Recipes

Apple pie is the beginning of all fruit-based pies. American songs and movies are full of it. So here, in partial salute to apple pie, we have an apple tart, a tart being a pie without a lid. The pastry is a cinch and the caramelised sugar a new skill just waiting to be mastered.

They say travel broadens the mind. My travels tend to broaden my waistline, which is how I discovered my first tabouleh in Hong Kong (quite a distance from Lebanon!). There are many tabouleh recipes, but none have tasted as good as that first dish...until I got this recipe.

The magic word here is ‘crustless’ – it promises the beginner cook the capacity to make a killer quiche that will knock the socks off their guests. Quick, tasty and good for you, this dish is a meal on its own for some, and a stunning side dish for my fellow carnivores.

For some people, this writer among them, a meal without chilli or a chilled litre of Tobasco is a tedious and cheerless thing. So here’s another salute to chilli and Africa’s meat of choice, in glorious combination with coconut and crisp papadums.

For first-timers, this over-the-top ultra-spicy Sichuan-influenced meal can be a challenge. Most of the strong flavours are unfamiliar, the colour of the sauce is a deep magenta, and one of the key ingredients – tofu – is not part of the South African diet. But man, the taste! The aroma! The astonishing look of it all on the plate! But enough with the foodie raving. Let’s get that wok smoking.

Some call this dessert millefeuille but I never cook anything I can’t pronounce. But custard slices? There’s a joyous childhood memory! Try this classic version, culled from some good friends’ personal cookbooks.

Cilantro, coriander, dhania: only the name is different. Here is a fragrant soup loaded with flavour, that’s easy to prepare and even easier to drink. Make this colourful dish an integral part of your next dinner party.

It’s seems that Baron Stroganoff, inventor of this recipe, was a real person and not some fairy tale Russian chef. But something tells me that this version is even better than anything the late baron ever cooked in his castle’s kitchen.

Every so often my adult children demand gnocchi for dinner. “Not again!” I say, and then I actually make the stuff and wonder why I ever object. The taste, the texture, the look of the little devils: it’s impossible not to love gnocchi. As a vehicle for strong flavours, gnocchi can’t be beaten.

With a power failure without end at my sister-in-law’s Drakensberg timeshare, we had to take a meal with us from Durban that could be easily reheated over a camping stove. The answer, which was a long time coming, was fish head soup. And the result was truly a moveable feast.

I was sitting around with my food focus group wondering what to do next. I decided I want something familiar, yet unfamiliar, a meal that’s easy to cook, made with easy-to-get ingredients that pushes the envelope a bit. And here it is: Hungarian goulash.

This chunky, flavoursome curry will seriously dent the prejudices of those who believe a meal without meat is not a meal at all, and will be a marvellous addition to your repertoire.

This enticing combination of tastes and textures comes from North Africa. The mix of honey, saffron and nuts is common in cooking from Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, and will ensure that this splendid meal becomes a regular item on your family menu.

Tasty fragments of mixed foods cooked on a stick? This Greek influenced classic probably harks back to the earliest days of cooking over a fire. What could make more sense than threading food on a twig and holding it over the flames? While traditionally, souvlakia were made with lamb or kid, this chicken version gives the national bird of Africa yet another chance to shine.

There’s an understandable tradition to limit casseroles to cheaper cuts of meat. After all, that’s what slow cooking does best. But sometimes a casserole demands something more exciting than shin. My butcher provides something called ‘bucket meat’ which in his case refers to offcuts of beef fillet. And that’s what is used in this tender recipe.

What better way to fight wintery weather? Here’s a hot fisherman’s pie, easy to make and even easier to eat. And, all three types of seafood were caught in the freezer of my local supermarket.

Here’s another venture in skottel or wok cooking. A stir-fry is always a welcome addition to the family menu. All you need is high heat and an ability to estimate time by the second.

This began with an idea. “How nice it would be,” I told the family, “to enjoy some delicious lamb sweetbreads.” Once I had told the youngsters what sweetbreads were, the enthusiasm waned a little. But mine remained at a high simmer. My butcher shook his head. No sweatbreads in his shop. Perhaps a kilogram or two of beef lips on special? A plateful of smiles. Perhaps not. My wife who is not a Boer, made a plan anyway. And this is what we cooked.

Slow cooking produces a very different set of tastes and textures. This outstanding pork recipe brings a valuable new skill into the repertoire of the beginner cook with a meal awash with fragrance and tenderness.

Soft-centred with a crisp edge, these lemon zest accented biscuits don’t hang around long enough to get stale. Not only quick to bake, they also add their own special magic to the morning coffee break.