coconutcream.
When cooled down transfer the lot to lots of jars.

When the sambal is fresh in the pots it is still very hot but it will gradually simmer down over the months.

Mim's Yummy Potato Salad

This is a great potato salad, unfortunately I do not get to make it much as Mike has a mayonnaise phobia, as well as a chutney dislike.

500 gm Potatoes
2 Onions chopped
250gm Bacon chopped
15ml Oil
10ml mixed Herbs
5ml Garlic salt
100ml Fruit Chutney
100ml Mayonnaise
chopped parsley

Boil potatoes until cooked, but still firm
Peel and cube
Fry onions and bacon in oil and add to
Potatoes
Add remaining ingredients and mix well
Sprinkle with chopped parsley
(Can be served hot or cold).

Sam's Chicken Pesto Pasta

Another great easy recipe from the Joiner Family.


4 chicken breasts
1 large tub of Crème Fraise
1 jar of Sainsburys Green Pesto (or home made)
Virgin Olive oil


Place the 4 chicken breasts in a shallow casserole dish and pour some olive oil over them. Season with salt and pepper and bake uncovered in a medium oven until golden brown.

Place a pan of boiling water on the stove and when ready cook as much pasta as required for 4 people.

Mix all of the contents of the jar of pesto with all of the crème fraise.

When the chicken breasts are done take out of the oven and pour the pesto, crème fraise mixture over the chicken making sure to cover all the meat. Put back in the oven and cook for a further 5/10 minutes or until slightly brown on top.

Put the pasta out onto plates and slice the chicken breasts into 1cm thick slices and
place on top of the pasta. Pour the remaining pesto and crème fraise sauce over the
pasta and chicken.

Heather's Chicken a la King

Updating all my recipes onto this blog, I am finding hidden gems that I had forgotten about. It seems each South African has their own recipe for this dish. Heather's is great.

Serves 4

450 g Chicken breast fillets, cut into small pieces
2 medium sized onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 large green pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
150 g sliced button mushrooms
Chicken stock cube, dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water
50g Butter / marge
50g Plain flour
2 x 15ml cold milk
300ml warm milk
Salt & pepper
Nutmeg

Melt butter in a saucepan and gently fry onion and green pepper till
onion is transparent.
Stir in flour with a wooden spoon, then stir in cold milk
Remove from heat and gradually add warm milk and stock. Return to heat
and bring to the boil, stirring continuously.
Add seasoning and chicken and cook for 5 minutes more.
Serve with rice and green salad

Nelke's Spaghetti

This is one of those recipes that you have to just close your eyes to the ingredients, and trust the outcome.

A great quick dish for an after work put together.

(Nelke was Ed's Stepmum married to Opa).

1 can of corned beef
1 tub of cream cheese (e.g. Philadelphia)
roughly 1/8 pint of beef stock
tomato puree
spaghetti

Melt the cheese in a sauce pan, stir in a blob of tomato puree, add the beef stock.
Meanwhile, open the corned beef and cut into chunks.
When the cheese is nearly at boiling point (but should not boil) add the corned beef. Start to cook the spaghetti.
When ready stir spaghetti into sauce.

Pizza Base - No Yeast, No Resting

I have dug this recipe out from an old blog post:

At 5:30pm tonight I felt like making pizzas for dinner, but I decided this was a silly idea because the dough takes 2 hours to rise. So I thought - that's ok I will just make them tomorrow, so I looked up the recipe anyway.
I was amazed to see that the base had no yeast in and therefore did not need raising time, so I gave it ago. (i found this in an old edition of Food & Home magazine that I am borrowing from the library).
Pizzas were made in 15mins plus cooking time, and the base was amazing, more american style than Italian. So I thought I would share the recipe with you.

Makes 4 (I just halved everything, but this is for 4):

350g self raising flour
5ml salt
50g butter
250ml milk

1. Sift flour and salt in a bowl and rub in the butter with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the milk and mix to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a floured working surface.
2. Roll dough into 25cm rounds on a lightly greased baking tray.
3. then throw on your toppings and cook.

Nice and quick and simple.

The base is quite sconey so do not expect pizza, pizza.

Butternut Chicken Curry

I have found my notes on how I transferred butternut soup into curry:


"I found some left over butternut soup in the fridge and have turned it into a chicken curry. I just fried some onions with curry powder, added chicken, added the small amount of left over soup with a tad of water,a handful of currents and yum yum looking forward to eating it.

(I forgot I chopped up one tomato as well and added after the chicken)."

I think I served with wild & brown rice - to my amazement Mike now always chooses this healthy rice mix over the white rice.

Warren's Butternut Soup

The only word to sum this soup up is Yum! I have made it about 15 times.
(it can get a little hot so be careful on the chillies).

Ingredients to serve 4:

2 x Butternut
Handful of fresh Coriander
Stub of Ginger
2 cloves of garlic
Orange Juice from 2 oranges
1/2 red chili
1/2 green chili

Chicken stock (made from stock cube or left over Sunday roast)
Single Cream


To Prepare:

Remove the skin from the Butternut and chop into 5cm cubes.

