CELEBRATE
Author: Tina Bester
Publisher: Quivertree Publications
Price: R165
Tina Bester is known as “The Queen of Tarts” as this is the name of her restaurant in Observatory, Cape Town. Celebrate is Tina’s third cookbook which is aimed at anyone wanting ideas for entertaining at home.
The chapters have topics like cocktail hour, lemonade picnic, champagne high tea, garden party, café society and Friday night feast and each chapter has a menu and a picture with stylish ideas for presentation. She has put her own quirky touch on simple recipes to make them extraordinary. I liked the café society menu as it had lots of chocolate recipes and tried the chocolate cups.
I bought dark chocolate with cocoa nibs by mistake but this gave the mousse added texture. It was simple to prepare and tasted sublime. The only problem I had was you can’t buy a 300ml carton of cream so I just used 250ml. The mousse goes soft quickly when out of the fridge so keep it refrigerated until you need to serve it.
CHOCOLATE CUPS
Serves 8-10
4 large eggs
30ml castor sugar
200g dark chocolate
300ml cream
Separate the eggs and whisk the whites until soft peaks form. Add the castor sugar and beat until the mixture is thick and glossy.
Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler.
Beat 60ml cream with the egg yolks and pour through a strainer into a clean bowl. Pour the melted chocolate into the egg-yolk mixture, whisking all the time to prevent the eggs from scrambling.
Whip the remaining cream and add to the chocolate mixture. Fold in the egg whites.
Spoon the mixture into tiny cups and refrigerate until set.
ORIENT EXPRESS
Author: Silvena Rowe
Publisher: Random House Struik
Price: R295
Silvena Rowe, the Chef patron of the May Fair Hotel in London, specialises in Eastern Mediterranean cuisine. This is her third cookbook and anyone who likes exotic dishes will enjoy her books.
Orient Express, her latest book, has a selection of quick and easy-to-prepare recipes. The ingredients are quite unusual and many of them are not easily available here. There are recipes for the spice blends and pomegranate molasses which are used a lot in the book. I prepared a batch, and from 1 litre of pomegranate juice I got about 250ml pomegranate molasses.
The chapters are divided into ingredients rather than topics: Za’atar and Saffron, Chilli and Cumin, Sumac and Fresh herbs, Cardamom and Honey, Cinnamon and Flowers.
I made quite a few of the recipes and so far my favourite is the Sticky Honey and Pomegranate Chicken. I used chicken breasts in place of wings and it was finger-licking good. I look forward to cooking my way through the rest of the book.
STICKY HONEY, POMEGRANATE AND OTTOMAN-SPICED CHICKEN WINGS
Serves 8
60ml pomegranate molasses
juice of 1 fresh pomegranate or 160ml pomegranate juice
15ml runny honey
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1kg chicken wings
Ottoman spice:
15ml ground oregano
15ml ground mint
2ml ground black pepper
5ml ground cinnamon
15ml ground cumin
3ml ground ginger
3ml ground fennel
3ml ground allspice
7ml ground sumac
To serve
seeds of 1 pomegranate
Combine the pomegranate molasses, pomegranate juice, honey and garlic in a bowl. Add the chicken wings and thoroughly coat with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Meanwhile, mix all the spices together.
Arrange the marinated chicken wings on a large baking tray and sprinkle liberally with the Ottoman spice blend, putting aside a little for later.
Roast at 180°C for 30-40 minutes until golden. Sprinkle on the remaining spice and pomegranate seeds just before serving.
TWO ASIAN KITCHENS
Author: Adam Liaw
Publisher: Random House Australia
Price: R400
After watching MasterChef, Australia, I was keen to see what sort of recipes the winner, Adam Liaw, would cook. It is very clear from this, his first book, that Adam has been influenced by many different cultures. A quote from his book, a Confucian proverb, “Consider old things to understand new things”, sums it up.
The pantry chapter with basic recipes for stocks, sauces, oil and pastes prepares you for the rest of the book. There are chapters covering techniques like donburi, dumplings, sushi, stir-frying, fruit liquors and tempura.
The two main sections are The Old Kitchen, which is recipes he ate growing up, and The New Kitchen where he puts an Asian take on western recipes. I found many of the ingredients quite foreign and not easily available in supermarkets. Most would be found in Asian shops. I tried a mild recipe for Japanese potato salad where the potatoes are almost mashed. The Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise made it delicious and creamy.
