Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

Finding new ways to improve on traditional recipes can be a mouth-watering exercise. Here is a ‘improved’ pasta recipe which is sure to impress and delight your friend/ family.

 

Ingredients

• 1 small onion
• 3 slices bacon
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1 pound ground beef chuck
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan plus more, shaved, for serving
• 3 tablespoons bread crumbs
• 1 large egg
• salt and black pepper
• 350g spaghetti
• 3 cups marinara/tomato based pasta  sauce

Directions

1. Heat broiler. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. In a food processor, combine the onion, bacon, garlic, and parsley; pulse until finely chopped, 10 to 15 times. Transfer to a medium bowl, add the beef, Parmesan, bread crumbs, egg, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper, and mix gently to combine.
2. Form the beef mixture into 16 meatballs (about 2 tablespoons each) and place on a foil-lined broilerproof rimmed baking sheet. Broil, turning once, until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
4. Heat the marinara sauce in a large skillet over medium heat, 2 to 3 minutes; add the meatballs and toss gently to coat. Serve over the pasta and sprinkle with the shaved Parmesan.

 

Recommended wine: The versatile Welmoed Rosé will competent this dish.

 

Source: realsimple.com

Leg of lamb is one of the traditional South African dishes served at family gathering and Christmas is no exception. There are leg of lamb recipes which have probably been in a family for generations and is prepared and enjoyed this time every year.

Here is a mouth watering leg of lamb recipe which will be perfect for a Christmas dinner.

Ingredients

 

1 lemon, strips of zest removed with a peeler and juice squeezed

6 cloves garlic

1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and black pepper

1 2.5-3kg bone-in leg of lamb

1.4 kg very small carrots, scrubbed

2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 cup fresh mint leaves

6 scallions or onion , chopped

2 teaspoons honey

 

Directions

 -Heat oven to 200° C. In a food processor, pulse the lemon zest, garlic, 2 tablespoons of the oil, and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper until coarsely chopped.

-Place the lamb in a large roasting pan and rub with the lemon mixture. In a large bowl, toss the carrots, 1 tablespoon of the remaining oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper; set aside.

-Roast the lamb to the desired doneness, 90 to 105 minutes for medium-, adding the carrots to the pan after the lamb has cooked for 50 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a cutting board, cover loosely with foil, and let rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing.

-Meanwhile, in the food processor, puree the parsley, mint, scallions, honey, lemon juice, the remaining ½ cup of oil, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Serve with the lamb and carrots.

Recommended wine: The well-balanced Welmoed Cabernet Sauvignon will competent this dish.

 

Source: realsimple.com

 

Some call it fusion cooking others call it a meal-from-stuff-in-fridge. This minced beef chow mein looks like a great easy meal without stretching the budget.

 

Ingredients

• 1 packet of instant noodles
• 4 tablespoons (60 ml) soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) finely chopped fresh ginger, or 3 teaspoons (15 ml) dried ginger
• 1 onion, finely sliced into narrow strips
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
• 1 carrot, finely sliced into strips that are roughly 4 cm long
• ¼ cabbage, finely sliced into thin strips
• 6 mushrooms, finely sliced
• 400 gram minced beef
• 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
• Salt and black pepper, to season to taste
• ½ teaspoon (2½ ml) green Thai curry paste
• 1 cup of boiling water
• ½ cup chicken stock
• Oil for frying

Method

1. Boil water and pour over instant noodles in a bowl. After 5 minutes, pour out warm water, add 1 tablespoon soy sauce and a little oil (to prevent the noodles from sticking), and set aside to cool.
2. Place 2 tablespoons soy sauce and half of the chopped ginger in a ramekin.
3. Heat a heavy, large pan over medium heat.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons rice bran oil in the pan and pour over the soy sauce and ginger. Set aside to allow the flavours to develop.
5. Lightly stir fry onion and garlic, until the onion lost the worst of it’s bite, but is still firm. Remove from pan and set aside.
6. Add a little oil (not too much!) to the pan and lightly stir fry carrot to soften it somewhat, but remove it from the pan while still firm. Set aside.
7. Turn up the heat and stir fry the minced beef. Add curry powder, the remainder of the ginger, and a good pinch of salt. Remove from pan when cooked and set aside.
8. Add ½ teaspoon green Thai curry paste and boiling water to pan and stir briskly to deglaze the pan (this will dissolve the residue left after frying the minced beef). Pour the liquid into a ramekin, but discard the meat residue.
9. Turn pan down to medium heat again, add a little oil, and lightly stir fry the cabbage and mushrooms until softer but still firm. Remove and set aside.
10. Briefly fry noodles until smoky.
11. Add the onion and garlic, carrots, meat, cabbage and mushrooms, as well as the liquids that you’ve set aside, and the chicken stock.
12. Let the dish heat through, while stirring gently. You want to fry it just long enough to heat it through, retaining all the lovely individual colours and flavours, but not so long that it starts sticking to the pan’s bottom or turn into a mushy mass.

