It’s Time To Light The Fires

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Bay leaf, Butter, Cape Town, Chefs, chicken, Chicken and Mushrooms with Sherry Cream Sauce., Clifton Kitchen, Cooks, cream, food and drink, food and travel writing, Food Blogs, Garlic Seasoning, Herbs, Kate Abbott, Lifestyle, Mushrooms, Olive oil, Parsley, Photography, rosemary, Sauce, Sherry, Shiitake, Thyme, Travel, travel Writing

The weather has turned and the chilled air flowing in off the Atlantic sea has everyone reaching for sweaters. The summer remains elusive as another cold front wafts in over the Cape. It is time to light the fires and to make dinner.

I want something warming and unctuous to feed my guests. In the fridge I have mushrooms, chicken, some good quality cream, garden fresh broccoli stems and in the pantry,the thin skinned potatoes which I picked up from the market. All of these items will produce a dinner that everyone will enjoy. It is also fuss free, easy, which leaves me with time to mingle before serving dinner.

Here is the recipe

Chicken & Mushrooms with Sherry Cream Sauce

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 packets of chicken portions

25 g butter

25 ml olive oil

2 onions finely diced

200 g shitake mushrooms sliced

250 ml dry sherry

250 ml chicken stock

4 cloves of garlic peeled and crushed

1 Tablespoon fresh Thyme finely chopped

1 Tablespoon fresh Parsley finely chopped

½ Tablespoon fresh Rosemary finely chopped

1 bay leaf

120 ml pouring cream

Salt and pepper

Method

Heat the butter and olive oil in pot or casserole dish a large enough to comfortably incorporate all the chicken pieces.

Sauté the chicken until golden brown, remove and set aside. Sauté the onions and mushrooms until softened, then add the chicken, the herbs and bay leaf, garlic and dry sherry. Let simmer until the alcohol smell has dissipated; about 5 minutes, then add the chicken stock.

Bring up to heat, then turn down to a simmer and cook for about 45 minutes and the liquid has reduced by half. Add the cream, season with salt and pepper and cook for another 14-20 minutes. Check the seasoning.

Serve with boiled potatoes or rice and broccoli or a green salad

Tip: if after the cooking process the sauce is too runny, slake 2 tsps. of cornflour in 2 tablespoons water and stir into the sauce to thicken. cook for another 5 minutes.

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Ancient & Noble Fruits are In Season

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Blogs, Books, Cape Town, Chefs, Cook Books, Cooks, figs, food, Food Writing, Fruit and vegetables, Grapes, Herbs, In Season, Life, Photography, Sardines, Spices, Travel, travel Writing, Veal

In Season for February

Delicate and sweetly sensual, the fig is now in season; its arrival is one of the great pleasures of the long hot summer. Figs and grapes are considered to be ancient noble fruits. Most of the varieties grown locally in most gardens including my own, are the common green skinned variety, but there are also purple skinned varieties.

Once ripened the fig is extremely perishable and best consumed straight away or stored at the most for two to three days in the fridge.

Figs make a great salad when teamed with rocket leaves, torn basil and buffalo mozzarella, drizzled with a little aged balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. They also make wonderful accompaniments to many cheeses, poultry, and cured pork. They are also beautiful served as a dessert.

But today I am using the noble fruit in a beautiful salad.

Salad of Fig, Manchego Cheese & Walnuts, served with a Grape Dressing

Serves 6

Ingredients

110 g walnuts lightly roasted

100 g rocket

6 figs torn into chunks

120 g Manchego cheese, shaved

Dressing

½ tablespoons honey

1½ tablespoons good quality balsamic vinegar

2 shallots finely chopped

80 ml walnut or olive oil

200 g red or black grapes cut in half

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Method

For the dressing; whisk the honey, vinegar, chopped shallots and oil in a bowl to combine, then add the grapes and season to taste.

To assemble; toss the figs, rocket and walnuts together, then divide among the plates, and drizzle with the grape dressing, then scatter the Manchego cheese shavings over the top of each salad.

