a stove

Paused

2008-01-20T17:56:00.001+02:00

As you can see, the blog didn't pick up pace as we landed in Stockholm. Been way to busy to pay any attention to it and sadly i'm pretty sure i will be for the foreseeable future.
I might start it up again in a couple months time, but then again i might not.

Ciao.

Lacking.

2007-06-05T13:09:00.000+02:00

Please excuse me for the lack of updates recently. But in 5 days we move over seas and its been very hectics the last couple of weeks, which have meant we've eaten out 80% of the nights and the rest its been simple pasta recipes or soups, ie nothing to write home about. I was about to post a chicken soup i made though, but was quickly shut down by my wife who claimed it was to damn bland to post about. While i kinda agree with her, i still want to post a picture of it, not for the soup itself but to show off our new soup bowls we bought ahead of the move. They gonna be fantastic to make French onion soup in!

Just now the removal company came to pick up the last of our stuff, which means I no longer even have the basic stuff to cook with. What this means is that the last meal in my fantastic kitchen has been cooked. As a side note, the majority of our stuff was shipped a month ago by boat. The last pieces is going by air,allowance for the air fright was 50kg, we ended up with a nice 107kg...
On the upside, the blog will definitely pick up speed again as soon as we touch down in Stockholm, so please do check back.

Pear and walnut salad.

2007-05-30T21:10:00.000+02:00

S2

20-30g butter
30ml white wine vinegar
15ml brown sugar
1 pear, quartered and cored
60ml walnuts
30g rocket
6 slices of creamy blue cheese

Melt the butter along with the vinegar and sugar in a frying pan. Add the pear and walnut and cook till the pear gets soft, about 5 minutes.
Place the rocket on a plate, top with pear and walnuts, finish with the cheese and drizzle with olive oil.

drink: l'ormarins sauvignon blanc 2006

Suong Kho, sort of.

2007-05-29T19:56:00.001+02:00

Not sure how authentic this dish is as i couldnt find a complete recipe, so had to guess a few things. However, it worked out very nice.

S4

600g chopped pork spare ribs
15ml vegetable oil
15ml brown sugar
30ml fish sauce
5ml paprika powder
1 garlic, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
100g of small Rosa tomatoes
250ml water
s&p

Melt the sugar in oil in a pot for a couple of minutes. Turn up the heat to max and saute the pork in batches, just to get the color right. After all the meat is sealed, throw it back in the pot. Add the shallot and garlic and cook for about a minute before adding the water and fish sauce. Season to taste and let it simmer till the sauce is reduced to 1/3, about 45 minutes.Serve with jasmine rice and the tomatoes. Garnish with chopped garlic chives and some of the sauce.

drink: st.george beer

Garlic and capers spaghetti.

2007-05-29T09:30:00.000+02:00

S4

700g spaghetti
200g bacon
3 big cloves of garlic, chopped
70ml capers, drained
80g rocket, roughly chopped
1 large red chili, thinly sliced
1oml of lemon zest
45ml lemon juice
250ml grated Parmesan
black pepper
olive oil

Cook the pasta in a large pot with lots of salt. Meanwhile fry the bacon till crisp.
Saute the capers and the garlic for about 2 minutes on medium heat in about 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the chili, zest and lemon juice and stir for one min, then take the pan of the heat.
Drain the pasta once its done and toss with the garlic mix. Then add the rocket and Parmesan.
Serve with bacon strewn on top along with black paper and some extra Parmesan.

drink: hartenberg merlot, 2003

Lemon and cream pasta.

2007-05-23T20:13:00.001+02:00

S4

400g pasta
150ml cream
150ml Parmesan, grated
125ml basil, roughly chopped
15-25ml lemon juice
10ml lemon zest
pepper

Bring a big pot with water to the boil, add a lot of salt.
Cook the pasta according to the packets intructions. Drain and throw back into the pot and stir in the other ingridients, toss well. Serve with some extra grated Parmesan on top.

drink: water

Chili and lemon kingklip.

