Mini Quiches

I've used this recipe to make mini ones, baked in a muffin pan. LOVED it!! The crust should be sufficient for ±24 tartlets while each of the fillings only make 12.

Savoury crust:
250ml cake flour
1ml salt
2.5ml baking powder
80ml butter or margarine (room temperature)
125ml finely grated cheese (optional)
1 egg
few drops of water if necessary

Place all the ingredients for the crust in a bowl and mix until evenly combined to form a soft pastry.
Grease a muffin pans with margarine and press the pastry evenly into the dish, thinning it out in the corners and shaping with the fingertips to make a neat edge.
Refrigerate.

or

Tartlet Pastry
500ml cake flour
15ml baking powder
3ml salt
280ml butter or margarine
25ml blended white vinegar (750ml spirit vinegar, 750ml grape vinegar, 250ml water)
2 eggs
additional cake flour for rolling out

Rub the butter into the dry ingredients and add the vinegar and eggs, beaten together. Mix unto the dough holds. Knead until smooth. Add a little additional flour if the dough is too soft. Press the dough into a ball, cover and refrigerate while preparing the filling.

Filling:
30ml butter or margarine
50ml cake flour
250ml milk
1 egg
seasoning to taste
variable ingredients (See different ones below)

Melt together the butter or margarine and flour over a moderate heat and add the milk and egg mixture. Beat with a whisk until a smooth, thick sauce is obtained. Remove from heat. 
Beat the egg. 
Return to the saucepan.
Stir in the Variable ingredients, season to taste and set aside to cool.

Variable ingredient 1: Spinach tartlets
200ml finely chopped fresh raw spinach
125ml (50g) finely diced feta, emmenthal, mozzarella, cheddar or similar cheese (I prefer Feta)
30ml chopped spring onion or onion
75ml coarsely chopped ham or chopped cooked bacon or sliced sauteed mushrooms (optional)
salt and black pepper

Stir-fry the spinach in the oil and butter or margarine until almost dry. Add the spring onion and stir-fry for a further few minutes. Allow to cool.
Add diced cheese, optional ingredients if used and seasoning to taste. 

Variable ingredient 2: Mushroom tartlets
250ml sliced mushrooms
50ml chopped onion
10ml butter or margarine
1ml dried origanum
15ml white wine

Saute the mushrooms and onion in the butter or margarine until just tender. add the origanum and wine and simmer for a few minutes.

Assembling and baking the tartlets:

Divide the filling between the lined cups, sprinkle with the seasoning specified for each variation and bake at 180deg C for about ±20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the filling becomes fully and firm. Serve hot, warm, at room temperate or cold.

Other variations could include Vegetable tartlets, cheese tartlets, tuna or asparagus tartlets... go crazy

Lamb and Vegetable Casserole

As an alternative to my Lamb Shank I posted before, this a more posh version. I've made it twice. It's just as nice although it takes quite a bit more prep and effort.

Serves 8
50ml/g margarine
1kg lamb shank, cut into pieces
2 large onions, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 medium carrots, scraped and sliced
4 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
200g mushrooms, sliced
250g baby marrows, sliced
250g green beans, trimmed / peas
1ml dry rosemary
2ml marjoram
salt and pepper to taste
1pkt Royco tomato soup
100ml water
Parsley, chopped for garnish

Preheat the oven at 160degrees C. Heat the margarine and brown the shanks. Place in a casserole dish.
Saute onions and garlic until onion is soft.
Add vegetables and seasoning.
Mix soup powder with water and add the vegetables and bring to boil.
Pour over meat, cover and cook for 2 hours.
Sprinkle with parsley.
Serve with rice or mashed potato.

French Toast Roll-ups

I just had to share!!! What a fun find!!! Thanks to Chantel for sharing the picture.

Ingredients

8 slices white sandwich bread

softened cream cheese, diced strawberries, or Nutella

2 eggs

3 tablespoons milk

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon

butter, for greasing the pan

Instructions

Cut the crust from each slice of bread and flatten it out with a rolling pin.

Place about 1-2 teaspoons of your chosen filling 1 inch from one end of the bread in a strip. Roll the bread up tightly and repeat with the remaining pieces of bread. I really like cream cheese with diced strawberries as one combination and Nutella with diced strawberries as another combination.
In a shallow bowl whisk the eggs and milk until well combined.
In a separate shallow bowl mix the sugar with the cinnamon.
Heat a skillet set over medium heat and melt a tablespoon of butter.
Dip each bread roll in the egg mixture coating well and then place them in the pan seam side down. Cook in batches until golden brown, turning them to cook and brown on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Add butter to the pan as needed.

