Aromatic Thai inspired fish cakes

Fish cakes have never conjured up much enthusiasm in me. I have always associated them with a seriously boring way of using up left over fish. But over the last decade or so I have seen some fabulous twists being made with the use of herbs spices and top quality fish, to create a main event rather than ‘leftovers surprise’.

I made the below recipe about 2 months ago and was really happy with the result. I then used the same guidelines with left over fish and the result was similarly satisfying, although I used allot more breadcrumbs to extend the mixture and felt it made them a little stodgy.

I told my mom about the recipe and she felt I had really gone into over kill with all the aromatics and pastes but I really do feel it makes something special of what can be a very ordinary dish.

Aromatic Thai inspired fish cakes

Makes about 20 small cakes

500g raw or cooked fish (I used a mixture of haddock, salmon and butterfish)

1 egg

1 Tbsp of flour

½ a cup of fine bread crumbs

¼ of a cup of fresh coriander and dill

1 Tbsp of tahini paste

2 Tbsp of cashew nut paste (peanut should be a good substitute)

1 tsp of thai green curry paste

1 tsp of salt

zest of ¼ of a lemon and juice of half a lemon

1 clove of garlic

1cm of ginger, peeled

Chilli to taste

1 cup of sesame seeds for coating

Combine all the ingredients, except for the sesame seeds, in a blender until smooth. Don’t over blend as a little texture is nice, but all ingredients should be well combined.

Form balls with the paste in your hand (wetting your hands a little helps) and roll them in the sesame seeds, then flatten them a little to form cakes. Allow these to rest in the fridge for an hour to set before shallow frying them in oil over medium heat until cooked through and crispy on the outsdie. I skipped this step and the cakes were still quite loose and tricky to work with.

I served the fish cakes with a dipping sauce of yoghurt and a spicy coriander chutney.

Super quick salmon, sour cream and sweetcorn jacket potato

My blog today has to be super quick too as I have an uber crazy day! I love baked potatoes but when I am in a hurry, I confess, I either par microwave and finish them in the oven, or if I’m really lazy (and it’s just for a quick fix meal) I do just microwave them.

Earlier this week I had a packet of smoked salmon the fridge which was beckoning me, but I was super rushed and didn’t feel like getting into a big cooking and cleaning mission, but I wanted a warm meal, so here is what I did. I poped the spuds in the microwave for about 8 minutes. While I chopped up the salmon, I added a bowl of frozen corn to the potatoes in the microwave about half way through to defrost and warm up. With a stick blender I blitzed up some sour cream and a wedge of feta with a heap of freeze dried dill. I assembled the spud by cutting it halfway through in a cross, squeezed it open, sprinkled in the sweet corn, spooned in loads of the sour cream sauce and topped that with salmon and some dill for garnish. Voila, a 10 minute, super delish meal.

The problem came in after I had finished taking the pictures of the first potato only to find my kitten, Penelope, sitting next the chopping board where the salmon had been, licking her lips contentedly. My dear, Phiwe, had to have her lunch sans salmon! A strict kitten discipline regime has now started in our house!

Mushroom hunting!

When I was child I was a painfully fussy eater! The list of foods I wouldn’t eat was endless. I pray to God that I will not be cursed with a child like I was someday. Mushrooms were pretty high up on the gag list for me back then, however mushroom hunting was still an outing I relished. Ever since I can remember my mother used to take us out on bleak damp autumn days to search for edible forest mushrooms. She taught us which were dangerous, which were lethal, which weren’t worth bothering about and eventually narrowed down the mushrooms we were allowed to pick for eating to three kinds. They are easily recognisable and to those who enjoy mushrooms a seasonal delight, the taste of which is markedly improved by their scarcity and the adventure of the hunt!

Thanks be given to the gods, I now LOVE mushrooms and almost all the things on the list I wouldn’t eat as a child. Mushroom hunting has also become somewhat of a passion as the mystic and excitement of the season, the timing, the searching, the finding and the final cooking and eating takes us back to some primal sense of purpose. It is a truly exhilarating experience for me.

I say all of this with a hint of sadness and promise as I have been on two unsuccessful hunts this autumn already. I am putting it down to not enough rain this season but keep waiting and searching. I have a pine ring and porcini risotto which is waiting to be made!

Oh yes – the three kinds of mushrooms I search for are: Porcini; Pine-rings and Shaggy ink caps.

Porcini (Cep or Bletus Edulis) and Pine-ring (lactarius deliciosus) are found in pine forests (and porcini also around oak trees). They need a lot of rain, a cold spell and then a warm spell. They grow well under a thick layer of pine needles or oak leaves as the case may be. Having grown up in Stellenbsoch I was pretty clued up as to where to look. But this is the first season for me of hunting in the Cape Town area, and I am determined to find the hot spots here too!

