dinner

Luck o' the Irish Leek and Pea Pie

Recently I have been all about going green and trying out flexitarian options. For those new to the blog, I am trying to mostly eat vegetarian. So for this st paddy's day I decided to do something a little different to the usual Guinness stew filled with meat. Its amazing how certain ingredients sing if you give them the space to do so. This pie is a prime example of simple flavours at their best. The combination of greens makes for a sweet tasting pie with the perfect saltiness from the stock. Lets not even go there about the beautiful buttery puff pastry that flakes off and reveals the gooey filling. This pie is surprisingly easy to make and don't feel guilty about the store bought puff pastry. I don't.

It might not sport Guinness, but in true Irish spirit, the green more than makes up for it.

As Irish poet Samuel Beckett so eloquently puts it (and in my mind, wise words that lay the foundation to great, venturesome cooking)
"Ever Tried. Ever Failed. No Matter. Try Again. Fail Again. Fail Better."

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced

1 garlic glove, finely chopped

1 tablespoon thyme

6 leeks, chopped

1 cup of tender stem broccoli, chopped

50 grams asparagus, chopped

1 cup of peas

2 tablespoons spelt flour

2 cups of vegetable stock

1 tablespoon lemon zest

2 rolls of puff pastry

Instructions:

Add the diced onion to a frying pan over a medium heat until softened.

Add the garlic and thyme.

Add the chopped leeks and let them cook down for 15 minutes until they are soft and sweet.

Add the chopped tender stems, peas and asparagus.

Add the spelt flour and stir the greens.

Add the vegetable stock and allow simmer down to a gravy.

Remove from heat and add the lemon zest.

Roll out your puff pastry on a floured surface. Make sure it is big enough to fill a 20cm pie dish. Once you have filled the pie dish trim the edges off the puff pastry. Allow a little excess as the pastry shrinks when baking. Place a sheet of grease paper on the pie dish and add your baking beans. I used rice to hold down the puff pastry during a blind bake. Bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius.

Once your base has baked fill the pie with your filling. How you top the pie is up to you. I did lattice work on mine but you can also roll out a solid top. The lattice isn't perfect but it was my first time and it was a lot of fun making my pie so pretty!

Whisk an egg and egg brush the top of your pie before popping it into the oven to bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

-Melissa

 

 

 

 

A christmas feast!

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2015 has been a year of growing pains for me. Although I am taller for it, it wasn’t a very easy year. There were times that I was pushed to grow and didn’t necessarily want to because change is hard. There were other times that I learnt, loved and laughed and had my friends by my side. Amongst the many things I have learnt this year is that thankfully, I have chosen my friends well. An army of woman that are fearless trail blazers. My friends constantly inspire me and remind me of how wonderful I am which is something I will never take for granted. Sometimes I am convinced that the only people who read my blog are my friends, my lover and my mother! 

I am so very grateful for each and every one of them. They have picked me up when I have fallen, pushed me when I needed it most and of course they have believed in my blog and me. They love my food and never say no to a dinner invite and they always show up with more than enough wine.

This year I decided to do a friendsmas dinner. A feast fit for queens because that is what they are to me. I believe that in life surrounding yourself with positive, loving people is as important food for the soul as the next few recipes are for Christmas.

So no matter how big or small, happy or hard, long or short 2015 was, I hope that you will have a garden full of roses that you can call friends!

Christmas Gammon

Prep time 2 days or overnight

Ingredients:

  • 1 Large on the bone Gammon (pre smoked) between 3-5kg is a good size, which should serve 8 – 10 people depending on size. On the bone is always better as the boneless ones tend to dry out.
  • pinch of salt
  • 30 grams of whole cloves
  • 200 grams glacéd Cherries
  • 1 – 2 tin pineapple rings depending on the size of gammon.
  • 1 cup of Brandy
  • 6 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 packet tooth picks

Instructions:

Place your gammon in a large pot and fill the pot with water.

Add 6 whole cloves to the water and a pinch of salt

Boil your gammon for 30 minutes on a high heat.

Do not lift the lid and release any heat. Next you are going to ‘put your gammon to bed’
Wrap your pot carefully with newspaper. Do not spill the water out. After you have wrapped the pot in newspaper, wrap it again with blankets. You are sealing in the heat for a slow over night cook. Let the pot stand until the next morning.

Once you have let the gammon sit over night open up the blankets and newspaper and remove the gammon from a pot to a roasting tray. Keep the brine that the gammon was in as you are going to use this to glaze the gammon.

Turn your oven onto 180 degrees Celsius.