1. Add cooked rolls immediately from the pan to the cinnamon sugar and roll until completely covered in sugar. You can serve with syrup for dipping but I think they're perfectly good all by themselves.

*Recipe found on http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

Broccoli Salad

So I'm always posting oven dishes and so I've decided to share this one. You might know it, but I had my first experience with it about 2 years ago at my friend Anna-Marie's house and it was amazing. 

2 heads Broccoli
10ml Olive oil
125g diced bacon
1 Onion - diced
500g button mushroom - siced or diced, as desired
Plain Yogurt - Greek or otherwise
Mayonnaise
Nuts of choice - cut into tiny pieces
Feta cheese
Apple - optional
Raisins - optional


Boil Broccoli until al dente (still firm). Drain and place one side
Fry onion, mushroom and bacon.
Mix with broccoli.
Add nuts. 
Add cheese.
Mix in 1:1 ratio of yogurt and mayonnaise.
Serve

Easy. Delicious.

Chocolate Brownies

So obviously I see this recipe and decide it's too good not to share!!

10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup cake flour
2/3 cup walnut or pecan pieces (optional)

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 180°C. 
Line the bottom and sides of an 20cm square baking pan with parchment paper or foil, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides.
Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl and set the bowl in a wide skillet of barely simmering water. 
Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot enough that you want to remove your finger fairly quickly after dipping it in to test. 
Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.
Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. 
Add the eggs one at a time, stirring vigorously after each one. 
When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. 
Stir in the nuts, if using. Spread evenly in the lined pan.

Bake until a toothpick plunged into the centre emerges slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes.
Let cool completely on a rack.
Lift up the ends of the parchment or foil liner, and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. 
Cut into 16 or 25 squares.BY ANICA MARTIN

Apple and Banana Crumble

Here's an easy, fun recipe to enjoy with friends.

Ingredients:
250ml cake flour
75g butter/margarine
5ml baking powder
75ml castor sugar/brown sugar
5ml cinnamon
100ml chopped nuts
1x 410g can unsweetened pie apples
3 bananas sliced

Garnish:
Sliced fresh apples dipped in lemon juice
Fresh cream

Rub margarine or butter into flour. 
Add baking powder and castor sugar.
Place apples and bananas into a glass dish and sprinkle with cinnamon and nuts.
Sprinkle crumble mixture over and microwave on High in a NATIONAL microwave oven for 8 - 10 minutes. 
Serve hot with cream or custard. 
Garnish with sliced apples.

Hearty Stew

Beef shin slowly stewed in a tasty red-wine sauce is the perfect meal for cold winter evenings. Sylvia Jays of Durbanville says she often uses brisket to make the dish, and oxtail if she's feeling particularly flush.

Serves 4-6400g small pickling onions

4 cloves garlic, crushed
1kg beef shins
salt and freshly ground black pepper
50ml cake flour
5ml paprika
5ml origanum
250ml hot beef stock
65g tomato paste
25ml soft brown sugar
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
5 whole cloves
180ml red wine
250ml sour cream
finely chopped parsley

Preheat the oven to 160deg C (325deg F).
Saute the onion and garlic in a little oil until glossy.
Transfer to an ovenproof dish and set aside.
Season the shins with salt and pepper.
Combine the flour, paprika, origanum and roll the shins in the mixture. Reserve the remaining flour mixture.
Score the fatty edges of the shins with a sharp knife to prevent them from curling during cooking.

Brown on both sides in the oil in the pan.
Reduce the heat and add the brown sugar and seasonings.
Add the red wine and simmer for a few minutes.
Turn into the ovenproof dish, cover and bake for one and a half hours or until the meat is tender. Pour the cause into a saucepan and add the sour cream. Simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens slightly or use the remaining cake flour mixture to thicken it.
Pour the sauce over the meat, sprinkle with parsley and serve with mashed potato, peas and carrots.

Serves 4-6

Ouma's sweet-and-sour meatballs

My Gran says this recipe is awesome. She makes it often and says it comes out perfect every time. If you've ever tasted her cooking, then I don't need to test the recipe to believe her:

Serves 4-6

60g (75ml) raw rice
500g beef mince
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 egg, beaten
10ml dry sherry
10ml soya sauce
Seasoned flour for coating
oil for deep frying

Sweet-and-sour sauce:
440g can pineapple, chunks, drained, chopped, juice reserved
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
10ml soft brown sugar
30ml soya sauce
30ml white vinegar
15ml cornflour mixed into a paste with 30ml water
15ml finely chopped parsley

Cook rice in boiling salted water until cooked. Combine rice, mince, garlic, egg, sherry and soya sauce in a mixing bowl. Form 15ml amounts into balls, toss in seasoned flour to coat, shaking off excess. Deep fry in hot oil until well browned and cooked through.

