Garlic & Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
Ingredients
To serve
- 1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 6 flat field mushrooms, stalks removed
- 5 small vine tomatoes, chopped (optional)
- 75g/2¾oz mature cheddar, grated. or cubed Leerdammer or Emmental
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh leaf parsley
- ½ lemon, zest only
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh chives (optional)
To serve
- small handful fresh parsley, coriander, basil (optional)
- dash olive oil
- a squeeze of lemon juice
- Place the mushrooms stalk-side up on the Braai and drizzle with olive oil.
2. In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes (optional), half of the grated cheese, the chopped parsley, lemon zest, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add onion and garlic and mix well.
3. Pile the filling onto the mushrooms, top with the remaining cheese and drizzle with a little more olive oil.
4. Place on the Braai for ten minutes or until the cheese starts to melt. Remove, and sprinkle with chopped chives.
5. To serve, place the mushrooms on a serving plate and garnish with a herb salad dressed(optional) with a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice
Corn with Chilli & Lime
Ingredients
- 4 ears of corn
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves
- Tabasco sauce, to taste (about 10-20 drops)
- Lime wedges, to serve
Preparation
Place the corn ears in cold water and soak for 10-20 minutes. Peel back (but don't remove) the husks from the cobs. Remove and discard the silk, then bring the husks back over the cob. Set up the braai for direct-heat cooking over medium heat.
Grill the corn for 15-20 minutes, turning frequently, until the corn husks are dry and brown.
Meanwhile, combine the butter with the pepper flakes, coriander, Tabasco and sea salt.
Peel back the husks, brush on the butter mixture liberally and cook for another minute on the braai until it blackens in places, then remove from the heat and baste on more butter.
Serve with lime wedges.
Pie's
CHICKEN, PEA AND BEER PIES
You’ll need:
a handful of mushrooms – sliced
half a leek – sliced
2 or 3 spring onions – chopped
a clove of garlic – crushed
a small handful of cooked leftover chicken
a palm full of fresh garden peas
your favourite beer
a splash of cream
Pan-fry the mushrooms, leeks, onions and garlic and let them sweat off any excess juice. Take your leftover chicken, tear it up roughly into strips and add it to the pan. Chuck in the peas and then a splash of beer. Be stingy – think of it as though you’re giving a six-year-old kid a little taster. (Keep the rest for yourself.) Add a splash of cream and let the sauce cook down. You want the filling to be juicy but not overly moist otherwise when you braai the pie it’ll disintegrate into a soggy bomb.
SPINACH AND FETA PIES
You’ll need:
butter
a whole bunch of spinach – rinsed and remove the pith
1 onion – chopped
1 clove of garlic – crushed
a little feta
salt and black pepper to taste
Preheat a pan and add a couple of knobs of butter. Add your spinach, onion, garlic salt and pepper and stir around till the onion is soft and the spinach cooked. Spinach and butter are best friends – you can almost never add too much butter. Remove from the heat, let it cool down, and then crumble some feta over the spinach.
The pastry:
If you don’t have the energy to make your own pastry, just buy some rolls of puff pastry from the store. Sometimes it’s okay to take a shortcut. One sheet of pastry will make three pies.
Whatever you do, try and keep the puff pastry as cold as possible. Roll it out and cut it into six even-sized squares. Scoop a biggish spoonful of whichever filling you’ve made on to the centre of one square. Cover with another square and push the sides together using your fingers or the tines of a fork, ensuring that it’s completely sealed up. Repeat with the remaining squares of pastry.
Brush the pastry with a little egg white, and using the tip of a knife, cut three small incisions on top of each pie – this will stop the pies from exploding when they’re on the grid. Put your pies in the fridge so that they harden up a little before you braai them.
Light a fire.
Once the fire is ready with nice medium coals, place your pies inside one of those braai grids that close up (the same one you use for boerie). There’s no need to grease the grid – there’s load of butter in puff pastry, which will prevent it from sticking. Take a couple of bricks and stack them on either side of the fire (about four each side). Place the grid on top of the bricks and turn the pies often to avoid burning them.
If the pies start spitting at you, best you jump out of the way until they’ve calmed down and if they break open it probably means you weren’t turning them often enough or your mixture was too soggy. (If at first you don’t succeed, you should try, try, and try again.)
When the puff pastry is nice and golden brown, your pies are ready to eat. Serve the chicken pie with beer, the mussel and prawn pie with a glass of good white wine, and the spinach and feta pie with whatever tickles your fancy.
The taste of puff pastry cooked over coals is unbelievable and I can’t think of a better way to get that smoky flavour to infuse in a pie
You’ll need:
a handful of mushrooms – sliced
half a leek – sliced
2 or 3 spring onions – chopped
a clove of garlic – crushed
a small handful of cooked leftover chicken
a palm full of fresh garden peas
your favourite beer
a splash of cream
Pan-fry the mushrooms, leeks, onions and garlic and let them sweat off any excess juice. Take your leftover chicken, tear it up roughly into strips and add it to the pan. Chuck in the peas and then a splash of beer. Be stingy – think of it as though you’re giving a six-year-old kid a little taster. (Keep the rest for yourself.) Add a splash of cream and let the sauce cook down. You want the filling to be juicy but not overly moist otherwise when you braai the pie it’ll disintegrate into a soggy bomb.