Also in season:

Fruits:

Avocado, bananas, Blackberries, figs, grapes, guavas, kiwifruit, lychees, mangoes, honeydew melons, rock melons, nectarines, oranges, passion fruit, peaches, plums, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries, watermelon

Vegetables:

Beans, Borlotti beans, butter beans, capsicum, celery, chillies, cucumbers, eggplant, fennel, leeks, lettuce, okra, onions, peas, radishes, squash, sweet corn, tomatoes, zucchini

Herbs & Spices:

Basil, Chervil, Rocket,  Tarragon, Young ginger,

Fish & Meat:

Calamari, Sardines, Veal

Restocking the Pantry & Home-made Mustard to make

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Cape Town, cloves, Cook Books, cooking, Food Blogs, Food Writing, Herbs, Home made mustards. Mustard, honey, horseradish, Lifestyle, Mustard seeds, News, Photography, recipes, Spices, tarragon, Travel

On my schedule for today is the annual pantry clean-up; a laborious but necessary task which entails removing everything in stock, washing down shelves, inspecting expiry dates, repackaging and relabeling and then drawing up a list of goods to be replaced.

I usually do an herb and spice inspection every 3-6 months. Ground spices tend to lose their nutritional value and fragrance after about 3 months. Whole spices may last up to a year, some slightly more depending on where you purchase them from. It is obviously best to by spices from outlets which have a fast turnover that way you are more assured of the freshness of the product. The same goes for dried herbs; they will lose their fragrance and start to smell like old tea after 3 months.

A few packets of mustard seeds are not far from the expiry date, so they will be turned into some mustard, some for the kitchen and some for friends. So there is even more to do than planned.

With a good job done I am now hungry. Lunch is simple but delicious, a seasonal affair. Blanched tender stem broccoli and green beans, refreshed under cold water, drained and tossed into simple vinaigrette of garlic, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil, seasoned with sea salt flakes and black pepper. Add to this some crumbled crispy bacon, goats milk feta, pitted olives and voila! – Lunch is served.

This basic mustard recipe is reliable and may be varied by adding differ herbs and spices to produce different flavoured mustards. Quantities are very important, weigh and measure every ingredient exactly.

Basic Mustard & Variations

Ingredients

50 g white or brown mustard seed

30 g black mustard seed

50 g light brown sugar

5 ml salt

5 ml turmeric

60 ml finely chopped fresh herbs, or 5 ml dried herbs

200 ml grape vinegar

Method

Place all the dry ingredients, and the herbs in a blender, blend until fine. Slowly add the vinegar, about a tablespoon at a time and continue blending until you have a coarse paste. Let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes to thicken.

Place the mixture into sterilized jars and seal. Label jars accordingly.

Keep the mustard in a cool dark place for about 2 weeks to allow the flavours to develop.

Variations

This recipe lends itself to endless variations. You can flavour the mustard with any of the following ingredients.

Clove mustard: add the tip of a knife of ground cloves

Chilli & garlic mustard: add 1 dried chilli crumbled, and 1 clove of crushed garlic

Horseradish mustard: depending on how hot you want your mustard, add ½ teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of grated horseradish

Tarragon mustard: add 60ml finely chopped tarragon and a touch of ground cloves

Honey mustard: use 50ml honey in place of the brown sugar referred to in the recipe.

Cooking Should Always be a Delight for all the Senses.

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Books, Cape Town, Chillies, Entertaining, feta, Food Blogging, Food Writing, Goats milk feta cheese, Herbs, Life, News, Photography, Quick meals, recipes, Rocket, Sandwiches, Travel

While snipping herbs, large white butterflies dance around me and chase one another over fennel, oregano and thyme, the latter which has just come into flower. This is how cooking should always be, a delight for all the senses.

A friend has popped in unexpectedly for lunch and I have very little time to cook but I want to provide something that is delicious yet quick to make. I have some crisp bread rolls and fresh goat’s feta so I make chilli feta sandwiches for the two of us which we eat at the kitchen counter while we catch up on each other’s news.

