Mid-Week Dinner: Chicken & Broccoli Pasta Bake

The IT Manager at Coronation is also a Foodie... Can you Adam & Eve it? He shared a recipe with me yesterday and I had to give it a go. My family was overly impressed with this dish, asking me to add it to my repertoire. My dad also popped on and raved about my 'special recipe'. Here's how to do it...

Ingredients:
4x Chicken Breasts
2x heads of Broccoli, separated into small florets
1x cup of Wine
1x cup Water
Salt and Pepper
250ml Cream
1 cup Mayonnaise
1 cup of Chicken Soup (already made)
3t curry powder
3t lemon juice
1 and 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated (for the liquid)
2 cups grated cheddar (for the topping)
3/4 packet of shell noodles (the 500g packet)

Method:
It is good to start with putting your oven on at the beginning. Set it to 180 deg.

1. Grease a oven proof dish and set aside.
2. Place the chicken breasts in a small saucepan, add the wine and the water (add more water if necessary to just cover the chicken).
3. Season with salt and pepper and apply the heat, simmering for about 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked but still tender.
4. In another saucepan, add a little water and add the broccoli. Season with salt, cover and steam for around 8-10 minutes.
5. Fill a large saucepan with water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 12-15 minutes, until el dente.
6. Drain the pasta. Drain the broccoli.
7. Remove the chicken from the liquid, retaining 1 cup of the stock.
8. Shred the chicken.
9. Mix the pasta, chicken and broccoli and place in the oven proof dish.

For the sauce:
1. In a large mixing bowl / jug, add the stock, chicken soup, mayonnaise, curry, lemon juice, cheese and cream. Mix well.
2. Pour over the pasta.
3. Cover with a layer of cheese.
4. Bake for 30 minutes.

Serve piping hot, with a green salad and some garlic bread. Simply delicious!

Tx Philip!

News: Community Sponsored Agriculture Scheme

A fellow foodie sent me a link to an article titled 'Would you join a Community Sponsored Agriculture Scheme?'. I gave it a read and what really stuck in my mind was the sentence, in brackets, saying 'when last did you even know it was harvest time?'. This is so true. I have no idea when harvest time actually is. We are all so used to popping down to the local supermarket or Fruit 'n Veg where fresh fruit and vegetables are always available - we never even give it a thought. It just made me stop and think a little...

Slow Food Cape Town is currently exploring a summer organic box scheme with a small-scale, previously disadvantaged farmer. Under the scheme, scheme members would pay upfront for this farmer to grow us a selection of certified organics summer veggies, to be received over the course of the summer (probably January through April).

Slow Food Cape Town would arrange optional outings to the farm, to see the veggies growing, including a picnic celebration at the first summer harvest. Over the rest of the summer, scheme members would receive a box of summer veggies (such as mielies, cherry tomatoes, lettuce) every week.

As Pia writes in her blog: I love knowing where my food came from... I am starting to feel the same. If you are interested, email the following details to kateschrire@gmail.com:

- Name
- Contact Details
- Suburb
- Indicate whether you can collect your veggie box once a week from a local drop-off point.

To read more, click on this link.

Other Interests: Fishing at Hillcrest Wine Farm

A few friends and I have decided to take up a little fresh water fishing. The group currently comprises Lee, Gary, Philip, Clive & myself.

We went the whole nine yards last week: We bought rods, reels, lures (poppers, spinners, plastics, worms, frogs) and the likes.

Of course, Gary has to be brag-gat buy the R600 rod... After Saturday, his nickname is Mr. Birds Nest! More expensive is not always better... Gary thinks this is KNOT funny...

You have gotta love an over-wind... NOT!

Also, I am not sure if it is correct to include Clive in this as he didn't pitch to our first fishing extravaganza at the Hillcrest Wine Farm.

For those of you that are interested: Hillcrest is a wine farm in Durbanville that has opened it's quarry up for fishing. The dam has Carp, Bass and Trout. The site itself is very picturesque. Lovely green grass for the kids to play, a place to make a fire and do the family thing... Check the pictures out, they speak 1000 words.

The prices are as follows:
R75 per person fishing
R25 per child fishing
R25 per person not fishing

The hours are from 9am to 5pm. This is unfortunate as fish bite mostly in the early morning (6 - 8am) and late evening (4-6pm).

Lee managed to snag a small, small mouth bass. Unfortunately, I could not get there with the camera quick enough (Sorry Lee). Also, we chatted to one of the more professional fisherman and he said that there was too much contrast between shallow and deep water. This is apparently not so good for fishing.

Overall, we had fun. We are going again this weekend, but to another venue in Lakeside. I can't wait to blog about cooking a trout or a bass!

Mid-Week Dinner: Mince Curry & Basmati Rice

I only managed to leave the office at 6:30pm last night so I really wanted something simple and quick to make for dinner. Mince curry is all of those things. Here's what I did:

Ingredients:
1x Pack of Mince
2t Curry Powder
1 large Onion, chopped
1 pkt Baby Tomatoes (the really small ones, halved)
3/4 cup Mixed Frozen Veg.
1/2 cup Tomato Sauce
Salt & pepper
1/2t Sweet Basil
1T Olive Oil
1t (heaped) Chopped Garlic
1/2 cup water

Method:
1. In a large saucepan, cook onions & garlic until translucent.
2. Remove half the cooked onion and set aside. Add the Mince, Salt, Pepper & Sweet Basil to the saucepan. Brown the mince.
3. Remove the browned mince and set aside.
4. Add the onions back into the pan (from 2 above), add the tomatoes and half the tomato sauce.
5. Add the curry powder, moving the mixture around, roasting the spices (2-3 minutes)
6. Add back the mince, stirring it into the curry mixture.
7. Add the remaining tomato sauce and add the mix veg.
8. Add the water, stir and simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve on a bed of Basmati Rice. Smaaklik!!! This is a very mild curry - my daughter ate everything... and loved it. Serve with a glass of milk.

