Volume 1 2014

CHEF DEWET VISSER

WWW.CHEFDEWET.CO.ZA

PreFace on Author

AUTHOR
As most of you already know, I am a South African Chef. I did my Professional Cookery and Pastry Diploma at the South African Chefs Academy in Cape Town, where I received distinctions all round. After Graduating I joined Chef David Higgs brigade at the Saxon Boutique Hotel in Sandton. I have also work for a private business to whom I catered every night, making them top quality dishes. Since then I have been self employed, while running my website and doing private catering for several small events. Then in 2014 I am set to jet off to Kuwait where Ill be working at a Japanese Restaurant.

PREFACE

CHEF DEWET VISSER

What to expect!
My aim for this booklet is to produce a well published source of information regarding the culinary world. While I was attending the South African Chefs Academy I was always searching for a source of information on everything relating to the culinary world. I was never able to find everything I needed to know in one easy to use place, so once I graduated from the Academy I decided to start up my own webpage. On this webpage I wanted to included everything a culinary student would need to know in order to allow themselves to push above and beyond those who do not make use of my website. My webpage is still in what I would like to call the infant stageof development, but as time passes the amount of valuable information being publicised will increase at a rapid pace. Driven by my passion for cooking and the culinary world, I will continue to expand my webpage. This first volume booklet will include all of the published recipes on my website including the terminology, definitions, pro3

FEATURING TOPICS

! Recipes which have been posted and shared on my website! ! Denitions and terminologies of the culinary world including unseen terms.! ! ! ! A compilation of photos which will accompany each recipe.! ! Compilation of different spices, vegetables, herbs, fruits, pastas etc. I will also feature unseen material.

duce lists (fruits, vegetables, spices etc.) and photos to accompany recipes. It will also include helpful tips on cooking as well as baking.

Entree

ENTRE
This Chapter will include all recipes which can be used and adapted for Starters. Some of these recipes are also suitable for Main Courses and will have a side note to indicate that.

SECTION 2

Japanese Style Carpaccio

This is a very simple yet divine dish using one of Japans unique ingredients, Yuzu! It's similar in appearance when next to a lemon but a completely different taste. Yuzu is also known by the term "citrus jujus". It is a popular citric fruit used in Japanese cooking. It is also used to make a wonderful dipping sauce called "Ponzo Joyu" which is a mixture of Yuzu Juice and Soy Sauce. The origin of this fruit is East Asia and it is a bright yellow colour when ripe. 1 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper 300g Fresh Salmon Fillet (Skinned) 3 tsp Chives Chopped

Method:
1.In a shallow bowl place the onions, yuzu juice, pumpkinseed oil, soy sauce and fresh black pepper. Allow for the mixture to infuse for 15 to 20 minutes. 2.While marinade is infusing, thinly slice the salmon fillet.! Once the infusing time has elapsed, place the thinly sliced salmon into the marinade for three seconds on each side. 3.Get your plating dish and lay the salmon onto it, allow for them to overlap ever so slightly

Ingredients:
1/2 Red Onion Brunoise 7 tbsp Yuzu Juice! 1 tbsp Pumpkin Seed Oil 1 tbsp Soy Sauce

4.Garnish plate with chopped chives and pour remaining marinade over the top.

SECTION 3

Belguim Mussels & French Fries

While I was studying to become a chef in Cape Town, I had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. The reason for that was due to me staying in a commune with 7 other people, of which only three people including me stayed for a whole year. The 5 other rooms were always occupied by different people from all over the world almost every three months. One of them was a girl by the name of Pauline, she was from Belgium and was always interested in what I was learning at school. The one night we were talking about food and how its so different all over the world. We got on the topic of her countries national dish. To my surprise it was two items I would have never have thought to be paired together. On the one hand you had French Fries (Which for those of you who don't actually know originated in Belgium),which is a cheap and easy food to make yourself. On the other hand you had luxurious Mussels, which are not cheap. At first I did not believe her at all, but then as all of us do
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these days being the "google it" generation, she got out her laptop and googled it to prove that she was not joking. The Belgium term for this dish is "Moules Frites". So today I'm going to give you a nice and simple recipe for this unique National dish of Belgium!

Ingredients: Mussels
1 kg Fresh Mussels! 1 Large Onion (Finely brunoise)! 2 Large Clove of Garlic brunoise! 1tsp Chopped Fresh Thyme! 1 tbs Freshly Chopped Flat Leaf Parsley! 1 tbs Chopped Chervil! 50 ml Olive Oil!

 150 ml Good Dry White Wine (If you won't drink it, don't use it!) 1 tsp Pernod (It's a French Anise-Flavoured Liqueur Optional) 2 tbs Creme Fraiche

3. Once the onions are ready, remove them from the pot and put the pot over a high heat, allowing the pot to become very hot. 4. Once the pot is hot add the onion mix along with the herbs back into the pot, quickly add the mussels, and then the white wine and Pernod (Must be in this order). Immediately place the lid on making sure its tight and secure. 5. Allow to steam for 4-5 minutes, shaking the pot once or twice. 6. Remove from heat and check for any closed mussels, making sure to discard them. 7. Now stir in the Creme Fraiche.! 8. Serve mussels in a deep bowl dish.

Method: Mussels
1. If you are using fresh mussels (which you should be) you'll need to clean them first before you cook them. Rinse them in cold water and then remove the beards (The beards on the mussels are fine hair like looking threads). When removing the beards make sure you pull then across the mussel and not to the closest end. You will also need to check if they are still firmly closed and smell of the ocean and not fishy! Any mussel that smells fishy or is mostly open must be discarded. 2. Now get a large deep pot with a tight fitting lid and place it onto the stove on a low to medium heat. Place garlic and onions with the olive oil in the pot and sweat the onions until soft and translucent.

French Fries
2 Large Potatoes (Peeled and cut into even Chips) Oil to Deep Fry! Salt to taste

Method
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1. Cut each chip 2mm by 2mm or to a size you feel comfortable eating.! 2. Heat up your deep fat fryer to 160C, otherwise place a pot on the stove with a thermometer and heat to 160C. Sunflower seed oil is fine to use for deep frying. 3. Rinse the chips with salted water and then dry off with kitchen paper before placing into the deep fat fryer for 4-5 minutes (If your chips are large I would recommend you parboil them to achieve a soft smooth texture inside and a crisp outer texture). 4. Once the 4-5 minutes are done, remove and cool then turn the heat up to 190C. 5. When mussels are done place the chips back into 190C oil for 1 minute until golden and crisp. 6. Remove once ready and sprinkle with salt. Serve chips in a side dish alongside the mussels.

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SECTION 4

Confit Duck Salad

Duck is my favourite fowl to have, its got a much stronger taste than chicken but not too overpowering. I also enjoy it when it is prepared in the style of confit. Its a long and slow method but every second you spend preparing it will later reward you with loads of flavour. When curing your duck legs there are many different flavours you can use to adjust the way you would like to serve it. Im going to use orange and lime zest along with lemon grass to give it a bit of an Asian/ Thai feel. You could also use a good masala spice if you would like to make a dressed up and fancy butter chicken, but instead of using chicken you can use duck. To go along with the Asian/Thai theme Im going to use a green unripe mango salad. It's very popular in Thailand and is used in refreshing salads with tangy lime dressing. If you would like to transform this appetiser sized dish into more of a entree you can simply add cooked egg noodles (Just make sure they are still el dente, are rinsed under cold water and allowed to cool once cooked).

Ingredients
2 Duck Legs (Drumstick and thigh) 100g Coarse Sea Salt! 500ml Duck Fat! 2 Garlic Cloves 1/2 A Lemon Grass 8 Grapefruit Segments 8 Orange Segments! 4 Mage Tout 1/2 A Green Mango 5 g Pickled Ginger 1 Baby Bok Choy 1 tsp Fresh Ginger (Grated) Zest from one Orange and Lime Juice of 1 Lime
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 1 Red Chilli (Remove seeds)

Method
1. Start off by washing your duck legs and then dry them off, ensuring there is no excess moisture on them.! 2. Take the salt and mix it with the lime and orange zest as well as the crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon of ginger and the lemon grass (Crush the lemon grass slightly and cut into medium sized pieces). Chop the chilli and add to the salt mixture as well.! 3. Once your salt mixture is ready, place a good layer at the bottom a tray and place your duck legs and thighs on top of the salt. Now place the rest of the salt mixture over the top (Try and use a container which ensures the duck legs are tightly packed with the salt). ! 4. If your container has a lid place the lid on top and place the container into the fridge to cure for a minimum of 8 hour or preferably over night (If you dont have a lid, simply wrap the container). ! 5. Once the curing is complete, rinse off the duck legs and pat them dry.! 6. Preheat your oven to 90 - 100C! 7. Place a medium sized pot onto the stove top over a medium heat. Add your duck fat and allow to melt completely.! 8. Once it has melted place your duck legs skin side down into the pot and make sure they are both fully submerged in
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the fat.! 9. Place the pot into the oven for about 45-60 minutes, checking after 50 minutes to see if meat is tender and almost falling off the bone.! 10. You can now start to prepare your salad component. Start by segmenting your orange and grape fruit.! 11. Now cut your mage tout, mango and bok choy into julienne (For the bok choy, you might want to give it a quick blanch just to soften it a bit). ! 12. Add all salad components into a bowl and mix well and then dress with your dressing.! 13. Once your duck is done, remove and drain off excess fat. Remove the skin without breaking it. Now shred the duck meat with your hands and add into the bowl with the vegetables. 14. Place a pan onto a medium heat and allow to heat up and then place the skin in the pan and press down so it does not curl up. Keep it this way till crispy.! 15. Remove crisp skin, chop it up and sprinkle over the salad.

Ingredients for dressing.

1 tsp Lime Juice 1 tsp Orange Juice 1 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar

 1/2 tsp Sesame Seed Oil 1 tsp Soy Sauce 1/2 tsp Finely Chopped Fresh Ginger 1/2 tsp Finely Chopped Chilli! 1 tsp Chopped Fresh Coriander! 1 tbs Canola Oil! 1 tbs Water

Method
1.Place the lime juice, orange juice, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, chilli and chopped coriander into a mixing bowl. 2. While whisking, slowly add in your canola oil and then the sesame oil.! 3. If your dressing is too thick add some water and if it is too thin slightly add more canola oil.

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SECTION 5

Potato & Onion Soup

Potatoes and onions are two ingredients that don't always get the respect they deserve and these two ingredients are almost always the basis of most dishes. The potatoes are used as the starting component of the plate, which serves as the delivery and bulk component of the dish. The onion is the base of most sauces, forming the foundation of the sauce, and we all know if you don't have a good foundation you're going to run into trouble later. So I've decided to make these two ingredients the working horse of the kitchen and the stars of my dish. This I will do using only a few herbs to add a bit of flare and a dash of wine and cream for a bit of body. This is a great hearty dish, perfect for a cold summers day. I've also paired the soup with a crunchy element of potato tuile's, to add a different texture and colour to the plate. For the garnishes I've used a sprig of Rosemary and some Oregano flowers just to bring a bit of green to the party. Some chopped chives or even spring onions sprinkled over the top would also do wonders to the presentation of the dish.

Ingredients
6 Medium Sized Potatoes 2 Large White Onions 1 tsp Chopped Rosemary 1 tsp Chopped Thyme 1 tsp Oregano! 1 tsp Smoked Paprika 1/2 Chilli Flakes 1/3 tsp Ground Black Pepper! 125 ml White Wine! 500ml Vegetable or Chicken Stock 50ml Cream (Optional)! Salt to taste! 4 tsp Butter! Baking paper/ Silicone paper! Olive Oil!
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 1 tsp Lemon Juice! 3 Bay Leaves

Method
1. Place a large pot onto a high heat on your stove and pre heat your oven to 180C/356oF. Add 2 teaspoons butter and a good dash of olive oil into the pot (Base should be covered with oil and butter). 2. Cut 5 of the 6 potatoes into small cubes, leaving the skins on. Place into pot once hot and stir every minute (Don't worry if they stick to the pot, just let them caramelise and they will come off the base). 3. Slice your 2 onions and then place into the pot with the potatoes after 10 minutes. 4. Now add your herbs and spices and constantly stir, you will notice that a layer of caramelised ingredients will form on the base of the pot. Add a 1/3 of the wine and scrape the layer off the base. This will continue and every time simply add the wine to remove before it burns. Do this about 6 - 8 times and this will give your soup a lovely amber colour at the end(If you run out of wine, simply use the stock). 5. After repeating the deglazing process 8 times add in the remainder of your stock (It should at least cover the potatoes, if not simply top off with water) and allow to simmer till the potatoes are soft and tender.!
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6. Take your hand blender and blend your soup until smooth and then continue to simmer for another 20 minutes (If you do not have a hand blender, place small amounts at a time in a blender. If you don't have a blender either simply use your hand masher and roughly mash the potatoes. 7. Together melt 2 teaspoons of butter, season with salt and pepper and add 2 teaspoons of oil. Place into a bowl and use for your potato slices you are about to cut. 8. Take the remaining potato and cut it into as thin as possible slices and place into the seasoned melted butter. 9. Now get an oven tray and line with one layer of silicon paper. Place your potato slices onto the paper, taking three slices and laying them down so that they over lap each other slightly. 10. Place another layer of silicon paper over the top and place another baking tray on top to press them down. Place into the oven and bake until golden brown on the bottom. Remove, take off the paper and use as a garnish in the soup when serving. 11. After your soup has been simmering for 20 minutes and you would like to add some cream, now would be the time. Add the 50 ml of cream and stir, allowing it to simmer for 5 more minutes. Now your soup is ready to serve. 12. Garnish with some chives, spring onions or even some fresh herbs.

Mains

MAINS
Here you will nd recipes that include meat as well as chicken as the main proteins. There will be recipes from different parts of the globe and they will keep your taste buds interested.

SECTION 6

French Coq au Vin (chicken in red wine)

Coq au Vin is a classic French chicken stew, one of the main ingredients in this recipes is red wine. You marinade the chicken pieces in the red wine over night which in return gives the chicken a richer flavour. With the red wine you add your herbs and spices to ensure you have all the flavours fully incorporated. This dish always used the meat of a coq (cock), but today people make use of hens. The reason for using coq was because of the toughness of the meat. A coq would almost always be quite old and in return had tougher meat and needed to be cooked for much longer and slower. A common garnish to this dish are the kidneys, but it is not seen as often as when this dish was first created. For me personally, this dish is a perfect dish to show off and charm guests. If this dish is properly executed every person at your dining table will be wowed. Give it a go for your next dinner party.