Mix your cup of brandy and sugar together. This is going to be your glaze. Take half a cup of brine from your pot and add it to your roasting pan separate from your glaze.

Next you will need to remove the net your gammon came in. Score the fat in a diamond pattern. Do not cut into the meat.

Take your cloves and place them in between the fat where you have scored. Spread them out so that they evenly cover your gammon.

Using your toothpicks decorate your gammon with your pineapple rings and cherries. Again make sure that you spread them out over the gammon and completely cover it.

Pour your glaze over your gammon and pop it in the oven.

Every 5 – 10 minutes you are going to use a turkey baster to take some of the glaze and pour it over the gammon making sure you cover the cherries and pineapple. The sauce will start to thicken and get tacky. Your gammon is ready when your cherries and pineapple start to brown. You can put on your grill in your oven for the last 5 minutes if it isn’t too aggressive. You don’t want it to burn!

Slice thinly and serve with homemade mustard! 

Home made mustard

Ingredients:

  • 5 tablespoons of white sugar
  • 12 teaspoons of English mustard powder
  • 8 eggs
  • 2 cups of vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Add your sugar, mustard, vinegar and salt to a saucepan. Bring it to a simmer stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to a low heat.

In a separate bowl whisk all your eggs together.

This is the part that takes practice. You are going to whisk your vinegar mixture very quickly while slowly adding your eggs. DO NOT stop whisking! If you do the eggs will scramble in the mixture! Keep whisking until all the eggs are added and then whisk for about three minutes afterwards until it has cooked through. If your eggs do scramble you can pass the mustard through a sieve. Although a pain it can save the day!

Allow cooling and thickening. You can jar the mustard and it will keep for up to a week in the fridge.

Serves 10 people.

Potato salad

Ingredients:

Base how many potatoes you boil on how many people you are having over. I work on one potato per person. So for the sake of this recipe I used 10.

  • 1 packed diced bacon
  • 1 diced onion
  • 2 teaspoons garlic
  • 200 grams of mild dill gherkins or 1 jar
  • 80 grams of butter

For the mayo:

  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoon flour
  • 1 ½ cups of milk
  • 1 ½ tablespoons of sugar
  • 1 teaspoon mustard powder
  • ½ tablespoons butter
  • ¼ cup vinegar

Instructions:

Add your potatoes to a pot and bring to boil over a medium to high heat. Do not let them boil over a high heat as this can break the potatoes.

Let them boil for 25 minutes. Gently poke them with a knife. If the knife slides in easily then they are ready. If not give them a few more minutes.

Once ready remove the hot water and put cold water into the pot. This will shock them and make them easier to peel.

Once they have cooled use a fork to scratch the skins off. Be gentle, as you do not want to loose half your potatoes.

Once they are peeled, dice your potatoes into bite size pieces and add them to your serving bowl.

In a frying pan add your butter, onions and garlic over a medium heat. Fry your onions until they become translucent. Add your bacon and turn the heat up slightly. Once it is ready add your onion mixture over your bacon.

Dice your gherkins and add them to your potatoes.

Next you are going to make the mayonnaise for the salad.

Mix all well together, except vinegar and bring to boil. Keep whisking. Add the vinegar once the milk has boiled and you have reduced the heat. Let it cook further on the warm plate for about 5 minutes. Add the mayo over the potatoes. Mix your salad well but not too much as you don’t want it to break into small pieces. The potatoes tend to suck up the moisture. If you feel they are a bit dry you can add a little bit of milk and mix the salad before serving.

Spanakopita (spinach and feta pie)

Ingredients:

  • 1 large onion diced
  • 2 whole garlic gloves diced
  • 400 grams of chopped Swiss chard
  • ¼ cup of dill
  • ¼ cup Parmesan
  • ½ a cup of feta crumbled
  • 2 eggs
  • a dash of cayanne pepper
  • 100 grams of butter melted
  • 1 roll of phyllo pastry

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Add your onions and garlic to a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add two teaspoons of butter. Sweat your onions until translucent and then add your dill. Cook for another minutes or so.

Add your spinach a little bit at a time. As it wilts it will reduce, then add more. Do not over cook your spinach until in wilts into nothing. You just want to soften the leaves slightly.  

Remove the spinach off the heat and add to a mixing bowl. Add your feta, eggs, Parmesan and salt and pepper to taste. Mix together well. Add your dash of cayenne pepper.