Chilli, Feta & Rocket Sandwich

Serves 2 as a light snack

Ingredients

2 red chillies, finely chopped. I like medium hot

3 spring onions, finely chopped

1 clove garlic finely chopped

A little olive oil

A few sprigs of fresh lemon thyme

200g feta cheese, more or less

Fresh coriander leaves, a handful, roughly chopped

Lemon juice

Rocket leaves, about 6 leaves per sandwich

Fresh bread rolls

Method

Warm a the olive oil in a shallow pan, add the chillies, spring onions and garlic and sauté over gentle heat, stirring from time to time until ingredients have softened and released their flavours .

Remove the leaves from the thyme stalks, chop roughly then stir into the ingredients in the pan. Put the feta in the pan, spoon a little of the chillies, spring onions, garlic and thyme mixture over the cheese and leave for a few minutes until the cheese is warm and starting to soften around the edges. Add the chopped coriander leaves and a drizzle of lemon juice.

Place the feta and seasoning in between pieces of bread, and tuck in some rocket leaves. Cut into fingers and serve.

Eat, Taste, Shop & Experience the best produce and flavours in season

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bnlogging news, Books, Cape Town, Chefs, Cooks, Food Blogs, Frut and Vegetables, Goats cheese, Herbs, Life, Organic markets, Photography, recipes, Seasonal food, Seasonal shopping, Travel, Writing

Eat, taste, shop and experience the best produce and flavours now in season.

Produce In Season for November

Goats’ cheeses are particularly good at this time of the year due to the lushness of the pastures and good green grass and forage in their diet; as a consequence their milk takes on an extra sweetness in flavour. The goats also kid during this time resulting in milk with higher and richer buttermilk content.

I love to serve fresh chèvre seasoned with flowering herbs, nasturtium and other edible organic flowers, drizzled with good olive oil, a sprinkling of salt flakes and a grind of pepper and some good country bread. Delicious!

Mangoes are readily available too and will be great until the end of summer. Look for unblemished fruit with no black spots. When ripe you should be able to smell the sweetness through the skin, they should feel soft but not mushy and still have some firmness.

In my kitchen herb garden, Basil, one of my favourite herbs and so evocative of summer is looking great. One of the nicest things to do with a fresh bunch of Basil is to make pesto, crushed in a mortar and pestle with pine nuts, add some grated parmesan, then drizzle in extra virgin olive oil and sometimes when serving with pasta, I do what they do in Genoa and add a little bit of butter. The pesto mixed with a little of the salty cooking water of the pasta, then tossed together with the drained pasta, is superb.

when you have an abundance of fresh Basil, it can be chopped up and covered with olive oil, it keeps remarkably well this way and is handy for use in cooking and for flavouring and is certainly better this way than using the dried option.

At the organic markets you can find lovely white asparagus, it has a beautiful delicate flavour and has long been considered a delicacy of Europe. It is the same species as the green, just grown without sunlight.  I love to serve white asparagus with poached eggs topped with a gremolata of sourdough breadcrumbs, garlic, flat leaf parsley and some lemon zest.

Also in season are:

Fruit

Asian greens, avocados, bananas, berries, cherries gooseberries, grapefruit, lychees, melons, passion fruit, papaya, pineapple oranges, strawberries

Vegetables / herbs

Artichokes, beans, carrots, celery, chervil, chillies, cilantro, cucumbers, fennel, garlic, lettuce, onions, oregano, parsley peas, potatoes, radishes, rocket, sage, silver beet spinach, sweet corn, tomatoes, tarragon, Thyme, zucchini flowers

A bitterly cold day-Delicate moreish little balls of meat & A good bottle of wine

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Cheese, Chefs, Cooks, Entertainment, food and drink, Food Blogs, Herbs, ingredients, Meatballs, Mince, Pancetta, Parmesan, Pork, S.A. Food Blogs, Tomato sauce, Veal, wine

Busy day and it is bitterly cold, I have barely ten minutes before the butcher closes. Dashing in I join the end of a long queue, but at least it gives me time to cast my eye over the long display counter to pick out what I want. I want something that can simmer and putter its way to perfect tenderness. The veal and pork mince conjures up images of delicate meat balls cooking slowly in a rich, mouth mopping tomato sauce; I ask the butcher to provide me with a fine mince of equal proportions of both veal and pork. I head for home and the welcome warmth of the kitchen, to quickly prepare the meal and then to sit back and enjoy the company of good friends for an hour in front of the warmth of the fire while the food slowly takes care of itself as it gently bubbles away, releasing the most gorgeous mouth watering fragrance into the air as it cooks.