Ingredients
10ml Diced Bacon 3 Bay Leaves 3 Sprigs of Thyme 2 Parsley Stalks 10ml Clarified Butter 1 Whole Clove of Garlic! 1 Clove of Garlic (Diced)! 3 Stalks of Parsley (Chopped)! 10ml Clarified Butter! 4-5 Pieces of Wine Marinated Chicken Drumsticks, Thighs and Breast (12 hours) 5ml Brandy! 1 12 Peeled and halved Pearl Onions! 3 Mushrooms! 2 Labels for Red Wine Marinade!
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 12 Diced Potato! 5ml Beurre Manne (Combine equal amounts of butter and flour)! 1 slice White Bread cut into triangles

7.Once your potatoes are ready drain the water. Then pass your potatoes through a sieve to get a soft and velvety texture. 8.Now add some butter to your mushed potatoes and whisk until all the butter is incorporated, taste and season accordingly. Cover and leave for plating. 9.Once your chicken has a good brown colour drain the extra fat from the pan and add your vegetables back into the pan. 10.De-glaze the pan with brandy so you get all the caramelised goodness from the bottom of the pan. 11.Now add your bay leaves, thyme and parsley stalks in to the pot as a Bouquet garnish, along with the chopped garlic. 12.Once all your ingredients are in the pot and ready to go add your red wine marinade so it covers the chicken pieces (If it does not completely cover everything simply add water). Season with salt. 13.Bring the liquid to the boil and allow to simmer for 20 minutes. 14.Once the onions and mushrooms are cooked remove to prevent them from disintegrating into the sauce. 15.Remove all the ingredients from the pot with a slotted spoon and bring the liquid to the boil. 16.Once at boiling point add the beurre manne and a pinch of sugar. Allow to cook over heat until the sauce coats the back of a spoon and is at the correct sauce consistency.
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Method
1.Peel the onion and carefully cut it in half, halve the mushrooms, finely chop the parsley and cut the bread into triangles. Peel and dice the potato, dice the bacon and dry the chicken pieces on paper towel. 2.Place the potatoes into a pot of water and add a fair amount of salt (Remember to start by placing any root vegetables into cold water and then bringing it to the boil). 3.Now place your pot onto a high heat and bring to the boil. Cook potatoes until soft. 4. Place a large pan onto a high heat and add a little butter and olive oil. Once heated add the bacon and onions and cook till lightly coloured. Add your mushrooms just before removing from the heat. 5.Place in a separate container so you can use the pan again (We are using the same pan so we dont lose any of the wonderful flavour). 6.Now place your chicken pieces skin side down in the same pan and allow to get a good golden brown colour.

17.Add all your ingredients back into the pot once the sauce is ready. 18.Then place the clarified butter into a pan and fry the bread in it until golden. Rub the bread with a garlic clove to extract the flavour. 19.Spoon chicken, onions and mushrooms into a bowl and pour the sauce over it. Garnish with a quenelle of mashed potato and 2 crouton triangles. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

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SECTION 7

My Mac & Cheese

The inspiration for this dish came from always hearing and seeing how Americans go crazy for their Mac & Cheese on the Food Network and in movies. We as South Africans don't really make such a big deal of Mac & Cheese but I decided to take Mac & Cheese to the next level and see if it's all that they make it out to be! And I must say, I now know exactly why they make such a big deal out of it. Its everything you could want from a dish; it's rich, creamy, crunchy, soft and slightly oily. Its like taking a bite of comfort every single time, if you're not careful it will take you and before you know it youve finished the whole pot of Mac & Cheese. This is without a doubt a crowd pleaser. 1L Milk! 200g Mature Cheddar (Or any cheese of your choice) 2 Bay Leaves! 4 Black Peppercorns! 1 tsp Nutmeg! Salt to taste! 5 Back Bacon Strips

Method
1. Place a big pot of water on the stove and bring to the boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water and add your pasta. 2. Place a pan on a high heat and once hot place the bacon in the pan and cook until golden and crispy. Once the bacon is done place it on kitchen paper and allow to cool. 3. Use fat rendered from bacon later on to add to the roux. ! 4. Place another medium sized pot on the stove. Add the but20

Ingredients
Conchiglie Pasta 200 ml Plain White Flour! 200 ml Butter!

ter and bacon fat and allow to become slightly brown. ! 5. Add your flour to the butter and mix well, allow to cook for 2 minutes while stirring (This is called a hazel roux). ! 6. Gradually add in room temperature milk to the roux and stir constantly until all the milk has been well added.! 7. Turn the heat down to medium and add your nutmeg, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt to taste.! 8. Allow to simmer for 10 minute, checking every few minutes that its not sticking to the bottom.! 9. Now check on your pasta, remember you want it el dente so don't over cook it. ! 10. If your pasta is ready place it in a colander and get back to your sauce. ! 11. Once sauce has simmered for 10 minutes get a fine strainer and strain it to ensure there are no lumps. This allows you to remove the peppercorns and bay leaves. ! 12. Cut your cheddar cheese into small cubes and add to the strained sauce (Bchamel), stirring until it is mostly melted.! 13. Place your pasta back into the big pot and pour the sauce over the pasta. Mix.! 14. Chop bacon into small pieces and sprinkle over the top. Enjoy!! 15. If you want, you can plate it into an oven proof dish and place it into the oven at 180oC/365oF until the top becomes golden brown for added crunch.! 16. Side note: If you don't feel like using Conchiglie pasta, then try and use another type of pasta that will allow for the sauce to stick to it or store it in its cavities.!
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17. I like to use the Conchiglie pasta because it acts like a small spoon that scoops up all the sauce.

Here are a few other good types of pastas to use:

! ! ! ! ! ! 1.! Fusilli 2.! Gomiti 3.! Rigatoni 4.! Pipe 5.! Rotini 6.! And of course macaroni

SECTION 8

Asian Stir-fry and Stick Glazed Chicken Wings

I always get asked what my favourite dish is to cook (One of the questions most chefs hate to answer), and I always tell people that there are so many dishes I truly enjoy preparing. Lately however, I find that I really lean towards making this dish. It has all the aspects of a truly great dish. From the freshness of the ginger and coriander, to the depth of flavour of the fish sauce and soya sauce. It also has great texture from the el dente vegetables to the soft egg noodles. There are carbohydrates, vegetables, sauce, proteins and a garnish present in the dish, which are all components I was taught to have in a dish. I have not plated this dish in a "Fine Dining" style yet but when I make it again I will plate one and upload pictures onto my website. However for now I will just give you my recipe (Not all the ingredients are the exact quantities as I add or take out as I go along). This should easily feed 6 people Prep-time: 20 minutes! Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
3/4 Packet Egg Noodles 1/2 Red or Green Cabbage (Or 1/4 of each, cut julienne)! Green/Red/Yellow Pepper (1/2 of each, great for presentation, cut julienne) 2 Celery Stalks (Cut julienne)! 2 Large Carrots (Cut julienne)! 1 Lemon! 6 Spring Onions! 4-4cm Block of Fresh Ginger (Cut brunoise)! 2 Garlic Cloves (Cut brunoise)! 1 Lemon Grass! Large hand full of Fresh Coriander (Chiffonade 1/2)! 1 Medium Green Chilli (Cut brunoise)! 1 Medium Red chilli (Cut brunoise)!
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 30ml Fish Sauce! 60ml Soya Sauce! 30ml Honey! 30ml Teriyaki Sauce! 15ml Oyster Sauce! 20ml Fresh Lemon Juice! 30ml Peanut Oil! 10ml Sesame Seed Oil! 60ml Fresh Orange Juice! 24 Chicken wings!

marinade for 1 hour (If you have a vacuum sealing machine, place all the ingredients into a vacuum pack and vacuum. It will draw the marinade into the meat). 6. Preheat the oven to 180oC. ! 7. Place wings on a drip tray in the oven and roast for about 30 minutes or until golden (Rotate the tray in the oven 180o at least once ). 8. Now take all of your vegetables and cut into juliennes. Make sure you have everything ready too cook (It's going to cook on very high heat so you don't have time to cut more once you start ). 9. Place a large pot onto the stove and bring to a rolling boil. Then add 2 tablespoons of salt and the egg noodles. 10. Place a Wok (or large non stick pan) onto the stove on the highest heat. Once it starts to smoke add the peanut oil and continue to heat till oil starts to smoke. 11. Add vegetables and cook until el dente, then drain and place into a separate pot. Add the sesame seed oil and mix well. 12. Now add the rest of the chillies, garlic and ginger into the Wok and stir rapidly to prevent burning, having the vegetables close at hand. 13. Once spices start to colour add all your vegetables and continuously move like your sauting them. Do this for 8-12 minutes

Method:
1. Place the 24 chicken wings into a sealable container. 2. Add in the orange juice, oyster sauce, fish sauce, soya sauce, teriyaki sauce and honey. Mix well. 3. Chop the chillies, ginger, garlic and 1/2 of the fresh coriander into fine brunoise and add half of everything except the coriander into the bowl with the chicken wings and sauce. 4. Use a meat mallet to bruise the whole lemon grass or chop it very fine and add it to the wings. 5. For maximum marination seal the container and allow for the wings to soak over night in the fridge or simply
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14. Now add the marinade to the vegetables and cook for 2 minutes. 15. Remove from heat and add in the noodles. Mix well, add the 20ml of lemon juice to it and mix once again. 16. Place chicken wings around the edge of the Wok and in the centre, cut lemon into 1/8th and place on the outer edge of the Wok and then cut spring onions into segments and garnish along with remaining coriander. 17. Place in the centre of the dining table and allow everyone to help themselves. Enjoy and play around with the vegetables you have available to you. Try and stick with seasonal vegetables as you know they're fresh and not as likely to have been imported.

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SECTION 9

South African Bobotie

Hope you have all prepared your vetkoek dough and are ready to fill them with this great flavour packed filling. This Bobotie dish is usually served with a helping of yellow rice but today I have decided to pair it with this wonderful deep fried dough. You can adjusted this dish to be served for Hors d'oeuvres or Starters and it could also be made into a Mains. There are also several different ways of plating this dish. Just be creative and adapt it to whichever occasion you wish to use it for. There are a few changes I have made to the traditional method of making this dish and I find that it just delivers a more rounded flavour profile. Please remember that feed back is always welcome and appreciated. If you have made this dish please also feel free to share your final product by posting photos on my Facebook page.

Ingredients
700g Lean Beef Minced Meat! 300g Lamb Mince Meat! 1 Large Onion (Finely chopped) 1 Large Carrot (Finely chopped) 6 Peppercorns! 4 Bay leaves! 2 tsp Mild Curry Powder! 1/2 tsp Turmeric! 1 tsp Coriander Seeds! 1 tsp Cumin Seeds! 3 All Spice Berries! 2 Cloves! 2 Cloves of Garlic (Finely chopped)! 80g Flaked Almonds (Toasted)! 2 tsp Apricot Relish (If you do not use relish you can also use dried apricots which you will have to soak)
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 1 tsp Apricot Jam! 2 Slices White Bread! 3 Eggs! 250 ml Fresh Cream! 50 g Raisins! 50g Sultanas! 20 ml Red Wine Vinegar! 15 ml Butter! Salt

5.Once the meat is done, remove and allow to rest in a bowl.! Now using the same pan add in the butter and then the onions, carrots, garlic and the spice mixture. Cook until the onions and carrots are soft and add to the meat. 6.Place the pan back onto the heat and add vinegar to deglaze the pan. Add to the meat and vegetables. 7.Now that everything is ready for the oven add the soaked bread to the mixture (Keeping the cream behind) and mix well to incorporate everything together. 8.Add the cream and eggs into a bowl and season. Mix well. 9.Place the meat mixture into a shallow oven proof dish and pour the egg and cream mixture over the top. 10.Place into the oven for 30-35 minutes until the egg custard has set. 11.Once it's done you can fill your perfectly deep fried vetkoek with this beautiful minced filling.

Method: Preheat oven to 180C/356F

1.Place the coriander, cumin, all spice, peppercorns, and bay leaves into a heated pan and roast till it is lightly toasted to release the essential oils. Then remove and place into a pestle and mortar (Or a coffee grinder) and grind into a fine powder. Add to curry powder and turmeric. 2.Soak the bread in the cream. 3.Place a heavy based pan on a high heat and add a bit of oil, allowing it to heat up. Once hot add the minced meat and cook till well caramelised (If your pan is not big enough to fit all the meat in at once rather cook half at a time to prevent the meat from boiling/steaming). 4.Once caramelised add in the apricot relish and apricot jam along with the raisins and sultanas.

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S E C T I O N 10

South African Cape Malay Pickled Fish A bit of History.

The recipe for today is provided by the Cape Malay people who have blessed South Africa with this wonderful dish that I'm about to give you. But before I do that I'm going to tell you a bit about these wonderful people. The Cape Malay people were first brought to South African shores back in the early 16th century, they were to be used as slaves for the Dutch Masters. They settled on the south point of South Africa, as this was the VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) trading point, where the Dutch East Indian Company ships would pass by on their way to Asia or back home. The Cape Malay community are a diverse collection of people, their origins ranging from Western Africa all the way to Malaysia. They were exiled from their countries by the Dutch Masters for resisting the change the Dutch thought to bring to their country. They were shipped off to the Cape of Good Hope and used as slaves in the plantations, they were to produce enough supplies for the ships when they passed by. Due to the vast cultural diversity between the "Cape Malay" people, they where able to create their very own style of cooking. Marrying the deep rich flavours of Western African
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with the aromatic flavours of East Asia, together they gave us a unique flavour profile you can only find in South Africa. This unique flavour can still be found in Cape Town where the Cape Malay people are still living, giving us the opportunity to experience something original. For more history on the Cape Malay people simply click on the buttons below. When you make this dish it is best served a day or two after it has been made so that the flavours are able to combine properly and the pickling liquid is well absorbed by the fish. It is also better to use a firm meaty fish as it will last longer without falling apart. Im using hake in the recipe but other good fish for this is sea bass, yellow tail and kingklip. If you plan on storing the fish for long periods of time, please ensure that the container you are using has been properly sterilised and has an air tight seal to prevent the fish from going off. If all the criteria are met, you will be able to store the fish for about 4-6 months.

Ingredients: for Pickling Liquid

1 Large Onion (Sliced, not too thin) 1 Clove of Garlic (Thinly sliced)! 3 tsp Brown Sugar! 250ml Plain Vinegar 4 Bay Leaves! 10 Peppercorns (Roasted and ground)! 3 Cloves (Roasted and ground)! 2 Cinnamon Quill (Sticks)! 2 tsp Coriander Seeds (Roasted and ground) 1 tsp Cumin Seeds (Roasted and ground) 2 tsp Curry Powder (Which ever heat level you prefer ) 1 1/2 tsp Turmeric! 2 tsp Salt

2. Now using the same pan add a bit of oil as well as the sliced onions and garlic and cook just before soft and translucent.! 3. Add in your spices and cook for another 2 minutes followed by the vinegar, brown sugar and salt.! 4. Allow to simmer on a low heat for a further 8-10 minutes (Don't cook too long that the onions start to disintegrate).

Ingredients for Batter

400 g Hake! 400g Flour! 2 Eggs! 5ml Salt (1 tsp)! 525 ml Water or Milk (Buttermilk will also work well) 65 ml Vegetable Oil

Method
1. Firstly place your pan on a medium to high heat with no oil and toast your spices till you are able to smell the essential oils being released. Once ready place into a pestle and mortar (or coffee grinder) and grind down to a fine powder. Add to your curry powder and bay leaves, adding your cinnamon by breaking them into 3 small pieces.

Method
1. Preheat your deep frier or pot with thermometer to 200oC/392oF! 2. Cut your Hake into even portions (Your fish fillet should be skinned and have no pin bones). 3. Place all your ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix together until there are no lumps and has become a good bat28

ter consistency (If you are struggling to get all the lumps out of your batter simply run it through a fine sieve). 4. Allow batter to sit for 5 minutes in the fridge. ! 5. Once your batter has rested you can continue. Place your fish pieces into the batter, completely covering them, and then gently place them into the hot oil. Fry until batter is golden brown and fish is just about to flake when you break it in half (Test one to see if fish is done ). 6. Once cooked, place fish on kitchen paper towel to get rid of excess oil! 7. Your pickling liquid should be just above lukewarm temperature. 8. Place a small amount of pickling liquid into the container you are using to store the fish, it should just cover the base. Then place in a layer of fried fish and then another layer of pickling liquid, continue till container is full.

