Bobotie with a Twist.

Here’s another Masterchef-inspired angelfish dish.

Simply brilliant – I’ve wrapped everything else in bacon,  but never thought of doing fish… And let me tell you – you have got to try it!

{I think bacon is like butter, it makes everything tastes good! Not that you need to change the taste of angelfish, but it works brilliantly together.}

Here’s what you’ll need:

4 angelfish fillets

8 rashers of streaky bacon

Butter

Sweet potatoes

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Spinach

Wrap each fish fillet in 2 rashers of bacon – you don’t need to season the fish at all, because the bacon is already salty.

Fry the fish parcels in a bit of butter until they’re cooked through and a nice golden colour.

Dice the sweet potato and place in a glass casserole. Add a little bit of water, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg. Add a knob of butter and cook in the microwave for about 20 minutes until the sweet potatoes are soft and squiggy.
You don’t need to add any sugar, as the sweet potatoes are naturally sweet – combined with the cinnamon & nutmeg, it’s a match made in heaven!

Stir-fry the spinach in some butter until wilted.

Serve the fish with the spinach and sweet potatoes – ah, pure delight! The cinnamon and nutmeg definitely gives this dish an exotic feel and flavour and turns it into total comfort food.

 

Enjoy! x

Hello!

I have to come clean here, I’ve never really been a fan of the lamb chop on the braai… That is, until we moved into our new home, befriended the best neighbours ever and braaid a lot – now I’m a huge fan!

These lamb chops are different from the ‘gourmet’ kind you might find in a nice restaurant – they are most definitely not pink in the middle… 

No, my dear friends, these are old-school, South African-style ‘skaaptjoppies oppie kole’ {translated: lamb chops on the barbecue}.

So, what is the secret to the best chops ever? Well, it’s actually quite simple – don’t try and be fancy – less is more, especially in this case:

 

You need only 3 things for The Most Amazing Lamb Chops:

Freshly squeezed lemon juice

Fine salt

White pepper

And of course, lamb chops – I would recommend the back chops

An hour or so before cooking {and it HAS to be on a braai – Big Green Egg or Weber or old-school open coals}, squeeze lemon juice all over the chops, on both sides.
Sprinkle very liberally with fine salt {don’t worry about it being too salty – it won’t be, trust me.} and a bit of white pepper.
Cover with cling wrap until you’re ready to cook.

If you have a braai with a temperature gauge, get the coals to about 160C.

Cook at 160C, turning them every 10 minutes x4 {40 minutes total cooking time} until they’re nice and crispy and golden. 
The key is to render the fat and get it golden brown.

 

Serve with this salad:

Mixed baby lettuce

Handful steamed green beans

Fresh baby pea shoots

Toasted almond flakes {toast in a dry pan}

Freshly squeezed orange juice {one half}

Olive oil

Red wine vinegar

Capers

Layer the baby lettuce and green beans and add the pea shoots on top.
Scatter the almonds over the top.
Mix the orange juice, a splash of red wine vinegar and a good glug of olive oil with a tbs of capers and drizzle over the salad.

Enjoy! x

{P.S. My husband said my lamb chops were better than his – ha!}

Hello!

Yay for a few things:
*Last week of August – good riddance, hello Spring!
*New season of Masterchef SA is underway, love it!

So, I headed off to Woolies for my weekly ‘fresh’ shopping – all the greens, etc, and I spotted some angelfish fillets. Coincidence that this was the first #MCSA Bootcamp challenge ingredient..?! Hmmm…

Luckily I didn’t have to skin and fillet this one myself {although, bring it on!}, it’s already fabulously ready to cook, thanks Woolies!

Ok, anyways, so here’s what I got up to with my lovely fillets:

This is one of my all-time favourite recipes and can be used for pork, chicken or fish – my mom’s recipe.

