Recipes

COOL IT!

When expecting a larger crowd than normal, I like to place my bottled fruit juice, white wine and water into a silver champagne cooler surrounded by ice blocks, to keep them cool. Yes, those little blocks do melt quickly and when you forget to buy large packs from the bottle store and have to start collecting packets of homemade ice, it becomes a real pain! However, all this changed for me after watching a TikTok clip on how to make ice balls with balloons. It was so simple, a bag of balloons, water to fill them and scissors to cut and peel off the balloons once frozen. Of course, you can make them any size and any colour by adding food colouring, before tying the knot. Flowers can also be inserted through the stretched neck of the balloon before tying them.

“THE BEST” CHICKEN SOUP

“My mom makes THE BEST chicken soup, why don’t you get her recipe?” Said by many a tactless man after their wives have stood hours in the kitchen trying to perfect their own version. This soup uses chicken soup as its base with a few added extras that his mom would never have ever imagined would work so well. This soup recipe has a few twists that only a daughter in law would share!!

​This dish includes the ‘traditional tastes’ of Rosh Hashanah. The subtle sweetness of prunes, the woody hint of cinnamon, the aroma of flavours complementing one another as they slowly cook into the New Year.

6 chicken breasts off the bone and butterflied

1 box Spanish/mushroom flavoured rice (Tastic)

1/3 cup mayonnaise

Salt and pepper to taste

3 eggs 

½ tsp salt

2 tsps chicken spice (I like Ina Paarman)

1 tsp paprika powder

1 tsp garlic powder

2 cups Panko or cornflake crumbs
Oil for frying or baking

Make up the rice as per instructions on the box. Allow rice to cool. Cut the breasts in half lengthwise. Place each halved breast in between two pieces of wax paper. Using a mallet or rolling pin flatten the breasts, carefully, trying not to tear them. Paint a teaspoon of mayonnaise onto each breast half, facing you. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over each breast. Place a heaped tablespoon of rice on the bottom 1/3 of the chicken breast and roll the chicken up, securing it with a toothpick. Once you’ve rolled up all the chicken breasts (you should have twelve) place them in the fridge, covered, for at least 1 hour to firm up. Combine the eggs, salt, chicken spice, paprika powder, and garlic powder. Remove the chicken from the fridge and dip them into the egg mixture, followed by the crumbs. Refrigerate again for another hour or two then either fry in them in oil until golden brown on all sides or bake them. Preheat oven to 180C. Spray/paint a wire baking rack with oil and place the rack on a baking tray. Place the crumbed chicken on the rack. Using a wire rack allows even distribution of heat to brown under the chicken as well. After placing the chicken on the rack, paint them with oil, and bake until golden brown. This should take 25 to 30 minutes. 

2½ kg roll of beef 

½ cup cake flour

200 g pitted prunes

200g dried apricots

500ml (2 cups) dry red wine

2 Tbls peri peri oil + 2 Tbls vegetable oil

2 large onions roughly chopped

1 tsp fresh ginger finely grated

2 tsp fresh garlic crushed

¼ tsp cinnamon

100g tomato PASTE 

1 beef cube dissolved in 1 cup boiling water

½ cup chutney 

2 Tbls apricot jam (this gives a lovely glaze to the sauce)

Salt and pepper to taste

Pre heat oven to 170C. Soak prunes and dried apricots in wine overnight​. Cover with clingfilm. Wash the meat then dust entire roast with flour. Place peri and vegetable oil into large pot or frying pan and fry the roll of beef over medium to high heat until it’s golden brown on both sides. Remove the meat and set aside in a roasting​ bag which has been placed into a roasting dish. The roasting pan should not be too large as you just want the roll of beef to fit with about 1cm free on each side of the roast, as the roast will shrink. In the same frying pan or pot in which you fried the meat, fry the onions, ginger, and garlic until soft. Add the cinnamon, tomato paste, dissolved beef cube, chutney and apricot jam to the onions. Give it a good stir. Add the prunes and apricots with the wine to the glaze, bring it to the boil, then reduce it to a simmer and simmer until apricots are soft. This should take about 10 minutes. Pour the sauce over the meat in the roasting bag and cook covered in a preheated oven for 3 hours. A roll of beef always takes longer to cook than a flat piece of beef as the heat has a way to travel to the inside.  

1kg pre-cut Mediterranean roasting vegetables (Freshfellows or Checkers)

¼ cup peri peri oil for roasting. 

