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 one of the competition.
Johannesburg based food blogger Nanima (she goes by that name only) won with her inventive Lekker Thai Potjie.
For this challenge, the bloggers were given the following ingredients:
* 2 packets of Findus Wok Thai Vegetables
* 1 roll of Pick n Pay Phyllo Pastry
* 1 jar of Pick n Pay cook additions - garlic, ginger & dhania paste
* 1 packet of Pick n Pay 2 minute noodles (any flavour)
* 1 orange
* 1 pineapple
Lekker Thai Potjie
Inspiration for Nanima's dish
While visiting my parents in a dorpie over the weekend, I had a mini-bosberaad with my mom, sisters and daughter to brainstorm ideas on what to do for this Frozen Assets challenge. I wanted something winter-warming, with a South African look and feel and a Thai twist. My 'groot sussie' suggested a potjie. Although I don't have a potjie, I liked the idea of throwing all the ingredients into a pot and making a hearty soup.
Ingredients used:
1 pineapple
1 orange
Olive oil (or oil of your choice)
1 packet (500g) Findus Wok Thai vegetables
2 Tbsp PnP cook additions crushed garlic, ginger and dhania paste
1 cube vegetable stock
1 packet PnP 2-minute noodles
1 tin coconut milk
1 sheet PnP phyllo pastry (or more if you require)
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Peel pineapple and cut in cubes.
Cut a small piece of the orange for garnishing, squeeze the rest of the orange into juice.
Preheat oil in a wok, large frying pan or potjie. Take a few pieces of onion out of the Findus Wok Thai vegetables and braise until golden brown.
Braise 2 tablespoons PnP paste in olive oil in a pan, wok or potjie until you can smell the aroma or for about 10 seconds. Add 1 packet Findus Wok Thai vegetables and cubed pineapple. (Make sure vegetables are dry before cooking so they retain their crispy texture.) Season to taste and stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes, until vegetables are cooked.
Add juice of half an orange and let it braise for 1 minute. Add vegetable stock and let it braise for 1 minute. Add PnP 2-minute noodles and one litre of water. Boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Then add coconut milk. Boil and simmer for few more minutes.
While soup is boiling, take out a sheet of phyllo pastry (or as much as you require). Cut into strips (or any shape you desire). Pan-fry, fry or bake the phyllo pastry until crispy and golden brown. If you bake it, you may need to brush with little olive oil or any oil you use for cooking.
Serve soup in a cute potjie or in dishes of your choice. Add the strips (or shapes) crispy golden-brown phyllo pastry to the soup, and garnish with slice of orange. Serve this Lekker Thai Potjie on a cold winter's night... Nom, nom, nom!
About Nanima (www.nanima.co.za)
I am a simple cook. I cook to feed my husband and two kids, so I prefer straightforward, wholesome meals. My aim is to document a step-by-step guide to the traditional meals I experiment with. In 2007, I formed the Ask Nanima website (nanima means 'grandmother'). The aim is to promote breadwinner home industries, like that of my own grandmother, who sold poppadum/pappar to educate her children. We want the website to be a community support system; a place where women come to get help regarding everyday issues they are facing. Ask Nanima was voted runner-up in the SA Blog Awards, in the food category, in 2011 and 2012.
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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