Durban - Sue-Ann Allen and Ilse Fourie, who bonded during their stint on the first season of MasterChef SA, have had their first cookbook published by Human & Rousseau under their Gourmet Sisters brand.
The pair took 44 ingredients and incorporated them in recipes which reflect their individual personality (Sue-Anne is all sass and leopard print, while Ilse is the prim princess).
So while Sue-Ann uses chocolate to create sweet samoosas and cures salmon in whiskey, Ilse whips up foolproof chocolate brownies and a salmon and mango tartare.
Their cookbook holds a range of yum between its pages, for both adventurous and more traditional palates.
Reporter Leanne Jansen reviewed the book and selected these recipes to share with you:
Spanish omelette tart with chorizo sausage
Ilse: “When I hear eggs, I think Spanish omelettes and memories of Spain. In Spain this dish is eaten any time of the day, but South Africans tend to eat omelettes only for breakfast. I decided to turn this meal into a light lunch and instead of making it in a pan, I added pastry and baked it in the oven. The garlic aïoli adds a lovely tang.”
Serves 4
3 potatoes, peeled
2 sheets phyllo pastry
3T butter, melted
3T olive oil
1T chopped fresh rosemary
1 chorizo sausage
3 cloves garlic
Freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs
1 cup cream
pinch of salt
½ red onion, finely diced
½ cup flat-leaf parsley, stems removed
juice of 1 lemon
F or the garlic aïoli:
1 heaped teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 egg
2 gloves garlic
1T white wine vinegar
1T lemon juice
1 cup canola oil
1t salt
pinch of white pepper
Preheat the oven to 180ºC
Boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked.
While the potatoes are cooking, cut the phyllo sheets in strips to fit a tart pan. Butter each strip and layer them in the tart pan.
Heat 2T of the olive oil in a large pan and fry the rosemary and chorizo together for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic and fry for another minute while adding some ground pepper.
Slice the cooked potatoes and add to the pan, stirring continuously so the potatoes absorb the flavour.
Remove from the heat and let it cool slightly.
Beat the eggs with the cream and add seasoning.
Spread the chorizo and potato evenly in the tart pan and pour the egg and cream mixture over . Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until firm.
Toss the red onion and parsley in the remaining 1Tbsp olive oil and add the lemon juice. Season to taste and set aside.
To make the aïoli, place the mustard, egg, garlic, vinegar and lemon juice in a blender, and blend while slowly adding the oil. Once you hear that the blender is working harder as the mixture emulsifies, add the rest of the oil in one go. Add seasoning.
Serve a slice of the tart with the parsley mixture and a dollop of garlic aïoli.
Trio of mini chocolate samoosas
Sue-Ann: “Sometimes a bite is enough and sometimes a whole slab doesn’t suffice. White, milk or dark, I crave it all. The decadence and the ability to create with chocolate seems neverending and that is why it is one of my favourite foods on this earth. Chocolate, crispy pastry, ice cream. No further explanation necessary.”
Serves 6
1 slab good quality milk chocolate, broken into blocks
1 slab good quality dark chocolate, broken into blocks
1 slab good quality white chocolate, broken into blocks
spring roll pastry, cut into 18 strips measuring 20 x 5 cm
milk, to seal edges
2 cups canola oil
vanilla ice cream to serve
seasonal berries to garnish
Place one block of chocolate into the corner of a pastry strip and fold, forming a samoosa and ensuring that all the sides are tucked in. Seal with a light brushing of milk. Place the completed samoosa under a damp tea towel.
Continue with the remaining chocolate until all the pastry strips have been used, ensuring that the chocolate variations are kept separate.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the samoosa in batches. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain excess oil.
Place one samoosa of each kind on individual plates and serve with vanilla ice cream. Garnish with seasonal berries.
Whiskey and citrus-cured salmon
Sue-Ann: “There is something about the delicacy of salmon that I adore. It’s an excellent way to get your helping of protein and is also high in omega 3 and 6, which are great for heart health. I love my salmon as is, so it is a must when indulging in sushi, but lightly seared will also do. Cured salmon can handle strong flavours, which lightly infuse themselves into this gorgeous, fatty fish. I’d heard of vodka-cured salmon before and so decided to take it a bit further and try whiskey. I know that the smokiness of whiskey works well with citrus and thought it would be great with the salmon too. This is the result.”
Serves 6 as a starter
1 kg salmon fillet, skin on
½ cup sea salt
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup Irish whiskey
2T orange zest
2T lime zest
3T chopped fresh dill
juice of 1 lime
Remove any remaining pin bones from the salmon. Place the fillet skin-side down on a piece of clingfilm.
Mix all the remaining ingredients together in a bowl. Using your hands, work the mixture into the flesh of the salmon. Ensure that the fillet is well coated.
Wrap the salmon fillet in layers of clingfilm. Place in a dish and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, but not longer than 48 hours.
Remove from the fridge and rinse well under cold running water. Pat dry and slice thinly.
Serve on crostini or bruschetta with crème fraîche and caviar or finely grated horseradish. - The Mercury