Pan Fried Pilchards with Veggie Timbales and Brown Rice Salad

Week 4 of the Freshly Blogged challenge saw us presented with a rather interesting, and I'll admit, challenging list of ingredients. The shopping list looked a little something like this: cabbage, tinned pilchards, feta cheese, green beans and brown rice. We were not allowed to omit anything on the list and the dish had to be cooked on the stove top, so grilled pilchards was not an option! We were also not allowed to include any grocery items - just 2 fresh ingredients (fruit, veg or herbs) as well as the approved pantry items. 

This was not going to be easy! I considered various options including cabbage rolls and paella... but with so many different and dominant flavours on the ingredients list I decided that throwing them all together and hoping for the best was not the best way forward. Instead, I opted to keep things simple - combining the flavours that worked well together. 

I chose to add cherry tomatoes and carrots as my fresh ingredients. Tomatoes to add flavour to and compliment the feta in the brown rice salad. Carrots to add colour contrast and a touch of sweetness to the vegetable timbales. Added to that a selection of aromatic spices and suddenly a seemingly odd collection of ingredients became an incredibly tasty meal! 

There was yet another first for me this week. I love a fresh piece of fish but have never cooked with tinned pilchards before. I was pleasantly surprised and urge you to try them if you haven't done so. 

This is not a traditional timbale recipe, which usually includes cream. I wasn't able to include this so had to improvise a little and decided to add a basic white sauce instead - luckily it worked out! You don't have to stick to the same vegetables as me when it comes to making the timbales. Try butternut, chickpeas and red peppers - the more colourful the better!

To vote simply click HERE, it only take a few seconds.

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PAN FRIED PILCHARDS WITH VEGGIE TIMBALES & BROWN RICE SALAD

Serves 4

For the vegetable timbales:

250g peeled carrots, thinly sliced

220g cabbage leaves, shredded

250g green beans

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 cup milk

pinch of salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 egg yolks

For the brown rice salad:

pinch of saffron

1 tablespoon warm water

1 cup brown rice

1 tablespoon olive oil + 2 tablespoons for dressing

pinch of salt
3 cups water

1 teaspoon light brown sugar

pepper

200g cherry tomatoes, halved

120g plain feta

For the pilchards:

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

1/4 teaspoon medium curry powder

1/8 teaspoon paprika

1 x 400g tin Lucky Star pilchards in tomato sauce

salt and pepper

To prepare the vegetable timbales:

Step 1.) Steam the carrot slices and cabbage until tender.

Step 2.) Top, tail and slice the green beans. Boil in salted water for 6 minutes or until soft.

Step 3.) Use a food processor or stick blender to purée the vegetable seperately. Set them aside while you make the white sauce.

Step 4.) Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute.

Step 5.) Take the saucepan off the heat and gradually whisk in the milk. Add a pinch of a salt and the nutmeg. Whisk over a medium heat until the sauce bubbles and thickens.

Step 6.) Divide the white sauce between the three puréed vegetables and mix in. Mix an egg yolk into each purée.

Step 7.) Return the green bean purée to the stove and heat for a few minutes to thicken slightly.

Step 8.) Divide the cabbage purée between four well greased dariole moulds. Smooth the top with a teaspoon so you have an even layer.

Step 9.) Next add a layer of carrot purée, remembering to smooth the top.

Step 10.) Add the green bean purée next. Smooth the top so that the purée goes right to the edges of the mould.

Step 11.) Cover each mould with a piece of tin foil. Place the moulds in a deep saucepan and carefully add hot water to the pan. The water should come halfway up the sides of the moulds. Cover the saucepan and allow to simmer for an hour, or until the timbales have set.

Step 12.) To serve: invert a dariole mould onto a plate. Give the plate a good shake, carefully lift the mould and the timbale should come out easily.

To prepare the brown rice salad:

Step 1.) Soak the saffron in a tablespoon of warm water for a few minutes.

