Gaenor's chutney

 Source: https://pinotbretzelsandcathedrals.com/2020/05/31/not-mrs-balls/

Ingredients: 

1.5kg apricots (with stones removed

3 large onions

1tbsp ginger

1/2tsp dried chilli (can add fresh chilli if desired)

500g raisins

750ml vinegar (wine or malt)

750g sugar

1 tbsp salt

Finely chop the onions, quarter the apricots, put in a big pot with the rest of the ingredients.

Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for an hour or two depending on the ripeness of the apricots. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

While the chutney is cooking, sterilise jars - wash thoroughly, then put in the oven at 100 degrees C for at least 20 minutes. Boil the lids and ladle and tongs to sterilise.

Once the chutney is cooked, carefully pour into the jars until almost full (leave about 0.5 cm space at the top of the jar) and close the jar with one of your sterilised lids. 

Once cool, tighten the lid. Can be stored in the basement for at least a year.

Peri-peri chicken livers

A cheap and easy meal or snack for all occasions. Spiciness can be adapted according to taste. Based on this recipe.

500 g chicken livers, cleaned
butter for frying
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3-4 tbsp peri-peri sauce, or to taste (I have it on good authority that you can use sweet chilli sauce too. Alternatively, peri-peri sauce is quite easy to make at home)
juice of 1 lemon
125 ml cream
salt and pepper for seasoning
parsley, to serve
crusty bread, to serve

Melt the butter in a hot pan and fry the livers and until golden-brown on both sides. Add the garlic and peri-peri sauce and fry for another minute or so, then add the lemon juice and cream, season and leave to simmer for 5-7 minutes. Garnish with parsley and eat with bread on the side.

Lemon meringue cheese cake

Lots of excellence. Based on this recipe:

250 g digestive biscuits/biscuits sablés, crushed into crumbs
125 g melted butter
250 g unflavoured cream cheese
2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
1 400ml tin condensed milk
60 ml lemon juice
1 tbsp finely chopped lemon zest - don't worry if you have more than 60 ml or 1 tbsp respectively
125 g caster sugar - if you have regular sugar, it'll work too. Just throw it in a coffee grinder and it'll be fine

Preheat the oven to 190. Grease a 20-23 cm cake tin. Mix the biscuit crumbs and butter together to form your cake base, then press firmly into the bottom of the cake tin. Put in the fridge and chill for around 30 minutes.

While you're waiting for the base to firm up, beat together the cream cheese, egg yolks, condensed milk, lemon juice and lemon zest until good and smooth. Once the base is ready, add the cake filling into the cake tin and bake for around 15 minutes.

While the cake part is in the oven, whisk the egg whites until stiff, then add in the sugar little by little and keep whisking until the mixture is glossy. I highly recommend using a machine for this. Spoon this mixture over the cake, then return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes or until the meringue mixture is golden. Leave to cool, then serve.

It was lovely. Very recommend.

South African monkey gland sauce

Don't mind the name—this stuff rocks. It's one of South Africa's unknown masterpieces, and it's quite sad, as we've got plenty of monkeys that could donate their glands for this... It's dead easy too, and a good way to use up errant bits of veg and monkey parts in your fridge. Smother meat in it, either as a sauce or as a marinade. Remember to pick out the pituitary gland before you eat—the texture goes to pot when you boil it.

1 onion
3-4 garlic cloves
Thumb-sized piece of ginger
1 pepper (optional)
3-4 tomatoes, diced
1 small tin double concentrated tomato purée
1 tbsp Worcester sauce
1/2 cup chutney
big dollop of red wine (optional)
AND/OR
dash of balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp mustard
150 ml vegetable (or chicken) stock
tabasco, to taste
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper to season

Fry the onion, garlic, and ginger (and pepper, if you're using it) until the onion is translucent. Add the other ingredients, bring to the boil and cook on a high flame for about 8 minutes, then simmer for another 30–40 minutes. Taste and season if necessary.

Use for marinade and sauce. It should keep for about 2 weeks.

Bacon, cheese, and monkey gland burger

Chakalaka a la francais

Here is a South African recipe that should be included in everyone's oeuvre. It's sometimes called a Soweto curry or chilli, but whatever you call it, it is very good and can be as spicy or warm as you wish. Also, it's cheap and easy to make. Ideally, it should be served with pap, but since this is not really feasible in France, it's going to have to work as a side. Still, rice could make this a decent vegetarian meal on its own.

