The Food Enthusiast

Crushed peas with matt allisons hens eggs

2011-10-26T06:11:00.000-07:00

The mark of a great egg is all in the firmness of the white around that bright yellow yolk and you cant get much better than going to matts home and getting them straight from the man himself - I am luck enough to know him so I was able to do this.
One of the best ingredients in spring if of course the spring peas,green,sweet,fragrant and they lend them selves to picking up some great flavours like lemon and parmesan which enhance the natural flavour of the humble sweet pea
Now this dish could have easily have been the perfect brunch dish with the addition of some char grilled ciabatta and some of richard bossmans panchetta - neither of which I had unfortunately

- peas
- parmesan cheese
- olive oil
- fresh eggs
- white wine vinegar

Boil some water in a deep sauce pan with a splash of vinegar and make a vortex into which you pop the eggs,mine were so fresh that they formed perfect tear drop shapes as soon as they hit the water
Pop the peas into some boiling salted water for 1 minute then drain and straight into your morter and pessel,start bashing away while drizzling a good amount of olive oil into them and grate a good hand full of quality parmesan into it,bash away some more until it forms a tasty bright green mush
Finish off the peas with a tiny splash of lemon juice

Nomu,bosch master class recipes

2011-10-25T04:59:00.000-07:00

Potato gnocchi,grilled asparagus,shaved parmesan
- 5 potatoes,you need 600g of dry potato flesh
- parmesan cheese
- 2 egg yolks
- 300g cake flour
- salt
- asparagus

Bake the potatoes in the oven until they are soft then you need to remove them from the skins while they are hot,do this into a big bowl then whisk the egg yolks in and heavily season the mix,add half the flour then transfer onto a top where you can mix in the rest of the flour.If it needs more just add some more flour into it until it is a workable dough and you can roll it into logs.Then cut with a floured knife and place on the back of a floured tray
Peel the asparagus doen if they are thick and simply olive oil and salt them,place under the grill and cook until soft
Poach the gnocchi in boiling salted water until they rise to the top the take them out onto an oiled tray or straight into a hot non stick pan or if you want to use then later just put them into ice water until cool then on an oiled tray and in the fridge they will last for 3 days
Shave the cheese with a peeler and put all over the dish then finish with some extra virgin olive oil
You can flavour the gnocchi with herbs or truffle oil even chilli

Baby chicken,fennel puree,broad beans
- baby chicken
- fennel bulb and root if possible
- nomu chicken fond
- 1 onion,skin on sliced
- 2 carrots,peeled and diced
- thyme
- 1 head of garlic,cut in half
- broad beans
- butter
- olive oil

Remove the chicken legs and cover in some chicken stock,cook in the oven at 180 for about an hour and a half then remove and flake while hot.Reduce the braising liquor until a sticky consistency and bind the flaked chicken meat with it ,roll in cling film and set it in the fridge
Leave half of the chest bone on the chicken -crowned-and poach in water for 7 minutes,remove and cool then you can take the breasts off easily and trim off any excess fat.Skin side down slowly cook in olive oil then turn over and add a bit of butter and cook for a further 3 mins
Take the wing tips and any excess chicken bones that you may have and roast then until brown,colour the onion,carrots in a pot,add the thyme,add the roasted chicken bones then add the water that you poached the chicken in,add a squirt of fond to give it extra flavour so what you are doing here is creating a strong chicken stock,cook this for about an hour then strain and reduce.Once it is the consistency of say a custard you can whisk in some olive oil to form a split/rounded sauce
Slice the fennel bulb and root and cook in olive oil until soft then add to a blender and while it is blending add some more olive oil to make it even silkier
Pod the broad beans then blanch the then re pod them and heat them up in a butter and chicken stock emulsion

Treacle tart,lemon confit,chantilly

- 170 g fresh white bread crumbs
- 700 g golden syrup
- 2 whole eggs
- 200ml cream
Pastry
- 200g butter cold butter
- 300g flour
- 200g icing sugar
- 1 whole egg
- splash of cold water
Lemons
- 3 lemons finely sliced
- 300ml water
- 300g caster sugar

In a food processor blend the butter into the dry ingredients then add the egg to form the pastry.You need to rest this for a hour,roll it out into your tart shell the back into the fridge for another 30 mins,prick with a fork then bake for 14 mins at 170 remove then brush with beaten egg and back in for 5 mins
Mix the syrup,fresh bread crumbs,eggs,and bream together to form the tart mix.you must do this teh day before other wise it wont work
Fill the tart case to the top and bake at 170 for around 20 minutes
Cook the lemons slowly in the sugar syrup until soft then remove and chop them up
For the chantilly simply whip some cream and add some icing sugar to it
Let the tart cool for a while then dust with icing sugar and enjoy

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Neill-Anthony/211376372610 here are the pics from the master class thanks to jon and the nomu girls for taking them
A big thanks to gogos deli and matt allison for suppling such amazing produce

Till next time

Duck egg cupcakes

2011-10-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

Cup cakes are here to stay for people thought that they were going to phase out you were wrong the thing about a cupcake is that its yours even if you are in a room full of people its yours and yours alone nobody is going to ask you for a bite or take it away from you (well thats if you like me and can eat them in two bites) so its a possession thing its mine don't take it from me
Now duck eggs are widely available in cape town but I got mine from the same place I get all my meat from ,,,gogos deli in newlands 021 671 0573 they are richer than hens eggs so are perfect in baking

- 250 g softened butter
- 250 g caster sugar
- 250 g self raising flour
- 4 duck eggs
- 1 vanilla pod
Simple as creaming the sugar and butter together,add the eggs,sift the flour into the wet mix bit by bit and then spooning into cupcake papers
Bake at 180 for around 20 mins or until a knife goes in and comes out clean
Make sure your oven is pre heated they don't like going into a cold oven

I made a butter cream icing by softening butter and then adding icing sugar to it until it was a icing consistency then added blue food colouring and topped off with glitter