Serve immediately, with freshly brewed green tea and steamed baby corn.

Recommended Wine: the Welmoed Pinotage Rose will be the perfect match with dish.

 

 

 

Source: rainbowcooking.co.

Beef stews, or variations of this dish,  are served as traditional dishes in many cultures and countries. Here is a great traditional beef stew recipe which is sure to delight your family or friends.

 

Ingredients

• 1400 g cubed beef stew meat
• 30 g all-purpose flour
• 3 g salt
• 50 ml olive oil
• 50 ml Worcestershire sauce
• 450 g carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 4 large potatoes, cubed
• 1 g dried parsley
• 3 g ground black pepper
• 475 ml boiling water
• 60 g onion soup mix
• 50 g butter
• 3 large onions, quartered
• 15 g minced garlic
• 120 ml burgundy wine
• 2 (170g packages fresh button mushrooms, halved
• 60 ml warm water
• 25 g cornstarch

Directions

1. Toss the beef, flour, and salt in a sealable bag until the beef is coated.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Combine the beef and Worcestershire sauce in the skillet; cook until the beef is evenly browned on all sides; transfer to a slow cooker, but do not clean the skillet. Add the carrots, potatoes, parsley, and pepper to the slow cooker.
3. Combine the boiling water and soup mix in a small bowl; add to slow cooker.
4. Melt the butter in the skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the melted butter until soft; transfer the onion and garlic to the slow cooker and return the skillet to the heat. Combine the wine and mushrooms to the skillet; cook until the mushrooms begin to absorb the wine; pour the mixture into the slow cooker.
5. Place the cover on the slow cooker and set to High; cook for one hour. Reduce heat to Low and cook until the beef is fork-tender, 6 to 8 hours. Whisk together the warm water and cornstarch; stir into the stew; cook uncovered until stew thickens, about 15 minutes.

Recommended wine: The Welmoed Merlot will be a perfect match with this fantastic dish.

 

Source: allrecipes.com

Finding new ways to improve on old recipes / dish is always exciting. Meatballs are a standard dish and everyone has a good-to recipe for this good-old-faithful meal. Here is interesting spicy meatball dish which will not fail to delight your guests.

Recommended wine: Welmoed Heyden’s Courage – Red. This is a very elegant, well balanced, medium to full bodied wine with an excellent finish.

The Recipe

Ingredients

• 500g lean ground beef
• 500g ground pork
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 2 slices soft bread, crusts removed and torn into pieces
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan
• 3 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups ricotta

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200° C. In a large bowl, combine the first 10 ingredients, 1 cup of the Parmesan, and 2 teaspoons of the pepper. Mix just to combine. Shape the mixture into 16 to 18 large meatballs (each should consist of about 3/4 cup of meat). Place on a baking pan and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta with the remaining Parmesan and the remaining pepper; set aside.
3. Bake the meatballs for 20 minutes in upper third of oven. Remove from oven and turn on broiler. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the ricotta mixture onto each meatball. Broil 3 to 5 minutes or until the ricotta just starts to brown.

Source: realsimple.com

The main reason why you should cook with wine is because wine enhances the flavour and aroma of dishes. Heating it concentrates the flavour of the wine, which is why it’s important to match the right one to your dish. The wine should meld with other ingredients, not stick out like a sore thumb.

A question that is regularly asked: “Does the alcohol burn off during cooking?” The answer is ‘Yes’. But it may take longer than you think. After 15 minutes of cooking, the alcohol content is still about 40 per cent. There is even a little left – about 5 per cent – after a stew has simmered for three hours. Wine, in general, is lower in alcohol than other spirits, and the amount divided by the servings won’t yield much per person. However, if it’s a concern, substitute unsweetened grape juice or even stock when they are appropriate.

Welmoed has a wide range of wines which complements numerous dishes, can also be enjoyed on its own and even be used for cooking special meals.
Source: smh.com.au

To non-South Africans this must sound like and outrageously unappetising dish. But rest assure: No monkeys or any of their glands are involved. It is not known where this name comes from, but it is such an inherent part of South African cuisine

A monkey gland sauce is a traditional South African sweet-n- hot sauce for steak, great for the BBQ or with chicken, pork and sausages.

