Roasted Potato Salad with Coriander Pesto

Ingredients:
1.25kg medium potatoes, each cut into 8 pieces
15mlolive oil
5ml sea salt
1ml fresh ground black pepper
200ml diced celery
125ml diced onion
2 mangoes, peeled and diced

For the Coriander Pesto:
200ml packed measure of chopped coriander
60ml packed measure of chopped mint

1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed, minced

5ml grated ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
125ml unsweetened shredded coconut, fresh or frozen (defrosted)
2.5ml sea salt
2.5ml ground coriander
5ml ground cumin
Juice of 1/2 lime
30ml water
30ml olive oil

Method:Preheat oven to 220ºC.

Place potatoes on a large baking sheet and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until browned and fork tender.

For the pesto:
In a food processor, add coriander and next 10 ingredients (through water) and pulse until finely minced. With the food processor running, stream in the olive oil through the spout. Refrigerate until needed.

In a large bowl, mix cooked potatoes, celery, onion and mangoes. Toss with 125ml coriander pesto.

Moroccan Carrot Salad

Ingredients:

3-4 carrots, thinly sliced

2.5ml ground cumin

60ml garlic-flavoured oil and vinegar dressing

30ml chopped fresh coriander leaves

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Cook the carrots by steaming or boiling in slightly salted water until they are just tender but not soft. Drain the carrots and leave for a few minutes to cool. Put them in a bowl.

Add the cumin, garlic dressing and coriander. Just before serving, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Middle Eastern Meatballs

Ingredients:

500g finely minced lean lamb or beef
pinch of salt
1 onion, finely chopped
10ml ground cumin
5ml ground allspice
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup coarsely chopped coriander leaves
olive oil

Method:

Blend all the ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor until smooth and pasty.

Wet your hands to stop the mixture from sticking, and form small balls.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the meatballs. Test the tiny meatballs after 5 minutes; larger ones may take 10 minutes.

Drain well on kitchen paper.

The meatballs can also be partially cooked and finished in the oven.

Make smaller meatballs if serving with drinks. The mixture will yield about 40 cocktail-sized meatballs and about 25 larger ones to serve as part of a meal.

Meso-Med Salad with Coriander Dressing

I call this salad ‘Meso-Med’ because of the blend of ingredients: 

the mealies, avocado and tomatoes all originate in Mesoamerica, 

while the red onion, feta and cucumber are very Mediterranean. 

The dressing is very Mediterranean until you add the coriander herb, again reminiscent of Mesoamerica, except there it’s known as cilantro. 

In the dressing I use a small amount of chilli flakes, but if you can get Jalapeno peppers, you could use about half a pepper chopped fine. 

All in all this salad is deliciously satisfying, a perfect accompaniment to a braai.

Salad Ingredients

2 mealies, husks removed, brushed with olive oil and grilled on the side of the braai.

1 large avocado, or 2 small ones, diced and sprinkled with lemon juice to prevent oxidation

5-6 Roma tomatoes, diced

½ a medium red onion halved and thinly sliced

60-70g Feta, crumbled

6 inches of English cucumber, quartered and sliced with the skin on

Method

Cut the kernels off the cobs. Assemble the salad in a large bowl, and top with the mealie kernels. Cover with cling film and refrigerate until ready to use.

Coriander Dressing Ingredients

50-60ml olive oil

30ml apple cider vinegar, or red wine vinegar

2.5ml chopped or mashed garlic

30-50ml fresh chopped coriander herb

2.5ml sea salt

2.5ml chilli flakes

3-5ml lemon pepper

Method

Put all the dressing ingredients in a glass jam jar with a lid and shake really well. Check for seasoning and add more oil or vinegar for your taste. When you are ready to serve the salad, add the dressing and toss the salad gently. Top with a little extra copped coriander to garnish and tuck in.

Cucumber Sambal

Sambals, or Kachoomers as they are also known, are like little salads that are served with curries and rice dishes. They are quick and easy to make and are normally served in little dishes for diners to help themselves as they require. They may be made from cucumber, onion, radish, carrot, lettuce or tomato, but cucumber and onion is a particular favourite in our family.

Ingredients:
2 inch piece of cucumber
half an onion
30ml malt vinegar
30ml basic dhunia chutney

Method:
Dice the cucumber into 1/2 cm cubes and set aside in a small mixing bowl.
Finely chop the onion and add to the cucumber.
Add the vinegar to the onion and cucumber.
Mix in the basic dhunia chutney.

Basic Dhunia Chutney
2 whole peppercorns
1 bunch of coriander leaves (dhunia)
2 long thin green chillies
2 cloves of garlic
2ml cumin seeds
2ml salt
Juice of 1 lemon

Put all the ingredients in a mini blender and blend to a smooth paste. Make up as required or store in quantity in an airtight container in the fridge until required. Keeps for a week or more in the fridge. For a variation, mint can also be added to this chutney.

Lemon Chicken Curry

This is a great dish that takes, at most, 20 minutes to cook.

Perfect for when you want a delicious curry,

full of well rounded flavours, not just spicy!

It's easy to make for a quick lunch or dinner.

The amount here serves two,

but it can easily be adjusted to feed more.