You will need:

4 Angelfish fillets

1/4 cup cream

1/4 cup dry white wine

2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

Salt & pepper to taste

Butter

1 tbs capers

2 handfuls green beans, steamed

4 large handfuls spinach, stir-fried in olive oil & butter

 

Start by preparing your greens first.

Next, season the fish fillets and fry in butter {about 2 tbs} on a medium heat until golden and almost cooked through.
Add a sprinkle of lemon juice and remove the fish from the pan.
De-glaze the pan with the white wine. and reduce the heat to low.
Add the rest of the lemon juice and another chunk of butter.
Add the capers and cream and let the sauce reduce slightly.

Return the fish to the pan and let it cook through – please, please, please do not overcook the fish!

Serve it on a bed of spinach and green beans and drizzle generously with the sauce and capers.

 

This recipe is of course, completely #Banting-friendly – another big yay!

Enjoy! x

I keep wanting to do a #TBT {Throwback Thursday} post, but alas, I cannot bring myself to recreate something as ghastly as a Cremora tart or the likes… No offense…

Other old favourites from the past are still so much a part of our modern lives, it doesn’t really seem fitting. Perhaps a good old Sunday roast or a Shepard’s Pie? But with a twist… 

Ok, now you know what I’ve been thinking about, let’s move on, shall we?

Another favourite of mine – The Crustless Quiche – so perfect for lunch, dinner, Banting, Paleo, picnic, whatever! And go ahead and stick just about anything in it – FAB!

This one is kind-of-Mexican-inspired, with minced meat, bacon, cheese and of course a delicious avo salsa.

You will need:

7 eggs

2 cups of minced meat, cooked with onion and Peppadew spice {brown the meat in some butter, add onion and spice and cook}

1 cup defrosted peas

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

125g streaky bacon, sliced

Half a cup of milk

Half a cup of cream

A pinch of salt

A pinch of white pepper

50g cream cheese, diced

Half a habanero chili, dried and flaked

2 avos, diced

1 tomato, diced

Olive oil

1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Salt & black pepper for seasoning the avo salsa

 

Whisk the eggs and add the milk, cream, cheddar, salt, pepper, peas, bacon and mince.

Pour the mixture into a greased {with butter} oven dish.

Add the chunks of cream cheese and half-bury it into the mixture.

Bake at 180C for 40 minutes.

 

Next, mix the avo and tomato and add a sprinkle of Peppadew spice, salt & pepper.

Drizzle generously with olive oil and add the lemon juice.

 

Serve slices of quiche with a generous scoop of salsa and garnish with some parsley. I guess that’s quite ‘retro’, garnishing with parsley?

Anyhoo – give it a try – and enjoy! x

 

You know those days when you just crave heaps and heaps of veggies? But you don’t necessarily want them all steamed and boring…

This soup is perfect – you get loads of veggies, without it being a boring old veggie soup, packed with flavour and comfort.

I actually had two things on my mind when I made this soup:
1. ‘I don’t feel like having any meat and I crave lots of veggies…’
2. ‘What can I do with an aubergine, small broccoli, a few baby marrows and some tomatoes..?’

So, it’s a goodie – give it a try! It will definitely also go down a treat as a starter, served with my baby marrow banting bread. {Just sayin’…}

You will need:

1 aubergine, diced

5 baby marrows, sliced

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

A handful of Rosa tomatoes, halved

2 tsp Peppadew spice

Olive oil

Small broccoli

1 liter chicken stock

2 spring onions

1 tsp smoked paprika

Mature cheddar cheese, to serve

Start by making your ratatouille:
Saute the onion in olive oil until soft,  then add the aubergine, garlic & Peppadew spice and cook until golden. Add a few more glugs of olive oil as it cooks.
Add the baby marrows and cook some more.
Add the tomatoes, give it a stir and cover it with a lid. 
Let it simmer until everything is cooked.

Next, saute the spring onions {sliced} in some butter and add the paprika.
Add the broccoli pieces and the chicken stock and cook until the broccoli is tender.
Blitz it in a blender until it has a smooth consistency.