Eat more asparagus

2011-10-17T05:40:00.000-07:00

Coddled is a word thats being used a lot at the moment on menus but in actual fact we have all been coddling eggs for ages ,you know those poached eggs that you do in a pan with the indentations,thats pretty much the same thing we use to coddle quail eggs when I was at petrus and they were a nightmare to do but so were most things there
Just simply char grill your asparagus for 8 mins to get that really nice charred smokey flavour,coddle your eggs for around 4 mins to ensure a nice soft yolks,make sure you grease the little coddle pots

I just finished mine with some rock salt and some willow creek directors reserve olive oil,some shaved parmesan would have been nice but I didn't have any

The donkey turns 1 and we had a fountain

2011-10-17T02:45:00.000-07:00

I am writing this while watching bear grylls eating rat and grubs and I am feeling so lucky that we have great places like el burro in cape town
One of my favourites had its 1st birthday on the 12th of october so put that in your 2012 diary so you can be there when they turn the big 2
El burro has an amazing vibe,feeling from the moment you walk into the restaurant with great funky decorations they even have cute little pinyadas but you cant hit them ;)
Nick and rene(who's birthday it is today I believe happy birthday darling) are the perfect hosts as always and have created a authentic mexican restaurant with a totally wicked menu which includes awesome mexican dishes,my favourite the chillirio pork (dont know if I spelt that right but you all know what I mean its the hot one ) to my least fave the smoked stuffed chilli but if you like them smokey go for it but most importantly to me they source all their ingredients from organic suppliers and are passionate about local and sustainable products and if you lucky they will have the goat on the menu
The evening was shared with twitteratti and regulars such as @foodandthefab @wannabebond (taco suit) @jess_obese @drizzleanddip @wickedjon @kimgreyling @leas_kitchen @clakebent (donkey suit) @texxonfire
Thanks nick and rene ... see you soon I am sure

Eat asparagus

2011-10-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

If you are not eating asparagus at the moment you should,its an amazing vegetable and its in season at the moment
I like mine plain grilled with a poached egg but I opened my fridge and had some mince and some goats cheese that I needed to use so I thought I would stuff the meat balls with some goats cheese so that when I cook them and the ooze out into the pan I can cook the asparagus in the same pan and get a sort of goats cheese sauce
- asparagus
- 400g beef mince
- goats cheese
- 1 tea spoon grain mustard,some people like more that others
- 1 egg
- hand full of bread crumbs
- salt and pepper
- about 100ml water
- juice of 1 lemon

- Its a one pan wonder here so all you do is mix the breadcrumbs,mustard and egg into the mince
- Form into balls and push a dent into the middle of it and stuff it with a piece of goats cheese then close it up and re roll them
- Sear in a pan and put the pan into the oven
- While they are in the oven just peel the stems of the asparagus and cut then into 3
- The balls need about 10 mins so take them out of the pan and put it back on the heat then add that asparagus into the hot pan full of the meat juices and goats cheese that oozed out
- Saute them for about a minute the add the water to the pan,this will start to form an emulation as it reduces which will cook the asparagus then add the meat balls back on top and turn the heat off so they finish gently

You could use these meat balls in a pasta dish in the classic spaghetti and meat ball dish but I felt like keeping it carb free and using asparagus

Bosch,Nomu,Neill Anthony master class 8th september

2011-10-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

Grilled courgette soup,aubergine tortellini
- courgettes
- nomu chicken stock
- 550g flour
- 6 egg yolks
- 4 whole eggs
- olive oil
- 4 aubergines
- cumin
- 10g tomato puree
- chopped coriander

- Score the aubergines and place them in a oven at 180 for about 30 mins,remove the flesh while the are still hot and place in a colander
- Heat olive oil in a pot and add the tomato puree,cook it out then add the cumin and the aubergine flesh
- Cook this out for a few mins then blend until smooth,add the chopped coriander and put int a pupping bag
- This filling need to be cold when you are making the tortellinis
- Cut the courgettes in half and char grill then both sides then chop them,put them in a pot and cover with chicken stock,cook for a bit longer then blend into a smooth soup
- For pasta put the flour into a food processor,whisk the eggs together with some olive oil and add slowly
- It probably wont take all the eggs just till it starts to come together
- Knead into a smooth ball then rest for a few hours covered in cling film in the fridge

Braised pork belly,olive oil mash,bright lights
- pork belly from gogos deli
- baking potatoes
- olive oil
- 3 lemons zested and juice
- bright lights or swiss chard
- 100 g cold butter
- 10 cloves of garlic in their skin

- Rub the pork belly with the nomu rub of your choice,seal in a roasting tray then cover with chicken stock,cook covered at 120 for around 6 hours,remove the belly and press between 2 trays in the fridge
- Reduce the braising liquor and whisk some butter into it at the end to thicken it
- Cover the garlic with olive oil and slowly cook until very soft
- Bake the potatoes in the oven until soft then scoop out the flesh into a bowl,this must be done while they are hot,add the lemon,salt and then while whisking them add at least 200 ml olive oil
- Squeeze the garlic out into the potatoes and whisk it in,you can also add some of the garlic oil if you want
- When the belly is cold you can remove any excess fat and portion,sear it and keep it hot
- Blanch the stems of the bright lights and saute the leaves

Strawberry short breads,vanilla creme fraiche
- 150g butter
- 100 g caster sugar
- 200g rice flour
- strawberries
- vanilla pod
- creme fraiche

- In a food prosseser cream the butter and sugar together then sift the flour into it and combine into a smooth short bread mix
- I roll mine between grease proof paper the put in the fridge to rest
- When its cold its easier to cut up
- Bake at 180 for around 15 minutes
- While a pan is heating up cut the strawberries in half and then add them to the hot pan and cook until the just start to break down the remove
- Split the vanilla pod and add to the creme fraiche
- Layer it all up and enjoy

All the pics are available on the neill anthony face book page

Bosch,Nomu,Neill Anthony master class 11th august

2011-08-22T01:51:00.000-07:00

Braised stump nose,caper raisin puree,carrots and liquorice
- Stump nose skinned and filleted
- Carrots peeled and diced
- fresh liquorice (I got mine from woolies)
- 1 small jar capers
- 300g golden raisins
- Butter
- nomu chicken stock
- olive oil