Sauce:
Combine reserved pineapple juice with red pepper, sugar, soya sauce and vinegar in a pan. Stir in cornflour paste, stir over medium heat until sauce boils and thickens. Add pineapple and parsley, stir until heated through.
Add meatballs to sauce, simmer until heated through. 

Serve with tossed green salad/assorted vegetables/as desired

.

Fridgecake - cheesecake

So my sister-in-law Michele, brings the most amazing cheesecake to a braai we hold at my house for my brothers 25th birthday!! This is a definite MUST-MAKE! It's amazing

Tennis biscuits - 2 packs
150g Margarine/butter to bind the biscuit base
1 Tin condensed milk (397g)
250g plain cream cheese 
250g Masorpone cheese (optional for a bigger batch - but I suggest it)
250g fresh cream
2 fair sized lemons

Crush the biscuits.
Melt the margarine, add to crushed biscuits and press into a glass dish to make the base.
Mix the condensed milk and cream cheese and Masorpone well together.
In a separate bowl beat the fresh cream until thick - soft peak.
Fold in the cream to the cheese mixture.
Add squeezed lemon juice of both lemons.
Place mixture over the biscuits and chill for 3-4 hours before serving.
Decorate as desired.

Michele put some strawberry sauce mix into the mixture to make it more of a strawberry cheesecake. She decorated the top with fresh strawberries. Winner recipe for sure!!!! 

Rolo Cupcakes

So I saw this recipe in an Afrikaans magazine and I must say... it's pretty awesome - I make something similar myself - very often - and it goes down really well!! Check right at the bottom of the recipe for my personal way to doing this sort of cupcake. All my little comments and tips are in pink!

RECIPE MAKES: 36

INGREDIENTS:

250ml milk
90ml cocoa
250ml  oil
8 eggs (I always add 1 extra egg per 3 or 4 given in a recipe – leaves cupcakes that much more moist - so here i'd actually use 10 eggs and reduce oil by 20ml)
500ml castor sugar
10ml vanilla essence
875ml baking flour
20ml baking powder
Pinch of salt
200g (4 x 50g-rolls) Rolo chocolate
45ml cream (optional)

ICING:

250 ml chilled cream
1 tin caramel
Extra roll Rolo

· Preheat the oven to 180 °C.

· Prepare muffin/cupcake pan with cupcake holders

CUPCAKES:

Heat up the milk and whisk in cocoa until well mixed.

Add the oil.

Whisk the eggs and castor sugar together until fluffy and light in colour.

Add the vanilla essence.

Sift all the dry ingredients together.

Slowly add the dry ingredients and the milk mix to the egg mix.

Mix well.

Dish up into the paper cupcake holders, ¾ full.

Push a piece of Rolo into the center of the raw cupcake.

Bake for ±15 minutes (I always bake for ¾ of the time they give on a recipe personally so I’d bake 12 minutes or so and only extend to 15 minutes if the dough is still raw. Remember that there is chocolate in the center to check the cupcakes readiness from the side and not dead center.)

ICING:

Whip the cream stiff and fold in the caramel.

Spread over the top of the cupcakes.

Place some extra chocolate over the top.

HOW I DO IT AT HOME:

Instead of pushing in a piece of Rolo, I buy a tin of caramel instead. I fill the cupcake holder 1/4 of the way. I then spoon 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of caramel on top of the raw dough and then cover the caramel with some more dough till 3/4 full. This is an awesome way to make cupcakes. I normally ice with caramel and sprinkle with chocolate shavings. It works well in both vanilla and chocolate cupcakes and is to everyone's liking. Go the extra mile by sprinkling  with some cake glitter (white one for best effect).

I will be honest in saying, I love using Snowflakes instant muffin mix packets when i'm in a rush and don't want to make cupcakes from scratch. They cost like R12.00 from your local PnP - it fills exactly 12 large muffin holders and I add one extra egg than instructed to the mix and get my caramel on. People LOVE IT!

Peppermint Crisp Tart

Peppermint Crisp tart is my weakness. This recipe is easy and really good!!


