seared norwegian salmon with greens

For a quick and easy, no fuss dinner or lunch, here's my version of seared salmon. Love this because salmon is a great source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids (great for people with high Cholesterol) and its quick and easy... perfect for a quick dinner or light lunch. I usually serve with steamed vegetables or a crisp green salad with a dill dressing (you can make extra to pour over the fish) and maybe a nice cold glass of Sauvignon Blanc ;-). Baby potatoes mixed with fresh rosemary and olive oil (with a touch of sea salt) would also be a great accompaniment.

seared norwegian salmon with greens 
Recipe type: Seared, cooked, fish

Cook time:  10 mins + 30 mins marinade time

Serves: 2  (350-400g salmon)

Ingredients: 
350-400g salmon (fresh, deboned and skinned)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
1/2 lemon freshly squeezed
1/2 tsp fresh chili (optional)

greens
A salad - mixed green salad leaves with finely sliced red onion. (your options are endless - I prefer simplicity)
or
Steamed Vegetables 


Instructions:
Mix together the soy, honey, lemon juice and chili and pour over the salmon. Leave to rest in fridge for 30minutes.

Place a frying pan or wok on medium-high heat, allowing it to warm up for at least 1 minute before adding the oil (this will help prevent the fish from sticking). Drizzle the pan with a little olive oil. Fry salmon for at least 2 minutes before turning. If you turn the fish too soon, it will stick. Instead, allow it to "sear", and it will come freely away from the bottom of the pan.
Turn and fry the fish for 3-5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Salmon is done when the inner flesh is no longer transparent. Although i personally prefer a line of transparency in the middle. Remember it will still cook slightly after removing from the pan and plating your meal.

 Serve.

baked caramel cheesecake

So I bumped into an ex-colleague of mine the other day, started chatting, and realised that we both loved to cook. She proceeded to show me pictures of her marvellous creations of what she had recently baked. Wow, she's good! Needless to say, I asked her for a few recipes and this was one of them.
So it was National Braai Day yesterday, and my list of "things to bring" to a little braai was dessert, and of course cheesecake being one of my TOP 5 cakes, there was no question of what I would bake.
After reading the ingredients I was expecting a sickly sweet, rich  "cut me a very thin slice" kinda cheesecake, but I was remarkably surprised. This turned out to be a lovely and light cheesecake with a hint of caramel flavour. Thank you Jeane-Marie for sharing this recipe with me.

Baked Caramel Cheesecake

Recipe type: Cake, Baked goods

Cook time:  ± 70 minutes

Serves: 8 (1x 22cm Cake)

Ingredients:

crust

200gr packet of Nuttikrust biscuits, finely crushed

50gr melted butter

5ml ground cinnamon

filling

125ml sour cream

500gr cream cheese

1 tin caramel condensed milk / Caramel Treat

3 extra large eggs

30ml custard powder

30ml brandy

Instructions

Crust:

Combine all the ingredients and press onto the base of a greased, loose-bottomed cake tin.

  

Filling:

·         Beat the sour cream, cream cheese and caramel condensed milk together.

·         Add the eggs one at a time, beating well until smooth and there are no lumps.

·         Blend together the custard powder and brandy, and beat into the cheese mixture.

 

     Pour the filling onto the biscuit crust and bake at 160 for 45 minutes.

·         Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another 20 – 30 minutes or until set.

·         If it doesn’t seem to set at this point, don’t worry – it will set as it cools. Let the cake cool in the tin, it “cracks”  slightly if it’s still hot.

·         Store in the fridge.

chocolate hazelnut cake with frangelico cream

So I found this recipe in a magazine a few years back and decided to give it a try... OH MY WORD!
I have now made it several times, each time experimenting with different "creams". The last time I baked this cake I used Patrón XO Cafe which gave it a rich coffee flavour. But you can use any liqueur or even plain cream should you wish. Enjoy!