Using a 25 cm pie dish layer your phyllo pastry sheets over the dish. You need to work quickly as you don’t want it to dry out. Once you have placed all your sheets over the dish fill the center with your filling. Start to wrap your pastry inward. Make sure you brush each layer with the melted butter of it will not get that flaky effect. Do not be shy with the butter. As you close the pie from each side make sure you completely cover the filling. 

Add some course salt to the top of the pie.

Pop it into the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.

White chocolate Macarons

Ingredients:

  • 110 grams egg white
  • 75 grams of castor sugar
  • 125 grams almond flour
  • 175 grams icing sugar
  • Food colouring gel

Butter cream:

  • 75 grams butter
  • 150 grams icing sugar
  • 50 grams of white chocolate (good quality)
  • 1 teaspoon double cream

Instructions:

Place the almond flour and icing sugar in a food processor and leave it on. A blender will also work.

Whisk eggs whites until they form soft peaks, as this happens add the castor sugar 1/3 at a time

Pick a colour for your macarons – I did red for Christmas. Add the colouring – just a few drops and mix well.

Turn off the food processor and sift half the mixture into the egg white, fold in with a spatula. Make sure you do it gently as you do not want to knock the air out!

Sift the second half and continue folding gently for 1 – 2 minutes until the mixtures goes smooth and glossy. The mixture must run as a smooth ribbon.

Add your mixture to a piping bag and pipe 3cm disks into grease paper. Gently tap the tray to release big air bubbles.

Let the disks stand for 30 minutes to form a skin on top of the shells.

Bake at 160 degrees Celsius for 13 minutes

Remove from the oven and allow cooling on the tray. Once cooled you can lift the shells.

For the icing mix together all the ingredients expect the chocolate. Melt chocolate over steam. Once melted add to your icing. Add the icing to the piping bag and pop it in the fridge to cool. Ice your macaroons generously and sandwich them together.

Serve with love, serve with kindness and have a joyous Christmas and New year!

-Melissa 

Homemade Gnocchi with Ragu or Sage Butter

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Calling all gnocchi lovers!

I have always envied Italian blood or perhaps more specifically being able to cook with your Nona and learn the true Italian way. Italian food is possibly one of my all time favourites!

I am sure you can agree when Julia Roberts eats that bowl of spaghetti in Eat Pray Love that you were never the same again.

I completely lost myself in that moment of the fork swirling the spaghetti and the Neapolitan sauce oozing with rich tomato flavour and of course the slurping up of that perfectly al dente spaghetti. All that was needed was some fresh basil and I would have sold my Kenwood mixer for that moment (not really but pretty close)

Cooking for friends and sharing recipes with them is what inspired me to invite contributors to my blog. I wanted to create a space that wasn’t only a single voice (my recipes and my story)

Combining my love for EVERYTHING Italian (I even drive Italian) and the  approach of a collective experience; I found my first candidate! The beautiful and wildly talented fashion guru Miss Raya Rossi from The Visual Journal!

I can guarantee you that a day cooking with her was filled with laughter and of course a lot of snap chat! You should follow us @melissadelport and @RayaAFF 

We decided that gnocchi was going to be the order of the day. Reason being? It’s so damn hard to make a good homemade gnocchi. I decided to combine our recipes and the outcome? Sheer brilliance. The best part is that we did gnocchi two ways with a simple ragu and a butter sage sauce not to forget our vegetarians out there! You will not go wrong with this recipe!

I also thought I should share the following excerpt from Eat Pray Love because it is one of the truest sentiments I have ever heard.

Liz: I’m in love. I’m having a relationship with my pizza. You look like you’re breaking up with your pizza. What’s the matter?

Sofi: I can’t.

Liz: What do you mean you can’t? This is Pizza Margherita in Napoli, it is imperative to eat and enjoy that pizza.

Sofi: I want to, but I’ve gained like ten pounds. I mean, I’ve got this. . .right here in my tummy, you know this. . .what’s it called? What’s the word for it?

Liz: A muffin top. I have one too.

Sofi: I unbuttoned my jeans like five minutes ago just looking at this.

Liz: Lemme ask you a question, in all the years you’ve ever undressed for a gentleman–

Sofi: —it hasn’t been that many.

Liz: Alright. Has he ever asked you to leave? Has he ever walked out, left?

Sofi: No.

Liz: Because he doesn’t care. He’s in a room with a naked girl. He’s won the lottery. I’m so tired of saying no and waking up in the morning and recalling every single thing I ate the day before. Counting every calorie I consumed so I know exactly how much self-loathing to take into the shower. I’m going for it. I have no interest in being obese; I’m just through with the guilt. So this is what I’m going to do, I’m going to finish this pizza and then we’re going to go watch the soccer game and tomorrow we’re going to go on a little date and buy ourselves some bigger jeans.

