Shakshuka

 

what you will need:

·         3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

·         1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

·         1 large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

·         3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

·         1 teaspoon ground cumin

·         1 teaspoon sweet paprika

·         ⅛ teaspoon cayenne, or to taste

·         1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes with juices, coarsely chopped

·         ¾ teaspoon salt, more as needed

·         ¼ teaspoon black pepper, more as needed

·         6 large eggs

·         Fresh Parsley for serving

What to do:

1.      Heat oven to 375 degrees.

2.      Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook gently until very soft, about 20 minutes. Add garlic and cook until tender, 1 to 2 minutes; stir in cumin, paprika and cayenne, and cook 1 minute. Pour in tomatoes and season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; simmer until tomatoes have thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir in crumbled feta.

3.      Gently crack eggs into skillet over tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until eggs are just set, 7 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with hot sauce.

 

 

My cookbook..

My passion in life involves people and good food
I love #training 
Knowledge is power, no one can ever steal that from you. When I impart knowledge I loose nothing but the next person learns
I love #good food
Agree with me or not good food makes one feel good. I no not promote comfort eating, but healthy balance eating with a dash of indulgence
I love #people
Without people the above is in vain to me.
I love #LOVE 
it is the driving passion in all I do.

Hello. My name is Mmathabo and all I want to do is impart the wealth of knowledge that I picked up on my way in the hospitality industry. Let's cook, eat and be merry. 

Chicken Stir Fry

I like this recipe as it is an all in one, you have your starch, vegetables with beautiful colour and meat. Enjoy this tasty recipe with noodle, rice or pap if you like. Enjoy...

This image shows the recipe served with rice noodles

You will need:

3 tbs Vegetable oil

2 Skinless, boneless Chicken breasts, sliced into bite size strips

1/2 red,yellow and green peppers

1 cup broccoli, chopped

1 cup button mushrooms, slices

1 tbs fresh ginger, peeled and shredded

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tbs soy sauce or worcestershire sauce

2 tbs Tomato sauce

1 tsp constarch aka maizena

paprika for colour

What to do:

1. In a large wok or skillet, heat the vegetable oil over high heat

2. Add the chicken pieced that have been dusted with paprika stir fry for about 3 minutes. Removed from skillet and set aside.

3. Add peppers, broccoli, mushrooms and ginger to the skillet and stir fry for 3 minutes.

4. in a mixing bowl combine chicken stock, soy sauce, tomato sauce and cornstarch

5. Add chicken back in the skillet, add liquid mixture and cook for a further 3 minutes

6. Serve with rice, or noodles immediately.

Seafood Chowder

This nice and filling Chowder will have you coming for more than seconds. 

You will need:

1 tbs vegetable oil

1 onion (chopped)

100g streaky bacon, Chopped

1tbs PLAin Flour 

600ml fish stock

2 potatoes chopped

300ml Milk

300g cooked shellfish

Fresh Parsley

pinch cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to season

crusty bread/ croutons to serve 

What to do:

1. Heat 1 tbs of oil on a deep saucepan at medium heat

2. Add onion and bacon cook for about 8 minutes.

3. Add flour and stir then cook for a further 2 minutes.

4. Pour fish stock and the cubed potatoes then simmer for 12 minutes until potatoes are cooked. 

5. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne pepper then add the milk.

6. Add the cook shelfish cook further for 2 minutes.

7. Serve hot will crusty bread or crouton with freshly chopped parsley 

***variety: add fish mix with crab sticks, haddock, salmon etc.***

Pancakes

You will need:

100g plain flour

2 eggs

300ml milk

1 tbs cooking oil

A pinch of salt

What to do:

1.    Sieve flour salt into a large mixing bowl

2.    In the middle of the dry ingredients crack open the eggs

3.    Pour about 50mls of the milk and the oil

4.    Start whisking from the centre, gradually drawing the flour inte the eggs milk and oil.

5.    Beat until the texture is smooth and thick, add a little milk if too thick

6.    Add the rest of the milk to loosen the batter

7.    You may leave your batter for a few minutes before cooking

8.    Heat a pan over moderate heat then wipe with an oiled kitchen

9.    Spoon the batter in the pan tilting it so it spreads evenly over the pan

10.  Leave it to cook undisturbed in the pan for 30 seconds, once it starts to bubble you may flip it to cook the other side

11. Serve while hot with any topping of your choice: whipped cream, cinnamon sugar, golden or maple syrup, fruit pieces...etc.

