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To prevent your table setting from looking too
busy if you're incorporating a lot of colour into
it, use a white dinner set instead of one with a
pattern. Celebre, with its modern shape, is a
great option. |
Mille feuille
Serves 4
Mille feuille is traditionally made with phyllo pastry and
custard, but we've dressed our pastry up with with roast rosa
tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, onion marmalade and a honey-mustard
dressing. Enjoy!
4 sheets of phyllo pastry
3 tbsp butter, melted
2 balls buffalo mozzarella, drained and thinly sliced
1 cup rosa tomatoes, skins removed
1 tbsp thyme, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
4 large tbsp onion marmalade
5 large figs, sliced
¼ cup rocket, washed and dried
2 tbsp créme fraiche, mixed with
1 tsp water
For the topping
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
5 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Place one of the phyllo sheets on a clean and dry working
surface. Brush with the melted butter. Cover with one more
phyllo sheet. Repeat with the rest of the sheets, but do not
brush the top sheet with the butter.
- Place a coffee cup on top and cut around it with a sharp
knife. Repeat with the rest of the phyllo pastry so that you
have 12 discs.
- Place the discs between two baking trays and bake for
7 minutes or until the phyllo pastry is golden brown
and crispy.
- Remove the discs from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Turn the oven down to 160°C.
- Combine the tomatoes, garlic, thyme and olive oil in an
ovenproof bowl. Season well and roast in the oven for
35 minutes. Remove from the oven and keep warm.
- Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small mixing
bowl. Mix well and set aside.
- Place one phyllo disc on a serving plate and spread one
tablespoon of marmalade on the disc. Put another disc
on top and spread with a quarter of the sliced mozzarella
and figs. Place another disc on top and spoon over a
quarter of the roast tomatoes. Top this with some rocket
and two tablespoons of the dressing. Lastly drizzle with one
tablespoon of crème fraiche. Repeat with three more
serving plates. Serve immediately.
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Fig tartare
Serves 4
A light and fresh dish, you can serve this fig tartare as a
simple starter at dinner. If you like, you can offer each guest
a small crispy roll as well.
3 large figs, sliced
¼ cucumber, cubed
1 tsp chopped mint
1 log goat’s cheese, cubed
1 small packet baby lettuce
4 tbsp olive oil
4 tsp balsamic vinegar
- Combine the figs, cheese, mint and cucumber in a bowl and
mix well. Set aside.
- Place one small handful of the lettuce in the middle of a
serving plate.
- Place a small mould in the middle, spoon ¼ of the mixture
into the mould and lightly press down. Carefully remove the
mould.
- Drizzle with a tablespoon of olive oil and one of balsamic vinegar. Repeat with three more plates. Serve immediately.
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Roasted butternut quiche with goat's cheese and grape and cinnamon jam
Serves 4
Quiche is enormously versatile. You can have it as a main
meal with a light salad on the side, or serve it at tea time or as
part of a buffet!
4 tbsp roasted butternut
4 tbsp goat’s cheese, crumbled
1 egg
½ cup cream
½ cup milk
For the quiche dough
1½ cups cake flour
125g butter, cubed
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp cold milk
½ tsp salt
For the jam
1 cup white grapes cut in half
½ cup sugar
¼ cup water
1 small stick whole cinnamon
- For the dough: Sift the flour with the salt in a mixing bowl.
Add the butter, using your fingers to rub the butter into the
flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Now add the milk and
egg, mixing well to form a ball of dough. Do not over-work the
dough. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic and refrigerate for
1 hour.
- For the jam: Add all the ingredients to a small saucepan and
place on a medium heat. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat
and let it simmer for about 45 minutes or until the liquids start
to turn into a syrup. Remove from the heat, let it cool and set
aside.
- For the quiche: Preheat the oven to 180°C. Combine the
milk, cream and egg in a mixing bowl, mix well and set aside.
Take the dough from the fridge and roll flat on a flour-sprinkled
surface. Roll the dough until approximately
½cm thick. Cut
into four circles with a pastry cutter, pressing the cutter into
the corners and cutting the pastry sticking out at the top with
a sharp paring knife. Add the butternut, dividing it equally
between the four dough baskets. Now add the egg mixture so
that it fills to the top. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until
the quiche is golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and
let it cool for 5 minutes. Serve immediately with the jam.
