Potato Cake Fun In The Kitchen With The Kids .....

My husband can't really cook but can, on occasion, throw together a decent breakfast of bacon, eggs, sausages etc - or the odd steak (either inside on the stove, or outside on the barbecue). So when he suddenly gets inspired 'to cook' I am always cautiously optimistic ;)

The other Sunday he was 'inspired' to make potato cakes .... and before I could so much as open a recipe book for him, he had aprons on both the kids, chairs out (so that they could reach the kitchen counter) and was ready to start .......... (as pictured above)

My kitchen usually looks like a bomb has hit it after hubby and the kids have been doing 'inspiring' cooking in there - but I took a deep breath and just let them get on with it !

Here's what the potato cakes looked like in the pan -: ('eh ? What's that I can see ? A pea ? The recipe never said anything about peas !)

And .... tra la ..... here is the finished greasy product -:


If you'd like to try making these yourself (pint sized assistant's & peas optional), here's the recipe -:

Potato Cakes

4 large Potatoes, peeled
1 Onion, finely chopped
4 cloves Garlic, finely grated
1 Egg, beaten
2 to 4 tablespoons Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
Ground black Pepper
Oil for shallow frying

Briefly par boil the whole, peeled potatoes until just beginning to get tender. Allow to cool slightly, before grating into a bowl along with the onion & garlic. Squeeze any excess liquid out and then add the beaten egg, flour (add 2 tablespoons to begin with & more if necessary – it should have a thick consistency), salt & pepper. Drop tablespoons of the batter into hot oil – once it begins to set, flatten slightly with the back of a spoon before turning over to brown on the other side. They should be cooked within about 10 minutes or so. Serve immediately.

(Husband Pleasing) Smashed Potatoes

The potatoes are par boiled & then flattened (rather messily !) before seasoning & baking in a hot oven

This is what they look like when they're done - (I usually make some with Chilli powder and leave some - for the kids - without)

My husband *adores* potatoes and will eat them in any way, shape or form. Over the years, I've learnt how to cook them in all sorts of different ways. With apologies to all you potato loving people out there, I'm a pasta girl at heart, and really don't enjoy the taste of potatoes much (not even chips/french fries/baked with delicious fillings etc) - to me they have a thick, muddy taste - egh ! I will always chose pasta/rice/nothing over potato. Anyway, enough of my food fancies .... this is an easy dish which my husband just LOVES .... it is always a winner and is quick and easy to make .... sort of like a cross between a baked potato and a (healthier version of a) roast potato -:

(Husband Pleasing) Smashed Potatoes:

4 - 6 large Potatoes, scrubbed clean & with skins still on
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Seasonings (whatever takes your fancy - Chilli Powder, Garlic Flakes etc)

Par boil the potatoes until tender. Remove from the stove & place onto a lightly greased baking tray. Take a rolling pin or potato masher, and squash the potatoes slightly (see first photo) - they will break up & will look very messy, but don't worry ! Pour a little olive oil over them, and sprinkle with seasonings of your choice. Bake at Gas Mark 6/200'C/400'F for around 45 minutes until done. They should be all crispy & golden around the edges.

Crunchy Rosemary Hassleback (or 'Fantail') Potatoes

Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside - these Hassleback Potatoes are always a hit !

Hassleback potatoes (also sometimes called ‘Fantail’ Potatoes due to their pretty fanned shape once cooked) are Swedish in origin and apparently named after the ‘Hasselbacken Restaurant’ in Stockholm where they were first served. (Okay, so they’re not a typical African side dish but I thought I’d put the recipe on the blog anyway as they are always a hit and are well worth trying !)

For a little bit of heat, you could use fresh garlic and chilli in place of the rosemary

There are many ways to prepare these tasty potatoes – the recipe below is how I make mine. They are fairly easy to do, (the ‘hardest’ part is probably slicing them neatly) and also make an impressive dinner party side dish (minimum work for maximum impact !)