- Drain the capers,boil them in water together with the golden raisins for at least 20 mins,drain them,blend in a blender and add some olive oil while in the blender,about 60ml will be fine
- Cook the carrots in salted water until tender then strain
- Cut the liquorice into small discs
- Make some emulsion with 300ml chicken stock and 150 g butter
- Sear the fish and place on a tray the put some of the emulsion on it and cook at 90 degrees for around 15 minutes
- Add the carrots and liquorice together and heat up with a touch of the emulsion

Slow roast ribeye of beef,truffled horse radish chantilly,thrice cooked chips
- Whole ribeye
- Potatoes ( I used the Mediterranean ones from woolies)
- Creamed horse radish
- 200ml whipped cream
- juice of one lemon
- truffle oil
- nomu meat rub,I also added a touch of cinnamon
- Butter
- deep fryer

- Peel the potatoes and cut into thick chips of even size,put them into cold water,bring a pot of water up to the boil,and put the chips into the water,this will bring the temp of the water down to around 75,don't season the water,don't let the water boil,cook the chips until a knife slides through them,drain and let them cool naturally,then put them in the fridge
- Season the ribeye and roast in the oven at 90 degrees for about 3 hours,you can seal the meat first if you want but I didn't
- Add the creamed horse radish to the soft whipped cream,season with salt and lemon juice then finish with the truffle oil,just add to taste as some oils are stronger that others
- Fry the chips at 130 for 13 mins then remove and place on a tray with a cloth to absorb any excess oil,chill them till cold
- Heat up the fryer to 190 the cook the until crisp,this will take about 7 mins

Whipped lemon curd,salted peanut brittle,honey espuma
- for the curd
- 3 whole eggs
- 175 caster sugar
- 75 g cold butter
- zest and juice of 3 lemons
- 250 ml cream
- for the esupma
- 200ml milk
- 400ml cream
- 3 leaves gelatine
- 400g liquid honey
- for the brittle
- 300g caster sugar
- 150 ml water
- 30 g butter
- 250 g salted peanuts
- 1/2 tsp bicarb

- Place the lemon zest and juice,eggs,sugar in a metal bowl and whisk over heat until thick,remove form the heat and add the cold butter,chill in the fridge,when cold fold in the whipped cream and chill again
- Heat the honey until its golden brow,if you have a sugar thermometer take it to 150,remove from the heat and add the cream and milk,soak the gelatine in cold water,add to the warm mixture,strain,place in a espuma gun then chill in the fridge,when cold charge with 2 chargers
- Heat the sugar and the water until it forms a caramel,remove from heat,add the peanuts,this will cool the brittle down so return to the heat,add the butter,remove from the heat and stir in the bicarb,place on a non stick mat,while still hot sprinkle with sea salt

For pics and reviews check the Neill Anthony face book page

Bosch,Nomu,Neill Anthony master class 30th july

2011-08-22T00:51:00.000-07:00

Angel fish,marinated fennel,herb moussaline
- Angel fish filleted and skinned
- 3 eggs boiled for 5 mins then peeled
- fresh mint and parsley
- fennel
- lemon
- salt
- 400ml olive oil
- 50g butter
- 100ml nomu chicken stock

- Finley slice the fennel and add a good hand full of salt,rubbing it into the fennel,remember you are going to wash the salt off so don't be scared to add to much,leave for 25 mins then wash under cold water very well as to wash off all the salt,then ring out in a clean dish towel,add the chopped fennel tops to this
- Sear the angel fish on one side then turn over,add the chicken stock then the butter to form emulsion,finish with some lemon juice and set aside
- Put the eggs in a food processor and slowly add the olive oil to them to form a stiff mayonnaise,finish with the fresh herbs

Poached and roasted rabbit loin,savoy cabbage,artichoke puree,grain mustard
- fresh rabbit
- 1 chicken breast
- 100ml cream
- 40g sauted mushrooms
- baby cabbage
- Jerusalem artichokes
- butter
- olive oil
- nomu chicken stock

- Put the skinless chicken breast into a food processor and blend while slowly adding the cream to form a chicken mousse,make sure that the cream is cold and the food processor is dry as it could split the mousse,add the sauted mushrooms to the chicken mousse
- Remove the legs and shoulders of the rabbit and braise in some nomu chicken stock and grain mustard until tender,pick the meat off the bone and add some to the chicken mousse mix
- Debone the rabbit (you would have to been there to see how this is done),stuff the chicken mousse mix into the deboned rabbit then wrap it in cling film,poach for 14 minutes in simmering water,you will need to weigh it down with a plate
- Cool the rabbit down,over night is fine or for a few hours,the slice and sear in a non stick pan
- Prep the cabbage by removing the stalk so you only have the leaves and gently cook them in butter,we also used some kale on this which is a seasonal green leaf
- Slice the artichokes,slowly cook in some butter and some chicken stock until soft,there is no need to peel then just give them a wash,then blend whilst adding cold butter to form a smooth puree
- You will have some rabbit meat left over,you can heat this up separately or add it to the cabbage

Whipped lemon curd,coconut,ginger espuma
- for the curd
- 3 whole eggs
- 175 caster sugar
- zest and juice of 3 lemons
- 250 ml cream
- 75 g cold butter
- flacked coconut
- for the espuma
- 300g grated ginger
- 3 leaves gelatine (soaked in cold water)
- 300ml full cream milk
- 400 ml cream
- 200g sugar

- Heat the cream,milk and sugar for the for the espuma,add the grated ginger and leave to infuse for 25 mins,add the soaked gelatine leaves,strain,place in espuma gun then chill
- In a metal bowl combine the eggs,sugar,lemon juice and zest and cook over boiling water until thick,remove and add the cold butter,chill for a few hours in the fridge
- Soft whip the bream and fold into the cold cure
- Toast the coconut for serving
- Charge the espuma with 2 charges then chill again