Serves 2-4:

Vegetable oil

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cm ginger, minced

1-2 chillies (to taste), diced

2 tbsp garam masala

3 tomatoes, diced

1 tin baked beans

1 tin red kidney beans

Salt and pepper to taste

Fry the onion, carrot, garlic, ginger, chilli and garam masala with the oil in a medium-sized pot until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bring to the boil, then cook for about 5 minutes. Add the baked beans, kidney beans and seasoning and cook for a few more minutes. Can be served warm, with pap or rice, or cold, or as a side.

Pepper steak pie

A lovely South African specialty. I've adapted a couple of other recipes I found online, and added some of my own ideas. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

1kg stewing beef, diced (I used rump meat)
1/2 cup or so flour seasoned with salt, pepper and cayenne
1-2 red peppers, chopped small
2-3 onions, chopped small
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 chillies or to taste (everything is better with chilli)
Splash or 3 of brandy
1 1/2 cups beer (ale is good, but lager works as well)
1 cup beef/chicken stock
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
Finely chopped thyme to taste (but around 1 tbsp)
1-2 tbsp freshly ground peppercorns (or to taste)

500-800 g pre-made puff pastry (or make your own)
flour
1 egg, beaten
1 round pie dish, around 25 cm or so in diameter usually works

Coat the beef in the flour mixture. Brown in a large pot (cast-iron works best), then add in the onions, garlic, chillies, and red peppers. Add the brandy to deglaze the pot, then add the beer, stock, tomatoes, thyme and pepper. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 60-90 minutes or until the meat is good and tender (depends on the cut of meat you've using, really). If necessary, add more liquid (stock works, although you could sacrifice some beer). Also if necessary, add in corn starch or flour to soak up excess liquid. You need to keep an eye on the filling in any event.

While this is cooking, heat your oven to 180 or so and roll out the pastry. It's up to you whether you want both a bottom layer and a lid, but the lid is kind of essential, so if you're lacking pastry, make sure you have enough for the lid. In any event, grease the pie dish, add a layer of pastry to the pie (if desired), then, once the filling is ready, add in the filling. Don't overfill the pie, though. Brush the edge of the lid with the beaten egg, put the lid on top, and seal the pastry around the edges. Brush the remainder of the egg over the top of the pie. Cut a cross in the middle of the pie to allow steam to escape.

Shove it in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and golden. Serve and enjoy.

Top tip: the filling can be frozen, so if you don't use it all, shove in the freezer for later.

Peri-peri chicken

Last night's dinner, with small changes. The original source can be found here.

Should serve 4 people

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
700g of potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
Salt
Thyme (dried or fresh)
2 or 3 onions, sliced thickly
For the peri-peri sauce:
3 or so tsp chilli paste
1-2 tsp harissa paste
1 or 2 fresh chillis (bird's eye if you can get them)
1 tsp dried chilli (or to taste)
2 tbsp smoked paprika
5 cloves garlic
2 cm ginger
1/4 cup wine vinegar (white or red, but I used white)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
Juice from 1 lemon
Limes to serve (optional)

Heat the oven to 200. Soak the potatoes in cool salted water until needed. Cut along both sides of  the spine of the chicken using a sharp knife or scissors to remove it, then press flat. Rinse and dry the chicken (probably not needed, but it seemed to work). Throw all the ingredients for the sauce into a blender. Once it's ready, taste to see if you need more chilli (the answer is probably yes). Remove the potatoes from the water and pat dry.

Take a fairly deep roasting pan, oil it, and spread a layer of sauce on the bottom. Put the potatoes in the bottom, season with salt, pepper and thyme, add the onions on top of the potatoes, then use about half of the remaining peri-peri to cover the chicken all over, inside and out, then place it skin down on top of the potatoes and put in the oven for 15 minutes. Then, flip the chicken over (skin up), cover it again with half the peri-peri, and put back in the oven for 15 minutes. Finally, brush the last bit of peri-peri over the chicken and return to the oven for 20 minutes, or until the juice flows clear when you pierce the thigh (when it's ready). When it's ready, remove the chicken from the oven and leave it to rest for about 10 minutes. While it's doing this, put the potatoes back into the oven to cook for another 10 minutes or so.

Very nice, very recommend.  

Christmas Mince Pie Recipe

My family has used the same recipe for decades, probably. Lots of fatty goodness, this will make about 4 dozen pies, depending on how thin you roll your pastry.