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Parmesan and spring onion mash potato
Serves 4
If you're making mash, cut the potatoes into quarters before
boiling them. They'll be done much quicker, cutting your
cooking time in half!
6 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
6 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
2 spring onions, chopped
1 thick slice butter
¼ cup milk
1 tbsp salt
- Boil the potatoes on a medium heat until soft. Strain well,
place back into the pot and add the rest of the ingredients.
Mash until soft and fluffy. Serve with grilled steak and
blanched broccolini (or your favourite vegetables) and gravy.
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Pan-fried Norwegian salmon with linguine, baby spinach, mascarpone cheese and tomato
Serves 4
If you're unfamiliar with salmon, make a note of these three
rules and you'll be fine when cooking with it – add a little bit
of olive oil and spice to the pan before frying the salmon; fry it
with the skin down; and most importantly – cook it slowly!
4 portions salmon
½ packet linguine pasta
4 tbsp olive oil
1 small packet baby spinach, washed and blanched
5 tbsp mascarpone cheese
2 tomatoes, skins and pips removed, and cubed
- Boil the pasta in salty water until al dente.
- Strain well, then add the olive oil, spinach, mascarpone
cheese and tomato. Toss, set aside and keep warm.
- Pan-fry the salmon over a medium to high heat for
about 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until medium. Serve with
the pasta and a wedge of lemon.
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Our Premier cast iron cookware, used to
prepare this delicious recipe, is not only
perfect for roasting, you can also use it for
simmering, slow cooking, boiling, searing,
grilling and frying. An enamel coating
ensures that it’s rust-proof and easy to clean
as well. |
Roasted pork belly with pears
Serves 4
If you’re worried about scoring the belly yourself, ask your
butcher to do it for you. He won’t mind, that’s what he’s there
for!
1.5kg pork belly, skin scored
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 cups chicken stock
5 sprigs thyme
4 tbsp celery, chopped
3 carrots, sliced
2-3 onions, sliced
3 pears, peeled, cored and quartered
- Preheat oven to 220°C.
- Season the pork well with salt and crushed black pepper.
- Place it on a roasting tray and roast for 30-40 minutes until
the skin is crispy.
- Turn the heat down to 180°C and roast for one more hour.
- Remove from the oven, then add the vegetables, stock and
thyme below the pork. Cover with foil and roast for another
hour.
- Remove from the oven, then pour the vegetables and stock
through a sieve. Keep the reduced stock to use as gravy.
- Add the pears to the pork, drizzle with oil and roast for
20 minutes until the pears start to
caramelise.
- Slice the pork into strips and serve with the pears.
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Scalloped potato bake with parmesan
Serves 6
If you’re short on time, parboil the potatoes before adding
them to the bake. This will shorten the time they need to bake in
the oven.
1kg potatoes, peeled and sliced
½ cup milk
½ cup cream
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup parmesan, grated
2 cloves garlic
2 sprigs thyme
- Preheat oven to 160°C.
- Grease a casserole dish well.
- Pour the milk and cream into a pan, then add the garlic and
thyme.
- Heat the mixture to boiling point on a high heat. Remove from the heat
and let it cool slightly.
- Strain the liquid mixture into a jug and sprinkle with nutmeg.
Keep it warm.
- Layer half the potatoes in the casserole dish, overlapping
the slices. Sprinkle each layer with a little bit of salt and pepper.
Pour over half the liquid mixture and follow with another layer
of potatoes. Add the rest of the liquid and sprinkle over the
cheese.
- Bake for 90 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown
and cooked. Serve immediately.
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Roasted sweet potato and
butternut
Serves 4
Butternut can be hard to cut, but you can make this task
much easier. Simply pierce it with a fork, then pop it in the
microwave for 60 seconds before cutting it.
1 medium-sized sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 small butternut, peeled, pips removed and cubed
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted
2 tbsp hazelnuts, roasted and crushed
4 tbsp honey
- Preheat oven to 160°C.
- Combine the sweet potato and butternut in a roasting tray.