SPINACH AND FETA PIES
You’ll need:
butter
a whole bunch of spinach – rinsed and remove the pith
1 onion – chopped
1 clove of garlic – crushed
a little feta
salt and black pepper to taste
Preheat a pan and add a couple of knobs of butter. Add your spinach, onion, garlic salt and pepper and stir around till the onion is soft and the spinach cooked. Spinach and butter are best friends – you can almost never add too much butter. Remove from the heat, let it cool down, and then crumble some feta over the spinach.
The pastry:
If you don’t have the energy to make your own pastry, just buy some rolls of puff pastry from the store. Sometimes it’s okay to take a shortcut. One sheet of pastry will make three pies.
Whatever you do, try and keep the puff pastry as cold as possible. Roll it out and cut it into six even-sized squares. Scoop a biggish spoonful of whichever filling you’ve made on to the centre of one square. Cover with another square and push the sides together using your fingers or the tines of a fork, ensuring that it’s completely sealed up. Repeat with the remaining squares of pastry.
Brush the pastry with a little egg white, and using the tip of a knife, cut three small incisions on top of each pie – this will stop the pies from exploding when they’re on the grid. Put your pies in the fridge so that they harden up a little before you braai them.
Light a fire.
Once the fire is ready with nice medium coals, place your pies inside one of those braai grids that close up (the same one you use for boerie). There’s no need to grease the grid – there’s load of butter in puff pastry, which will prevent it from sticking. Take a couple of bricks and stack them on either side of the fire (about four each side). Place the grid on top of the bricks and turn the pies often to avoid burning them.
If the pies start spitting at you, best you jump out of the way until they’ve calmed down and if they break open it probably means you weren’t turning them often enough or your mixture was too soggy. (If at first you don’t succeed, you should try, try, and try again.)
When the puff pastry is nice and golden brown, your pies are ready to eat. Serve the chicken pie with beer, the mussel and prawn pie with a glass of good white wine, and the spinach and feta pie with whatever tickles your fancy.
The taste of puff pastry cooked over coals is unbelievable and I can’t think of a better way to get that smoky flavour to infuse in a pie
Fat Man Potatoes
6 medium potatoes diced with or without skins on
450g of Bacon
1 medium onion chopped
450g shredded colby jack or cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Beau Monde*
Salt and pepper to taste
Fry up your bacon in a potjie until crisp, remove from pan and drain.
Add onions, garlic, potatoes and seasonings to the drippings and cook until tender, return bacon to the pan and add cheese until melted
*Beau Monde Seasoning Salt:
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground bay leaf
1 tablespoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons ground pepper
1 tablespoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground mace
1 teaspoon celery seed
In a small mixing bowl, mix together all ingredients. Pour into a tightly closed jar and store in a cool, dry place.
Yields approximately 9 tablespoons.
450g of Bacon
1 medium onion chopped
450g shredded colby jack or cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon Beau Monde*
Salt and pepper to taste
Fry up your bacon in a potjie until crisp, remove from pan and drain.
Add onions, garlic, potatoes and seasonings to the drippings and cook until tender, return bacon to the pan and add cheese until melted
*Beau Monde Seasoning Salt:
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground bay leaf
1 tablespoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons ground pepper
1 tablespoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground mace
1 teaspoon celery seed
In a small mixing bowl, mix together all ingredients. Pour into a tightly closed jar and store in a cool, dry place.
Yields approximately 9 tablespoons.
Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt, or 1/3 cup nonfat Greek style yogurt
1/3 cup lowfat buttermilk
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
Salt
Directions
If using plain yogurt, place it in a strainer lined with a paper towel and place the strainer over a bowl. Let the yogurt drain and thicken for 20 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the strained or Greek-style yogurt and the rest of the ingredients. Add salt, to taste.
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt, or 1/3 cup nonfat Greek style yogurt
1/3 cup lowfat buttermilk
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
Salt
Directions
If using plain yogurt, place it in a strainer lined with a paper towel and place the strainer over a bowl. Let the yogurt drain and thicken for 20 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the strained or Greek-style yogurt and the rest of the ingredients. Add salt, to taste.
Whole Wheat Beer Bread
Ingredients:
600ml Beer
250 g Whole-Wheat Flour
250 g Cake flour
20 ml Cream of Tartar
10 ml Baking Soda
5 ml Brown Sugar
3 ml Salt
Method:
Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and place the mixture in a well greased flat bottom pot. Grease the lid and cover the pot with it. Bake the bread for approximately 1 hour over the coals, placing some coals on top of the lid as well. Remove the pot from the coals and leave the bread to stand in the pot for 10 minutes. Turn out on a cloth .Serve with butter.
This bread can also be baked successfully in oven of 200 C for 1 hour. Cover the brad with tin foil after 30 minutes and bake for a further 30 minutes.
600ml Beer
250 g Whole-Wheat Flour
250 g Cake flour
20 ml Cream of Tartar
10 ml Baking Soda
5 ml Brown Sugar
3 ml Salt
Method:
Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and place the mixture in a well greased flat bottom pot. Grease the lid and cover the pot with it. Bake the bread for approximately 1 hour over the coals, placing some coals on top of the lid as well. Remove the pot from the coals and leave the bread to stand in the pot for 10 minutes. Turn out on a cloth .Serve with butter.
This bread can also be baked successfully in oven of 200 C for 1 hour. Cover the brad with tin foil after 30 minutes and bake for a further 30 minutes.