For pics and reviews check the Neill Anthony face book page

Nomu,bosch,kitchen experience 21st july

2011-08-01T04:46:00.000-07:00

Salad of baby squid,polenta box,tomato chutney,gorgonzola

- cleaned baby squid
- nomu seafood rub
- 2 fresh tomatoes chopped
- 1 tin of tinned tomatoes
- 1 diced onion
- 1tsp chopped rosemary
- polenta ( cooked in nomu chicken stock)
- 100g cold butter
- olive oil
- lemon juice
- salad leaves
- gorgonzola cheese

Method
- Cook the polenta and add the cold butter to it then set in the fridge overnight
- Cook the onions in the olive oil,add the fresh tomatoes,tinned tomatoes and rosemary then cook until it reaches a chutney consistency,remove from the heat and re chop
- Season the baby squid with the nomu seafood rub
- Cut the polenta into rectangles and sear the one side,cool down,cut off the seared part,hollow out the middle,fill with the chutney,place the seared top back on to form a box
- Saute the squid in a hot pan for 3 mins and finish with some lemon juice
- Heat the polenta box in the oven and place the squid on top then the gorgonzola
- Dress the leaves and place on top before serving

Roast quail,baby cabbage,white onion puree,stuffing beignet

- fresh quail
- baby cabbage
- 2 white onions ( sliced)
- 200g pork mince
- dried sage
- bread crumbs
- 2 whole eggs
- 200g butter

- Remove the legs from the quail and braise then until tender then pick off the meat and bind with grain mustard
- Poach the crown for 4 mins in seasoned water and set aside
- Cut the vein out the cabbage so you are just left with the leaves,gently cook them in butter and set aside
- Season the pork mince with the sage,bind with one egg and about 60g bread crumbs,roll into small balls and chill in the fridge then crumb them
- Cook the onions in olive oil under cover until soft then transfer into a blender and blend whilst adding cold butter to form smooth puree
- Roast the quail in oil and butter until brown then rest for a few mins and take off the bone
- Deep fry the beignets until golden and place in the oven for 5 mins

Brandy custard mousse,honeycomb

- 6 egg yolks
- 500ml cream
- 300ml milk
- 200g sugar
- 80 g butter
- 60 g butter
- 500 ml brandy reduced to 100ml
Honey comb
- 325 caster sugar
- 50 g liquid honey
- 125 ml liquid glucose
- 60 ml water
- 15 g bicarb

Mousse
- combine the flour and butter in a food processor
- warm the milk and sugar then add the butter and flour, cook out until thickened
- Remove from heat and add the egg yolks then place back on a slow heat and cook until thick,remove from pan and set aside to chill
- Whip the cream and add the brandy to this,fold this into the chilled custard

Honey comb
- Place all the ingredients in a large pot except the bicarb
- Heat to 155 degrees then add the bicarb
- This will cause it to fluff up so be careful,remove and place on a non stick mat to cool then break apart

Pictures to this event are up on my face book page ..Neill Anthony

Nomu bosch kitchen experience recipes

2011-06-26T03:13:00.000-07:00

Butternut and parmesan cappuccino

- 2 butternut peeled and grated

- 150 g butter

- 1 ltr nomu chicken stock

- 100 g grated parmesan

- salt

Melt 100g of the butter until it just starts to turn browm,add the grated butternut and cook until golden,cover with the chicken stock and bring up to the boil

If you have the rind of the parmesan then add that as it comes to the boil but remove before you blend it

The soup only needs around 10 mins to cook which maintains the fresh flavor of the butternut

Blend the soup whilst hot and add the remaining cold butter in cubes aswell as the cheese

12 hour roast pork belly,braised endive,mushroom cassoulet,grain mustard

- free range pork belly

- Belgium endive (chicory salad)

- Grain mustard

- Wild mushrooms

- White beans

- Nomu spice rub (your choice)

- Icing sugar

- 3 ltr nomu chicken stock

Skin the belly and remove the ribs,this can be done by your butcher

Cook for 12 hours at 90 degrees covered in chicken stock then remove and cool before portioning

When cold cut into squares and brown them in a pan,in the same pan add a little more chicken stock and some grain mustard to form a jus

Sauté the mushrooms and add the white beans then glaze then with some of the stock

Cut the endive in half ,dust the flat side with the icing sugar,place the dusted side in a warm pan until golden brown then glaze with some chicken stock and cook until the stem is tender

Milk jam mousse, pineapple and coconut clusters

- 2 ltr milk

- 1 tin condense milk

- 200g milk powder

- 2 lemons

- 1 pkt tennis biscuits

- 200 g sugar

- 100ml water

- 6 egg yolks

- 2 leaves of gelatin

- 300 ml cream

- 2 pineapples

Put milk and the milk powder into a large pot

Reduce the milk down to 200 g then add the condense milk

Soak the gelatin in cold water then add to the warm water milk jam and set aside

Heat the sugar and water till 121 degrees c then slowly add this the egg yolks while whisking in a machine, they will fluff up and turn a pale white color

In the same machine soft whip the cream until soft peaks

Fold the eggs (pate bomb) into the milk jam followed by the cream to form mousse

Finish with the lemon juice

Blend the tennis biscuits into a fine powder

Cut the pineapple up into squares and caramelize in a dry pan until golden then add a few knobs of cold butter then cover with the biscuit crumbs to form clusters

lamb rump,butternut pearl barley,figs,salted cucumber

2011-06-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

I chose to do this dish as it is a great autumn style dish but can also be served as a warm salad in the summer so its a all versatile dish.It uses really great south african ingredients like karoo lamb and butternut but also the pearl barley is a under used ingredient that most people don't know how to use but it is a great starch substitute

It also uses a great technique with the salting of the cucumbers that gives them an amazing texture change and shows that cucumbers are not just for serving raw

Karoo lamb rump,roasted butternut pearl barley,pickled cucumber,fig compote

- 1 lamb rump

- 60 g diced butternut

- 60 g pearl barley

- 50 ml lamb stock (I used nomu)