Ladle the broccoli soup into bowls, add a few spoonfuls of ratatouille and top with grated cheddar – ENJOY! x

Can it just be Spring already?!
I am SO over this Winter… Bleh.

Everywhere are hints of Spring just waiting to make its appearance:
Jasmine are in full bloom already;
The beautiful scent of fruit blossoms;
Clear skies and sunny mid-days;
The occasional rumble of thunder, just waiting for the official go-ahead;
Later sunsets;
Awesome new seasonal produce in-store, such as strawberries and pea shoots! Hurray!

Right, so clearly I am heading somewhere with all of this…
Why yes, I am!
With all these hints of Spring, I think it’s time to dive into Salad-Ville, there are so much more variety of produce to use, it’s like emerging from some deep, dark, cave that was Winter.

So, here is a lovely and simple, yet very exciting and super tasty GREEN salad:

You will need:

A selection of baby salad leaves {I love the ‘specialty baby leaf salad’ from Pick ‘n Pay, or Woolies’ mixed herb salad leaves}
4 medium baby marrows {I was so bummed to find out that zucchini is actually an entirely different marrow variety, and not just a synonym for baby marrow…}
A cup of fresh peas, blanched in hot water
A handful of fresh mint leaves
One and a half ‘rolls’ of soft plain goats’ cheese or Chevin
A handful of fresh baby pea shoots {Pick ‘n Pay have these in stock at the moment}
Olive oil
A sprinkle of sea salt

Start by thinly slicing your baby marrows. Place onto a large grilling sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Grill in the oven for half an hour, rotating and turning them every 10 minutes. Let a few get charred – so tasty and fun!

Let the baby marrows cool and then assemble the salad:

Place the salad leaves in a large bowl and add the mint leaves.
Add about half the peas and the baby marrows.
Top with the goats’ cheese {sliced or broken into chunks}.
Scatter the rest of the peas on top and garnish with the pea shoots.

Serve with olive oil and balsamic vinegar – it really doesn’t need anything else.
Let each person dress their own helping, that way you don’t need to dress the entire salad and it will stay fresh if there are any leftover.

This is quite a large salad and can be used in a salad jar the next day for lunch:
Just add some leftover chicken or steak and drizzle with olive oil.

Enjoy! x

Hello!

Here’s a fab Banting chicken dish that will tick all the boxes:
Super-Banting – tick
Super-tasty – tick
Heaps of greens – tick
Easy and quick to make – TICK

We often forget about the greens, or we tend to stack up on the meat and not get in enough veggies.
When you follow a Banting lifestyle, same with Paleo, it’s super-important to remember that it’s NOT a high protein diet, but rather low carb.

My husband’s been complaining that he’s not getting in enough veggies, especially the green varieties. You know how it goes during winter, no-ones in the mood for salads and we just kind of forget about all the other lovely greens…

So – here’s my recipe for an {almost} one-pot chicken dish with heaps of greens:

You will need:

8 pieces of chicken {I used thighs and drumsticks}
200g baby spinach
125g streaky bacon
1 small head of broccoli
A handful of Woolworths tenderstem broccoli tips
Olive oil
Butter for frying
3 sprigs of spring onion, sliced
125ml dry white wine
125ml cream
Peppadew spice

Heat a knob of butter in a large pot.
Season the chicken with Peppadew spice and fry on both sides in the butter until they’re golden.
Add the spring onion and bacon and let it cook.
Add the wine and cream, cover with the lid and let it cook for about 45 minutes.
Add the broccoli pieces and let it cook for another 10 minutes with the lid off.
Now add the tenderstem broccoli tips {these are awesome – a mix between broccoli and kale and packed with taste and nutrients!}.
Steam the baby spinach, drizzle with olive oil and place in a nice serving dish.
Top with the chicken-pot-goodies and serve!

Enjoy! x