Some recipes call for you to par boil the potatoes until just tender before slicing & baking them, but I prefer not to as I find them easier to cut raw – so really, it’s up to you -:

Crunchy Rosemary Hassleback (or ‘Fantail’) Potatoes

8 Potatoes, medium sized (I use red Potatoes)
Salt & freshly ground Black Pepper
2 tbsp fresh Rosemary, finely chopped (or any herb of your choice. Garlic and/or Chilli Powder also works well)
Olive Oil

Wash the potatoes & insert a skewer (lengthways) through the base of the potato to prevent you from cutting all the way through the potato. Now slice the potato widthways at around 5mm intervals (see photo above). You only need to slice about ¾’s of the way through the potato – which is where the skewer comes in handy, as it prevents you from slicing right through. (You don’t have to use a skewer, but it does help). Repeat with remaining potatoes, then place them on a baking tray/sheet and season with salt, pepper & the finely chopped fresh rosemary. Pour a little olive oil over the surface of each potato and bake at Gas Mark 7 for about an hour. Once done, the potatoes will be crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Garnish with a little more rosemary before serving, if desired.

Couscous Salad with Thyme Roasted Onion & Tomato

Served warm, this couscous salad made a filling & tasty lunch

I’ve had a box of couscous sitting on my pantry shelf for ages now, and I decided last week that it was time to use it – so I came up with an easy couscous salad recipe, which can be served either warm or cold.

This salad is so filling that it’s almost a meal in itself, thanks to the addition of the couscous, which is a low fat carbohydrate made from semolina wheat commonly used in North African cooking. I usually serve couscous as a side dish (it goes well with stews and casseroles), so this made a nice change -:


Couscous Salad with Thyme Roasted Onion & Tomato

5 large ripe Tomatoes, cut into quarters
3 – 5 red Onions, cut into quarters
2 cloves Garlic, sliced
Small bunch of fresh Thyme, washed
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

2 cups cooked Couscous (prepared according to package instructions – I use the ‘instant’ kind)

Place the cut tomatoes and onions into a baking tray. Sprinkle the garlic & thyme over, then pour a little olive oil over everything, season with salt and pepper and toss to mix everything together well. Cook at Gas Mark 7/220’C/425’F for about 40 minutes, turning the tomatoes and onions over a couple of times during the cooking process. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly, before adding to the cooked couscous. Mix everything together to blend, taste and add more seasoning if necessary and serve.

Fresh Tanzanian Maize Cobs

Maize, Corn, Mielies or whatever you like to call them in your part of the world, I'm sure that everyone agrees - they're delicious ! Maize is also one of our staple foods here in Tanzania and indeed, in most of Africa. When I lived in South Africa I remember the maize cobs being a deep yellow colour - here in Tanzania they are a pale creamy colour instead.

One of the most simple and filling things to cook, maize cobs simply need to be thrown into a pot of rapidly boiling water (salted or unsalted - the choice is yours) and cooked for anything between 5 and 10 minutes - depending on the type of maize and on how tender you like eating it !

My favourite way to eat maize is hot with salt and butter - but there are many other yummy and slightly different ways of eating it -: (methods below taken from 'Femina' magazine 'Food Notes' of March 2010)

The Mexican Way - Braai (barbecue), spread with thick sour cream & roll in fresh chilli & cheese - a hard goat's cheese or Parmesan is perfect. If you like, add a good squeeze of fresh lime.

Braised - Soften chopped onion & red pepper in olive oil. Add crushed garlic, ground coriander, cumin & chilli. Pour in some stock, add the cut corn and cook briefly until just tender. Season & sprinkle with fresh coriander leaves. It makes a great side dish to grilled chicken or lamb.

Marinated - Immerse cooked chunks in a mix of olive oil, red wine vinegar, crushed garlic, chopped parsley & seasoning to taste.

So - tell me, how do you enjoy eating yours ?!

