Sommer Gooi Dip

Last Sunday evening when we had been down to the sports club for a couple of drinks while the dogs and my grandson, Caleb, wore themselves out running and playing on the sports fields I came home and chucked a dip together, just a snack to help fill the hollows before supper was ready. I simply grabbed whatever I could find in the fridge and threw it in the blender, hence Sommer Gooi, which means "just throw" in Afrikaans.

My son-in-law was so taken with it that he's telling our friends when they come to visit about this fantastic dip I made. 

As a consequence, for my sins, I had to try and remember all that went into it…

So here goes…

This one's for you, Craig!

Ingredients:

Flesh of half a large avocado, or a whole one if small

½ an onion, finely chopped

125ml creamed cottage cheese

60ml mayonnaise

60-80ml tomato sauce, 

---- or a whole medium tomato, skinned, deseeded and chopped

10ml roasted red pepper sauce

---- or a quarter sweet red pepper, skinned, deseeded and chopped 

10ml ready-made basil pesto

5ml chopped garlic

3-4 dashes of Tabasco sauce

---- or 2ml chilli powder

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Throw everything into a blender and whiz it together until smooth, dump it in a bowl and serve with potato or corn chips. 

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.

Pesto Chicken

Pesto Chicken:
Try this with roast potatoes and a small dish
of extra pesto on the side for dipping.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts, skinned and cut into strips

15ml olive oil

60ml crème fraiche

For the pesto

50g flat leaf parsley or coriander

15g roughly chopped walnuts (about 8 halves)

75ml olive oil

1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped

2.5ml salt

50ml Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

 Method:

To prepare the pesto:

Wash the parsley or coriander and dry gently with kitchen paper towel. Heat a non-stick frying pan and dry-fry the walnuts until lightly toasted. Transfer them to a small food processor with the garlic, salt and parsley or coriander. Pulse a few times before adding the cheese and olive oil. Blitz again to blend.

Heat the olive oil in a wok or large frying pan and add the chicken strips in one layer. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the strips are browned, then turn over and cook for a further minute or two.

Add the crème fraiche to the pan with 45ml pesto and simmer for 5 minutes. Add another 30ml of pesto, mix and serve.

Tomato and Basil Croquettes

Croquettes make a simple vegetable dish look special. Try these flavoursome croquettes with oozing mozzarella and rocket pesto vinaigrette.

Ingredients:

For the pesto:

10 sun-blushed tomato pieces, roughly chopped

50g rocket leaves, plus extra to garnish

15 ml pine nuts

½ garlic clove

3 piquillo peppers, roughly chopped (bottled peppers available from some supermarkets)

15ml grated Parmesan

85ml olive oil

60ml Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar

For the croquettes:

vegetable oil, for deep fat frying

500g potatoes, peeled and cut into large dice

110g Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

15ml red pesto (from recipe above)

10 sun-blushed tomato pieces, roughly chopped

10 basil leaves, roughly chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper

50g plain flour plus up to 2 tbsp extra (if too dry)

1 small ball fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small pieces

110g breadcrumbs

2 free-range eggs, beaten

Method:

For the pesto, place all the pesto ingredients, except the Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar, into a food processor and blend to a fine purée. Set aside.

For the croquettes, preheat the oven to 160C.

Preheat the oil in a deep fat fryer to 160C. (CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended.)

Place the potatoes into a saucepan of salted water and bring to the boil. Cook for 12-18 minutes, or until tender, then drain and return to the pan.

Place the pan of potatoes back over the heat until all the moisture has evaporated. Mash with a potato masher or ricer until smooth.

Add the Parmesan cheese, one tablespoon of the red pesto, and all the sun-blushed tomatoes and basil to the mash and mix well. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. (Add a little flour if the mixture is too wet to form into shapes with your hands.)

Divide the mixture into 12 equal-sized pieces and shape into cylinder croquettes, using your hands. Push a small piece of mozzarella into the centre of each croquette, closing up the potato to completely cover the mozzarella.

Place the remaining flour and the breadcrumbs onto two separate plates. Place the eggs in a bowl. Dredge the croquettes in the flour, then dip them into the beaten eggs and finally roll them in the breadcrumbs, to cover, retaining the shape.

Carefully lower a few croquettes at a time into the preheated deep fat fryer and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until golden-brown and crisp.

Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Transfer the croquettes to a roasting tray and place in the preheated oven to keep warm.

To serve, add the Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar to the remaining pesto and place a spoonful onto each of four plates. Place three croquettes on top of each dollop of pesto and garnish with rocket.

Beef and Bean Cobbler

I love making cobbler as it's an all in one dish and so easy to prepare.

There might be lots of chopping, but once that is done,

it all comes together so quickly.

The name comes from the topping,

which looks like a cobbled street when cooked.

As this is a winter warmer

and herbs are not as easily obtainable in the winter months,

I make a sneaky substitution for herbs by using pesto.

Even though pesto also contains nuts and cheese,

it just adds extra flavour to the dish.

The pesto I use for this dish is a basil and pinenut green pesto,

but you could use a coriander pesto or my red pepper pesto previously shared.

The slow cooking is so necessary for this dish as it breaks the vegetables down to the most amazing sauce.

Give it a try.

Ingredients:
For the Stew:
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
1/2 a leek, sliced. (use the middle of the leek with white and green for great flavour)
1 large parsnip, cut in small cubes.
1 large carrot, cut into cubes or thin slices
2 inches root ginger, grated
30ml green basil pesto 500ml stewing beef, cut into 1 inch cubes

50ml flour
10ml steak and chop seasoning
5ml paprika
2 large potatoes, cut into 8ths
1 tin cannellini beans
500ml beef stock
30ml soy sauce

For the Cobbler:
1 cup flour
10ml baking powder
30g butter
1 egg
50g Lancashire cheese, crumbled
50-60 ml milk
pinch of salt

Method:
Preheat the oven to 150C

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In a large frying pan over a low heat, sweat the onions, garlic, celery and leek for about 15 minutes until the vegetables are translucent, but not coloured. Add the parsnips, carrots, ginger and pest and stew gently for another five minutes.

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Put the flour, seasoning and paprika into a plastic bag, shake up to mix and add the beef cubes. Shake up to coat the beef cubes well. In a large ovenproof saucepan, brown the beef over a medium to high heat until all the meat is sealed. Add the sweated vegetables, potatoes, drained beans, stock and soy sauce and mix well. Cover and bring to the boil.

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Transfer to the oven with a lid on the pan and cook for 2-3 hours until the meat is tender and the vegetable mixture is well broken down to a rich gravy. If it has become a bit dry, you can add a little water at this stage to reconstitute the gravy.

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Remove from the oven and prepare the topping. Turn the oven up to 180C.

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When the meat is ready, make the topping. Put the flour, baking powder, butter, egg, cheese and salt in a blender and pulse to a dough, adding enough milk to make the dough pliable, not too stiff or too sticky. Roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut out rounds with a scone cutter. Place these rounds on the top of the stew in the saucepan, one in the middle and the others around the edge, until the meat is covered. There may be gaps between the rounds - that's alright as the dough will swell on cooking. Return to the oven and cook for another 20-30 minutes until the topping is puffed up and browned on top.

Red Pepper Pesto

This flavourful sauce is wonderful with pasta, in soups and stews,

on pizza, toasted sarmies or finger food pastries,

or even serve it as a dipping sauce with chicken gudgeons,

fish sticks or strips of char grilled steak.

I like to use the long pointed Italian peppers,

which have the most amazing flavour with a little heat,

but not too much.

If you prefer, you can use green peppers

or a selection of colours to vary the colour of the sauce,

but red always has such a fabulous look in a dish.

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Ingredients:
6 red peppers
60ml extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves crushed
10ml paprika
60ml toasted almonds or pine nuts
60ml fresh coriander, chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

Rinse the peppers and pat dry. Place them on a baking tray and roast at 240C for about 15-20 minutes until the skins are black and blistered. Remove from the oven and put in a plastic bag, or a bowl covered in cling film to sweat. This will make removing the skins much easier. Set aside to cool for about 20 minutes.

While the peppers are roasting, heat the oil in a small pan and sizzle the garlic and paprika for a few seconds. This helps bring out their flavour. Place this mixture in a food processor or blender.

When the peppers have cooled, remove the skins and seeds from the peppers, saving the juices if you can. Place the flesh and any reserved juices in the food processor or blender with the garlic and paprika mixture. Add the almonds and coriander. Season with salt and pepper and purée until smooth.

This pesto will keep in a covered container in the fridge for about a week.