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S E C T I O N 11

Plum Glazed Ostrich with baby Vegetables

This is a simple, quick and easy recipe to follow. It's healthy and packed with lean protein. This is something I would personally cook for myself when at home as it tastes amazing. I will also be posting the recipe for the plum sauce tomorrow or later this evening. This recipe is suitable for one portion, simply double or triple it accordingly. 2 tsp Soy Sauce! 1 tsp Lemon Juice

Method
1. Place a big pot of water on a high heat with 3 tablespoons of salt, once it starts to boil add in your vegetables and boil till ready (A sharp knife should be able to cut into it and slip out when taking it out, rather under cook it a bit than over cook it). Once ready to be taken out, place into a big bowl with iced water to stop the cooking. 2. Place the plum sauce (See sauces chapter), soy sauce and lemon juice into a small sauce pan and heat up until plum sauce melts. Give it a good whisk and keep on low heat.! 3. Place a pan onto a high heat and pre-heat your oven to 200oC.! 4. Place a small amount of oil into the pan, season your ostrich fillet with salt and pepper and allow the pan to heat
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Ingredients
Ostrich Fillet (Serving size should be 250g) 6 Baby Carrots! 8 Sugar Snaps (Fresh peas in the pod)! 3 Baby Radishes (Cut into 12) 6 Button Mushrooms! 2 tbs Plum Sauce (You can get it at the store, but if you'd like a recipe for plum sauce just let me know)

up till it starts to smoke.! 5. Once pan is smoking place your ostrich fillet into the pan and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes on each side (Only turn once and don't mess with it too much when its in the pan ). 6. Once it's been in the pan for 7 minutes (3.5 minutes on each side) place into the pre-heated oven for 4 minutes. 7. Remove from oven and brush on the plum sauce and allow to rest for 3 minutes. 8. While the meat is resting, and using the same pan used for the searing of the ostrich, place a bit of oil in the pan and a small cube of butter. Allow to heat up and then add in your vegetables so they can heat up again and get some colour. Season vegetables with salt and pepper. 9. When plating the meal, pour a bit of the plum sauce over the ostrich. !

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Chapter 4

DESSERTS & CAKES

In this chapter you will nd a cure for your sweet tooth. I have included recipes such as egg set desserts, cakes as well as pies and crumbles. There is something for every one.

S E C T I O N 12

Almond & Chocolate Cake

This Cake might be gluten free, but in no way is it lacking in flavour. In fact I find it tastes a lot better than most sponges, the almond flour giving it a great nutty taste as well as a lovely crunchy texture. All of this does come at a slightly higher price than a normal sponge but in my opinion this cake should be made on special occasions such as Valentines Day or on your first day at university. This is on the must try list.

Method
1.Cut butter into small cubes and place in mixing bowl, add your caster sugar and mix until light and pale in colour (If you want to test it, rub some of the mixture between your fingers and if you still feel sugar continue mixing until all the sugar is completely dissolved ). 2.Gradually add in your egg yolks one at a time to prevent curdling of the mixture (The egg yolks should be room temperature to prevent curdling). 3. Now add your dry ingredients one at a time, making sure everything is well incorporated.! 4. Now that the base of the batter is done, start to whisk egg whites to stiff peak and then gently fold a 1/3 at a time into the batter mixture.! 5. Spray mould with Spray and Cook or grease with butter. Bake at 160oC/320oF for 45 minutes.

Ingredients
225g Butter 225g Castor Sugar 9 Eggs (Separated) 500g Ground Almonds 225g Chopped Chocolate 5ml Cinnamon
33

6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool down before removing from mould.

gently spread the ganache so it cover the whole cake.! 7. Allow to cool down and set slightly.

Ingredients:Ganache
500ml Cream 550g Couverture Chocolate ( 70% Dark Chocolate ) 50g Butter! 10g Glucose

Method
1.Combine cream and glucose in a sauce pan and bring to the boil. 2. Blend the chocolate in a blender until broken into small to medium pieces. 3. Once cream and milk are boiling slowly pour into blender with chocolate while blender is on high speed. 4. Once all the cream is added add your butter and allow to fully incorporate (This is known as Mounting). 5. Once the cake has cooled down place onto cooling rack with baking paper beneath the rack.! 6. Now gently pour the chocolate ganache over the cake and

34

S E C T I O N 13

Clafoutis with Almond Sweet Pastry

Clafoutis comes from a region in France called Limousin. Here they argued about what Clafoutis should be classified as. At first it was classified as a fruit flan but the people of! Limoges argued that it should be classified as a cake with black cherries. Today there are several different fruits used in the recipe and many different ways of preparing this wonderful classic dessert. I have added a sweet crust pastry to make it easier to serve, traditionally it would be poured into a mould. Traditionally the cherries would have the pits left! in the fruit as it transverses' its flavour to the batter while baking. This is a very light dessert and is usually served warm. I personally enjoy it with home made vanilla bean Ice Cream. 200.0 g Cold Butter (Diced)! 1 Egg Yolk

Method
1. Place all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse till you get a sand texture. Remove and kneed for 5-7 minutes on a cold surface (If the pastry is worked too much it will! become very sticky and the butter will start to melt. Before kneading place your hands in an ice cold bowl of water and work quickly). 2. Wrap in plastic and rest in fridge for 10 minutes.! 3. Remove from fridge and roll pastry out to about 5 mm. Using your rolling pin, roll the pastry onto the rolling pin, then unroll it over the pastry shell and press into place.! 4. Allow the pastry to rest another 10 minutes in the fridge and then trim the edges.! 5. Place a layer of foil over the pastry and then place blind

Ingredients:Almond Sweet pastry

200.0 g Plain Flour 175.0 g Ground Almonds! 175.0 g Golden Castor Sugar
35

baking beans or rice into the pastry shell to prevent the pastry from rising too much. Blind bake at 160oC for 12 minutes.! 6. Remove from the oven and once your batter is ready pour it into the mould and return to the oven to finish.

ated (If you're making this ahead of time, place the batter into a jug at this point and store in the fridge for up to 24 hours).! 4. When ready to cook preheat the oven to 180oC/365oF. Scatter the black cherries into the bottom of the pastry shell and pour the mixture over them. Finish with a few over the top. 5. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until risen and lightly firm. Dust with icing sugar and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream and black cherry coulis.

Ingredients: Clafoutis
85.0 g Flaked Almonds (Lightly toasted) 25.0 g Plain Flour! A good pinch Salt! 140.0 g Castor Sugar 3 Large Eggs! 4 Large Egg Yolks! 375.0ml Cream! 375.0g Fresh Black Cherries (Leave pits in for more flavour) Sifted Icing Sugar (To dust)

Method
1. Grind the almonds to a very fine powder in a food processor and when complete blend in the flour and salt.! 2. Now place the almond and flour into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, whole eggs and yolks.! 3. Whisk all these ingredients together until light and well aer36

S E C T I O N 14

Assorted Truffles
When I think of truffles, little treasures of luxurious flavour and texture come to mind and the next thing that comes to mind is how big a hole its going to burn into my wallet to have them. Lets be honest, buying truffles at the shops can be quite pricey but it doesn't have to be so. It's really not that difficult to make your very own treasures of luxurious flavour and texture. It's also very simple to make a wide range of different flavours. Add a shot of Amarula or Baileys liqueour to the cream and there you have it or maybe you have a baby! shower so instead replace the alcohol for rose water or pistachio powder. If you're feeling even more spontaneous you can forget about the traditional round shape and make little heart shaped truffles instead.! Let your imagination lead you, be creative, after all that's what cooking is all about.

Ingredients: for Dark ChColate Truffles

550 g Dark Chocolate 500 ml Cream! 125 g Butter

Method
1. Bring the cream to the boil. Chop the chocolate and add to the cream. Stir until it is melted, chop the butter and stir it into the cream next.! 2. Leave it to cool and then either pipe it onto a tray or roll into balls.! 3. Can be left plain or enrobe in chocolate.

37

Ingredients: White Chocolate Truffles

900 g White Chocolate 270 g Whipping Cream 14 Vanilla Pod! 3 Cardamom Pods 50 g Soft Butter

Method
1. Bring the cream, cardamom and vanilla pod to the boil. 2. Add the white chocolate and soft butter. Stir to form a creamy paste. 3. Place into a cool place to set and once firm start to form truffles with your hands. 4. You can enrobe your truffles with melted chocolate and nuts or cocoa powder.

38

S E C T I O N 15

Worlds Best Chocolate Brownies

Brownies are quick to make with no fancy methods to follow. I mean what's not to love about a good sticky chocolatey brownie with a tall glass of milk or a double scoop of home! made vanilla bean ice cream? This is what I like to bake on my days off. I bake them in large amounts and just store them in big air tight glass jars. This is for when I come home after a long day of work, I just grab one (Sometimes two or three), pour myself a glass of milk and just sit back and relax while enjoying a bit of heaven. 2 g Salt! 150 g Chocolate Chips (Melt over bain-marie) 4 g Baking Powder! 60 g Mixed Nuts

Method: Preheat oven to 160C/320C

1. Preheat oven to 160oC/320oC.! 2. Start by placing your eggs, sugar and oil into a mixing bowl and whisk until well aerated and sugar is properly dissolved.! 3. Sift all your dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and place into a mixer on medium speed until well incorporated.! 4. Now you can add in the melted chocolate and the assorted nuts. Mix one last time until you have a lovely thick batter.! 5. Grease your baking tin and line with baking paper/ silicone paper and grease as well.! 6. Pour the batter into the baking tray, smooth out the top
39

Ingredients
462 g Sugar 5 Eggs! 90 g Cocoa Powder! 115 ml Oil! 225 g Cake Flour!

lightly and place into the oven for 20-25 minutes (The batter should not be thicker than 3 cm).! 7. Once brownie is ready, remove from the oven and allow to rest for 1 hour. Place in the fridge for another 20 minutes before cutting.! 8. Once it's been in the fridge for 20 minutes cut into pieces and remove from the baking tray. Dust with icing sugar.

40

S E C T I O N 16

Kaddu ka halwa: Pumpkin pudding

This is a rich and aromatic Indian dessert made with butternut pumpkin. It makes use of exotic aromatic smells such as cardamon. You will also notice the use of ghee (clarified butter) instead of butter or oil. This is a very common ingredient used in Indian cooking. The use of nuts and honey also elevates this glamorous dessert. This dessert is garnished with flaked almonds, crushed pistachios, rose petals and edible gold or silver leaves. This dessert is truly fit for a King. 375 ml Milk! 1 tbs Honey! 12 tsp Ground Cardamom

Method
1. Peel, deseed and grate the butternut and squeeze out any excess moisture. 2. Pan fry the raisins and nuts in ghee on a low temperature until a golden brown colour. 3. Once golden brown add in the grated butternut and sugar. Fry on a low heat for 3 - 4 minutes. 4. Add in the milk and honey and cook until soft and dry. Stir every now and then.! 5. Complete by adding the cardamom.! 6. Serve hot.

Ingredients
1 small Butternut Pumpkin 2 tbs Unsalted Cashews! 2 tbs Pistachios! 2 tbs Raisins 3 tbs Ghee! 250 ml Sugar!
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S E C T I O N 17

Scottish Short Bread

This short bread as the name suggests originated in Scotland and is originally made with oat meal and not wheat flour. However as time passed people started using wheat flour instead due to the availability and popularity. The people in Shetland Isles flavoured their short bread with cumin, which is not very popular today. Short bread is traditionally enjoyed during Christmas and New Year, it was typically cut into circles and used on New Years cakes as a symbol of the sun. In present day you'll find that short bread is mostly in rectangular bar shapes and plainly flavoured with vanilla or strawberries. It's a enriched dough which has a crumbly texture due to the method used to make the short bread. The fat from the butter coats the proteins (gluten) in the flour, this prevents it from absorbing water and as well as from stretching.

Ingredients:
185 g Butter! 90 g Icing Sugar! 2 ml Vanilla Extract 185 g Cake Flour! 90 g Corn Flour! 2 ml Salt !

Method:
1. Firstly preheat oven to 160oC.! 2. Place butter (room temperature) into a mixer with whisk attachment and mix until soft, pale in colour and well aerated.! 3. Once butter is well aerated sift icing sugar to remove any lumps then slowly add to butter and mix until pale and all

42

sugar is dissolved.! 4. Add vanilla extract.! 5. To remove any impurities sift all the dry ingredients and add to mixture. Mix until dough is formed.! 6. Spray tin and place silicon paper on the bottom of pan, next bring dough together and place into tin compressing it into a tin about 3 cm deep.! 7. Once level use a fork and dock the dough so that you have rectangles about 1 - 1,5 cm wide. This will also aid in the cutting once baked.! 8. Place in the middle level of your oven and bake for 30 minutes at 160oC/320oF.! 9. Once the short bread is ready remove from the oven and dust with icing sugar and allowing to cool down for a few minutes.! 10. Once cooled, de-mould short bread and gently cut along the docked lines. !

43

S E C T I O N 18

Madeleines
Madeleines are delicate shell shaped sponges which are of french origins. These beautiful shell shape sponges are delicately flavoured with either lemon or orange flower extract. They are perfect for Sunday High Teas or Brunch bites. Best served dusted with icing sugar and garnished with some fresh orange flowers and candied orange slices.

Method: Creaming method

1.Pre-heat your oven to 160oC, turn on thermo fan if your oven has that function. 2. Place butter into a mixing bowl and whisk until soft and creamy.! 3. Gradually add in the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time or at a steady flow.! 4. Add your egg and mix until completely incorporated. 5. Sift all your dry ingredients.! 6. Mix the milk and vanilla essence/ extract.! 7. While mixing add in a 1/3 of the dry ingredients and then a 1/3 of the wet ingredients.! 8. Continue this pattern, finishing with the wet ingredients.! 9. Finally add in the honey.! 10. Place the mixture into a piping bag and pipe into a scallop shaped baking tray which has been greased (You can use a different mould but traditionally madelines are baked in!
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Ingredients
150 g Butter 75 g Castor Sugar! 1 Egg! 1 tbs Honey! 150 g Flour! 2.5 g Baking Powder 50 ml Milk! Pinch of Salt

the scallop shape).! 11. Place in the centre of the oven at 160oC for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

45

S E C T I O N 19

Summer berry Souffl

Souffl is traditionally served with a helping of fresh creme anglaise. You would traditionally brake open the top of the souffl and pour the creme anglaise inside. Many people say that souffl is a very difficult dish to get right, I disagree. If you have your timing and method right you should not run into any problems. Another thing that might mess up your souffl is if your oven is not correctly calibrated. If the temperature is not what it's meant to be you stand a chance of having your souffl tasting eggy or not to mention burnt. Souffl is the perfect dessert to follow a heavy and filling main course, being really light and airy. 2 Egg Yolks! 2 Egg Whites! Pinch of Salt! 17 g Sugar! Butter to brush ramekins with and extra castor sugar

Method
1. Pre-heat oven to 200oC/392oF. 2. Soften the butter you will use to brush the ramekins and taking a pastry brush, butter the base of the ramekin as well as the sides. Brush upwards as to create a ladder affect! for the souffl to climb up when baking. 3. Use the extra castor sugar and line the ramekins with it, removing any excess sugar. 4. Place the butter and berry pure into a sauce pan and allow for the butter to melt.
46

Ingredients
34 g Butter! 34 g Flour! 100 ml Mixed Berry Pure! 20 g Castor Sugar!

5. Add in the 17 g of sugar and mix well. Follow with the flour, make a paste and place back on to the heat and allow to thicken (Remove when thick). 6. Whisk egg whites to a foamy state (See glossary) and add in the salt. Continue whisking until stiff peak and gradually add in the 20 g of sugar. 7. Once the berry paste has cooled down add in the yolk and mix well. 8. Gently fold in 1/2 the whisked egg whites until half incorporated and then add the rest. Continue folding until fully incorporated. 9. Spoon the mixture into the ramekins until overflowing and then use a pallet knife to make it even with the ramekins' edge, removing the extra mixture. 10. Run your thumb all the way around the rim of the ramekin, creating a space between the mixture. 11. Place ramekins into a bain-marie (water bath) and then into the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes at 200oC/392oF.! 12. Souffl should be baked to the minute and once ready sprinkle with icing sugar. ! !