Potato and bacon Bake

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 4 bacon rashers, chopped
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 8 potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
• 300ml thickened cream
• 1250ml Milk
• 1 1/2 tsp chicken stock powder or granules 
•  1/2 cup grated cheese

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Lightly grease an 8-cup capacity baking dish.
2. Heat oil in a large frying pan on high. Sauté bacon, onion and garlic for 4-5 minutes until onion is tender and bacon is golden.
3. Layer potatoes and onion mixture alternately in prepared baking dish.
4. In a large jug, whisk together cream, milk and stock powder. Pour over potatoes. Cover with foil. Bake for 1 hour, until potato is tender.
5. Remove foil. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake a further 15 minutes, uncovered, until cheese has melted and is golden.

Vegetable Lasgne

What you will need: 

• 3 red and peppers
• 2 aubergines aka Brinjal
• 1 onion
• 1 bunch spinach
• 1 butternut
• 2 tsp cinnamon powder
• 8 tbsp olive oil, plus a little for greasing
• ½ quantity tomato sauce (see below)
• 300g fresh pack lasagne sheets
• ½ quantity white sauce (see below)
• 125g ball mozzarella
• salt and pepper for seasoning

·         White sauce

Melt 85g butter in a saucepan, stir in 85g plain flour, then cook for 2 mins. Slowly whisk in 750ml milk, then bring to the boil, stirring. Turn down heat, then cook until the sauce starts to thicken and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Sauce can now be cooled and kept in the fridge for up to 3 days or frozen for 3 months.

• Homemade tomato sauce
  Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan. Add 2 onions, finely chopped, 2 garlic cloves, sliced and 1 carrot, roughly chopped. Cook for 5-7 mins over a medium heat until softened. Turn up the heat a little and stir in 2 finely chopped tomatoes. Cook for 1 min, pour in 200ml white wine/vegetable stock, then cook for 5 mins until this has reduced by two-thirds. Bring to the boil then simmer for 20 mins. Leave to cool, whizz in a food processor.

Method

1. Heat oven to  180 degreesC
2.  Deseed the peppers, halve, then cut into large chunks. Trim ends off aubergines, then cut into slices about ½cm thick. Roughly chop onion into chunks. Rinse and chop spinach. Peel and chop butternut into blocks drizzle a little bit of oil and cinnamon powder.
3. In a baking tray roast butternut in the oven for 20 minutes
4.  Lightly grease another large baking tray, then place peppers, onion and aubergines on top. Toss with the olive oil, season well with salt and pepper, then roast for 25 minutes until lightly browned.
5. In a bowl pour boiling water to blanch the spinach for 2 minutes then drain water out.
6. Reduce oven to 160 degreesC
7.  Lightly oil (or spray and cook) an ovenproof serving dish (30 x 20cm). Arrange a layer of the vegetables on the bottom, then pour over a third of the tomato sauce. Top with a layer of lasagne sheets, then drizzle over a quarter of the white sauce. Repeat until you have 3 layers of pasta.
8. To finish, spoon remaining white sauce over the pasta, making sure the whole surface is covered. Scatter mozzarella over the top. Bake for 45 mins until bubbling and golden.

Family favourites #2 Mommy's ox liver

Many people do not like liver because it is normally over cooked and rubbery. A tasyy juicy ox liver is what we all like. Mommy makes it in a lovely way and it will have you coming back for more, it is simple and to the point...

You will need:
Fresh/defrosted OX liver
4 tabs Mixed powder soups
1/2 cube beef stock
2 tbs Worcestershire Sauce
White pepper
Onion cut in julienne
3 tbs Cooking oil

What to do:
1. In a bowl dust the liver with the powder soup, add 2 tbs of Worcestershire sauce and soak liver for a few minutes, add white pepper.
2. Heat cooking oil in a pan, add onion with the beef cube, cook until onion is clear in colour
3. Add liver and fry for 2 minutes on  each side add the worcestershire sauce left in the bowl and cook for a further 3 minutes on medium heat.
4. Remove pan from heat, you liver is ready when it is still juicy and not dried up.

Family favourite #1 - Nokza's creamy samp

We all love samp, now that it is colder outside, warm hearty food is all we need. My sister Nokuthula makes the best samp. I hope you will love it....

Cooking a good samp requires time, so do not cook it when you in a hurry.

You will need:
1kg samp
250g butter/margarine
salt to taste
200g Creamora powder
2tbs dried parsley
Water to soak and cook samp.

