If you don’t have time to prepare the perfect Father’s Day feast, don’t worry - we’ve got you covered!
From beef rendang to eggplant lasagne boats, these easy-to-pull-together recipes are perfect for making his day a bit more special.
Beef rendang
Serves: 6
Ingredients
For the spice paste
3 onions, roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic
3 tbsp chopped peeled fresh ginger
5 red chillies, roughly chopped
2 stalks of lemongrass, chopped
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp ground cardamom
For the curry
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1.8kg stewing steak
625ml coconut milk
2 tbsp tamarind paste
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 kaffir lime leaves
⅓ cup crunchy peanut butter
A handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
Rice to serve
Method
Put the spice paste ingredients in a food processor and blitz to form a smooth paste.
Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot and add the spice paste. Cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes.
Dice the beef into 4cm-5cm pieces and add to the paste, stirring to coat the meat.
Add three-quarters of the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook over a very gentle heat for 5 hours, stirring occasionally.
Place a wooden spoon across the top of the pot and rest the lid on it so that a little steam can escape.
After 5 hours, stir in the remaining coconut milk, tamarind paste, brown sugar, kaffir lime leaves, and peanut butter.
Cook for a further 20 minutes, remove kaffir lime leaves, and serve, garnished with coriander, spooned over cooked rice.
Chocolate martini
Ingredients
1 tsp melted chocolate
50ml Irish cream liqueur
50ml coffee liqueur
1 tbsp chocolate syrup
100ml vodka
A handful of ice
Method
Dip a pastry brush into the melted chocolate and brush up the side of two glasses.
Chill until set. Pour the Irish cream liqueur, coffee liqueur, chocolate syrup, and vodka into a shaker with a handful of ice and shake hard until the outside of the shaker feels very cold.
Strain into the glasses.
Recipes from chefs at Capsicum Culinary Studio.
Chicken and mushroom marsala
Serves: 4
Ingredients
2 large free-range chicken breasts, sliced in half
½ cup flour
500g portabellini mushrooms, sliced
2 shallots, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
½ cup Marsala wine
250ml chicken stock
125ml cream
2 tsp soy sauce
500g zoodles or zucchini noodles or baby marrow spaghetti, to serve
Freshly chopped chives, for serving
Salt and pepper, to taste,
Olive oil, for cooking
Method
Place the flour in a shallow bowl.
Season the chicken pieces on both sides with salt and pepper.
Dredge in the flour.
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
Add the chicken and cook until golden on both sides.
Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add mushrooms to the frying pan and cook, stirring frequently, until they have released their juices and browned well.
Add shallots, garlic, and thyme and cook, stirring, until shallots are tender and garlic is fragrant.
Pour in the Marsala wine and deglaze the pan.
Add the chicken stock, cream, and soy sauce.
Simmer until the sauce has reduced and thickened.
Return the chicken to the pan.
Simmer the chicken in the sauce to cook through and warm up.
Just before serving, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a frying pan.
Cook zucchini noodles on high heat until just warmed through and tender but retain a nice bit of crunch.
Season lightly.
Serve the saucy chicken and mushroom Marsala over the zoodles.
Sprinkle everything with chives and enjoy!
Eggplant lasagne boats
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
500g white button mushrooms
1 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely grated
1 stalk celery, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
250g lean beef mince
1 x 400g tin diced or crushed tomatoes
4 medium eggplants
150g mozzarella cheese, grated
Fresh basil leaves, for serving
Chilli flakes, for serving
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil, for cooking
Method
Blitz mushrooms in a food processor or finely chop them.
Heat a large dry saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat and cook the mushrooms until they release all their liquid and are dry and turning golden on the edges.
Season lightly with salt and pepper.
Remove from the pan.
Add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan and add the onion, carrot, and celery.
Cook until the vegetables are very tender.
Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
Add the beef mince and cook until browned.
Return the mushrooms to the pan along with the tinned tomatoes and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
Rinse the tin of tomatoes out with a little water and add to the pan.
Bring to a simmer.
Gently simmer until the sauce has thickened and the flavour has developed.
Taste to adjust seasoning.
While the sauce is cooking, preheat the oven to 200˚C.
Cut the eggplants in half and slice a criss-cross pattern into each half.
Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Place cut side down on a lined baking tray.
Bake for 20 minutes, depending on their size until nice and tender.
Switch the oven on to grill mode.
When the sauce has thickened, spoon a generous mound onto each eggplant half.
Scatter over the grated mozzarella.
Place under the grill and cook until the cheese melts and begins to get golden brown spots all over.
Scatter the eggplant boats with chilli flakes and fresh basil leaves and serve.
Recipes from the South African Mushroom Farmers' Association.
You can read the latest Food digimag here.