Main Meals
Macaroni cheese
(serves 5)
macaroni (one-third of a cup per person)
1 ½ cups grated cheese
1 tin tomato & onion mix
salt, pepper
margarine
paprika
cake flour
mustard
600 ml milk
2 eggs
diced vegetables: half a cup per person
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
Boil water with 1 tsp salt
Add one-third cup macaroni per person (extra for seconds) and boil for 8 to 10 mins.
Drain through colander.
Steam hard veggies (e.g. carrots, green beans or sweet potato) for 10 mins.
Use magarine (with wax paper) to grease a Pyrex dish
Tip in the macaroni
Add 1 tin tomato & onion mix (5 people)
(or saute some tomato, onion, green pepper & peas)
Make White Sauce:
Melt 2 tabsp margarine in a pan
Add 3 tabsp cake flour, stir in well
Add dash of milk, stir mixture into a paste, then add remaining milk (600 ml)
Add ½ tsp salt, ground pepper and 1 tsp mustard
Bring to a boil, stirring continuously until thick
Add ¾ cup grated cheese, stir in well, then switch off plate.
Beat 2 eggs and mix into macaroni
Pour in white sauce and mix well
Sprinkle ¾ cup grated cheese on top
Sprinkle paprika spice on top of cheese
Bake for 35 mins at 180 C.
Dhal
250g yellow split peas
1 or 2 onions, fairly finely chopped
1 large tomato / half tin tomato
approx 1 litre water
cumin
coriander
mustard seeds
salt (only at the end)
Wash the peas well and place in pot with water.
Bring to the boil and skim off the foam as it arises.
Lower heat and simmer.
Note: Don't add salt until the last few minutes of cooking or it will make the skins tough.
Add the tomato and onion. Boil until the peas are soft. This could take up to 2 hours depending on the type of pea and the quantity.
You can basically use any kind of lentil or split pea, but yellow split pea dhal is the most usual.
Flavouring:
The main spices to use are coriander, cumin (both in powdered form) and mustard seeds. Be liberal with these and experiment. You can also add turmeric for colour and a slight extra taste, the same goes for masala. If you like hot food you can add a little chopped chilli. Garlic may also be added, as may fresh dhania. A blob of butter will make the dhal creamy. At Emoyeni we add a few chopped veggies, but otherwise you can serve a plain dhal with baked veggies or a salad. Always serve dhal with rice.
Italian Quiche
(Serves 8.)
2 leeks chopped 3 ml salt
1 small onion, chopped black peper
1 green pepper, chopped 50 ml chopped parsley
2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 ml dried origanum
4 small (250g) baby marrows diced 1 ml dried basil
2 small (250g) brinjals
125g cream cheese
375 ml milk
3 eggs
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
250ml grated Cheddar cheese
25ml grated Parmesan cheese
Saute leeks, onion, pepper and garlic
When translucent, add brinjals & marrows and season with ½ tsp salt & pepper
Cover and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally until soft
Spoon into a bowl, and add parsley and dried herbs. Cool.
Bake chilled crust at 200 C for 12 minutes.
Distribute 3 tsp flour over base, using pastry brush .
Spoon in vegetable filling.
Beat cream cheese, milk, eggs and 1 ml salt.
Slice tomato into disks and arrange over the vegetables.
Pour custard over, sprinkle with cheeses.
Bake at 180 C for 30 - 35 mins.
Switch off oven and leave for 20 mins to settle.
Serve with a salad.
Pumpkin and lentil bobotie
(serves 4 )
Note: you can use butternut in place of pumpkin
Oil
1 onion, finely chopped
15 ml curry powder
750 g peeled pumpkin chunks
100 ml water
50 ml brown sugar
50 ml tomato paste
salt and pepper
500 ml precooked brown lentils
400 ml milk
2 beaten eggs
Heat oven to 180°. Grease a casserole dish.
Heat oil and fry onions until soft.
Add curry powder and stir until ingredients have blended.
Add pumpkin chunks and water.
Cover and simmer until soft and dry.
Add brown sugar and tomato paste.
Flavour with salt and pepper and mash finely.
