recipes

INGREDIENTS

4-8 cups of cooked beans
some oil for sauteing
A large onion, chopped
Some garlic
A couple of carrots, chopped
Some chilies, fresh or ground
Cumin
Tomato juice, several cups
Optional ingredients
Other spices: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cocoa, Carob?
Other vegetables: Olives, Mushrooms?
Toppings: Sour cream, Green onions, Cheddar Cheese, Saltines

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat skillet and add oil. Saute the onion and garlic in oil.  When tanslucent, add carrots.  Coof for a couple of minutes and then add fresh peppers.  Cook for a couple of minutes long and add dried spices.  Stir spiced into vegatable mix and let  cook for a couple of minutes.  Add tomato juice.  Bring to a simmer then combine beans and any optional vegetables.  Let simmer on stove for a couple of hours so the chili gets good and thick.  Serve with toppings of your choice.

The Art of Making Chili
Chili is a food that men have been able to make without feeling wimpy.  It rates up there with large slabs of meat cooked over a grill or open fire.  Maybe that explans why it isone of the traditions passed down through the male line of my family.  Like so many skills that I have inherited through this male descent, it has been a bit twisted by me.  Insted of the meaty chilis that I grew up with, I fix vegetarian chilis.  But I still think I do it with some flair.  So here is the art of chili making as I understand it.

The Beans

The heart of the vegetarian chili is the beans.  I start with either small red beans or kidney beans, somtimes black beans or pinot.  Be sure to rinse them well and pick out any stones or clumps of dirt that may be hiding in the beans.  I always presoak the beans, usualy overnight, in water.  Smetimes I quick soak by brining the beans to a boil, turning off the heat, and letting them sit for a couple of hours.

I usually put in some salt after I’m done soaking the beans.  I have been told salt makes beans harder, but I have never noticed this with my pressure cooker.  I usually put in a couple of tablesoons of oil as well.  Sometime I add half a strip of Kombu – a saeweed.  I think this adds some good nutrients, rounds out the flavour a bit, and in theory, it even helps with digestion.  Remove the Kombu from the bens after you are done cooking.

You will have to experiment with the amount of water you use. Ideally, water and beans are at about the same level in the pot when the beans are done cooking, and the water is gravy ile.  If you slow cook them, they may not get this same gravy consistenecy.  You may want to drain some of the juice before mixing the beans withthe chili.

The vegetables

I saute a large onion and some garlic in a skillet.  Garlic can be hard to taste in chili.  So soetimes I dont even bother, and other times I put it in by the foot (four little toes and one big toe.)  I haven’t tried it yet but I bet squeezing a roasted garlick into a mostly cooked chile would be good.

When the onions are are turning translucent I add some chopped carrots.  I like the aweetness carrots can add, and their colour goes well with the chili’s red.  You can also use some celery, but I am  not as excited about it.  It doesn’t look as nice and a crunch that I find distracting.

After the carrots have sauted a bit I ad any fresh chilles I am using.  I like small red chillies, serrano’s or even habeneros..  This usually determines the the spicyness of the chili.  Knowing your chilies is essential.  From year to year and crop to crop your chilies will change.  What was merely a warm chili  one year can be a killer the next.  Pay attention to your audience and spice it appropriately..  A few of my friends I cokked for always asked for the habenero index of my food, which was basically the the number of habeneros I used.  I would sometimes go as high as three.  But for most people I would be reluctant to use a whole habenero.  If you realy need your food cooled down a bit, you can scrape out all the pepper’s seeds.

The spices

Now put in the dried spices.  The spices should cook for a couple of minutes and enhance it a bit too.  he really distributes the flavour of the spice and enhances it a bit too.  My simplest chilies have only two spices, cumin and cayenne (or other dried chili). If you are using fresh peppers you can omit the cayenne or reduce it.  A caynees powder compliments a habenero.  The heat of the habenero is usually felt at the back of the tongue and down the throat.  Cayenne hits you near the front of your tongue.  Usin both, balanced just right, will give you a full heat effect!  I like a lot of cumin.  I pour it  into my hand so it covers my palm and heaps a bit.  This hould be about half a tablesoon per cup of beans.

I have made more complex chilies which have used some bizarre spices, cinnamon, cocoa, nutmeg, … use these sparingly for a really twisted chile tatse.  I used to add other green spices, like oregano, but I haven’t done this for a while.  I never liked the tatse of it in the final product, so I stopped using it.

Cook these spices in with the vegtables so it soats everything evenly.  This will probebly soak up the oil you used in the saute.  Your veggies will be steaming, you may be coughing and crying because of all the steam comming off of the peppers.  Still, try to let this cook for at least a minute or two.