¼ cup vegetable oil 

2 Tbls honey

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp garlic salt

½ tsp onion salt

1 tsp paprika spice

Pinch of cinnamon 

Salt and pepper

500g Couscous cooked as per instructions on box. 

Preheat oven to 180C. Place the oils, honey, cumin, garlic salt, onion salt, paprika, cinnamon, salt and pepper into a large bowl. Mix well then add roasting vegetables to this mixture and mix well again ensuring all vegetables are well coated. Roast in a preheated oven, uncovered, until golden brown. When the vegetables are cooked through and golden brown pour them over the couscous and serve with a sprinkling of freshly chopped mint and fresh coriander.

¼ cup tahini 

2 Tbls fresh lemon juice

3 Tbls fresh orange juice 

2 cloves freshly crushed garlic

1 Tbl honey

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ cup water to thin out dressing  (you may need more)

Whisk all of the above dressing ingredients together and pour over salad. You may need to double up on salad dressing depending on the size of the salad.

Optional extra: I like to add 4 Tbls of eggplant mayonnaise (made by Friends bakery) or babaganoosh as it’s called elsewhere.

2 large sweet potatoes

2 large potatoes

1 large carrot peeled and sliced into ½cm discs

1 packet round butternut discs (available Checkers and Fresh Fellows) or slice the necks of a butternut into 1cm slices. Longer thinner butternut work well.

Boil sweet potatoes and potatoes (skin on to retain shape) and carrots until JUST soft, remember they still have to be roasted. Microwave butternut for 3 minutes on high. Remove potatoes and carrots from heat and allow to cool. Preheat oven to 180C. When cold, cut the potatoes in 1cm slices. Start stacking by placing a slice of butternut, followed by a slice of potato, a slice of sweet potato and finally a slice or 2 of carrots. Repeat this again ending with a prune on top of stack.

Start building another stack in the same way. Place the stacks on a well-oiled baking sheet and paint each stack generously with glaze. (Recipe below.) Roast in a preheated oven until golden brown – this should take approximately 30 to 40 minutes.

½ cup syrup 

½ tsp cinnamon

1 Tbl lemon juice

½ cup vegetable oil

½ tsp ginger spice

8 pitted prunes 

Combine all the above in a small saucepan, bring to the boil and then blend until smooth

1 pkt Divella POTATO gnocchi (500g)

200g rocket

Handful of basil leaves

2 red onions cut in half and finely sliced

250g baby tomatoes 

Optional extras: Avocado, olives, and cucumbers

Preheat air fryer to 200C and oil the basket and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. This can also be done in a regular oven but may need a little more time to achieve that golden brown, crispy look. Frying them is another quick alternative, however the gnocchi must be really crispy. If you’re going to fry them do it with the lid lying loosely on top of the pot as they can pop like popcorn!! Lay a bed of rocket on a flat platter. Tear a couple of basil leaves and place on top of the rocket. Sprinkle the onions on top. Add the tomatoes and any optional ingredients suggested above. Just before serving drizzle salad dressing over the salad and finally sprinkle with roasted gnocchi. 

1/3 cup of red wine vinegar

1 Tbl brown sugar 

½ tsp crushed fresh garlic

2/3 cup olive oil

1 tsp mustard powder

½ tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

Combine the above salad dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well.

250g baby spinach

​​3 red apples​, cored and cut lengthwise into 8 or 16 slices (place into lemon and water ½ cup lemon juice to 1 cup cold water, toss apples to ensure they all get covered in lemon juice)

​1 large head of fennel or a few smaller ones sliced finely ​on the diagonal ​(you will need 2 cups of sliced fennel)

​5 large red radish thinly slice​d 

Pomegranate seeds ​(arils​) 

Line a platter with spinach. Rinse the apples in cold water to remove any sourness from them. Place them on top of the spinach. Place the fennel on top of apples. Sprinkle sliced radish and pomegranate seeds on top of salad just before serving. (These should only be added to the salad when ready to serve as both their skin colour bleeds onto the apples.) Pour over salad dressing.