Place layers of pumpkin and lentils in the dish.
Mix milk and eggs, flavour with salt and pepper and pour over the pumpkin and lentils.
Bake the bobotie for 30 to 40 minutes or until egg layer is set.
Polenta Bake
Alternate layers of pre-cooked polenta and vegetables. Spread a mixture of red pepper and tomato puree on top and bake at 180° for 30 minutes.
Ghee (clarified butter)
Put 1 lb of unsalted butter into a saucepan over a low heat.
Allow the butter to melt completely, then raise the heat to medium.
Skim off the foam as it rises.
When the butter starts to boil, giving off its water content, lower the heat and cook slowly for about 10 minutes.
The ghee is ready when all the moisture has cooked out and there are milk solids at the bottom of the pan, which turn a light golden-brown colour (there should also be a nutty aroma, but no burning).
Remove from heat, allow to cool and pour into a clean glass jar or bowl. Ghee keeps indefinitely in the fridge, and at a cool temperature (or even room temperature) it keeps for several weeks.
Use it as a cooking oil, but note that it is not as good as butter in baking. Use it in place of butter on vegetables, porridge and so on. Use it as an aid to digestion in quantities of about 1 teaspoon on your food (no more).
Savoury cheese pie
(serves about 6)
Pre-prepare a shortcrust pastry or buy the frozen variety. (To make pastry, mix 150 g plain flour with about 60 g of margarine, and a little water, plus salt).
Grease a pie dish and roll the pastry out. Line the pie dish with the pastry.
Filling:
1 lb grated cheese (gouda or cheddar)
½ to 1 cup cow's milk or soya milk
2 or 3 eggs
1 medium or large onion
finely-chopped parsely
salt
cayenne pepper (optional)
Vegetables: These should be finely chopped, and may be pre-cooked if you want. (If you don't pre-cook them, remember that they will cook down, so make your pie very full). Use veggies such as asparagus, mushroom, brocolli, baby marrow, beans, small amount of spinach. Add thin slices of Fry's hot dogs if you want.
Beat the eggs, add the milk, add the cheese
Add the vegetables and other ingredients.
The mixture should be fairly sloppy and the egg and milk must be visible before cooking, as this is what binds the ingredients together.
Pour into the unbaked pie shell.
Bake at about 200º until set and browned on top. (Anything from 180° to 220° is okay, with times ranging from about 45 to 20 minutes respectively, depending on the quantity of pie/s you are making and the size and intensity of your oven.)
Stir fry
Oil (olive/sunflower etc)
Ground ginger
Onions
Vegetables (e.g. carrots, baby marrows, beans, mushrooms, bamboo pieces, spinach/lettuce)
Soya sauce
Maizena
Salt, pepper
Tinned pineapples
Tofu or tinned chickpeas or kidney beans
Optional: a dash of masala
Optional: coconut milk
Longways slice (julienne) several kinds of vegetables. Fill one 2-litre container (e.g. an ice-cream tub) with veggies for approximately every 6 or 7 people you are catering for.
Open a tin of pineapples (smaller tin for 6 people, larger tin if more people)
Heat the oil on a very hot stove. Use a wok or large frying pan.
Fry the carrots. Stir fairly constantly with a wooden spoon.
Add the other veggies when the carrots are slightly cooked. Keep the temperature high.
Add the pineapple and the juice. Add a lot of soya sauce.
Add coconut milk if you are using it.
Add generous sprinklings of ground ginger. Taste, and add more ginger or soya sauce if necessary. Add a dash of masala if you want. Add salt and pepper.
Turn the heat down slightly if necessary. Stir the veggies now and then so they don't burn. Cook for about 15 minutes.
Add chopped spinach or lettuce right at the end - it cooks down a lot and very quickly.
For protein, add a tin of chickpeas or kidney beans. Or chop up tofu into cubes. Add the beans or tofu towards the end of the cooking.
Mix 3 or 4 teaspoons of maizena into half a cup of milk or water, and add it to the dish towards the end of cooking. This thickens the sauce. Add more if necessary.
Serve with rice (optional: serve a green salad too).