Add all the ingredients, with the exception of the chicken stock and cream, into a roasting tray and cook on a high heat until the butternut is soft.

Remove from oven and empty into a "wizzer". Wizz until smooth (unless you like the lumpy bits then wizz a little less.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Finally add the chicken stock to get the require texture and when serving drizzle with a little cream. Alternatively you can "cream it up" and add a whole pot of single cream.



The other day I made a curry sauce out of the leftover soup, I will try and find my notes and add this to the blog.

Uncle Hans - Prawn & Cucumber Soup

Our Sunday evenings used not to be complete without Uncle's company at The Barn.
Starters and a nice bottle of wine are supplied by Hans. One such starter that also appears in our Perk Bartrum Family Cookbook is this soup to be served cold. I do not like prawns, but just to have the soup and pick out the prawns - I remember it tasting good.

"Some 7 years ago we were for a few days in Bangkok. We had dinner at the Oriental hotel and the soup was fantastic. Applying my charm I managed to get the recipe which follows below.

It is particularly suitable for the summer as it is served cold.

It is gorgeous and serving it to a lady on a balmy night guarantees a most pleasant evening."

1 cucumber
300 cc chicken stock ( 1 cube)
150 cc tomato juice
150 gram low fat yoghurt
150 cc single cream
125 gr cut up prawns
few drops of tabasco or something hot
1 tablespoon of chopped mint
1 large clove of garlic
salt and pepper to taste.

Hans also once made a great cold veg and peanut sauce meal, I must try and get the recipe, some did not like, but I really liked.

Frozen Puff Pastry - yipee

Just this week Mike has found out how quick it is to use ready made Puff Pastry. He now loves to make sausage rolls. He buys sausages from Woolworths, squeezes the meat out of the sausage skins onto his piece of pastry then rolls them up and pops them in the oven. I'm interested to see his next puff pastry experiments.

One recipe that is a savior when needing to impress, but having no time to prepare is the following taken from the Perk Bartrum Family Cookbook. (We also sometimes swap the tomatoes for slices of salami).

Nancy's Tomato & Pesto Tarts:


(makes 2 tarts)
150g (5oz) defrosted puff pastry
2 tablespoons of pesto
4 medium ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
approx. 8 basil leaves

Set the oven to 240 C/ 450 F. Put in a large baking sheet in the oven to get hot. Divide the pastry in two. On a lightly floured surface roll out the pastry large enough to make about an 18cm/8 inch round from it. Use a plate as a template. Prick each circle of pastry 4/5 times in the middle. Put a tablespoon of pesto in the middle of each piece of pastry and spread it out to about 2.5cm/1 inch from the edge.

Slice the tomatoes thinly, but not too thin and place about 4 slices on each pastry in the center overlapping slightly. Brush the tomatoes and the bare edge of the pastry with olive oil and sprinkle with black pepper and salt.

Lift the hot baking sheet from the oven and place the tarts onto it using a large flat fish slice.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until dark, golden brown. Drop the Basil leaves and a little extra olive oil onto the tarts and eat while still warm.


These are really delicious with a crisp garlic and iceberg lettuce salad.

Louise's Chocolate Mousse

The most amazing chocolate mousse.

First tasted at Andrew & Louise's House in Cape Town after a great steak braai.

I usually love to make a dark dark chocolate mousse, but unfortunately there are only a couple of real connoisseurs in our family, so this mousse really is the next best thing and was a big hit at Dad's 60th Birthday Party in June.


3 large slabs of chocolate (2 milk, 1 dark(70%Cocoa))
6 eggs separated (medium to large)
2 x 250ml cream
3T castor sugar


Melt chocolate, in double boiler and allow to cool (I do this in the microwave for 2 mins, then stir to see if it is melted enough, much easier)

Separate eggs
Beat egg whites and set aside – NB egg whites must be stiff!
Beat yellows with castor sugar, add to cooled chocolate
Chocolate will go stiff.
Fold in the whipped cream (Cream must form peaks)
Fold in the stiff egg whites gently to retain fluff

Refrigerate until set, usually takes a good four hours
Serves 10-12

Bean Salad

It makes sense for my first recipe post to be what I made this evening.

Can Butter Beans
Can Kidney Beans
1/2 Onion (sliced)
Few Mushrooms
Heaped tsp of tomato paste
Olive Oil
Peri Peri Powder (or chilli powder)
Garlic Salt

I fried the onions and mushrooms in olive oil, adding the peri peri powder and garlic salt whilst cooking. When semi-fried I added a heaped teaspoon of tomato paste & after about 30secs removed from the heat. Meanwhile I had drained the beans and transferred them to a bowl. I added some more olive oil into the saucepan with the onions as the beans need to be coated in oil (not too much) then poured the onion mixture over the beans. Mix together and then ready.

Tonight we had chicken wrapped in a piece of streaky bacon on top of our beans that were sitting on some sliced tomatoes. Perfect to serve with a nice green salad whilst starting to watch the 5th series of 24.