47

S E C T I O N 20

Moiste Chocolate Cake

If you're a chocoholic then this is the cake for you. Covered with a rich and smooth dark chocolate ganache what more can you ask for? To make it a slightly lighter dessert pair it with some fresh raspberries to cut through the richness. If chocolate and orange or chocolate and chilli are your cup of tea then simply add 2 shot glasses of orange liquor and garnish with candied orange slices and as for the chilli, add a 1/ 3 tsp of cayenne powder just to give it that little kick in the back of your mouth. 90 ml Oil! 20 ml Vinegar! 2.5 ml Vanilla Essence! 185 ml Warm Water! 1 Portion Chocolate Ganache

Method:
1. Sift all the dry ingredients.

Ingredients
280 ml Flour! 185 ml Sugar! 35 ml Cocoa Powder! 2 ml Bicarbonate of Soda! 5 ml Baking Powder! 2 ml Salt!
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2. Combine wet ingredients, stir and then add to dry ingredients. 3. Apply Spray and Cook to a cake tin, line the bottom with baking paper and fill the with cake mix. 4. Bake at 180c for 40 minutes.! 5. Once cooked cut cake into 3 layers using the top as a base for the cake.! 6. Layer with ganache.!

7. Cover top with chocolate Ganache and refrigerate for 20 minutes before serving. !

49

S E C T I O N 21

South African Lamingtons

If there is anything that screams South African to me then it's Milk tart, Koeksisters and of course Ystervarkies or Lamingtons. As a child this was one of my favourite petite four delights. They are small squares of light aerated sponge which are then soaked in a rich chocolate syrup finished off by being coated in desiccated coconut flakes. Some people will add a layer of strawberry jam or apricot jam in the center. Some would colour the coconut in different colours such as baby blue or pink. Personally I prefer mine the old fashion way. 120 g Butter! 100 ml Milk! 90 ml Water! Desiccated Coconut

Method
1. Pre-heat your oven to 180oC/356oF! 2. Start off by placing your butter into a pot along with the water and milk. Allow to heat up just until the butter has completely melted.! 3. Next place your eggs and sugar into a mixing bowl and start mixing, once combined start whisking over a bain-marie till the eggs are well aerated and a pale yellow (You need to whisk eggs to ribbon stage, see Glossary).! 4. Sift your dry ingredients twice to remove any lumps and impurities and to allow for the aerate the flour (Remember in this recipe you need to get as much air into the mixture as
50

Recipe
4 Eggs 375 ml Castor Sugar 500 ml Flour 15 ml Baking Powder

possible).! 5. Now that your egg mixture is at ribbon stage start adding a 1/4 of the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and gently fold it into the egg mixture.! 6. Then add a 1/4 of the liquid and fold in once more. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until all the ingredients are included.! 7. Now make a rectangular box from baking paper about 3 cm high and pour in the batter. Place into the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes.! 8. Once baked, remove and allow to cool down before cutting.

late, stir until all the chocolate is melted.! 3. Cut sponge into even squares and dip them into the sauce quickly. Place into a bowl with coconut and cover with the coconut.

Ingredients: Chocolate syrup

300 ml Milk! 100 ml Water! 300 g Sugar! 120 g Chocolate! 60 g Cocoa Powder

Method
1. Place all the ingredients into a pot except for the chocolate and bring to boil.! 2. Once boiled remove from the heat and add in the choco-

51

S E C T I O N 22

Mixed Berry Sorbet, Summer refreshment!

Sorbet is one of the simplest frozen desserts to make and it easily allows you to create your own flavour combinations. The only two things you need to watch out for is the amount of sugar you use as well as the amount of alcohol. If there are too many of either of those ingredients in your recipe you stand the chance of your sorbet not setting. To check if your sugar content is not too high you can make use of a sacrometer. You can easily buy this instruments off ebay and other online stores. Another option for measuring sugar levels is using a refractometer. As for the alcohol, just dont put too much in. I would say 1 - 2 shots should be fine but anything over that you might have problems. If you want it stronger just rather have a shot instead. Another great option could be exchanging the berries with 200 g of carrots and 400 g of pineapple and in the syrup you could add some lemon grass to infuse.

Ingredients
300 ml Water 300 ml Sugar 1 Orange Juice and Zest 1 Lemon Juice and Zest 600 g Mixed Frozen Berries 2 tbs Alcohol

Method
1. Blend frozen berries until smooth and mix with juice of the orange and lemon including the zest.! 2. Bring the water and sugar to the boil and continue to boil until fine thread stage (104oC).!
52

3. Combine stock syrup and berries and allow to cool down to room temperature. Place into sorbetiere on the sorbet function and allow to churn until ready.! 4. Once ready remove from the machine and place into the freezer to firm up completely.

53

S E C T I O N 23

A Festive Christmas Dessert Trio

Apples, Cinnamon and Ice cream are three thing that remind me of Christmas in South Africa.

Method
1. Place the flour, butter and granulated sugar into a food processor and mix into a bread crumb consistency.! 2. Next peel your apples and cut into even sized cubes. Place them into the ramekins along with the raisins.! 3. Sprinkle some extra brown sugar and cinnamon onto the apples and finish off with three small pieces of butter (this will create a lovely sauce at the bottom).! 4. Cover with the crumb mixture and place into a preheated oven at 180oC/365oF for 20-25 minutes until crumble is golden brown.! 5. Serve with crme anglaise (See sweet sauces).

Apple and raisin crumble Ingredients

50 g Flour! 40 g Brown Granulated Sugar 30 g Butter! 10 g Brown Sugar! 2 Apples! 10 g Raisins! 2 g Cinnamon

Amarula ice-cream! Ingredients

54

 500 ml Cream 500 ml Milk! 6 Egg Yolks! 150 g Sugar 5 ml Vanilla 25 ml Amarula (You can also use Baileys)

6. Once the mixture is done remove it from the sorbetiere and place it into the freezer to firm up before serving.

Apple fritters Ingredients

2 Apples! 200 ml Flour! 10 ml Baking Powder 125 ml Corn Flour! 5 ml Salt! 5 ml Cinnamon! 2 ml Nutmeg! 2 ml Ginger! 190 ml Cold Water! 50 ml Sugar

Method
1. Bring milk, cream and vanilla to the boil and allow to cool for a hour.! 2. Combine egg yolks and sugar so that they are ready to be tempered with the milk mixture.! 3. Once milk and cream have rested return to the stove and back to the boil, temper egg yolks and add to the milk mixture (making sure to do so once you remove the milk mixture from the heat). Next add the Amarula.! 4. To ensure that there are no lumps or egg shells in your mixture strain it and then allow it to cool down (We always strain liquids to remove any impurities).! 5. Once the liquids have cooled place them into a sorbetiere and allow to set (If you do not have a sorbetiere you can place the mixture into a large container with a big surface area. Place the container into the freezer and every 10 minutes remove, give a good whisk and return to the freezer).!

Method
1. Peel the apples and cut into 1/8 even wedges (Sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent oxygenation).! 2. Mix in a bowl the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger powder, cold water and sugar until you have a smooth batter.! 3. Allow for the mixture to rest in the fridge for 10 minutes.! 4. Cover the apple wedges in corn flour and then dip into
55

the batter.! 5. Place into a 170oC/338oF deep fryer and cook until golden brown (Using a deep pot of oil with a thermometer will also work perfectly!).

56

S E C T I O N 24

Milk Tart: Done the traditional way

Milk Tart, what does it mean to you? To me it means childhood and having a family gather on the weekends. It's what I looked forward too on a Monday afternoon after school, rushing to the refrigerator to snatch up the last piece from the previous weekend. Everything about it makes me smile and feel young at heart again! You're probably wondering how a dessert can make me feel so many things but wait until you've tried it, then you'll know exactly why I love it so much! There are two different type of methods that can be used when making milk tart as well as two different pastry shells. The one I grew up on used a sweet pastry shell and custard which made the tart more dense and firm. The other method uses aerated egg whites to lighten up the texture of the custard and the pastry shell is made from rough puff pastry. I was taught about the second method while I was still attending the South African Chefs Academy in Cape Town and there I learnt that that's originally how it was made. So today I'm going to give you the original recipe first and then later on I will post the other method of making this wonderful dessert (The other method, the one I grew up eating, is my favourite).
57

Ingredients
35 g Cornflour 35 g Flour! 160 g Castor Sugar 3 Eggs! 500 ml Milk! 2 ml Salt! 2 Cinnamon Sticks!

Method
1.So you will start by bringing the 400 ml of milk and 80 g of sugar to the boil with 2 cinnamon sticks. 2. Mix the cornflour, flour, salt and 100 ml of milk into a paste, ensuring that there are no lumps.!

3. Then slowly add the boiling milk to the paste a little bit at a time (tempering), once all the milk has been added return to the pot and cook on the stove until thickened. Stir constantly to prevent it from sticking.! 4. Remove from the stove and place on one side, allowing it to cool down slightly.! 5. Separate the eggs into the yolks and the whites.! 6. Now you're going to whisk the egg whites to stiff peak stage, sprinkle the remaining 80 g of sugar in slowly and keep whisking until the egg whites become smooth and have a glossy appearance.! 7. Now take your egg yolks, give them a quick whisk and add to the milk mix. 8. Fold in the egg whites and place into a rough puff pastry base. 9. Bake at 190C for about 20 minutes.! 10. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

Method
1. Start with cold butter so that you are able to cut it into small 1 x 1cm cubes.! 2. Once you've cut your butter take all your dry ingredients and place through a sieve to remove impurities and lumps.! 3. Now place 1 x 1cm cubes of butter in the dry ingredients and rub in well.! 4. When your mixture resembles that of sand add in your wet ingredients and form a ball of dough.! 5. Wrap your dough in cling film and place into the fridge for 20 minutes for it to relax and for the butter to become cold again.! 6. Remove from fridge and knead your dough on a well floured surface. Add extra flour if it is too sticky, the final texture of the dough should be that of your inner fore arm.! 7. Allow to rest for 10 minutes then start to roll the dough out onto a table. Roll into a rectangle shape about 50 - 60 cm long.! 8. Place chopped butter onto the dough surface spreading it out evenly.! 9. Now that the butter is evenly spread across the surface of the dough give it a single fold (Rake one side and fold it 2/3 over itself and then take the other end and cover it to make! a rectangular shape).! 10. Wrap the dough and place it into the fridge for another
58

Recipe: Rough puff

250 g Cake Flour 2 g Salt 190 g Cold Water 5 g Lemon Juice 190 g Butter

pastry

20 minutes.! 11. Now remove the dough and start rolling it out 50 - 60cm again but this time you are going to give it a book fold (Fold one side to the centre of the length of the dough and do the! same with the other side and then fold in half. Now turn the dough 90 degrees and made a mark at the top so you know which direction to roll in next).! 12. Place back into the fridge for 20 minutes and repeat steps 11 to 12 two more times.! 13. Once that's done your puff pastry is ready to be rolled out and used. This might seem like a lot of work but the taste and texture is far better than the frozen store bought puff pastry! So give it a go and if you fail at first just keep on trying.

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S E C T I O N 25

Carrot Cake
There are three different cakes I hold near and dear to my heart and carrot cake is one of them. And not to brag but I do think this is one of the best recipes for carrot cake out there.! What makes it that little bit more decadent you ask? Well it's the banana I use in the recipe. I also just like the texture this cake has with big chunks of pecan nuts riddling the cake. Then comes the sweet tangy cream cheese frosting, not too much and not to little but just the right amount. I finish it off with some fresh fruits and a sprinkle of pecan nuts.! In my opinion it's truly everything you could want in a cake, but then again that's just me! 100 ml Pecan Nuts (You can use any nut you prefer really, I still want to try it out with Pistachios) 375 ml Plain Flour! 5 ml Vanilla Extract! 5 ml Baking Powder 5 ml Bicarbonate of Soda 2 ml Salt! 2 ml Mixed Spices! 5 ml Cinnamon 2 ml Nutmeg! 125 ml Banana! 250 ml Fine Grated Carrots

Ingredients
187.5 ml Oil 2 Eggs! 187.5 ml Castor Sugar!
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Method
1. Preheat oven to 160oC/320oF.! 2. Place the oil, eggs, and vanilla essence into a mixing bowl

and mix well until you have a light, thick consistency.! 3. Add in all your dry ingredients (Including the nuts) which you need to sift at least once.! 4. Mix until everything is well incorporated.! 5. Now add in your carrots and bananas, giving it another good mix.! 5. Grease your cake pan adding silicon paper to the bottom and add to it your mixture. Place into your preheated oven of 160oC/320oF for 30-35 minutes, it should have a nice! golden top.! 6. Once out of the oven allow to cool and then place into fridge while you prepare your frosting.

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S E C T I O N 26

Butter Milk Flapjacks & Protein Flapjacks

Easy buttermilk flapjacks:
2 & 1/3 Cups of Flour 750 ml Buttermilk! 2 Large Eggs! Good pinch of Salt 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda 3. Once ready stack 'em up and add a cube of butter on top (I prefer salted butter) and loads of honey, golden syrup or maple syrup!! 4. Fresh berries also go nice with flapjacks. A mixed berry coulis or flambed caramel bananas with a cream cheese and peanut frosting also works very well. Enjoy!! It's much better than the pre-mix rubbish you can buy at the stores! And it's just as easy to make!

Method Easy Protein flapjacks:

1. Mix everything together until all lumps are removed and rest for 10 minutes. 2. Use a 60 ml measuring cup to spoon into a hot non-stick pan. Cook until golden brown on both sides. 1 & 12 Cup of Whole Wheat Flour 1 Cup of Protein Shake! 550 ml Buttermilk (Water or milk if you prefer less calories) 2 Large Eggs!
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 2 tsp Oil! 2 tbs Honey! Good pinch of Salt! 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

Method
1. Mix everything together until all lumps are removed and rest for 10 minutes.! 2. Use a 60 ml measuring cup to spoon into a hot non-stick pan. Cook until golden brown on both sides. 3. Once ready stack 'em up and add a cube of butter on top (I prefer salted butter) and loads of honey, golden syrup or maple syrup!! 4. Fresh berries also go nice with flapjacks. A mixed berry coulis or flambed caramel bananas with a cream cheese and peanut frosting also works very well. Enjoy!! It's much better than the pre-mix rubbish you can buy at the stores! And it's just as easy to make!

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Chapter 5

FRESH BREAD
Bread is one of the things I enjoy making the most on my days off. It takes time and patience and if you dont follow the recipe to the exact tee your bread will most likely not work out. Ive included a wide range of different types of breads, from rustic french bread to home made rye bread.

S E C T I O N 27

The French Baguette

The French Baguette was first made in Vienna during the Mid 19th Century. When a law in France was passed that stated that bakers couldn't bake before 4 am in the morning the French Baguette came to the rescue as it could be made and baked more rapidly than the French Boule. Before the law was passed the French enjoyed the Boule for breakfast every day but with the new law there was not enough time for the Boule to be prepared and baked in time for breakfast. One weekend I prepared and baked a traditional French Baguette (To be able to call any bread you make French it should only contain four basic ingredients which include; flour, yeast, water and salt) which had a pre-ferment that I had to prepare the night before. This is to develop a much stronger flavour in the bread (The french are known for there artisan bread baking skills and using only the four basics they are able to produce several different types of bread. They achieve this by changing proofing times, kneading methods and quantities) and it also provides better gluten development. The next day I was ready to make my bread and I did not use any fancy mixers or specialised equipment to make
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the bread. There is no excuse for anyone not to try out this great recipe.

