Roasted Red Pepper Pasta

28 October 201412 April 2020 ~ Fiona ~ Leave a comment

This is a warm pasta salad with roasted peppers, cilantro and ginger – another of my “made-up” dishes. I had not made it for a while when I saw Jamie’s recipe for roasted red pepper and walnut spread. This prompted me to make it again.

Ingredients:

Sweet bell peppers. I generally use robot peppers as that gives great colour variation, but go lightly on the green peppers because they have much stronger flavour. This time I used red peppers with yellow (small and end-of-season) ones.
Fresh ginger, grated
Fresh cilantro (coriander and, in South Africa, also known as Dhanya). We still have some in the garden which is flowering – so I used the feathery leaves, green seeds and flowers for garnish
Clove of garlic (I add it to the water in which the pasta cooks and after I’ve drained the pasta, I squeeze out the creamy flesh, mash it and add it to the cooked pasta).
Cheese – this time I used lovely Labneh made by a McGregor resident, but cheddar and/or another mild cheese works equally well)
Pasta (commercial or home made)

Here’s what I do: Roast the peppers, cool and and then peel them, removing seeds and any pith. The peppers release juice – I reserve that – the flavour is wonderful. Slice or tear the peppers into slivers. Once the pasta is cooked and drained, and a little olive oil tossed in, the rest of the ingredients, except for the cheese and some of the fresh dhanya, are equally unceremoniously tossed in and about. Plate in a pasta bowl and garnish with the cheese and reserved cilantro. Serve immediately (on hot plates if the weather is cold; in summer I don’t bother).

Sensational sandwiches

29 June 2014 ~ Fiona ~ 6 Comments

A sandwich is a sandwich, is a sandwich – or is it?

Since mid-January, I have forsworn bread and potatoes. I thought that it would be difficult, but it hasn’t been. I think that the main reason for this is that I made a decision that this was a choice rather than a rule. It was also my choice and no-one else’s. Why do I make this point? Well, I figured that if I allowed it to govern every meal I cooked, particularly over the weekend, I’d make everyone miserable. The upshot is that it’s the 5:2 approach – as far as possible….

We have a wonderful pop-up market in McGregor. You don’t always know what or who will be at the market. That means that you can’t be guaranteed bread, but when there is bread, it’s beautiful, often really healthy. There are a few bread makers in the village. One is Hester, who sadly doesn’t bake bread as often as she used to. Her potato Ciabatta are fantastic, wood-fired chunks of tasty bread. In addition to being great when fresh, they also make the most fantastic crostini that you can top with almost anything to make a really easy, sexy sarmie. To make crostini, heat the oven to about 200 Celsius and lightly brush each slice on both sides, place on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 10 – 12 minutes.

A spread of pesto, with tomato, cheeses, gherkins, pickled bell peppers and fresh herbs, in different combinations make a feast!

Corlie is another baker in the village. She makes a few lovely breads, and one we are particularly fond of, is a part rye bread. She makes it with molasses which gives it a lovely soft, spongy texture with a delicious malty flavour. I made this sarmie – unplanned – with what I had in the fridge:

On a slice of thin-ish bread, layer slivers of Camembert or brie, a warm, quick-fried slice of brinjal (warm is important – it begins to melt the cheese, and brings out its flavour), and top with a slice of fresh tomato and salt and pepper. Now spread a generous dollop of pesto over the second slice of bread and put the lid on your sandwich!These (even if I say so, myself) sensational sarmies are favourite Saturday or Sunday afternoon late lunches for us – in the garden – with a glass of wine from our lovely valley!

Crazy about Courgettes

18 May 2014 ~ Fiona ~ Leave a comment

We have always loved courgettes and eat them in a host of different ways. Tom will even eat them raw, like an apple. So, this year, we have successfully grown them, and when Sannie (pronounced “sunny – because she is) Boervrou, a farmer friend of ours dropped off a box of them, I had such fun making all sorts of things courgette – including for breakfast. So, in addition to pasta carbonara, here are some other really cool ways to cook delicious courgettes – for breakfast, lunch and/or dinner!

Courgette Frittata

Regular readers of this blog know that breakfast is not usually my domain – other than public holidays – and we’ve had a few of those in the last month. The most recent was voting day in South Africa. With no need to get up early, brunch was in order, and with fresh-from-the-vine courgette, and a beautiful autumn day, I thought that a frittata might be fun. A frittata is like a Spanish omelette, but is grilled and can be eaten hot or cold.

I roughly grated one courgette and beat together three eggs to which I added a little milk, salt and pepper as well as a good chunk of butter, chopped into small pieces. In a large pan, in hot olive oil and butter, lightly sauté the courgette and then pour in the egg mixture. Swirl a little in the pan and then cook over a gentle heat until it starts to bubble. While this is happening, warm the grill. When the mixture is quite firm around the edges but “wet-ish” in the middle, sprinkle fresh, chopped origanum and a little finely grated Parmesan or pecorino over the top. Place it under the grill until the egg is firm and the top is nicely browned. A frittata can be served immediately or left to cool. I served our courgette frittata warm, with tomatoes topped with a dollop of cottage cheese and grilled.

Zupa Zucchini

Courgette and Camembert soup makes a delicious light lunch, particularly in autumn. This soup is quite special to me – the original recipe comes from a school friend who now lives in Melbourne, and whom I’ve not seen since school days – some 30-odd years ago. We have reconnected through Facebook and now enjoy cricket “together”, continents apart. So, to make this, you sauté onion and courgette (coarsely chopped) with a potato in a pot and then add stock (ratio of courgette to stock is 1:1). Bring to the boil and simmer until all the vegetables are soft. Liquidise and then season, add Camembert to taste and liquidise again to make sure that the Camembert is well distributed in the soup.

You can make this in a vegan, Kosher or Halaal form by using vegetable stock and omitting the cheese. I have also substituted the potato with a little flour which is added to the vegetables to which you then add the warm or hot stock.

Stuffed courgettes

The last idea that I’m going to share with you is a delicious side dish. The idea came from a few recipes I’ve used and the inclusion of rosemary was the consequence of a suggestion from a friend in the village.

Select nicely shaped, firm courgettes and, depending on the size, half or more, per person. (It’s easier to work with larger ones, so I’d recommend large ones). Cut in half and scoop out the centre and set aside. Pop the shells into a moderate oven, drizzled with olive oil and bake for about 10 minutes – make sure they stay firm. Then, in a pan, sauté finely chopped onion, red pepper and a clove of garlic as well as the reserved flesh. Season to taste and add a little oreganum and/or parsley. Remove the shells from the oven and then stuff, placing a sprig of fresh rosemary between pairs of courgettes – the lovely flavour gently infuses into the marrows as they cook. Put this back in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. Garnish with fresh rosemary and serve as a side dish.

Don’t use dried rosemary, or chop rosemary and add it to the mixture – it is too strong and will overpower everything else.