Category Archives: The main feast….

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Chicken for a crowd ….. at Linga Longa Cape Point ….named “Puttenesca alla Mandy”…. Part 1 of 4

Cape Point Nature Reserve is a beautiful, narrow finger of land, covered in fynbos and home to picturesque beaches, bays and rolling green hills filled with an abundance of wildlife including the Cape Mountain Zebra.

I call this place a “little piece of heaven on earth” so if and when we get an invitation to go to Linga Longa in the Cape Point Nature Reserve, we cancel everything and just go……

Arriving late afternoon at Linga Longa..

Cooking up a storm is usually part of a weekend at Linga Longa, it needs a bit of planning as the shops are quite far away and the gates close at sunset…. we therefore divided the weekend into “family cooking slots”, and the first recipe I want to share with you is Mandy’s chicken for a crowd, “Puttenesca alla Mandy”….. one of those easy but impressive make in advance and no hassle one pot wonders…

For the “Puttenesca alla Mandy” chicken dish you will need:
16 pieces of good quality free range chicken
a little bit of canola or olive oil
1 x tin of whole italian tomatoes
1 x jar of puttenesca pasta sauce from Woolworths (about one and a half cup) *
1 x tub of creme fraiche
1 x cup of black pitted olives
1 x bag of chopped spinach
10 x large brown mushrooms
* to make your own Puttenesca sauce prepare a tomatoe based sauce with, tinned italian tomatoes, capers, olives, mixed herbs and anchovies…

Fry the chicken pieces in a hot pan until crispy but not completely cooked. Layer them in a deep oven dish, add salt and black pepper.

The sauce..

Mix the sauce: the tin of whole italian tomatoes, the jar of puttenesca sauce, the olives and the creme fraiche…

Cover the chicken with the chopped spinach, and layer with the sliced brown mushrooms….. cover with the tomato based sauce and bake in a preheated oven for about 1 hour untill well cooked.

The layering proces…

With lunch safely tucked into the “gas oven – a bit of a scary thought for me” we could relax and enjoy a cup of tea with a slice of Chocolate Fudge Tart – recipe under Sweet Yummyness.

Chocolate Fudge Tart..

After a quick walk on the beach, the flavours of warm tomatoes and olives called us to the lunch table…

Mandy served the Puttenesca alla Mandy with cous-cous and a lovely spinach and cabbage salad.

Lunch time…

The “green salad” was a combination of shredded spinach, cabbage, feta, and a sauce made of mayo thinned with a bit of milk and a spoon or two of pesto, served with a handfull of wallnuts…

We loved the salad, not sure if Emma did…

Lunchtime at Linga Longa is a “Linga Longa affair”…. it goes on and on, and at around 4 o’clock Abby and Elzaan made us SMORES…. as you always needs a bit of sweetness after a good meal…

Marie Biscuits and Marshmallow “smores”, no microwave so the gas oven had to do it’s thing again… thanks for the helping hand Elzaan…

Walking in the beautiful Cape Point Nature reserve is a visual feast of greens and greys…. to follow is a couple of shots from our late afternoon walk…. a short walk, as I need to start prepping the Fish pie, as tonight, it is my turn in front of the “gas stove”…. a new recipe, super excited about how it will turn out…

Enjoy the Fynbos…..

Time to get back to the kitchen, there’s a Fish pie waiting to happen…..

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Ginger and Coconut prawns served with Italian black rice ….. part 3 of 5 at Nieuview, Paternoster

Lunchtime!

But before lunch, it was “gift time”, and this time i was ready for them, with a packed “gift box” per couple, see Shannon and Evie “tucking” into their giftboxes ….. never a dull moment, and i cannot tell you how much fun I’ve had during the months leading up to this weekend, planning and searching for little things to add the their “surprise” boxes….

Shannon tucking into her goodie box…

And Evie, it is nearly lunchtime, put that box away now…

Evie and her gift box… sorry Evie i would have loved to add a lens or 2, but the budget did not allow it…

Lunch was on Evie , they served Ginger and Coconut Prawns with Italian Black rice and a green salad….

For the Ginger and Coconut Prawns you will need:
1 box of prawns, medium size
2 tbs Coconut oil (available at health shops, Spar or Pick & Pay)
2 tbs Chilly Jam or Hot Sweet Chilly
1 medium root of fresh ginger
125 ml soya sauce
a couple of spring onions

Chop spring onions and fry lightly, add grated ginger, chilly jam and soya sauce. Fry the prawns in the coconut oil until pink and add the sauce, stir through….

For the Italian Black Rice (riso Venere) you will need.
1 cup black rice (carried in Evie’s backpack all the way from Italy)
3 discs feta cheese
spring onions
1 punnet baby tomatoes
100g capers
extra virgin olive oil

Cook the black rice in rapid boiling water for 30 – 40 minutes. Drain and add the chopped tomatoes, cubed feta, spring onions, and capers. Drizzle generously with olive oil and add Maldon salt and black pepper…

riso Venere….