Drizzle with olive oil, season and roast for
40 minutes until softened.
- Turn oven up to 200°C.
- Add the honey, mix well and roast until golden brown.
- Add the nuts and seeds, and serve immediately.
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Chocolate brownies
Serves 8
Chocolate brownies are always a hit! Have them as a dessert
with cream or vanilla ice cream.
75g butter, coarsely chopped
2 slabs dark chocolate, chopped
1½ cups castor sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup cake flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
½ cup chocolate chips
crushed nuts
- Preheat the oven to 160°C.
- Line a 17 x 27cm baking tin with non-stick baking paper.
- Place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a
saucepan of simmering water until it melts. Whisk until
smooth, then stir in the sugar and eggs.
- Sift the flour and cocoa powder together, then stir in the
chocolate mixture. Lastly, gently stir in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 1 hour or
until a skewer that’s inserted into the middle of the brownies
comes out moist, but clean. Cool, coat with nuts, then
remove from the tin and cut into slices.
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Our brand-new Prestige bakeware, used to
make this pudding, will not only ensure best
results when baking – it’s also beautiful enough
to serve from. You can take it straight from your
oven to your dinner table! Order your set now. |
Chocolate hot cross bun and butter pudding
Serves 6
Hot cross buns are synonymous with Easter. Instead of
serving them plain this year, dish up this decadent dessert. Be warned though – it’s as rich as it is delicious!
6 hot cross buns
6 tbsp butter
1 large slab good quality dark
chocolate, chopped
1 vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped out
800ml cream
1 orange, zested
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
- Preheat the oven to 170°C.
- Slice the hot cross buns and butter each half. Lay the bases
in a baking dish and sprinkle with the chopped dark
chocolate. Place the tops of the buns on the bases.
- Place the vanilla seeds in a saucepan with the cream and
zest, and bring to a simmer over a low heat. Remove from
the heat.
- Beat the eggs and sugar until just combined. Pour the
mixture into the warm cream, stirring continuously.
- Pour the cream mixture evenly over the buns and set aside
for the buns to soak up some of the mixture. Thirty minutes
should be long enough.
- Place the pudding dish in a large roasting pan and pour
enough boiling water into the roasting pan to come halfway
up the side of the pudding dish. Now place in the oven for
about 45 minutes or until the cream mixture is set. Remove
from the oven and serve immediately.
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Sticky date pudding
Serves 8
This recipe calls for chopped dates. If you want to save
yourself time in the kitchen, buy pre-packaged dates that have been chopped already.
250g pitted dates, chopped
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1½ cups boiling water
125g butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
1¾ cups self-raising flour, sifted
For the caramel sauce:
1 cup brown sugar
300ml cream
½ tsp vanilla essence
1 thick slice butter
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease
eight ramekins.
- Place dates and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Pour
boiling water over. Allow to rest for 20 minutes.
- Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Using a large metal spoon, fold through the date mixture
and flour until well combined.
- Spoon the mixture into the ramekins. Bake for 35 to
40 minutes, or until a skewer which is inserted into the
pudding centres comes
out clean.
- For the caramel sauce: combine all the ingredients in a
saucepan over a medium heat. Stir often, bringing the
mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for
2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Pierce each pudding all over with a skewer. Pour the
caramel sauce over. Let them rest for 10 minutes before
serving.
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Figs with Pimm's sabayon
Serves 4
Sabayon is a dessert sauce which can be made to be sweet
or savoury. Keep it at an even, medium heat during cooking to
ensure the perfect consistency.
4 figs, quartered
4 strawberries, quartered
4 tbsp hazelnuts, roasted and crushed
For the sabayon
¼ cup Pimm’s liqueur
2 large egg yolks
2 tbsp sugar
- To make the sabayon, start by half-filling a small saucepan
with water and bringing it to a simmer. Now place all the
ingredients in a stainless steel bowl and whisk until well
combined. Place the bowl over the saucepan and continue
to whisk until the sauce is thick and has doubled in volume.
This should take between 3 and 5 minutes.
- Divide the figs and strawberries between four serving bowls.
- Spoon over the sabayon, dividing and spreading it evenly.