Chocolate Hazelnut cake with Frangelico cream

Recipe type: Cake, Baked goods

Cook time:  45 mins

Serves: 8 (1x 22cm Cake)

Ingredients: 
200g plain chocolate, chopped
175g unsalted butter
175g castor sugar
175g ground hazelnuts
5 eggs, separated
40g cocoa powder
3 tbsp boiling water

200g dark chocolate
100ml double cream

for the Frangelico cream:
100ml whipping cream
1 tbsp icing sugar
2 tbsp Frangelico liqueur

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Grease a 22cm spring-form cake tin.
Place the chocolate and butter in a heavy based pan and heat gently, stirring until melted. (Cool for 5 minutes). NOTE: Sometimes the butter splits from the chocolate and it looks like one big chocolate mess. Don't worry. It will come together in the next step. :-)

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and beat in the sugar, hazelnuts, egg yolks, cocoa powder and water until smooth. 
Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until soft peaks form and then fold into the cake mixture.
Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake for ± 35 minutes or until just firm. Take out of the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 30 minutes. Then remove from tin and cool completely.

Make the ganache.
Melt the chocolate and cream in a small heavy-based pan. leave to cool for 30 minutes or until a thick pouring consistency. Pour over the cake and chill until set.

Make the Frangelico cream.
Whip the cream, icing sugar and Frangelico together until thickened slightly. Serve with the cake.

Tips / Notes:
You could substitute the hazelnuts for almonds and then use Amaretto Liqueur instead. Or even add some Orange zest into the cake and make a Orange Liqueur cream... 

a lazy saturday breakfast

poached egg, salmon on a potato rösti with a tomato and basil salsa. delish!!

the ultimate lemon tart

One of my absolute favourites. Lemon in food - LOVE! So when i came across this recipe, I knew I had to try.

I was expecting the "ultimate" as the name suggested; a light pastry with the tartness and sweetness of the lemon filling (this reminded me of my childhood and my Mom's Lemon Meringue Pie) and that's just what I got! I loved this recipe and will most certainly bake it again. I served it as a desert after a dinner party, accompanied with a vanilla cream, but it would be great for an afternoon tea. I hope you enjoy.

The ultimate Lemon Tart (Recipe adjusted from the simply-delicious food blog)

Recipe type: Tart, Pastry, Baked goods,

Prep time:  30 mins

Cook time:  50 mins

Total time:  1 hour 20 mins

Serves: 1x 28cm tart

Ingredients

for the sweet shortcrust pastry

• 125g cold butter, cubed
• 200g flour
• 50g icing sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 egg yolk
• 2T ice water

for the filling

• 250ml cream
• 125g sugar
• 4 Jumbo, free range eggs
• 125ml lemon juice
• zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

1. To make the pastry, combine the butter, icing sugar, flour and lemon zest in the bowl of a food processor.
2. Pulse until the mixture resembles rough bread crumbs.
3. Add the egg yolk and with the blender running, pour in the water, spoon by spoon until the mixture comes together in a ball.
4. Turn the mixture out onto a floured surface and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 15 minutes.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 180°c. Roll the chilled pastry out on a floured surface and press into the 28cm tart case.
6. Blind bake the pastry for 10 minutes then remove the baking paper and baking beans and return the pastry back to the oven for another 10 minutes to finish baking.
7. Remove and set aside while you make the filling. Turn the oven down to 100°c.
8. For the filling, heat the cream and sugar in a saucepan until small bubbles appear around the edge of the pan, do not allow to boil.
9. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs.
10. When the cream is hot, slowly pour into the eggs, whilst continuously whisking.
11. Pour in the lemon juice and lemon zest and mix well.
12. Strain the mixture into a jug and carefully pour into the baked tart cases.
13. Bake the tart for 50 minutes until the edges are set and the centre is still slightly jiggly.
14. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before placing in the fridge to cool completely.
15. When you are ready to serve, slice the tart and serve with a dusting of icing sugar.

Notes: 

The pastry. This was an awesome recipe. The lemon zest gave it life. It was light and crispy - perfect for the lemon filling.

The Finished product !