- 10 g diced butter

- 3 baby figs quartered

- 40 g brown sugar

- 30 ml balsamic vinegar

- olive oil for cooking and for finishing (I used willow creek)

- half a large cucumber

- salt to coat the cucumber at least 10g ...this seems like alot but you wash it off

- Place the lamb rump fat side down in a warm pan and render the fat down till crispy then turn over and seal the flesh side remove from the pan and place in a pre heated oven 180 degrees c for 12 mins then rest for at least 12 mins

- In the same pan place the diced butternut and saute until soft but not falling apart

Barley

- boil the barley in salted water until soft

- drain and then add the lamb stock and reduce until almost gone then add the cold butter to form a risotto like consistency

Figs

- place the sugar in a sauce pot and cook over a medium heat until it forms a caramel then add the balsamic

- add the figs and cook until it forms a compote

Cucumbers

- cut the cucumber into quarters and remove the pips

- peel with a peeler into strips and then rub the salt onto them and leave for around 20 minutes and it will draw out the moisture then wash under cold water for 3 minutes

- dry on a piece of paper towel

Pesto princess wheels

2011-04-25T05:33:00.000-07:00

There are few things better that the smell of fresh baking bread,combine this with basil,pine nuts,garlic,olives,aubergine,the smell of a good old fashioned braai and you can imagine the flavours flowing through this bread
I was lucky enough to see the making of the amazing product that we all know under the label pesto princess and I can assure you they don't compromise on flavour these little jars of multi colour goodness receive the royal treatment
I wanted to use these products in a different way other than in pasta so all I did was make a simple bread dough,roll it out,fill it,roll it up,cut it then baked it and done
Your only enemy with this dish would be rolling it too tight and using a filling that is too wet because then the dough in the middle wont cook.
What I did was cooked down some sliced onion and added the aubergine and olive pesto to form what is commonly known as a caviar as when you do it with baked aubergine the seeds make it look like poor mans caviar
Bread dough
- 1kg bread flour
- 5 g salt
- 5 g sugar
- 250 ml milk
- 10 g dry yeast
- warm water
Warm up the milk to dissolve the yeast,add it to the dry ingredients,mix into a dry dough then slowly add warm water to form a workable dough.
Different flours will react differently so just add until it looks like a smooth dough
I did this in a kitchen aid with the dough paddle then I covered the bowl with a cloth and proved next to the fire for about an hour
Knock it back then roll it out,spread the aubergine mix,basil pesto and red pesto evenly,roll it up loosely,cut into 3 cm rolls then place on a baking tray and proof again for around 30 mins
Bake at 175 for around 30 mins

Nomu cajun rub spiced pork belly

2011-04-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

Pork belly is pretty much like a massive piece of streaky bacon if you think about it,people are scared of cooking it as it can be very fatty but if you treat it right there is no need for it to be overly fatty
Cooking it the day before is the best way of doing this as the fat sets in the fridge and you can trim off as much as you like .I like a bit of fat on mine as it keeps it super moist and if you render it out it goes really crispy
I didn't do the crackling with this one but I have bloged the perfect crackling before
I got my pork belly from saks butchery tel:0217018885
The process could not be simpler
- Rub the nomu cajun spice into the pork belly,place into a roasting dish on a medium heat and let the fat render out
- As the fat renders out place some sliced onions around and underneath the belly and cook them until they just start to colour,these will form the base to a onion sauce after the pork is cooked
- Then I just added some water and some nomu chicken fond,covered with parchment paper and braised in the oven for about 3 hours at 180 degrees
- Remove the belly then blend the onion and pork juices to form a sauce
- Cool it in the fridge,remove any excess fat then cold then seal it until crisp

Serve with some sprouting broccoli and a mustard leaf salad,something fresh as it can be a heavy meal or go wild and serve it with buttery potato puree and a glass of red ......

Seared tuna,warm nicoise style salad

2011-03-28T06:46:00.000-07:00

There are not too many days of summer left so I thought that this would be a great dish to mark the end of summer.We all know nicoise as a classic salad but I have made slight adaptation to it but keeping the same ingredients except I dont have green beans in this recipe because I did not have any at the time but please feel free to add some
I got the tuna from the best fish shop that I have come across since I have been in cape town,the little fisherman which is next to greens in constantia ...Gary : 0217945526

You will need
- tomato chutney
- chopped olives
- boiled egg (7 mins)
- extra virgin olive oil (willow creek directors reserve)
- 1 tuna steak (little fisher man constantia)
- bocconcini mozzarella

For the chutney I just cooked down a chopped shallot and added a tin of peeled tomatoes together with a fresh chopped tomato then reduced down until it is a light jammy consistency and add the chopped olives at the end
Grate the boiled egg on a micro plane but if you don't have one just use the finest side of the cheese grater,stir some olive oil into it and as you stir it you will see that it almost forms a sort of semi split mayonnaise style dressing but the egg is cooked so don't be scared of calling it split
Simply dress the bocconcini with some oil and a bit of black pepper to lightly speckle it.Show the fish some respect don't over cook it and also give it a quick butter bath just to give it a bit more luxury .

just add a bit more luxury by resting the
tuna and pouring over the foaming butter

Society bistro autumn menu

2011-03-22T06:44:00.000-07:00

Most of the time when I read something and it starts with ..I was so lucky to be invited to.... I normally think.... so annoying that I was not invited so this is my turn
I was lucky to be invited to the tasting of the new autumn menu at society bistro last saturday along with the lovely food and the fabulous and the super self sufficient matt allison to name a few, now if you were in cape town last saturday you would know that it was a scorcher and eating heavy braised dishes like pork pot au feu and fettuccine with mounds of parmesan would not have been ideal but it was a taste explosion that was enjoyed by all
We were all given a sheet of paper allowing us to give suggestions and also a price that we would be willing to pay for the dish
A couple of dishes that stood out to me were the braised ox tongue with capers and parsley which was very well balanced.The beetroot carpaccio with a delicate salad of cucumber and rocket,horse radish mayonnaise and the chicken liver parfait was possibly one of the best things that I have ever eaten,the only thing that would have made that dish better would have been a nice slab of roast foie gras ontop but that would not be their style which is super simple tasty food made with respect and less fuss more flavour
I would like to thank stefan and society bistro for the great rustic food with strong bold flavour

