Pea Pancakes with Smoked Trout

Ingredients:

400g whole smoked trout

125ml plain flour

125ml self-raising flour

1.25ml bicarbonate of soda

160ml buttermilk

80ml milk

125ml frozen baby peas, thawed and drained

15ml finely chopped fresh parsley

30ml finely chopped fresh chives

1 egg white

60ml low-fat sour cream

Pickled Cucumber:

2 short cucumbers

1 small red capsicum, chopped finely

60ml water

60ml sugar

125ml white vinegar

Method:

Remove any skin and bones from the fish and break into large pieces.

Sift flours and bicarb into a large bowl. Combine the buttermilk, milk, peas, parsley and half the chives in a jug and gradually whisk in whisk this into the flour mixture to form a batter.

Beat egg white in a small bowl with an electric beater until soft peaks form; fold the egg white into the batter. Pour 60ml of the batter for each flapjack into a large heated oiled non-stick frying pan. Cook the flapjacks in batches until browned on each side.

Combine the sour cream and remaining chives in a small bowl. Serve warm flapjacks topped with fish, pickled cucumber and sour cream mixture.

Pickled Cucumber:

Using a vegetable peeler, slice the cucumbers into ribbons. Combine the cucumber with the capsicum in a medium sized bowl. Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan and stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add vinegar to the syrup and pour hot syrup over the cucumber mixture. Cover and store in the fridge to cool.

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

1 medium cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

5-6 ice cubes

30ml white wine vinegar

90ml crème fraiche or sour cream

30ml chopped fresh mint

4-5 ripe tomatoes, sliced

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Place the cucumber in a bowl, sprinkle with a little salt and 15ml of the vinegar. Toss with the ice cubes. Chill for 1 hour to crisp, then rinse, drain and pat dry. Return to the bowl and add the cream, pepper and mint and stir to mix well. Keep chilled until required.

Arrange the tomato slices on a serving plate, sprinkle with the remaining vinegar and season with salt and black pepper. Spoon the chilled cucumber slices into the centre of the tomato slices just before serving.

Chicken and Avocado Salad

Ingredients:

2 skinless, cooked chicken breasts

1 ripe avocado

45ml lemon juice

2 spring onions

Salad greens

60ml toasted slivered almonds

Dressing:

30ml mayonnaise

30ml sour cream

15ml chilli sauce

10ml runny honey

Method:

Cut the chicken into strips. Peel and stone the avocado, cut into wedges and brush with lemon juice. Trim and finely slice the spring onions on the diagonal.

To make the dressing, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, chilli sauce and runny honey and toss with the chicken.

Serve the avocado over salad greens topped with the chicken and garnished with the slivered almonds.

Smoked Salmon Salad

Ingredients:

Mixed salad greens

200g smoked salmon

250ml sour cream

10ml wholegrain mustard

15ml chopped fresh dill

Freshly ground black pepper

125ml vinaigrette

Method:

Wash and dry the salad greens

Skin and flake the salmon and mix with the sour cream, mustard, dill and pepper.

Flood 4 serving plates with vinaigrette, top with mounds of the salmon mixture and garnish with salad greens. 

Radish and Sour Cream Salad

Ingredients:

24 medium radishes, thinly sliced

1 small red onion, cut into thin rings

300ml sour cream

15ml wine vinegar

5ml sugar

5ml salt

Black pepper

Method:

Place the vinegar, sugar, salt and a grinding of black pepper in a salad bowl and stir thoroughly. Beat in the sour cream, a few spoonsful at a time.

Fold in the radishes and onions. Add more salt and pepper if necessary.

Chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.

Coffeehouse Coffee Cake Muffins

Ingredients
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons butter, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease or line 12 muffin cups. Combine pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, set aside.

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar and salt. Just give it a little stir with your spoon or spatula.
Take 8 tablespoons of your butter, slice into small pieces and drop into flour. Using pastry blender, mix butter into the flour until butter is small and crumbly. It only takes a minute or two.

Remove 1 cup of flour mixture and add it to brown sugar mixture

Stir with a fork to blend and add in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, you can melt the butter or just soften it in the microwave (this is what I did) creating a nice crumb streusel topping. 

Remove 3/4 cup of streusel and set aside.

Add baking powder and baking soda to remaining flour mixture.