Step 2.) Put the rice, a tablespoon of olive oil, saffron and a pinch of salt in a pot. Add the water. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer with the lid on for 40 minutes or until cooked. 

Step 3.) Whisk the brown sugar with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Step 4.) Stir the cherry tomatoes and olive oil dressing through the hot rice. Crumble in the feta.

To prepare the pilchards:

Step 1.) Heat the sunflower oil in a saucepan. Add the curry powder and paprika and cook for a minute.

Step 2.) Drain the pilchards, reserving the tomato sauce. Add the pilchards to the saucepan and cook for 3 minutes. Carefully turn them over and cook for a further 3 minutes.

Step 3.) Add the tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the sauce is heated through.

Toad-in-the-Hole - South African style!

We're onto week 3 of the Freshly Blogged challenge already! I'm having so much fun creating these recipes and I hope you'll give them a try too. The theme for this challenge was "S.A's best" and the ingredients list read something like this: Drosty-Hof Pinotage (or any Drosty-Hof red wine), mielie meal, ostrich sausage, waterblommetjies or green beans, chutney and mixed dried fruit. As usual we were allowed to omit one of these ingredients and this time around we were able to include 3 fresh ingredients and 3 spices.

There was something else in the fine print too... part of the dish had to be cooked over the coals. The minute I finished reading the challenge details my head started buzzing with ideas, and before I knew it I had a whole page of thoughts and scribblings for potential dishes. This is what I love about this competition - I have been so inspired to get creative in a completely different way. My notebook is brimming with ideas for future recipes and blog posts!

Back to the recipe at hand though. My dish is a South African take on the British classic - toad-in-the-hole. It's made with ostrich sausage and mielie meal and all the cooking is done on the braai. Can you get any more South African than that? I've paired the dish with a rich and velvety gravy made with red onions and Drosty-Hof Claret (not forgetting some good old S.A. chutney). This is accompanied by a fresh, minted green bean salad (a truly delicious way to enjoy your greens). Casual, colourful, full of flavour and proudly South African! 

Two things to note: Toad-in-the-hole is best served immediately. The gravy, however, can be made ahead of time and reheated when it's time to dish up. 

As usual I would be so grateful if you could take a few seconds to VOTE for this recipe on the Freshly Blogged site. Remember there are prizes up for grabs! 

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TOAD-IN-THE-HOLE with RED ONION GRAVY & GREEN BEAN SALAD

Serves 4

For the gravy:

1 tablespoon butter
2 red onions, sliced
2 tablespoons plain flour
125ml Drosty-Hof Claret (or other red wine)
3 tablespoons chutney
375ml beef stock
salt and pepper

For the toad-in-the-hole:

1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup mielie meal
pinch of salt
3 large eggs
250ml milk
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
500g ostrich sausage

For the green bean salad:

200g green beans
pinch of salt
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil 
small handful fresh mint, roughly chopped
black pepper

To make the gravy:

Step 1.) Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the sliced red onions and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes until soft, stirring regularly. 

Step 2.) Sprinkle the flour over the onions and cook for a further minute. 

Step 3.) Add the red wine, chutney and beef stock and stir well. Leave the gravy to simmer for 8-10 minutes until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. 

To make the toad-in-the-hole:

Step 1.) Sift the flour, mielie meal  and a good pinch of salt into a bowl. Whisk the eggs and milk together in a jug. Gradually pour this into the dry ingredients whisking between each addition. Continue to whisk until you have a smooth batter, then set this aside. 

Step 2.) Pour the sunflower oil into a 20cm fireproof pot. Arrange the sausages in a single layer on the bottom of the pot. Cover and place on a grid over the very hot coals and allow to brown for 10 minutes. 

Step 3.) Drain most of the excess fat from the pot (you can leave a little behind). Cut the sausage into 7cm pieces. 

Step 4.) Pour the batter over the sausages. Cover the pot and place in the hot coals for 5 minutes until the batter has set around the edges of the pot and is starting to set in the middle.

