Hello dear people,
I’ve decided to make a few changes to this blog…
Pink Poppadom will still exist, but it will focus solely on my baking business.
I’ve created a new page / blog called Foodie goes Primal and here you can find all my fab low carb recipes!
So, all you low-carbers, banters and paleonistas – please head on over to my new page and like it, share it, subscribe to it, love it!
Heidi x
As I was sipping my morning coffee yesterday, my Yuppiechef newsletter arrived in my inbox…
Always exciting stuff – what’s new in the world of cooking and culinary gadgets – one newsletter that I actually read!
They had a feature on lamb shank and I decided, ‘that’s what I’ll make for dinner tonight’, it’s just the perfect hearty dish for a cold winter’s evening.
I made mine with cauli mash, so it’s totally Banting-approved!
You do need enough time for this one – so get cracking NOW – it needs to cook for at least 2.5-3hrs.
Other than that, it’s super easy – here’s what you’ll need:
4 lamb shanks
Salt & pepper {I prefer to use fine salt and white pepper with lamb}
Lemon rind of 1 lemon
Tin of whole peeled tomatoes
1 onion, finely chopped
3 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
A handful of thyme sprigs
400ml dry red wine
Olive oil
1 large head of cauliflower
A chunk of butter {perhaps 50g or so}
1 tbs sour cream / crème fraîche
Use a medium-sized oven casserole that will snugly fit all 4 shanks.
Season the lamb shanks with salt & pepper.
Heat enough olive oil and brown the meat on all sides and set aside.
Add a bit more olive oil to the casserole and sauté the onions until they’re nice and soft.
Add the garlic, the thyme and lemon peel and cook for about another minute.
Add the tomatoes and just give them a rough chop in the pot, then add the wine.
Return the shanks to the casserole, place the lid on top and cook in a pre-heated oven of 140C for 2.5-3 hrs, until the meat is really tender and starts to fall off the bone. I cooked mine for 2.5hrs…
Serve with cauli mash:
Steam or boil the cauliflower until tender, then purée with a stick blender, season with salt & pepper, add the butter and crème fraîche and blend until smooth. Voilà!
Brussels sprouts are probably not anyone’s fave veggie {honestly, I don’t think it’s that bad, but probably not up there with say, sweet potatoes…}.
So let’s give this poor old veggie a makeover with this fab {and simple} recipe from The Real Meal Revolution.
You will need:
A packet of Brussels sprouts {about 200g}
125g bacon
Dollop of butter
Sour cream
Salt & pepper
Slice the bacon into fine strip and fry in the butter until crisp.
Steam the sprouts until they’re tender. Add the sprouts to the bacon pan and heat through.
Serve warm with dollops of sour cream, seasoned with freshly ground salt & pepper.
This beautiful bowl was handmade by my friend Karin du Plessis {Katryn Keramiek}
Enjoy the sprouts! X
Hello!
What’s for lunch on this sunny winter’s Monday?
I think a hearty quiche is just the thing! It’s quick and easy and you can make it ahead of time too.
Perfect for The Lunchbox or a Sunny Picnic – you decide.
All right, so here’s what you’ll need:
Deboned {roasted} chicken meat {I used the brown meat from a whole chicken: thighs, some of the wings and the drumsticks.}
6 whole eggs
Handful of Gouda cheese, coarsely grated
6 tsp sour cream
3 sprigs of thyme
1 small butternut, diced and cooked
A splash of milk
2 large leeks, cut lengthways into quarters and caramelised in butter
Start by prepping all your already-cooked ingredients:
Remove the cooked chicken from the bones and roughly tear into strips
Cook the butternut and let it cool
Caramelise the leeks by slowly sautéing in butter until it becomes golden and soft
Next, whisk the eggs and add a splash of milk. Add the grated cheese and season with salt & pepper.
Butter a small oven dish and pre-heat your oven to 180C.