Also thanks to hartenberg for their wine sponsor
Society bistro 50 orange street gardens
021 4242100

all pastas made fresh on site

crescente\naan bread

2011-03-09T00:10:00.000-08:00

So crescente is an Italian style flat bread and naan is an indian style flat bread. Both perfect accompaniments to anything allows you to keep the knives and forks in the draw and dig in with your hands
So all I do is add some herbs,cumin to my crescente dough to spice it up a bit and I served mine with a spicy curry but I am not going to blog my curry in fear of the lovely @foodandthefabulous saying Neill darling thats not a curry what are you doing? so if you want a great curry recipe go check out her blog.
But for these breads this is what you will need
- kitchen aid with paddle
- 500g flour
- 10g yeast
- pinch of salt
- 275ml warm milk
- cumin
- dried mixed herbs( yes use dried ones no use for fresh ones here)
- 60ml olive oil (willow creek of course)

So you add the liquid to the dry ingredients in the kitchen aid and beat it until it comes off the paddle
Proof then knock back, proof again in small balls,roll and cook in a hot pan

Best eaten straight away but you can lay them on a tray and keep warm in the oven

Gnocchi and artichoke fricasse

2011-03-03T03:12:00.000-08:00

This is am amazing little starter but can be boosted up into a really great vegetarian main course or even a side dish to any type of meat or fish especially veal
Yes you can buy gnocchi from the super market but like most things of this nature its easy to make,alot cheaper and when done properly its so much tastier
You have a couple of enemies when making gnocchi
- the moisture in the potatoes
- over working the mix
- too much flour
- under cooking
- over cooking
When you are making gnocchi just respect the process and have everything ready before you start because if you have to stop half way through to boil the water or crack the eggs you will not have the same end result so it has to be one fluid motion
The artichokes are alot of work aswell but the give such refined touch to the dish ...rustic refined

For the gnocchi you will need
- potatoes( I used mediterranean ones)
- 2 egg yolks
- flour ..if you have 00 flour its best but normal flour will be fine
- boiling water
- salt

Baking the potatoes in the oven reduces the amount of water that they absorb then when they are soft you just scoop the flesh into a bowl but you must do this while its still hot so maybe use a glove if you have one or just hold them in a cloth
Then mix with a spatula whilst adding the egg yolks and flour in a chopping motion as not to work the starches in the potato to prevent causing wallpaper ..which you don't want
I dont have a amount of flour in this recipe as the moisture content differs in potatoes from season to season but you should have 600g of potato flesh,2 egg yolks and then add the flour until the mix moves as an independent mass
Then on a floured surface roll into log shapes,cut with a floured knife into baby dumplings and put them onto a floured tray,you need one with no lip or just turn the tray around because you need to slide them off in one fluid motion into the boiling water so they all cook at the same time
So straight into the boiling salted water and when they rise to the surface give them like 25 seconds,drain,coat them in oil and cool on a tray

To prep the artichokes you need to remove the leaves,chop the stalk off,take out the hairy choke with a tea spoon,keep in acidulated water,dry,saute in oil,add white wine,water,cook until soft,remove and cool

So then saute the artichokes and gnocchi together,some fresh basil at the end then finish with some shaved parmesan

Steak tare tare

2011-02-18T04:09:00.000-08:00

We all know what it is but very few people have the balls to eat it because our first impression of it was MR bean trying to get rid of it in as many humours ways possible but there is no reason to be scared of eating a good steak tare tare its quick to make,takes no cooking at all,healthy(well I eat mine with slabs of butter but it is healthy)
This one does not use raw egg yolk but I am a fan of a little raw quail on the top but could not find any and I wanted steak tare tare now now now so I could not wait
In some restaurants they serve you steak tare tare with the condiments on the side and you can mix it your self ...this is not for me if you are going to do this why don't you give me a board a knife all the ingredients and I will do the whole dish myself so as you can see I am not a fan of this I like being served whole dishes prepared by the cooks thats what they are there for
You will need on the board
- beef fillet hand chopped
- baby gherkins
- confit shallots
- capers
- tomato sause yes the usual all gold stuff nothing fancy
- chopped celery leaves
- boil an egg for 8 mins then grate it on a fine grater
- willow creek lemon oil
- lemon juice
- hot sauce of your choice
- I used a bit of chilli oil in this one too
- chopped jalapenos
- salt and black pepper lots of it
For serving
- white toast not fancy bread just warm soft white toast
- butter
- mix some of the capers and shallots to form a dressing of sorts
- quali egg yolk if you can get it
So all you need to do is chop all the ingredients up,place in a metal bowl over ice,add the condiments,season,toast the bread and slap on some cold butter,mould the tare tare onto a plate and enjoy
The only thing I might have added to this would be some fresh tarragon and some mustard.

From 14 to 33 NAmasterclass

2011-02-15T05:43:00.001-08:00

What started off as a little intimate master class with a few bloggers has blossomed into a perfect way to spend a saturday morning/afternoon for anybody who is interested in food,likes meeting interesting new people,wants experience a few new flavours,taste some great wines or even grappa spray at this one which makes a perfect early morning mouth cleanser let me tell you
I am lucky enough to be the one hosting these master classes in lovely house in oranjezicht,thanks to the wonderful judy, which has the coolest union jack smeg fridge I may add and they are all brought together by the awesome Jane-anne Hobbs
The morning consists of coffee on arrival then we calmly flow into the master class which is usually a 3 course demonstration of dishes that you can cook at home but now will be able to give them a few tweeks and twists to make then extra special
Menu from the 12-02-2011
- risotto of white onion and aged parmesan
- boned and rolles shoulder of karoo lamb,spiced carrot puree,capers and confit shallot
- warn chocolate tart
Most of the dishes are made from scratch except for a few self explanatory things like purees and so on but I do explain how I have made them and answer all questions about the processes.But just because it is called a master class don't think that its only for professionals its for everybody young and not so young to enjoy and get some free goodies.As that is what food is supposed to do...bring people together and create flavour happiness
Special thanks to the sponsors of the event
- willow creek olive oil
- nomu fonts and stocks
- cardinal wine
- wolftrap wines
Thanks to robert miller for taking the photographs
To imnojamieoliver for the iphone timer