Combine egg, sour cream and vanilla till well blended and creamy. I did this in the 2 cup measuring cup I used to measure my sour cream. 

Add sour cream mixture to flour mixture and stir just till all combined and moist. Batter will look lumpy. 

Now add the 3/4 cup of streusel topping to your batter, just fold it in so it's evenly distributed.
Spoon batter evenly into muffin tins.

Now start topping with the streusel. You'll need to press the streusel into the batter a bit to keep it all in.

Place in oven and bake for 18-25 minutes. Start checking at 18 minutes by inserting a toothpick, the only thing that should be on the toothpick might me some of the crumb topping. Mine took about 22 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks.

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Mealie Bread

In South Africa, Corn or Maize is known as “mealies.” For many people they are part of their daily diet where they are ground to make Mielie Meal and then made into dishes like ‘Sadza’. Normally the mealies are left on the stalks in the field until the crop has dried out, before harvesting. However, to make mealie bread, the cobs are harvested when still young and green when the kernels are still moist. There are a number of recipes to make bread from Mealies that are not only delicious but really easy to make. I have gathered together four recipes, the first one uses corn off the cob, but the others use tinned sweetcorn.

Traditional Steamed Green Mealie Bread

To make this bread you need to use a slightly green mealie (at the hard dough stage). You will know if it is right, if you take a kernel and press it and some liquid should come out, but most of the starchy kernel should remain between fingers.

Ingredients:

750 ml Fresh green mealies, cut off the cob

75 ml flour

25 ml sugar

10 ml baking powder or sachet yeast

5 ml salt

30 ml butter

Method:

Cut the kernels off cob and then rub the cob with the back of a knife to remove remaining portions of kernels.

Mash/mince these green mealies.

Mix together all the ingredients.

Moisten a cotton cloth and sprinkle with a light coat of flour and then put in a colander.

Pour mixture into cloth and bind tightly, but allow space for bread to rise.

If using yeast, use buttered tins and allow mixture to stand till bubbling and started rising. Cover tightly and steam for 2 – 2.5 hours.

Serve hot from the pan with butter – and a dusting of pepper

Cheesy Mealie Bread

Cheesy Mealie Bread

Ingredients:

480 g cake flour

20ml baking powder

pinch of salt

50 ml sugar

30 ml cooking oil

2 eggs, beaten

200 ml milk

1 x 410g can cream style sweetcorn or fresh baked corn

100 g strong cheese , grated

a little grated onion

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Mix the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl

Beat together with oil, eggs and milk and add to the flour mixture

Add the rest of the ingredients, mix thoroughly and place in well-greased circular pot

Sprinkle a little cheese, onion and parsley on the top

Bake for about an hour (this may vary depending on your oven)

Sour Cream Mealie Bread

This is a sumptuous mealie bread that’s great for a special occasion. Make it basic or sizzling with hot chilli and serve with lashings of butter. Instead of frozen or tinned whole kernels, you could use fresh green mealies, cut from the cob if they are available. Yum yum yum!

Ingredients:

250ml mealie meal, corn meal or polenta

250ml cake flour

5ml baking powder

2.5ml bicarbonate of soda

5ml salt

15ml sugar

125ml cream style sweetcorn

125ml frozen sweetcorn, or tinned whole kernel sweetcorn, drained

125ml sour cream

200ml milk

2 eggs

30ml vegetable oil

1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped (optional)

30ml extra mealie meal

Oil to coat the pan

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix together the cream style sweetcorn, frozen sweetcorn, sour cream, milk, eggs and vegetable oil. Add this liquid mixture to the dry ingredients along with the chopped chilli (optional). Mix gently just until the ingredients are all moistened.

Oil an 8 inch loose base cake tin and coat with 30ml mealie meal. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the pan comes out clean.

Cool slightly in the pan before transferring to a serving plate and cutting into wedges.

Lay-Z Mealie Bread

This is one of my favourite South African recipes and the best bit is that it is so easy.

Ingredients:

2 cups basic bread ready-mix

1 cup creamed corn (Usually found tinned)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup whole milk

2 ounces butter, melted

Method: Place the biscuit mix, creamed corn, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the egg and milk, and stir just until combined. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9″ baking pan. Place the mealie mixture into the pan, and coat with the melted butter. Bake for 20 minutes. Easypeasy!