P.s If you have not seen Eat Pray Love, you need to do 3 things immediately, rent it, make this gnocchi for dinner and open a good wine!

SALUT!

serves 5

Ingredients:

  • 500 grams mince meat (try get non lean meat as it softens better with the fat but lean will also do)
  • a few good glugs of olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves finely chopped 
  • 2 carrots grated 
  • 1 teaspoon oregano 
  • 1 teaspoon thyme 
  • 1 bottle Passata (tomato pure in a bottle) 800grams 
  • 1 onion grated 
  • 1 cup parmesan grated 
  • 1/2 a cup of milk 
  • 200 grams butter 
  • half a cup of sage leaves 
  • 800 ml potato (should be about 8 large potatoes) 
  • 4 egg yolks 
  • 2 teaspoons nutmeg 
  • 1 teaspoon lemon rind
  • 150 ml parmesan grated
  • 200-250 ml flour 
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup course cooking salt

Instructions:

Gnocchi:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius 

Boil the potatoes until soft. Do not over boil them. You should be able to pierce them with a fork but they should still be firm.  
Place the potatoes onto of the coarse cooking salt and pop them in the oven for 20 minutes. 
Allow to cool.
Once cool, cut in half and scoop out the insides and pass through a sieve. The other option is to put the potatoes through a potato ricer like Raya did. 
Form potatoes lightly together and make a well in the middle. 
Put in yolks, parmesan, salt, pepper and nutmeg and lemon rind and work together until combined.
Then add flour. Do not knead the mixture work gently with it. Add the flour in stages until you are able to roll the gnocchi into sausages and cut them into bit size pieces. 
Gently use a fork to make indentations for the sauce to stick. 
POACH the gnocchi in salted water until they float to the surface. Then remove them. This is the secret, do not boil the gnocchi as they will break. 

Ragu Sauce:

Add olive oil, garlic clove salt, pepper, 2 grated carrots, oregano, thyme in a pot on high heat. Add the bottle of passata (tomato puree in glass bottle). Put lid on. Turn to medium heat and leave for 15 mins. 
Grate an onion into a separate pan of hot olive oil and butter.
Cook the onion with salt, pepper and oregano until soft.
Braise the meat with the onion and add more olive oil.
Let the meat cook for 10 minutes.
Add 2 table spoons of passata into the meat for extra flavour.
Once the meat is lightly cooked add it to the passata pot. 
Add a cup full of finely grated parmesan.
This gives it more flavour (without adding more salt)
Let the ragu cook on low heat for another 15-20 minutes. This will allow the sauce to thicken. There should be more meat then sauce. 
Add half a cup of milk, and continue to let cook for another 5 minutes. 

Butter sage:

Fry the butter and sage over a medium to high heat. 
Add the gnocchi. Remove once the butter has browned.
 

Raya's Top Tips:
- Use a carrot to sweeten the passata if the tomato is slightly acidic. 
- Grate your carrots and onions they cook better
- Let your meat soak in the flavour of the tomato - leave it on low for longer. 

-Melissa
 

wild mushroom risotto

A few years ago, when my mom and I had just moved to Durban, my mom was making new friends and having them over for one of her famous dinner parties. From the decked out table to the flowers, my mom is a master at hosting and cooking. The new friends coming over were a delight and she couldn't wait to impress them. Hours before she was in the kitchen cooking away and making sure everything was perfect. We were having prawn risotto. She tucked the completed meal into the warming draw, washed up and got ready for her guests to arrive. After the welcome drinks it was time for dinner. My mom’s new friends were offered to dish up first. Much to my mother shock as she was dishing, she realized that the risotto had gone stogy and was now like porridge, which you couldn't flick of the spoon if you tried. After dinner it came out. Jackie, my mom’s new friend was a chef (which she politely let out during dinner) the laughter that preceded the porridge like risotto has now resulted in a best friendship that has been going for 14 years! 

Risotto has that reputation of being difficult to make and even harder to not over cook. With this recipe I believe we will break boundaries. The biggest trick is to finish it off, as you are about to serve. But who knows, if it bombs there might be a best friendship in the mix for you. 