2007-05-15T21:22:00.000+02:00

S2

2x200-250g kingklip fillets or other firm white fish
600g medium sized potatoes, sliced thinly lengthwise
1 onion, sliced
1 teaspoon chili flakes
3 plum tomatoes, deseeded and cut into thin wedges
zest of one lemon
olive oil
s&p
knob of butter

Preheat the oven to 220c.
Spread baking paper on a baking tray and toss the potato on it. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Cook for about 35-40 minutes or until golden and crisp.
When 15 min or so remains on the potato, heat a saute or frying pan with 15ml oil.
Mix the onion and chili flakes in the pan and cook for three min. Meanwhile, season the fillets with salt and pepper. Add to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes each side over medium heat. Once done, remove from heat but keep warm. Add the tomatoes and lemon zest to the pan and turn up the heat. Cook for 4 minutes, season to taste and add the butter just before serving.

drink: a nice chenin blanc or a light pinotage

Whitechoc mousse with blueberries.

2007-05-14T22:05:00.000+02:00

S4

150g white chocolate
500ml pouring cream
45ml hot water
10ml gelatine powder
250ml blueberries, fresh or frozen

Dissolve the gelatine in the water. Melt the chocolate in a saucepan along with the cream. Then pour in the gelatine and let it cook for one min.
Take of the heat, transfer to a bowl and place in a ice bath to cool.
Stir in the berries and portion the mix into glasses.
Chill for 2 hours.

drink: single espresso

Noodle soup with five spice beef.

2007-05-14T21:34:00.000+02:00

Due to a small emergency the beef got a tad to medium, should be medium rare for this dish.

S4

500g rump steak
400g rice noodles
500ml chicken stock or deli bought chicken stock
1 rec chili, deseeded and chopped
2 scallions, chopped
15ml grated ginger
7,5ml five spice powder
5ml chili powder
45ml vegetable oil

Cook the noodles according to instructions.
Combine the stock, chili and ginger in a pot and bring to the boil, then turn down and keep warm.
Mix the five spice powder and chili powder in the oil. Toss the beed in the mix.
Fry the beef over high heat for about 3 min each side.
Portion the noodles into bowls, slice up the beef and place on the plates and scatter the onions over the dish. Finish with pouring the stock around the dish.

drink: black label

Mozzarella and rocket salad.

2007-05-14T21:17:00.000+02:00

S4

3 slices of nice white bread, torn into pieces
100g rockets
100-150g mozzarella, torn
4 plum tomatoes, sliced
30g tapenade
12 basil leaves
60ml olive oil
30ml red wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 225c. Toss the bread with 30ml of the olive oil and cook it in the oven for 8-10 min or till crusty and golden.
Place the rocket, tomatoes, mozzarella and bread on four plates. Top with the tapenade and basil leaves. Drizzle with the dressing.

drink: nothing

rocket penne with grilled proscuitto.

2007-05-13T19:00:00.000+02:00

S4

400-500g penne
15 slices of prosciutto (about 150g)
150g rocket
30ml olive oil
30ml balsam vinegar
s&p

Start by turning on the grill in the oven.
Cook pasta according to instructions. When its about 3 min to go on the pasta, put the prosciutto on a baking tray under the grill , remove when the pasta is drained and returned to the pot.
Toss the rocket, oil and vinegar with the pasta in the pan, season to taste.
Serve with the prosciutto on top and a side salad of tomato, cucumber and chopped onion drizzled with olive oil.

drink: water

Big dish.

2007-05-11T20:05:00.000+02:00

Since i haven't updated in a while, i thought id do it with a massive dish, so here it comes.

S2

beef:
1 400-500g rump steak
1 orange, zest and juice
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp Dijon
3 crushed garlic cloves
salt to season

chicken:
4 chicken thighs, deboned
2 tsp tomato paste
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp mustard powder

salad:
1 lebanese cucumber or 1/2 a normal cucumber
1/2 red onion, sliced
250g canned corn, drained
250g red kidney beans, drained
3 plum tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
1 small red chili, deseeded and chopped

dressing:
30ml olive oil
30ml white wine vinegar
10 leaves of fresh mint
2 cloves of garlic

Score the beef and combine the marinade, season and drop the beef into the marinade.
Combine the paste for the chicken and dress it.
In a blender, mix the dressing well.
Fry the chicken 7 minutes on each side, when you flip the chicken add the beef into another pan and fry for 3 min each side for medium rare, let the beef rest for a minute or two while the chicken gets ready.
In a bowl, combine the salad and dress it with the mint dressing.
Divide the rump in two, serve with 2 chicken thighs each with some extra mint leaves as garnish.

drink: peroni

Gnocchi with salsa.

