Courgette with Feta and Walnuts.

I did this as a very tasty light lunch for one, and the quantities of ingredients for a meal that size. However, by increasing the amounts of ingredients proportionately it could easily become lunch for two or even a light dinner for four accompanied by, say, new potatoes and a beetroot salad. And a little cold cooked chicken.

Ingredients.

1 tblsp olive oil.

2 small [6cm] courgettes.

Salt to taste.

1/3 cup walnuts, chopped.

A knob of butter.

12 sage leaves.

Zest of a lemon.

50g feta cheese, crumbled.

Method.

Preheat to oven to 50°C and place an oval serving dish in it. Top and tail the courgettes and slice lengthwise and rub them with a little salt. Pour the oil into a pan over a hot flame and fry the courgettes cut side down until browned, turn them over and fry them for another 2-3 minutes then transfer them to the serving dish.

Add the walnuts to the pan and fry the walnuts until crunchy, about 4-5 minutes, then scatter them over the courgettes. Add the butter to the pan and fry the sage leaves until they are crunchy, about 3-4 minutes, and scatter them over the courgettes. Remove the dish from the oven, sprinkle with the lemon zest and the cheese and serve immediately.

Serves: 1.

Thai Basil Chicken.

This is one I pinched about twenty years ago from a Recipeland.com offering entitled “Thai Basil Beef” by Dale and Gail Shipp and swapped the chicken for the beef. Being unoriginal, I called it ‘Thai Basil Chicken’ because it describes the dish so perfectly. I must say that this was a wise investment, as this one recipe has spawned at least a dozen variants involving different meats and different primary herbs or spices. It is very simple, can be done using one element of the stove and takes about 15 minutes all up.

Ingredients.

300g diced lean chicken meat [1 breast fillet does it nicely].

2 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped.

1 tblsp sweet chilli sauce.

2 tblsp Thai fish sauce.

1 tblsp soy sauce.

1 tblsp raw sugar.

Salt to taste.

¼ cup chopped basil.

½ large green pepper, seeded and julienne sliced.

½ large red pepper, seeded and julienne sliced.

½ cup broccoli florets.

¼ cup olive oil

2 skeins egg noodles, broken up.

Method.

1. Prepare the meat and set aside.

2. Prepare the garlic and set aside.

3. Combine the chilli sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and salt in a small bowl, stir well and top up with water to a capacity of 2 cups and set aside.

4. Prepare the basil and set aside in a bowl. Remember to reserve a little for garnish.

5. Prepare the vegetables, place in a bowl and set aside.

5. Get out the noodles and add them to the row of items. You can break them up into the bowl that you used for the veges while to are cooking the veges.

Method.

Heat the oil in a hot wok and stir fry the garlic for a minute or so, then add the meat. Chow for 3 – 4 minutes until sealed then stir in the vegetables. Chow for another minute or two then add the fish sauce mix and another cup of water. Stir in until evenly incorporated and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes to ensure that the meat is cooked through then add the noodles, chow for a minute or two until well mixed and cook for 3-4 minutes until done. Stir the basil through and serve immediately, garnished with the reserved basil.

Serves: 2

Lamb and Mushroom in Vermouth.

I thought of calling this one ‘Agneau à la Crème de Champignons’ as it seemed to deserve a French designation, but I decided against it. A bit too pretentious. Whatever else it might be, it is a quick and easy stir fry for a night when you are coming home and too dead beat to do much else. You can have all the bits set up and waiting in the fridge if you can put them together the morning or even the night before. You can put the potatoes on and sit back with a glass of something while they are cooking and the making of the meat dish takes no more than ten minutes. It will mean that you will have to collect a few sealable plastic containers of about 500ml [2 cup] capacity, but you can soon build up a collection using used yoghurt, chutney or marmalade containers. It is well worth the trouble.

Ingredients.

250g lamb backstrap, thinly sliced.

1 medium brown onion, peeled, finely diced.

1 ½ cups mushrooms, thinly sliced.

1 clove garlic, peeled, sliced.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg.

½ cup white vermouth.

1 tblsp tomato paste.