Barbecued Vegetable Kebabs in a Garlic & Lemon Marinade

These Vegetable Kebabs taste great cooked over the flames of a barbecue - but you could just as easily cook them inside under the grill

Whenever we have a barbecue (which is usually at home on a Sunday !) I always do a few vegetable kebabs as they are a great side dish to serve to accompany all that meat (which is typically in excess on an African barbecue – at times I have even been to barbecues which are 100% meat with no side dishes whatsoever – except for the odd bread roll, perhaps !)

You can use whatever veggies you have in your house to make these. I usually try and choose veggies that take similar times to cook, and always include onion.

The marinade is versatile, too – you could flavour it with any type of fresh or dried herbs, too. Or, you could forgo the herbs and add some paprika or chilli powder for an extra bit of heat. You could also use sesame oil in place of the olive oil, and add a little soy sauce and Chinese Five Spice to it for an oriental flavour. The possibilities are endless, and you can just use my recipe (which makes 4 kebabs) as a guide.

These kebabs could also be cooked inside, under the grill -:


Barbecued Vegetable Kebabs in a Garlic & Lemon Marinade

1 large Baby Marrow (a.k.a. Courgette, a.k.a. Zucchini), sliced into rings
1 large Carrots, sliced into rings
¼ head Broccoli, broken into small florets
1 firm Tomato, sliced in to 8 wedges
1 Red Onion, sliced in to 7 wedges

4 wooden skewers, soaked in water before use (this prevents them from burning on the barbecue)

Marinade :
1 – 2 tbsps (i.e. to taste) finely crushed Garlic
2 tbsp freshly squeezed Lemon juice
3 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt & freshly cracked black Pepper – to taste

Thread the sliced baby marrows, carrots, broccoli, tomato and onion on to the wooden skewers. Place in a glass dish and set aside. In a separate bowl, whisk together the crushed garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Using a pastry brush, baste the kebabs with this marinade on both sides. Pour any remaining marinade over the kebabs, cover and allow to rest for a few hours at room temperature - or overnight in the fridge. Cook on a barbecue grid over hot flames, turning every so often to prevent burning, until done.

Mustard Glazed Potatoes

These Mustard Glazed Potatoes make a great side dish served warm with a main meal, or cold with a light lunch

I saw this ‘recipe’ on a TV cooking show several years ago. I think it was one of Jamie Oliver’s, but can’t be sure now.

Anyway, I have been making it ever since & have changed the original recipe as I’ve gone along – depending on what ingredients I have in my kitchen – and have increased/decreased ingredients according to taste. My husband’s taste, that is – as most of you will know that I am not a great fan of potatoes and don’t enjoy eating them (in any form !) very much …. :(

I usually serve this as a hot side dish but it can also be served cold with lunch the following day. Add a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise to the cold version, and it also makes a quick and easy potato salad !


Mustard Glazed Potatoes

500 gm boiled potatoes, chopped into halves (or quarters – depending on size of potato)
Salt & freshly ground Black Pepper to taste
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 heaped tbsp Wholegrain Mustard
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Parsley, finely chopped

Boil and drain the potatoes and place into a bowl. Season to taste with the salt & pepper. In a separate bowl, whisk the lemon juice, mustard & oil together. Pour over the warm potatoes and toss to coat. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve.

Oven Baked Carrots In Sherry & Honey

This really is a delicious way to cook & serve carrots - especially if you are entertaining & want to do something a little special

Here is another recipe from Lynn Bedford Hall’s delightful cookbook “More Food With Flair”. (I have already done a post on the book & her Spicy Chicken Casserole recipe over here if you’d like to read it.) This smells lovely when cooking & fills the house with a smell which screams “Dinner Party” !