Monkey Gland Steak

• Cube steaks (1 per serving)
• oil for frying
• 1 large onion diced
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 large tomatoes diced (canned tomatoes work just as well)
• 1 cup of ketchup
• 1/2 cup of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 3/4 -1 cup of chutney
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. vinegar
• 1 tsp. Tabasco sauce

In a heavy skillet, heat oil. Sauté onions and garlic until soft. Add remaining ingredients, mix well and simmer for a few minutes. Fry or grill the steaks separately. When done frying spoon the sauce over the steaks. Serve with rice.

This Monkey Gland Steak will pair well with Welmoed Rosé or even the ever popular Welmoed Merlot .

Source: 3men.com

Frikkadels (SA meatballs) are part and parcel of South African cuisine. Here is  a great recipe based on a tomato frikkadel.

Ingredients

4 medium tomatoes
2 large onions
30 ml sunflower oil (2 T)
1 kg minced beef
50 g oats (½ c)
125 ml milk (½ c)
30 ml brown vinegar (2 T)
15 ml Worcestershire sauce (1 T)
10 ml salt (2 t)
1 ml pepper (¼ t)
125 ml water (½ c)
30 ml cream of tomato soup powder (2 T)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Peel the tomatoes and onions and chop roughly. Braise in the sunflower oil until soft. Mix half of the tomato and onion mixture lightly with the minced beef and the oats. Add the milk, brown vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and mix together well.

Shape large frikkadels (can be shaped into round balls or flattened with a fork) from the mixture and place them quite close together in a shallow, ovenproof dish with a volume of about 2,5 litres. Mix the water and soup powder and pour it over the frikkadels. Cover the dish. Bake for an hour. Spoon the remaining tomato and onion mixture over the frikkadels.

Makes 14 large frikkadels

Recommended wine: The Welmoed Pinotage will pair perfectly with this traditional dish

Source: www.rainbownation.com

Tomato stews are part of the local cuisine of many countries and  in South Africa we call it Tomato Bredie. This traditional dish is one of my favourites and here is a lovely recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 700 g boneless lamb shoulder cut into chunks
• 1 large onion, peeled and cut into slices
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
• 6 medium-sized firm ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut crosswise into slices
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh hot chilies
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Method

1. In a heavy skillet, heat the oil over moderate heat until a light haze forms above it. Add the lamb and brown it a few pieces at a time. Turn the pieces frequently with a slotted spoon and regulate the heat so that they colour richly and evenly without burning. As the lamb browns, transfer the pieces to a plate.
2. Pour off and all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet and drop in the onion slices and the garlic. Stirring frequently and scraping in any brown particles that cling to the bottom of the pan, cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the onions are soft and golden brown. Stir in the tomatoes, chilies, cloves, sugar and salt, then add the lamb and any juices that have accumulated around it.
3. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible point, cover tightly, and cook the bredie for 1 hour, stirring it from time to time to prevent the vegetables and lamb from sticking to the pan. Remove the cover and, stirring and mashing the tomatoes occasionally, simmer for 30 to 40 minutes longer or until the lamb is very tender and most of the liquid in the pan has cooked away. The sauce should be thick enough to hold its shape almost solidly in the spoon.
4. Taste for seasoning. Pick out and discard the cloves and serve the bredie at once from a heated platter, accompanied by hot boiled rice.

Recommended wine: The Welmoed Merlot will pair perfectly with this traditional   bredie dish.  Click here for winemakers tasting note of this lovely wine.

Source:  recipesworldwide.org

Snoek pate recipe is very South African. It’s so nice on a piece of toast served with a glass of Sauvignon blanc. You can serve it for aperitif or for starter with a nice green salad.

SMOKED SNOEK PATE

Ingredients

200 g good quality smoked snoek

250 g creamed cottage cheese

¼ cup of mayonnaise

1 table spoon of lemon juice

1 table spoon of fresh ginger and garlic

1 chopped onion

2 gherkins

30 ml chopped fresh parsley

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Remove skin and bones form the snoek and flake. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

Season with salt and black pepper and spoon into small dishes.

Keep refrigerated for minimum half day and maximum 5 days.

Recommended wine: The Welmoed Sauvignon Blanc will be the perfect wine with this dish.

Source: voilacapetown.com