¼ cup olive oil.

½ cup whole cream.

1 tsp chives, finely chopped.

Preparation.

1. Prepare the meat, cover and set aside.

2. Prepare the onion, cover and set aside.

3. Prepare the mushrooms and the garlic, combine, cover and set aside.

4. Prepare the spices and salt and set aside.

5. Beat the tomato paste into the vermouth and set aside.

Method.

Heat the oil in a sauté pan over a hot flame and seal the meat all over then add the onion. Sauté until the onion is softened, say 3-4 minutes, then add the mushroom and garlic mix. Sauté the mushrooms and add the spice mix. When the mushrooms have darkened, add the vermouth mixture and allow to bubble until the liquor is mostly absorbed then add the cream. Sauté and allow to bubble to thicken slightly then turn the mixture into a serving bowl, garnish with the chives and serve immediately.

Serve with: Roast potatoes and a green vegetable e.g. French beans.

Serves: 2.

Pasta Carbonara.

The origins of recipes like this are hard to pin down, but this one seems to have appeared in the Lazio region of Italy [i.e. around the City of Rome]. The name Pasta alla Carbonara has not been around for very long, perhaps since no earlier than the 1950s, and there are several legends to explain its origins, none of them very satisfactory. The basic meaning of the Italian word ‘carbonara’ [carbone = charcoal or coal, cf also carbonara = coal miner] signifies something that is cooked over charcoal, which would suggest that in some form this is a very old recipe indeed. It is a very simple dish, essentially pasta with a little cheese and bacon added to give it a bit of zest, and I would imagine that it has its origins in Italian peasant cooking which was done using the most basic of ingredients, making much out of little, over a charcoal brazier. Purists use guanciale, a bacon made from the pork cheek, but it is not easy to get [and very expensive if you can]. I find a good smoked, dry cured bacon works very well.

Ingredients.

¼ cup olive oil.

150g guanciale or lean belly bacon, chopped thinly.

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped.

2 eggs.

¼ cup cream.

¼ cup grated cheese, preferable parmesan or a mature cheddar.

Plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

1 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped.

1 litre lightly salted water.

2 cups dried pasta.

¼ cup white vermouth.

Preparation.

1. Prepare the bacon and set aside.

2. Prepare the garlic and set aside.

3. Beat the eggs, cream, cheese and pepper together in a small bowl and set aside.

4. Cull, wash and chop the parsley and set aside.

Method.

Bring the water to a rolling boil and add the pasta. It will need 8-10 minutes to cook al dente. As it is cooking, heat a sauté pan over a hot flame and add the olive oil. Add the bacon and stir fry until the fat is beginning to render, then add the garlic. Continue to stir fry for another minute or so until the garlic slightly browned.

Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking water. Deglaze the pan with the Vermouth then add the pasta to the bacon mixture, remove the pan from the heat and rapidly stir in the egg mixture, allowing the heat of the pasta to cook the sauce. Add some of the pasta water a little at a time to the mixture – a tablespoon or two should be sufficient – to thin out the sauce. Add the parsley, mixing thoroughly, and serve immediately.

Serve with: Salad on the side.

Serves: 2.

Pineapple Salsa.

A sort of Tex-Mex-ish spicy mixture ideal for hamburgers, sausages, barbecues and especially for ham steaks. Excellent poured over braised chicken breasts or portk medallions. You can serve it hot or cold.

Ingredients.

1 234g can diced pineapple in juice.

3 small tomatoes, diced.

2 spring onion, finely chopped.

¼ cup whole sweetcorn kernels.

2 tblsp finely chopped coriander and/or celery leaves.

6 lumps crystallised ginger, chopped.

1 tblsp raw sugar.

1 tblsp sweet chilli sauce.

Salt to taste.

1 tblsp cornflour.

1 cup port wine.

Method.

Drain the can of pineapple, and reserve the juice [about 100ml]. Place the pineapple pieces in a bowl with the chopped onion, tomatoes, sweetcorn and the coriander and/or celery leaves. Mix well and set aside.

