Overindulgence eventually gets to all of us

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Overindulgence eventually gets to all of us and my limit has definitely been reached. All the festive season entertaining followed by a 40^th birthday celebration this week-end brought me to seeking something simple and more gentle on the constitution.

For lunch my focus was the lovely organic sweet potatoes that I picked up at the fresh produce market: these I baked in the oven, sliced into rounds and arranged on a plate with some rocket leaves, crumbled over some goat’s cheese feta and dressed with balsamic vinegar, walnut oil and a sprinkle of fresh lemon juice. Served with a zesty wine it was just perfect.

The left over sweet potato made an equally delicious breakfast, this time served on a toasted baguette, spread with horseradish paste followed by sliced sweet potatoes, crumbled feta, balsamic and walnut dressing, a sprinkle of fresh lime juice, seasoned with black pepper and salt flakes. Yummy!

Both of the following make lovely light lunches, brunches or in smaller portions could be served as a starter.

Sweet potato, goat’s cheese & Rocket Salad

Ingredients/Method:

Baked sweet potato slices, crumbled goat’s feta served on rocket leaves, dressed with balsamic and walnut oil, drizzle over fresh lemon juice and season with black pepper and salt flakes. 

A different way

Sweet Potato, Horseradish & Goats cheese Baguette

Ingredients/Method:

On half a toasted baguette, spread some horseradish paste, top with slices of baked sweet potato, crumble over some goats feta and drizzle with balsamic and walnut oil and a sprinkle of fresh lime juice. Season with black pepper and salt flakes.

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Unctuous & Delicious Autumnal Tart

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Balsamic Vinegar, Books, Butternut, Cape Town, Clifton Kitchen, Cook Books, Cooking Through The Seasons, Cooks, Food Writing, Foodblogs, Kate Abbott, Lifestyle, Pastry, Peppery greens, Pgotography, recipes, Rocket, Savoury Tart, Tart, Travel, travel Writing, Vegetarian, Watercress

Roasted Butternut Tart Served With Salad

Its cold, rain clouds are mustering over the sea, pregnant with anticipation of what’s to come. The  mixture of slate coloured hues across the expanse of sea make me feel hungry,  I need something bright and unctuous to feed my guests. In the larder I have a good stock of butternut and in the fridge some peppery greens, perfect ingredients for a delicious flaky autumnal tart.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 6 – 8

· 1 quantity short crust pastry or pre-prepared puff pastry (recipe below)

· 5oo g roasted butternut chunks

· 20 fresh sage leaves

· 50 ml olive oil

· Salt and freshly ground pepper

· 100 g pecorino or mature cheddar

· 3 eggs

· 200 ml fresh cream

· Watercress or Rocket leaves

· Balsamic vinegar dressing

PREPARATION

Make the short crust pastry and refrigerate

Preheat the oven to 230C.

Peel and deseed the butternut and cut into chunks. Place into a roasting pan, scatter over 10 of the sage leaves torn into pieces, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for about 40 minutes, until nicely coloured and cooked through.

Reduce the oven temperature to 180C

Roll out the pastry and line a 23cm loose bottom baking tin. Blind bake at 180C, for 10-15 minutes.

Sprinkle the grated cheese over the base of the bottom of the pastry, top with the roasted butternut chunks. Scatter over the remainder of sage leaves.

Beat the egg and cream together, season with salt and pepper and pour over the tart filling. Bake at 180C for about 35 minutes. The tart should feel firm in the middle when gently touched.

Serve with a side salad of either watercress or rocket leaves dressed with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Best served at room temperature

Short Crust Pastry

INGREDIENTS

· 225g plain flour

· 110g butter, cut into cubes

· 1 whole egg

· 1 pinch of salt

· 3 tbsp. of iced water

PREPARATION

Place the flour and butter (sprinkled around the flour) in a food processor.
Place the lid on top and briefly blitz the mixture using the pulse button. Be careful not to over mix it.
Add the egg, salt and iced water. Briefly pulse the mixture again, the moment it starts to become crumbly, stop.
Gather it into your hands and gently pat it together. Do not knead it. Wrap it in cling film and put into the fridge.

In Season For January – The Summery Bounty of the land and Briny Punch from the Sea

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In Season For January – The Summery Bounty of the land and Briny Punch from the Sea

Prickly Pears: A curious fruit, fleshy with a flavour reminiscent of guava. The seed is nutty in flavour and crunchy in texture. Sliced they make a very attractive and delicious platter, served with wafer thin slices of prosciutto, or as a salad with buffalo mozzarella and rocket leaves, simply dressed with fruity olive oil and flakes of sea salt.

Lovely fresh plump mussels are available now and at the moment I tend favour the ones from the Saldana coast (most fishmongers seem to have a plentiful supply of mussels year round). Mussels should be alive when you buy them. They can be stored in the refrigerator, in a colander covered with a wet cloth with something underneath to catch the liquid. This allows them to breathe and drain; you can keep them like this for three to four days.

Gorgeous fresh sweetcorn can be found in the markets; always buy the corn which is still in the husk and which should look fresh and green, not yellowing or browning. Corn brings a burst of sweetness, a flash of colour and a satisfying crunch to just about any meal. I like simple steamed or boiled sweetcorn on the cob, served with salt flakes and butter; a nice accompaniment to roast chicken.

Also in season are:

FRUIT:

Apricots, avocados, bananas, berries, cherries, currants, lemons, lychees, mangoes, mangosteen, nectarines, oranges, passion fruit, peaches, pineapples, plums, rock melons.

VEGETABLES:

Beans, capsicum, celery, cucumbers, eggplant, lettuce, okra, onions, peas, radishes, squash, sweet corn, tomatoes, zucchini, zucchini flowers

SEAFOOD:

Abalone, lobster, mussels, school prawns, salmon, oysters, tuna

Recipe

Summery Corn, Basil & Lemon Thyme Soup

This delicious soup is a real treat. the Avocado garnish provides a lovely sweet sour salty contrast. This soup is makes a nice starter or is perfect as a light meal, and It can be served either hot or cold. Although I have used basil and thyme in this recipe you could also use fresh coriander with a bit of ginger and a pinch of chilli.

Serves 6

Ingredients

30 ml butter

2 onions, diced

750 ml sweetcorn cut from the cob

1 ½ litres warm chicken stock

200 ml picked basil leaves, roughly chopped

20 ml roughly chopped lemon thyme leaves

Sea salt flakes and freshly ground pepper to taste

Garnish

1 avocado chopped into small dice

1 small chilli finely diced

30 ml fish sauce

30 ml rice wine

100 ml olive oil

Method

Place the butter in a heated pan. When melted add the diced onion and soften until translucent.

Add the sweetcorn and warm stock. Bring up to the boil then simmer gently for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add the herbs and blend. Season to taste.

Place all the garnish ingredients in a bowl, mix gently together to incorporate all the flavours. Spoon a small mound in the middle of each bowl of soup.

Serve soup hot or cold with some crisp toast or fresh bread.