See the Neill Anthony face book page for more photos

From 14 to 33 NAmasterclass

2011-02-15T05:42:00.000-08:00

See the Neill Anthony face book page for more photos

The ultimate roast chicken and potatoes

2011-02-10T06:28:00.000-08:00

This is the only way to cook a perfect roast chicken because if you think about it the breasts and the legs are totally different in their make up .We all know they don't really spend a lot of time flying so the breast meat does not do a lot of work but the legs and thighs are always working well you hope so anyway when you buy a free range organic chicken that they do a lot of walking around
And in this recipe you get to make an awesome fresh chicken stock on the side

You will need
- 2 free range chickens
- roasting potatoes
- chopped garlic and rosemary
- onions
- carrots
- butter

You are going to prep the chicken into whats known as a crown so that you can still stand it up making it easier to carve.So just remove the legs but make sure you leave as much skin on the breasts cause this offers them protection when roasting and half of the chest bone to form the crown.Take off the wing tips and put them into a pot with the chest bones,2 onions don't worry about peeling them,2 carrots then cover with cold water
Heat up some olive oil a pan then start cooking the crowns one breast at a time then pop them onto the tip and finally on their backs this ensures that you get a even colour.Now this takes some control and careful you don't burn fingers as it will spit a little
Remove the crowns and place into your roasting tray then turn the heat in the pan down a bit and add the legs skin side down and as you do this the kitchen will fill with the smell of roasting garlic and rosemary but control the heat otherwise you will be smelling burned garlic and rosemary
Now this is where your chicken stock comes in handy because as the legs are browned flip them over add a ladle of your fresh hot chicken stock and braise them for around 45 mins
Peel and par boil your potatoes then add them to the same roasting tray as the chicken crowns.Cut up some butter and place all over the chicken crowns then roast together for around 25 mins at 180.Because you have already coloured the chicken you don't need to worry about having to get the skin crispy in the oven which can dry it out I find
So now remove the legs and whilst still warm you can just pull the bones right out but don't throw them away...thats what the stock is for so pop them in there and the same with the other bones that you get when you take the breasts off so nothing goes to waste here
To form the gravy mix the butter from the roasting tray with a bit of flour and add it into the leg braising liquor

Dont forget to pop all your extra bones into your stock

Strawberry soup with chantilly cream

2011-02-08T05:57:00.000-08:00

Fruit soups are becoming more popular these days as people are broadening their views using sweet products where before you would only associate the word soup with savoury items like tomato and so on where as a soup is any highly flavoured liquid served hot or cold.This is a great light dessert which is very simple to make but you have to cook the strawberries the day before in order to get the best flavour out of the jus fraise
You will need
- fresh strawberries
- caster sugar to coat the strawberries
- fresh cream
- icing sugar
- and biscuits that you have lying around

So the day before you want to serve this what you need to do is cut the stalks off the strawberries and cut them in half or quarters depending on how big they are,coat them in caster sugar and put them straight into a hot dry pan no oil or butter needed as they will start to break down and release their jus then as soon they just start to soften put them onto a tray into the fridge.You must use a tray and not a bowl so you don't hurt the ones that will be on the bottom
The next day they will be lying in a sweet bright red jus fraise and all you need to do is take them out of the jus and pour it into a separate serving jug,chop up the biscuits,whip up the chantilly cream,arrange the strawberries around the biscuits and chantilly then pour on the soup,best served,ice cold its too easy

a flatish soup bowl works best

if you put the bowl on a damp tea towel
it wont slide around

All you need to do to get the shape
is pop the spoon into hot water

You can do the same with raspberries but be careful they cook much faster than strawberries.You can also substitute the cream for creme fraiche and if you have any left over strawberries they go great in some yogurt in the morning

Enjoy

Cassoulet of mushrooms with baby cabbage and borlotti beans

2011-02-07T03:43:00.000-08:00

I love a good one pan dish it makes a lot of sense on a monday with less washing up meaning less hassle so why not give this cheeky dish a go for your meat free monday
On the board we have
- chopped onion
- chopped carrot
- green beans
- chopped garlic
- assorted mushrooms of your choice,I try not to eat things with the word shiit in the title but make an excuse when it comes to shiitake mushrooms.
- borlotti beans,drained
- baby spring cabbage leaves
- half a lemon
- willow creek olive oil for cooking and the parmesan oil for finishing

The way to go about it is to heat up the oil in your pan,start with the onions,carrots and green beans on a medium heat then as the are just starting to come together turn the heat up,add a bit more oil then pop the mushrooms and garlic into the pan while stirring or flicking the pan so the garlic does not catch
Now move the mix up into one side of the pan making a dry area for the cabbage leaves,as you put these in flick the rest of the mix onto them so the heat starts to gently wilt the leaves you don't want to over cook these delicate baby leaves please they don't like it and go bitter.Fold in the drained borlotti beans
Lastly a squeeze of fresh lemon juice a drizzle of parmesan oil brings this dish to life I always serve with some warm toasted crusty country style bread and butter
I would like to dedicate this post to a very special vegetarian a small scotsman with a massive heart my farther Gordon Stuart Vaughan 21.04.39 - 07.02.06

the moisture from the mushrooms will cause steam
and help wilt the leaves down

snap CRACKLE and eat

2011-02-06T03:10:00.000-08:00

Sunday lunch is something that is enjoyed all over the world and in all walks of life but nowhere as much as good old england where some people eat roast style meals every day of the week
This is not a write up about how to roast beef, glaze vegetables or make fluffy yorkies but I am going to tell you how to make the perfect crackling
You must understand that crackling is basically pig skin and cooking it together with the roast pork is not ideal as they cook differently so what you need to do is cook the skin separately but instead of just roasting the skin in the oven,I simmer the skin in water for at least 2 hrs, remove and dry on paper towel so what you have now is a cooked piece of pork skin.