These oven baked carrots are simply delicious with their sweet sherry flavours & are ideal to serve as a side dish at a dinner party or special occasion meal. In fact, as Lynn points out in her book, they go really well with the Spicy Chicken Casserole mentioned above, especially since both dishes can be cooked in the oven at the same time, at the same temperature -:


Oven Baked Carrots in Sherry (from “More Food With Flair” by Lynn Bedford Hall)

6 young Carrots, topped & tailed sliced into strips (around 200 gm’s)
25 ml Butter
50 ml Sherry
12,5 ml Honey
2 ml Salt
Parsley, chopped (to taste)

Place the carrots in an ovenproof dish big enough to fit them all as a single layer. Dot the butter over them, and then pour over the sherry, honey, salt & parsley which have all been mixed together. Bake, covered, at 160’C/325’F/Gas Mark 3 for around 1 hour & 10 minutes until done.

Sweetcorn Fritters

I prefer to bake, rather than fry, these sweetcorn fritters - but either way, they're very tasty !

Living on a farm & being so far away from shops, I always have lots of tinned goods in my pantry and have come up with many recipes over the years which use tinned products as main ingredients – especially things like tinned beans, chickpeas and sweetcorn.

Here is an easy recipe for sweetcorn fritters which I typically bake instead of fry, to lower the fat content a little (but Ssshhhhh …… don’t tell my husband !)

These are great served as a light lunch with salad and bread rolls, and I also sometimes serve them as a vegetable side dish accompanying our main evening meal.

Adding the cayenne pepper is optional (I choose to leave it out so that it’s more child friendly !) and if you’re feeling particularly decadent, you can add ½ cup grated Cheddar Cheese to the batter for cheesy sweetcorn fritters !

These fritters are lovely served with some chutney or sweet chilli sauce on the side -:


Sweetcorn Fritters

1 ½ cups Sweetcorn, drained (a 272 gm drained weight tin)
1 cup Flour
¼ cup Milk
1 Egg, beaten
1 tsp Baking Powder
pinch of Salt
½ tsp Cayenne Pepper (optional) and / or
½ cup grated Cheddar Cheese (optional)
Oil for frying

Mix all the ingredients together until you have a batter with quite a sloppy consistency. Drop teaspoonfuls into hot oil & fry on both sides until golden. I prefer to bake my fritters instead – simply drop teaspoonfuls of the batter onto a baking sheet which has been sprayed with non-stick spray, & then lightly spray the tops of the fritters too, before baking at 190’C/375’F/Gas Mark 5 for around 30 - 40 minutes until done, turning once during the cooking time.

Mustard Glazed Carrots

These mustard glazed carrots go really well with roast chicken

This is a quick and simple recipe for jazzing up your standard boiled carrots. (Carrots and broccoli are my 2 most favourite vegetables, & I never tire of eating them or finding new ways to prepare them !) This recipe goes especially well when served with something like a roast chicken.

I had scribbled this recipe down in the back of a 2008 diary (I always carry a small pocket diary around with me in my handbag) – no doubt copied out of a magazine or similar. The original recipe calls for baby carrots, but as we can’t get them easily here, I opt to use whole, sliced carrots instead -:

Mustard Glazed Carrots

3 cups Carrots, sliced & cooked (alternatively, you can use baby carrots)
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Grape Vinegar
pinch of Sugar
1 – 2 tsp prepared Mustard (Dijon works well)
2 tbsp fresh Parsley, chopped
Salt (to taste)

Place the cooked (drained) carrots in a glass serving dish. Whisk the remaining ingredients together, pour over the carrots and mix to blend. Serve hot.

Homemade Oven Chips

The par-boiled chips (above) just about to be put into the oven

The finished product - they taste delicious & best of all, are guilt free !

These are so easy to make that they’re not really a recipe at all !

They are a much healthier option than deep fried chips (French Fries) & healthier than the frozen “oven chips” you buy in the shops - well, most of the brands which I’ve seen contain oil & preservatives so although lower in fat than traditional deep fried chips, they are still not as healthy as making your own.

I use salt, garlic flakes and cayenne pepper to season my chips – but you could use any combination of seasonings.

