Cheesy Chicken & Aubergine Dinner

This recipe is for a very easy, quick and still tasty dinner.  This should feed 6 people, with some left over for lunch!

Ingredients:

Chicken Breasts (skinless, boneless, and cut into nice bite sized chunks)

1 – 2 Aubergines (tops taken off, cut into chunks)

1 Pack Rosa tomatoes, 1 tin chopped tomatoes, tomato paste

Thyme and Oregano (fresh if possible) chopped finely

Garlic, chopped finely 

Salt and Pepper

Dried Chilli Flakes

Worcestershire Sauce

80g – 100g Mozzarella cheese, grated

Fresh Basil (two handfuls)

60g Parmesan, finely grated

Ciabatta bread

Cheesy Chicken and Aubergine Preparations

Method:

- Fry chicken breasts chunks in olive oil, garlic, chilli flakes, salt and pepper and a good dash of Worcestershire sauce

- Add aubergine chunks shortly after (you want them to get really nice and soft)

- Add thyme and oregano

- Once the aubergines are nicely browned add the tomatoes and the tin of tomatoes.  Also add tomato paste

- Add more Worcestershire sauce and spice to taste

- Turn to medium heat and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until the aubergine is soft and chicken is cooked through

- Add the mozzarella in small handfuls until sauce turns creamy and cheese is mixed through evenly

- Add basil just before serving

- Garnish with Parmesan

- Serve with Ciabatta bread

Cheesy Chicken and Aubergine Dinner served with Ciabatta Bread

Kingclip with Mushroom & Leek Risotto

I love Risotto, but have never tried to make it myself.  It was relatively easy, but requires quite a bit of manual labour!  Worth it in the end, and it worked really well with the Kingclip. 

Kingclip with Mushroom & Leek Risotto 

Ingredients:

Kingclip:

- 4 Kingclip Fillets

- 2 lemons

- 2 cloves of garlic

- Fresh Thyme and Sage, finely chopped

- Salt and Pepper

- 4 small slices of butter

Risotto:
- 6 leeks, trimmed and cut into 1cm slices
- 1 pack/6 - 8 Portobello mushrooms, cut into thin slices
- 1 tbsp salted butter
- 1 onion, minced
- 1 tsp fresh chopped parsley
- 1 cup uncooked Arborio rice (Risotto rice)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 4 – 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup dry white wine (I chose chardonnay)

- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Sea salt & pepper to taste

Method:

The Risotto takes quite a bit longer to cook than the Kingclip, but you need to prep everything before you start cooking the Risotto as it has to be stirred constantly.  Pop the Kingclip into the oven when the Risotto is nearly ready.

Kingclip:

1. Preheat oven to 180C

2. Place Kingclip fillets onto a baking tray

3. Place butter, garlic and fresh herbs over fish fillets, and season with salt and pepper

4. Squeeze lemon juice over the fillets, and finish off with lemon slices on each fillet

5. Bake for 15 min, and Grill for an extra 5min (or until golden brown)

Risotto:
1. Have a large pot with chicken stock medium to high heat, ready to add to the risotto when necessary

2. Melt butter in another large pot.

3. Add shallots; cook, stirring frequently, until translucent.

4. Add leek, mushrooms, parsley and rice and toss to coat; cook for 2 minutes.

5. Add lemon juice; cook, until all lemon juice has been absorbed, stirring continuously so rice does not stick to sides of pot, about 1 minute.
6. Add 1 cup of hot broth to the risotto pot at a time; stir until absorbed. Repeat with remaining broth, making sure each addition of broth is absorbed before adding more. This process takes about 20 – 30 minutes. When rice turns creamy and just done (should be slightly chewy and not mushy), remove pot from heat.

7. Add the parmesan cheese and stir well.

8. Season with salt and pepper, and an extra squeeze of lemon juice.

Kingclip with Peperonata

Fresh fish is my new favourite weekday dinner - it is so quick to prepare and cook, but full of flavour.  This recipe serves 4.

Kingclip with Peperonata and baby potatoes

Ingredients

For the Fish:
3 to 4 Kingclip tails depending on their size (and the appetite of those you are serving)
A handful of fresh Thyme
25g salted butter
1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
Salt
Pepper

For the Peperonata:
2 medium onions sliced finely
1 large red bell pepper sliced finely
1 large yellow bell pepper sliced finely
500g cherry tomatoes
4 cloves of garlic chopped
1 cup fresh basil (to cut, gather leaves into a ball, and slice through without cutting over the same section twice, so as not to loose the fresh flavour from these fragile leaves)
1 lemon

Method:

1.  Start with the Peperonata.  Fry onions, peppers and garlic until onion is lightly browned.  Add cherry tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.  Leave to simmer while you start the Kingclip.

