Cloudy Prawn, Ginger and Sesame cakes

An elbow- watching, palm-clapping, enthusiastic high five to Food and Home magazine for a grand February issue. I don’t know when last I bought one, (I ignored them for a while because a flashy macaroon front cover recipe I sweated over didn’t work) but this one was worth it. Totally. The styling and photography is much improved except for a few photoshop hiccoughs. I feel that some thought really into went into this. And always one to appreciate a bit of serious foodthought, I thought I’d tell you why I like it:

There’s interesting niche stuff (chocolate focus,) the books, restaurant reviews, competitions and usual. But also some really thoughtful tidbits like useful salad dressings, a food market insight, recipes from movies (I’m going to make Uma Thurman’s pretty fucking good milkshake, from Pulp Fiction, soon) and a zoom in on seasonal produce. It also helps that they published an extract from the fantastic- looking Savour  cookbook by Hirschowitz, Alsfine and Sacharowitz that I have been eyeing out for a while. 

I tried out the Prawn and ginger fishcakes on page 62 for dinner. I adapted it rather a bit, as I do; but the foundation is theirs and it’s GREAT.

Elegant Asparagus starter

An elegant starter that is easy to prepare is a lovely thing indeed. This is fresh, textured and an all-round monument to summer. Another idea from Smart Food.

As a student I had the privilege to work at very very fine hotel in Bantry Bay, in Cape Town. On my first day at work, a chef's meeting was called. We all sat around a conference table, facing the head chef. This was serious business. I expected a 'to do' about off days and tardiness but no. Peeling tomatoes was the first topic on the agenda. Their would be serious repercussions if anyone was seen being lazy about blanching tomatoes. To this day I cannot bring myself to cool them under running water or throw them all in at the same time. Getting drilled about perfect concasse was a valuable lesson, the taught and shiny flesh is worth it.

Serves 4. Increase quantities for more

• 1 large beef tomato
• 6 fresh quail's eggs
• 8 pieces best parma ham
• about 100g thin asparagus spears, ends trimmed off
• olive oil
• some baby leaf salad (I got mine from Turnips)
• a drizzle of truffle oil (get from Tartufaia truffles at Borough market or even at Waitrose)
• maldon salt and black pepper

Melt-y Camembert with Breadsticks and Antipasti

Everybody loves a good braai; or as the British would say- A barbeque. A braai is traditionally a laid- back affair that shouldn’t require too much effort and is executed with a beer in one hand, and a pair of tongs in the other. The trick to this kind of eating is to keep it very laid back, and very easy. Here is my new favourite braai starter. Melted camembert and breadsticks. What! So delicious. So simple.

I confess that during my first year French 1p tutorials I spent more time browsing through French magazines than taking notes. I am sorry to say that I couldn’t resist tearing some recipes cards out of an issue. At least having French recipes inspired me to study harder, I think. And they led to this great find:

Braaied Camembert with breadsticks

You need 3 good rounds of Camembert- The kind that comes in boxes, or as the French would say: “Une boite”. Remove the cheese from each box, undo the wrapping and return to the box. Now wrap the whole thing in tinfoil.

Place on the hot braai ( a weber is best) for 10- 15 minutes, until you can feel that the cheese is melted under the skin… it may also be leaking out the bottom.

That’s about it. Tear the outer layer slightly to get to the melted goodness in the bottom and serve with breadsticks…

• a note on the breadsticks. I made Jamie Olivers Moroccan flatbreads, and they were very tasty. The idea is to add 1 tablespoon each of crushed cumin and coriander seeds along with a can of smashed chickpeas to a general bread dough. The only problem I had is that they don”t stay crisp for very long, you need to serve them immediately. I tried crisping them in the oven a few minutes before, but they weren’t fabulous anymore.
• If you don’t feel like baking breadsticks just before your meal….I suggest buying a good quality country loaf and toasting that on the braai (drizzled with some olive oil) while the cheese is on the go.
• I served this as part of an antipasti starter along with freshly prepared artichokes and bright green broad beans with fine onions and crispy parma ham.  The main course was beautiful salads and Jamie Oliver's funky kebabs... A feast for the eyes and for the belly.

The smooshy- yummy end product

Anti pasti- freshly cooked artichokes with olives and parmesan cubes, and ( in the backgorund)  broad beans with parma ham and fine onions.. pretty pretty. 

Jamie Oliver's Chicken kebabs with courgettes, and peeking in the corner.. lamb kebabs with red onion and smoked paprika

Chilly chilli, mango and cucumber soup

Like I said, it's blazing outside. This little chinchilla of a soup is zingy and refreshing. The  only odd thing is the colour, but I don't think  green and yellow were born to mix.

Chilly chilli, mango and cucumber  soup

Serves four

• 2 mangos
• 4 baby cucumbers, or ¾ of a big one
• 1 red onion
• ½ green chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
• Zest and juice one lime
• 200- 250ml clear apple juice
• Salt and pepper
• Handful coriander

1. Roughly chop one and a half of the mangos and place in a blender. Cut the remainder into a nice dice and set aside
2. Roughly chop the cucumber and sprinkle with salt. Place in a sieve over a bowl and leave for about 45 minutes to draw out the water
3. Roughly chop half of the onion and add to the blender. Cut the other half finely and add to the diced mango.
4. Add the chilli, and the lime juice and zest to the blender and whizz. Thin it down to your desired consistency and season to taste.
5. Place in the freezer until cool. I let mine start to freeze around the edges, it’s that hot here.  If  you’re in a rush, place in a bowl inside a larger bowl full of ice to cool quickly.
6. Just before serving, chop the coriander and add to the mango and red onion dice.
7. Ladle soup into chilled bowls and place a dollop of the dice mixture in each.

 * In hindsight, some ginger would be nice, as would a dash of fish sauce instead of salt and pepper. If you try it, let me know how it goes