Ingredients: Pre-Ferment
1/2 Cup of Cool Water 1.63 g of Fresh Yeast 1 Cup of Bread Flour !

Ingredients: Dough
8.5 g of Fresh Yeast (Fresh Yeast, Bakers Yeast or Brick Yeast)! 1 Cup to 1 & 1/4 Cups of lukewarm Water (Depending on the moisture content of your flour, if you're in a dry hot area use the larger amount but if you're in a humid or cold area

use the smaller amount)! Pre-Ferment! 3 & 1/2 Cups of Eureka Flour! 2 tsp Salt Tip: If you can't find fresh yeast on the shelves of your supermarket go to the baking section and ask to speak with the baker. He'll be able to give you fresh yeast. You can also try! your local bakery. !

lar to that of your inner forearm (If you find that the dough is becoming too difficult to knead just place it under a bowl and allow to relax for 2 minutes and continue to knead thereafter). 4. Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and allow to rise for a total of three hours, lightly degassing and folding it over after 1 hour and again after 2 hours. 5. Once the three hours have passed divide into three equal portions and flatten into even ovals. Place onto a lightly greased sheet pan and cover allowing to rise for 15 minutes. 6. Working with one piece at a time fold the oval into half and using the heel of your palm seal the seam by lightly pressing down on the seam. Using your thumb and starting from one side and working to the other fold the dough over your thumb, using your palms heel to seal the seam as you continue to fold over. 7. Once you have a tube shape of dough with the seam side down use your hands to lightly roll out the dough to about 30cm. 8. Place onto a lightly greased sheet pan leaving enough space between each once to allow space for the rising process which is one and a half hours. Don't forget to cover. 9. Half an hour before proofing is done preheat your oven to 230oC/ 450oF (Place a sheet pan upside down into your oven otherwise if you want, go to your nearest tile shop and ask for a clay or ceramic tile which has not been treated with anything. Soak the tile in water for 15 minutes and then place
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Method:
1.For the pre-ferment simply mix all the ingredients in a deep dish and allow to rise over night (To check if your yeast is still active dissolve a small piece in lukewarm water and a bit of sugar and allow to sit for 5 minutes. If nothing happens its not active) 2. To make the dough add all of your ingredients excluding your pre-ferment into a bowl (Do not place the salt directly onto the yeast as that will kill the yeast), mix until it comes together and follow with your pre-ferment. 3. Remove from the bowl with a plastic scraper or your hand and place onto a lightly floured counter top. You will need to knead your dough into shape (using your palms to knead and not your fingers), it will take between 5-7 minutes to knead. The final dough should have a smooth but firm texture, simi-

into you oven when preheating). To get a nice crust place an oven proof bowl into the bottom of your oven filled with water. 10. Roll your baguette onto a "peel" or cutting board with the seam side down and using a very sharp knife, cut three vertical cuts at about a 5 degree angle on the baguette. 11. Now slide the baguette into your oven 2 at a time or however many can fit at once. To make this process easier place the baguettes onto silicon paper and just slide the paper onto the sheet pan or tile. 12. Just before you close the oven door take 3-5 ice cubes and place on the bottom of your oven (To protect your oven place the ice cubes in a oven proof bowl or pan, best is the! pan).! 13. Bake the bread for 25-30 minutes. For a dark crust leave in the oven for 5 more minutes, turning off the oven and slightly opening the oven door.! 14. Remove and cool on a cooling rack. !

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S E C T I O N 28

Cream Cheese Dinner Rolls!

Round two of my baking week and I've decided to replace soft butter rolls with my very own creation. I call them cream cheese dinner rolls, the cream cheese being the unique ingredient. Its a very simple recipe which doesn't use a lot of ingredients but it does take quite a bit of elbow grease to get the dough to the right texture. The overall time from start to finish is about 3 hours. I then made a dinner complementing the dinner rolls with a rump and avocado slider!

Method:
1. Add all ingredients into a bowl, mixer or bread maker. If you're kneading it by hand you are going to see that it is quite a sticky dough so make sure to use your palms. You can! add a bit more flour while kneading but as little as possible. As you knead it and gluten is developed it will become less sticky, you will know its ready when you can make a thin! enough layer of dough that you can see through.! 2. Once the dough is ready proof the dough for a hour in a warm dark place.! 3. Once proofing is done, divide the dough into 60 g portions.! 4. Take each portion, flatten it into a circle and fold it into the centre, going all the way around. Then cup your hand and roll it into a little ball. Once nice and firm place onto greased baking sheet. Do this with all the portions, dust with flour, cover and proof for another 30 minutes in a dark warm place (Make sure you leave enough space between each to al68

Ingredients:
3 Cups of Flour 2.5 tsp Sugar! 2.5 tsp Salt! 1.5 tsp Fresh Yeast! 14 Cup of Cream Cheese (Room temperature) 1.5 Cups of Milk (40oC)!

low! for doubling while proofing).! 5. 10 minutes before bread is ready to bake preheat the oven to 180oC and bake for 20-25 minutes till golden brown.! 6. Place on cooling rack and allow to cool and then enjoy!

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S E C T I O N 29

The Amazingly Soft and perfectly Sweet Chelsea Buns

Ingredients
While I was out shopping with my dad and sister, my dad picked up a tray of chelsea buns which were totally over priced and way too small for my liking. So I suggested to him that if he got the necessary ingredients it would be my pleasure to bake him some wonderful home made chelsea buns of a larger variety. And as you can see here he made the right choice and got chelsea buns for less than half the price, larger and most importantly freshly baked. I chose to have two different fillings and just used what was available around the house. I hope you will try out this wonderful recipe and give me some feed back on what you would change or what you liked or did not like about them. You can use the same dough to make dinner rolls, hotdog buns and even a loaf of bread. This dough mixture is also known as an enriched dough as it has eggs, butter and sugar, which gives this bread a soft texture and a sweeter taste. 659 g Flour 303 g Warm Water (Should not be above 40oC) 66 g Eggs! 40 g Sugar! 33 g Milk Powder! 13 g Salt! 33 g Fresh Yeast (12.5 g Instant Dry Yeast)! 53 g Soft Butter

Method
1. Place all ingredients except for the butter into a bowl and combine (knead) until you have a ball of dough.! 2. Once you have a nice medium gluten dough ball add your soft butter and continue to knead till butter is fully incorpo70

rated (You will be tempted to add more flour, but don't. Simply continue to knead and it will return back to normal dough texture. It is a difficult dough to make by hand, at least once you add the butter, so if you do have a mixer you can let the mixer do the work).! 3. Once your dough is ready place into a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap and allow to bulk ferment for 3 hours and at 1.5 hour intervals de-gas.! 4. After the 3 hours have passed roll out your dough about 0.5cm thick into a rectangular shape and place your topic of choice on top (You can roll the dough out in two batches as! well. Remember to place flour on the surface you're going to be using).! 5. You can start by spreading the butter across the surface of the rolled out dough and then sprinkle sugar on top followed by cinnamon or chocolate chips or peanut butter and! banana, the choices are endless. So play around and find your favourite.! 6. Once you have your toppings on start to roll the dough up into a cylinder and then cut into 2.5 - 3cm high segments.! 7. Place segments onto a baking tray which has been greased and has silicone or baking paper on the bottom. Remember to leave space in between each bun for the rising! process in the final proofing. 8. Once all the buns are in the tray allow to proof for one more hour before baking at 180oC/356oF for about 12 - 15 minutes or until golden brown (Do not use the thermo fan setting,turn the fan off).!
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9. Once your buns come out of the oven you are going to have to glaze them, to make them look shiny and yummy! To do so all you need to do is take 150 ml of apricot jam and melt it in the microwave or on the stove top. Using a pastry brush, brush the jam onto your chelsea buns and allow for them to cool down a bit.! 10. For the icing you drizzle over the top simply take 3/4 cup of icing sugar and add a little bits of water at a time, mixing it until you have a nice thick paste which you then use to drizzle over the top (You can also add a little bit of lemon juice just to lighten it up a bit).

S E C T I O N 30

English Muffin
So many people I know go crazy for a good Eggs Benedict. I've chosen to post a recipe today for the eggs Benedict lovers, starting from the base to the topping! There are three different Benedict's, well at least three different traditional variations. Firstly there is the Eggs Benedict, which includes Gypsy Ham with a two poached eggs and hollandaise sauce. Secondly there is the Eggs Royale, this is a more dressed up Benedict, it has smoked salmon in the place of the Gypsy Ham and also has the poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce. Then last but not least, we have the Eggs Florentine, this Benedict is served with a spinach base. All of these different Benedict's are all traditionally served on a English muffin which is split in half and then placed onto a pan or flat top with butter to crisp up. But these days we get a lot more variations of this morning delight, some of the others I've heard of include using bacon or parma ham. One thing I have noticed however is when I go to restaurants in South Africa the Chefs name their Benedict's incorrectly. I don't know if they do this for the people so that they know that its still a Benedict that theyre ordering or just out of ignorance.
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Ingredients:English Muffin
680 g Plain Flour! 360 g Water (40oC/104oF)! 30 g Yeast (Fresh)! 50 g Egg! 55 g Sugar! 10 g Salt! 85 g Butter (Soft)! Polenta and butter for pan frying

Method
1. Mix 2/3 of the flour and all the other ingredients except for the butter together and allow to rise for 2 hours (This mixture is known as a Barm: liquid mixture, which the English! used).!

2. Once time has passed add in the rest of the flour and knead until a smooth dough is formed. 3. Add in the butter and work into the dough (This is a very messy procedure but do not add any extra flour, just keep working the dough until it is fully incorporated).! 4. Now set aside and allow to proof for another hour.! 5. Once proofing is done portion your dough into 60 - 80 g portions and then roll into tight little balls.! 6. Once you have finished rolling out all of the balls take a ring mould (You can also place the ring mould straight into the pan while hot and skip a step) and sprinkle a little bit of polenta onto the base and place the ball into the mould, flattening it into the ring mould (Sprinkle more polenta on top as well, do this with the rest of the balls).! 7. Place a pan onto a medium heat with a bit of butter then place the shaped dough into the pan and cook for about 2 - 3 minutes on each side (Both sides should be golden brown). 8. And there you have it, now just allow them to cool down.

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S E C T I O N 31

Mosbolletjies
These are similar to rusks which are also a favourite accompaniment to hot beverages like coffee or tea. They are easy to make and you can make them into a healthy snack if you're a health conscious person. It's also easily stored so making them in bulk and placing in big glass jars works great for adding something to your kitchen. They can be enjoyed fresh out of the oven and can be double baked to dry them out like rusks. 125 ml Milk (1/2 a cup) 80 ml Water! 10 ml Aniseed

Method
1. This is a flaky pastry so you're going to add all the dry ingredients to the butter first and rub the butter into the dry ingredients.! 2. Once the mixture resembles that of sand add in your milk, water and eggs and combine to form a dough. 3. Knead the dough until the surface is smooth like the inside of your lower arm.! 4. Allow to proof for 45 minutes (Make sure it is covered and in a warm place).! 5. After 45 minutes divide the dough into 30 - 40 g portions and shape into balls.! 6. Place the balls onto a greased bread tin and brush with an
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Ingredients
420 g Flour 1 tsp Salt! 60 ml Sugar! 10 g Instant Dry Yeast 60 g Butter (Soft) 1 Egg

egg mixture over the top to give a shiny finish. Allow to proof for another 45 minutes. 7. Once proofing is done place into 180oC/356oF preheated oven for 30 minutes until golden brown.! 8. If you wish to double bake them break up the Mosbolletjies and place onto a large baking sheet and place into a 100oC oven for 4 - 5 hours or place onto a warming rack for 8 - 10 hours.

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S E C T I O N 32

Classic South African Buttermilk Rusks

Here it is, my rusks recipe as promised. Im going to give you two different variations today, one is a very popular flavour amongst South Africans and the other is more of a personal preference. The first recipe is a Buttermilk Rusk recipe and the second one is a Walnut and Dried Fig Rusk recipe. If I were to have the buttermilk rusk I would go with coffee instead of tea and visa versa with the walnut and fig rusk. You can make these rusks rustic just for your family or you could make them nice and edgy for a High Tea party on a Sunday Afternoon. This recipe is for a large batch and they are easily stored in an air tight container or glass jars. 4 Large Eggs! 500 ml Buttermilk! 1 tsp Salt! 1 tsp Baking Powder! 1 tsp Vanilla Extract! 4 Lavender Sprigs (This would be nice if used for a nice High Tea party)!

Method
1. Place the flour, sugar and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the butter and start to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles sand.! 2. Mix all your wet ingredients together and give it a good whisk so everything is well mixed together (If you're using lavender place butter milk and lavender into a pot and place! onto a medium heat. Once it starts to simmer remove from heat and allow to infuse for 20 minutes. Once 20 minutes
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Ingredients
1.5 kg Plain White Flour 400 g Sugar! 20 g Honey! 375 g Soft Butter

have passed strain the butter milk and allow to cool).! 3. Next add your wet ingredients to the butter and flour mix and knead till you have a smooth dough.! 4. Take a large shallow oven tray and grease well with butter (Should be about 3 cm deep).! 5. Take enough dough to fill the whole tray about 2 cm high, flatten with your hands so its even throughout the whole tray.! 6. Now using a knife, cut rusks each 1 cm by 3 cm (or which ever size you prefer).! 7. Place into pre-heated oven of 180oC/356oF for 45 minutes or till golden brown.! 8. Once ready and out of the oven allow to cool. Cut rusks again and place onto a wire cooling rack and place back into pre-heated oven of 100oC/212oF (or the lowest temperature! your oven can go) for 6-8 hours (over night if lower than 100oC).! 9. The final product should be completely dried out and hard, perfect for soaking up some coffee or tea.

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S E C T I O N 33

Walnut & Dry Fig Rusks

Ingredients
1 kg Plain White Flour 375 g Soft Butter 250 g Walnuts (Roughly chopped) 200 g Dried Figs (Roughly chopped) 3 Large Eggs! 300 g Sugar! 50 g Honey! 200 ml Buttermilk! 200 ml Milk! 1 tsp Salt! 1 tsp Baking Powder! 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Method
1. Place the flour, sugar, walnuts and salt into a mixing bowl. Add the butter and start to rub it into the dry ingredients until it resembles sand.! 2. Mix all your wet ingredients together as well as the figs and give it a good whisk so everything is well mixed together (Allow for mix to stand for 5 minutes just so that the figs can rehydrate a little bit).! 3. Next add your wet ingredients to the butter and flour mix and knead till you have a smooth dough (While you knead you might find that the walnuts and figs tend to fall out, don't! worry about that just stick them right back).! 4. Take a large shallow oven tray and grease well with butter (Should be about 3 cm deep).! 5. Take enough dough to fill the whole tray about 2 cm high and flatten with your hands so its even throughout the whole tray.!

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6. Now using a knife, cut rusks each 1 cm by 3 cm (or which ever size you prefer).! 7. Place into pre-heated oven of 180oC/356oF for 45 minutes or till golden brown.! 8. Once ready and out of the oven allow to cool. Cut rusks again and place onto a wire cooling rack and place back into pre-heated oven of 100oC/212oF (or the lowest temperature! your oven can go) for 6-8 hours (over night if lower than 100oC).! 9. The final product should be completely dried out and hard, perfect for soaking up some coffee or tea.