The Ink Caps one usually finds growing on lawns. We used to have some which would grow outside our front door under the Bougainvillea every year! My mom found some the other day growing on the side of the road and some on her neighbour’s lawn.

I have pasted some images of porcini and pine rings which I found on the internet. Once I find the suckers in the flesh I will post my own pictures! The Ink cap picture is my own!

If you intend on doing any mushroom hunting, please make sure you buy a book to guide you or go with an experienced picker. There are many poisonous and a few deadly mushrooms!

Porcini Mushrooms

Pine-rings

Shaggy Ink Caps

Greek Pasta Salad a la Woolies

Last week a client asked me to teach her housekeeper how to make (amongst other things) a pasta salad like the woollies Greek pasta salad, as her kids are crazy about it. Never having eaten it before, I went to their online shopping service and found that a list of the ingredients used in the salad was listed. Naturally quantities were not included but it’s not really rocket science is it…?

So, with ingredients at hand, Wedson (the Malawian housekeeper… a man!), and I added then together and decided if it tasted right. It didn’t just taste right, it was damned delicious! Certainly not just a pasta salad for the kids. I enjoyed a big plate of it for lunch, quickly took some photos and resolved to tell you about it.

I had initially imagined a simple mayonnaise sauce poured over cold pasta, but it was Greek yogurt with honey, garlic, herbs and mustard, lots of seeded olives, baby rosa tomatoes, fresh oregano… mmm!

It would be great for a light lunch and perfect as a side to a braai.

Thank you Woolworths and Annette!

Greek Pasta Salad a la Woolies

Makes 6 good portions

250g Fusilli or penne pasta screws, cooked and drained with lots of cold water

½ a Cucumber, cut into slices and quartered

250g mini rosa tomatoes, quartered

200g Feta cheese, cut into small blocks

15 black olives, deseeded and cut into a few pieces (or more if you love olives)

½ a small onion, peeled, halved and cut into thin slices

For the dressing

1 cup of Greek yoghurt

2 Tbsp of Honey

2 Tbsp of Olive oil

1 ½ Tbsp of Lemon juice

1 Tbsp of Wholegrain mustard

1 tsp of Salt

1 large clove of Garlic, crushed

½ tsp of Black pepper

1 Tbsp of fresh (or dried) Oregano, chopped

Cook the pasta with lots of salt, drain it and set aside until cooled. Add to this the cucumber, rosa tomatoes, olives, onion and feta. Mix up the dressing ingredients and combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Destination pizza… Massimo’s Pizza Club

With at least three pizza joints for every kilometre squared, we are pretty spoiled for choice when it comes to this world wide food phenomenon. So it’s not often that people will find a good enough reason to travel very far for a pizza. I have however found a restaurant in Hout Bay where the pizza is 100% worth the drive out there. The pizza selection is different to any I have experienced before (and I’ve eaten a lot of pizza).

I was invited to join a twitter event there a few weeks ago, where we got to taste an extensive selection of pizza and salads and I was thoroughly impressed, already looking forward to visiting them again for a more relaxed and leisurely meal. So when Adam and I were discussing what to do for our anniversary this Sunday, Massimo’s was my first suggestion. We combined the excursion with a bit of mushroom hunting in the Hout Bay forest (with zero success sadly) and arrived at Massimo’s afterwards for a late lunch.

We were seated at a sublime table at a window overlooking a dreamy, hazy Hout Bay. There was sun flooding onto our table and I had a bird’s eye view into the pizza oven. Sadly my camera seems to have gone on the frizz, so the photos are not a patch on the real thing, but they are all I have… (very sad face).

It was a serious struggle to decide on what to order as everything sounds so intriguing and unlike your regular pizzeria fare. I eventually settled on a pizza with no tomato base, which seems to be one of their trademarks, with mozzarella, smoked cheese, garlic butter and pan fried mushrooms. It was a perfect balance of smoky, herby and savoury flavours. The pizza base is also just that bit different. They puff up a bit in places and cause one to get a combination of textures between chewy, crisp and slightly burned (but in a good way).

When you see the owner of the restaurant, Massimo (naturally), personally doing the baking and finishing touches to each pizza, you know that this is more than a restaurant, it is someone’s passion – and pizza made with passion just tastes better!

There is care and authenticity in every part of this restaurant. The staff seem genuinely to care about their guests and they seem excited to be working with Massimo and all he creates.

We ended our meal with an array of little delights from perfectly made espresso, a selection of homemade chocolate liquors served in chocolate cups (YUM!), grappa and these insane orange liquor infused sugar cubes which you light to caramelise them a little and pop into your mouth for a taste explosion.

