Quick Low-Carb Gammon Steak with Tender-Stem Broccoli, Garlic & Cream

I'm excited to share this recipe with you because it's so quick and surprisingly delicious. It takes about eight minutes to cook from start to finish, and I eat it at least three times a week because I'm smitten by Woolies' tender-stem broccoli, which has become one of the mainstays of my low-carb regime.

Quick Low-Carb Gammon Steak with Tender-Stem Broccoli,
 Garlic, Green Peppercorns & Cream

I've always loved broccoli, but it's become something of an obsession since I cut out carbs. I find tender-stem broccoli utterly scrumptious - up there with fresh asparagus - and as far as I know it's available only from Woolworths. If you can't find it, use small florets of ordinary broccoli for this dish.

This recipe serves one, but you can easy double or quadruple it. Please use a large, shallow pan that allows for fast reduction (a big wok will do).

Although this recipe contains a considerable amount of cream - so allowed on a low-carb, high-fat diabetic regime - its main ingredients are good for you, provided you use top-quality lean gammon steak, with all visible fat trimmed away.  You can use Greek yoghurt instead of cream - please see my Cook's Notes at the end of the recipe.

This dish is so convenient because it's made in one pan, in a flash.

The gammon adds a lovely smoky, caramelised note to the sauce, and I wouldn't consider making this dish without it.  If you're not a pork eater, you might try this with a fillet of firm-fleshed white linefish, but I don't think it will taste as good.

I had to leave brined green peppercorns out of the recipe title because they would have made it too long, but I urge you to try them in this dish - they add a wonderful warm peppery pop and pull all the flavours together.

Quick Low-Carb Gammon Steak with Tender-Stem Broccoli, Garlic & Cream

1 lean gammon steak, all visible fat trimmed away
1 tsp (5 ml) olive oil
12 spears tender-stem broccoli
4 Tbsp (60 ml) water
1 small clove garlic, peeled and finely grated
1 tsp (5 ml) Dijon mustard [optional]
1 Tbsp (15 ml) green peppercorns, drained of their brine and lightly crushed using a mortar & pestle [optional]
½ cup (125 ml) cream
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
milled black pepper, to taste

Pat the gammon steak dry on kitchen paper.  Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a large frying pan, over a high heat. When the oil is just beginning to shimmer, fry the gammon steak on one side for 2-3 minutes, or until its underside is brown and caramelised.

In the meantime, cut the broccoli spears crossways into thirds.

Turn the steak over. Now add the broccoli to the pan, arranging it around the edges of the gammon steak, and pour in the water. Cover immediately with a lid (or with an upturned plate, if your frying pan doesn't have a lid).

Turn down the heat and cook at a brisk bubble for 3-5 minutes, or until the broccoli is just tender when you poke the thickest stalk with the tip of a sharp knife.  If you've covered the pan with a plate, please be very careful when you lift it off, as you risk an excruciating steam burn (see Cook's Notes, below.)

If the pan looks a little dry, add another splash of water.

While the broccoli is cooking, combine the grated garlic, mustard, crushed peppercorns and cream in a small bowl.

When the broccoli is tender, take off the lid, turn up the heat and pour in the garlic/cream mixture.  It will bubble furiously and immediately turn a caramel colour at the edges. Toss the pan energetically while it does so, not taking your eye off it for a moment, and let it bubble for 30 to 60 seconds, or until the cream has thickened and the sting has gone out of the garlic.

If you haven't used green peppercorns in the dish, add a few generous grinds of black pepper. The sauce shouldn't need any salt, as gammon is salty enough in its own right.

Remove from the heat and add a small spritz of lemon - just enough to add a whisper of acidity.  Serve immediately.

Serves 1.

Cook's Notes

• You can serve the gammon steak whole, or slice it into strips or cubes, as shown in the picture below. 
• If you've covered your frying pan with a plate, use a fork to lift up its edge, which will allow puffs of steam to escape. Or wrap a thick dishcloth around your hand as you lift the plate away. 
• You can use thick Greek yoghurt in place of cream, but be sure to add it to the pan a few tablespoons at a time, over a low heat.  When the yoghurt is hot and slightly reduced, remove the pan from the heat and stir in a little lemon juice.  Here are my tips for cooking with yoghurt. 
• This recipe also works beautifully with thinly sliced baby marrows [courgettes/zucchini].
  
  

Cut the gammon into cubes, or leave it whole.

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Spicy Low-Carb Roast Chicken & Tomato Soup with Halloumi Croutons

This creamy winter soup is spiced with a light touch because I want its hero ingredients (glorious roast chicken and ripe tomatoes) to sing out like a two-angel choir. I cannot resist a ready-roasted chicken, with its sticky golden skin and melting flakes, and fresh tomatoes - packed as they are with lip-smacking umami - add irresistible depth of flavour. This recipe contains not a speck of wheat or corn, nor any similar thickening agent. Although cooked tomatoes contain some teeny-weeny carbs, they have a low glycaemic-index ranking, making this recipe suitable for diabetics, or anyone on a low-carb, high fat regime.

Spicy Low-Carb Roast Chicken & Tomato Soup with Halloumi Croutons

You can, of course, roast your own chickens from scratch, but why bother? I don't think it's possible to achieve, in a domestic oven, the fall-apart texture and all-over goldenness produced by an industrial rotisserie. I use Woolies roast chickens because I think they're the best, but any good ready-roasted bird will do.

Like all good soups and stews, this dish tastes more beautiful and complex the day after you've made it.

Because it contains no starch, this soup relies for thickening on fast and furious boiling. It's an old-fashioned idea that soups need to be simmered for hours; I believe that a quick cooking time helps to retain the sparkle of the fresh ingredients. (More about that here - My Top Tips for Making Memorable Soup.)

This soup relies on fast boiling to reduce its tomato & leek base to a beautiful intense thickness.

If you're in a rush and don't want to make the quick stock called for in this recipe, use two 500 ml cartons of chicken stock in its place.

I've added the halloumi croutons because I desperately miss the carb-packed bready ones. Halloumi cheese makes a gorgeous substitute for crunchy cubes of oil-sizzled white bread, but it is bulging with calories, so I try to add just a few nuggets to soups, and to the top of steamed or braised veggies.

Please choose a very firm halloumi cheese for perfect croutons - if it's at all soft or yielding to a finger-prod, it will collapse in the pan and leave its sticky brown crust behind when you try to prise it away. For more advice about frying halloumi, click here > Top tips for frying halloumi.

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Low-Carb Roast Chicken & Tomato Soup with Halloumi Croutons

2 small ready-roasted chickens
1 litre water
500 ml boxed liquid chicken stock (or two teaspoons of concentrated chicken stock or jelly - such as a Nomu fond, or a Knorr Chicken Stock Pot - dissolved in the same amount of water)
4 large leeks, white and pale green parts only
2 Tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
9 ripe tomatoes
1 x 410 g tin whole or chopped Italian tomatoes
1/3 cup (80 ml) dry white wine
salt and milled black pepper
1 tsp (5 ml) chilli flakes, or more, to taste
1 tsp (5 ml) ginger [the dried powder]
1½ tsp (7.5 ml) cumin
¼ tsp (just a pinch!) cinnamon
1/3 cup (80 ml) cream
4 Tbsp (60 ml) finely chopped curly parsley

For the halloumi croutons:

a small block (about 150 g) halloumi cheese
4 Tbsp (60 ml) sunflower or a similar vegetable oil, for frying

Rotisseried chickens like these Woolworths ones drive me
into rapures. They're always a bit flabby the time I
get them home, but the flavour of the skin is gorgeous.