Step 5.) Move the pot to a grid placed over the coals. Continue cooking until the batter has risen and cooked through. (Cooking times will vary but mine took about 20 minutes to cook.)  

To make the the green bean salad:
(you can do this while the "toad" is cooking)

Step 1.) Top and tail the green beans and halve each one. 

Step 2.) Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Add the green beans and boil for 6 minutes. (They should be tender but still have some bite.)

Step 3.) Combine the garlic, olive oil and mint in a bowl. Drain the beans, then toss everything together with a good grinding of black pepper. Serve immediately.

Moroccan Beef with Spiced Flatbreads

It's week 2 of the Pick 'n Pay Freshly Blogged challenge! Voting has opened and this is the recipe I produced for the second round - a Moroccan inspired beef dish served with delicately spiced flatbreads.

The ingredients list for this challenge was as follows: beef shin, beef suet, Knorr beef stock pot, a soup pack (containing various vegetables), star anise and white wine vinegar.  We were allowed to omit 1 of these ingredients and add one grocery and two fresh items of our choice. I decided to use all the ingredients on the shopping list and add in an onion, fresh coriander and ground cumin.

As I pondered the ingredients list the first thing that came to mind was slow cooking - the cooking method best suited to beef shin. This got me mulling over stews and casseroles, which turned my thoughts to tagines and then to Morocco, which then got me thinking about my favourite spice - cumin! I don't need any excuse to use this versatile and warm seasoning in my cooking, and so I decided to make a Moroccan inspired beef "stew" served with lightly spiced flatbreads to soak up all those lovely juices.  

I have to admit that I have never used suet before, it isn't the most appetising ingredient to use. But I was excited to try something new and decided to incorporate it into the flatbreads. I would have saved myself some trouble if I'd asked the butcher to mince it for me! Nothing my good old stick blender couldn't sort out, but if you're making this recipe try and get minced or shredded suet to save yourself the extra work.

If I'd been able to add other ingredients I probably would have included some extra spices - some turmeric and a pinch of chilli would have gone well with this dish I think, but even without these spices this dish was super tasty with the cumin and star anise turning ordinary beef into something special. The beef shin was deliciously tender and coated in a thick, rich gravy which my family enjoyed scooping up with the warm flatbreads - a wonderfully hearty winter supper which I'm sure you'll also love. 

If this sounds good to you please pop onto the Freshly Blogged website VOTE for my recipe. (Prizes to be won!) Thank you to everyone who voted last week - let's keep it going! 

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MOROCCAN BEEF WITH SPICED FLATBREADS

Serves 3

500g beef shin
3 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons ground cumin
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped celery
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1cm slices
1 teaspoon star anise
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 Knorr beef stock pot
500ml water
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
small handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

For the flatbreads (makes 6):

2 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
60g beef suet, minced or shredded
210ml warm water

Step 1.) Cut the beef shin into 2-3cm cubes. Combine the flour and cumin with a pinch of salt and a good grinding of black pepper, then toss the beef in this mixture and set aside.

Step 2.) Heat the sunflower oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the chopped onion, celery and carrots and fry for 2 minutes. Add the star anise pieces and cook for a further minute.

Step 3.) Add the beef to the pan and brown for 3 minutes stirring constantly. Add the white wine vinegar, cover the pot and leave to cook over a low heat for 5 minutes.

Step 4.) Add the Knorr beef stock pot and the water to the pot and mix well. Replace the lid and cook over a gently heat for 1 - 1.5 hours (stirring every 20 minutes or so) until the beef is very tender.

Step 5.) While the beef is cooking you should prepare your flatbreads, see separate instructions below.

Step 6.) Try as best you can to remove the star anise pieces from the beef stew, then stir in the chopped parsley and coriander. Allow to simmer for a further 5 minutes with the lid off.

Step 7.) Season the beef with salt and pepper. Dish onto warmed plates, top with some parsley or coriander leaves and serve with freshly made flatbreads.

