Baby Mielies with Smoked Butter, Chillies, Lemon and Garlic

A flavour-packed cold butter dabbed on hot-off-the-braai baby mielies. Baby mielies are a vegetable I don't often buy because I've found they tend to be somewhat tasteless, even soapy. All that has changed recently, as I discovered when I bought a punnet of dear little ears of corn on impulse. My goodness, they were good: packed with nutty, sunshiney flavour, and so good I ate most of them raw.

Plate and espresso cup by David Walters

I imagine that this new breed of super-tasty mielie is the product of careful hybridisation. Whatever the case, I'm going to be buying them by the bucketload from now on.

They're lovely with plain butter and plenty of salt, but I'm such a fan of flavoured butters that I thought I'd add some vibrant Mexican flavours. Please try to get hold of some smoked butter, which adds a most delicious tweak to this dish. It's not something that's readily available; enquire at your local deli (or order in from Cape smokehouse Aphrodisiac Shack). If you can't find it, use 200 g salted butter.

This is lovely with boiled mielies, but there's something about the nutty taste of a braaied mielie that just cannot be matched. If you're not in the mood for firing up the braai, cook the mielies on a ridged, oiled griddle pan, over a high heat.

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Baby Mielies with Smoked Butter, Chillies, Lemon and Garlic

two punnets of baby mielies, or 6 whole mielies cut into thirds

For the butter:

100 g salted butter, softened
100 g smoked butter, softened
2 red chillies, seeds removed, finely chopped
the finely grated zest of a lemon
a squeeze of lemon juice
a big clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
4 Tbsp (60 ml) finely chopped fresh coriander
salt and milled black pepper.

To make the flavoured butter, combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Go easy on the salt, though, as the butter is already salted. Pack the butter into a pretty little bowl and place in the fridge to firm up.

Braai [barbeque] the baby mielies over a medium flame, until just tender, or cook in a ridged griddle pan (see above).

Serve piping hot, with nuggets of cold butter.

Serves 6 as a starter or side dish.

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Scrumptious Soccer Snacks: Sweetcorn Chilli-Bites with a Mint Yoghurt Dip

Sparked with fresh green chilli and served with a cool minty dip, these deep-fried spicy fritters contain kernels cut straight from fresh ears of sweetcorn.  Welcome to the sixth recipe in my series of delicious, easy football snacks with a South African flavour.

Super-crunchy Chilli Bites with a Mint Yoghurt Dip

Cape-Malay chilli-bites or 'daltjies', made with chickpea flour, are a popular snack in South Africa, while corn is a staple food, eaten mostly in the form of pap or phutu, a traditional porridge made from ground maize.

These are delicious served piping hot, and they're not bad cold, either. You can add any combination of spices to this basic mixture, as well as other chopped vegetables: spinach, cauliflower, and so on.  If you can't find fresh sweetcorn, use tinned kernels that have been very well drained, but these really are best with fresh, poppy, sweet kernels. Chickpea (gram or channa) flour is available in Indian spice shops and in health stores. If you can't find it, use ordinary flour.

Please don't be put off by the fact that these are deep-fried.  (Look, I know deep-frying isn't healthy, but heck, how often is the World Cup played in South Africa?)  I find it easiest to deep-fry food (not that I'm the expert, but for what it's worth) in a small, deep saucepan over a gas flame. You can use a pan over an electric plate, or a domestic deep-fat fryer, but a naked flame is better because it allow you to regulate the heat with ease. For perfect results, I can recommend using a thermometer - I use a jam-making/candy thermometer - to keep the oil at a constant temperature of between 160°C and 170°C. If you don't have such a gadget, have a look at these tips for checking whether the oil is hot enough.

Sweetcorn Chilli-Bites with a Mint Yoghurt Dip

4 ears fresh sweetcorn
2 green chillies, very finely chopped, or more, to taste
4 spring onions, finely sliced
1½ cups (375 ml) chickpea [gram or channa] flour
½ cup (125 ml) plain flour
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
1½ tsp (7.5 ml) mild curry powder
1½ tsp (7.5 ml) cumin
1 tsp (5 ml) turmeric
1 cup (250 ml) thick white yoghurt
a little water
milled black pepper
750 ml sunflower or canola oil, for frying
lemon wedges

For the dip:
1 cup (250 ml) thick white yoghurt
the juice of half a lemon
4 Tbsp (60 ml), loosely packed, chopped fresh coriander [cilantro]
3 Tbsp (45 ml), loosely packed, chopped fresh mint
salt and milled black pepper

Using a sharp knife, cut the kernels off the cobs (hold the cob vertically, and slice downwards, cutting close to to the fibrous core).  Place in a large bowl and add the chillies and spring onions.  Sift the channa flour, plain flour, salt and spices over the vegetables. Now add the yoghurt, mix well, and add just enough water to make a thick batter. Season with pepper and a little more salt, if necessary (this batter needs more salt than you would think). Set aside for half an hour.