Remove the wishbones at the neck ends of the chickens (this is easily done by hooking your fingers underneath the bones and tugging them away). Using a sharp knife, remove all four breasts, each in one piece, taking care not to dislodge the skin.  Set to one side and keep warm.

Strip the remaining flesh from the chickens, removing any skin or gristle. Tear it into shreds, cover and set aside. Put all the bones and skin into a small deep pot and add a litre of water plus 500 ml chicken stock (see my notes in the ingredient list and opening paragraphs, above).  Bring to the boil and cook at a lively bubble, uncovered, for 30 minutes, skimming off any scum as it rises.

While the stock is boiling, prepare the leeks by trimming off the dark-green upper parts and making a long horizontal slit three-quarters of the way through their lengths.  Fan out the ‘pages’ of the leeks under a cold running tap and rinse away any grit hiding in the outer leaves.  Now cut the leeks into fine slices.

Heat the olive oil in a new pot and add the sliced leeks. Fry them over a medium heat for 5 minutes, then cover with a lid and braise gently for 10-15 minutes, or until they are soft.  Stir in the garlic and cook uncovered for a further 3 minutes, without allowing the garlic to burn or catch.

In the meantime, cut the tomatoes into quarters and place half of them in the jug of a liquidiser (or a food processor fitted with a metal blade).  Add a ladle or two of the hot chicken stock so the blades can turn freely, and whizz to a fine pink liquid. Now add the remaining quartered tomatoes and the tin of tomatoes, and blitz until just blended. If you don't have a liquidiser, you will need to grate all the tomatoes, or chop them finely.

Tip the whizzed-up tomatoes into the pot containing the leeks, add the wine, and season with salt and pepper. Turn up the heat under the pot and cook over a very high heat for 15 minutes, skimming off any pink foam that rises to the top.  This mixture will reduce and thicken quite quickly. Pour the stock into a colander set over a bowl, and discard the bones and skin (or give them to the dogs).

Now measure out one litre of your chicken stock and add it to the pot containing the leeks and tomatoes. Reserve any remaining stock. Turn up the heat and cook at a fast rolling boil for about 25 minutes. You'll know it's ready for blitzing when the liquid has reduced by about a quarter, and is beginning to look thicker.

Blitz the soup using a stick blender, then add the
chicken and spices.

Blend the soup to a fairly fine purée using a stick blender (or a liquidiser). Add the chilli flakes, ginger, cumin and cinnamon, along with the shredded chicken bits you set aside earlier. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 6-8 minutes.

Add the cream - a dribble at a time, stirring well between each addition to prevent it from curdling - and check the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if necessary. If the soup seems a little thick, thin it down with a little of your reserved chicken stock.

Now for some last-minute preparation. To make the halloumi croutons, heat the oil in a small frying pan.  Cut the cheese into pieces the size of playing dice, and pat them very dry on kitchen paper to remove any brine. Fry the cubes over a medium-high heat for a minute or two, turning once, and watching them like a hawk because they brown and burn in a flash!

Drain the cubes on several layers of kitchen paper, blotting them well to remove any oil.

Cut the reserved warm chicken breasts into 7-mm slices, making sure each slice is topped with a strip of golden skin.

To serve the soup, ladle it into bowls, scatter with a few halloumi croutons and top with slices of roast chicken breast. Shower with chopped fresh parsley and serve immediately.

Serves 6-8.


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Spicy Shredded Duck with Crackling

Here's my latest MasterChef recipe, the fourth and last in a series of recipes I've written for Woolworths, food sponsors of the latest South African series.

Tender shredded duck with cucumber, spring onions and a
super-crispy topping of duck crackling.

[Click here to go straight to the recipe >>]

This is a sneaky way to make 24 or more delicious canapés using just two duck breasts: first confit the breasts in their own fat, then toss the tender shredded meat with cucumber, spring onions and some sexy Asian flavours, and finally top each portion with golden shards of crunchy duck skin.

This dish is ideal for starting the day before, as the flavour of the duck breasts will improve overnight. I’ve used the five-spice powder sparingly, but feel free to add more if you’d like more perfume in the dish.

This is a great snack for a cocktail party, because you can prepare the duck
a day or two ahead, and put everything together at the last minute. 

For more details about how to confit duck at home, have a look at my recipe for Easy Duck Rillettes.

Finally, this year, it’s not just bloggers getting the chance to get creative in the kitchen along with MasterChef and Woolies. Create a recipe with the same ingredients used each week by the Woolworths Masterchef Competition bloggers and you could win one of fourteen R1000 Woolies gift cards, or the (very!) grand prize of a R10 000 gift card. Head over to the Woolworths Masterchef Hub for more info and T&Cs.

• My first recipe for Woolies/Masterchef:  Slow-Roasted Leg of Lamb with a Basil Walnut Sauce
• My second recipe:  Peppercorn Chicken with Chilli and Mint 
• My third recipe:  Billowing Meringues with a Sunset Berry Coulis

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Spicy Shredded Duck with Crackling

2 boneless duck breasts, skin on
80g spring onions
half a large cucumber
1 tsp (5 ml) Chinese five-spice powder
1 Tbsp (15 ml) Hoisin sauce
4 tsp (20 ml) rice vinegar, to taste
milled black pepper
Maldon sea salt

Heat the oven to 160 ºC. Place the duck breasts, skin side down, in a cold frying pan. Turn on the heat under the pan to its lowest setting, and heat the breasts very slowly and gently for 10 minutes, without disturbing them. This long heating process will help to render the fat.

Turn up the heat in the pan to medium high. Fry the duck breasts in their fat for another 4 minutes, or until the skin is a rich golden colour.  Place the breasts, skin-side up, in a small, shallow ceramic oven dish and pour over all the juices and fat from the frying pan. Sprinkle half a teaspoon (2.5ml) of five-spice powder into the juices, cover with a piece of foil or kitchen paper and bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes at 160 ºC.

Now turn down the heat to 120 ºC and roast for 1½ to 2 hours, or until the duck is very soft and succulent.  At this point, you can refrigerate the duck overnight (see Cook’s Notes).

Half an hour before the duck is ready, cut the cucumber in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds with a teaspoon. Cut into neat, small cubes.  Finely slice the spring onion (you’ll use only the purple, white and pale-green parts).

Remove the duck breasts from their cooking dish, peel off their skins and set both aside.  Skim the fat off the top of the remaining juices and reserve – you’ll use this to fry the crackling.

Pull the duck flesh into shreds and place these back into the dish in which you cooked them, tossing well so every shred is coated in juices.  Keep this mixture warm in the oven while you make the crackling.

Sprinkle the remaining half-teaspoon of five-spice powder over the duck skins, then slice them into very fine strips.  Heat the reserved duck fat in a small frying pan and fry the strips over a medium-high heat for a minute or two, or until they are golden brown and crisp. Drain well on kitchen paper and season generously with salt.

Remove the warm shredded duck from the oven and mix in the cucumber cubes and spring onion.  Stir in the hoisin sauce and rice vinegar – to taste - and season with salt and milled black pepper.

Divide this mixture between 24 or more small warmed spoons – or little bowls – and top with the crisp duck crackling. Serve immediately, garnished with baby leaves.

8 as a canapé

Cook's Notes

• If you’d like to prepare the duck the day before, follow the recipe until step 4, then tightly cover the dish containing the cooked breasts with foil and refrigerate it overnight. Gently warm the dish through in the oven before carrying on with the recipe.
• The duck crackling carries on browning for a while when it comes out of the pan, so don’t let it get too dark when you’re frying it.