2007-05-07T21:32:00.001+02:00

S4

800g potatoes
160g plain flour
15ml sea salt
15ml chopped basil
15ml chopped parsley
1 large egg, beaten
60ml olive oil
50g butter

salsa:
6 plum tomatoes
1 red onion
1 spring onion, chopped
juice of one lime, or to taste
15ml olive oil
some nice dosage of bushmans fire or other hot chili sauce
15ml chopped coriander
15ml chopped basil
s&p

Set oven to 180c. Bake the potatos without oil for 1 hour or until easily pierced with a skewer. remove and let cool for 10 min. Then peel and mash. Wait for it to cool.
Mix the flour and salt into the potatoes, then add basil and parsley. Follow by adding the egg half upon half until the dough is smooth. DO NOT USE ALL THE EGG IF IT IS NOT NEEDED.
Put a pan with water on the stove, salt when boiling. Get a bowl with iced water ready.
Then roll the dough into 6-8 balls, then roll it out into sausages about 30cm long. Cut the dough into 3-4 cm long bits.
Cook in batches for about 3 min, or until the gnocchi float to the surface. remove from the pan, chill in iced water for 1 min then dry on kitchen paper.
Score the tomatoes on the top then settle in a pan with boiling water for 45 sec, remove and put in cold water for 30 sec. Then remove the skin, slice open and remove the seeds. Chop the tomatoes and mix with the other salsa ingredients and place in a serving bowl.
Once the salsa is done, heat a saute pan till hot. Add 30ml olive oil and 25g butter. Saute the gnocchi in batches until golden (about 3-4 min) then serve while hot on a bed of salsa with some extra basil.

drink: black label

No chow.

2007-05-06T08:28:00.000+02:00

Just making a quick post to explain the absence of new posts in the last week.
We are moving back overseas in a month and on Friday the shipping company was here to pick up all our stuff. Which means that we've been eating out for the whole week as we have tried to pack up.
Above you can see my kitchen being dismantled. It's gonna be so weird having to cook without my own stuff, we have some borrowed pots and pans to use until we leave, but all my special tools are now stuck somewhere in a customs storage.
Anyways, i'll get back cooking on Monday, gnocchi's with tomato salsa i think is on the menu.
Ciao.

Chili chicken.

2007-04-30T20:40:00.000+02:00

S4

600g chicken fillet
60ml soy
60ml hoisin
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 small red chilies, finely chopped
15ml brown sugar
80ml water

Mix the soy, hoisin, garlic, chili and sugar in a bowl. Then toss the chicken in the mix and let it marinate for 15 min.
Heat a nonstick frying pan on medium to high heat, shake the marinade of the chicken and fry for 5 min on each side, or till done. remove the chicken from the pan and place on a heated plate, cover with foil.
Combine the water and the marinade in the frying pan and reduce till syrupy.
Slice the chicken 1cm thick, serve with rice, spring onion and drizzle with sauce.

drink: terra del capo, 2004 sangiovese

Tomato soup.

2007-04-29T22:37:00.000+02:00

If you are a vegetarian you can ofcourse substitute the chicken stock with vegetable stock.

S4

1 liter chicken stock
1kg plum tomatoes, halved
250g rosa tomatoes on the vine
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 sun dried tomatoes, drained
3 cloves of garlic, slightly crushed
4 thyme sprigs
15ml caster sugar
15ml barbecue sauce
10 basil leaves
90ml olive oil
sea salt
pepper

Preheat the oven to 225c. Take 60ml of the olive oil and pour into a baking pan. Heat it in the oven till well hot then put the plum tomatoes, onion and garlic on the pan. Sprinkle with the caster sugar, season generously and throw on the thyme. Shake the pan then replace in the oven and bake for 20 min, stirring the tomatoes after 10 minutes and add half of the basil with 3 min to go.
Meanwhile bring the stock to the boil. Then tip the contents of the baking pan into a another sauce pan, removing the thyme. Pour over the stock and bring the tomatoes and stock to the boil. Add the sun dried tomatoes and the barbecue sauce then cook for five minutes.
remove from the heat then strain into a bowl. Place the tomato mix into a second bowl and using an immersion blender mixing it till smooth, adding the stock a bit at a time till all combined. The texture should now be creamy.
Pour through a fine sieve, use a wooden spoon to push the soup through. Taste and correct the seasoning if needed.
Meanwhile heat a saute pan, add the remaining oil and add the rosa tomatoes. Cook for one minute.
Serve with some sprinkled basil on top the tomatoes.

drink:

Stock: the chicken kind.

2007-04-29T08:28:00.000+02:00

Not a meal per se, but since im making tomato soup later today i made the stock i wanted yesterday afternoon. All though it takes some time on the stove, the cooking in itself is very easy.