The only ‘drawback’ is that these chips can come out a little drier than traditionally deep fried chips, but they are just as tasty and still manage to turn crispy & a nice, golden brown colour - even without all the oil -:


Oven Chips

Potatoes (I usually use about 4-5 )
Salt
Garlic Flakes
Cayenne Pepper (or Paprika)
Non-Stick pan spray

Peel & slice the potatoes into chip shapes. Par boil for around 10 minutes until just soft (you can add salt to the cooking water if you like). Drain in a colander to remove all excess water. Shake them around in the colander so that the edges become a little rough (this helps to make a crispier chip !)

Place on a baking sheet. Spray all over with non-stick pan spray (I use a butter flavoured spray which I buy in the UK, but any type is fine) and season with the salt, garlic flakes & cayenne pepper (all to taste). Toss to coat & then repeat.

Place in a pre heated oven at 230’C/450’F/Gas Mark 8, turning frequently – they should take around 45 minutes to turn crispy & golden in colour. (They will stay a pale uncooked colour for ages & then suddenly turn crispy & golden - you just have to be patient !)

Serve immediately.

Fresh Asparagus with a Mustard Sauce

Rinse the asparagus well, & simply snap the lower white woody sections of the stems off before cooking - as these parts are usually tough & tasteless !

The asparagus turns a gorgeous green colour once cooked, & goes beautifully with a Mustard Sauce

I adore fresh asparagus, even though we rarely get it here. When I do see it on our shelves though, I snap it up – you really can’t compare it to the tinned stuff !

Don’t be daunted by the thought of cooking fresh asparagus, it’s as easy as cooking any other vegetable (I do not bother with things like tying it with string, cooking it upright in a pot etc & it still turns out just fine !)

I like eating my fresh asparagus just like that – as fresh as possible. Quickly boiled, & served with a nice sauce (& sometimes even a poached egg on the side -for a light yet filling lunch).

Below is a recipe for an easy mustard sauce which I came up with one day. Another great way to serve it is with plain lemon juice, and/or butter or even a Hollandaise sauce. But this quick mustard sauce is much simpler !


Fresh Asparagus with a Mustard Sauce

Bunch of Asparagus, washed & bottom part of stems removed
2 tbsp Flour
5 tsp Mustard (or to taste)
pinch of Salt
¾ tsp Mustard Seeds (if not using Wholegrain Mustard)
1 ¼ cups Milk

Wash the asparagus spears and snap off the bottom parts of the stems (these are usually a pale green/white colour), as these tend to be quite woody & tough to eat. Place in a saucepan in rapidly boiling water, reduce to a fast simmer and boil for +- 15 minutes, uncovered, until the asparagus is tender. (I do not add salt to my water, but you can if you wish).

Meanwhile, mix the flour, mustard, salt, mustard seeds & a bit of the milk (a tablespoon or two) together in a small saucepan to make a smooth paste. Bring the remainder of the milk to the boil & once boiled, pour over the flour/mustard paste mixture & bring to a simmer whilst stirring continuously. Cook for around 10 minutes.

Once cooked, remove the asparagus from the water, drain in a colander and serve whilst still warm with the Mustard Sauce poured over it.

This is great served as a light lunch, with a poached egg on the side !

Broccoli Bake

This broccoli bake contains cheese & cracker biscuits and is really very tasty !

I love broccoli, it is one of my most favourite vegetables. Luckily it can be found here quite easily. I usually just steam or lightly boil it, & serve it with garlic and a little salt – but this is a ‘special’ recipe which I also make from time to time -:


Broccoli Bake

1 head of Broccoli, broken into florets
¾ tsp Garlic, crushed
1 tsp Beef stock powder
Water
Salt & Pepper - optional
4 Cracker biscuits, crumbled
¾ cup Cheddar Cheese, grated

Place the broccoli florets and garlic into an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle the stock powder over, and pour enough water in to reach half way up the layer of broccoli. You can also add a little salt & pepper if you like (although the stock powder is quite salty). Now sprinkle the crumbled cracker biscuits & grated cheese over the broccoli, & stir to blend. Bake at 190’C/375’F/Gas Mark 5 for about 45 minutes to an hour.