Putting it together

When it looks well distributed, or you just cant stand it any longer, pour in some tomato jiuce.  Open some windows while you wait for it to simmer, then add the beans, (or add this mixture to the beans.)  If you need more liquid, add some tomato juice.  I will use about half a large can of tomato juice.

If you want to add any miscellaneous vegetables to this, you can do it now.  Add some sliced black olives, or maybe some mushrooms.  Feel free to experiment, but I belive simpler is better.  You also don’t want to mess up the lovely red look the chili should have at this point.  Think about colour and texture at thi spoint, as well as flavour, before you add someting.

Let the chile simmer for an hour or two, then serve it up with some crackers, and maybe some hot sauce for those who dont think its hot enough already.  Try garnishing this with grated cheddar, sour cream green onios or someting else creative.  Always make pleny because the cili will tatse even better the next day.

INGREDIENTS

300ml plain yoghurt
1 thumb's length of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely sliced
125ml (1/2 cup) chopped dhania leaves, plus more for garnish
2 tsp ground jeera (cumin)
1 tsp chilli powder
1 heaped Tbs masala (curry mix of your choice)
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 kg mutton, cut into pieces
15ml (1 Tbs) ghee or butter
1 1/2 tsp jeera (cumin) seeds
1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
6 cardamom pods, cut open and their seeds removed (use the seeds, Daisy)
2 bay leaves
2 sticks cinnamon or cassia
3 large onions, finely chopped
2 fat cloves garlic, finely chopped
60ml (4 Tbs) boiling hot water
2 tsp salt, or more (to taste)
1 large onion, halved and then sliced thinly, and some butter or ghee to fry

2 cups (500ml) cooked basmati rice
250 ml (1 cup) rice water
A pinch of saffron for the rice

INSTRUCTIONS
First pour the yoghurt into a large bowl and add the ginger, chilli, chopped dhania (coriander) leaves, ground cumin, chilli powder, masala and ground turmeric. Add a little salt to taste and mix well, then put in the mutton pieces and coat the meat well. Leave aside for an hour or more to marinate.There's nothing to stop you having done this hours earlier for longer marination.

Make the rice and keep aside, adding a pinch of saffron or turmeric to the water (if you have not already done so). Retain a cup (250ml) of the rice water.

Melt the ghee and add the whole jeera, cardamom and mustard seeds, bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. When the seeds start to crackle, add the chopped onions and garlic, and saute until the onions are soft. Add the meat, including the yoghurt marinade, and braise for a few minutes. Add about 60ml (4 Tbs) boiling water. Season to taste with salt. Cook this on a low heat for about 30 minutes, then remove from the heat and add a layer of parboiled potatoes (if using), then top that with a layer of rice. Fry the remaining sliced onion in ghee or butter until golden brown, and sprinkle over the rice. Pour the rice water over the top, carefully, cover and simmer for as long as it takes for the mutton to become tender, which could take up to two hours. It must be on a low heat so that it does not catch at the bottom. If it appears to be drying out, add a little more boiled water, but not too
much.

INGREDIENTS
    2 tablespoons olive oil (or as needed)
    salt and freshly ground black pepper
    2 large split chicken breasts, on the bone, with the skin
    1 medium onion, finely chopped
    3 stalks celery, finely chopped
    1 small fennel bulb, finely chopped
    4 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped --OR-- 
    1 can (15-ounce) petite diced tomatoes
    4 cloves garlic, chopped
    1 cup dry white wine
    2 cups chicken broth
    2 bay leaves
    2 sprigs fresh thyme
    1 pinch saffron threads
    1 (2-inch) piece orange peel
    1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)
    8 baby Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
    Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
    
ROUILLE
    1 pinch saffron threads
    2 tablespoons hot cooking liquid from pot
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    1 cup mayonnaise
    1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
    Cayenne pepper, to taste
    Salt, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season chicken generously with salt and black pepper. Place in the 
hot oil, reduce heat to medium and brown well on the skin 
side, approximately 6-7 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add the onion, celery and fennel to the oil (adding more if 
needed) and cook 8-10 minutes or until very soft. Add the 
tomatoes and garlic and cook 2 minutes.

Add the wine, chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, saffron, orange peel and crushed red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil.Place the chicken back in the broth. Cover and cook 25-30 minutes  or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked through to at least 165 degrees. (Chicken should be able to be removed easily 
from bone.)

Add the potatoes and cook gently 10 more minutes or until 
potatoes are tender.

With a fork, remove skin and shred chicken into large chunks.Place back in broth. Add chopped fresh parsley.
    