Pour the pineapple juice into a small pan with the ginger, sugar, chilli sauce and salt. Bring to the boil and simmer until all the sugar has dissolved [about 3-4 minutes]. Quench the cornflour in the port wine and add to the pan. Bring to the boil and stir, simmering, until the mixture thickens. Continue to simmer for 6-8 to burn off the alcohol then pour the mixture over the pineapple mixture and toss well. Place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Serve chilled, or zap in the microwave for 2 minutes if you want it hot.

Yield: About 2 cups [500ml].

Pea and Bacon Soup.

Pea and Ham Soup is the traditional favourite, but ham bones are almost impossible to buy these days, and you need ham bones to make the stock for that. Of course, you could get yourself a large 15-18kg leg of ham and bake it. By the time you have worked your way down to the bone you will have your ingredients for Pea and Ham Soup. On the other hand, you could opt for a meal that is just as tasty, and much, much cheaper as below.

Ingredients.

1 smoked bacon hock.

6 cups water.

1 stick celery, roughly chopped.

1 small fennel bulb.

1 cup green split peas.

½ cup pearl barley.

¼ tsp white pepper.

Salt to taste.

1 cup frozen green peas.

Method.

Place the hock in a suitably sized saucepan, add the water and the herbs, bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 1 ½ hours. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow to cool right down. Remove the hock and pull it apart, reserving all the meaty bits and discarding the bones, skin and gristly bits [there’s a lot of this]. Pour the stock through a strainer into a clean pot and discard the bits of fennel and celery.

Add the meat to the stock, along with the split peas, barley, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for one hour then remove and allow to sit for at least 3 hours. When preparing to serve, gently reheat the soup, add a little water if too thick, and the green peas. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes and serve immediately.

Serve with: Chunks of fresh focaccia.

Serves: 2.

Pork Réchauffé.

This is essentially a fried rice dish, except that it is not fried but simply reheated [hence the name] pre-cooked rice and frozen mixed diced vegetables in a sauce mix. It is not very clever, but it is quick and easy, and a good way of getting rid of bits of last night’s roast. I like quick and easy. You can have everything set up and sitting in the fridge ready for you, then it is only a matter of putting it all together, heating it and eating it. The sauce mix can be a matter of on-going experimentation according to your taste. You can heat it through as below, or you can simply mix it all together, put it in plastic containers and zap it in the microwave. It’s as easy as that.

Ingredients.

1 tblsp sweet chilli sauce.

1 tblsp Soy Sauce.

2 tblsp Oyster Sauce.

½ cup cooking oil.

1 ½ cups cooked lean pork, shredded.

2 cups cold cooked rice.

1 ½ cups mixed frozen vegetables.

Salt to taste.

Preparation.

Beat together the chilli sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce and oil, and pour the mixture over the meat. Mix well, cover and set aside for an hour.

Method.

Place a sauté pan or wok over a medium flame and gently heat the chilli/meat mixture through. Add the rice and the mixed vegetables, breaking up any lumps, and stir through. Cover and cook gently for 8-10 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until hot right through. Serve immediately.

Serves: 2.

Spicy Lentil and Chicken Salad.

The thing here is to have all the bits ready to go and sitting in the fridge, the lettuce mixture in one bowl, the lentil mixture in another, the meat in a third, the eggs in a fourth and the yoghurt mixture in a jug. Then it is just a matter of putting it all together – plating up, as they say in the trade – and putting it on the table when you are ready, i.e. after the 6 o’clock news. The recipe below is for two, but you can always expand it with a few other things; try adding a half a cup of whole corn to lentil mixture, and/or chopped green beans, or perhaps spring onion finely chopped.

Ingredients.

¼ cup bulgar wheat, soaked, drained.

¼ cup chopped dried apricots.

¼ cup sultanas.

1 400g can brown lentils, drained, rinsed.

2 tsp curry powder [or to taste].

Salt to taste.

4 lettuce leaves finely sliced.

1 red or orange capsicum, seeded and diced.

¾ cup yoghurt.

2 tblsp mango chutney.

1 cooked chicken breast fillet, sliced.