Layer the chicken and butternut in the bottom of the dish and press the thyme sprigs inbetween.
Pour the egg and cheese mixture over the chicken and butternut and add dollops of sour cream randomly onto the dish.
Finally, arrange the leeks all over and then bake for about 35 minutes until the eggs are set and the quiche is beautifully golden on top.
You can totally make this quiche with a traditional pastry shell, but I prefer it without, plus now it’s carb-free!
Enjoy! X
You know, the thing I enjoy about Banting, is that it really let’s you be creative. You can use all the delicious things you want: bacon, butter, cream, etc. and nothing needs to be steamed or tasteless – bleh. {Just make sure you use the right fats!}
Anyways, so these chicken bites are my adaptation from The Real Meal Revolution’s coconut fish bites.
They’re just the thing for a light lunch or a snack, or as an appetizer.
Also a goodie for lunch boxes!
You will need:
Boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips
Desiccated coconut
2 eggs, beaten
Coconut oil for frying
Curried mayo
Freshly ground Himalayan pink salt
You will need to use about 2 tbs coconut oil to shallow fry the chicken.
Season the chicken strips with salt and let it sit for a few minutes while you prep the mayo.
Heat the oil, then dip the chicken strips in the egg and then the coconut. Fry over medium heat until both sides are a nice golden brown.
Serve with the curried mayo and a small herb salad. You could also make a fab fresh salsa:
Diced papaya
Diced green pepper
Diced tomato
Diced red onion
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Salt
Small diced red chili {optional}
Enjoy! X
Let me start off by saying that I am NOT a ‘surf ‘n turf’ fan… I find the whole concept a bit tacky – it’s just too much and nothing really ‘fits’.
Ok, so with that out of the way, let me tell you that this carpetbagger business is quite delicious, contrary to previous conceptions.
I used venison fillet, and what you must always remember with venison, that I learnt last year when I first started to cook with it, is that it is a naturally lean meat and needs a bit of fat or creaminess and it also likes to be paired with sweet things like fruit or sweet wines.
So, what is a carpetbagger? Well, it is a piece of steak, stuffed with oysters – in a nutshell.
I didn’t stuff the steak with the oysters, in fact, I didn’t even use oysters… I used smoked mussels and used it in the sauce.
You will need:
1 large piece of fillet steak, cut into thick steaks
1/2 a cup of cream
100g butter
About 100ml Cape Ruby {aka Port}
1 tin smoked mussels
Freshly ground sea salt
Heat the butter in a large, heavy based pan. Season the raw steaks with salt and fry both sides in the butter until they are medium to rare. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add the port and let it deglaze the pan. Add the cream and mussels and another dollop of butter.
Let it reduce ever so slightly and return the steaks to the pan to let it simmer for a few minutes in the sauce. It should be cooked to about medium.
Serve with a simple salad of beetroot, feta and mixed herbs. I used watercress, baby spinach and rocket.
I boiled the beetroot, then let it cool. Once cooled, I removed the skin and thinly sliced it.
I drizzled it with olive oil, a splash of lemon juice and a sprinkle of ground sea salt.
Use this with a selection of greens and then add feta and vanilla flavoured pumpkin seeds.
I guess these vanilla seeds are not very kosher when it comes to Banting, etc, but they are so yummy and just elevates your salad to another level. A yummy sprinkle isn’t too bad in the greater scheme of things…
Enjoy! X
I literally have a fridge chock ‘n block full of lettuce – in a variety of sizes and types… In the middle of winter…
Why?!
Anyways, so I thought I’d better use some of it, and concocted a delicious salad that’s actually perfect for winter.
This will be a fab brunch salad too!
You will need:
A variety of salad greens {I used baby butter lettuce, watercress, wild rocket and bay spinach}
1 avo, diced
Parmesan cheese, shaved
Olive oil
1 tbs dijonnaise
Boerewors {roughly 700g}, chopped into bite-sized pieces
250g streaky bacon, cut into strips
Poached eggs {1-2 per person}
Red wine vinegar
Place the sausage and bacon in an oven dish and grill in the oven for about 35 minutes, rotating it every so often so that everything can brown nicely.
