Baked Courgettes

Courgettes make a delicious accompaniment to any main meal.

When baked with cheese and herbs they compliment any meat or chicken dish.

Ingredients:

2 medium courgettes

2 garlic cloves

5ml sea salt

30ml olive oil

5ml butter

30ml grated parmesan cheese

10-15ml fresh thyme leaves

Freshly ground black pepper to season

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Chop the garlic and mash together with the sea salt to form a paste. Mix with the oil and butter.

Cut the courgettes in half lengthwise and place on a baking tray. Spread with the garlic paste and sprinkle with the grated parmesan cheese and thyme leaves. Season with freshly ground black pepper and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the courgettes are soft and browned on top.

Lardy Cake

This bread was originally made throughout many counties of England when celebrating the harvest. I know it’s Spring, not harvest time, but I remember my Granny and my Aunt making this for the Harvest Festival Fete at the end of August, which is Spring in Southern Africa, so now I’m confused.

I can, and will, eat this special rich fruit bread any time of the year.

Today some bakers use butter or margarine, but you don’t get the same flavour if lard or dripping isn’t used.

Ingredients:

20g fresh yeast

300ml tepid water

25ml caster sugar

450g white bread flour

5ml salt

15ml vegetable oil

For the Filling:

75g lard or dripping

75g soft brown sugar

5ml mixed spice

100g sultanas and currants mixed

25g mixed chopped peel

Melted butter for brushing

20-30ml caster sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C. Grease a 25 x 20cm shallow roasting tin.

In a glass bowl, cream together the yeast with half of the water, then blend in the remaining water. Leave in a warm place until frothy.

Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and blend in the sugar. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the oil, followed by the yeast mixture. Mix with the fingers to a soft dough. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled glass bowl, cover with a cloth and put in a warm place for about an hour to rise until double in size.

Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knock back. Knead for 2-3 minutes.

Roll out to a rectangle about ½ inch thick.

Using half the lard for the filling, cover the top two-thirds of the dough with flakes of lard. Sprinkle over half the sugar, half the dried fruit and peel and half the mixed spice. Fold the bottom third up and the top third down over that, sealing the edges with the rolling pin.

Turn the dough by 90 degrees and repeat the rolling out the rectangle again. Cover with the remaining sugar, fruit, peel and spice. Fold, seal and turn as before, roll to a rectangle again to fit the baking tin.

Place the dough in greased roasting tin. Press down so that the dough fills the corners. Cover with a cloth and put in a warm place for 30-45 minutes to rise until doubled in size.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with caster sugar.

Score the top with a criss-cross pattern using a sharp knife.

Bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes until golden.

Cool on a wire rack before serving sliced and buttered.

Double Meatloaf

Meat loaf was always a regular weeknight meal in our house when I was growing up, so I made it a regular for my own little family as well. It makes a marvellous and economical meal to satisfy not only the children, but the hungry man of the house as well on his return from a hard days graft. The addition of cheese may appear odd, but believe me, it makes all the difference. You can use any strong cheese, but I find Parmesan has such a wonderful flavour.

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Ingredients:

2 slices of white bread

250g beef mince

4 pork sausages, skins removed

1 large red onion, chopped

50ml tomato sauce or ketchup

1 egg

5ml Dijon mustard

15ml Worcestershire sauce

70g Parmesan cheese, grated

5ml dried oregano

15ml fresh parsley, chopped

15ml milk

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to season

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Place the bread in a food processor and pulse to crumbs.

Place the remaining ingredients into a large bowl. Knead and massage together to blend. Mix in the breadcrumbs and continue to knead until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball. Flatten the ball into a round oven proof dish and bake for 50-60 minutes.

Insert a skewer into the centre of the loaf to test if the meatloaf in done. When done, the skewer should come out clean.

Oriental Oxtail

Warm spices, soy sauce and a hint of orange add fragrance and flavour to slow-cooked oxtail.

Ingredients:

2-2.5 kg oxtail pieces

50ml flour

5ml “Steak and Chop Seasoning”

500ml tomato juice

500ml beef stock, or 2 beef stock cubes and 500ml boiling water

15ml muscovardo sugar

30ml white wine vinegar

80-90ml soy sauce

4 whole star anise

4 dried chillies

3-4 inches of ginger, thinly sliced

Zest and juice of 1 orange

1 head of garlic, cloves peeled, trimmed and halved

3-4 sprigs of Thai Basil, roughly chopped

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning

Method:

Preheat the oven to 220C. Season the oxtails by shaking with flour and seasoning in a plastic bag to coat all the pieces. Place in a single layer in a lidded casserole dish, making sure all the pieces are separate from one another. Roast for 30 minutes until well browned.