2.  Slice the skin side gently, and rub salt and pepper into the slices before adding to the fry pan with melted butter and chopped garlic (skin side down).  Press the fish lightly to prevent from curling. Squeeze lemon juice over the fish, and sprinkle with Thyme.  Cover the fry pan and leave to cook for 5 minutes.  Should cook through 2/3 of the fish before turning to cook the remainder.

3.  While the fish finishes cooking, add the basil leaves to the Peperonato, and plate the mixture.

4.  Finish off by plating the fish.

I cheated and made the quick microwave potatoes so that the whole meal was ready in only 12 minutes.

Kingclip and Peperonata with baby potatoes

Classic Lasagne Al Forno

When it felt like winter was starting to set in, Lasagne was just what I felt like.  I prefer to make it with venison meat, as it is a lot leaner than even extra lean beef mince and doesn't make the lasagne sloppy.  Unfortunately hunting season hasn't quite started so I didn't have any venison for this lasagne and used lean beef mince instead.  This recipe served 5 very hungry people.

Classic Lasagne Al Forno

Ingredients:


2 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, peeled
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1kg minced lean beef
2 tbsp tomato pureé
Handful of fresh Thyme
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
50ml red wine
2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
50ml milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the sauce:

75g butter
75g flour
900ml milk
Pinch of ground nutmeg
180g cheddar cheese, grated
60g parmesan cheese, grated

6 - 8 sheets of 'non-cook' lasagne sheets

Method:

1.  Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C. Heat the olive oil in a hot pan. Grate the onion and crush the garlic before frying together. Season with the thyme, Worcestershire sauce and a little salt and pepper. Allow the onion to soften before making a well in the centre of the pan. Place the mince in the middle of the pan and stir to break it up. Add the tomato puree and allow to cook out for 30 seconds. Continue until all the meat has browned nicely. Add the wine and cook off the alcohol before adding the tomatoes. Leave to simmer for a further 2-3 minutes. Finally add the milk, turn off the heat and set aside.

2.  To make the cheese sauce:  Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour (sift it in gradually) and stir with a wooden spoon to form a paste. Over a gentle heat add a third of the milk, whisking to prevent any lumps forming. Add the rest of the milk a third at a time, whisking as you go. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of ground nutmeg. Allow the sauce to cook out for another minute before adding the Cheddar cheese. Stir and remove from the heat.

3.  Spoon half of the meat sauce into the bottom of the baking dish and place pasta sheets on top (break the sheets if necessary to avoid any overlapping). I blanch the pasta sheets individually after breaking them to size before putting them into place.  Next, pour in just under half of the cheese sauce, and spread evenly using a spatula before spooning the remaining meat on top. Add the final layer of pasta and pour over the remaining cheese sauce.

4.  Finish with the grated Parmesan and add some salt and pepper before placing in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.  (I also kept some parmesan to add once served)

Sunday Roast - Impala Leg

I love cooking with venison - it is organic, less fatty than other red meats and very high in protein.  Perfect for a healthy diet!  

Ingredients:

1 Impala Leg (approx 5 kilograms with the bone)
1 Pack of Streaky Bacon
Olive Oil
12 Cloves of Garlic
8 Sticks of fresh Rosemary
A handful of fresh Thyme
Salt
Pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.  Rub the Impala Leg with olive oil, salt and pepper - don't be shy. Jab holes evenly across the top and bottom of the leg and stuff with whole garlic cloves and rosemary pieces.  Cut approx 4 long slits across the top section of the leg, and fill with rosemary sticks and bacon (bacon is used to for its fat, so that the venison isn't too dry, so try get the really fatty pieces into the slits). Cover the top of the leg with the remaining bacon pieces (squeeze them out so that they stick to the leg nicely).  Sprinkle with a generous amount of thyme, and put extra thyme and rosemary sticks around the leg.  Cover with tinfoil and place in the oven.  Roast covered for approximately 1 hour per kilogram of meat.

The Impala Leg ready to go in to the oven

Finished Roast Impala Leg, complete with Crispy Bacon

I served it with mashed potatoes and an onion gravy.  To get extra flavour in the potatoes I boiled the potato skins in the milk I was going to use with the mash - most of the flavour is in the skin. (Drain the skins from the boiled milk before adding to the mash)

Roast served with mashed potatoes and an onion gravy

When I do it again I think it would go really nicely with tzatziki (especially if it is another beautiful, sunny Durban day) and some green veggies.