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Puff Pastry Test: Little Mushroom Tartlets & Paprika-Thyme Sausage Rolls

I was so pleased to see two different brands of flat-packed frozen puff pastry in the shops last week. Puff pastry has always been sold in rolled cylinders in South Africa, which is  - when you think about it - a ludicrous way to package a product designed to be flattened out before use. I've hurled quite a few packets of cheap puff pastry into the bin over the years, infuriated at their tendency to crack as they're rolled out.

But, even so, frozen puff pastry is a convenience product that must not be sniffed at when you're in a hurry to put a pie on the table. I know how to make puff pastry from scratch (thanks to the elegantly beehived Mrs Pamela Maggs, who reigned over our school's shiny Domestic Science Laboratory) but I wouldn't dream of wasting a moment fiddling around with such a technical recipe.

So when I spotted the flat-packs, I snatched up a packet of each and took them home to play with. Here's what I have to report after several days of excitable pastry testing.

Flaky, crisp vol-au-vents made with Woolworths'
flat-packed All-Butter Puff Pastry, with a filling of ready-prepared 
spicy prawns.

Scrunchy little Piglets in Blankets with thyme and smoked 
paprika, made with Today's robust and idiot-proof
 flat-packed pastry sheets.

My verdict: a draw. I can't choose a winner because each brand has its own attractions. But what I can say is that they are both very good, and that the brand best suited to you depends on your budget, on your level of skill with pastry, and on what you're planning to make.

Pastry stars made with Woolworths' feather-light
 All-Butter Puff Pastry, and filled with tiny creamed Shemeji
mushrooms dusted with smoked paprika.

Woolworths' All-Butter Puff Pastry (R39.95 for two sheets) is delicious, with a distinct buttery taste and a whisper-light texture. However, it's quite tricky to work with. The pastry, being so delicate, warms up quickly and becomes sticky and stretchy, making it unsuitable for finicky cut-outs (unless you are an expert with pastry, and have fingertips of ice). As a topping for a pie, however, it is matchless. I used this product (in rolled form) for all the pastry dishes in my cookbook, and it is my first choice for any special-occasion dish, such as Beef Wellington or a complicated Chicken Pie.

The Today brand of puff pastry (which comes in a hefty 800g pack of four square sheets; a snip at R27.99) doesn't score as high in the taste department, having a slightly synthetic, margariney under-taste, but it is a vast improvement on the old cylinder-shaped variety. It doesn't crack, it rolls out beautifully, it rises well, and it is very easy to handle. Because the sheets are so robust in their raw state, they're really easy to cut into shapes, and they don't stick. I can recommend this brand for making budget food to feed a crowd, such as sausage rolls, cheese straws, small pot pies, and the like.

I made several dishes with the pastries, and here are two of them (I'll post more in future blogposts).

First, some scrumptious Piglets in Blankets, consisting of partly-cooked pork chipolatas rolled up in Today pastry with a scattering of smoked Spanish paprika and thyme.

These are so easy to make that a child could manage them. My teens formed a team and churned out a few hundred of these for my oldest son's birthday party last Saturday, and we kept the trays on the counter for four or five hours before slinging them, in batches, into a hot oven.

You can add embellishments of your choice to these: perhaps roll the chipolatas in bacon before you fry them, or add a shower of Parmesan or poppy seeds. Serve these piping hot with a selection of mustards, or try them with my Whipped Mustard Sauce.

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Paprika-Thyme Sausage Rolls

2 square sheets of puff pastry
32 pork chipolatas
2 Tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
a small bunch of fresh thyme
good quality smoked paprika, for sprinkling
1 egg, lightly beaten, for glazing
salt and milled black pepper

Lightly brown the sausages before you
wrap them in pastry.

Set the oven to 200 ºC. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high flame.

Add the olive oil and fry the sausages, in several batches, for about 6 minutes, or until they are lightly browned here and there, but nowhere near cooked through.

Drain on paper towels and set aside to cool. Line an oven sheet with baking paper and set to one side.

Lightly dust a board or your kitchen counter with flour and place the pastry sheets on top. Using the tip of a sharp knife, mark off two-thirds of the pastry. Cut this larger portion into long, narrow triangles, as shown in the picture, left.

You can use a ruler for this if you like, but don't worry too much about accuracy, because no one will notice any discrepancies once the pastry is cooked. (The base of the triangles, however, should be slightly smaller than the average width of the sausages.)

Now cut the remaining strip of pastry into similar triangles. You should be able to cut 16 pieces from each full sheet.  Arrange the triangles on the paper so their thin ends are pointing away from you.

Dust the triangles fairly generously with paprika (and anything else you fancy), and scatter lightly with stripped-off thyme leaves. Season lightly with salt and pepper, to taste.

Wrap the sausages in the pastry
 triangles, brushing them all over
 with egg as you go.

Place a sausage at the base of a triangle and gently roll it away from you towards the thin end of the the triangle, brushing it lightly all over, as you're rolling it, with beaten egg.
Just before you get to the apex of the triangle, tuck in a tiny sprig of thyme (as shown in the picture on the left), and seal with a dab of beaten egg.  Repeat with the remaining pieces.

Transfer the rolls to the paper-lined baking sheet and place in the oven. Immediately turn down the heat to 180 ºC, and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden, and the sausages a lovely burnished brown.  How long these will take to cook depends on your oven, so do keep a close eye on the pastry so it doesn't burn.

Serve hot or warm, with a mustardy tip of your choice.

Note: you can make these a day ahead, and keep them in the fridge ready for baking, but make sure that the sausages are completely cold before you roll them up.

Makes about 32 sausage rolls.  

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Little Pastry Stars with Creamed Shemeji Mushrooms

These were tricky to make, as I mentioned above, because I struggled to remove the excess pastry between the cut-out shapes. The second time I made them, I used a chilled marble board and placed the cutters in the fridge an hour ahead. Press the cutters very firmly into the pastry to make clean cuts, and tear away most of the excess before you lift the cutter away.  There is, admittedly, some wastage when you use fancy-shaped cookie cutters, so this isn't a recipe to make for a crowd. However, you will be rewarded with cries of pleasure when you present these feather-light vol au vents, with their delicate, creamy mushroom filling, to your dinner-party guests.

For the stars: 
2 square sheets of best-quality butter puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten, for glazing

For the filling: 
150 g shemeji mushrooms, or similar tiny mushrooms
2 Tbsp (30 ml) butter
1 tsp (5 ml) olive oil
salt and milled black pepper
black pepper
3 Tbsp (45 ml) white wine
1 small clove garlic, peeled and crushed
4 Tbsp (60 ml) cream
fresh herb sprigs or micro leaves, to garnish

Delicately flavoured
 shemeji mushrooms cook
quickly, and are gorgeous
 with a touch of thyme,
wine and fresh cream.

Start with the filling. Heat a frying pan and add the olive oil and butter. Toss the mushrooms over a medium-high heat for about 2 minutes, or until just softened (don't leave them too long - they they cook very quickly!)

Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for another 30 seconds, without allowing the garlic to brown.

Now add the wine and continue frying the mushrooms until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Pour in the cream, allow to bubble furiously for 30 seconds, then turn down the heat and simmer for another minute.

Season with salt and plenty of black pepper and set aside.

Heat the oven to 190 ºC.