½ cup pomegranate juice

Handful of fresh mint leaves

​1​/3 cup apple cider

​½ cup oil

1 Tbl chrain (red or white)

2 Tbl Honey

​½ tsp crushed garlic

​½ tsp black pepper

1 tsp salt

Blend for ​3 minutes ​until smooth

5 cups cornflakes (crush them slightly in the bag)

½ cup butter or parev plant butter

¼ cup granulated sugar

3 Tbls honey

¼ tsp salt

1 box glacé cherries, chopped into ¼s

100g walnuts/pecan nuts (roughly chopped)

1 Tbl sprinkles (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. This is very important otherwise the cornflakes crisps are impossible to remove!. Place the cornflakes, cherries, and nuts in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, combine the butter, sugar, honey, and salt and cook over medium to high heat, stirring constantly until the mixture comes to the boil and the sugar has dissolved. Take off the heat immediately. Pour over the cornflake mix and stir until well coated. Bake for 8-10 minutes on 180C until slightly golden. Add sprinkles, if using, while still hot. Cut them into squares after allowing them to cool for 10 minutes. No longer otherwise they become too hard to cut. Let cool completely and crisp up before eating. I made them once and forgot to cut them so just broke them into different shaped shards. Nobody complained!!! Store in an airtight container at room temperature for as long as they last!

250g butter or plant butter​ (parev)

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup syrup

¾ cup cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

¼ tsp salt

2 large eggs + 1 yolk (lightly beaten)

1 cup sifted cake flour (or potato flour to keep them gluten free)

1 heaped tsp baking powder

1 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, or chocolate chips.

In a small saucepan melt butter, sugar, and syrup until sugar dissolves. Add cocoa powder and mix well for about a minute then remove from heat.​ Add vanilla essence and salt then slowly add beaten eggs, whisking all the time. Finally fold in flour, baking powder​, nuts, o​r chocolate chips or both. Bake in a brownie pan or ovenproof dish 20​cm x 20cm at 180 for 30​-35 minutes. The baking needle will ​NOT come out clean as you want the brownies to be fudgy.​ When they cool they will become more fudgy in texture.

250g butter or non-dairy plant butter

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup syrup

2 tsps vanilla essence

¼ tsp salt

2 large eggs and 1 yolk (lightly beaten)

1¾ cup cake flour (sifted)

1 heaped tsp baking powder

1 cup roughly chopped walnuts

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter, sugar, and syrup until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and ​add vanilla essence and salt then slowly add beaten eggs, whisking all the time. Finally, fold in flour, baking powder, and nuts​. Bake in a brownie pan or ovenproof dish 20cm x 20cm at 180 for 30​-35 minutes. The baking needle will not come out clean as you want the Blondies to be fudgy. Allow them to cool and serve with ice cream

500ml full cream coconut milk

1 cup icing sugar

3 eggs​ yolks lightly beaten​ (keep the whites for meringues!)

500ml coconut cream

2 tsp vanilla essence

Pinch of salt 

1 cup non-dairy creamer

Place 500ml coconut MILK into a saucepan with the icing sugar. Heat through over medium-high heat whisking all the time. The coconut milk should reduce whilst whisking over the heat. Don’t allow it to boil​, it should just simmer. It should take about 2​5 minutes to reduce​ slightly ​and condense. Remove ½ cup of this condensed coconut milk from the saucepan and place it into a glass bowl. Slowly add egg​ yolks to the milk in the glass bowl and whisk​ continuously while adding​ the yolks. ​Return the egg mixture to the condensed coconut milk slowly and continue to whisk over the heat until it starts to thicken up slightly. This should take another 5 to 7 minutes. Remember not to allow it to boil. Remove from heat add the vanilla, pinch of salt, coconut cream, and non-dairy creamer and beat with an electric beater for 5 minutes. Freeze in a freezer proof dish. ​I like to blend the ice cream in a blender after 5 hours in the freezer and refreeze. I find this breaks down the icicles in the ice cream, making it smoother. NB: Take out 15 minutes before serving.

Honey glazed short ribs – but not so sweet that your teeth will cry “you know I’m sensitive!”

Each ingredient in this recipe bounces off the next to create a marriage of flavours that work so well in giving you a caramelised glaze, so perfect for Rosh Hashanah.

3kg beef short ribs

Glaze

¾ cup tomato sauce (ketchup)

¾ cup chutney (I like hot)

1 tsp mustard powder

2 Tbl Worcestershire sauce

2 Tbl soy sauce

2 Tbl red wine vinegar 

2 Tbl honey

2 Tbl apricot jam

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp finely grated ginger

1 tsp Ground black pepper

Place the ribs into a roasting pan. Combine all of the above glaze ingredients and pour over ribs. If you need a double layer of ribs, place half the glaze on the first layer and the rest of the glaze on top of the second layer. Bake at 160C for 2 hours covered, turning them over half way through the cooking process.