Drizzle the salad greens with some olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar and add the cheese and avo.
Mix the dijonnaise with 2 tbs of olive oil and sprinkle half over the salad.
Poach the eggs by bringing water to the boil in a deep pan or a small wok{I used a wok} and create a swirl. Add a splash of vinegar.
Once the water has reached a gentle boil, carefully place each egg into the water with a teacup. Let it cook for about 6 minutes for medium.
Add the bacon and sausage to the greens, then place the poached eggs on top and drizzle with the remaining dijonnaise dressing.
Voila – delish – enjoy! X
Hello and brrrrr…!
So, it seems that winter is here in all its glory. Freezing mornings and nights, with chilly yet sunny days and we just had a very, very cold weekend…
I sound a bit like the weather man, don’t I..?
Anyways, it’s that time of year when we crave warm comfort foods, usually in the shape of one-pot-meals or something baked and cheesy and carby… So if you’re trying to stay good and on the Banting or Paleo path, it’s really not that difficult! Ok fine, we all crave those carby things in winter, but you can still indulge in some serious comfort food, while sticking to your eating plan.
I’m totally in love with oranges at the moment, they’re in season and packed with vitamins. Yes, they contain sugar and so strictly speaking not quite an eat-as-much-as-you-can item on the Banting list, but just use them in moderation.
Oranges and spices can transform almost any food into a warm, rich winter staple…
Here is my recipe for slow-cooked orange spiced pork:
You will need:
+- 1kg Pork chops or stew cuts
1 orange {half of it thickly sliced! the other half juiced}
3 cloves
3 star anise
1 tsp honey
2 cups chicken stock
Salt
1 cinnamon quill
1 tbs soy sauce
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, roughly chopped
1 butternut, diced and cooked
{You will need a slow cooker / crock-pot for this recipe, although you could also make it in a large, heavy bottomed pot.}
The thing I love about using a slow cooker, is that you literally just place everything into the pot, switch it on and hours later you have a fab meal. The downside of using a slow cooker is that you don’t get that lovely browned meat flavour into the food, unless you brown the meat before putting it into the cooker. With this recipe, I don’t brown the meat first, I do it at the end by placing everything under the grill. This gives everything a slightly caramelised effect.
Enough babbling…
Start by placing the meat in the bottom of your slow cooker and just pack everything on top and around:
Place the cloves, star anise, cinnamon and ginger around the meat.
Season with salt. Combine the soy sauce, honey and orange juice and pour over the meat. Place the orange slices, as well as the half of squeezed orange on top and around everything.
Add the stock and let it cook on high for about 4 hours.
Once the meat is cooked {the meat will be cooked but the fat not rendered and still bleak-looking}, remove and dish it into an oven dish.
Drizzle some of the juices over the meat and place the orange slices on top, again. Add chunks of the cooked butternut and make sure everything has a drizzle of juices…
Roast in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, until everything is golden and some bits start to get charred.
Enjoy as is, with a glass of dry red of course! You can also add a few bits of mini lettuce or a micro salad, but let’s face it, who wants salad on a freezing night?!
I think it would also work with cauli-mash…
Oh my, is it June yet..?!
Where has the year gone? I turn a whopping age on Sat and it still feels a bit unreal… I just can’t cope with the fact that half the year’s gone already, I still feel as if I’m busy settling into the new year, preparing for the year ahead, meanwhile it’s halfway gone!
Anyways, moving along…
I made this fab quiche that is totally ‘good’ in every sense of the word. It’s carb-free and high fat, packed with healthy spinach.
And no, there are no ‘fillers’. I can’t stand it when you have quiche {not at my house!} and you can just taste that it’s been bulked up with flour inside the quiche.