Place a large sheet of baking paper on your kitchen counter, dust very lightly with flour and place the pastry sheets on top.  Using a star-shaped cookie cutter, stamp out as many stars as you can fit into one sheet. Now lightly press a smaller, round cutter into the centre of each star, making sure not to cut all the way through the pastry.

Brush the stars all over with lightly beaten egg. Carefully lift the paper and transfer it to a large baking sheet. Bake at 190 ºC for about 25 minutes, or until the pastry is well-risen and golden brown.

Use sharp cutters with this
 delicate pastry, and keep
 everything very cold.

Remove the sheet from the oven, let the stars cool for a few minutes, and then use the tip of a teaspoon gently to prise off the centre circles. Pull out any soft pastry layers from the centre of the stars and discard.

Place on a wire rack to cool. Immediately before you serve the dish, gently reheat the mushrooms in their sauce, and then arrange them in the centres of the stars. Trickle over some of the creamy sauce. Scatter with some baby leaves and take straight to the table.

 Makes about 10 vol-au-vents, depending on the size of the cutter. 


Testing notes:  

• This is an independent and unsolicited test.  Disclosure: I am one of the Woolworths bloggers for the South African MasterChef series, and I'm paid for the recipes I contribute to Woolworths for the duration of the show. I have no association with Heinz.

• I deliberately didn't read the list of ingredients for each brand of pastry because I wanted to be guided by my tastebuds alone.

• I removed both packs from the freezer a few hours' ahead of time and thawed them on my kitchen counter, on a chilly day. Both were very cold to the touch, but thoroughly thawed, before I opened the boxes.

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Billowing Meringues with a Sunset Berry Coulis

Here's my latest MasterChef recipe, the third in a series of four recipes I've written for Woolworths, food sponsors of the latest South African series.

Crackly, billowing, snow-white meringues in a sunset raspberry
and Cape gooseberry sauce.

I adore big, brittle meringues, but it has taken me years to figure out how to produce a crisp, delicate, snow-white result every time. The secret, apart from very long and patient whisking, is to dry the meringues out overnight in very low oven. This may seem like a long time to wait for dessert, but the end result will not disappoint you. If you'd like a slightly squishy centre to your meringues, take them out of the oven as soon as you're happy with their internal texture (to test, turn one over and poke the end of a pencil into it).

The first time I made this, I strained both the sauces. 

I've used both raspberries and Cape gooseberries for this sharp-sweet coulis. The sunset effect was a happy discovery: this first time I tested the recipe, I covered the plate I'd photographed (see picture above) and put it on the countertop to see if the meringue would still be crisp the next morning. It wasn't, but the sauces had merged to create a very pretty puddle.

So the next time I made it (this time without straining sauces; see first picture) I plated the coulis in the morning, then popped the meringues and berries on top at the last minute.

Finally, this year, it’s not just bloggers getting the chance to get creative in the kitchen along with MasterChef and Woolies. Create a recipe with the same ingredients used each week by the Woolworths Masterchef Competition bloggers and you could win one of fourteen R1000 Woolies gift cards, or the (very!) grand prize of a R10 000 gift card. Head over to the Woolworths Masterchef Hub for more info and T&Cs.

• My first recipe for Woolies/Masterchef:  Slow-Roasted Leg of Lamb with a Basil Walnut Sauce
• My second recipe for Woolies/Masterchef:  Peppercorn Chicken with Chilli and Mint 

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Billowing meringues with a Sunset Berry Coulis

5 extra-large free-range eggs
a pinch of cream of tartar
250g caster sugar
250g Cape gooseberries
250g raspberries
150g strawberries, hulled and halved
icing sugar, for sweetening and dusting

Heat the oven to 55 ºC and turn the fan off.

Separate the eggs, placing the egg whites in a spotlessly clean metal bowl. Add a pinch of cream of tartar. (Keep the yolks for making mayonnaise!)

Using an electric whisk or a food processor fitted with a balloon whisk, beat the egg whites for at least 7 minutes, or until they are standing up in very stiff, dry peaks.

Trickle the caster sugar into the egg whites, a few tablespoons at a time, beating well between every addition. Continue beating for another 5 minutes, or until the meringue is very thick and glossy, and easily holds its shape. (See Cook’s Notes)

Line a baking sheet with baking paper (put a little blob of meringue on all four corners of the sheet so the paper sticks to it).

Using two large spoons, scoop out an apple-sized ball of meringue and carefully place it on the baking paper, pulling the meringue upwards to form it into a billowing cloud. Repeat until you’ve used up all the meringue, spacing the balls well apart.

Place the baking sheet in the middle of the oven and leave the meringues to dry out overnight, or for at least 10 hours, without disturbing them. The longer you leave them, the dryer their centres will be.

Take half of the gooseberries and whizz them to a fine purée. Taste the purée, and stir in a little icing sugar if you’d like it sweeter. Chill.

Purée half the raspberries in the same way, then strain the mixture through a sieve, pressing down well with the back of a spoon. Taste the coulis and sweeten, if necessary, with a little icing sugar. Discard the pulp and chill.

To plate the dessert, decant the two purées into two little jugs. Holding a jug in each hand, simultaneously pour two puddles on to a dessert plate, gently flooding it so the different-coloured purées meet in the middle. Leave the plates to stand for an hour or two, if you’d like a graduated sunset effect – the line between the two colours will gradually blur.

Top each lake of purée with a crisp meringue, and decorate with the remaining gooseberries, raspberries and strawberries.

Sieve a little icing sugar over each plate and serve immediately, with lashings of thick Jersey cream.

Serves 4.

Cook's Notes

• You will know the meringue is ready when you place a big blob on a plate and it does not flop over or subside – it should perfectly hold its shape. 
• Before you make the meringue, wipe the inside of the metal bowl with a slice of lemon to remove any grease spots, then dry thoroughly using a clean kitchen towel. 
• To avoid a speck of egg yolk ruining all the egg whites, separate the eggs one by one into two small bowls, then add the whites one by one to the big metal bowl. 
• Store the meringues, once cool, in an air-tight container. 

Serves 6.

Here is the list of ingredients I was given to work with:

Egg whites
Castor sugar
Cream of tartar
Icing sugar
Corn flour
Raspberries
Fruit selection

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Peppercorn Chicken with Chilli & Mint

Here's my latest MasterChef recipe, the second in a series of four recipes I've developed for Woolworths, food sponsors of the latest South African series.

Tender, mint-infused chicken breasts with a sticky-sweet honey and soy glaze

I was stumped by this week’s mystery-box ingredients (see the list at the bottom of this page). The spices in the list hinted loudly at a home-made Chinese five-spice powder, while coconut and soy sauce confirmed the Asian theme. But, oddly, there was no acidifying agent (such as lime or rice vinegar) in the ingredients list, and my first three recipe attempts were disappointing flops.

These are some of the ingredients I had to work with.
Picture courtesy of Woolworths.

In the end, I decided to focus on my favourite flavours in the list, and to combine them in a simple dish of succulent chicken breasts infused with fresh mint and chilli, and coated with rainbow peppercorns and a honey/soy sauce glaze.  Mint, peppercorns and chicken are an unusual combination – but why not?

The only tricky part about this recipe is making sure the chicken is perfectly cooked. This is not as easy as it sounds, because the one end of a bone-in chicken breast is considerably thicker than the other. How long your chicken will take to cook depends, of course, on the size of the pieces.  I always cut a deep slit into the thickest part of the breast, then prise it open to check that it's cooked to the bone.  Any sign of pinkness in the juices, and I put it back in the oven for another few minutes.