Christmas Mince Pies

Fruit mince meat

1x large tin pie apples

225g currants

225g sultanas

225g raisins

120g mixed peel

675g sugar

1 tsp mixed spice

1 tsp nutmeg

225g melted butter

Brandy to taste (about 1 wine glass)

Mince all fruit together.  Add sugar. Mix well with melted butter. Add spices and brandy.

Make this a few months in advance and store in the fridge. It should keep for a couple of years, if you keep the jars sealed.

Sugar free mince meat

Instead of adding sugar add sugar substitute.  Melt with butter.

Make fruit mince meat ahead of time. Place in airtight container and keep in fridge.

Pastry

250g margarine/butter

250g Holsum (vegetable fat)

500g flour

1 cup boiling water

Sieve flour.  Cut up butter/Holsum.  Mix well with water.  Will result in a sloppy consistency.  Place in wax proof paper and cool in fridge.

Roll out pastry on floured surface. Using a glass cut out pie “bottoms” and place in cookie baking tray; place teaspoon of mince meat on top of “bottom.  Use a slightly smaller glass to cut out “tops”; brush underneath with water and place on top of mince meat.  Seal edges.  Use a sharp knife to make 2 small vents in the top.

Cooking

Bake at 220° for 15 – 18 minutes in a pre-heated oven. Watch carefully – don’t overcook.

Butternut soup

It's miserable here, so we made a good traditional South African butternut soup yesterday. Don't use pumpkin unless you absolutely have to: this is a butternut soup, with all the fun that entails. Here's the recipe:

Should serve about 6

1.5 kg butternut (muskaatkõrvits or pähkelkõrvits in Estonian), peeled and cut into 5cm blocks
2 large onions, finely chopped
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
a chilli (or to taste), finely chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 litre chicken stock
2 tbsp lemon juice
250ml cream
1tsp nutmeg, ground
1tsp cumin, ground
1/2 tsp mustard seeds, ground
salt and pepper to taste
coriander leaves to serve

In a large pot, melt the butter, and fry the onion, garlic and chilli at medium heat until transparent. Add the spices, and stir around a bit until everything is well covered. Add the butternut, stock, and lemon juice, stir again, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 30 minutes or until the butternut is soft and ready. Puree it using a food processor or handheld mixer thingy, then add the cream and carefully heat it again. It should then be ready.

Serve with an extra dollop of cream and some coriander. And bread. And wine. And freeze the rest for winter.

Bobotie

For those of you who are not of Seffrican descent, bobotie is/was the official dish of South Africa, much as the croissant is of France and crappy everything is of the UK. This is a relatively easy dish to make, unlike anything from France, and tastes really good, unlike anything from the UK. If you can get your hands on it, it goes best with Mrs HS Balls's chutney. If you can't, make your own, or find some in a supermarket. Can't help you there yet, but when I do, I'll let you know.

2 slices white bread (save up your stale offcuts, they work much better than fresh bread)

2 onions, diced

25g butter

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1kg packet lean minced beef

2 tbsp curry paste

3 cloves

1tsp mixed herbs

1 tbsp allspice (this I got from the original recipe I used. I didn't know what it was, and if you're as ignorant as I was, it's a very common spice in Caribbean cuisine)

2 tbsp peach or mango chutney

3 tbsp raisins

6 bay leaves

300ml (full cream if possible) milk

2 large eggs

Heat oven to 180C. Soak the bread in cold water while doing the other stuff.

Fry the onions in the butter. Add the garlic and beef and brown the beef. Stir in the curry paste, mixed herbs, spices, chutney, raisins and 2 of the bay leaves with 1 tsp salt and plenty of ground black pepper.

Cover and simmer for 10 mins. Squeeze the water from the bread, then beat into the meat mixture until well blended. Tip into an oval ovenproof dish - about 23 x 33cm and about 5-6cm deep. Press the mixture down well and smooth the top.

For the topping, beat the milk and eggs with seasoning, then pour over the meat. Top with the remaining bay leaves and bake for 35-40 mins until the topping is set and starting to turn golden.

The topping is rather very important. If it ain't there, you're doing it wrong.

Serve it with yellow rice: shove 1 1/2 cups of rice into a pot with water according to directions, along with 1/2 a cinnamon stick, 5 tbsp of raisins and 1 tsp of turmeric. If you want to be fancy, put some cardamon in as well.


This is an adaptation of a BBC recipe - who would have known the Brits could make good Saffer food?