Place it under a hot grill for a few seconds, until the
sabayon gets a golden tinge. Sprinkle with nuts and serve
immediately.
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If you don't have a cake stand, create one by
placing a dinner plate on top of an upside-down
teacup like we did when we served
our cheesecake. |
Chocolate and cherry cheesecake
Serves 8
This golden oldie is always a hit. Make each slice a perfect
one by dipping a clean, hot knife into water in between slices.
This will leave more cake on the plate, and not on the knife!
500ml smooth cream cheese
250ml cream, whipped to soft peaks
1 tin cherries
2 tsp powdered gelatine
1 packet chocolate chip cookies
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out
½ cup icing sugar
¼ cup butter, melted
1 tbsp lemon juice
- Blend the biscuits in a food processor until crumbs form.
Now add the butter and blend again to make the mixture
clump. Press this mixture into a 20cm springform tin.
- Beat the cream cheese, icing sugar, vanilla seeds
and lemon juice together in a bowl until smooth.
- Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
- Spoon the cheesecake filling on top of the biscuit base and
smooth with a spatula. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Strain the cherries from the liquid. Heat the liquid slightly,
sprinkle the gelatine powder over and mix well. When the
liquid has cooled down completely, spoon over the
cheesecake together with the cherries.
- Return to the fridge for a further 3 hours. When you are
ready to serve the cheesecake, unmould it and transfer to
your serving plate.
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Chocolate pots
Serves 6
These decadent chocolate pots are the perfect way to end
off a dinner with close friends. If you're in a hurry, chop the
chocolate finely to make it melt faster.
200g dark chocolate, broken
into pieces
285g cream
3 egg yolks
5 tbsp brandy
6 tbsp crème fraîche, to serve
- Put the chocolate and cream into a heatproof bowl.
- Melt the mixture in a 900 watt microwave on medium
for 30 second bursts at a time until melted. Stir well to
combine.
- Whisk the eggs and sugar together, then add to the
chocolate mixture. Add the brandy at the same time and
mix until smooth and glossy.
- Carefully spoon the mixture into pots and chill for at least
1 hour.
- To serve, top each chocolate pot with a dollop of
crème fraîche.
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Cooking term of the month: Fold
A term used in baking. Folding involves combining a light
mixture with a heavier one by lifting from underneath with a
rubber or metal utensil and gently turning the entire mixture
over and over. |
Summer pavlova
Serves 12
Deliciously light, pavlova is a meringue base filled with
whipped cream and fruit. It's heaven on a plate!
6 large egg whites
300g castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the topping
350ml whipping cream
2 tbsp icing sugar
150g blueberries and strawberries
150g kiwis, peeled and sliced
into wedges
150g pineapple, peeled and
sliced into wedges
150g berry coulis
mint, to serve
- Preheat the oven to 120°C.
- Line a large baking sheet with baking paper and draw a
26cm circle in the centre.
- For the coulis: Cook 150g mixed berries and
2 tablespoons
of sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat for 5 minutes.
When done, pour in a blender and blend until smooth.
Then press the mixture through a sieve with the back of a spoon,
catching the coulis in a bowl.
- Whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk until they form
stiff peaks. Then gradually add the castor sugar, all the
while still whisking.
- Once all the sugar has been added, continue to whisk for
5 minutes until the mixture is stiff and glossy. Carefully fold in the vanilla extract.
- Spoon the meringue onto the baking paper, piling it inside
the circle. Make an indentation in the centre with the back
of the spoon.
- Bake in the oven for 2½ hours. Turn the oven off and leave
the meringue inside until completely cool.
- Whisk the cream until it forms soft peaks, then whisk in
the icing sugar.
- Pile the cream into the centre of the meringue, then scatter
with the fruit, berry coulis and mint leaves. Serve.
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Trifle with summer berries
Serves 4
1L custard
1 packet raspberry jelly
1 punnet strawberries, cut into quarters
4 mini swiss rolls, broken into chunky pieces
- Make the jelly according to the instructions on the packet.
When the jelly is set, use a spoon to break it into
smaller pieces.
- Layer all the ingredients in four pretty serving glasses.
There is no rule here as to which ingredient should go
where – layer your trifle in any way you wish.
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