Finally, this year, it’s not just bloggers getting the chance to get creative in the kitchen along with MasterChef and Woolies. Create a recipe with the same ingredients used each week by the Woolworths Masterchef Competition bloggers and you could win one of fourteen R1000 Woolies gift cards, or the (very!) grand prize of a R10 000 gift card. Head over to the Woolworths Masterchef Hub for more info and T&Cs.

My first recipe for Woolies/Masterchef:  Slow-Roasted Leg of Lamb with a Basil Walnut Sauce 

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Peppercorn Chicken with Chilli & Mint

4 large free-range chicken breasts, on the bone
flaky sea salt
20g (half a cup, closely packed) fresh mint leaves
2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
4 Tbsp (60 ml) olive oil
4 Tbsp  (60 ml) honey
2 Tbsp (30 ml) light soy sauce
2 tsp (10 ml) rainbow peppercorns, coarsely crushed


Heat the oven to 180 ºC. Put the mint leaves, chillies and olive oil in the jug attachment of a stick blender and whizz to a fairly fine pesto.

Season the breasts lightly with salt. Slide your fingertips under the skin on top of the breasts, breaking the fine membrane as you go to create a pouch. Take half the mint paste and spread it evenly under the breast skin (reserve the remaining mixture). Pull the breast skin back into place.

Cut a deep horizontal slash into the fleshiest part of each breast, and rub the remaining paste into the slashes. Set aside for an hour, or until you’re ready to cook the breasts.

Place the breasts skin-side up in a roasting pan, cover them lightly with tin foil or baking paper and roast for 25-30 minutes, or until they are just cooked through. Drain any excess fat from the pan.

Warm the honey until it’s runny, then stir in the soy sauce.  Drizzle this mixture all over the chicken breasts – and don’t worry if it slides off into the pan. Press the crushed peppercorns onto the skin of the breast.

Drizzle the glaze over the partly cooked breasts before  returning them to the oven.

Turn the oven grill on to its highest setting and place the roasting pan on a middle shelf, not too close to the element.  Grill the breasts for 5-8 minutes, basting them every few minutes with the honey-soy glaze.  Watch them like a hawk, as the honey burns quickly.

When the skin is golden and beginning to blister, remove the chicken breasts from oven and let them rest for 5 minutes.

Cut the breasts into pieces and drizzle over any pan juices.

Serve hot, with wedges of lemon.

Serves 4.

Here is the list of ingredients I was given to work with (I was also allowed to add salt, pepper and oil to my 'mystery box'):

Chicken
Honey
Light soy sauce
Star anise
Fennel seeds
Three colour peppercorns
Cloves
Cinnamon
Coconut
Chilli
Mint

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My Secret Dinner

Far and away the most bizarre and challenging event I've hosted in my career as a cook was the "secret" dinner party I catered in Stellenbosch last Saturday. It began as a logistical frightfest, and ended up a rollicking party that I'll remember for years to come.  I met some wonderful people, learned a few new kitchen skills, and came away with a heart gladdened by the generosity of strangers.

The organisers of the Spier Secret Festival invited me and a variety of local cooks, caterers and food personalities each to host a dinner party at an undisclosed venue, for unidentified guests.  We were provided with a budget of R100 per head, in the form of Woolworths vouchers, and no restrictions were placed on our choices of menu.

Preparing my starter of Gin-Cured Gravadlax, to be
served  tartare-style with capers, dill and chives.

Until three days before the dinner, I didn't know where I'd be cooking, whether the venue would have a decent kitchen, or who would be pitching up at the event.

I always plan my menus with the following criteria in mind: the food must delight the guests, it must tickle their tastebuds and it must leave them feeling satisfied and comforted. But how on earth do you select appropriate dishes if you don't know who's going to be eating them? One thing I did appreciate was that anyone who had forked out for a ticket to the festival would expect something  more sophisticated than the food I'd normally serve at a feast for family and friends.

Lovely little rainbow carrots

After some deliberation, I chose as a main course an accessible classic dish - my version of Beef Wellington, served in individual potions, with a wild mushroom sauce - and, for the opening salvo, a selection of four small, attention-grabbing starters. For dessert, I stuck to something simple and foolproof, but with sensational flavours (the way to go with a sweet course, I reckon). I designed the menu so almost everything could be prepared well in advance, and estimated that I'd need just over three hours for last-minute tasks: prepping the vegetables, finishing off the sauces, primping & plating the starters, and of course laying and dollying up the table.  I also packed two suitcases of kitchen utensils, linen, serving dishes and small sparkly things.

I think it's best to draw a veil across the state in which I found the venue, suffice to say that due to organisational misunderstandings, I was not expected there, and  it took a full ninety minutes of persuasive talk for me to gain access to the building, figure out how to work the kitchen equipment and find an appropriate table to lay. Once all these ducks had been placed in a haphazard row, with the help of the festival's organisers and my heroic kitchen elf Tania Roux (see end of this blog post), it was time to cook.

But before I tell you about the food, let me describe the venue, because it was peculiar. I found myself in labyrinthine boarding house (or perhaps an old school, circa 1925, judging from the leaded windows and soaring ceilings).  The entrance hall was welcoming, clean and cheerful, with its wooden floors and community notice boards, and behind it were three cavernous kitchens well equipped with gas ranges, fearsome industrial ovens and pots the size of swimming pools. But leading off this entrance hall was a long, murky, somewhat mildewy passage, opening on to fifteen or so locked bedrooms, and numerous other rooms and bathrooms and warrens that were so deeply shadowed that I felt a genuine frisson when I scurried down the corridor to have a wee.  I could almost hear the distant laughter of children, and I've never pulled up my knickers in such a hurry.

Where we dined, as viewed from
 a spooky corridor. 

Anyway, the team who arrived to help hauled some tables from the dining canteen into the entrance hall, and helped my kitchen elf set up a cheerful small table for eight while I had quietly had hysterics in the kitchens. Candles were lit, tablecloths were ironed, plates and glasses were ferried over from the Spier estate, wine was chilled, and when our six mystery guests arrived just before 7 pm all that was left was for me to stumble, red-faced and gibbering, from the kitchen to explain that things weren't going exactly to plan.

They were very gracious, my guests, climbing obligingly into the wines provided by Spier, ignoring the cacophony coming from the kitchens (chiefly, my howling as I burned a hole in my thumb, and the timers on the monster ovens shrieking every ten minutes).  If they were astonished and creeped-out by this spectacle, these well-mannered people did their best to hide it, and within half an hour the conversation was a-sparkle and any house ghosts had given up their lurking and sloped sullenly to the far corners of the boarding house.

The dinner was a thundering success in the end, and my guests greeted the food with great appreciation and warmth (click here to read a guest's account of the food and party, by the charming Pat Elk of Yumsy). We finished up with a fizzle and crack as dessert was served and small fireworks were lit, and there was merriment for many hours.

I didn't take a camera, so relied on my cellphone for these snaps of some of the starters.

Judy's Toffee Tomatoes with Basil

'Lollipops' of Springbok Carpaccio filled with horseradish- and
white-pepper-flavoured cream cheese,with Verlaque pomegranate syrup 

My Nasturtium  & Macadamia Pesto on toast. 

Passion Fruit, Crème Fraîche and White Chocolate Cream Tart (an old photograph, from this recipe post)

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This is my self-appointed kitchen elf, the lovely Tania Roux of www.manythingsiam.org. I have followed Tania for several years on Twitter (and met her briefly at a book event a month or two back) but we don't know one another.