To make the flatbreads:

Step 1.) Sift the flour, cumin, salt and baking powder into a bowl and add the suet. Mix everything together.

Step 2.) Add most of the water to the flour and mix to combine. Continue adding water until the dough starts coming together, then tip onto a work surface and knead for 5 minutes until you have a soft dough. Place the dough back in the mixing bowl, cover the bowl with a tea towel and allow to stand for 30 minutes.

Step 3.) Divide the dough in half, then divide each half into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Dust your work surface with a little flour, then use a rolling pin to roll each ball into a circle about 2-3mm thick.

Step 4.) Heat a dry griddle pan over a medium to high heat. Place the flatbread in the pan and cook for 1.5 minutes. Flip the flatbread over and cook the other side for a further 1.5 minutes or until it starts to char and puff up. Repeat with the other 5 flatbreads.

Favourite Products: Swirlz Collections

You only have to look at the name of my blog to see that I love cupcakes - baking, decorating and of course eating them! And I recently came across a beautiful cupcake-related product that I wanted to share with you.

Kerry Hetherington is the lovely lady behind Swirlz Collections. Her product range includes favour boxes, name placement cards and napkin rings (brides-to-be take note!). The product that really grabbed my attention though are these gorgeous cupcake wrappers.

The cupcake wrappers are available in a variety of designs. I still can't decide which is my favourite, they are all so pretty! Simply bake and decorate your cupcakes, then pop the wrapper on for a stunning finishing touch. Very swish!

Just some of the designs that are available

Swirlz Collections offer free nationwide delivery on orders and there is no minimum order quantity, which is fantastic! 

If you'd like to find out more you can email Kerry: info@swirlzcollections.co.za or call 079 117 4640. You can also check out the Swirlz Collections Facebook page. 

Roasted Thai Vegetable Pie

If you've been onto my Facebook page recently you have probably heard about the competition I'm participating in. It's week 1 of the Pick 'n Pay Freshly Blogged challenge! 40 local food bloggers, including myself, were given a shopping list and a few days to create and photograph an original recipe using those ingredients. We were told that we could omit one of the ingredients on the list and add one of our own, as well as use ingredients from an "approved" pantry list which included standard items like olive oil, eggs, flour and the like.

The ingredients list read as follows: Findus Wok Thai vegetables (frozen), phyllo pastry, an orange, a pineapple, 2 minute noodles and ginger, garlic and dhania paste. I spent a couple of hours brainstorming (in fact I think I was dreaming about frozen vegetables too) and after bouncing backwards and forwards between three main ideas I settled on this one - a roasted Thai vegetable pie made with phyllo pastry.

Here in Cape Town we're in the grip of a cold spell at the moment, and while I love enjoying my favourite comfort foods over the winter season I also like to enjoy something lighter yet equally satisfying every once in a while - this inspired me to create this dish. 

I chose to leave out the noodles and include sweet Romanita tomatoes to balance the flavour of the pie filling and offset the sharp pineapple and zesty orange. I roasted the frozen veggies in the garlic paste to add flavour, and was very pleased with the result, it all came together beautifully.

The frozen vegetable selection I used for the challenge included carrots, peppers, baby corn, onion, and mushrooms - if you can't find the particular brand that I used then another similar selection should work just as well.

Cooks tip: remember that when you're working with phyllo pastry you need to work fairly quickly and keep the sheets covered in a damp tea towel to prevent them from drying out. You should also brush the sheets with melted butter before layering them in the tin as this keeps the layers separate as they bake.

Now for the important bit - if you like my recipe please hop onto the Freshly Blogged site and VOTE for me! There are prizes to be won so don't miss out, simply click here to cast your vote, thank you! 