this stuff will never be healthy for you
but this is by far the healthiest way
to cook it as you render out as much
fat as possible

Now just pop it in a baking tray and season liberally with course sea salt, roast in the oven at 180 for 35 mins but while its roasting it will render out the fat so just pour it off either into a jar or what I do is just pour it straight onto the potatoes that I am normally roasting at the same time

Provence in a spoon

2011-02-04T05:57:00.000-08:00

When you say the word provence to me in congers up flavours like tomatoes,rosemary,fennel,olive oil and amazing sunshine thats if you consider sunshine a flavour but you must agree that the sun kissed products of summer have a certain extra element of joy to them
So anyway I was braising some lamb in the oven this morning at about 125 degrees c and thought the perfect accompaniment for it would be some slow roasted baby tomatoes which turn insanely sweet and tasty if you treat them right.The lamb needs a bit of sharpness to cut through the possible fattiness of the dish so the salty sweet bursts of flavour that these little babies offer balances the lamb nicely and you can pop them in the oven at the same temperature

The acidity of the tomatoes makes
your knife go blunt pretty fast
so make sure you use a sharp one

-Baby tomatoes
-Willow creek extra virgin olive oil
-Rosemary
-Chopped garlic
-Salt
-Black pepper

Lay as flat as possible to ensure
they cook evenly

All you need to is cut the tomatoes in half, chop the garlic and rosemary into a paste,mix the paste with the olive oil to form a thick dressing,season heavily with salt and black pepper then lay on a tray,put in the oven with the lamb for around 45 mins and they form a perfect marriage with each other

They are great hot or cold

The lamb is braised,picked down,sauce reduced,bound back into the meat and is setting in the fridge ready for tomorrow so thats another post for another day
Neill Anthony

Birkenhead and Birkenstocks

2011-02-03T01:56:00.000-08:00

Back in the day if you said to me an earth fair food market in in tokai I would have imagined a couple of fynbos smoking..birkenstock wearing hippies selling organic macaroni necklaces and under seasoned spinach and feta pastries...but not any more as the earth fair in tokai has become a firm favourite wednesday night hang out for me where they have a great collection of food items that range form sushi to pizzas to a special stand that sells bratwurst and macaroons ..where they came with that combo I have no idea but it makes alot of sense

The only thing that tastes better
after one of the birkenhead honey
beer is another one of the same please
But don't worry I can walk home

So they have coffee,cakes,biltong,smoked fish,organic juices,organic wine and a range of beers...But let me tell you why I go there ...the birkenhead honey beer is one of the best beers I have ever drank,and I have had a few pints in my time,and at R15 a pop its cheap at twice the price

full of spicy seafood mix

So next to builders ware house main road tokai on a wednesday from 3pm to 8pm its the earth fair market...not to be confused with the tokai porters market which is on a saturday but thats another blog post about the Neill Anthony market experience

love your left overs

2011-02-02T00:58:00.000-08:00

Roast pork fillet with pineapple

- cold roast pork fillet

- olive oil vinaigrette (6 parts oil to 1 part vinegar)

- diced pineapple

- cooked lentils

- salad leaves

Method

This is a great dish if you have some roasted pork fillet from the night before and you are able to slice it super thin

1- coat the diced pineapple in a little sugar and heat up a non stick pan then pop them into the pan dry.As they start to colour add a few nobs of butter,remove from the heat into the cooked lentils

2- dress the lentils and pineapple well as the lentils will soak up the vinaigrette and plump up

3- you can mix this all together or you can layer it on the plate but make sure you always save some dressing for the finishing touch

People should really be eating pulses like lentils,beans,split peas hot and cold as they are very versatile,really soak up flavours

They are a great source of protein and essential amino acids

Start eating them hot,cold,warm,in salads,curries and amazing soups

2011-01-31T04:08:00.000-08:00

Chilli Asian beef salad

- 250g good quality steak ,I used a rump form my butcher

- coriander
- chopped chilli

- bean shoots

- fennel finely sliced

- 1 shallot finely sliced

- mixed asian mushrooms

- soya sauce and fish sauce

Method

1-Heat up a frying pan and cook the beef for around 4 mins each side,I like mine quite rare,then take out and place on a plate to rest remembering to never throw away the resting juices we will use these at the end

2-In the same pan place the fennel,chilli,shallot and cook until they start to colour and then add the mushrooms,you may need to add a touch more oil to the pan at this stage as the mushrooms will dry the pan out a bit but they will release the oil again so don't add to much

3-Last into the pan are the bean shoots and the coriander toss these all together then add the soya sauce,fish sauce and importantly the resting juices from the steak and remove from the heat as to stop the cooking and maintain the freshness

Slice the beef as thin as possible,arrange the warm salad in a bowl and place the sliced beef on top then garnish with some fresh coriander and drizzle a touch of sesame oil over the salad

meat free monday

2011-01-31T03:40:00.000-08:00

Ragout of slightly curried butternut with tender stem broccoli and white beans

1x Butternut peeled and diced
1x tin of white beans drained
300g tender steam broccoli
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Ground cumin
Ground coriander
Smoked paprika
Curry powder

This is a great one pan dish on its own but can also be used as a side dish to accompany meat or fish

1-Heat up the olive oil in a pan over a medium heat and start to cook the butternut,while this is cooking split the stem of the broccoli lengthways just below the head as this allows the heat to cook it faster and you wont need to pre blanch it
2-As the butternut starts to break down you can start to add the spices to your taste and also add some salt and pepper,then the broccoli and cover with a lid as the steam from the pan will gently cook the broccoli through
3-Just before the broccoli is cooked fold the white beans in and freshen it up with a dash of lemon juice

What you are looking for in the end product is for the butternut to still have some texture but to be cooked enough to bind the dish together and to turn this into a more substantial meat free monday dish you can serve it with a baby gem leaf salad,croutons,goats cheese ..Done