Caitlyn's Smoked Snapper and Potato Fishcakes

Caitlyn gobbled up these light and tasty fish cakes made with smoked snapper and mashed potato. Jamie Oliver is quite right when he says that "homemade fishcakes taste miles better than shop-bought ones". 


You can either use cooked, left over fish or smoked fish which is cooked together with onion, dill, parsley, a little lemon pepper and salt. If you are not using smoked fish, I suggest you season your fish quite well otherwise your fishcakes will be quite balnd.


You need a handful of fish to each medium potato that you boil and mash. Mix the fish with the potato, add an egg and shape into cakes. Coat with flour and fry in a fairly hot pan. Serve with coleslaw and salads (keep them really simple as the fishcakes are quite rich).

The way to a man's heart ...

The Menu

Fresh green asparagus wrapped in Parma Ham

 

Fillet steak with a peppercorn and honey liqueur sauce served with Perla Potatoes coated in rocket, cashew nuts and parmesan and a green salad

Round off with a good red wine and Magnum ice creams ...

This menu requires a mix of homemade and store-bought products and takes less than an hour to put together. It is perfect combination whether you are entertaining or having a romantic night in (and the pepper sauce is especially good).

For the starter, wrap fresh asparagus spears in parma ham and bake for 6 minutes in an oven at 180 degrees.

For the pepper sauce: chop onion and garlic very finely and fry in a little oil. Add two - three heaped teaspoons of green peppercorns in brine, a heaped teaspoon of ground black pepper (or two) and a little salt. Add in a tablespoon of honey liqueur (sherry or port will also be good). Finally add 300ml of fresh cream and simmer for a good 7 - 10 minutes on a very low heat. Keep stirring.

Boil potatoes and add in the ready-made rocket, cashew nut and parmesan (or pesto). Serve with a green salad.

Fry good fillet steak using Ina Paarman's Braai and Grill Seasoning.

Tara-Lynn's Wraps

My fellow foodie, Tara-Lynn (pictured left) prepared one of her favourites for us on Saturday evening: Chicken, Mushroom and Sweet Chilli wraps. I got to drink a glass of red wine while she took over and whipped up a great supper.

Recipe: Bake crumbed chicken breasts at 180 degrees for 12 - 14 minutes. Fry chopped mushrooms, onion, green pepper and garlic in a little oil. Set aside. Mix together 250ml sour cream and 80 - 100ml sweet chilli sauce (taste test to check ratios). Chop up cucumber, tomatoes and lettuce. Heat the wraps in the microwave for 30 seconds, spread with sweet chilli/sour cream mix, spread with some pesto and add the onion/mushroom and chicken. Add the salds mix and then another dollop of the sour cream/sweet chilli mix. Wrap and serve!

Potato, Leek and Kohlrabi Soup

This exquisite soup has become a new favourite made with the freshest ingredients and served with a splash of tabasco sauce to add some zing. Our dear friends Jenny and Erika provided most of the ingredients for this soup straight from their garden including onions, leeks and kohlrabi (german turnip - see photo below).
Method: lightly fry a chopped small onion and three leeks in a large pot until soft in a tablespoon of butter  (remember to wash the leeks throughly as they may be gritty). Add 4 - 5 medium potatoes and 1 large kohlrabi, season with salt and pepper. Add 4 cups of good (real) chicken stock. Cook for 45 minutes before adding half a cup of cream and blending. Once served, add a splash of tobasco sauce and serve with warm ciabatta bread. So unbelievably good!

Gennaro’s Stuffed Porchetta with Annabel’s Beetroot Salad

Another one of John’s feats! This stuffed porchetta recipe has the most gorgeous stuffing of pork mince, chicken livers, sage, parsley, red wine and pine nuts which combined beautifully wrapped inside a shoulder of pork (butterflied, stuffed, rolled and then tied with string). The result was a fragrant, deep, nutty flavour – just delicious.

The tying of the meat was a bit tricky and after trying to decipher various YouTube clips, John resorted to common sense which worked perfectly well.

Thank you to our butcher (Aussie Butcher – Mount Roskill) for the great tip on creating a pocket for the stuffing instead laying it flat on top of the meat.

The recipe can be found at: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/gennaro-s-stuffed-porchetta

Annabel’s roasted beetroot, almond and feta salad

Annabel Langbein's roasted beetroot salad is one of my favourite summer recipes. I used 3 fresh beetroot, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces and sprinkled with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and brown sugar. The beetroot was then baked in a hot over at 180 until soft and starting to wrinkle. Once cool, I added it to a bed of baby spinach and sprinkled with almonds and feta cheese. A creamy garlic dressing goes well with the dish (I leave that on the side as some people are quire particular about dressing).

Thank you to Leon, Cherie, Gianni and the brand new Luanne for enjoying the meal with us.

Lamb Curry

When John and I first met, every Monday we would go for a 'bunny-chow' (curry spooned into a hollowed out loaf of bread). Since living in Auckland, New Zealand, we still eat curry a few times a month from a variety of favourite curry shops including Santhiyas in Mount Roskill and Santoor in Hillsborough. However, a firm favourite is John's curry recipe cooked at home which has evolved into the most phenomenal lamb curry. Please find the Lamb Curry recipe under the Recipes tab.

If you expand the bottom photo - John photographed the spices he uses in the recipe.

Comforting Alfredo inspired by Vanessa

On Tuesday I had a late night phone call with my dear, dear friend Vanessa from South Africa. We share a love of food and spent many hours planning what to eat next. I miss evenings sitting on Vanessa's kitchen counter while she made Alfredo and we would laugh, no guffaw, because we could. A truly inimitable friendship.

Tonight Vanessa, I made an Alfredo (well almost an Alfredo) using a recipe that started in your kitchen and has evolved into my 2012 quick and easy version.
Recipe:

• Fry half an onion and 1 tsp garlic in a non-stick pan (use spray oil)
• Add 6 rashers chopped bacon  and 1 tsp origanum - cook for five minutes
• Add 1.5 - 2 cups chopped button mushrooms
• When the mushrooms are cooked add 250ml light cream and two good splashes of milk.
• Season with a little salt and black pepper
• Cook fettucini and drain
• Add two egg yolks to the sauce and stir vigorously (make sure the yolk does not solidify)
• Add sauce to fettucini and serve immediately
• Sprinkle liberally with freshly grated parmesan cheese and black pepper.

 (Note - the only diet friendly ingredient is the button mushrooms but at least the intention was there with the spray oil and light cream!).