Needed:
Tennis biscuits
500ml cream
1 tin caramel
Peppermint crisp chocolate
Condensed milk, caramelized. (Optional but gives the best results. Check below on how to do it)

Instructions:
Beat the cream. Mix in the caramel.
Place a layer of tennis biscuits on the bottom of the dish. 
Layer the whip mixture over the biscuits. 
Sprinkle or layer some caramelized condensed milk over the whip mixture. (use your own discretion) 
Repeat the above 3 steps.
Sprinkle peppermint crisp on top.
Place in the fridge to set.

I like to sprinkle some smashed chocolate bits in between the layers too.


Caramelize condensed milk:
Microwave oven method: Pour milk into a glass or ceramic container. Cook at medium (50% power) for 4 minutes, stirring halfway through. Reduce power to medium low (30% power), cook for 12 to 18 minutes, stirring briskly every 2 minutes until smooth, thick and caramel-coloured. Cooking times depends on the wattage of the microwave.

Butternut soup

I haven't posted in forever, but with this winter weather, I felt a little inspired to post some winter favourites

One meal always goes down well: butternut soup. It's the closest one to mine - recipe wise. When I actually find mine, i promise to post it.

Ingredients

Salt

• Black Pepper
• 1 tbsp Margarine
• 2 Medium Onions roughly chopped
• 2 Cloves Garlic roughly chopped
• 5 ml Nutmeg
• 1 ltr Water
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 250 ml Cream
• 1 kg Butternut peeled & chopped
• 1.25ml Peri Peri spice (optional) 

Instructions

In a large pot, melt the margarine, and fry the onions, garlic and nutmeg and optional peri peri until just soft.

Add the butternut, water and stock cube and bring to the boil.

Allow to simmer for about 30 minutes or until the butternut is soft.

Remove from the heat and blend until smooth in a food processor.

Stir in cream and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Maple-Mustard Glazed Chicken

I got this recipe right out of my Jan/Feb 2012 Cooking Light magazine! Totally Paleo, totally delicious and totally easy! It yielded leftovers and made the family happy. You just can't get more from a meal than that! I was out of sweet potatoes which I think would have been the ultimate pairing for this dish... next time!

Now it's off to bed where I will undoubtedly dream of box jumps, push presses and toes to bar.

Recipe:

1 T olive oil

4 chicken breasts, skinless, boneless, pounded and cut in half

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 C chicken broth

1/4 C 100% organic maple syrup

1 tsp. dried thyme

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 T stone-ground mustard

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Sprinkle chicken with pepper and salt. Add chicken to pan; saute 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan. Add broth, syrup, thyme and garlic to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add vinegar and mustard; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Return chicken to pan, and spoon mustard mixture over chicken. Bake at 180 degrees for 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan; let stand 5 minutes. Place pan over medium heat; cook mustard mixture 2 minutes or until liquid is syrupy, stirring frequently. Serve with chicken.

Yum!!!

Sweet & Tangy Paleo BBQ Sauce

My new favorite Paleo BBQ sauce! Particularly good on skinless, boneless chicken thighs! I make a batch in advance and keep it in the refrigerator. Honestly I have been craving this on a weekly basis! Enjoy these precious last few weeks of Summer with some good ole fashioned BBQ!

Recipe:
(Makes about 4 cups of BBQ sauce)
2 6-oz cans of tomato paste
1 1/4 C agave nectar
1/2 C apple cider vinegar
3 T Dijon-style mustard
2 T olive oil
2 T *coconut aminos
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. sea salt

Combine all ingredients and mix well! I let some sauce sit on the chicken a bit before barbecuing, and brush some on the chicken as needed while barbecuing. Delicious!
Hope you enjoy!

Hot chocolate cups

I've made this one a couple of times. It's really nice to do if you're having the girls over for some tea... Who says no to chocolate anyway?? :D

300ml self-raising flour
150ml castor sugar
100ml cocoa powder
1ml salt
1 egg
125ml milk
50g butter, melted
3ml vanilla extract or 5ml vanilla essence
90ml soft brown sugar
250ml boiling water

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C and grease 4x 250-275ml ovenproof cups or ramekins with butter, margarine or nonstick food spray. 
Sift flour, sugar, half the cocoa powder and salt together.
Make a well in the mixture
Lightly whisk together the egg, milk, butter and vanilla essence and pour the mixture into the well. Beat slowly to make a smooth, thick batter. 
Spoon the batter into cups or ramekins, spreading the mixture evenly over the batter in the 4 containers. 
Divide the boiling water among the containers, pouring it slowly on top of the batter until the containers are three-quarters full. 
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until well risen and firm to the touch.
Serve with ice cream if desired.