Imagine my astonishment when Tania tweeted me, out of the blue, on the Saturday of my secret dinner, offering to drive all the way to Stellenbosch to help me. I'd sent out a wailing tweet earlier that morning when I discovered that other secret dinner hosts had roped in helpers (including some professional chefs, which rather defeats the purpose, in my view). I didn't expect anyone to have any sympathy, because it was unrealistic to think I could manage this alone, but Tania rose most elfishly to the occasion.  Given the delays and the odd choice of venue, I am so grateful that she volunteered to help, because I couldn't possibly have dressed the table so simply and stylishly, and put food on it, in so short a time. Tania toiled cheerfully for hours, without my once having to slap her around her pointy ears or lock her in the onion drawer,  as one must do with troublesome kitchen elves. Thank you so much, Tania - your generosity is heartwarming.  Here's her short account of the evening. Print Friendly

Recreating a chargrilled taste at home: Peppered Burgers with Smoky Cheese & Puffy Onion Rings

When I order a burger meal in a restaurant, I expect the Full Monty: rustling chips, brittle golden onion rings, a juicy patty that tastes of fire and smoke, and lots of piquant relishy bits. It’s not easy, admittedly, to replicate the bells-and-whistles steakhouse experience in a domestic kitchen using ready-made burger patties, but there are some sneaky strategies you can use to create what comes close to that essential char-grilled taste on a stove top, and to produce super-crisp chips and onion rings that are at least as good – if not better – than those from your local steakhouse.

Peppered Burgers with Smoky Cheese & Puffy Onion Rings

Here's a recipe I've created for Woolworths South Africa's Blogger Burger Off*. This is a vote-based challenge (and something I'm not very keen on, because the very thought of having to beg for online votes makes my ears bleed).

[Postscript (15 September 2012): I won the burger challenge with this recipe.] 

Instead of begging, may I take this opportunity to introduce you to my burger 'opponent', South African blogger Alida Ryder of Simply Delicious. Alida is a gifted young cook, photographer, mother of twins and food blogger whose first cookbook Simple & Delicious – Recipes from the Heart is about to be published by Penguin books. Here's a short video that sums up Alida's easy, light and bright approach to home cooking. I think she's a TV star in the making! 

But back to the smoky burgers. This will takes some time and effort – as all good food does – so if you’re in a hurry to whip up a quick Friday feast, feel no shame in slapping these burgers together and serving them with oven chips and a squirt of tomato sauce: they’ll still taste great.  Or, thinking ahead, you can start the night before: make the tomato relish, parboil and refrigerate the chips, slice the onions and mix together the dry ingredients for the onion batter, all ready for the big event.  

Everyone has their own favourites when it comes to burger toppings (I’m partial to earthy mushroom sauces, blue cheese, bacon and rocket, although not necessarily all on one burger) I think the time-tested components of a classic burger take an awful lot of beating: very crisp, frilly lettuce, melty, mild cheese, a good toasted bun and of course lashings of good tomato sauce.  

To recreate the smoky taste of a chargrilled burger, I’ve used Woolies’ BBQ marinade and some nutty, smoked provolone, and a scorching-hot ridged griddle pan. If you don’t have a ridged pan, use a big frying pan, but make sure it’s very, very hot.  If your kitchen isn’t wreathed in smoke while you’re cooking the patties, the pan’s not hot enough.   Leave out the cracked peppercorns if you’re feeding small kids. The spices in the relish recreate the classic flavourings of tomato ketchup, but you can leave some of them out if you don’t have them to hand.

 * I was paid by Woolies to develop this recipe.  We were restricted to using pre-prepared Woolworths burger patties and rolls. 

Peppered Burgers with Smoky Cheese, Tomato Relish, Puffy Onion Rings and Fat Chips

For the burgers:

8 (800 g) thick burger patties

1 cup (250 ml) Woolies Smoky BBQ Marinade, or similar

juice of a half a lemon

flaky sea salt

2 Tbsp (30 ml) black peppercorns, coarsely cracked

100 g sliced smoked provolone

4 nice crusty ciabatta rolls, or fresh burger rolls

2 baby gem lettuces

For the onion rings:
2 large white onions, peeled
1 cup (250 ml) self-raising flour
3 Tbsp (45 ml) cornflour
1 tsp (5 ml) salt, to taste
1 x 200 ml tin ice-cold soda water
sunflower oil for frying

For the chips:
4 very large potatoes
a squeeze of lemon juice
flaky sea salt

For the tomato relish:
1 x 400 g punnet ripe, sweet cherry tomatoes

1 Tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
1 Tbsp (15 ml) balsamic vinegar
1 tsp (5 ml) sugar
a pinch (1.25 ml) each of ground cloves, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and paprika
salt and milled pepper, to taste

If you’re making chips, start them the day before, or at least six hours ahead. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and add a squeeze of lemon juice. Peel the potatoes, trim them into rectangles and then cut them into neat batons as thick as your thumb. Immediately parboil the batons in the salted water for 6 minutes, or until they are just tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, but still holding their shape. Drain in a colander for 30 minutes, spread on a tray and place them, uncovered, in the fridge to dry out for six hours or overnight.

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a pan until it is very hot, just to the point of smoking. Cut a slit in the side of each tomato. Stand well back, throw in the tomatoes and cook over a high heat, tossing often, for 2 minutes, or until the tomatoes are blistered and beginning to catch in places. Add the vinegar, sugar and spices, turn the heat right down and cook at a brisk bubble for 8-10 minutes, or until the mixture is thick, glossy and reduced. Stir the sauce often, and use a potato masher lightly to squash the tomatoes to release their juices. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If you like a smooth tomato sauce, blitz the mixture in a liquidizer. Or leave it chunky. Set aside to cool.

When you’re ready to start the burgers, heat up your oven grill, ready for toasting the rolls.

Heat a large ridged griddle pan for 4-5 minutes, or until it is blazing hot. Lightly brush the griddle with sunflower oil. Mix the Smoky BBQ Marinade with the lemon juice. Place the patties, in two batches if necessary, on the hot griddle and cook for 1 ½ minutes. Flip them over and cook for another minute and a half. Generously brush the tops and sides of the patties, using a pastry brush, with the BBQ marinade/lemon juice mixture, then flip them over again and cook for 45-60 seconds (watch them carefully, as the molasses in the marinade burns fast). Coat the uppermost side with marinade, sprinkle generously with cracked black peppercorns, flip over once more and cook for 45-60 seconds (total cooking time is about 5 minutes; each patty is flipped three times).

 In the meantime, cut the ciabatta rolls in half lengthways and toast them lightly under the oven grill until golden brown and heated through (or you can toast them on the wiped-clean griddle pan when you’ve done cooking the patties).

To assemble the burgers, place a few lettuce leaves on the toasted lower half of each ciabatta roll. Place two hot patties, peppered side up, over the lettuce, and top with a few slices of smoked provolone and a dollop of tomato relish. Place the upper half of the roll on top and serve immediately with chips and onion rings.

For the onion rings: Heat a litre of sunflower oil in a deep saucepan to about 170 ºC. If you don’t have a thermometer, put a small chunk of raw potato in the oil before you heat it. When the potato rises to the surface, fizzles vigorously and turns a rich golden colour, the oil is hot enough. To make the onions, cut them into thick slices and separate the rings.  Combine all the ingredients for the batter in a bowl and whisk well.  The batter should be the consistency of thick cream: if it seems too thick, add a little more iced water. Using a pair of tongs, dip the onion rings in the oil and fry for 3 minutes, or until puffed, golden, crisp and cooked right through. Drain on kitchen paper and keep hot in the oven.