Makes 3 liters

2kg of chicken wings or carcasses
3 sticks of celery
2 leeks
2 onions
2 large carrots
1/2 garlic head
2 sprigs of thyme

Throw the chicken into a big pot and cover with 4 liters of water. Bring to a boil making sure to skim of any white foam.
In the meantime, roughly chop the celery, leeks, onions and carrots. Once the water is boiling throw in the vegetables.Wait for the water to come to a boil again, turn down the heat and let it simmer gently for 3 hours.
Strain in a chinois or a very fine sieve. Throw away the vegetables and chicken.
If you want, you can continue cooking the strained stock and reduce it further if you want it stronger.
If not, store what you don't use straight away in the freezer for up to 2-3 months.

Chili chicken stir-fry.

2007-04-27T20:24:00.000+02:00

s4

600g chicken breast, sliced into 1cm sticks
150g green beans, chopped in to 3-4cm lengths
6 cloves of garlic
3 large red chilies
2ml sea salt
30ml fish sauce
15ml sugar
15 soy
half a cup of basil
vegetable oil to fry in, about 20ml

Chop garlic and one chili (with seeds), then mix in a mortar along with the salt and mash into a paste. Heat the oil in a big nonstick frying pan. Throw in the garlic/chili mix and fry for a few second before throwing in the chicken and beans. Cook for 5-6 min. Meanwhile deseed the remaining chilies and slice them lenghtways. Pour the soy and fish sauce into the pan and throw on the chilies and sugar. Let it cook for a minute then remove from heat. Mix in the basil and serve with jasmine rice.

drink: allesverloren cabernet sauvignon (vintage estate 2004)

Beetroot and potato bake with chops.

2007-04-26T20:48:00.000+02:00

S4

800g large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
250g beetroot's, peeled and thinly sliced
500ml cheddar, grated
4 eggs
25oml cream
15 ml horseradish cream
4x200g pork chops, off the bone
bunch of rocket
s&p

Preheat the oven to 180c.
Mix cream, eggs, horseradish cream, salt and pepper in a bowl and set aside.
In a greased oven form, place half the potatoes on the bottom then a third of the cheddar. Follow with the beets, then another third of the cheddar. Then pour over half of the egg mix. On top of that place the rest of the potatoes, the last third of cheddar and finally the last piece of egg mix. Cover with foil and place in oven for 1 hour. After the time is up, remove the foil and continue in the oven for another 30 min.
When there is about ten min to go on the bake, heat a grill pan till real hot. Oil the chops and season. Fry them 3 min on each side. Serve with the rocket.

drink: raka, biography shiraz 2005

Grilled panini with prosciutto and mozzarella.

2007-04-26T12:24:00.000+02:00

S1

4 slices of good bread (not to big)
2 slices of fine prosciutto
3 slices of mozzarella
1 tomato, finely sliced
2 leaves of basil, torn
olive oil
s&p

On two of the slices of bread, drizzle some olive oil, place the prosciutto, the mozzarella, the basil, the tomatoes and season with pepper and salt. Put the remaining bread slices on top.
Bring a grill pan up to high heat, then fry the panini's for about 2 min on each side, or until the mozzarella melts. Serve as is, as in no side salad.

drink: milk

Pork loin chops with berry sauce.

2007-04-24T19:33:00.000+02:00

S4

4x250g pork loin chops (of the bone)
a bunch of green fresh beans
200g forest berries (frozen mix)
200ml red wine
200ml veal stock
25ml honey
40g butter, unsalted and chilled
olive oil
s&p

Start with the sauce. In a pan, combine the berries (bar 4 berries), the stock and the wine. Bring to the boil then simmer for about ten minutes. Pour the sauce through a chinois or a fine sieve and push the juice out of the berries. Discard the meat and seeds of the berries and return the sauce to the pan along with the honey and let it simmer for 3 minutes or reduced till half. Blanch the beans.
In the meantime, heat a griddle pan until very hot. Brush the chops with olive oil and season.
Fry the pork 3 minutes on each side.
return the sauce to the heat and stir in the butter 10g at a time. Season and add some demi glaze if you have it.
Serve with a side salad.

drink: durbanville hills, 2005 shiraz

Pasta with prosciutto and ricotta dumplings.