So here’s my recipe for the ultimate spinach and feta quiche – Banting-style of course:
You will need:
200g of spinach, chopped and ready to use
1 onion, diced
100g butter
Olive oil
Nutmeg
1 cup cream
6 eggs
100g mozzarella cheese, grated
1 round of full-fat feta cheese
1/3 tub of cream cheese {Philadelphia or Lancewood}
Pink salt
Black pepper
Start by sautéing the onion in a bit of olive oil until soft, then add the spinach and wilt it down slightly. You don’t want it to be cooked dead…
Add the butter, a pinch of nutmeg and the cream.
Season to taste with pink salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Let this cool.
In the meantime, line an oven dish with baking paper and pre-heat the oven to 180C.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and add the mozzarella cheese and crumble in the feta. Mix in the spinach mixture.
Now spoon half the mixture into the baking dish. Add dollops of cream cheese evenly all over and then cover with the rest of the mixture – the cream cheese should be like a hidden centre of creaminess.
Bake for 30minutes until it is set and golden brown.
This is perfect for lunch, served with some wild rocket or other mixed lettuce and herbs, perfect to pack for a picnic, or even just a light supper.
Ok, let’s face it, you could easily have this for breakfast too – so it really is the perfect breakfast / lunch / dinner dish!
Enjoy! X
I love the fragrant and bold flavours used in Middle Eastern cooking, and also the simple ingredients used. I also love the style of eating – very casual and laid-back, incorporating all the senses.
You need to touch the food, eat with your hands; experience the smell, get carried away by it; see all the beautiful dishes and of course taste the delightful flavours, all the while some fabulous music plays in the background – voila, the scene is set!
A friend of mine prepared the most delicious aubergine {my absolute favourite vegetable!} dish for our monthly book club get-together and I just had to re-create it at home.
Buttery soft aubergines, delicately spiced with cumin and paprika, drenched in a tangy lemon and garlic dressing – yum.
I teamed these up with Cape Malay inspired meatballs and a huge bowl of butter lettuce. Fantastic – you could eat with your hands! {A mini mezze platter…}
The meatballs hinted of a bobotie, with golden sultanas and a hint of apricot, alongside fragrant curry spices.
All the elements of this dish is totally Paleo- and Banting-friendly, except perhaps for the teaspoon of apricot jam used… But you could leave that out. Or not, I don’t think a teaspoon will hurt anyone.
For the aubergines, you will need:
Baby aubergines, as many as you want, halved
Olive oil
Salt
Cumin
Paprika
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Heat a large glug of olive oil in a large pot or pan. Start by placing the aubergines in the pan, with the sliced side down. Get them nice and brown, then turn them over and salt the cooked side. Let the skin side also brown – you might need a bit more olive oil, as they tend to suck it up like a sponge. Once both sides have been browned, place the lid on and let them steam for a few minutes, just to soften them up nicely.
While they’re still hot, sprinkle with a tiny bit of paprika and cumin, then scatter the zest and garlic on top and drizzle with the lemon juice.
For the meatballs, you will need:
Roughly 800g of minced meat {I used Eland, a type of game meat}
Salt to taste
1 egg
1/2 a cup of sultanas
1 tsp smooth apricot jam
2 tbs curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin powder
1 onion, chopped
Olive oil
Zest of 1 orange
Sauté the onion until soft, then add the curry powder, turmeric and cumin and fry until fragrant. Set aside.
Next, mix all the rest of the ingredients, as well as the onion and spices. Make sure you mix it thoroughly.
Heat up some olive oil and fry one meatball to make sure you’ve added enough salt.
If you’re happy, roll the rest of the mixture into bite-sized balls and fry on all sides until golden and cooked through.
Serve with the aubergines and some butter lettuce – simple, delicious, totally satisfying!
Enjoy! X
bespoke + custom cakes + cupcakes for special occasions 