Beer Potjie

I got my butcher to cut me “potjie meat”, I asked for not to many bones, more meat than anything else. I used half lamb, and half beef.
1 bottle of beer (I used castle)
oil / butter
Chopped garlic
Chopped onions
new potatoes
pickle onions
baby carrots
mushrooms
baby marrows (cut into the same size as the rest of the veg)
patty pans (cut into the same size as the rest of the veg)
mixed herbs
salt pepper
paprika
beef stroganoff mix
cornflour
water

I put my potjie on my gas stove as I don’t have braaing facilities for that large a pot at the restaurant.
After cleaning my potjie pot (I will blog about this later), I fried the onions in the oil and butter, added the garlic. Sprinkle mixed herbs and salt & pepper
Add meat, once meat has browned, add the bottle of beer. Use the water to cover the rest of the meat (if the beer does not cover it all)
Close lid…leave to cook…depending on the amount of meat, but a good potjie should take you about 4 – 6 hours to make. Keep your heat very low! Do no lift the lid of the potjie.
After about 4 hours add the onions
Every 20 – 30 minutes add a new vegetable, starting with what takes the longest to cook…
potoes first,
then carrots,
then patty pants and baby marrows
lastly the mushrooms
I layer it, for every new layer of veg I put on, I add more mixed herbs.
Do not stir your potjie at all!!
Once you are happy the meat is soft, and the veg is ready, mix your cornflour, paprika and beef stroganoff mix with cold water. Add to boiling potjie…do not mix right away, use a spoon to kind of just shift the meat and veg side to side gentle so the sauce can thicken.
Just before you serve, you can mix. Your potjie pot stay hot for a while, so remember if it is standing for a while, it will cook further, so serve right away!

I did the same with the chicken potjie, I just used chicken breasts and drumsticks instead of the beef and lamb.

Karoo Evening Menu

Karoo Evening
26 February 2010

The Karoo is a place to rest, relax and unwind. It is a place where you can explore, drink in the fresh air, and treat yourself to quality time & delectable tastes of country fair.

Starter
Kudu carpaccio served with pickles and rocket salad, topped
with parmesan shavings and prepared ostrich liver pate served with freshly baked roosterkoek from out kitchen grill

Main
Garlic, grape & almond soup to wet your appetite

Choice between

3 Stack Karoo Lamb Chops, done to perfection with Chef’s basting, drizzled lightly with Kannaland herb sauce, served with garlic & parsley mash, and grilled vegetables in season

Or

Springbok shank braised with port & rosemary sauce, served on a bed of garlic & parsley mash, and grilled vegetables in season

Dessert

Choice between

Whole pear poached in Muscadel, stuffed with pistachio mascarpone, served with prickly pear syrup and ice cream

Or

Hot mud pudding – rich, moist chocolate pudding steam-baked to perfection, covered with a gooey chocolate sauce and white chocolate shavings, served with milk stout ice cream

Complimentary Carlitzdorp Ruby Port on arrival
R130.00 per person

Koeksisters with a twist

Koeksisters

For the syrup:
1kg sugar
500ml (2 cups) water
2 pieces fresh green ginger (each 5cm), peeled and crushed
2ml (½ teaspoon) cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
Grated rind and juice of ½ lemon

For the dough:
500g flour
2ml (½ teaspoon) salt
30ml (2 tablespoons) baking powder
55g butter, grated
1 egg
250-375ml (1-1½ cups) milk
Instructions on how to make it

To make the syrup, put all the ingredients in a saucepan. Heat (stirring) until the sugar has completely dissolved. Cover the mixture and boil for 1 minute. Remove the saucepan lid and boil the syrup for a further 5 minutes, but do not stir it. Remove the syrup from the stove and allow it to cool overnight.

To make the dough, sieve together the dry ingredients and rub in the grated butter with your fingertips, or cut it in with a pastry cutter. Beat the egg, add 250ml (1 cup) of the milk and mix lightly with the dry ingredients to a soft dough. Add more milk if the dough is too stiff. Knead well until small bubbles form under the surface of the dough. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to stand for 30 minutes –1 hour.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1 cm, then form koeksisters. Cut strips 1 cm wide and twist 2 strips together, or plait 3 strips together, cutting the twisted, or plaited lengths at 8cm intervals and pinching the ends together.

Heat 7-8cm deep oil to 180-190°C – a cube of bread should turn golden-brown in a minute. Fry the koeksisters for 1-2 minutes, or until golden-brown, then turn them over with a fork and fry until golden-brown on the other side.

Remove the koeksisters with a lifter or slotted spoon, drain them for a moment on paper towel and then plunge them into the cold syrup for 1-2 minutes. Stand the container of syrup in a bowel of ice so that the syrup will stay cold. Remove the koeksisters from the syrup with a lifter or slotted spoon, allowing the excess syrup to flow back into the basin, then drain them slightly on a wire rack.

White Chocolate & Blueberry Cheesecake

White Chocolate Cheesecake

200g tennis biscuits, crumbed
125g butter, melted
500g white chocolate
250ml cream
250g cream cheese
250g mascarpone cheese
1 lemon, the rind and juice
1 can blue berries

Crust

Mix together the crumbed biscuits and melted butter. Press the biscuits melted butter mixture into the base of a 28cm spring form tin. Place in the freezer for 7 minutes to allow chilling.

