Oopsie Mini Buns

An alternative to normal breads (for when you want to stay away from or cut down on the carbs) is a the Oopsie bread.

Oopsie breads are made from eggs and cream cheese, so it is gluten free and very versatile.

I made Oopsie mini buns, which is the perfect guilt free snack for when you are on the run.

For 12 Oopsie muffins you’ll need:

• 3 x large eggs
• 100g low fat cream cheese
• Salt
• ½ Tablespoon of seed mix
• ½ Teaspoon baking powder

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C.
2. Separate the egg whites from the yolks.
3. Mix the cream cheese, baking powder and seed mix with the egg yolks.
4. Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and whisk until the whites are stiff.
5. Fold and mix the egg whites with the yolk but try to keep it as fluffy as possible.
6. Spoon in to a muffin tray.
7. Bake for 25 minutes until the Oopsies are golden brown.

Can be served with any filling of your choice.

Quick and easy!

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Delicious White Chocolate Blondies

White chocolate brownies or blondies as they are known is a tremendously easy to make and is a delicious alternative to the classic chocolate version.

You’ll need:

• 1 Cup of butter
• 2½ Cups of flour
• 1 Teaspoon baking powder
• ½ Teaspoon salt
• 2 Eggs
• 1½ Cups of light brown sugar
• 1 Teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1½ Cups of white chopped white chocolate chips

Method:

Heat the oven to 180°C

Use a medium-sized baking tray and line with baking paper.

Butter the baking paper.

In a bowl mix the flour, salt and baking powder

In a second bowl mix the eggs, butter, vanilla and sugar until smooth and creamy.

Combine the flour with the egg mixture and add the chopped white chocolate.

Spread the mixture in the baking tray and bake for 40 minutes. Test the blondies by sticking in a knife. The blade should come out clean.

Allow the blondies to cool completely.

Hold the baking paper and lift the blondies out of the baking tray.

Cut into squares.

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Roasted Tomato Soup

Nothing keeps the freezing cold out like a nice hearty soup.
One of our favourite soups are from The Long Table Restaurant in Stellenbosch with their famous the Roasted Roma Tomato Soup.
Here is my version:

You’ll need:

• 500g roma tomatoes (I’ve also used 2 normal tomatoes)
• 1 large onion sliced
• Garlic chopped
• Olive oil
• Brown Sugar
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 50g tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 3 table spoons fat free plain yoghurt
• Salt and Pepper

Method:

Put the onion, tomatoes and garlic mix on a baking tray and drizzle with brown sugar and olive oil.

Roast at 200°C until the mixture is brown.

Place the mix in a soup pot and add the stock, 1 teaspoon cumin and the tomato paste.

Allow to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring regularly.

Blitz the soup with a hand blender and add 3 tablespoons of plain yoghurt and stir until the soup is creamy.

Simmer for a couple of minutes and season with salt and pepper.

Garnish with crumbed feta and chives.

Served with toasted pitas.

 Wine match:

Sauvignon Blanc or a lightly wooded Sauvignon Blanc if the soup is very creamy.

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Lamb Pot-Roast on a Budget

With the current prices of red meat it’s not everyday that I can get my hands on a leg of lamb. Fortunately my parentals were kind enough to bless me with 750 grams deboned leg of lamb! 😀

The meat has already been defrosted, so what to do with this beautiful cut of meat on a school night?

Make a quick and easy lamb pot-roast of course!

You’ll Need:

• 750g leg of lamb deboned or 1kg lamb on the bone
• 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 3 table spoons of olive oil
• 1½ teaspoons of ground cumin
• Salt and pepper
• Lemon juice
• 2 onions sliced
• 500ml of beef stock
• 75ml of tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons of garam masala
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 green pepper roughly chopped
• 2 large carrots chopped

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 160°C.
Rub the lamb with the olive oil, the chopped garlic, lemon juice, cumin and salt and pepper.

Heat an oven proof casserole and sear the lamb on all sides. Add the stock and chopped onions, add the spices, sugar and tomato paste.
Cover the casserole (I covered mine with foil) and cook in the oven for 2½ hours.

Remove the casserole and pour out the stock into a frying pan.
Place the casserole back in the oven and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.

In the mean time, heat up the stock in the frying pan and add the chopped green pepper and carrots until soft.

Slice the lamb and serve with the vegetables.

The meat is soft and falls apart as I tried to cut it. Was best enjoyed with a glass of 1988 KWV Cabernet Sauvignon. 

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Normandy Chicken

The Normandy region in France is the home of Camembert, cream, butter, apples and Calvados (apple brandy).

Normandy Chicken is an easy and delicious dish to prepare for autumn.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons of butter
• 2 small apples cored and cut in wedges (I used Granny Smith apples)
• Flour to dredge the chicken with
• 2 Chicken legs with thighs attached
• Salt
• 2 small onions, peeled and sliced lengthwise
• 1 cup of apple cider
• ¼ cup brandy (Calvados if you can, I’ve used a sweetish brandy – Olof Bergh Brandy)
• Teaspoon thyme
• ¼ cup plain yoghurt

Season the chicken with salt and let it rest for 30 minutes (It will help make the chicken skin become crispy when fried).

Preheat the oven to 190°C

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in an oven-proof sauce pan.
Add the apple wedges and sauté until the apples become slightly brown.
Remove the apples from the pan onto a paper towel, season with a small amount of salt.

Dredge the chicken in the flour and fry on medium heat with the additional tablespoon of butter until the chicken is golden brown. Remove from the pan

Add the onions and fry while deglazing the pan of any browned bits left over from the chicken pieces.

Add the ¼ cup brandy and reduce for a couple of minutes before adding the cup of cider. Bring the onion, cider mixture to a boil.

Season with thyme and a pinch of salt. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and place in the oven to cook for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, take out the pan and remove the chicken. Place the pan back on the plate and add the apples. (I saw that there was quite a lot of juice in the pan, from the chicken. Reduce the sauce to half.

When the sauce has reduced, add the ¼ cup yoghurt. Add salt to taste.

Serve the apple and onions with a helping of the creamy sauce / gravy with the chicken on top.
This is a delicious meal with a elegant apple flavour that doesn’t over dominate the dish.

Enjoy!

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