For the chips: Turn the heat up under the oil so the temperature reaches about 180 ºC. Cook the chips, in batches, for  3-5 minutes, or until golden brown and crunchy. Drain on a paper towel, season with salt and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

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Cinnamon-Stencilled Cheesecake

There are few desserts to rival a cold, creamy cheesecake, but everyone has their own idea of what constitutes a Proper Cheesecake.  I like unbaked cheesecakes to be light and rather airy, but in a cooked cheesecake I want an unctuous, fairly dense filling, not too sweet, and a generous crumb base made of plain-tasting biscuits.  This is the ninth and final recipe in a series  for Woolworths South Africa, pantry sponsors of MasterChef South Africa.

My rich and luscious cheesecake, with its whimsical cinnamon stencilling, is unusual in that it has a baked filling and a thin sour-cream topping lightly set with gelatine.  You can, of course, make it without the sour cream topping, but this second layer adds an extra dimension of velvety deliciousness, and it’s essential to create a smooth white surface on which to apply the stencils.

A generous dusting of cinnamon applied over a laser-cut stencil gives
 this creamy cheesecake a whimsical touch.

I used laser-cut henna stencils to apply the cinnamon, which you can find in Asian markets, or order online. If you can’t find them, use an old-fashioned doily, or simply dust the cinnamon lightly over the top of the cake.

This is not a complicated recipe but – like all good food – it takes time and patience to make.  It’s very important to allow baked cheesecakes to chill very thoroughly, for at least 6 hours, so that the filling has a chance to settle and firm to just the right texture. Use a very thick, good-quality plain cream cheese – low fat is fine.

If you'd like to try stencilling other dishes, have a look at my Henna-Patterned Spiced Cream Cheese.

My other MasterChef SA recipes for Woolworths #wooliespantry:

• Panko-Crumbed Calamari with Black Salt and Lime Mayonnaise
• Pork Steaks with Wine, Tarragon and Mustard
• Moroccan-Spiced Lamb Chops with Citrus Couscous Salad
• Spicy Chicken, Tomato and Sweetcorn Soup
• Warm Lamb and Potato Salad with a Mint Dressing
• Curried Lamb Ribbetjies with Mint Yoghurt
• Champ with Chives and Garlic
• Gin-Cured Gravadlax with Crisped Capers

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Cinnamon-Stencilled Cheesecake

2 x 200 g packets shortbread biscuits
180 g unsalted butter, melted
3 x 250 g tubs cream cheese, at room temperature
1½ cups (375 ml) caster sugar
3 extra-large free-range eggs
2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla extract or essence
1 tsp (5 ml) cinnamon
1 Tbsp (15 ml) cornflour

For the topping:
1 Tbsp (15 ml) water
1 tsp (5 ml) gelatine
1 carton (250 ml) sour cream
½ cup (125 ml) caster sugar
½ tsp (2.5 ml) vanilla extract
cinnamon, for stencilling

Heat the oven to 170 ºC, or 160 ºC if you have a fan-assisted oven. Break up the biscuits and whizz them to fine crumbs in a food processor.  Stir in the melted butter. Press half the crumbs evenly over the base of a non-stick 24-cm springform cake tin.

Press the remaining crumbs over the inner sides of the tin, gently easing them upwards. Use the side of a small glass gently to flatten the biscuit base, rolling it around in a circle, then stand the glass upright and roll it around the edges of the tin to form a smooth, even wall. Press a fingertip into the right angle formed where the sides meet the base to thin out this corner.  Refrigerate the crust while you make the filling.

Put the cream cheese and caster sugar into a large bowl and, using a rotary beater, whisk until just smooth and combined. Beat in the eggs one by one, then whisk in the vanilla, cinnamon and sifted cornflour. Take care not to over-beat the mixture. If you're a confident maker of cheesecake, you can add all these ingredients to the bowl in one go, (see picture below) and gradually incorporate them into the mixture.

Pour the filling into the crumb crust. Bake, preferably in a bain-marie (see Cook’s Notes) for an hour to an hour and a quarter (this will depend on the efficiency of your oven. It is done when it is slightly risen, pulling away at the edges, lightly freckled with gold, and wobbles reluctantly when you give it a shake). Turn off the oven, open the door, and let the cheesecake cool completely in the oven.  Refrigerate for at least two hours.

To make the topping, put the water in a little heat-proof bowl and sprinkle the gelatine over it. Set aside for a minute to sponge. Place the bowl in a pot of simmering water (the water should come half-way up the sides) and stir occasionally as the gelatine melts. When the liquid is clear, remove the bowl from the water and set aside to cool slightly. Whisk the sour cream, caster sugar and vanilla together and stir in the melted gelatine. Pour the mixture over the top of the chilled cheesecake and smooth the top.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

To decorate, place your stencils in a pattern of your choice over the top of the cake. If they are self-adhesive stencils, place them on the surface of the cake sticky-side up.  Put the cinnamon in a tea-strainer and dust it evenly all over the top of the cake. Gently blow away any excess cinnamon. Slowly peel off the stencils, using a pair of tweezers to lift each one.  Cut into slices using a very sharp knife dipped in hot water.

Makes one 23-cm cheesecake; serves 8.

Cook’s Notes

• Cooking the cheesecake in a bath of hot water helps ensure a good smooth texture. However, as springform pans have a tendency to leak, make sure to wrap the outside of the tin in several large sheets of tin foil before you place it in a roasting tin half-filled with hot water. Alternatively, bake the cheesecake in a deep glass or ceramic flan dish.
• This basic cheesecake recipe can easily be adapted.  For a lemony cheesecake, add the finely grated zest of a lemon to the filling.
• Make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature when you make the filling. Cold cream cheese is difficult to whisk until quite smooth, and you may end up over-beating the batter.
• If you’d like a crust on only the base of the cheesecake, use 200 g of biscuits, and 90 g melted butter, and line the inner edge of the cake tin with a strip of oiled baking paper.

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Pork Steaks with Wine, Tarragon and Mustard

I don’t need any encouragement to come up with a recipe that uses wine, because it’s one of those ingredients that adds instant flavour and complexity to so many home-cooked dishes. Here, I’ve paired juicy pork steaks with a voluptuous sauce of cream, mustard, tarragon and Nederburg’s 2011 Sauvignon Blanc/Chardonnay blend, created specially for Masterchef, in collaboration with Woolworths.

This is the seventh in a series of recipes for Woolworths South Africa, pantry sponsors of MasterChef South Africa.

Tarragon is a tricky herb to grow, and you don’t often see it fresh in the shops, but I’ve found that good-quality dried tarragon is a perfectly acceptable substitute. In fact, I’m at a loss to explain why dried herbs are so often considered inferior to fresh ones. Sure, some herbs (such as basil and parsley) do not lend themselves to drying, but others, and especially dried oregano, mint and tarragon, are valued ingredients in my spice drawer. For example, dried mint, much used in Moroccan cooking, is quite distinct in taste and aroma from fresh mint, with a peculiar charm all of its own. Top-quality dried Greek oregano has a heady pungency that leaves its fresh form in the starting blocks. Tarragon’s flavour does tend to intensify with heat, however, so use it sparingly.