JAPANESE POTATO SALAD
Serves 6
4 large floury potatoes, peeled
2ml ground white pepper
½ small Lebanese cucumber
1 small onion, thinly sliced
½ small carrot, peeled
1 egg
250ml Kewpie mayonnaise
Cut the potatoes into 3cm cubes. Boil in salted water until quite tender. Drain and return the potatoes to the hot pan. Stir over very low heat for 2-3 minutes to dry the potatoes without burning.
Transfer the potatoes to a deep bowl and season with salt and pepper. Using a wooden spoon, crush the potatoes against the bowl to make a rough mash. Whip the potatoes vigorously with a wooden spoon for a few minutes until fluffy. Leave to cool to room temperature.
Peel the cucumber, leaving on a little peel for colour and texture. Cut in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Slice thinly into half moons. Combine the cucumber and onion and toss with a little salt. Put in a colander and drain for 15 minutes. Rinse off the salt and dry on paper towel.
Thinly slice the carrot into half moons. Boil in salted water until tender. Drain and set aside on paper towel to cool. Boil the egg for 8 minutes, and then transfer to iced water to stop the cooking process. Peel and roughly chop.
Add the mayonnaise, carrot, cucumber and onion to the potato and whip vigorously with a wooden spoon. Stir in the egg. Serve at room temperature (as I prefer) or chilled.
l Kewpie mayonnaise is Japanese mayonnaise used for sushi and is available at Chinese supermarkets.
EFFORTLESS ENTERTAINING
Author: Sharon Glass
Publisher: ATV CC
Price: R199
A book filled with quick, easy and creative ideas for entertaining. With chapters on starters, soups, salads, fish, chicken, meat, pasta, vegetables and desserts, you will never be at a loss of what to cook when entertaining friends or family.
Sharon also has many hints and tips for preparing dishes in advance. All the ingredients are easily available and the recipes are uncomplicated.
The date and nut tart looked decadently delicious.
CRISPY DATE AND NUT TARTLETS WITH MASCARPONE AND BERRIES
Makes 6
Tartlet dough
125g pitted dates
150g ground almonds
30g unsalted butter or margarine
Filling
250ml mascarpone
175ml thick plain yoghurt
45ml honey
5ml vanilla essence
250ml strawberries
250ml blueberries
250ml raspberries
Preheat oven to 180°C. Cook the dates in the microwave for a few minutes to soften them. Place the ground almonds in a food processor and add the dates. Process until the mixture holds together.
Melt the butter or margarine and add to mixture in the food processor. Process until everything sticks together.
Press the mixture into sprayed 6 x 8cm tartlet tins. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool.
FILLING: Stir the first four ingredients together and spoon into the crust just before serving.
Top with the mixed berries.
FOOD IN A FLASH
Author: Sharon Glass
Publisher: ATV CC
Price: R199
In this, her seventh cookbook, Sharon has a selection of everyday meals which can be prepared quickly and easily. Her fuss-free approach to cooking has gained her a large following and the recipes in this book will help you answer the call “what’s for dinner?” in a flash.
Chapters contained in the book cover soups, salads, fish, chicken, meat, pasta, vegetables, desserts and a special section on kids will be useful to mothers looking for meal ideas.
The Asian steak taco recipe was delicious.
ASIAN STEAK TACOS WITH SALSA
Serves 4
45 ml olive oil
60ml soya sauce
30ml honey
30ml lime juice
5ml minced garlic
2.5ml minced chilli
10ml ground ginger
5ml sea salt
10ml lemon rind
1kg steak strips
6 flour tortillas
Salsa
30ml olive oil
1 medium onion
¼ green cabbage
4 green onions
30ml fresh coriander
15ml rice vinegar
2.5ml sesame oil
30ml sesame seeds
coarse salt and black pepper
Whisk all the sauce ingredients in a bowl. Add the steak strips and leave to marinate for about 20 minutes. Heat a frying pan and quickly soften the tortillas. Remove and set aside.
Fry the steak in the same hot pan for 4 minutes to cook through. Keep warm.
To serve the tacos, spoon some meat into each tortilla and top with salsa. Fold over to enclose the filling.
SALSA: Slice the onion, shred the cabbage, chop green onions and coriander and stir-fry everything, seasoning to taste. - The Star