Durban - Jade de Waal caught our attention as a contestant on MasterChef South Africa with her delicious food and lively personality. However, it was back in 2008 that she self-published a cookbook with original recipes, drawings and professional photographs called Eat Your Heart Out.
That was for a matric project.
In 2010 the varsity student started Food Jams at her parents’ home in Gardens, Cape Town, mostly as a get-together for friends who cooked their meal together. It soon became a monthly event, collaborating with sommeliers, illustrators, photographers and foodies.
The recipes in Food Jams with Jade, recently published by Human and Rousseau, are a result of the cooking parties and have all been filmed for a made-for-the web cooking show called Eat Your Heart Out, and produced by One. Dog. Chicken Productions.
Each recipe is based on staple ingredients, keeping in mind good food, on a budget, with limited time and cooking equipment. As a result many of the recipes are short, sharp and make use of what many of us have in our pantry anyway.
Here are three recipes from the fun book.
Pasta shells with yoghurt, avo, peas and watercress
Serves 4 to 6
Serving pasta in a hot yoghurt sauce might sound kinda funky, but yoghurt is a delicious alternative to cream and the combination of the avo, peas and watercress is surprisingly satisfying.
500g conchiglie pasta (shells)
2 cups (500ml) Greek yoghurt
4 tbs (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
300g frozen peas
1 tsp (5ml) dried chilli flakes
100g pine nuts
200g feta, broken into chunks
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 avocados, cut into chunks
200g watercress, washed
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet until al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce by blending the yoghurt, half the olive oil, the garlic and the peas in a food processor. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Add the rest of the olive oil, chilli flakes and pine nuts to a pan and fry until the nuts are golden and the oil is a deep red colour.
Drain the pasta and add the pasta slowly to the yoghurt and pea sauce, so the sauce doesn’t separate.
Add the feta, and season to taste.
Finally, add the pine nuts and chilli oil, avocado and watercress. Toss gently to coat, and serve immediately.
TIP: To prevent the yoghurt and pea sauce from separating, grab a friend to hold the pot, while you stir the pasta slowly into the sauce.
Thai Vegetable Curry
Serves 4
De Waal says she was lucky enough to meet an incredible Thai chef, Aom, who came to get banana leaves from a tree growing outside her family home. Since that day, Aom has introduced the family and a few friends to some of the most exciting tastes in the world.
2 x 400g tins of coconut milk
1 tbs (15ml) Thai green curry paste
2 lime leaves
1 medium red chilli, halved diagonally
1 tbs (15ml) brown sugar
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into eighths
200g pumpkin chunks
Handful fine green beans, topped and tailed
12 baby corn spears, halved diagonally
Handful sugar snap peas
Handful fresh coriander, for garnishing
Basmati rice, for serving
Simmer the coconut milk together with curry paste, lime leaves, chilli, sugar, sweet potatoes and pumpkin for 10 minutes.
Add the rest of the vegetables, bring to a boil and cook quickly for 5 minutes, until the vegetables are just tender. Garnish with coriander and serve hot with basmati rice.
Yang’s chilli chocolate triangles
De Waal co-authored Luscious Vegetarian with her aunt, Sonia Cabano, and on celebration night her friend Yang whipped up this awesome dessert.
3 x 100g slabs good-quality dark chocolate
50 square wonton wrappers, defrosted
Vegetable oil, for frying
4 tbs (60ml) icing sugar, for coating
2 tbs (30ml) dried chilli flakes, for coating
Break each chocolate slab into 10 blocks and each block in half – eat 10 halves and you will be left with 50 in total.
Prepare the wonton wrappers by dipping your fingers in water and running them along the edges of the wrapper.
Place the chocolate in the centre and fold diagonally into a triangular shape. Make sure there is no air captured in the filling.
Heat 3cm of vegetable oil to 180ºC in a small pot.
Shallow-fry no more than five wontons at a time for 30 seconds until golden brown, turning halfway through the frying. The chocolate melts very quickly, so the wonton only needs to colour slightly.
Meanwhile, prepare the coating by mixing the icing sugar and chilli flakes together.
Drain the wontons on kitchen paper to get rid of excess oil.
Roll to coat in the chilli icing sugar and serve immediately. - The Mercury