Cape Town – Chefs who are in the news are either seasoned cooks already renowned or ambitious youngsters en route to becoming culinary stars.
Jenny Howard of Chez Gourmet falls into the former category, as not only has she created gastronomic gems over many years, but has taught, written culinary syllabuses, catered widely and travelled to share her expertise in Europe.
Howard, who grew up in Durban, moved to Cape Town with her fiancé ahead of her marriage. Her talent for cooking blossomed early, nurtured by her grandmother.
When she was housebound with three young children, she made time to bake and fashion Easter chocolates for local delis and restaurants, and, when all three were in school, she enrolled at Silwood Kitchen in Rondebosch for formal culinary tuition. As a Cordon Bleu chef who graduated top of the class, she stayed on as a staff member and taught for three years, which she describes as “some of the best years of my life”.
The only downside of being a star chef was, Howard found, that while she entertained with enthusiasm, not too many people reciprocated by inviting a Cordon Bleu chef to dinner.
After Howard’s husband died suddenly she took up a new challenge, opening a short-course cooking school in Claremont. A charming old Victorian house became the venue for Chez Gourmet, and there Howard welcomed students from all walks of life.
The private dining room hosted team-building and culinary events such as product launches with a gastronomic theme. The catering kitchen was just as busy as her former students whipped up meals from fine dining to charity braais.
Howard’s career took a new and international turn when she wrote the syllabus for Advanced Professional Patisserie for part-time industry personnel.
She set up a cookery school in the French countryside near Agen, where, every northern summer, she hosts a five-day residential cooking course that makes use of local ingredients and fine wines.
This year she hopes to add an on-board course for passengers on a cruise liner to her list of achievements, and she’s putting the finishing touches to her recipe book.
Like most keen cooks, she relishes being in front a stove again instead of in front of a computer. Send Howard an e-mail at [email protected] for more information.
The four recipes below should inspire many a reader who wants to produce meals that are healthy, nutritious and offer new twists on old favourites. Perfect late summer fare, choose flavouring options to suit your palate, and let these colourful dishes give jaded appetites a wake-up call.
Baked fish with pangritata
Choose fish that is on the South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative’s green list, such as hake or yellowtail. Pangritata is an economical way to add flavour and texture.
Serves 4-6
180g fish per serving
Salt and pepper
15g chopped mixed fresh herbs, such as parsley, dill, chives and tarragon or 20ml dried herbs
500ml stale breadcrumbs
25ml olive oil
50g soft butter
grated zest of 2 lemons
1 large clove garlic, crushed (optional)
20g sundried tomatoes (optional) or mixture of 20g chopped peppadew, half a red chilli, seeded and chopped
50g grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Pat fish dry and season well. Tuck thin bits under thicker bits so that each portion cooks evenly. Place on baking tray.
Divide herbs in half. Mix one half with the butter, spread on to clingfilm and roll to form a cylinder, and harden in fridge.
Preheat oven to 180°C. Blend remaining herbs with the breadcrumbs, garlic, lemon zest and optional flavouring.
Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the herb and crumb mixture and fry quickly until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen towel.
Slice the chilled herb butter over the fish portions. Bake until fish flakes. Sprinkle the pangritata over and serve.
Smoked chicken and mango rice
Colourful and packed with flavour, this is perfect for a balmy evening or Sunday lunch. Howard offers several options: replace smoked chicken with smoked duck; use wild or brown rice in place of white; and add interest to the dressing with 5ml curry powder. Finish dish with 50g chopped pecans or 50g dried cranberries to taste.
Serves 4 – 6
50g raw rice per person
4 smoked chicken breasts
200ml natural low-fat yoghurt
150ml mayonnaise
100ml low-fat milk
2 large ripe mangoes, peeled, sliced and diced
1 large green pepper, cored and chopped
2 spring onions, sliced
50g seedless raisins, optional
1 iceberg or butter lettuce, washed and torn into pieces
salt and pepper
Cook the rice, rinse and cool. Thinly slice the chicken. Combine the yoghurt and mayonnaise, season, and add the curry powder (if using) to taste. Thin down the dressing with the milk, transfer to a jug. Season the rice and mix with the mango, green pepper, spring onion and raisins.
Line a serving dish with torn lettuce. Spoon the rice mixture ont o the lettuce and top with the chicken. Sprinkle over chopped nuts or cranberries to taste.
Serve salad and pass the dressing.
Ripe red plums and their granita
For those on dairy- and/or gluten-free diets, here’s an appealing treat.
Tonka beans are a trendy item, which you can find at specialist outlets. These black wrinkled seeds of the Dipteryx odorata species taste rather like vanilla. Grains of paradise are one of the oldest culinary peppers, originating from West Africa, and add citrussy spice to food.
Serves 4 – 6
2 plums per person plus 4 more
300ml boiling water
150ml white sugar
Your choice of four of the following seven spices:
1 star anise
4 black peppercorns
1 tonka bean
half a vanilla pod
2 allspice berries
pinch of grains of paradise
1 piece cinnamon stick
Wash the plums and place in single layer on the base of a deep saucepan. In a separate pot, combine the boiling water with the sugar and stir until all the sugar has melted.
Add choice of your spice combination and boil the syrup for 8 minutes. Pour syrup and spices over plums and cook over medium heat until plum skins start to split, around 10 minutes.
Remove plums and leave to cool. Strain the syrup. Stone the remaining 4 plums and blend the flesh with the strained syrup.
Pour into shallow metal baking tray and freeze for 30 minutes.
Use a fork to rake the semi-frozen mixture into crystals, then freeze again. Repeat until the whole mixture consists of frozen crystals.
Place two cooked plums in each dessert bowl and accompany with plum granita (the frozen mixture).
Sweet potato gnocchi with pesto sauce
This dish ticks many boxes, being vegetarian, carbohydrate-friendly and gluten-free. To make it vegan-friendly, omit the egg and cheese and replace butter with oil to fry the gnocchi. Can be partly made ahead of time by freezing the unfried gnocchi (uncovered and in a single layer) and storing it in a plastic bag for up to one month.
1kg orange sweet potato, unpeeled
1 egg, well beaten
salt and pepper
Flavour options:
4 finely chopped peppadews, optional
OR
5ml (1ts) sumac
OR
5ml (1tsp) Chinese five-spice powder
200g rice flour
Pesto sauce:
200g pack of mixed spinach, basil and rocket leaves
1 clove garlic, peeled
200ml olive oil
15g grated Parmesan cheese
2ml (half tsp) salt
100g butter for frying
Preheat oven to 200°C. Prick the sweet potatoes all over, place on baking tray and bake until soft. Cool slightly, then peel.
Mash flesh until smooth, adding the beaten egg, optional flavouring and seasoning to taste.
Add enough rice flour to make a soft dough, roll into sausages about 1cm thick and cut into 3cm lengths.
Heat the butter and fry the gnocchi until crispy brown.
For the sauce, wash the leaves, then transfer to a blender with the cheese, garlic and salt.
Blend until almost smooth, then drizzle oil into the blend with motor running, to create an emulsion.
Drizzle the hot gnocchi with the cool sauce and serve as a starter or main course with a salad. Serves 4-6.
Myrna Robins, Cape Argus