Ingredients:
20ml vegetable oil
2ml of mustard seeds
1 onion, chopped
2 boneless skinless chicken breast, chopped into small cubes
10ml curry powder
10ml lemon juice
10ml corn flour
125ml water
10ml fresh chopped coriander

Method:
Coat the bottom of a skillet with vegetable oil and bring to a high heat. Add the mustard seeds and let them cook for a minute, or until they begin to 'pop', then add the chopped onion. Saute until the onion starts to turn translucent.
Add the chicken and curry powder. Mix the spices in thoroughly and add the lemon juice. Continue stirring, making sure all the pieces of chicken cook evenly.
When chicken is mostly cooked through, sprinkle in the corn flour and stir, making sure all the excess fat and liquids are absorbs.
Pour in the water and stir while it boils for a minute to create a thick sauce around chicken, then remove from heat. Allow to rest a few minutes before serving. Serve with rice or noodles.

Pumpkin and Seafood Curry

In keeping with "National Curry Week"

I have another curry for you,

one with a Thai influence.

I don't get to make this very often

as my husband does not eat pumpkin and,

I confess, I'm not crazy about sea food,

so this is a bit of a 'Jack Sprat and His Wife' dish for us.

I eat the pumpkin and he eats the fish.

If you don't like it hot, vary the amount of curry paste.

The recipe for my

"Yellow Thai Curry Paste"

can be found in my e-book,

"Herbs and Spices",

Which will be available soon.

Ingredients:

1 can of coconut milk

30ml Yellow Thai Curry Paste

250ml fish stock

20ml Thai fish sauce

10ml white or light brown granulated sugar

5ml turmeric

3-4 lime leaves, snipped into strips

1 stem of lemongrass, bruised

1 kg pumpkin (or butternut), peeled and chopped into large chunks

500g salmon, or other firm fish like cod or monkfish, cut into 1 inch cubes

100-200g prepared raw prawns

2 small pak choy, chopped

Juice of 1 lime

Chopped coriander leaves to garnish

.

Method:

Put the creamy top half of the can of coconut milk into a large saucepan with the curry paste and mix well.

Add the rest of the coconut milk, stock, fish sauce, sugar, turmeric, lime leaves and lemongrass into the broth and bring to the boil. Reduce to simmer.

Add the pumpkin chunks and cook until tender.

Add the fish and prawns and cook for about 5 minutes before adding the pak choy and lime juice. Simmer for a few more minutes to just wilt the greens.

Serve with rice or noodles, garnished with chopped coriander leaves.

.

If you are making this for a special dinner,

prepare the broth up till the pumpkin is cooked.

The broth can then be set aside

and warmed again when ready to add the fish.

To make a vegetarian version,

omit the fish and add a tin of chick peas or beans of your choice.

These will need to be cooked in the broth

for about 15 minutes to absorb the flavours.

.

Satay Lamb Patties

This is a delicious easy meal with an Indonesian slant.

Ingredients:
1 red pepper
500g lamb mince
65g peanut butter
30ml light soy sauce
100g unsalted roasted cashew nuts chopped
65ml chopped fresh coriander leaves
1 egg, lightly beaten
250ml stale breadcrumbs
vegetable oil for frying.
Fresh chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Method:
Quarter the pepper, removing the seeds and membranes.
Grill the pepper, skin-side up, until the skin blisters and blackens. Place the pepper in a bowl and cover with clingfilm. Set a side for 5-10 minutes. This will make it easier to peel the skin from the pepper. Finely chop the prepared pepper.
Place the pepper in a bowl with the lamb mince, peanut butter, soy sauce, nuts, coriander, egg and breadcrumbs. Blend by hand to ensure that the ingredients are mixed well together.
Shape into 8 patties, place on a plate and cover with cling film. Leave in the fridge for half an hour.
Shallow fry the patties in batches in hot oil until browned and cooked through.
Serve hot with satay sauce and garnished with coriander leaves.

Satay Sauce:
Ingredients:
125ml sweet chilli sauce
130g peanut butter
125ml chicken stock
60ml coconut cream
Juice and zest of 1 lime
65ml chopped fresh coriander leaves

Method:
Combine the chilli sauce, peanut butter, chicken stock, coconut cream and lime juice and zest in a pan and simmer, whisking, until slightly thickened. Stir in the coriander leaves.

Lobster Braai with Lime Chilli and Coriander Butter

We can't get Crayfish here in the UK

like the one's we caught on the Natal coast,

so we have to make do with Lobster.

They are great on the Braai or Barbecue.

Live lobsters can be killed humanely

by putting them in a plastic bag in the freezer for half an hour,

then piercing them between the eyes with a sharp knife.

Ingredients:
20-30ml chopped fresh coriander
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 lime, zest only
½ lime, juice only
1 red chilli, finely chopped
75g butter, softened
2 live lobsters, about ½kg each

Method:
Light the braai 30 minutes before you want to eat.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix together the chopped coriander, garlic, lime zest, lime juice and red chilli.
Beat in the softened butter until well combined.
Once the lobsters have been killed, cut each in half lengthways.
Discard the matter in the head section.
Remove and discard the sac behind the eyes.
Remove any green liver and the roe in the body section and discard.
Remove the claws, crack them and set aside.
When the flames have died down and the coals are ash-white, place the lobster claws onto the grill and braai for 5-6 minutes on each side, or until the claw meat is completely cooked through.
After turning the claws over to cook on the second side, add the lobster halves, cut-sides down, to the grill.
Braai the lobster halves for 3-4 minutes, then turn them over and continue to cook for a further 2-3 minutes, or until the lobster meat is cooked through. When the lobsters are cooked through, spoon the lime, chilli and coriander butter over the lobster meat.

NB: The lobster meat is cooked through when the flesh is firm and opaque and the shells have turned from dark blue to bright red.

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