Time for a quick swim before lunch…

Our “chef” of the day….

She added a quick green salad with rocket, shavings of parmesan and olive oil and lunch was served….

A quick green salad…

And after lunch it was time for us to start playing with our cameras…

Thanks for lunch Evie…

Magic on the beach…

And the camera fun did not end, it continued with the “wide angle long leg lens” in the panty bar later the evening….

Albert, the new barman at the panty bar in Paternoster …

Time to go to bed as tomorrow I will be 40!… and I have lots planned including an early morning “surprise outing” to sea….

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Pumpkin fritters – kebab style…

When we say “Ouma Babsie”, Emma say “pampoenkoekies”…….

Emma don’t like any kind of salad, and “Ouma Babsie” decided that Emma needs to double up on the veg to balance out the lack of salad….

For the Pumpkin Fritters you will need:
2 cups of mashed cooked and drained pumpkin (i prefer to steam the pumpkin)
1 cup cake flour
1 egg
10 ml baking powder
pinch of salt
Canola or sunflower oil for shallow frying

Steam the pumpkin, drain excess water.
Mash the cooked pumpkin.
Add the flour, egg and salt, and mix well.

Fry the pumpkin fritters in a non stick frying pan in a little bit of canola oil on a medium heat. Fry them until well cooked and crispy. If you don’t fry them long enough they will become soggy in the sauce. Once cooked, drain on a paper plate.

For the sauce you will need:
15 ml butter
200 ml sugar
200ml milk
15 ml maizena (corn flour)
175 ml cold water

Melt butter, add the sugar and milk and bring to a rolling boil.
Mix the maizena and cold water in a cup until dissolved completely and add slowly to the boiling milk mixture.
Bring to the boil again and cook for about 2 minutes.

Some like them with sauce and some like them with cinnamon sugar

I serve them “kebab style” on a stick, so try and keep them as small as possible, a bit more hassle to fry but so worth the “look”…..

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Everyday Chicken Curry – a family favourite..

This lovely flavourful chicken curry is a recipe from Bruce’s father, now Bruce Jnr makes it quite often when “the weather” moves in. I actually think it is this family’s favourite family recipe as we eat it quite often. It’s quite a simple recipe but it really works, Bruce had to write it down last night while making it so let’s hope the quantities are correct, as he commented “how do i measure a couple of shakes of chutney….”

For this curry you will need:

8 chicken drumsticks and 8 chicken thighs (the chicken quantity is not really important)
2 sliced onions
4 cloves of crushed garlic
2 tablespoons of hot curry powder (Bruce use Cartwright’s)
sprinkle of chilli flakes
1/2 bottle of Mrs Balls fruit chutney
a couple of shakes of Worcestershire sauce
1 x packet of ministrone soup powder
1 litre of tomato juice
Boiling water
some peas, peeled carrots and a couple of peeled baby potatoes.
200ml cream

Fry the onions and add the chicken pieces. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix together in a bowl the garlic, hot curry powder, chilli flakes, chutney, worcestershire sauce, ministrone soup powder and tomato juice, pour over the chicken.

Add the carrots and small peeled baby potatoes, NOW, quite important, add boiling water to level the sauce with your chicken, all ingredients should be covered with liquid, stir and bring to the boil on top of you stove.

Put the curry in a preheated oven at 170 degrees and cook with the lid on for 2 hours, i don’t stir the curry, just check the liquid every now and then as you don’t want it to go dry, but this should not happen.

For the Condiments we make:

Poppadoms (30 secs each in micro, i don’t like to fry them in oil)
Tomatoe salad
Cubed bananas with a dash of lemon juice
Greek or Bulgarian Yoghurt mixed with Mango Chutney – A MUST

Serve with Basmati Rice.

For the Yoghurt and Mango Chutney, mix about one cup of yoghurt and 1/4 cup of Mango Chutney, it is actually worth buying the bottle of Mango Chutney, it really lasts long and you can keep it in your fridge for ages once opened… I now don’t make this curry without this yoghurt and mango chutney condiment, last night i realised that i did not have any mango chutney left in the fridge and i drove all the way back to the village just for that…

After 2 hours, remove the curry from the oven, it’s heavy and it’s hot so be carefull, add the peas and 200 ml of cream. Stir through carefully just to mix in the cream, and cook for another 20 minutes. The chicken will be so soft that it will fall of the bone, so don’t stir it too much.

Serve with Basmati Rice and the condiments…..

And tomorrow, when you wake up with snow capped mountains, (can you believe it, snow capped mountains on the first day of spring )you have a big platefull of leftover curry for breakfast, that is why i always use 16 pieces of chicken…

Enjoy, we will be making THIS curry untill we are old….

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Spinach and Feta Chicken Pie….at Somersetgift Farm Swellendam

If you are looking for a “let your hair down” and relax weekend, book a couple of days at Somersetgift Farm, Swellendam. We’ve booked Fish Eagle Lodge for a family birthday weekend (my mom turned 70, dad 77 and my Emma 7) so it was quite a BIG birthday weekend, and what better way than to celebrate it with the whole family.