Lamb curry

I am a HUGE curry fan. Not the "out of the packet" kind, the real thing. This recipe is really GOOOOOD.

1 Large onion, sliced into rings
1 sprig fresh curry leaves
iol
15ml garlic and ginger paste
60ml mixed masala
2ml turmeric
2 medium sized tomatoes
1kg leg of lamb or shoulder, diced
salt
4-5 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Fry the onions and curry leaves in a little heated oil until the onion is soft and lightly browned.
Add the garlic and ginger paste, masala and turmeric and mix well. Add the tomatoes and braise them for about 5 minutes or until fragrant.
Add the mat and season with salt.
Cover the saucepan, reduce the heat and simmer until the meat is nearly tender.
Add the potatoes and a little warm water and simmer until the potatoes are soft. Add more water if necessary.
Add the coriander leaves at the end of the cooking time.
Serve with rice and sambals such as chopped onion and tomato

Serves 6

It's really good. Serve with sliced banana and chutney.

Pasta carbonara

This is a great recipe. If you're an Alfredo fan, you'd love this!

500g pasta (Spaghetti, fettuccine, tagliatelle or your favourite pasta)
45ml olive oil
4 spring onions, chopped
3-4 mushrooms, thinly sliced
150g bacon, chopped (or pancetta)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 eggs
350ml fresh cream
125ml grated Parmesan cheese (or more if you'd like)

Cook the pasta according to the packed instructions.
Drains and set aside.
 Heat the oil in a large saucepan and saute the spring onions and mushrooms for about a minute.
Add the bacon and stir-fry for another 3-5 minutes or until crisp. 
Remove the saucepan from the heat.
Add the pasta to the onion and bacon mixture in the saucepan and return it to the heat to keep warm. 
Season with salt and pepper to taste and remove from the heat.
Whisk together the eggs, cream and half the cheese until the mixture is creamy and pour it over the pasta.
The heat from the pasta will cook the eggs and heat the sauce.
Return the pan to the heat for about one minute. Serve immediately with the remaining cheese.

Serves 4

Easy but delicious Oxtail

My friend Gillian suggested I post my oxtail recipe. There's really not much to it so enjoy...

2kg Oxtail
Knorr Oxtail soup/beef and onion soup
Potatoes (optional)
Carrots (optional)

Place oxtail in an oven dish.
Mix Oxtail soup with 600ml water.
Pour over oxtail.
Cover with foil and bake for 4 hours at 180°C.
Should one packet of oxtail not be enough to cover the meat, use a second packet.
Check the meat after 2 hours, then hourly making sure there is enough liquid.

Meat will fall off the bone! It's a definite win for guests - once again thinking you've done loads of work but having Knorr do it for you!

Lamb shank

I love making lamb when guests come over. Everyone wants this recipe and NO ONE believes how easy it is. This specific recipe is my own adaption from many other recipes. I personally try lamb at every restaurant I eat at that offers it, and I must say, I like mine better (",)  

The correct thing would be to coat the meat with flour (flavoured with salt and pepper), and pan-fry both sides to seal the meat but to be honest, I don't even do that anymore. I  just place the raw meat in a dish and it personally doesn't change a thing for me. And not doing it saves dishes and time.

Add whatever veggies you prefer. Below is what I normally use. But if you want to prepare just the meat, then using just the above as is will work just fine and still come out amazingly. the meat somehow alters the soup to a rich sauce! It's yummy!

INGREDIENTS:

4 Lamb shanks - whole or cut up, depending on your preference. It's always good to have                                            pieces if there are kids

2 packets Knorr Cream of Tomato soup - I also use Oxtail, Brown Onion or Beef and Onion                                                                                              soup. All  work equally well.

1 large onion - cut however you prefer

250g Patipans - left whole

250g Zucchini - cut in half

4 Carrots - cut to preference

250ml wine - I use Rose or Sweet Red - (optional)

METHOD:

Place the meat in an oven dish. 

Mix 500ml water with each packet of Knorr soup. Pour over the meat. (600ml if you not using wine)

Place onions over meat. 

Pour over wine.

Cover with foil and bake for 1.5 hours at 180°C. Check the meat after one hour and the liquid levels. Add water if necessary. 

Place the rest of the veggies. 

Continue to bake for another 30 - 45 minutes. 

Meat will be falling off the bone.

Serve over rice or mash. There will be enough sauce at the bottom of the pan. 