Drain the can of blueberries, and using a spoon, mush the blueberries in a sieve to remove all moisture. Set the liquid aside. Using the back of a dessert spoon, spread a thin layer of blueberries over the chilled crust. Place back into the freezer for a further 5 minutes.

Filling

Place the chocolate and cream in a bowl and then melt the chocolate by placing the bowl on top of boiling water (do not allow the mixture to come to the boil).

Once the chocolate has melted, allow the mixture to cool slightly and then whisk in the cream cheese, mascarpone and lemon, until smooth and well blended.

Pour the mixture over the crust and place back in the fridge to set overnight.

Let your imagination go wild to decorate. I used the liquid from the blueberries to make a syrup, and just played around with my creative side. Use some white chocolate for shavings…or even if you up to it, make roses…go wild! I keep it simple at the restaurant, here people tend to go for quantity and not quality!

Enjoy it!

African Shebeen Evening

Shebeen Evening
29 January 2010

Starter
South African Starter Mezz
Wors & fig kebabs, peri peri chicken livers chakalaka style and home made fries served with dipping sauces

Main
South African Beer Potjie
Lamb, Chicken & beef, with a selection of vegetables in season, infused in a traditional beer & fresh herb sauce

Sides

Joloff Rice Puthu Pap
Scheebu Samp & Beans
Home made pot bread served with apricot jam
Biltong salad

Dessert
South African Dessert Mezz
Koeksisters, hertzhoggies, milk tartlets, brandy snaps all served with fresh cream and ice cream

R115.00 per person

• Dress for the occasion
• Prepare to eat with your fingers
• Tin plates & newspaper provided
• Beer Quarts on sale
• Mampoer!!!

Sweet & Sour Sauce

Sweet & Sour Sauce

½ cup water

7 heaped spoons of apricot jam

White vinegar to taste

Thumb size ginger (finely chopped)

Handful of grated carrots

Place water and jam into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, all the jam should be dissolved. Add vinegar to taste, remove from heat and add ginger and carrots. Let stand over night.

Enjoy!

Stir Fried Beef in Oyster Sauce

Stir Fried Beef in Oyster Sauce

rump steak, sliced into long strips
30ml ml soy sauce
1 tbsp cornflour
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped ginger
225g misxed mushrooms
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1tsp granulated sugar
4 spring onions cut into short lengths
2 red chillies

Mix soy sauce & cornflour together with beef strips, leave to marinate for about 2 hours
Heat wok, add in garlic & ginger and fry until fragrant
Stir in beef, make sure beef is not sticking together, stir fry until browned and remove from heat and set aside
add remaining oil to wok, and stir fry the mushrooms, cook until tender
Return beef to wok, add oyster sauce, sugar and freshly ground black pepper, mix well, add spring onions and serve

Cashew Chicken

Cashew Chicken

450g boneless chicken breasts, cute into strips
2 tbsp peanut oil
2 cloves garlic
thumb size fresh ginger
2 fresh red chillies
1 red pepper, cut lengthwise
1 yellow pepper, cut lengthwise
1 fresh pineapple
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
pinch of granulated sugar
bunch of spring onions
200g cashew nuts
coriander to garnish

Heat oil in wok, add garlic and chillies and ginger until fragrant
add chicken, and stir fry until browned
Add soy sauce & oyster sauce and sugar
add peppers, pineapple, pineapple and nuts, stir fry

Thai Green Curry

Thai Green Curry

Large bunch of asparagus
½ fresh red chilli
1 tbsp groundnut oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 skinless chicken breasts / 400g king prawns (devained)
400ml coconut milk
handful of mangetouts
1 lime

For the paste:

2 stalks lemongrass
4 spring onions
3 fresh green chillies
4 cloves of garlic
thumb size fresh ginger
large bunch of fresh coriander
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp ground cumin
8 kaffir lime leaves
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1tbsp peanut oil

Curry paste Method:

Trim lemongrass stalks, discard outer leaves, and crush the stalks
Trim the spring onions
Halve and deseed chillies
Roughly chop ginger and garlic
Place ¾ of fresh coriander, lemon grass, spring onions, chillies, garlic, ginger, coriander seeds, cumin, lime leaves in a food processor until finely chopped.
While whizzing, pour oil, soy sauce & fish sauce until a smooth paste.

For the curry:

Discard woody ends of asparagus and finely chop the stalks lengthways
Fine chop red chillies
Get your wok to a very high heat
Add groundnut oil and sesame oil, swirl around
Carefully add meat of choice
Add asparagus and curry paste, stir fry for 30 seconds
Pour in coconut milk and add mangetouts

Banana Bread

Banana Bread

Ingredients

4 tbsp butter, softened
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas (mashed)
1 cup plain yogurt
2/3 cup sugar
Few drops vanilla essence
1 1/2 cup cake flour
1/2 cup nutty wheat flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.

Mix butter, eggs, bananas, yogurt, sugar and vanilla essence in one bowl

Sift flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon together.

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until the ingredients are blended together.

Pour the dough into greased baking pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean