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CHICKEN IN PROSCIUTTO

April 12th, 2009 Comments off

This is a different take on Herb and Feta Baked Chicken.

Ingredients

8 chicken thighs, skinless and boneless

2 tablespoons each chopped fresh rosemary, oregano and thyme (or any other fresh herbs available)

125g (4½ oz) feta cheese, cut into 8 sticks

Salt and freshly ground pepper

8 slices prosciutto

Method

Heat oven to 180°C (360° F) fanbake

Open the chicken thighs.  Divide the herbs among the thighs.   Place a piece of feta in the centre of each thigh.  Season and roll up to enclose the cheese.

Wrap each chicken piece in prosciutto. 

Put the chicken pieces on a baking tray which has been lined  with cooking paper and bake for about 30 minutes until prosciutto is crisp and chicken is cooked through.  Serve with squashed baked potatoes and a salad.

Chicken prosciutto

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MUSSELS IN THE SHELL

April 12th, 2009 Comments off

The best mussels to use for this recipe are NZ green lipped ones.  If you can’t get these, use brown mussels as a substitute, but you will need to use more.

Ingredients

12 green lipped mussels

½ C butter at room temperature

4 cloves garlic, crushed

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

1 C grated mature cheddar cheese

Method

Heat oven grill to highest setting

Steam the mussels in a small amount of water until they open.  Remove the mussels from the shell.  Remove the beard and any gristly bits from the mussels and discard.  Keep one clean half shell per mussel.

In a small bowl, mix the butter, garlic, lemon juice and lemon zest together until well blended. 

Arrange the shells on a baking tray.  Place one mussel in each shell half.  Put a dollop of the butter mixture on each mussel.  Top with grated cheese.  Place under the grill for a few minutes until golden and sizzling.

Serves 2 – 4

Mussels

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CORN (MIELIE) BREAD

April 12th, 2009 1 comment

While this bread doesn’t look terribly attractive, it is delicious and perfect at a barbecue (thanks Brian’s mom for the recipe)

Ingredients

1 T toasted bread crumbs

2 t baking powder

150g (5oz) cake flour

1 t bicarbonate of soda

50ml (10 t) caster sugar

Pinch salt

60g (2oz) butter or margarine

3 eggs, lightly beaten

50ml (10t) milk

1 X  410g (1lb) tin whole kernel sweetcorn, drained

Method

Grease a round microwave ring or pan (26X12 cm, 10X5 inch) and coat the inside with the crumbs.

Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl and rub in the butter or margarine.  Combine the eggs, sweetcorn and milk in a jug, pour into the flour mixture and mix until just combined.  Don’t over mix.

Turn into the prepared pan and sprinkle with toasted breadcrumbs.  Cover with plastic wrap.

Microwave on 70% power for 8 – 10 minutes.  Uncover and stand for 5 minutes before turning out.

Mielie bread

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ROAST LAMB AND TRIMMINGS – MARGIE’S VERSION

April 12th, 2009 Comments off

Ingredients

Lamb:

Leg or shoulder of lamb

Lots of garlic (I use a whole head)

Lemon pepper seasoning

Roast Potatoes:

1 – 2 potatoes per person

Rice bran oil

Mint sauce:

2 handfuls mint

Brown vinegar

Sugar

Method

For the lamb:

Heat oven to 160°C / 320°F fan bake

Place lamb in a roasting pan and season with lemon pepper seasoning on the top side.  Surround with unpeeled garlic cloves.  Add water so pan is around three quarters full.  Bake for about half an hour then turn the lamb and season the other side.  Add more water until pan is again three quarters full.  Bake again for about 1½ to 2½ hours, turning every half hour.  Let the water evaporate a bit until there is enough left to make as much gravy as desired.  The lamb is done when it is very tender but not falling apart.  Remove from the pan to a serving dish, cover with foil and let rest for about 25 minutes. 

To make the gravy, squash the garlic from the husks and discard the husks.  Check the seasoning and thicken with enough cornflour mixed with water to give preferred consistency. (Some like it runny, some like it thick)

For the potatoes:

Peel the potatoes and cut into quarters for small potatoes and sixths for larger ones.  Add to salted boiling water and cook until ¾ done.  Pour into a colander, be a bit rough with them, the more you rough them up, the crisper they will turn out.  Heat some rice bran oil in a large pan.  Add the potatoes and cook slowly, turning occasionally until golden and crisp.  For even more crispness, use a knife to partially halve the pieces of potato while cooking in the oil.

For the mint sauce:

Make early and let steep for as long as possible.  Finely chop the mint and place in a small bowl.  Add enough vinegar to just cover.  Add 3 teaspoons sugar and stir until dissolved then taste.  Keep adding sugar, stirring and tasting after each spoon until desired balance of sugar and vinegar is achieved.

Roast lamb

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MANDARIN PANCAKES

February 21st, 2009 1 comment

Ingredients

450 g (3½ cups) plain flour

300 ml (1¼ cups) boiling water

1 teaspoon oil

roasted sesame oil

Method

Sift the flour into a bowl (I use my Kenwood mixer), pour the boiling water in, mixing slowly.  Add the oil and knead to a firm dough.  Cover with a damp tea towel and set aside for 30 minutes.

Knead the dough for about 10 minutes, or until smooth.  Divide the dough into three equal portions, roll each portion into a long cylinder, then cut each cylinder into 8 pieces.  While cooking the pancakes, keep the pieces covered with a damp tea towel.

Working with 2 pieces at a time, roll each piece into a ball and press into a flat disc with the palm of your hand.  Brush one disc with sesame oil and put another disc on top.  Use a rolling pin to flatten each pair of discs into a 15 cm (6 in) pancake.

Heat an ungreased frying pan over high heat, then reduce heat to low.  Place the pairs of pancakes, one at a time in the pan.  Turn over when brown spots appear on the underside.  When the second side is cooked, lift pancakes out and carefully peel them apart.  Fold each pancake in half, cooked side in and set aside under another damp cloth.

Reheat pancakes in a steamer over simmering water for about 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 24 pancakes

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MU SHU PORK

February 21st, 2009 1 comment

Ingredients

250 g (9 oz) pork fillet or loin, trimmed of fat

¼ cup light soy sauce

¼ cup Shaoxing rice wine

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons cornflour (cornstarch)

5 dried Chinese mushrooms

20 g (1 oz) dried black wood ear fungus

4 tablespoons oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons ginger, finely chopped

1 leek, white part only, finely shredded

¼ small Cinese cabbage, stem and leafy sections separated and shredded

½ teaspoon sugar

Freshly ground black pepper

½ cup hoisin sauce

12 Mandarin pancakes

Method

Cut the pork across the grain into slices about 5mm (¼ in) thick, then cut into thin matchstick size shreds.  Place shreds into a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of the rice wine, the sesame oil and 1 teaspoon of the cornflour and toss to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and marinade in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Soak the dried mushrooms in boiling water for 30 minutes, then drain and squeeze out any excess water.  Remove and discard stems and shred the caps.  Soak the fungus in cold water for 20 minutes, then drain and squeeze out any excess water.  Shred the fungus.

Heat a wok over high heat, add 2 tablespoons of the oil and heat until very hot.  Sirf-fry the port mixture for a couple of minutes until the meat is brown and cooked.  It may be necessary to do this in batches. Remove and set aside.  Rinse and dry the wok.

Reheat the wok over high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and heat until hot.  Add the eggs and stir fry to scramble, then move to one side of the wok.  Add 1 tablespoon of the oil and heat until very hot.  Stir fry the garlic, ginger, mushrooms and fungus for 30 seconds until fragrant.  Add the leek and stir fry for 2 minutes, then add the cabbage stems and cook for 30 seconds.  Add the leafy cabbage sections, and cook for a minute or until the vegetables are just tender.

Combine 1½ tablespoons of the soy sauce, the remaining rice wine and cornflour, the sugar, black pepper and the meat and add to the sauce and simmer until thickened.

Combine the hoisin sauce, the remaining soy sauce and 1½  tablespoons water in a small bowl.  Serve the pork with the pancakes and sauce.

Serves 4

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TOMATO SAUCE

February 21st, 2009 Comments off

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 plum tomatoes, quartered

Sprig each of rosemary, oregano and thyme

Method

Cook the onion and garlic in the oil, stirring, until softened and beginning to brown.

Add the tomatoes, reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes until soft.

Add the herbs and transfer to a food processor.  Blend to a puree.  Press through a sieve to make a smooth sauce.

Season to taste.

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HERB AND FETA BAKED CHICKEN

February 21st, 2009 Comments off

Ingredients

8 chicken thighs, skinless and boneless

2 tablespoons each chopped fresh rosemary, oregano and thyme (or any other fresh herbs available)

125g (4½ oz) feta cheese, cut into 8 sticks

1 tablespoon milk

2 tablespoons flour

salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

Open the chicken thighs.  Divide the herbs among the thighs.   Place a piece of feta in the centre of each thigh.  Season and roll up to enclose the cheese.

Put the thighs in an oven proof dish.  Brush with milk and dust with flour.

Bake at 180°C (360° F) for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.

Serve with tomato sauce

Serves 4

Feta chicken

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THAI STYLE FISH

February 21st, 2009 3 comments

Ingredients

 4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon fish sauce

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon grated ginger

2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce

1 bunch fresh coriander (cilantro) chopped

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons white wine

600 g (1 ¼ lb) whole fish like snapper, tarakihi, or fish steaks like hapuku

2 spring onions, cut into julienne strips

Method

Mix together the garlic, fish sauce, lemon juice, ginger, chilli sauce, coriander, rice wine vinegar and wine.

Place the fish on a large piece of double thickness heavy foil.  Pour the marinade over the fish and sprinkle with the spring onion

Wrap the fish in the foil to make a parcel.  Cook over medium heat on a barbecue plate for about 30 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.  Alternatively, bake in a medium oven (180°C/360°F)

Serves 4

Thai fish

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BARBECUE SPARE RIBS

February 7th, 2009 Comments off

Ingredients

1 kg pork spare ribs (use free range if possible)

Juice of 1 lemon (or more if you like lemon)

4 cloves garlic, crushed

½ cup finely chopped parsley

1 desert spoon brown sugar

2 cups tomato juice

Method

Cut the ribs into pieces of about 6 ribs each. Place in a non metallic flat dish.

Mix all the rest of the ingredients together and pour over the ribs. Cover and allow to marinade in the fridge for at least 3 hours and longer if possible. Turn ribs occasionally.

Barbecue slowly until the ribs are tender – about 40 minutes.

If it is raining, bake the ribs in a moderate (180 degrees C) oven for about 1 hour until tender.

Cut into individual ribs and serve.

Serves 4

ribs1

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