Is there anything more delicious than a fresh, ripe Nectarine? I just can’t get enough of them at the moment and try to eat them everyday (if my kids don’t finish them all before I get a chance to grab one). I’ve never really cooked with nectarines and wanted to do something quite special with them so I decided to make a tart with them. After much deliberation and research (gosh, I’m making it sound quite serious, aren’t I?), I decided to make a Frangipane tart. When I was younger I had this idea that frangipane tarts are hard work and that only experienced pastry chefs could pull…
Posts Tagged ‘Pastry’
It’s the 1st of August. How is it the 1st of August already? I say it every year and every year I feel like it’s going faster and faster. I sometimes feel overwhelmed at how quickly the years seem to be flying past me. When I was in school I was SO excited when the year’s would fly past because it would mean our December holidays were upon us, but now, I don’t know how I’m going to get everything done I still need to get done this year. But then, this is how I always feel and what doesn’t get done this year, always seems to get done the…
I have come to love (and I mean, REALLY love) Beef shin this Winter. The cut of meat that is usually used for soup (sop bene) in South Africa has become my absolute favourite thing to cook with. The Italians (of course) are one ahead of me here because they use shin (although Veal mostly) for Osso Bucco, another one of my Winter favourites. I have been experimenting with beef shin almost every week this Winter and I’ve realised that, when it’s cooked and literally falling apart, it tastes an awful lot like oxtail which up until now, was the only stewing beef I ever liked cooking with. Unfortunately, the…
I am a huge fan of the whole “Meatless Monday” movement. My family (especially the men other than my husband) are not. They believe that “Meat is meat and a man must eat” and that chicken is a side dish. My dad has started to come around to the idea and my husband went on a bit of a Meat Strike when he was younger so he doesn’t mind too much either. But my uncles and cousins just don’t get why I’m even trying to do vegetarian meals. Phrases like “bunny food” and “hippie nonsense” are often heard when I talk about Meatless Mondays. Nevertheless, I will not stop with…
As you might remember, I asked my readers to give me some suggestions of meals/recipes they’d like me to cook. I was absolutely overwhelmed by the awesome suggestions and I’m slowly making my way through the loooong list of recipes. One of the suggestions was for a Phyllo pie with Chicken, Mushrooms and Leeks by my friend Simone. I really liked the idea and as Simone and I are both counting calories, knew I had to help her out. This recipe isn’t fat free, but I’m pretty sure it’s as low in fat as any pie/pastry dish I’ve ever had. Phyllo Pastry is very low in fat as it’s made…
Whenever my brother or I walk in a mall and we smell buttery-cinnamon, all good intentions go out the window and we immediately follow the scent to the nearest Cinnabon. And we don’t only buy one Cinnabon each, we buy a few. Way too many to actually consume in one sitting, but the way they are lined up, all glistening, sugary and rich just makes us swoon. I know the proper cinnamon bun dough is made with yeast but I just could not be bothered with all that fuss so I decided to use some puff pastry instead. And it worked pretty well. They weren’t as bread-y as I’m used…
I know I promised you this tart last Thursday already, but it’s been a hectic weekend. But here it is now. This is quite a show-stopper of a dessert as the dark, gooeyness of the chocolate is paired perfectly with the sharp and sweet strawberries. And I mean, who doesn’t like chocolate with strawberries? There’s not much to be said about this tart, it’s beautiful, tastes divine and will make any chocoholic weepy and appreciative! Plus, it’s a ‘lower in fat’ tart. The reason I don’t say low-fat, is because there’s still pastry, chocolate and butter in this tart. The only think that’s ‘low fat’ is the reduced fat cream…
Milktart is yet another one of those proudly South African favourites. And boy, it sure is a favourite in this household. However, this is not a traditional recipe for milktart, this one has a bit of a twist. Instead of using sugar to sweeten the ‘custard’, I used condensed milk. It adds a lovely creaminess as well as really great flavour that you can only get from condensed milk. And you know something is good when a very loud Afrikaans family all go completely silent while eating it. And that’s exactly what happened when I served this as dessert last week. I made the pastry for the crust myself but…
As you might remember, I posted about the wonderful thing that is pastry last week. And I promised I would post my recipe for Chicken Pie. My first memories of Chicken Pie involves my gran, Sundays and a table buckling under the weight of the amazing spread she used to prepare for us. My gran’s chicken pie was always just the way it should be. Loads of filling with crisp and light pastry with a hint of cloves and nutmeg. Comfort is personified in my gran’s chicken pie. And although I don’t always follow her recipe, mine is not too shabby! I like to add different vegetables to my Chicken…
Pastry is a probably the most versatile ingredient on earth. Not only can it transform as easily from salty to sweet but it works for all seasons. In summer, few things beat a beautiful, light quiche for lunch or a fresh tart for a light supper. And winter wouldn’t be complete without a regular helping of home-made pie on the menu. My Home-made chicken pie is a crowd favourite (and I will be blogging about it soon) but yesterday, I had some puff pastry and lamb in the freezer and although I was seriously craving lamb curry, I felt like the comforting crispness of pastry even more. And hence, the…