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ROASTED THAI VEGETABLE PIE

Makes 1 large pie

500g Romanita tomatoes

100g fresh pineapple, cut into 1.5cm chunks

30 ml sunflower oil + extra for drizzling

salt and pepper 

5ml finely grated orange zest

3 teaspoons Pick 'n Pay garlic, ginger and dhania paste
500g Findus Wok Thai vegetables

100g butter

6 sheets phyllo pastry

2 large eggs

Step 1.) Heat your oven to 200°C and grease a 23cm springform tin.

Step 2.) Halve the Romanita tomatoes lengthways and arrange in a single layer with the pineapple chunks on a baking tray. Drizzle with sunflower oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for 25 minutes until softened and the tomato skins are starting to wrinkle and crack.

Step 3.) Combine 30ml sunflower oil, orange zest and garlic, ginger and dhania paste in a bowl and mix well. Add the frozen vegetables and toss well to coat them in the oil.

Step 4.) Transfer the roasted tomatoes and pineapple to a large bowl, then spread the frozen veggies on the same tray and season with salt and pepper. Pop the tray in the oven for 15 minutes.

Step 5.) While the veggies are roasting you can prepare your pie crust. Melt the butter then brush some onto a sheet of phyllo pastry. Carefully press this into the greased tin butter side up, allowing the excess pastry to hang over the edges.

Step 6.) Brush another sheet of phyllo with melted butter and place this in the tin over the previous sheet. Repeat this with the remaining phyllo sheets, brushing each one with melted butter and placing them all at different angles so that the excess pastry is hanging over on all sides.

Step 7.) When the vegetables have finished roasting tip them into the same bowl as the tomato and pineapple. Whisk the eggs lightly with a fork, then pour over the vegetables and gently toss everything together.

Step 8.) Tip the vegetables into the pie dish and flatten into an even layer. Gently fold the excess pastry hanging over the edge onto the top of the filling - it doesn't have to be neat and you can let the pastry stay where it falls.

Step 9.) Brush the top of the pie with melted butter and pop in the oven for 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Allow the pie to cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan, then cut carefully into wedges and serve.

Banana, Macadamia & Yoghurt Loaf

The macadamia theme continues this week! If you scroll down a little you'll see that my last recipe was inspired by this creamy, crispy nut, and this week is no different. Now, where did I leave that G clamp?

I haven't made a banana loaf in a long time, which is ironic because these days there is almost always a bunch of bananas in my fruit basket. They are a favourite of my daughters and something I know she will always eat ... so I like to have them around as back-up for those teething days when she refuses all other food. Needless to say the bananas are not usually around long enough to become overripe! But if you happen to find yourself in this situation then this recipe is a great way to use them up. 

I have included a photo of my "antique" loaf tins below. I love these, they belonged to my grandmother and are still going strong!

I would describe this banana loaf as midway between cake and bread. It isn't too sweet but has a soft texture dotted with crunchy macadamias. Like most banana loaves this one will become more moist and delicious overnight, so try and prepare it the day before you plan to eat it, if possible.When it comes time to serve, a little butter is all you need. If you're feeling decadent you could add jam or even caramel which is very tasty with banana. In my opinion it's best served simply - sliced and enjoyed as is with a good cup of tea ... perfection!

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BANANA, MACADAMIA &YOGHURT LOAF

Makes 1 large loaf

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarb
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
150g macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
1 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250g peeled ripe bananas, mashed
175g plain yoghurt
125g butter, melted

Step 1.) Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line the base of a 26cm x 12cm loaf tin with baking paper and grease well.

Step 2.) Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb, cinnamon and ginger into a bowl. Add the macadamia nuts and mix.

Step 3.) Place the brown sugar and eggs in a separate bowl and beat for a minute or two on high speed until combined and pale.

Step 4.) Add the vanilla extract, banana, plain yoghurt and melted butter to the egg mixture and beat until combined.

Step 5.) Add the dry ingredients and mix again until all the ingredients are combined.

Step 6.) Scrape the batter into your prepared loaf tin and smooth the top. Pop in the oven and bake for 1 hour or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Step 7.) Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for a while before tipping out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.