Heat the oil in a deep saucepan. When the oil is hot enough, drop in large spoonfuls (30-45 ml) of batter (it's easiest to do this using two spoons).  Fry until golden brown and crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on plenty of kitchen paper. If you find the fritters relentlessly sticking to the bottom of the pan, your batter is too thin: add a little more flour.

To make the dip, combine all the ingredients in a bowl.

Serve piping-hot with lemon wedges and the dip.

Makes about 30.

Like this soccer snack? Try some of the other recipes from this series:

- Mini Pita Breads with Spicy Meatballs and Hoummous
- Mini Bunny Chow with Butter Chicken 
- Cape-Malay-Style Curried Lamb Kebabs with Apricots
- Potato, Cheese and Chilli Phyllo Triangles
- Steak Kebabs with a Monkey-Gland Dipping Sauce

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Spicy Chicken, Tomato and Sweetcorn Soup

This is a versatile, nourishing recipe for a family with picky eaters (and another idea for a double dinner).

If your kids don't like spicy or strong flavours, or 'floaty bits', leave out the chilli, the pepper, the cayenne pepper, the cumin and the paprika. When the soup's ready, put half of it into a blender, blitz until thick and smooth, and serve topped with grated cheese and crunchy little croutons.

To the other half, add all the zingy ingredients you left out (but half the quantity specified below) and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

I usually use tinned, drained sweetcorn kernels (not the creamed variety) because they are so convenient, but you could as easily use frozen kernels, or fresh ones cut from the cob.

Spicy Chicken, Tomato and Sweetcorn Soup

For the stock:
1 whole free-range chicken, trimmed of excess fat
3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
a few stalks of parsley
a stalk of celery
a large bay leaf
a few peppercorns
2 whole cloves
enough cold water to cover (about 2 litres)

Place all the ingredients for the stock into a big pot and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then turn down the and simmer gently for an hour and a half, skimming any foam that rises to the top. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool. Strain the stock into a large bowl and discard the flavourings. When the chicken has cooled, pull the cooked flesh from the bones, discarding any fat or skin. Tear it into small shreds with your fingers, cover and set aside. At this point you can, if you are planning ahead, put both the stock and the chicken shreds into the fridge for a few hours, or overnight.

For the soup:
3 tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-cm cubes
1 red chilli, finely minced [optional]
1 tin Italian tomatoes, chopped
3 tablespoons (45 ml) tomato paste
2 cups (500 ml) corn kernels (frozen, tinned or fresh)
1 cup (250 ml) split orange lentils
3 teaspoons (15 ml) ground cumin
1 teaspoon (5 ml) sweet paprika
1 teaspoon (5 ml) cayenne pepper or chilli powder, to taste
2 teaspoons (10 ml) dried oregano
salt and milled black pepper
a handful of fresh chopped parsley, or fresh coriander

To serve:
chopped spring onions
sour cream or plain Greek yoghurt

Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the onion, celery, carrots, garlic, potato cubes and chilli and fry over a medium heat for five minutes. Remove any fat from the top of the cooled stock, and pour the stock over the vegetables. Bring to the boil. Add all the remaining soup ingredients and season well.

Turn down the heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the lentils are cooked through and the potato pieces are quite tender. Tip in the shredded chicken. Cook gently for a further ten minutes. Check the seasoning, stir in the chopped parsley and serve at once, topped with chopped spring onions and a blob of sour cream or yoghurt.

Serves 6 Print Friendly

Cheesy Tuna and Sweetcorn Lunchbox 'Muffins'

Cheesy Tuna and Sweetcorn
Lunchbox 'Muffins'

I have no talent whatsoever in the lunchbox department, no doubt because I was traumatised by the healthy lunches packed for me by my own sainted mother.

Making lunchboxes is a chore I hate, because I'm just too disorganised in the mornings to cut fruit and veggies up into pieces or make little dips or energy bars or the three-course designer meals that nestle smugly in the lunch boxes of some of my kids' friends.

It would help if my children all liked the same things, but of course, they don't. So I got to thinking, what snack could I put into their lunchboxes that they all like, that can be made in a jiffy, and that packs some protein, energy and fibre?

Here is my solution. These  muffin-like savoury bites are ridiculously quick and easy to make, and you can add anything you like to them. Fresh sweetcorn cut from the cob would be lovely, if you have it, and you can use wholewheat (Nutty Wheat) flour if you'd like a more substantial muffin.

Cheesy Tuna, Sweetcorn and Courgette Lunchbox 'Muffins'

1 x 170 g tin solid-packed  tuna, drained
1 x 210 g tins sweetcorn kernels, drained
1 cup (250 ml) coarsely grated courgettes [zucchini]
1 cup (250 ml) grated Cheddar
1 cup (250 ml) flour
1 cup (250 ml) milk
1½ tsp (7.5 ml) baking powder
3 extra-large free-range eggs, lightly whisked
2 Tbsp (30 ml) finely chopped chives or spring onions
juice of half a lemon
½ tsp (2.5 ml) mild mustard
cherry tomatoes and extra cheese for topping
salt and milled pepper

Heat the oven to 180°C. Generously grease a large, deep muffin pan (or use paper muffin cups) with butter or oil. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Fill each muffin cup to the brim, and press half a cherry tomato, cut side up, into the surface. Sprinkle with more Cheddar.