Veal & Pork Meatballs

These are the most delicate, moreish little balls of meat that will have you licking your fingers and mopping the juices until nothing but a clean plate is left. A perfect dish for family and good friends.

Serves 4

Ingredients

250 g minced veal

250 g minced pork

1 large egg

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

60 g grated Parmesan cheese

1 slice of day old bread, soaked in a little milk, then squeezed dry

60 g finely diced pancetta

Sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

The Cooking sauce

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion finely diced

2 tablespoons tomato puree

½ tsp. castor sugar

Water, sufficient

Method

Place all the meatball ingredients in a bowl and mix together gently but thoroughly. Shape into 12 even size balls, and then flatten slightly into oval shapes about 1 cm thick.

Place the olive oil in a heated pan and gently fry the meatballs until well browned on each side and then transfer to a casserole or suitable ovenproof dish.

In the same frying pan add the onion, tomato puree, sugar and 100ml water, stir well and cook for about 5-10 minutes; season with salt and pepper.

Pour the sauce over the meatballs, add some water, the water should almost cover them. Cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for about 1 hour.

You can serve the saucy meatballs with ribbon pasta, rice or just hunks of crisp bread.

Mushroom & Aubergine Galette Served With a Crisp Salad

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Aabergine, Cheese, Chefs, eggs, Entertainment, food and drink, Food Blogs, free range, Galette, Herbs, Lifestyle, Mushroom, organic, Produce, puff pastry, recipe, S.A. Food Blogs, Salads, Spices, Yoghurt

Everyone that I have served this Galette to has requested the recipe. What I like is that I can prep everything ahead of time and when ready to bake, quickly assemble the Galette in a bout 5-10 minutes and pop it into the oven for about 40 minutes, leaving me free to enjoy the company of my guests for most of the evening. As a side dish I toss together some baby gem lettuce, onion, chopped tomato, and sprinkle over some olive oil and splash with some vinegar then season with salt and pepper. It’s a perfect evening meal.

I use frozen puff pastry for this Galette; it is one of my handy stock items, I always have a few rolls in the deep freeze.

Serves 4 as a light meal

Ingredients

Ready-made puff pastry

250 g mixed mushrooms, thickly sliced

350 g Aubergines cut into small dice

2 tablespoons oil

1 onion finely diced

2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

½ tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. ground cayenne

½ tsp. paprika

1 log soft goats cheese (120gm approximately)

110 g thick Greek yoghurt

50 g Gruyere cheese, coarsely grated

1 tablespoon each fresh thyme, oregano leaves, roughly chopped

Small handful of parsley roughly chopped

2 eggs lightly beaten

Finely grated rind of 1 lemon

30 g butter

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method

Heat the oven to 180∘C

Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface, to about 3mm thick and into a round shape of about 30 cm diameter, it does not need to be perfect. Place pastry on an oven tray lined with baking paper and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes to rest.

Heat a large frying pan on the stove and ‘dry fry’ the mushrooms for about 10 minutes, this method adds flavour and evaporates the excess moisture,  cook until lightly golden, season with salt and pepper, sauté for a few more minutes till all the moisture is cooked off. Set aside in a bowl.

Dry fry the aubergines for about 10 minutes, season with salt and pepper add some of the oil and cook for a further 10 minutes; remove and add to the bowl with the mushrooms.

In the same pan add the balance of the oil, add the onions and sauté until translucent and slightly golden, add the garlic and dry spices and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add to the mushrooms and aubergines. Mix in the soft goats’ cheese, yoghurt, herbs, lemon rind, egg and season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread the mixture in an even layer over the pastry, leaving a 3cm border.

Melt the butter, remove from the heat and add the lemon juice. Drizzle over the mixture and sprinkle with the gruyere cheese. Fold in the pastry edges, pleating as you go.

Bake at 180∘C for about 40 minutes, the pastry should be crisp and golden