You might like to stir the broccoli a couple of times during cooking so that it does not become too dry. (You may also need to add a little more water during the cooking process.)

Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage

This Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage is slightly sticky & goes well with pork

A close-up of a spoonful of this delicious cabbage

This is a simple, unusual & very tasty way to prepare red cabbage which I came up with one rainy day ! (You could use green cabbage aswell if you wished, although I’ve never tried it.)

I usually serve this cabbage with pork, and it always goes down a treat – it’s slightly sticky (chewy ?) and has a delicious sweet/sour taste.


Sticky Red Sweet & Sour Cabbage

Oil for frying
1 small red Cabbage, finely sliced
½ tsp crushed Garlic
3 tbsp brown Sugar
4 tbsp white grape Vinegar
Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large saucepan & then add the finely sliced cabbage & garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the cabbage begins to wilt & brown a little. Then sprinkle the sugar over, and add the vinegar. Stir well to blend and add the salt & pepper. Simmer on a low heat for around 20 to 30 minutes stirring once in a while to prevent sticking. The cabbage is done once the sauce has reduced & is thick and sticky, and the cabbage is soft.

Justin's Tanzanian Ugali Recipe

Justin has taught me the best way to make Tanzanian Ugali

It doesn't look like much, but Ugali is tasty, nutritious and very filling, too

Ugali is a staple part of the Tanzanian diet. Ugali is basically a stiff porridge made with ground maize meal (also known locally as maize flour) and water. It is typically eaten with meat or vegetable stews, much as you would eat mashed potatoes or rice.

As far as I know, most African countries have their own version of Ugali – for example in Zimbabwe it is called “Sudza” and in South Africa it is called “Pap”. I wrote a blog post some time ago on maize meal and it’s uses, including a recipe for Mealie Meal Crumble pap which you can read here. (This recipe has, incidentally, become one of the most searched for – and visited – recipes on my blog !)

During my mother-in-law’s recent visit, she asked if we could eat some Ugali one day as it is difficult to find in England and as she had grown up eating it in Africa, she longed for the taste again. So, I happily obliged - only I got Justin to make it for me & show me step-by-step how to do it, as I do not have a lot of experience making the Tanzanian version.

So, here is Justin’s recipe -:

Justin’s Tanzanian Ugali

1 cup Maize Meal
2 cups Water

Bring water to the boil in a medium sized pot. In the meantime, mix 1/2 a cup of the Maize Meal into a paste with a little extra water. Add this paste to the boiling water, & stir. Now add the remaining 1/2 cup of dry maize meal to the boiling water and mix into a stiff porridge. (A wooden spoon is best used for this as the mixture can become extremely hot.) Continue to cook until done -around 15 minutes - and until the porridge comes away from the sides of the pot easily and the texture is quite stiff.

Garlicky Mushrooms

Garlicky Mushrooms, served hot out of the pan as a side dish - or as part of a cooked breakfast

There are only 3 things that I simply can’t bear to eat – green peppers, organ meat and ….. mushrooms. Egh !

I don’t know what it is with me and mushrooms, but they make my stomach turn and always have – the sight of them, the texture of them, but most of all …. the smell of them. I am not a squeamish person, except when it comes to mushrooms. (I joke that I must have died by eating poisoned mushrooms in a past life or something ?)

My mother never forced us to eat mushrooms as kids, but I remember going on holiday once to stay with a great Aunt and Uncle who lived on the Cape coast in South Africa. One night they served us mushroom soup & toast for supper. Being the well mannered, well brought up child that I was (*ahem* I have to put that in ‘cause my Mum reads my blog) I HAD to eat the soup. My Mum smiled supportively at me across the table as my great Aunt placed a steaming bowl of the thick grey liquid down in front of me. My stomach turned & I forced it down. As I was half way through the bowl, I suddenly started vomiting violently (yes, I know, great conversation for a recipe post, isn’t it ?!) That was the first (& last) time I ever ate mushrooms.