Bake at 180° C for 30 minutes, or until puffed and brown. Run a knife around the edge of each muffin while it's still hot. Store, covered, in the fridge.

Makes 12 muffins. 

Cook's Notes: 

• Season these muffins generously with salt - they need more than you would think.
• A cube of feta cheese pressed into the top would be nice.

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Quick Sweetcorn, Feta and Leek Fritters

These sweetcorn fritters are lovely with a sweet chilli sauce 

Five ears of lovely local sweetcorn have been giving me the yellow tooth from inside my fridge for a week now, but I just didn't feel like eating mielies (which is what we call corn here in South Africa). A fritter was what I felt like, and this is what I made.

Do use a fairly generous amount of oil - say, 2 to 3 tablespoons - when you fry these fritters, so that the little kernels of corn sticking out at the edges go all nutty and juice-poppy as they brown.

My kids really liked these and I'm going to make them again for their lunch boxes.

You could add some Thai flavours - a little chopped coriander, lemon grass and chopped green chilli, perhaps some ginger and garlic, to this mixture, and serve it with a sweet dipping sauce.

Quick Sweetcorn, Feta and Leek Fritters

5 ears of sweetcorn (on the cob)
a large leek, white part only, skinned and very finely chopped
a generous handful of chopped fresh parsley
two wheels of feta cheese (about 140 g), crumbled
2 free-range eggs
½ cup (125 ml) white flour
½ tsp (2.5 ml) baking powder
salt and milled black pepper, to taste
sunflower or olive oil for frying

Hold the corn cob vertically in one hand, its bottom end resting on a chopping board, and slice downwards with a sharp knife to cut off the kernels.

Put the kernels in a bowl, add all the remaining ingredients and stir well with a fork.

Heat the oil in a nonstick frying pan and, when it is nice and hot, use a large spoon to drop dollops of the mixture into the oil. Fry for about two minutes, or until golden brown on underneath, and then flip and fry for another two minutes. Don't let the pan get too hot as these burn quickly. Add more oil, if necessary, to the pan for the next batch.

Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with lemon wedges.

Makes about 10 fritters. Print Friendly

Mexican-Style Sweetcorn Soup: bliss in a bowl, for adults and tots

I wish I could remember who gave me this recipe, because I'd like to thank them very much for it. It's everything I want in a recipe: quick as a flash, filling, nourishing and tasty. Best of all is that it can be spiced to the eyebrows for adults who appreciate heat and crunch, or served plain and creamy to young and picky eaters.

White wine and mustard powder are not traditional ingredients in Sopa de Maiz, but I find that they elevate what is essentially a sweetcorn (and thus very sweet) purée to another level.  A good home-made stock adds lovely depth of flavour: when I have time, I made a chicken stock from scratch using a whole chicken, and add the cooked chicken flesh to the soup.  If you'd like a really rich soup for vegetarians, stir in two cups of grated Cheddar just before you serve it.

Mexican-Style Sweetcorn Soup

6 cups frozen mielie (corn) kernels
2 cups (500 ml) very hot chicken or vegetable stock, or boiling water
3 Tbsp (45 ml) butter
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup (250 ml) dry white wine
1½ cups (375 ml) milk
2 tsp (10 ml) good dried oreganum
1 tsp (5 ml) Hot English Mustard Powder
salt and milled black pepper
a squeeze of lime juice

For adults, add any or all of the following, to taste:
green chillies, finely minced
red chilli flakes
a few shakes of Tabasco sauce

To serve:
grated Cheddar
sour cream or plain white yoghurt
guacamole
finely sliced spring onions
finely chopped tomatoes
chopped fresh coriander
fresh lime wedges

Put the mielie (corn) kernels, still frozen, or thawed if you have time, in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pour in the hot stock or water and process to a thick, creamy purée. If the mixture seems too thick, add a little more stock or water. Melt the butter in a large pot, add the garlic and cook for a minute, without letting the garlic brown. Pour in the white wine and bubble briskly for five minutes, or until the wine has reduced by half. Now add the puréed sweetcorn mixture, milk, oreganum and mustard powder. Stir well and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, skimming off any foam as it rises.  If the mixture seems too thick and is bubbling volcanically, thin it down with more stock.

If you're making the soup for adults, add your choice of the ingredients listed above, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Just before you serve the soup, add a squeeze of fresh lime or lemon juice - just enough to give it a pleasant sharpness. Don't add too much, though, or the soup may curdle, and make sure the heat is turned off when you add the juice. If the soup looks a bit grainy, give it a good blitz with a stick blender (or in a liquidiser) until it is creamy again.

Serve in heated bowls, topped with grated Cheddar, a dollop of sour cream or white yoghurt, and  a flurry of crunchy and/or silky toppings. Avocado Whip is gorgeous blobbed onto this soup.

Serves 8. Print Friendly