What a fantastic way to celebrate our special day… we can’t wait to go back again! Next time we want to get a group together to do ‘the pizza feast’ where Massimo will make a selection of his most popular pizzas and feed you until can feed no more! Sounds like heaven!

Slow braised beef goulash, lentil and smoked paprika soup

Yes, I know I blogged about soup yesterday, but it’s really cold and wintry at the moment in Cape Town. I have in fact made four soups this week already and will be off training two more soups later today. So I’ve got soup on the brain.

The soup I made last night is however, more than just a soup, it’s a rich meaty manly hearty spicy soup. I really went a little crazy with the spices but it was just all happening and I couldn’t stop myself. The madness started with a visit to Komati foods… always a dangerous move. I wanted to buy some smoked paprika and tom yum paste and ended up with a shopping basket full of goodies. When I buy clothes I wear each item at the first opportunity I find, and the same thing kind of happened with the soup last night. But I think the end result was pretty worthwhile.

If however you decide to try this, you could probably cut the spice list down by half and still come up with a pretty awesome soup. But I will give you the recipe as I made it yesterday.

PS – I just ate another bowl (the one in the photo) for breakfast and it’s given me all European winter nostalgia, like getting my man ready for the hunt or something medieval like that.

Slow braised beef goulash and lentil soup

Makes about 4 litres

2 Tbsp of olive oil

3 medium onions, peeled and chopped

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

1 kg of beef goulash pieces

2 tins of chopped tomatoes

100ml of tomato paste

1 litre of strong beef stock

1 tsp of ground black pepper

1 ½ Tbsp of smoked paprika

20g of dried chanterelle mushrooms (porcini or shitake will be good too)

2 tsp of garam masala (optional)

1 tsp of mild curry powder

1 tsp of all spice

3 Tbsp Harissa paste

2 tsp Sumac powder (optional)

250g black lentils (green or brown will be fine too)

2 tsp of salt (or to taste)

Heat the oil in a large pot and add the onions and garlic frying them for a few minutes. Add the beef goulash and brown the meat for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and beef stock and bring to a simmer. Add all the remaining ingredients and leave on a very low simmer for 3 – 4 hours (or leave in a slow cooker for the whole day or over night).

If the meat is still chunky but tender mash it up a little by rubbing the chunks with the back of spoon against the side of the pot. Add water or stock if you need to thin the soup. Check the seasoning and serve with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt and crusty bread.

Express Chicken Soup

The comforting and healing properties of chicken soup are legendry. My mother told me that this stems from the mild antibiotic properties found in the skin of chicken. Most chicken soup recipes call for boiling a whole chicken for a long time extracting the chicken flavours into the broth and then flaking off the tender chicken meat into the broth afterwards. This is a fabulous way of doing chicken soup, but it takes a loooong time and is pretty fiddly. So if you’re not after the natural antibiotics in the skin and have time constraints then my version of chicken soup is a good one to go with, I think.

The basis of any great soup is usually a good stock or broth. Luckily we have reached a time in South Africa where we have access to (almost) world class insta stocks and fonds. Ina Paarman has a sachet stock which is good and Nomu has a range of fonds which are awe inspiring. If you are partial to making your own stock, this is the best way to start, but if you’re not don’t feel bad, Nomu’s fond range tastes better than most home made stocks I’ve tasted.

I like to add a few aromatics to the stock and then I simply toss in a packet of pre cut veggies (stir fry packs are best for this as they are very thinly sliced) and diced chicken breast. Viola, fresh and tasty home-made chicken soup!

Bellow is the recipe I made for dinner last night. But this soup would change every time I make it according to what veggies I have at home and what aromatics I feel like adding at the time. You truly can experiment here, don’t limit yourself to the below recipe, play a little!

Express Chicken Soup

Makes about 3 litres

1 Tbsp of olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and sliced

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

2 litres of chicken stock, (I used Ina Paarmans sachets – my PnP doesn’t stock Nomu fonds)

1 rib of celery, finely sliced

2 tsp of salt (or to taste)

½ tsp of pepper

½ tsp of mild curry

½ tsp of cumin

½ a cup of pink lentils

1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced

3cm of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

Thinly sliced lemon zest of half a small lemon

Juice of 1 small lemon

1 tin of coconut milk

½ a cup of fresh coriander and tarragon, washed and picked

600g Pillow pack of stir fry veggies

4 chicken breasts, diced

In a large heavy bottomed pot, gently fry the onion and garlic until tender. Add the chicken stock, celery, salt, spices, lentils, sweet potato, ginger, lemon zest and coconut milk. Allow this to simmer for 10 minutes. Check the seasoning and adjust where needed. Add the herbs, veggies and diced chicken and allow to simmer for a further 10 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked (do not overcook as the check will become though). Serve and enjoy. This will last for a few days in the fridge and will freeze well too.