4 hard boiled eggs, shelled, halved.

A little milk [optional].

Preparation.

Place the bulgar wheat, apricots and sultanas in a bowl with enough warm water to cover. Allow to stand for 30 minutes then drain and tip into a bowl. Drain and rinse the lentils and add to the bulgar wheat. Stir well. Add the curry powder and salt, toss the mixture to ensure that everything is evenly coated and set aside. Prepare the lettuce and capsicum, place together in another bowl and mix together. Beat the yogurt and chutney together in a jug and set aside. Add a little milk to thin it to a pouring consistency if you prefer to pour it rather than spoon it on in dollops. Prepare the eggs and the meat in separate containers and set aaside.

Method.

Share the lettuce mixture into two deep plates, arranging into nests. Arrange the meat on top and the lentil mixture on top of that. Arrange the eggs around the side, spoon a few dollops of the yoghurt mixture here and there and serve immediately with the rest of the yoghurt mixture on the side.

Serves: 2.

Pork Roast with Sherry Jus.

This is a variation of a recipe for a Beef Bolar Roast with Red Wine Jus which I got from a Fresh Choice website. I used thick end pork fillet which can be purchased at a very reasonable price from Verkerk’s’ factory shop in Vagues Road.

Ingredients.

1 kg thick pork fillet, trimmed of sinew.

2 tblsp oil.

Salt to taste.

¼ cup cider vinegar.

1 cup dry Sherry.

1 10cm sprig rosemary.

3 fronds fennel.

2 bay leaves.

2 Tbsp brown sugar

25g butter, diced.

Method.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Rub the meat with the olive oil and season to taste. Place in a suitable roasting dish, tuck the herbs around it. pour the vinegar and wine around it, cover and roast for 1 ¼ hours. Remove the meat from the oven, cover with kitchen foil and place in the warming drawer to rest. Discard the herbs.

Place the roasting dish on a hob over a medium flame. Add the sugar and stir slowly until fully dissolved. Strain the liquor though a fine sieve, discarding all solids, into a small pan over a medium flame and continue to cook until slightly thickened. Beat the butter into the jus until fully incorporated and the sauce has a nice sheen. Decant into a gravy boat or jug.

Dot the warmed plates with a little of the jus, slice the meat into medallions and place on top, then pour a little of the jus on top of the meat. Serve immediately.

Serve with: Roast potatoes, roast stuffed onions, and steamed or boiled vegetables of choice.

Serves: 2 [with enough left over for sandwiches or a salad the next day].

Crevettes flambées à la Christiane.

Which is to say Flambéed Shrimps courtesy of my friend Christiane Hanlon, who so generously sent me her cousin’s recipe. I have had to adapt it somewhat to local conditions, of course, as I always do. Christiane’s recipe specified 20-year-old rum which I do not have, and even if I did I would not be using it for cooking! I had to make do with brandy [French, of course, Chatelle VSOP]. Also, Herbes de Provence has a fairly broad interpretation; I used basil, tarragon, thyme and origanum. The chilli was a dash of sweet chilli sauce added with the tomatoes. Despite the changes le repas était des plus délicieux!

Ingredients.

¼ cup olive oil.

250g cooked frozen shrimps, thawed.

1 large brown onion, peeled, finely chopped.

½ cup brandy.

1 400g can crushed tomatoes.

1 tblsp sweet chilli sauce, optional.

Salt to taste.

¼ cup finely chopped Herbes de Provence.

½ cup whole cream.

Method.

On a high flame, sauté the shrimps in the oil for 2-3 minutes. Add the brandy, swirl and flambée. Add the onion, salt and herbs and sauté for another minute or so, then add the tomatoes and chilli. Reduce the flame to low and cook, stirring frequently, for about ten minutes then add the cream. Stir the cream through and raise the heat until the mixture starts to bubble and thicken, then remove and serve immediately.

Serve with. A crisp green salad with a vinaigrette on the side, and chunks of crusty French bread – if you can get it. The stuff that supermarkets sell as ‘French Sticks’ are nowhere near a true French flute loaf.

Serves: 2.