In a mixing bowl, combine the tomato juice, stock, sugar, vinegar and soy sauce with 500ml water. Scatter in the star anise, chillies, sliced ginger, garlic cloves and orange juice and zest. Pour the spiced liquid over the browned meat.

Cover with a cartouche of baking paper to stop any exposed meat from drying out. Top with the casserole lid. Turn the oven temperature down to 180C and cook for 2½ hours. Check the meat from time to time, turning the pieces over to ensure even cooking. When the meat is beginning to look tender, add the chopped basil and stir through the sauce. If the sauce is a little thick, add a dash more boiling water until a suitable consistency is achieved. Check the seasoning and add further sea salt and freshly ground black pepper if required. Return to the oven and cook for a further 10-15 minutes to complete the cooking and blend the flavours of the basil and adjusted sauce. The oxtail is ready when the meat is very tender and coming away from the bones.

Clementine Cake

This delightful concoction can also be made

with equal weights of oranges, lemons or limes,

but then you might want to increase the sugar content slightly.

Serve as a desert or for afternoon tea.

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Ingredients:
4-5 clementines - total weight about 450g
6 eggs
280ml sugar
500ml ground almonds
50ml flour
7.5ml baking powder
icing sugar to dust on the top after cooking

Method:
Put the clementines in a pot with cold water to cover and bring to the boil. Cook for 2 hours. Drain and allow to cool. When cool. cut each clementine in half and remove the seeds. Finely chop the skins, pith and fruit in a food processor.
Preheat the oven to 190C. Butter and line an 8 inch round cake tin with baking paper.
Beat the eggs. Add the sugar, almonds, flour and baking powder. Mix well, adding the chopped clementines a little at a time in about 3 portions to give a pourable batter.
Pour the cake mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 1 hour. You may have to cover the cake with foil after about 40 minutes so that the top does not become too brown. Check that the cake is done by inserting a skewer in the centre. The cake is done if the skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. When the cake is cool, remove it from the tin. Serve dusted with icing sugar cut into 12 wedges.

Lemon Polenta Cake

This wonderful lemony concoction has an Italian-Spanish flavour to it

as it is made with polenta and almonds.

The combination of these two ingredients, which replace the use of flour,

give a desirable moistness to the cake that you don't get with flour.

Imagine what lemon curd tastes like in a cake...

This is the manifestation of your imagining.

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Ingredients:

For the cake:

200g soft unsalted butter, plus some for greasing

200g caster sugar

200g ground almonds

100g fine polenta or yellow cornmeal

7.5ml baking powder

3 eggs

zest of two lemons

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For the Syrup:

juice of 2 lemons

125g icing sugar

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Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C. Line the base of an 8 inch round cake tin with baking paper and grease its sides lightly with butter.

Beat the butter and sugar until pale and whipped.

Mix together the almonds, polenta and baking powder and beat a third of this into the butter and sugar mixture, followed by one egg. Add another third of the polenta mixture and then another egg. Repeat with the last of the polenta mixture and the last egg.

Finally, beat in the lemon zest and pour your mixture into your cake tin.

Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Test that the cake is done by inserting a skewer in the centre - it should come out clean if the cake is done. Another way to see if the cake is done is that the edges of the sponge will have shrunk from the sides of the tin slightly. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.

Meanwhile, make the syrup by boiling together the lemon juice and the icing sugar in a small saucepan. Once the sugar has dissolved, the syrup is ready. Prick the top of the cake all over with a skewer and pour the warm syrup over the cake. Leave it to cool before removing from the tin.

Orange Cake

This cake is best made at least a day ahead of serving.

It will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

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Ingredients:
2 oranges, diced (including peel), pips removed
115g butter, plus extra for greasing
115g sugar
2 eggs, beaten
15ml baking powder
175g semolina
icing sugar to dust

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Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a deep 8 inch round cake tin with butter.
Purée the diced oranges in a food processor and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.
Mix in the eggs.
Add the baking powder and semolina. Fold to combine, then fold the orange pulp through the mixture.
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake in the oven. After the first 10 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 170C and bake for a further 40 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown on top and a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin. Once the cake is cool, turn the cake out of the tin.
Serve the cake dusted with icing sugar. Makes 12 slices.