No extra spices needed. Just that. It's that easy. Really good when having lots of people over. Minimal work with results that make it seem like you've been slaving for hours.

Best beef patties

I don't know if it's just me, but burger patties are getting thinner and thinner with less and less real meat in them. Thanks to this recipe, you don't ever have to worry again. It's really good, juicy and it's a much better alternative than all the soy substitutes out there.

500g minced beef
1 onion, chopped
1 slice of white bread, crumbed (I just use the fine side of a grater)
1 egg
salt and pepper
pinch of dried thyme

In addition to the recipe my mom always adds:
Steak and Chop spice
Tablespoon of chutney

Mix all the ingredients together lights with a fork.
Roll mixture between two layers of waxed paper to desired thickness
Cut into circles. 
This recipe makes about 12 patties of 10 cm diameter, 2 cm thick. 

I'd just roll it into a ball and press down or use Tupperware's Burger maker holders... Either way.
I'd go as far as coating with Steers burger sauce and for a braai with friends, nothing better than a juicy man-sized burger!

Chicken Curry

I found this recipe done by Robertsons Spice. Really good and super easy. Pictures to follow soon!!

15 Chicken thighs - skin removed and deboned
125 ml flavoured flour (125 ml flour with salt and pepper added)
60 ml oil
2 onions, chopped in rings
5 ml ginger
5 ml turmeric
5 ml cumin
5 ml curry paste
2 tomatoes, quartered
250 ml chicken stock

Cut the chicken pieces in half. 
Sprinkle the chicken the flour.
Heat half the oil in a saucepan and brown the chicken pieces.
Remove and set aside.
Heat the rest of the oil and fry the onion, spices and curry paste for about 7 minutes or until the onion softens and the spices really start to smell nice.
Put the chicken back in the pan. 
Add the tomatoes and stock and simmer for about 20-30 minutes or until thick. 
Add more liquids should it be necessary. 
Serve over rice.

Oxtail pie

I'm always keen on trying new recipes that look goooood. And as I've said before, i'm quite the critic. This one I've made twice and, although it's extremely rich in flavour and quite expensive, it is totally worth the hard work involved. Should you not eat oxtail, you could always use lamb shank. Get the butcher to cut it up for you so you can work with smaller pieces. They should currently cost about the same per kg. I got this recipe from a magazine years ago. I almost NEVER follow a recipe exactly.



60 ml cake flour
salt and freshly ground black pepper (I use white)
2kg oxtail, cut into pieces at the joints
100 ml oil
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
1 stalk of celery, chopped
200 g smoked bacon, chopped
250 ml dry red wine This isn't set in stone. Use Rose/sweet Red should you want to drink the rest
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
4 sprigs fresh parsley
2 bay leaves If i cant find fresh, i put all of the dry versions of the following in a teabag that i've opened and washed. i then sew it closed. I'm sure you can use other things like coffee filters etc.
750 ml beef stock
80 ml tomato paste
1 x recipe sour-cream or hot water pastry (see below)
1 packet pitted prunes (optional - I personally didn't use it and prefer not to)
1 egg yolk, whisked

Mix the flour, salt and pepper in a plastic bag. Add the oxtail pieces and shake well to coat them with the flour mixture.
Heat 80 ml of the oil in a large pan and brown the oxtail in batches. Set aside.
Heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan or pressure cooker and stir-fry the garlic, onion, carrots, celery and bacon until lightly browned.
Add the wine and simmer uncovered to reduce the wine by half.
Tie the herbs and bay leaves together with a piece of string and add to the vegetable mixture.
Add the stock, tomato paste and oxtail, stirring well to mix. Cover and cook for 3 hours. (90 minutes in the pressure cooker) or until meat falls off the bone. I personally put it in the oven, covered with foil at 180°C and baked for 4 hours
Remove the bouquet garni and leave the meat to cool.
Grease a large ovenproof dish. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and use to line only the base of the greased dish.
Skim the fat from the meat and remove the bones.
Add the prunes to the meat mixture and spoon it into the pastry-lined dish.
Cut out another pieces of pastry to cover the filling, place on top and brush with egg yolk. Chill for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C. Bake the pie for 15 minutes, reduce the temperature to 180°C and bake for another 20 minutes or until the crust is crisp and golden.

Serves 8.

Removing the bones is optional. Some people like to eat off the bones, (I personally do) so depending on who you're catering for.
Pierce a hole in the pastry with a skewer to allow the steam to escape while the pie is baking or the pastry will become soggy instead of deliciously flaky and crisp.