I was in charge of Saturday’s lunch, and decided to make this very tasty and visually appealing chicken pie, it is a bit of a labour of love, but so worth the little bit of hassle to make it.

By 8 the house was filled with the smell of Roast chicken, and by 10 we all had some “special birthday cake” on the veranda overlooking the beautifull Swellendam mountains….

And then it was time to start playing in the kitchen..

For this Spinach and Feta Chicken Pie you will need:

1 Whole free range chicken
1 Roll of puff pastry
One bag of creamed spinach (you will find this with the frozen veggies, it comes with 2 bags in a small box, or you can make a creamy spinach mixture by frying spinach with a little bit of cream, you will need about 3/4 cup full)
One wheel of feta cheese, broken into small pieces
One cup of bechemel sauce (quite thick)
1 egg for on top of the pasty

For the sweet red tomatoes you will need:
A couple of red Rosa tomatoes
Half a cup of Red Wine vinegar
1/4 cup of brown sugar

Roast the chicken, cool and debone. Add the creamy spinach, bechemel sauce and feta. Season well and allow to cool completely to room temperature if the chicken is still slightly warm.

At this point I was running in and out of the house, taking pictures of the girls feeding apples to the horses to catching fish with ouma and oupa in the dam right in front of the house.

About an hour before you want the serve lunch start rolling out the pastry, not too thin, just slightly bigger than the standard puff pastry square.

The bottle of cold Rawbones worked well as a rolling pin with the added benefit of keeping the pastry cold.

Cut strips in the pasty, on both sides +/- 8 cm long and about 2cm wide, long enough to be able to fold over the chicken, to form a roll.

Once cut, lift the pastry onto a baking tray, and add the cooled chicken mixture to the middle of the pastry, don’t “overfill” the pastry.

Start folding the pastry over the chicken, first left then right, till the roll is formed. Don’t worry about small gaps in the pastry, no need to completely seal the chicken.

Wipe some beaten egg over the pastry to form a golden colour while baking.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees till golden in colour.

Start making the sweet little Rosa tomatoes about 15 minutes before you want the serve the chicken pie. Simmer together the Red Wine Vinegar and brown sugar till slightly thickened, this should take about 10 minutes, add a little bit more sugar if it does not want to thicken. The smell of the Red Wine Vinegar is quite addictive and yummy different….add the little red Rosa tomatoes at the end and simmer for about one minute in the thickened sauce.

Serve the chicken pie on a flat warm platter or long wooden cutting board, top with the sweet red tomatoes and drizzle with the syrupy Red Wine Vinegar reduction…

I used 2 x Roast chickens and doubled the recipe, so we served 2 chicken pies, 6 adults , 4 childen and there were no leftovers….

The savoury creamy feta infused chicken, crispy pastry, and a hint of sweet tomatoes is a match made in heaven….

And after lunch, the kids dissapeared again, down the lawn, around the dam, to feed the horses…

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Burgers with a twist…

When starting this blog, I knew this will be one of the recipes that i need to post… It is a combination of a “meatball” recipe from Ilse and a Hamburger with a bit of a twist that I’ve ordered years ago in Greyton…..

For the Hamburger Patties you will need:

+/- 800 g of extra lean mince
1 packet of brown onion soup mixture
1 small tub of plain or bulgarian yoghurt
and one egg
15 ml of meat marinade per pattie (I use lappies sauce available at Spar)

Mix all the ingredients together except the marinade, and form round slightly smaller than tennisball size balls, pressed slightly down to form nice thick patties, bake the patties in the oven on 180 degrees, these homemade patties are not as firmly shaped and tends to break easily, therefore much better to cook them in the oven. Once shaped put +/- 3 teaspoons of the marinade over each pattie to give it a nice brown colour. I bake the patties untill cooked on one side and only turn them once carefully, brush with another spoon of Lappies sauce once turned.

While the patties are cooking make the topping:

Cut one thick slice of tomato per pattie.
Slice mozzarella cheese in thick slices, about 2 per pattie.
Onion Marmalade – (i use the Woolworths one – nice and sweet and not like a marmalade at all, more like an onion jam)

Once cooked, take the patties out of the oven and place them on top of the roll on a oven tray, top with one thick slice of fresh tomato and about 2 slices of mozzarella cheese.

Put the tray with bottom halves and topped patties back in the oven for about 2 minutes untill the cheese is just melted.

Remove from the oven as soon as the cheese is melted and top with about 5 ml of onion marmalade.

PLEASE don’t make these burgers without the Onion Marmalade, it is a MUST, you will get a taste sensation which will surprise you biting into these ……, the soft roll, the salty soft pattie, the fresh tomato, the just melted cheese and then, the sweet onion marmalade, it just cannot get better than this…

Serve with chips or wedges on pretty wooden plates, pretty pretty…