South Africa's first online, food blogger competition is in full swing
Competition organisers are Pick n Pay and Fresh Living, SA's top-selling food magazine, and sponsors are Knorr and Spekko.
The competition runs from July 8 to September 26, and will see 40 food bloggers from across South Africa compete in a series of weekly food challenges for the coveted Top Blogger title.
The following dish was voted by the public as the winning recipe for week 3.
Dhania apricot burgers
Inspiration for Shafeeqa's dish
Although a burger is a universal favourite, this one is packed with dhania and dried apricots, both popular South African flavours. I've never cooked with waterblommetjies before and thought it would be lovely in a fritter, lightly flavoured with a cumin mix. I always need something crispy or crunchy on my plate and this would be it. I found a PnP curry kit that contained a packet of rice spice (which I added to the fritters) and another of Durban curry spice (for the chutney). On the side are sweet potato chips sprinkled with barbeque spice.
My favourite part of this dish was the dried fruit chutney. This blend of fruity, sweet and spicy was so delicious that I saved the rest to use as a samoosa dip, which is perfect for Ramadaan since we have it every evening!
Ingredients
For the burgers:
500g ostrich sausage, casing removed
2 Tbsp apricots from 250g PnP mixed fruit, finely chopped
Handful dhania
For the waterblommetjie fritters:
Punnet of waterblommetjies
1 cup self-raising flour
Half cup milk
1 egg
2 tsp rice spice from PnP Curry Kit
Salt
Olive oil and oil for deep-frying
For the Durban curry chutney:
1 cup finely chopped dried fruit, soaked in water for an hour to soften before chopping
1 cup PnP grape juice
Half cup PnP hot chutney
3 tsp Durban curry spice from PnP Curry Kit
For the mielie meal rolls:
500g mielie meal
1kg cake wheat flour
10g instant yeast
500ml lukewarm water; 500ml hot water
For the sweet potato chips:
2 sweet potatoes
Oil for deep frying
PnP barbeque spice
Method
Dhania apricot burgers
Mix everything together by hand and form four even balls, then flatten to form burger patties. Grill on the braai.
Waterblommetjie fritters
Rinse the waterblommetjies thoroughly to remove any dirt. Steam in microwave for 1 minute, must not be too soft. Fry the spice mix in a hot pan with a splash of olive oil to draw the flavours out. Mix the flour, egg, milk and salt until smooth and add the cooled spice mix. Hold the waterblommetjies by the stem and coat in batter, letting the excess drip off. Deep fry on high heat, the flowers are already cooked so it needs a quick fry until golden. Drain on paper towels. Durban curry dried fruit chutney. Place everything into a pot and let it simmer until the liquid thickens slightly. Blend until smooth (or chunky if preferred). Add salt to taste.
Mielie meal bread rolls
Dissolve mielie meal and 15ml salt in the hot water. In a large mixing bowl sift the flour, yeast, sugar and cooled mielie meal mixture and the rest of the water. Knead and place in a bowl until double in size. I placed the bowl in a very low heated oven to aid rising, or you could leave it in the sun. Knead again and shape into rolls, placing on a floured baking tray and let it double in size again.
Sweet potato chips
Wash potatoes, leaving the skin on. Cut into chips and steam in the microwave until softened. Deep fry until golden. Serve sprinkled with barbeque spice.
About Shafeeqa Effendi (crushland.wordpress.com/)
I started cooking, baking and painting as a young child, with my little pink camera in tow. Now years later, I'm still doing the same thing! Except now I have a very patient and understanding family, in the form of my beloved husband and two dear sons, who know when not to bother me in the kitchen (and how to hold that 'natural' pose between bites). You'll find me at an arts and crafts market selling my watercolour paintings on the last Sunday of every month, doing the odd wedding or family shoot, and sometimes creating weird and wonderful cake creations with buttercreams and fondant for special people on special occasions. (My favourite brief is: Surprise me!).
About the competition
Each Friday, participating bloggers will receive a food challenge with a list of specified ingredients. Bloggers will receive a smart shopper loyalty card, pre-loaded with points, to purchase their listed items at Pick n Pay for the week.
Contestants will have five days to experiment with the ingredients to create a recipe, make the dish, photograph it, and write about their inspiration. This will be uploaded to their individual profiles for judging on www.freshlyblogged.co.za
Fresh Living editor Justine Drake, food editor Anke Roux and Pick n Pay's Food developer Yvonne Short will determine which bloggers make it through to the next challenge each week, until the final three remain.
Public voting will determine which recipe is the favourite each week with fabulous prizes up for grabs. The final three contestants will compete in a live cook off at the Pick n Pay Taste of Joburg on 26 September 2013, to determine who will be crowned the Top Blogger.
The overall competition winner will receive a three part recipe series in Fresh Living magazine, two SAA return tickets to a European destination of choice, an iPad and more.
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