What to do:

1. Rinse samp in water, then pour boiling water enough to cover the samp in a deep pot add salt.
2. Cook samp for 3-4 hours over medium heat, constantly stirring and adding a little water to  it soaked.
3. When samp is cooked (it will be soft but not mashed) add butter and creamora, finish off with parsley.....

Enjoy is as it is or with some grilled chicken/stew/curry

Chicken and mushroom Pie

You will need:

1 tbsp Cooking oil

8 pieces of skinless boneless chicken 

8 rashers of streaky bacon (optional)

1 onion, roughly chopped

250g pack of white button mushrooms (or any mushrooms of your choice)

thyme, salt and pepper to season

2 tbs plain flour

400 ml chicken stock

200 ml milk

500g fresh puff pastry or frozen puff pastry that has been defrosted

1 egg beaten 

What to do:

1. In a large non stick frying pan heat the oil.

2. Season the chicken with thyme salt and pepper fry it for 5-8 minutes until golden brown.

3. Lift chicken onto a plate and fry bacon for 5 minutes until crisp, add onion and mushrooms, fry for another 3 minutes.

4. Add flour into the pan stir for about a minute, slowly pour in stock and whisk it, followed by the milk.

5. Add chicken back into the pan and let it simmer for about 10 minutes over low heat.

6. Place aside and let the filling to cool down

7. Pre heat oven at 200 degrees celsius.

8. On a floured surface roll out the pastry to about a thickness of 2cm.

9. Choose a desired baking dish, base it with the pastry to cover the whole dish, add the filling, measure the pastry over the top and cut along the edges.

10. Brush the beaten egg lightly over the pastry to glaze.

11. reduce oven heat to 180 degrees celsius and bake for 30 minutes until pastry is golden brown. 

Enjoy with a crispy green salad....

Creamed Spinach

What you will need:

• 2tbs Butter
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 2 tbs plain flour
• 200ml full cream milk
• 400g chopped spinach
• crushed garlic
• salt and pepper to taste 
• cheese (optional)

What to do:

• heat butter in a pot add onion and garlic cook until soft
• stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes, then slowly start to add milk whisking or using a wooden spoon
• cook for 5 minutes until sauce has thickened
• place spinach over a large colander, pour boiling water over it so the leaves can be wilted
• let spinach drip out excess water
• stir spinach into the sauce season with salt and pepper
• let it cook about 3 minutes
• add cheese (if desired)

***note: the spinach should not be overcooked, it must remain green with a texture of crisp***

Boiling is one of the easiest ways to prepare vegetables. All you need is a cooking pot, some water, some vegetables, and maybe a bit of salt. It's quick and convenient!But boiling vegetables causes them to lose some of their nutritional value. The boiling water leeches some of the vitamins and nutrients, and even some of the flavor, right out of the veggies. The best way to minimize that nutrient loss is to make sure that they spend as little time as possible in the boiling water. And just how you do that depends on what kind of vegetable you're boiling.

Steaming is a great method for cooking vegetables. It cooks the vegetables and softens them up, but because they're not immersed in water, they don't lose as many nutrients. It also preserves more of the flavour than boiling does.And like boiling, steaming is super convenient. Even though you can get a special cooking appliance, a steamer, you really don't need one. If you have a pot, some water, and a steaming basket, you're all set. Or if you don't have a steaming basket, even a colander can do the trick. There's even a way to steam vegetables using just a pot and a bit of water. What could be easier?

Sautéing vegetables, or stir-frying them, means cooking them over fairly high heat, and stirring them often. The high heat helps them cook quickly, which minimizes nutrient loss. And stirring them keeps them from burning!Sautéing is a really tasty way to cook vegetables. They keep a lot more flavour than boiling or even steaming, so that you taste how delicious the veggie really is. And it also lends itself really well to seasoning the vegetables. A little bit of oil and spices or a tasty marinade can really make your vegetables go from good to outstanding.Unlike some of the other methods for cooking vegetables, though, you really have to keep an eye on sautéing vegetables. They can burn pretty quickly!

Roasting: One of the great things about roasting vegetables is that even though it takes a while to cook, the preparation time is pretty much non-existent – just toss the veggies with a bit of oil and herbs, put them in a baking dish, and let them roast. It's especially nice when the rest of your meal takes a little more attention, so that you can work on it in peace.Roasting gives the vegetables a unique flavor that you don't get by boiling or steaming. Cooking them slowly in the oven helps them caramelize a little bit, bringing out their natural sweetness and enhancing their flavour. And it's so easy to add a few delicious herbs and spices. Yum!