Just my luck, I married a man who simply adores mushrooms – and because I love him dearly, I hold my breath and cook them for him occasionally. I’ve also introduced my daughter to them from a young age (she, too, refuses to eat them and this is a child who’s idea of a treat is munching on raw broccoli or cabbage leaves ! Is she copying me ? Mmmm ... not sure about that one.) A lot of gagging and rolling of the eyes goes on as I cook them, but my husband is always really grateful and they are cooked with love, which is the main thing. (Isn’t it ?!)

Here is my ‘recipe’ for garlic mushrooms. I don’t know what they taste like, although I’ve been cooking them for years, but take my husband’s word for it, they are delicious ….

Garlicky Mushrooms

I take a punnet of mushrooms (around 250 gm’s) and remove the stalks. I do wash mine, although ‘they’ say you shouldn’t (how else to you get all the gritty stuff off just by rubbing them with a damp cloth ? Eeewww !!) I slice them finely and put them into a pan that has a few teaspoons of salted butter already heated in it. I swirl them around in the butter and as they begin to brown I add some more salt and about 2 heaped teaspoons of garlic. I continue to fry them until they are golden brown & crispy and then hastily serve them up and exit the kitchen until the mushroom smell has disappeared !

Curried Green Beans

These Curried Green Beans are great served as a hot side dish ... or even cold the next day as a salad !

Curried green beans are a South African speciality, especially served as a side dish at a barbecue or ‘braai’. I love the taste of this dish – I first tried it when I was at boarding school in South Africa in the ‘80’s – and have loved to eat beans this way ever since !

The beauty of this dish is not only in it’s simplicity but also in the fact that it can be served hot as a side dish or cold as a salad. You can even bottle the beans – they make a great hostess gift !


Curried Green Beans

220 g Green Beans (topped & tailed)
1 large Onion, sliced
Salt to taste
Water
¼ cup brown Sugar
¼ cup white grape Vinegar
1 tbsp Flour
2 tsp Curry Powder (Medium hot)

Place the green beans, onion & salt in a cooking pot with just enough water to cover them. Boil for around 15 minutes & in the meantime, mix the sugar, vinegar, flour & curry powder together to form a paste. Add this paste to the beans and continue to boil (simmer) until the beans are cooked through and tender, stirring occasionally.

Homemade Pasta ... It's Easier Than You Think !

The 'trick' is to cut the pasta as thin as you possibly can - I like wide pasta but in hindsight, should have still cut this a little thinner

What put me off making my own pasta for years, was the fact that I thought I needed special flour to make it with. Not so. In fact, I can vouch for the fact that it even works just fine with bog standard run-of-the-mill dodgy local African flour (complete with worms, weevils and grains of rice – which is why you must sieve it first, of course !)

To be honest, I think that homemade pasta made with a pasta machine turns out better than pasta which you make by hand. It’s all in the thinness. Really. I mean, when making it by hand you have to roll it out soooooo thinly and then you have to cut it sooooo thinly and all the time you have to make sure that the thinness is even all over else the pasta will stretch and tear and … and … you get the idea.

So, if you have a pasta machine it’s best to use it as you can adjust the settings and get a really great thin pasta. If not, roll it and cut it by hand by all means (as I have done here) & if your husband mutters something under his breath along the lines of “puncture repair patches” then just smile sweetly & remind him what happened to his supper the last time he complained about your cooking (as 2 grateful dogs lie underfoot, licking their lips in anticipation !)


Homemade Pasta (recipe comes from “Marie Claire” South Africa, August ’08)

200 g cake Flour (plus extra for dusting)
pinch of Salt
2 Eggs

Sift flour & salt into a mound on a work surface. Make a well in the centre & crack in the eggs. Gradually incorporate the flour, then knead for +- 10 mins. If mixture is too soft, add some more flour. If mixture is too firm, add a little water.