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S E C T I O N 34

South African Vetkoek

I've decided to bring you two different South African dishes while at the same time pairing them together for an unusually tasty combination. Vetkoek is a deep fried pastry which is! enjoyed with several different types of fillings. Some of these fillings include savoury minced meat with peas, potatoes and carrots. You can also buy these locally loved deep fried pastries from the street vendors usually paired with "russian sausages", polony and if you have a sweet tooth you can also get it with apricot jam and butter. Because this addictive pastry is so versatile I've chosen a slightly sweet but savoury filling to go with it. Bobotie is a base of minced meat, enriched by a sweet savoury curry flavour which is topped with a silky smooth egg and cream mixture. Some of the other key ingredients in this dish are raisins, sultanas and almonds. But enough about that, lets get to the important part, the recipe and how to make this wonderful dish. This is the Vetkoek recipe and I have previously posted the Bobotie recipe, so keep an eye out for this combination. For those who do! not know what Vetkoek means, its roughly translated to
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mean "Fat cake". I saw someone that translated it to mean "fat cook" which is incorrect.

Ingredients
1 kg Flour 670 g Water! 50 g Yeast (Fresh) 10 g Oil! 10 g Vinegar! 8 g Salt! 8 g Sugar !

Method
1. Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix together until you have a dough ball.! 2. Next start kneading the dough until you have a full gluten development (This should take 5 - 6 minutes in a mixer at medium speed and about double that if doing it by hand). The! dough should be stretchy without tearing.! 3. Place the dough into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to bulk ferment (proof) for 2 hours, de- gasing at 1 hour intervals.! 4. While the dough proofs heat up your deep frier or pot of oil with thermometer to 170oC/338oF (Vegetable oil is perfect to use).! 5. Once an hour has passed, portion the dough into 80 - 100 g portions (Depending on how big you would like to have your vetkoek) and shape into balls or rectangles (Which ever! you prefer).! 6. Once proofing is done place portioned dough into hot oil and allow to fry till each side is a deep golden brown. If your oil is too hot you will not be able to cook the vetkoek all the! way through. If this does happen simply pre-heat your oven to 180oC and finish them off in the oven. If your oil is too cold your vetkoek will absorb a lot of oil and that won't be! pleasant to eat so make sure your oil is at the right temperature.

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S E C T I O N 35

Rolled Oats & Rye Bread

So this is another one of my own inventions, and I had to bake about 8 breads before I got all my ingredient percentages right in order to get the desired consistency in my final product. All the Rye breads I've bought all seemed to be the same, they were all very heavy and dense. I personally don't like having rye bread like that, I would have preferred it to be a bit more aerated with a nice crisp crust. So I took it upon myself to make the kind of rye bread I would enjoy having. But lets first talk a bit about the main things that make rye flour different to that of normal white flour. The two main components which jump out to me is the flavour profile as well as the significantly lower gluten content. The flavour of rye flour is much more prominent than that of white flour, thus rye seeds are also used to make whisky, vodka and even beers. The significantly reduced amount of gluten has a huge effect on the elasticity of the dough, it doesn't allow stretching and instead breaks. You will see when working with rye flour it resembles something more to that of a thick paste than dough. This makes it difficult to work with when your
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making your bread. Unlike when using white flour where the dough becomes stretched and strengthens when you knead it, rye flour simply does not strengthens at all. This causes a lot of people to add loads of white flour when they make their rye bread, which changes the ratios completely, meaning they won't get what the recipe intended at the end product. Making bread is a science, so when you make this recipe keep in mind not to add loads of white flour, simply combine all your ingredients as directed in the method and work it till everything is well incorporated. Another very important aspect to remember when baking bread and intending to increase the volume of bread is that you can't just simply double or triple all the ingredients. Each ingredient is given a percentage of the complete dough, and to ensure you get what the recipe intended you need to adhere to those percentages. If you just double or triple the ingredients, you will not have the correct consistency. This will leave you with a dough that is either over hydrated or under hydrated, and in return

you will add more or less flour than what was intended. You will have noticed that in the final product your dough is very dense, is not well aerated or is even under baked because of this. I will be posting 2 pictures of examples where I increased the original recipe to 3.6kg. If you do not understand what I have done to get the new amounts simply leave a comment and I will be glad to help you out. I will discuss this topic at length on one of my other posts in the near future. In this recipe I've made use of a Poolish method (which is a loose preferment) to gain two different advantages from it, this being increased flavour and gluten development. When you make a preferment, you allow for the yeast and the flour to create a more intense flavour profile. I have also used a small amount of whole wheat flour in the recipe, and made use of the little amount of gluten in there to create some sort of a stretch in the final dough, thus by using it in the preferment I'm allow it to form gluten. ! Note: The ingredients used in the Poolish method are not extra but instead are from the overall ingredients. Please don't use separate ingredient for the Poolish method.

Ingredients
Overall amount 300 g Rye 75%! 100 g W/w Flour 25%! 100 g Rolled Oats 25%! 400 g Water 100%! 12 g Salt 3%! 40g Sugar 10%! 10g Dry Instant Yeast 2.5%

Poolish (these amount are to be taken from the Overall

amount) 100 g Rye 33.33% 100 g W/w flour 100%! 100 g Rolled Oats 100% 300 g Water 75%! 4 g Yeast 40%

Method: Poolish
1. Place the yeast into a medium to large container and add the 300 g of water (The water should be between 34 - 42oC) and allow to bloom for a minute.!
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2. Next add in your oats and two flours and mix well until totally incorporated. Allow to ferment for 12 hours or over night in a dark warm place.

Method
1. Once your pre-ferment is ready place your salt and sugar into a mixing bowl first and next your flour, water and lastly the yeast (Never place the yeast straight onto the salt or sugar).! 2. Next mix until most of the flour is incorporated and once done add all of your pre-ferment.! 3. If you're using a mixer turn the speed onto a medium setting and allow to mix for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and mix for another 3 minutes. 4. If you're kneading by hand you will notice the dough is very sticky and does not come together like normal dough. Don't worry, just continue kneading until all the ingredients are well incorporated (This should take about 8 - 12 minutes).! 5. Place the dough into an air tight container or simply wrap with plastic and allow to bulk ferment for 1 hour in a dark warm place. 6. After the hour has passed dust a bit of flour over the top and simply de-gas it by knocking it down in the bowl. Allow to ferment (proof) for another hour.!

7. In the mean time you can pre-heat your oven to 190oC! 8. Now that the bulk proofing is complete, remove and place on a well floured station and simply fold the dough onto itself once or twice. Form into a rectangle that will fit into your baking tin.! 9. Brush you baking tin with either butter or oil and place dough inside. Allow to final proof for 45 - 60 minutes (Remember to cover the dough with a lose plastic sheet).! 10. Once final proofing is done drop 3 ice cubes into the bottom of your oven and place your bread into the oven. Bake for about 20 - 25 minutes. It should have a lovely dark golden top.! 11. Remove and allow to cool down for 30 minutes. Enjoy with a bit of salted butter.

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Chapter 6

SAUCES, STOCKS & PASTES

This chapter is where all good things start. Im sure youve heard me mention on several different recipes that without a good foundation you will only gain problems further on in the dish. So before you jump straight to the Mains and Desserts take a look at these recipes. Basic skills will never get old or should I say become "old school", they're always in the present and if you dont know them you will run into trouble.

S E C T I O N 36

Sauce Gribiche
Ingredients
4 Hard-boiled Eggs 2 Hard-boiled Egg Yolks! 1/2 tbs Mustard! Salt and Pepper! 1/2 tbs White Wine Vinegar! 1 Cup of Olive Oil! A bunch of Fresh Chervil (Chopped)! 1/2 bunch of Fresh Tarragon (Chopped)! 1/4 Cup of Capers (Drained and chopped) 1/2 Cup of Gherkins!

Method
1.Using the finer side of a grater start to grate your eggs and egg yolks. Next add your mustard as well as salt and pepper and combine well. 2. Next add your vinegar followed by gradually adding your olive oil while mixing well (Similar to making mayonnaise).! 3. Keep the sauce creamy by adding small amounts of vinegar or warm water as necessary.! 4. Finish the sauce by adding the chopped herbs, capers and gherkins. Taste and correct the seasoning accordingly.

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S E C T I O N 37

Home Made Chicken Stock

Homemade stock, what every self proclaimed foodie should know how to make! There are so many self proclaimed foodies out there these days and each one claims to be the best yet most of them forget the basics of cooking. Stock in a kitchen is like the foundation of a sky scraper! If you don't have a solid and sturdy foundation for your sky scraper it will fall sometime during the construction of the building, or even worse, once the building is completed. What I'm trying to say is that if you don't start with a good, flavourful stock in the beginning of your cooking process you will fall short in flavour somewhere down the line and will have to compensate for the lack of flavour later on. To do so is a waste of time and ingredients. Like my Chef at the South African Chefs Academy told me: "Do it nice or do it twice!!!" So today I'm going to help you out and give you a step by step recipe for a perfect homemade chicken stock!

Ingredients
Bones of one deboned Chicken (You can also use the chicken wings, giblets, necks and feet) 2 Celery Stalks! 2 Leeks (Medium)! 1 Large Onion 2 Carrots (Large for a sweeter stock and medium for a normal stock) 6 Black Peppercorns! 2 Bay Leaves (Fresh is always better)! 2L of Cold Water 3 Cloves of Garlic (Not traditionally used in stocks but I like to add it in for a little more flavour) 4 Sprigs of Thyme (Fresh)! 200 ml White Wine (If you won't drink it don't use it, remember the foundation)
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Method
1. Start by cutting your chicken bones into small pieces using a meat cleaver. Pre-heat your oven to 200oC/ 392oF.! 2. Once you've finished cutting the bones place them onto an oven sheet pan and place them in the oven. Allow to brown and caramelise, this will take about 20 - 25 minutes.! 3. In the mean time you can start chopping your vegetables into rough mire poix.! 4. 2 minutes before the bones are ready to be taken out of the oven place a large stock pot onto a high heat and allow to heat up.! 5. Once pot is hot place add the mire poix vegetables into the pot and stir frequently to prevent burning (Do not use any fat or oil).! 6. Remove the bones from the oven and drain the fat from the sheet pan. Place the bones into the pot with the mire poix.! 7. Discard the fat from the sheet pan, place the sheet pan onto a hot stove hob and pour the 200 ml of red wine onto the sheet pan, thus deglazing the sheet pan.! 8. Pour the wine into the pot with bones and mire poix.! 9. Allow to reduce until sticky and once so add in 1 L of the cold water along with all the herbs and spices (That includes the thyme, bay leaves, garlic & peppercorns). Turn the heat down and simmer.!
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10. You will see that fat and scum will gather on top of the water after you have added it, use a serving spoon to remove this scum and fat (You will need to remove the scum several times so keep a bowl handy to place scum in).! 11. Once the 1L of water has reduced to half add the rest of the water and allow to either reduce to 1L or to 500ml of stock (The more you reduce it the more intense the flavour of the stock will be).! 12. Once it has reduced to your preference pour the stock through a fine strainer and discard the bones, mire poix and herbs.! 13. To create a nice clear stock you can place muslin cloth (Also known as cheese cloth) into a strainer and pass the stock through it (If you want to make a veloute sauce with the stock I would advise this method, other wise passing it through the strainer is more than fine).

Storing the stock

1. You can make ice cubes from the stock and store in the freezer.! 2. You can place it into jam jars which you have sterilised (If you not sure how to do this please feel free to pop me a mail and I will be more than happy to assist).! 3. If you reduse the stock to 200 ml it will become like jelly once cooled down, this is great to store in small plastic bags

and is easy to use if you're making dinner for 2 - 6 people (20 ml per packet).

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S E C T I O N 38

Bakmi Paste
Bakmi Paste! Fresh Asian flavours perfect for noodle stir-fry! I was first introduced to this wonderful fresh Asian style sauce/paste while I was working at The Saxon Boutique Hotel and Spa. It's a very simple paste to make but packs a huge punch of flavour. I've used it in a Thai style egg noodle chicken stir fry, along with some shrimps and nuts. It has a very bright and refreshing flavour which is perfect for a light meal. 3 tbs of Palm Sugar (If you don't have palm sugar use brown sugar.) 2 tsp of Ground Cumin! 2 Medium Sized Chillies! 2 tsp Coriander Seeds! 12 Cup of Fresh Basil! 2 Lemons (Freshly Juiced)! 1 Lime (Freshly Juiced)! 100ml Warm Water

Ingredients
250 g Tamerind Paste 1 Cup of Coriander (Fresh)! 3 tbs Soya Sauce! 4 Cloves of Garlic! 3 tbs Fresh Ginger! 2 Sticks of Lemon Grass!

Method
1. Take the tamarind paste and chop it up into medium sized cubes.! 2. Place the tamarind into the 100ml of warm water for 15 20 minutes to allow it to soften up.! 3. Next chop all your ingredients into medium sized portions except for the lemons and limes.!
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4. Once everything is chopped add everything into a blender along with the softened tamarind cubes and water.! 5. Blend all of the ingredients until nicely smooth.! 6. Once it's a smooth paste, pass the paste through a fine sieve into a sauce pot/pan and add the lemon and lime juice.! 7. Place onto a medium heat and allow to simmer away until it becomes thick and sticky.! 8. You can store this paste in sterilised jam jars in the fridge for about a week to two weeks (Just be sure to sterilise the jars properly).

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S E C T I O N 39

Demi-Glace made easy

Ingredients
Demi-Glace is one of the most popular sauces used in restaurants, it compliments roast meats. In the food industry this sauce is made in very large batches as it's easily stored in the freezer and can last for prolonged periods of time. When they make the sauce it can take up to 18 - 24 hours to complete. The reason for the prolonged preparation time is due to the large sized pot used to make it. They have to reduce the sauce by at least half, some reduce it even further to create a more intense flavour (You can imagine how long it takes to reduce 50L down to 25L). This sauce consist of two different parts, first being a clear beef stock and the second being Espagnole sauce (Espagnole sauce is essentially a thickened brown beef stock with tomato paste and a brown roux added). Today I'm going to give you a quick and easy recipe for the Espagnole sauce which you will turn into a DemiGlace sauce (Sauce making is a true skill and art form, in hotel kitchens and some restaurant there are chefs which only make sauces and nothing else, they are called Saucier Chefs). 300 g Beef Bones! 150 g Mire Poix (Refer to the Glossary) 2 Sprigs of Thyme! 2 Sprigs of Parsley! 2 Bay Leaves! 1 Sprig of Rosemary! 6 Peppercorns 2 Cloves of Garlic! 1 tsp Oregano! 2 tsp Tomato Paste! 1 tbs Plain Flour! 500 ml Clear Beef Stock (Follow the same steps as the Chicken stock recipe just replace the white wine with red wine) 250 ml Cold Water

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150 ml Red Wine

Method
1. Pre-heat your oven to 200oC/392oF. 2. While your oven is pre-heating, place your bones onto an oven sheet pan so they are ready to go into the oven once heated. 3. Next you can start by preparing your mire poix (carrots, celery, leek and onions). Cut them into medium size pieces. 4. Place your bones into the oven for about 20 - 25 minutes or until they are golden brown. 5. Just before you remove your bones place a pot onto the stove on high heat. Once your pot is hot place your mire poix and bouquet garni (herbs and aromatics) into the pot and stir until they caramelise. 6. Once your bones are ready drain the fat from the sheet pan and add the bones to the mire poix.! 7. Take the sheet pan and place over a hot stove hob and use the 150 ml of red wine to deglaze the pan. Once deglazed add to the pot.! 8. Next add your tomato paste and cook until sticky.! 9. Add in your flour and cook until it starts to caramelise on the bottom of the pot.! 10. Once your flour starts to caramelise on the bottom allow to cook for another minute or two and add in your cold wa93

ter. Stir once or twice.! 11. You will need to skim your stock frequently to get the remaining impurities and fat off the top of the stock.! 12. Allow to simmer for 25 minutes and then strain Espagnole, discarding the bones, mire poix and bouquet garni.! 13. Place back into the pot and add 1/3 of the clear beef stock, allowing it to reduce by half (You still need to skim the stock if there are impurities on the top).! 14. Once reduced by half add in the remaining stock and reduce by half once more. Once it has reduced and is at a good sauce consistency place the Demi-glace through a fine sieve.! 15. If you want a clean sauce with little to no black spots you can place it through a muslin cloth (cheese cloth). However, you might need to reduce it more to get the correct consistency.! 16. Just before using the sauce add a little bit of butter (About a tsp) and whisk it into the sauce to give it a wonderful glossy finish.