Grilling aka Braaing. Some vegetables are just better on the grill. Grilling gives that special cooked outdoors, perfectly browned taste that no other cooking method can match. And you can easily marinate the vegetables, or add some herbs or a sauce to them before cooking to give them some extra flavour.Grilling isn't quite as convenient as some of the other cooking methods though. For one thing, you need a grill. And that also means it's usually more of a warm weather kind of meal. But you also have to keep a close eye on the vegetables while they're cooking. They'll usually need to be flipped, and checked to be sure they're not burning. Not as convenient, but well worth the effort!

Braising is a cross between steaming and boiling. Instead of cooking the vegetables by completely immersing them in boiling water, you only add enough water to cover about half the vegetables. Like steaming, it cooks the vegetables a bit more gently than boiling. But it's usually a bit quicker than just steaming, since part of the vegetables are in the water. And using just a bit of water means that you don't lose as many nutrients or flavor, so you get extra delicious vegetables.And it's so easy. Vegetables and a pot filled with a bit of water is all you need for a delicious vegetable side dish! You can even use stock or wine for some extra flavour.

Family Favourites...

We all have that one dish we master like no one else can master at home. No matter how bad one is as a cook but they have a favourite.  My family is blessed with people that love good food and that can make good food.

Over the next few weeks I would love to share with you some of our secret recipes that I hope you will love and enjoy making...Keep your eyes on the blog>>>>click on "follow by email" to follow the blog to never miss a recipe. All that I post will be sent to you on email.

looking forward to sharing our family faves!

Yours in good food
Charms <3

Beef Lasagna

What you need:

• 400g lasagna sheets , blanched. (soak in hot water for about 5 minutes)
• Grated cheese
•  50ml olive oil
• 15g butter
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 100g onion, finely chopped
• 175g beef mince
• 75g bacon, finely chopped
• 75g white mushrooms, sliced
• 10ml tomato paste
• 150ml red wine
• 250ml beef stock
• salt and pepper
• bechamel sauce (White sauce)

What to do: 

1.  Heat the oil and butter in a pan, and add the onion and garlic

2         Cook for a few minutes till soft

3         Add the mince and bacon, cooking until coloured, stirring often

4         Add the mushrooms

5         Pour off any excess fat, then add the tomato paste, wine and demi-glace

6         Simmer for about 30-40 minutes, or until the meat is tender

Adjust the seasoning

To assemble the lasagna:

1. Spread the white sauce on a baking tray and arrange the lasagna sheets
2. Cover with a  layer of meat sauce, then one of béchamel.
3. Repeat the layers in the same order, ending with a layer of lasagna sheets and béchamel.
4. Sprinkle the top with cheese.
5. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes or until brown on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

How to make white sauce aka Bechamel

White sauce also known as bechamel is widely used as a base for most sauces and in other dishes like lasagne. Here is the recipe, you may double it depending on how much you need.

You will need: 

• 50g butter
• 50g flour
• 500ml Milk

 What to do: 

1.     Milk may be first infused with onion cloute. Allow to cool.

2.       Prepare a blond roux using the butter and flour over medium heat.

3.       Gradually add the milk, stirring continuously until boiling point is reached.

4.       Simmer  for approximately for 5-10 minutes hour.

Peri Peri chicken livers

What you need:

Defrosted chicken livers

Onions cut julienne

Mixed papers (RED, YELLOW, GREEN) cut julienne

Crushed garlic

2tbs Tomato sauce

2tbs Sweet chilli sauce

1tbs Worster sauce

Dash of water (to lighten the sauce)

Crushed Chillies

Salt and pepper

Mixed herbs

Chicken Spice

4 tbs Cooking oil

 

What to do

·         In a frying pan heat 2 tbs of oil, season the chicken livers with salt and pepper, chicken spice and mixed herbs.

·         Once the oil is hot enough brown the chicken livers for about 30 seconds on each side, set them apart.

·         On the same pan add the remaining cooking oil, fry the onions and peppers along with the crushed chillies and garlic, stir fry for about 7mins on medium heat.

·         Add sauces and cook for a further 5 minutes, add chicken livers and cook until they are sof but still juicy not grey and over cooked.

·         Can be enjoyed with toasted bread, rice or pa.