Shape into a ball & leave to rest for 15 mins. Roll out very thinly on lightly floured surface. Cut* into noodles/pasta strips or use a pasta machine. Cook in salted boiling water for 2 – 3 minutes.

Serves 4

*Bear in mind when you cut your pasta strips that they will swell to almost double the size (thickness & width) once cooked. So cut them as finely as you possibly can.

A Fennel Recipe

Not the prettiest thing you ever ate - but I promise you, these roasted fennel bulbs are really tasty !

We cannot get Fennel in Tanzania. Well, the one large farm that used to grow it went bankrupt a few years ago and since then I have not ever seen it in any of the shops here. I suppose that some people do grow it for their own personal use, and maybe I should try to sometime, too. Anyway, when I was in South Africa recently I was scouring the fresh produce section of a large supermarket for interesting fruit and vegetables which we cannot get here, as I love experimenting with new things, and found some fennel. (Actually, it was my Mum who spotted it first, and we both pounced on it with glee !)

Fennel is native to the Mediterranean, and has an almost liquorice like or mild anise flavour.

The entire fennel plant can be eaten, and it can be used either as a herb or a spice. The seeds of the fennel plant can be dried and ground and used for flavouring (fennel seeds are usually added to ‘Chinese Five Spice’ and also to some curry powder blends), the leaves can be used fresh in salads (or scattered over cooked eggs or fish) , the stems can be sliced and added to soups or inside a stuffing for fish (we tried this too, and it was delicious !), and the bulbs can be roasted and eaten whole. Fennel is even used as a flavouring for some types of alcohol !

To roast our fennel bulbs, we washed them first and then topped and tailed them and cut them into quarters. They were then placed – uncovered - into an ovenproof glass dish and drizzled with olive oil, salt & freshly milled black pepper. We cooked them at 230’C/450’F/Gas Mark 8 for around 40 minutes, turning them and basting them in the oil from time to time, until they were soft and a golden brown colour on the outside. Just before serving (we ate them as a side dish with fish) we squeezed some fresh lemon juice over the top of them. The verdict ? Delicious !

Perfect Roast Potatoes

Crispy, golden roast potatoes - now all they need is some nice gravy to go with them !

Now, I know that everyone has their own special way of making the ‘perfect’ roast potato. There are – literally - hundreds of different methods out there … and believe you me, I’ve tried most of them (!!) and this is the one fail proof method I’ve come up with, which just turns out the best roast potatoes time after time, after time …. I happened upon this ‘method’ after years of trial and error … (and my husband is so glad I did !)

First, you have to start with a good quality potato that is best suited to roasting. This depends on where you live. If you live in Tanzania and go to the market and ask for, let’s say, a Maris Piper, they will look at you funny and ask if you are feeling okay …. or who the dickens Maris Piper is ! Here, we only have 2 choices … “red” or “white” … ha ha … and even so, the white potatoes are not that easy to come by.

So what you need to do to make your roast potatoes perfect, is this -:

Take how ever many potatoes you plan to roast, and peel them and chop them in half. Par boil them in salted water until they are just soft around the outsides and tender on the insides when pricked with a fork.

Now place them in a colander and shake them around so that the outsides become all rough and ruffled up (this helps them to crisp really nicely). Now throw them into a glass baking dish and pour a tiny bit of oil over each one. At the end of it you only want about ½ cm of oil in the base of the dish. Sprinkle salt over each potato and toss them through the shallow layer of oil, then place them in an oven that has been pre heated to Gas mark 8/230'C/450'F.

You only need turn them once or twice during cooking, and they should take about 30 to 40 minutes to go a lovely golden colour and cook through.

As a side note, I do not like the taste of potato, or anything deep fried/doused in oil - so roast potatoes are a bad ‘combination’ for me ! (I’m a pasta girl, through and through !) But my husband, family and friends all agree that these roast potatoes taste great. So, I’ll take their word for it – and go back to guzzling my bowl of pasta, thank you very much !