Recipes to bring people together

If you think about it, recipes are the ultimate tool for community. Presenting others with your food experiment and having them add to it until it becomes known as a food of that region, is incredible. Recipes also bring people together, foodies are the best people. In my line of work I meet many interesting people over wine and dinner and have yet to encounter someone I couldn’t bond with over some food. A lot of the things discussed include recipes.

Whether they are treasured family recipes or an interesting dish sourced on the internet, we always end up at recipes. I have received many recipes over the years and here are a few that have been shared with me that should add some variety for fellow foodies’ recipe books. From the surprising spekboom chutney to a beautiful chia pancake recipe, I hope you enjoy them.

Let your palate cross borders

With international borders still closed, those who have a hankering to travel overseas can console themselves by igniting the taste of Europe. The people over at Constantia Glen have tapped into their European heritage, the wine estate was bought by the Waibel family in the 1950s, and have supplied us with a traditional Austrian beef goulash recipe. This is certainly something to try for cooler Spring evenings.

Traditional Austrian beef goulash recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

45ml (3 tbsp) olive oil

3 (600g) medium onions, chopped

5ml (1 tsp) garlic, finely chopped

15ml (1 tbsp) tomato paste

15ml (1 tbsp) paprika

2,5ml (½ tsp) ground cumin

2,5ml (½ tsp) marjoram

2,5ml (½ tsp) thyme

2,5ml (½ tsp) cayenne pepper (optional)

250g boneless, cubed beef

60ml (¼ cup) red wine

1L (4 cups) warm beef stock

3 (660g) medium potatoes, peeled and diced

salt and pepper

To serve:

sour cream

chopped chives

crusty bread

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until tender for 8-10 minutes.
2. Stir in the tomato paste, paprika, cumin, marjoram, thyme and cayenne pepper. Add the beef and fry, 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the red wine and simmer, 5 minutes. Add the stock, cover and cook, 40 minutes.
4. Add the potatoes and simmer for a further 30 minutes until the potatoes and meat are fork-tender.
5. Season the soup to taste, ladle into bowls and top each portion with a dollop of sour cream. Sprinkle some chives on top and serve with freshly baked bread.

Get cheesy with it and become a cheesemaker

I have worked with many brands in the past and that includes the people at Rediscover Diary. These people are all for the public learning about the many ways they can enjoy and use milk and other forms of diary. They sent this recipe for homemade cottage cheese so that those who have been putting their culinary skills to use during the higher levels of the lockdown could test out their cheesemaking skills. The best part? You only need two ingredients for this.   

You will need:

2 litres full-cream milk

500ml maas

 A muslin or cheese cloth

Method:

Mix together the milk and maas and cover. Let it stand in a warm place and allow to curdle. Do not stir. This process can take up to 24 hours, so be patient. Line a colander with the clean cloth and suspend it over a bowl. Once your mixture has curdled, gently ladle the curds into the lined colander to strain the curds from the whey over the course of the next few hours. Stir the curds every once in a while to help it along. Scoop the cottage cheese into a clean bowl, cover and refrigerate. It is ready for use. You can add flavours of your own choice for savoury or sweet uses.

Brave the unknown with Spekboom chutney

In the beginning of the year, which seems like many years ago, everyone was fascinated by properties of the spekboom plant. The plant was hailed as a very important for its ecological abilities. I was surprised to find out that it is edible. Executive chef Kerry Kilpin from Steenberg has provided those brave foodies with a recipe for spekboom chutney.

 Ingredients:

375ml spekboom leaves – picked off the stems and washed

1 onion chopped

110ml white spirit vinegar

140g sugar

5ml fennel seeds

5ml brown mustard seeds

5ml salt

Method:

Sweat the onions and spices until soft, taking care not to turn brown. Add the spekboom and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add the vinegar, sugar and salt. Cook for a further 15–20 minutes on a low heat or until a nice thick chutney type consistency. Taste and season further if required.

You will notice that the spekboom releases quite a lot of gooey liquid when cooking, this is quite normal. Pour into a sterilised jar and refrigerate.

Sweet tato chia pecan pancakes

Everybody wants to have a nutritious breakfast, however most people can’t, whether it’s due to work or access to nutritious ingredients. The people over at B-Well have compiled a recipe for pecan pancakes that is a yummy and nutritious challenge for foodies. These pancakes can be served as dessert, with ice cream, with peanut butter and banana among the many variations.

Makes: 10 – 12 pancakes

Ingredients:

·        B-WELL cooking spray

·        1 large sweet potato, cooked

·        ½ cup rolled oats

·        ½ cup flour (we love wholewheat for extra fibre)

·        ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk

·        2 tsp chia seed

·        2 eggs

·        1 ½ tsp baking powder

·        1 tsp cinnamon

·        ¼ tsp nutmeg

·        1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

·        ¼ tsp salt

·        Honey/maple syrup, to drizzle

·        Pecan nuts, roasted

Method:

1.      Combine cooked sweet potato, and oats in a blender. Blend until well combined.

2.      Pour eggs, chia seeds and milk into the blender with the sweet potato and oat base. Blend until well combined.

3.      Add the rest of ingredients. Blend until fully puréed.

4.      Heat the stovetop to medium heat. Spray B-WELL Canola cooking spray to cover the surface of a non-stick pan. (Remember to spray B-WELL Canola cooking spray before each batch to prevent sticking and for extra Omega-3 boost)

5.      Using a soup ladle or about ¼ cup, pour some batter into the pan and allow to cook for 2 minutes, or until small bubbles appear on the surface, then flip and repeat until both sides are cooked and golden.

6.      Serve topped with the roasted pecan nuts, drizzled with the honey/maple syrup or with your favourite toppings and sides. Enjoy!