S E C T I O N 40

The Base for a Lovely Thai Green Curry

Tonight I'm going to give you a great recipe to make your very own Thai Green Curry paste. So no more excuses for buying the bottled Thai paste, this recipe will give you a much more flavourful taste for your Thai green curry! 5 g Peppercorns 10 ml Thai Fish Sauce 45 ml Olive Oil! 5 ml Soya Sauce! 5 g Palm Sugar! 40 g Fresh Basil

Ingredients
12 g Green Chillies 130 g Onions! 30 g Ginger! 15 g Garlic Cloves! 40 g Fresh Coriander 30 g Lemon Grass 30 g Lemon Zest and Juice 8 Fresh Kaffir Lime Leaves 7 g Coriander Seeds! 5 g Cumin Seeds
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Method
1.Place coriander and cumin seeds into a pan and allow to heat up. Once you can start to smell the spices remove from heat (This will release the essential oils from the spices) 2. Place all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until you have a good paste consistency.! 3. Place into sterilised containers and cover with a layer of oil to create a seal.

S E C T I O N 41

Hollandaise Sauce
This sauce can be used along with the English Muffins recipe under the bread baking chapter to make a wonderful brunch Eggs Benedict or Eggs Florentine. You can also use it with some wonderful grilled asparagus or use it as a mayonnaise.

Method
1.Place butter into a pot and put onto a medium heat. Allow the butter to melt and for the milk solids to drop down to the bottom (When your butter stops making a noise and there is little to no foam your butter is ready). Take off the heat and gently pour the clear liquid into a separate container, being careful not to get the milk solids from the bottom. 2.Next place another pot onto the heat with the reduction ingredients and reduce down to 5 ml.! 3. You are going to need a bain-marie as well as a mixing bowl which you can use over a heat (To make a bain-marie place a large pot with water 1/3 full onto a heat. Once it starts to boil turn down to the lowest heat. Your mixing bowl should be able to fit on top of pot). 3.Place egg yolks into the mixing bowl with water and whisk well. Add in the reduction and place over bain-marie (Making sure that the bain-marie is just producing steam and not

Ingredients
2 Egg Yolks 250 g Butter! 5 ml Reduction (175ml White Wine Vinegar, 6 Peppercorns, 1 Bay leaf, 20 g Chopped Onions) Pinch of Cayenne Pepper! Pinch of Salt! 2 tsp Water !

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at a rumbling boil. Have all your ingredients within arms reach). You will need to whisk the whole time until your egg yolks reach a pail white foamy texture (Also known as a sabayon). 4.Once your yolks are a sabayon slowly start to add in your clarified butter at a steady stream, whisking continuously until all the butter has been added (If your mixture becomes runny, take it off the heat and place onto a heat protected surface. Continue to whisk until it thickens again and place back onto the heat). If you're struggling with the whisking, you can use a hand blender or electric whisk. 5. You can now add in your cayenne pepper and salt. For a different flavour profile add a bit of lemon to break through the fatty sauce otherwise you can also add some mustard. Also make sure you place the finished sauce away from heat otherwise you have the risk of the sauce splitting. Now that you have all your required ingredients ready you are able to construct your very own home made Eggs Benedict and enjoy in the comfort of your own home.

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S E C T I O N 42

Home made Plum Sauce

This sauce can be made and used with many different proteins or stir-fry dishes. It's a very simple and easy recipe to follow and can be stored in the fridge for 1 - 2 weeks (ensuring that the containers being used are properly sterilised). For the wine I used a good quality Merlot, it has a lower tannin count than other more full bodied red wines such as Cabernet or Sauvignon. The tannins in wines are what give the wine the bitter and woody puckering sensation. With less tannin in the Merlot, it allows for the fruity essence of the wine to be more present, making it perfect for the sauce. ! Juice of 1 Orange! 1-3 tbs Sugar (Depending on the sweetness of the plums and apples add sugar accordingly) 200 ml Water! 20 ml Red Wine (Fruity wine works best - Optional)

Method
1.Place a medium to large sauce pan on a high heat and allow to heat up. Once hot add in your wine if you choose (This just burns off some of the alcohol). 2. Next add in your peeled and cored apples as well as your peeled and pitted plums which you have cut into medium size pieces.! 3. Allow to cook in the wine until it becomes some what sticky.!

Ingredients
12 Ripe Plums (Skins removed and de-seeded) 2 Granny Smith Apples or any dessert apple (Peeled and cored)! 2 tsp Lemon Juice! 1/2 tsp Salt!
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4. Next add in your sugar, lemon juice, orange juice and salt, and allow to reduce once more to a stick consistency. 5.Now add in your 200 ml of water and turn the heat down to a simmer. Once the apples are soft place mixture into a blender (or simply use a hand blender) and blend until smooth. 6. To ensure there are no impurities pass through a sieve once and place back into the pot and onto a medium heat (Unless you are happy with the consistency).! 7. Allow to reduce until it coats the back of a spoon and is at the correct sauce consistency.! 8. Allow to cool down before placing into storing containers and the fridge until needed.

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Chapter 7

TOPPINGS, FROSTINGS & SWEET SAUCES

You can't have a cake or pie without some sort of sauce or topping to go along with it. This chapter includes Italian Meringues to Chocolate Ganache and Creme Anglaise. No matter what dessert you have in mind Ive got a sauce or topping for you to pair with the dessert.

S E C T I O N 43

Creme Patisserie
Creme Patisserie is considered a filling unlike Creme Anglaise which is considered a sauce. The main differences between these two products are the flour you use in the Creme Patisserie which allows you to make the filling on a direct heat (The flour protects the eggs from coagulating as easily) and that you make the Creme Patisserie to a much thicker consistency. Some of the more popular uses for Creme Patisserie includes Chocolate Eclairs and Profiter Rolls.

Method
1. Start by combining your milk and vanilla extract. Place onto a stove top and bring to the boil.! 2. Next combine your sugar, flour and egg yolks into a paste. Add a small amount of milk and make sure there are no lumps.! 3. Now that you have your paste ready, temper it with the hot milk and then add to the milk. Place onto a medium to high heat while constantly whisking until thick (Make sure that your eggs dont coagulate. Do this by removing the pot from the heat when its too hot and then returning to the heat when its cooled down a bit).! 4. Once your custard is thick taste it and if its still slightly floury add an additional 20 ml of milk and return to the heat until thick.! 5. Once ready strain and allow to cool down and firm up before using.!

Ingredients
200 ml Milk 60 g Sugar 2 Egg Yolks 30 g Flour 2 ml Vanilla Extract
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S E C T I O N 44

Butterscotch sauce
Ingredients
125 g Sugar! 100 ml Water! 150 ml Cream! 25 g Butter! 2,5 ml to 5 ml Salt

Method
1.Place your sugar, salt and water into a medium sized pot and boil until it reaches caramel stage at 175oC/374oF.! 2. Once at caramel stage remove from the heat and add your butter and cream while whisking (Be careful as the sugar will violently bubble up). 3. Once added place back onto the heat and stir gently until smooth.! 4. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

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S E C T I O N 45

Dry English Meringues

There are three different types of Meringues that are prepared in different ways. This recipe is for a Dry English Meringue (Also known as a French Meringue) which makes use of castor sugar. You also get the Italian Meringue where you use a stock syrup that has been boiled until soft ball stage. Last but not least you get the Swiss Meringue which you make by combining egg whites and sugar in a bowl and then whisk over a bain-marie until firm.

Method
1. Pre-heat oven to 80 - 100oC (The lower the better).! 2. Place egg whites into a mixer or bowl and whisk until slightly foamy (Just forming small bubbles).! 3. Next add in your stabiliser (Cream of tartar) and continue to whisk until stiff peak stage.! 4. Now one tablespoon at a time add your castor sugar, mixing until the sugar is finished and your meringue is glossy.! 5. Dip your finger in the meringue and rub your fingers together, feeling if the sugar is completely dissolved. If not continue mixing until the texture between your fingers is smooth. 6. Place mixture into a clean piping bag with your choice of fixture making sure there is not a fatty lever in the piping bag as it will cause the meringue to lose its firmness.! 7. Take a baking sheet pan and line with silicone paper, fixing it in place by using meringue in each corner underneath
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Ingredients
180 g Egg Whites 360 g Castor Sugar 2 ml Cream of Tartar !

the silicon paper.! 8. Start piping the meringue onto the silicone paper and once complete place into the oven for 2 hours if oven is at 100oC/ 212oF.! 9. The colour should not change but remain white instead.! 10. Store in an airtight container once cooked and do not place into the fridge.

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S E C T I O N 46

Whole Egg Butter Icing

Ingredients
So those of you that are regulars on my website will have noticed that I've posted two other recipes for butter icing on my blog. Each one using a different part of the egg and thus giving each icing its own unique texture and flavour profile. This makes it suitable for different occasions and cakes. This recipe for whole egg butter icing is my favourite simply because I don't like to waste produce and you don't always have a need for extra egg whites or yolks! Although there are several different and easy recipes you can use both egg whites and yolks for. As with the other two recipes this one is also very easy to adapt different flavours you'd like to try out to. With the festive season it is perfect to play around with. Try making an eggnog flavoured butter cream frosting and pair it with a simple Victoria sponge sandwich cake. Perfect for desserts after a wonderful family dinner. ! 4 Eggs 200 g Sugar! 250 g Butter! Flavouring (Vanilla, Cocoa powder, Coffee powder etc.) 10 ml Lemon Juice! 1 Lemon Zested

Method
1.Start by placing your eggs, sugar, lemon juice and zest into a bowl and whisk over a bain-marie until you reach ribbon stage (See Glossary).

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2. Once your egg mixture has reached ribbon stage remove from the heat, place the bowl over ice and whisk until it's cooled down.! 3. Next place your butter into a separate mixing bowl and whisk until well aerated and pale in colour.! 4. Combine the cooled down egg mixture with the butter and whisk until completely incorporated. 5. Remove and place into the fridge to allow the mixture to firm up before using.

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S E C T I O N 47

Egg yolk Butter Cream Frosting

Ingredients
250 g Stock Syrup! 3 Egg Yolks! 250 g Butter! 200 g Flavouring (Dark, Milk or White Chocolate) ! 4. Place your chocolate over a bain-marie and melt. Once melted allow to cool down and add to the mixture while whisking. 5. Remove your butter cream and place into fridge to firm up before using.

Method
1. Start by placing your butter into a mixing bowl and whisking until pale in colour (This is known as creaming butter).! 2. Next place your stock syrup into a pot and bring to the boil. Once boiling temper your egg yolks and add to the stock syrup while whisking (Once you add your egg yolks make sure to remove from heat).! 3. Whisk stock syrup and egg yolks over ice until cooled down and then slowly add to the butter while whisking.!
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S E C T I O N 48

Egg White Boiled Butter icing

Recipe 230g granulated sugar 90g water 2.5ml lemon juice 150g egg whites 120g castor sugar 350g butter (room temp) 200g white chocolate or any other chocolate ! 2.Whisk whites to stiff peak, add syrup in slow stream, whisk in mixer for 5 minutes, place mixture in bowl (egg whites should be firm and have a glossy appearance). 3.Place butter in mixer for 30 seconds to soften! Melt chocolate on bain-marie, then slowly add to butter in mixer, then add meringue one scoop at a time. 4.Fold mixture till it is well combined, place in refrigerate and allow to firm up. 5.When firm you can now use it to ice your cake or cupcakes.

Method
1.Combine sugar, water and lemon juice in pan, bring to boil to create stock syrup till it reaches soft ball stage (See stages of sugar).

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S E C T I O N 49

Cream Cheese and White Chocolate Frosting!

Combine this recipe with the Carrot Cake recipe to have a match made in heaven.

Method
1. Place the large amount of sugar, water and lemon juice into a pot and bring to the boil. Continue to boil until the syrup is at 114 - 116oC/237.5 - 240.8oF (This is known as soft ball stage).! 2. Place your white chocolate over a bain-marie to melt. The water should not be boiling too rapidly but instead just simmering to create steam (If its too hot the chocolate can burn and you wont be able to use it! Also don't move it around too much just stir every now and then).! 3.While waiting for your stock syrup to reach soft ball stage whip up your egg whites. When you reach medium peak stage start to add in the smaller amount of sugar (It must be castor sugar) 1 teaspoon at a time while whisking until you reach stiff peak stage.! 4. Once syrup is at soft ball stage start to pour at a slow steady rate into your mixing bowl with the meringues, whisking the entire time. The end result should be a glossy me108

Ingredients
230 g Sugar 90 g Water! 5 ml Lemon Juice! 150 g Egg Whites! 120 g Castor Sugar! 250 g Soft Butter! 250 g Cream Cheese (Unsalted) 500 g White Chocolate! Zest of 1 Orange

ringue with stiff peaks (This is known as a boiled meringue or Italian Meringue).! 5. Remove the meringue from the mixing bowl and place soft butter and the zest into a bowl and mix until pale in colour.! 6. Next add your cream cheese and follow by pouring your melted chocolate into the bowl with the butter. Whisk well (Your chocolate should not be straight off the bain-marie, it should rest for at least 1 minute before being added).! 7. Now a 1/3 at a time fold the mixture into your Italian Meringue to create the final product.! 8. Allow to rest in the fridge for 5 minutes and then you're ready to frost your cake!

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Chapter 8

CULINARY INGREDIENTS & TERMS

In this chapter you will nd a list of different ingredients and culinary terms. This is the area of cooking where most chefs and home cooks tend to have a lack of knowledge. Dont let the theory part of cooking be the reason why you make any stupid mistakes.

S E C T I O N 50

Edible Flowers
List of Flowers that can be used in plating dishes and flavouring beverages: Acacia Blossoms: Can be dipped into batter and deep fried for a crunchy delight in desserts.! Banana Blossoms: Mostly used in Asian cooking, used either fresh, steamed or sauted.! Borage Blossoms: Delicate purple flowers that are great for garnishing drinks, plates as well as salads. Taste is similar to that of a cucumber. The flowers are also great for dessert when candied in sugar.! Carnation Flower: The buds of these flowers are great for pickling and the petals or flower part is great for garnishes, candies for desserts and in salads.! Chamomile: This flower produces a lovely floral tea and can also be used to infuse desserts like creme brulee's and creme caramels.! Chrysanthemum: Mostly used in south eastern Asia and only the white and yellow flowers are used. The uses include; teas,
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infused rice wine vinegars, garnishes for sashimi in Japan or used as a green.! Clover Blossoms: These flowers can be used as garnishes and as a flavouring compound in butters or otherwise used for teas.! Tanacetum Balsamita: This leaf has a taste similar to that of pepper and lemon, and is mostly used in cocktails and other beverages.! Daisy: This beautiful flower can be used as a garnish especially in beverages such as iced teas.! Dandelions: This nifty little flower can be used to produce wine when fermented and the greens can be used in salads and as garnishes.! Day Lilies: Not only can you use the flower but you can also use the root. The flowers are mostly pickled and the root is boiled or roasted and used as a vegetable. Gladiolus: The petals of this flower are used in salads or as garnishes.! Heather Blossoms: Mostly used in fermented beverages as a flavouring agent.! Hibiscus: This flower is very popular in Hispanic countries

and is used to make teas.! Jasmine: Mostly used in desserts as a flavouring to dishes and can also be used in tea blends.! Lavender: The flowers can be pickled and preserved in sugar as well as for flavouring the sugar. It can also be used in teas and infused into desserts or sauces.! Lemon Balm: The leaves of this flower have a unique lemon scent and are used in salads and marinades.! Lemon Blossoms: Used in desserts as a flavouring agent.! Lemon Verbena: Can substitute the use of lemon rind and can also be used in salads and sauces.! Lilac: Mostly used to make flavoured ice and is used in desserts as candied flower petals.! Lime Flowers: Great in teas and as a garnish in iced teas or juices.! Linden: Mostly used in teas.! Marigold: Buds are used for pickling as well as in salads along with its petals.! Orange Blossoms: Great for flavouring ice creams and other desserts.! Pansies: Beautifully coloured flowers used for candying petals and garnishing.! Peony: Mostly used to flavour drinks.! Jelly Okra: Used in meat dishes as well as desserts as a flavouring and colorant.! Roses: Popularly used in candying rose petals and making rose water that is to be used in desserts and other dishes.! Sage Flowers: Used in cold beverages and sprinkled over
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meat dishes.! Squash Blossoms: Usually stuffed and deep fried and can also be used in fresh salads.