2007-04-22T19:03:00.000+02:00

[This dish works wonderful without the dumplings if you are just looking for a quick pasta]

S4

2 cups of shell pasta
60ml olive oil
1 cup of frozen or fresh peas
1/2 onion, sliced thinly
60ml white wine
6 slices of prosciutto, sliced
parmesan to serve

dumplings:
250g ricotta
50g plain flour
1 egg
1 egg yolk
30ml flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 green or red chili, deseeded and sliced

Boil the pasta according to instructions, when 2 minutes remain throw in the peas.
Meanwhile combine all the ingredients for the dumplings in a processor and mix till smooth.
Once the pasta is done, drain then rinse in cold water then toss in 15ml olive oil, set aside.
Fill a pot with 3 liter water or there abouts plus some salt and bring to the boil.
Bring a saute pan to heat and pour in the remaining olive oil. Fry the onion for five min or until golden. The throw in the white wine, prosciutto and the pasta with beans. Let it simmer for 5 min and season to taste. In the meantime, using a tablespoon scoop up ricotta mix and drop in the water, 5-6 at a time, let it simmer for about 2 min. Place on a kitchen towel to dry.
Serve with shaved or grated parmesan and drizzle some olive oil over the pasta.

drink: water

Feldo's pasta.

2007-04-21T20:46:00.000+02:00

S4

3 chorizos
5 strips of bacon
6 anchovy fillets, chopped
1 onion, chopped
10 green queen olives, pitted
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 red chili, deseeded and chopped
2x400g canned plum tomatoes
a small bunch parsley, chopped
parmesan
500g pasta
s&p

Heat a large pan, chef pan or similiar, with a tsp or two of olive oil. Slice the chorizos diagonally, cut the bacon into shreds and throw into the pan along with the onion. Fry till the bacon gets nice and crispy, making sure the onion doesn't get burned (if you think this might be hard, then fry the bacon till almost done before hand), or about 6 minutes.
Add the garlic, chili and anchovy and fry for a couple minutes before adding the tomatoes and olives. Split the tomatoes with a spoon or fork, season to taste and turn down the heat. Let it simmer for about 15 min. Meanwhile cook the pasta . Just before taking the pan of the heat, add the parsley.
Serve while hot on top of the pasta with some shaved parmesan.

drink: danie de wet's "nature in concert" 2004 pinot noir

Chicken stew.

2007-04-19T22:09:00.000+02:00

Sorry for the poor photo, but the food ran late so by the time it was done i only had patience to take two pictures, it is divine even though the picture might suggest its not.

S4

1500g of assorted chicken pieces (stay away from the fillets if possible as they tend to get dry)
400ml red wine, in this case L'ormarins Optima
6 Anchovy fillets
15 green olives, pit out
2x400g of canned whole rosa tomatoes
8 bay leaves
3 sprigs of rosemary
4 garlic cloves
s&p

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then marinate overnight in the wine along with the bay leaves, rosemary and two finely chopped garlic cloves.
Next day preheat the oven to 190c.
Pat the chicken dry then fry in olive oil using a chef pan or a big enough saute pan till lightly browned. Then remove from the pan and set aside.
Slice the remaining two garlics thinly and fry under gentle heat till golden, then add olives, anchovy, the canned tomatoes, the marinade and finally the chicken. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid then throw into the oven for one and a half hour.
Serve in the pan with fresh toasted white bread on the side.

drink: Haute Cabriere Pinot Noir 2004

Almost Teriyaki

2007-04-19T21:51:00.000+02:00

Ok, didn't post this last night as i promised, but here it comes.
Serves 4 (surprise)

3x200g sirloin or porterhouse
250g green beans
1 onion, sliced
30ml peanut oil
1 chili, deseeded and sliced thinly

marinade:
100ml soy
45ml castor sugar
80ml red wine
3 cloves of garlic
20ml grated garlic

Mix the marinade and let the beef soak in it for 15 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, cook the beans for 2 min then immediately rinse in cold water, then set aside.
On a plate, pour out 15ml of the oil over the onions and season.
Bring a griddle pan up to high heat, then fry the onions till they get the golden ribbs on both sides, then remove the onions from the pan.
Pat down the beefs so they are mostly dry, then fry on high heat in the griddle pan for about 2 min on each side (medium-rare, it really needs to be pink). Set aside and let the meat rest while
you heat the beans and onions in the pan.
Strain the marinade in a sieve then bring to the boil in a saucier.
Slice up the beef into about 1.5 cm thick slices.
Serve with rice on the side and be generous with the sauce. Garnish with the chili.

drink: L'ormarins Optima 2003