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup wild mushrooms
  • 30g dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 500ml warm water
  • 1 medium brown onion, finely chopped
  • 500ml light chicken stock
  • 200g arborio rice
  • 80g parmesan cheese
  • 30g butter
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions:

Remove porcini mushrooms from soaking liquid and gently squeeze. Mix the porcini stock with the chicken stock and reserve for cooking. Chop up the porcini and fresh wild mushrooms. Fry in small batches until nice and caramelised set aside for later. Don’t add to much oil when you are frying, as you don't want them to go soggy. 

Sauté onions gently in olive oil until light golden in colour over a medium heat. 

Add Arborio rice and stir until is completely coated in oil. You will see the rice go slightly translucent while you are frying it with the onions. at this stage you can begin to add the stock. 

Add 100ml hot stock and stir continuously until it has been almost completely absorbed, then add another 100ml. repeat the process with the remaining stock. If you wish to wait until your guests arrive then you will stop the cooking half way through the stock. When your guests arrive put the pan back on your medium heat and continue the process of adding the stock and stirring in until it is absorbed. Remember your stock must be hot! 

Test to see if the rice is cooked when you add the last addition of stock.

The rice should be creamy, tender but with a slight bite. if not quite tender enough continue adding spoonful’s of water until cooked through.

To serve, stir through mushrooms, Parmesan and butter season to taste and serve immediately.

-Melissa 

 

roast lamb rack

There is something wonderful about a home that smells like a roast on a Sunday. In fact, any day of the week. I love cooking and having friends arrive over to a home that smells of nothing but delicious aromas that kiss your nose and pull you into the home.

I must confess sometimes I close my kitchen window just to let the smell fill the kitchen while I have my glass of wine and cheerfully cook on. Luckily I live in a city that has the most spectacular wine lands a stone throw away and i am fortunate enough to not only enjoy drinking the best but also to pair the best with my food for dinner parties. After all what is a great dinner party without world-class wine? 

So here is a tasty and juicy lamb rack with roasted vegetables

serves: 4

Ingredients:

  • 1x free range rack of lamb about 850g
  • 230g tenderstem broccoli 
  • 4 large carrots 
  • 4 baby beets or one small bunch 
  • 700g baby potatoes 
  • 2 large brown onion 
  • 1 garlic bulb 
  • 4 rosemary twigs 
  • olive oil 

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 220c

Get out your roasting pan that has high edges as you are going to roast all the veg except the broccoli together underneath your lamb rack. 

Peel and chop your onions into quarters and put them into your roasting tray. Followed by your peeled carrots and then the beetroot, that can also be roughly chopped into bite-sized pieces. Put your baby potatoes in with the vegetables. Cut your garlic bulb through the middle and place the whole bulb in with the veg. once it has roasted you can just pop out the pieces, as they will be juicy and are easier to remove from the skin. Remove your rosemary from three of the twigs and mix it together with your veg. drizzle over a generous amount of olive oil and for this part, use your hands and mix everything together making sure every piece is covered in olive oil. 

Take out your lamb rack. Salt and pepper your lamb rack and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil. You are going to render down the fat of the lamb rack. To render fat you require a low to medium heat, as you don't want the fat to burn, you want to achieve golden crispy fat. You want to hear the sizzle. Place your lamb rack in the pan fat side down. Make sure you watch your lamb, as you do not want the fat to burn or the meat to cook. Keep it fat side down for about 10 minutes or until evenly golden brown. You will see the oil in the pan increase as the fat renders down. 

Once rendered place your lamb rack on top of your vegetables (fat side up) and sprinkle your lamb with remaining rosemary. Pop your roasting tray into the oven and turn down the heat to 180c. Let it roast away for 45minutes. 

For the last 10 minutes you are going to blanch your tender stem broccoli. Boil the kettle and put your tender stems in a pot, over a medium heat. Add your boiling water. I let my broccoli cook for no more than 5 minutes, as I love the crunch and freshness of them. a fork must just be able to pierce them. Remove them off the heat. 

Take your roast out of the oven. Your potatoes should be soft and your meat should be golden. 

Let your lamb rack rest for a further 5 minutes before slicing. When you slice into the lamb it should be beautifully pink inside. 

Serve the lamb cutlets on a bed of veg with a side of tender stem broccoli and a fantastic red wine. 

For this meal I chose the Doolhof wine estate, lady in red 2008. A warm, rich Bordeaux-style wine

Tasting notes: Garnet red wine with an intense perfumed mélange of red and black fruits with cedar and oak undertones. On the palate, the fruit / oak balance is harmonious with soft, firm tannins, cassis and plum flavours producing a wine of excellent structure. The fruit lingers long on the palate. Its suited beautifully to red meats particularly lamb. You can get this amazing wine here

-Melissa