Humour: Steve, Don't Eat It!

My friend emailed this link and said I must put on on my blog. It is hilarious! And, it has to do with FOOD! Check this out:

Steve, Don't Eat It!

LMAO!!! I cannot believe the things that people manufacture. Even worse: I can't believe people actually buy and eat this stuff.... 

Oooomygosh!!!!

Mid-Week Meals: Weber Roast Chicken & Potato Salad

Oh how I love my Weber! I could shout it from the hilltops. My Weber is the best gift my wife ever gave me... EVER (other than Celine, that is)! If you don't have one, you will never know how a roast chicken should really taste... Seriously. The simplicity of it is astounding.When I got home last night, the electricity was down again (I had to figure out how to open my garage door manually... LOL!). As it was a lovely evening, I sparked up the Weber - Indirect Method - and while waiting for the coals to grey, I mowed the back lawn. Yeah, the power was back on by then.

 

Ingredients:

1x Whole Chicken

Vegetable Oil

Salt

Cooking String

Method:

1. Remove and discard the neck, giblets and any excess fat from the chicken.

2. Rinse the chicken, inside and out, under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.

3. Tie the drumsticks together with cooking cord (see picture). 

4. Lightly spray or brush the chicken with sunflower oil.

5. Salt the chicken all over.

6. Place in the middle of the grid and close the lid. Don't peek! Everytime you lift the lid of the weber, you drop the temperature inside the 'kettle', slowing your cooking time.

7. Resist the urge! Don't do it! The chicken cooks in about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, depending on the size. Use a meat thermometre to check that it is cooked.

8. Remove from grill, carve and serve.

For the potato salad:

Ingredients:

5x medium Potatoes, peeled & cut into chunks

Couple of sprigs of flat leaf Parsley, chopped

3x eggs, soft boiled and diced

1 cup Mayonnaise

3/4 cup Milk

3t sugar

Method:

1. Put the potatoes in a large saucepan, add cold water, until just covering the potatoes.

2. Apply heat and cook until the potatoes are soft.

3. While the potatoes are cooking, mix the Mayo, Milk & Sugar in a bowl. Be sure to fully dissolve 

the sugar!

4. When the potatoes are cooked, drain them.

5. While still hot, pour over the Mayo mixture (As the potatoes start cooling, they will absorb more of the liquid).

6. Add the eggs and chopped parsley.and mix everything together gently.

7. Allow to cool.

Plate and serve with Beetroot Salad. Absolutely scrummy!

Weekend Meals: Butternut & Ricotta Ravioli

On Sunday, my daughter and I decided to make some ravioli. I must admit that this was only my second attempt at ravioli - the first was a dismal failure for the simple reason I did not use what I made immediately. Not realizing they don't keep well in the fridge, they all grew mould before I could cook them!
This time around, things went much better. This may be due to the help I received from my 9yr old daughter... child's play!

Ingredients:

For the Pasta
3 cups cake flour
1/2 t salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup water

For the Filling
1 medium butternut
1 block of Ricotta Cheese (about 250g)
Salt & Black Pepper

For the Sauce
1x Can of Tomato, Basil & Garlic
3 t brown sugar
1/2 cup tomato sauce

Method:

For the Filling (make this first)
1. Peel and dice the butternut
2. Place in a saucepan, with a little water and cover with a lid.
3. Put this on the heat and cook / steam until soft.
4. Drain the excess water
5. Add salt & black pepper
6. Allow to cool slightly and add the ricotta, stirring in.
7. Taste, checking your seasoning.

For the Pasta (make this while the butternut is cooking)
1. In a bowl, beat the eggs with a fork.
2. Mix in the water, oil and salt
3. Add a cup of flour and mix.
4. Continue adding the flour and mixing until you have a dough mixture (you can add water if it it too dry and flour if it is too wet.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead it for at least 10 minutes, working on a flour-covered surface to prevent sticking.
6. Wrap the dough in cling-film and leave for about 30 minutes.

Making the Ravioli
1. Run the dough through a pasta maker, forming sheets of pasta. My pasta maker has thickness settings starting at 7 and counting down - I go down to 3 when making ravioli. This is approximately 2-3mm thick.
2. Using an upturned glass, press out pasta circles (see picture)
3. Place a teaspoon of the filling on one half of the circle.
4. Wet the edge, around the filling.
5. Fold the non-filled side over (pushing out all the air) and make a half-moon.
6. Use a fork to go around the edges, making sure they seal properly.
7. Repeat until you have lots and lots of ravioli.

TIP: Flour each one lightly to prevent them from sticking to each other.

The Cooking

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add about 2t salt
2. Add the ravioli and cook for no more than 4 minutes. You will see the ravioli come to the surface just before they are cooked.
3. In another saucepan, add the tin of tomato, basil & garlic. Bring to a simmer.
4. Add the tomato sauce and brown sugar & simmer for about 20 minutes.
5. Drain the ravioli and place in a serving bowl. Cover with the tomato mixture.

Serving
Serve in individual bowls and grate some pecorino cheese over the top.

I served this with an apple juice with chunks of fresh orange adding to the flavour.

I must mention that the feedback I received from my family was mixed. My daughter loved it but my wife was not overly impressed. I think this could be due to fact that it is a vegetarian dish... no meat! Next time, I'll make a mince filled ravioli. Mmmmm....That sounds good!