S E C T I O N 51

Indian spices with English & Indian Names.

Spice List Commonly used in Indian Cooking: English Name - Indian Name Asafoetida - Hing: This is a powdered gum resin from several Iranian and East Indian plants that is dried. It has a very unpleasant smell which is an acquired smell but when used in dishes it resembles the taste of leeks and is also used as a pickling medium. It helps with the digestion of food. The plant looks very much like that of fennel.! Besan - Gram-Garbanzo: A flour made using dried chick peas. Gram flour is considered a staple ingredient in India, Pakistan and Bangladeshi and is used in several delicious dishes to make fritters and flat breads. Cardamom - Elaiche: This is the dried fruit from a leafy plant which is of the same family as ginger. The seeds are cased in a triangular pod which is either green or brown in colour. This wonderful spice is native to India, Nepal and Bhutan with Guatemala being the biggest exporter followed by India. In my personal opinion this spice goes really well with white chocolate to make wonderful truffles.! Coriander - Dhania: It is in the same family as parsley and is also known as cilantro or Chinese parsley. The seeds are use in either whole or ground form. It has a great refreshing aroma when used fresh and adds great depth to any dish when using the seeds. One of my favourite herbs to use in stir fries and salsas. Cumin - Jeera: This flowering plant originates from the East Mediterranean all the way to India. The cumin seeds are in a fruit which is dried and the seeds then removed. This spice is used across a wide range of cuisine and can be used either whole or ground with a very strong aromatic flavour. It can also be easily confused with caraway but cumin is lighter in colour and larger in size.! Fennel Seed - Sauf: Mostly found on the shores of the Mediterranean, the plant has yellow flowers and it feathery in appearance. The flavour and smell of the fennel seed is that of Liquorice. It is available whole and ground.!
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MInt - Pudina: Grows in a big bush with bright green leaves which are serrated. Has a very refreshing fragrance which can be used in salsas, teas and several dishes including desserts. It can be found all across the globe and is very easy to grow and maintain by yourself. Saffron - Kesar: This thin thread is from a flower which grows in Spain as well as Kashmir. When blooming in warm water it yields a yellow orange colour that has a very soft aromatic flavouring. One of the most expensive spices you will get, so treat with care!! Turmeric - Haldi: Is made from a dried root which is then ground and made into a fine powder that is bright orange in colour. The fresh root is very similar to that of fresh ginger. It is mostly used in curries in India but also used to flavour other dishes. It is found on the subtropical Indian subcontinent and needs a constant temperature of 20 - 30oC and plenty of rain fall to thrive.

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S E C T I O N 52

Different types of Rice

! Akita Komachi Rice:! This is one of two Japonica medium-grain rice, which is favoured for making sushi and other dishes which include sticky rice. It is not only cultivated in Japan, but also in California, and many other American States. Arborio Rice:! Arborio rice was named after the town in Italy where it is grown. Arborio is located in the Po Valley. This round-grain medium length rice is actually more of a tan colour than pure white, it also has a distinctive white dot in the centre of the grain. This grain has the ability to absorb great amounts of liquid and in doing so can take on loads of flavour. Once cooked it has a creamy texture (this is due to its high starch content) with a chewy centre (al dente) and is mostly used for risotto. I was told by my Chef at College that a good risotto should not take more or less than 20 minutes. Baldo Rice:! Baldo rice is a rice which was created by crossing Arborio rice and the Stripe 136 rice variety. This made Baldo rice high in starch (which made it stickier than most other rice varieties used for risotto) and allowed it to cook faster and keep its plump shape at high cooking temperatures. These characteristics made it popular amongst chefs, using it instead of the traditional Arborio. It is also the favourite rice used in Turkish Cuisine, included in risotto like dishes, and can also be used in other applications. It is also of the Japonica variety, and is classified as a super fine rice. It is mainly grown in Turkey, Italy as well as Vietnam Basmati Rice:! This centuries old long-grain, slender rice has been cultivated at the foot of the Himalayas in Pakistan and India. The word Basmati in Hindi when literally translated means "pearl of scents" or "queen of scents" due to its aromatic aroma when
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cooked. This rice is non-glutinous and separates once cooked. When cooked it also only swells length wise. It has been exported to Arab countries for centuries, where it is used in rich aromatic dishes. When cooking this rice the ratio of rice to water is 1 part rice 2 parts water. Always wash off the rice, then place on a high heat with the water. Once it starts to boil, time it for 5 minutes then cover with tight fitting lid and turn off the heat completely. Leave covered for 20 minutes and have perfect rice every time. Bhutanese Red Rice:! This beautiful rusty brown red coloured rice is also grown in the Himalayas, but it is grown 8,000 feet above sea level ( 2438.4 meters). The name is some what named ofter the place where it is cultivated, which is the Himalaya Kingdom of Bhudan. It is said that the rice is irrigated (watered) by a 1,000 year old glacier which is rich in trace minerals, which gives it its earthy and nutty flavour. Once cooked, it has a soft texture and has a slightly pinker appearance. Bhatanese red rice is the staple of the Kingdom. Black Rice (Forbidden rice):! The term forbidden rice comes from when the Chinese Emperors were the only ones allowed to consume this unique black rice. It is a non-glutinous rice unlike other varieties from Asia. It has a deep nutty taste as well as hints of choco116

late in it, making this the perfect rice to cook on valentines day. This rice is not just special because of its black appearance when raw and deep purple appearance once cooked but because it is high in fiber, amino acids as well as vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, potassium and iron. Research has also shown that it benefits your eyes, kidneys, spleen and stomach.

S E C T I O N 53

Sugar Stages at different temperatures

Boiling Stages
When you work with some recipes you might notice that they sometimes tell you to bring your sugar to a soft ball stage for an Italian Meringue, or a Hard Crack stage for dipping fruit in to give it a glistening coat of sugar. Yet sometimes they don't include the temperatures to which you need to boil the sugar to in order to get it to that stage. Well now all you need to do is refer back to my website. This information will be available under Culinary Glossary & Ingredients and then Sugar. This will also give you a few uses for some of the different stages of boiling, so if you would like to play around making sugar Angel Hair, now you know to which temperature you need to take your sugar. Also just remember when you work with sugar it retains heat very well and will continue to cook even once its been removed from the heat, so you have to anticipate a minute ahead of time, or place it on a cold surface straight away other wise it will over cook. Please be very careful when working with sugar, its not nice having a lump of blistering hot sugar fall on you! 1.Strong Thread: 104C - Glaze for sugared fruits. 2.Blow: 110C (Physical test - Twist wire into a loop shape, dip into solution, blow, long bubble will appear) 3.Soft Ball: 116C (Physical test Dip teaspoon into cold water, then into boiling syrup, remove a little bit of sugar syrup, return to cold water, form a softball.) 4.Hard Ball: 128C (Physical test - Same as soft ball however sugar will form a hard ball) 5.Soft Crack: 138C (Physical test Sugar will slightly crack once cooled) 6.Crack: 145C (Physical test Sugar will break cleanly once cooled) Uses: Sugar Ribbons, Blowing Sugar, Spun Sugar. 7.Hard Crack: 149C (Physical test' Sugar will break cleanly if bitten between teeth and should not adhere to
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them if correctly cooked) Uses: Pulled Sugar, Rock Sugar, ! Straw Sugar and Fruit Glaze. 8.Caramel: 175C - Changes colour to caramel. 9.Black Jack: 179 C - Sugar is burnt

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S E C T I O N 54

French Vegetable Cuts

Dice - Small cubes cut 5 mm or smaller are regarded as diced. ! Slice - Thin lengthwise cut of 3 mm or less. ! Julienne - French meaning shoelaces, thin strips no thicker than 2 mm. Brunoise - A fine dice of 2 mm or smaller. Mire poix - A rough cut usually used for stocks or stews.! Chiffonade - French meaning angel hair, strips that are like fine hair. ! Baton - Also know as match stick, rectangular sticks of 60 mm x 5 mm x 5 mm. Concasse - Usually associated with tomatoes, very similar to dicing. ! Tourne - Oblong shaped cut also know as turning or forming into torpedo shape. Parisienne - Parisienne scope is used to
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form small or medium sized balls. Chateau - Barrel shaped cut similar to tourne except the ends aren't sharp. Macedoine - Cubes measuring .125 cm. ! Emincer - A slice that is a very thin slice. ! Batonette - French fries measuring 0.25 cm x 0.25 cm x 2 cm. ! Paysanne - Thin slices of either triangles, squares or half circles.

S E C T I O N 55

Stages of Egg Whites

Stages of Egg Whites
Stabiliser: These are ingredients that strengthen the protein bonds in egg whites that result in a more stable meringue. soft and doesn't stay up.! 3. Medium Peak Stage is when you are able to form peaks with blunt tips.! 4. Stiff Peak Stage is when the peaks you form stay up and are sharp ended.! 5. Dry Stage is when you have gone past stiff peak stage and the mixture appears to be curdled.! 6. The English meringue is a cold meringue one as the egg whites aren't cooked before being placed in the oven.

List of stabilisers:
1. Lemon Juice! 2. Cream of Tartar 3. Salt 4. Vinegar

Stages of Egg Whites

1. Foamy stage is when small bubbles start to appear.! 2. Soft Peak Stage is when you are able to form a peak that is
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AGAR-AGAR 1. The vegetarian substitute for gelatine. It is an extract of seaweed found in the Indian and Pacific Ocean. It also does not melt as readily as gelatine would.

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AIL 1. French term for garlic

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AL A MINUTE 1. Prepared on order, should not be prepared in advance.

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AL DENTE 1. A term used to describe the texture of an object, usually used for pasta. A literal translation meaning "to the teeth", referring to the firmness of the pasta yet not hard.

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AMUSE BOUCHE (AHM ISS BUSH) 1. Tiny bite-sized morsels served before the hors d'oeuvre or first course of the meal.

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BAIN MARIE 1. Also know as a water bath, using a deep baking pan filled with water.

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BE NOIR

1, French term for Buckwheat Flour.

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BECHAMEL (BESH AH MEL) 1. Basic white sauce made of milk, butter(fat) and flour.

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BEIGNETS 1. Fritters, either sweet or savoury.

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BEURRE MANNE 1. Its equal parts butter and flour mixed together and then wrapped and place into the fridge. Then when needed you simply cut small cubes and add into the sauce or stew you wish to thicken (Be careful not to add to much at once other wise your sauce might become too thick).

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BISQUE (BISK) 1. A thick, rich creamy soup generally made of shellfish.

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BOUQUETTE GARNISH 1. Consists of bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns, thyme and sometimes a wider variety of herbs which are then wrapped in cheese cloth and placed into a stock or sauce to flavour it.

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BRUNOISE 1. Brunoise is a french name for a fine diced cut for vegetables. Refer to page to see an example of this cut.

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CA MARCHE (SA MARSH) 1. A term used during serving to inform the chefs that a order is to follow.

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CARPACCIO 1. Carpaccio can either be meat or fish, which has been thinly sliced and simply dressed with a bit of olive oil or a simple dressing. It is mostly served as an Entree.

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CHEMISE ( SHIM MEEZ) 1. French term meaning "shirt" or "vest" and the term refers culinarily to a food that is wrapped or coated with a pastry or sauce.

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CHURNING 1. Incorporating air into a mixture while freezing.

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CONFIT (KON FEE) 1. Meat (usually goose, duck or pork) that is slowly cooked in its own fat and preserved with the fat packed around it as a seal.

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CONSOMME (CON SOMM MAY) 1. A basic clear soup usually made from a stock.

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CONSOMME ADELE 1. Is a clear soup which includes carrots, peas and chicken farce quenelles.

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COUVERTURE 1. Couverture is chocolate which contains cocoa butter and is always required to be tempered if used for coating items or making garnishes. Couverture is also more expensive and tastes much better than regular chocolate without cocoa butter.

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DALLE 1. A thin slice of scallop.

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DARIOLE (DA REE OLE) 1. A small cylindrical mould which is used to set individual savoury or sweet desserts and can also be used for foods that need to be steamed, baked or poached.

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DARNE (DARN) 1. Is a slice of round fish on the bone, also known as a steak.

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DEMI-GLACE 1. Equal quantities of Espagnole and brown stock that's then reduced by half.

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DOCKING 1. Piercing the dough with a sharp spike (fork) or using a docking device.

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ENTRE 1. An entree is usually severed before the main course or in between two different principle courses.

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FARCI ( FAR SEE) 1. Usually a protein product (meat or fish) that's been placed into a blender and used as a stuffing.

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FOIE GRAS (F WAA GRAA) 1. An hors d'oeuvres of seasoned livers of either geese, duck, chicken or veal, made into a pate. Also refer to force fed duck liver.

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FRIANDISES (FREE AHN DEEZ) 1. Friandises (free ahn deez)

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GARNISH 1. A garnish is simply something extra added onto the plate to enhance the overall appearance. Some Chefs like to use garnishes where as others think it is a waste of produce and add nothing to the plate. Garnishes should be edible.

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INFUSE 1. Allowing an ingredients flavour to be soaked up by another, this is usually done when flavouring sauces, stocks, custards, pickling liquids etc.

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MOUNTING 1. Mounting is when you add butter at the end of a sauce to give it a glossy, smooth finished appearance and feel.

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OXYGENATION 1. This is when cells from certain fruits and vegetables high in iron are damaged by cutting it, which then are exposed to oxygen and react with the iron. This forms iron oxide and in return your fruit or vegetable turns brown. To prevent this from happening place fruit or vegetable in water with a few drops of lemon juice or vinegar. The acid in the juice slows down this chemical reaction.

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RIBBON STAGE 1. Ribbon stage is achieved when you are able to make a figure of 8 with whisked eggs and it remains visible for 2 - 3 seconds on the surface of the mixture.

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ROUX 1. Equal amounts of fat (oil, butter, bacon fat, duck fat etc.) and flour, cooked off in a hot pan to create a paste. Different stages of Roux (Achieved by cooking it for before adding your stock or liquid): Blond Roux! Hazel Roux! Brown Roux

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SOUFFLE 1. A Spongy hot dish made from a sweet or savoury mixture, lightened by stiffly beaten egg whites or whipped cream.

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STABILIZER 1. These are ingredients which strengthen the protein bonds in egg whites which results in a more stable meringue. List of stabilisers: Lemon Juice, Cream of Tartar, Salt, Vinegar.

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TEMPER 1. This is when you gradually bring a cooled liquid up to a similar temperature to that of a liquid that is higher in temperature. You do this by gradually adding small amounts of the hot liquid to the cooler liquid until it's at the same temperature (This is usually done with liquids that include eggs to prevent it form curdling).

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