You can use medallions of pork fillet for this dish, but I find they dry out quickly in the pan. I prefer Woolies’ pork steaks because they’re so lean, sweet and succulent (and, besides, I appreciate how economical pork is compared to beef or lamb). This is a quick, easy dish to make, but be sure to serve it piping hot from the pan, while the sauce is still smooth and silken.

My other recipes for Woolworths #wooliespantry:

• Moroccan-Spiced Lamb Chops with Citrus Couscous Salad
• Spicy Chicken, Tomato and Sweetcorn Soup
• Warm Lamb and Potato Salad with a Mint Dressing
• Curried Lamb Ribbetjies with Mint Yoghurt
• Champ with Chives and Garlic
• Gin-Cured Gravadlax with Crisped Capers

Pork Steaks with Wine, Tarragon and Mustard
4 large pork steaks, or 8 small ones
3 Tbsp (45 ml) flour
salt
white pepper
2 Tbsp (30 ml) olive oil
1 Tbsp (15 ml) butter
1½ cups (375 ml)2011 Nederburg Sauvignon/Chardonnay blend, or similar
¾ cup (180 ml) water
2 tsp (10 ml) dried tarragon
2 Tbsp (30 ml) Dijon mustard
½ cup (125 ml) cream

Trim any visible fat from the pork steaks. Put the flour on a plate and season it with salt and a little white pepper. Heat the olive oil and butter in large, shallow pan that will fit all the steaks on one layer. While the fat is heating, dip each steak in the seasoned flour, then shake to remove any excess. When the fat is very hot, but before the butter begins to brown, fry the steaks for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until they have a nice golden crust, but are still slightly raw on the inside. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl. Drain any excess fat from the pan, but don’t wipe it out.

Pour the wine and water into the pan and stir to dislodge any brown bits on the bottom. Bubble briskly for 4-5 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced by about a third. Now turn the heat right down and stir in the tarragon, mustard and cream. Simmer for two minutes, then return the steaks (and any juices that have accumulated underneath them) to the pan. Cook at a gentle burble for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened slightly, and the steaks are cooked through. Shake the pan occasionally, and don’t allow the sauce to reduce too much or become gloopy – it should be just thick enough lightly to coat the back of a spoon. Check the seasoning, adding more salt and white pepper if necessary, and serve immediately, with crushed baby potatoes and mangetout, or mash and peas.

Serves 4.

Cook's notes: 

• Use a pan with a large surface area so that the wine and water reduce quickly. For a really glossy, rich finish, stir a teaspoon of butter into the sauce just before you serve it.
• You can use medallions of pork fillet for this dish, but take care not to overcook them, as they toughen easily.
• If you can find fresh tarragon, use that instead, but do so judiciously, as it has a more intense flavour than dried tarragon. Use one tablespoon of chopped leaves, and then taste the sauce at the end to see if you need to add more.

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Moroccan-Spiced Lamb Chops with Citrus Couscous Salad

This dish of spicy lamb chops and citrussy couscous salad is one of my favourite happy-hybrid inventions. It’s largely Moroccan in its spicing, but it also contains a popular and versatile Middle Eastern ingredient: pomegranate concentrate. This delicious elixir (also known in its many forms as pomegranate syrup, reduction and molasses) is made by simmering fresh pomegranate juice down to a tart-sweet syrup filled with fruity flavours. This is the sixth in a series of recipes for Woolworths South Africa, pantry sponsors of MasterChef South Africa.

Moroccan-Spiced Lamb Chops with Citrus Couscous salad. Plate by David Walters

Cooks are often told on MasterChef and other reality shows to exercise caution when mixing ingredients from different regions, or indeed from diverse flavour ‘families’. I think this is advice worth following. Honey doesn’t go with mashed potatoes or fresh linefish, for example, and nutmeg and rocket are sworn enemies.

But, if you’re an adventurous cook, it’s worth keeping your mind open and trying out interesting flavour combinations. If you want to experiment, the best advice I can give you is to choose ingredients from regions that are geographically adjacent.  For example, because of the influence of the Moors, the cuisines of the Iberian Peninsula are compatible with the cooking of North Africa. Israeli cooking has much in common with Lebanese, Greek and Turkish food, and so on.

And all of the above are compatible with pomegranate, that most lovely and ancient fruit. (Although I do think that the seeds must be used judiciously. I see these "rubies", as magazines like to call them, scattered over everything but the cat these days. Pomegranate seeds strewn prettily across a salad  or dessert may improve the look of the dish, but - like the ubiquitous micro herbs so loved by chefs - they don't necessarily add much to its taste.)

My other recipes for Woolworths #wooliespantry:

• Spicy Chicken, Tomato and Sweetcorn Soup
• Warm Lamb and Potato Salad with a Mint Dressing
• Curried Lamb Ribbetjies with Mint Yoghurt
• Champ with Chives and Garlic
• Gin-Cured Gravadlax with Crisped Capers

Moroccan-Spiced Lamb Chops with Citrus Couscous Salad

12 small lamb chops
4 Tbsp (60 ml) lemon juice
4 Tbsp (60 ml) pomegranate concentrate
1½ tsp (7.5 ml) cumin
½ tsp (2.5 ml) cinnamon
½ tsp (2.5 ml) cayenne pepper, or more, to taste
1 tsp (5 ml) dried mint
black pepper
1½ cups (375 ml) couscous
2 cups (500 ml) very hot water
a tin of chickpeas, drained
salt
100 g slivered almonds, toasted
½ cup (125 ml) finely chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup (80 ml) finely chopped fresh mint
the seeds of a pomegranate [optional]

For the dressing:
finely grated zest of a large orange
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
6 Tbsp (90 ml) fresh lemon juice
5 Tbsp (75 ml) fresh orange juice
1 tsp (5 ml) cumin
1 tsp (5 ml) dried coriander
½ tsp (2.5 ml) cinnamon
½ cup (125 ml) olive oil
salt and pepper

Place the lamb chops in a non-metallic dish. Whisk together the lemon juice, pomegranate reduction, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and mint. Pour the marinade over the chops and toss, using your hands, so that each chop is coated. Season with black pepper, cover and set aside for two or three hours.

In the meantime, start the couscous salad. Put the couscous in a deep bowl and pour in the hot (not boiling; see Cook’s Notes) water. Immediately cover the bowl with clingfilm and set aside to steam, undisturbed, for 15 minutes. Combine all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk well.

Uncover the couscous and, using a fork, gently scratch at the surface, lightly fluffing the grains so they separate. Add the chickpeas and dressing to the still-warm couscous and toss to coat. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Cover and set aside at room temperature while the chops are marinating.

Heat your oven’s grill.  Season the chops with salt and place in a roasting pan. Grill the chops, not too close to the heat, for about 4-5 minutes on either side (or until done to your liking), basting with the pan juices and leftover marinade now and then. Watch them closely, as the sugar in the pomegranate syrup may cause them to scorch.

Stir the toasted almonds, parsley, mint and pomegranate seeds into the couscous and add more salt and pepper, if necessary. Serve the chops piping hot with the couscous on the side.

Serves 4. 

• Try this couscous salad with other ingredients from the Mediterranean region: crumbled feta, green olives, chopped preserved lemon, pistachios, and so on.

• Leave the dried mint out of the marinade if you can’t find it. It’s easy to make your own dried mint – place a bunch of leaves in a very low oven, with the fan on, and leave them until they’re completely dry.  Crumble and store in a sealed jar.

• Most ‘instant’ couscous recipes specify boiling water, but I’ve found that hot water produces the best result.  If you’re not confident about preparing couscous, follow the instructions on the packet.

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