ROUILLE
Place saffron threads in a small bowl. Remove 2 tablespoons  of the hot cooking liquid and allow saffron to soften a bit. Add remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth.

TO SERVE: 
Serve in shallow bowls with crusty bread, topped with a 
dollop of the rouille.

INGREDIENTS

2 red onions
4 cloves of garlic
2 aubergines
3 courgettes
3 red or yellow peppers
6 ripe tomatoes
½ a bunch of fresh basil , (15g)
olive oil
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
1 x 400 g tin of quality plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
½ a lemon

INSTRUCTIONS

1.Prep your ingredients before you start – peel and cut the onions into wedges, then peel and finely slice the garlic. Trim the aubergines and courgettes, deseed the peppers and chop into 2.5cm chunks. Roughly chop the tomatoes. Pick the basil leaves and set aside, then finely slice the stalks.
2.Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large casserole pan or saucepan over a medium heat, add the chopped aubergines, courgettes and peppers (you may need to do this in batches) and fry for around 5 minutes, or until golden and softened, but not cooked through. Spoon the cooked veg into a large bowl.
3.To the pan, add the onion, garlic, basil stalks and thyme leaves with another drizzle of oil, if needed. Fry for 10 to 15 minutes, or until softened and golden.
4.Return the cooked veg to the pan and stir in the fresh and tinned tomatoes, the balsamic and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper.
5.Mix well, breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. Cover the pan and simmer over a low heat for 30 to 35 minutes, or until reduced, sticky and sweet.
6.Tear in the basil leaves, finely grate in the lemon zest and adjust the seasoning, if needed. Serve with a hunk of bread or steamed rice.

110 ml margarine (at room temperature)
375 ml icing sugar
100 ml cream cheese
5 ml vanilla essence
chopped walnuts (optional) (or pecans)

1. Cream margarine and icing sugar.
2. Beat cream cheese and vanilla essence together with above.
3. Stir in chopped nuts.
4. Refrigerate before using as it will be very soft from beating.

250 ml sugar
250 ml sunflower oil
3 eggs
375 ml cake flour
10 ml baking powder
10 ml cinamon
5 ml bicarbonate of soda
250 ml mashed banana (2 large ones)
250 ml coarsely grated carrots
125 ml chopped walnuts (replace with pecans if you wish)

1. Beat sugar, oil and eggs well.
2. Sift dry ingredients together and add to above.
3. Add banana, carrots and nuts. Mix lightly.
4. Pour into 2 layer cake tins
5. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes at 180 degs C.
6. Ice with cream cheese icing.
7. Keep in fridge.

Do this when quantities fresh herbs are available.
January or February (in Ficksburg).

De-bone a shoulder of lamb and cut it into portion size pieces.
One large potato per person.  Plus one extra. Peel and cut as for roasting.
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper.  Plenty of salt!
Handfulls of fresh rosemary and oregano.  The more the better.
Remove a small amount of rosemary from the branch.  Keep the rest whole.
At least 150 ml olive oil.  Maybe a little more.
A good amount of lemon juice.

Assemble everything in an iron pot with a lid and cook over a fire for two hours.

Rick Stein says “this is not a recipe”.
I say, its great!

Serve with salad:
Tomatoes, basil, a little lettuce, onions and garlic and the best vinaigrette that you can think of.  More lemon juice than vinegar.  Don’t skimp on the garlic (unless it REALLY strong).  Also feta cheese and black pepper.  Would really like to try this with goats cheese.

Fresh baked bread to serve.  Rooster koek?

A bottle of red wine.

You will soon be on the sofa, thinking that you are in heaven!

Béarnaise and steak are a match made in heaven, but this sauce has a few other divine uses. Try it spooned over poached eggs or spread over roast fish.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon plus 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes

3 tablespoons minced shallots

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

2 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon (or more) fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon

Preparation

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and a pinch of salt and pepper; stir to coat. Stir in vinegar, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until vinegar is evaporated, 3-4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking shallots, stirring frequently, until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer shallot reduction to a small bowl and let cool completely.

Meanwhile, fill a blender with hot water to warm it; set aside. Melt remaining 1 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until butter is foamy. Transfer butter to a measuring cup.

Drain blender and dry well. Combine egg yolks, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon water in warm, dry blender. Purée mixture until smooth. Remove lid insert. With blender running, slowly pour in hot butter in a thin stream of droplets, discarding milk solids at bottom of measuring cup. Continue blending until a smooth, creamy sauce forms, 2-3 minutes. Pour sauce into a medium bowl. Stir in shallot reduction and tarragon and season to taste with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 hour ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.