PUFF PASTRY PIZZA WITH MEATBALLS

Serves 4

1 roll puff pastry, defrosted, kept in fridge

450 g Eskort mini meatballs, defrosted

Pizza sauce

Fresh baby spinach leaves

Sliced mushrooms

Fresh basil leaves

Grated cheese

 

Preheat oven to 200 oC.  On a floured baking sheet, unroll the puff pastry – DON’T ROLL IT OUT WITH ROLLING PIN – just unroll it from the blue plastic.  With a knife, LIGHTLY (NOT THROUGH TO THE BOTTOM) score a border on all the sides – prick the inside part of the pastry, brush with pizza sauce.  Place meatballs on top, then the baby spinach leaves and sliced mushrooms and top with grated cheese.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Top with fresh basil leaves.

Recipe and photo:  Alma Pretorius

 

 

OATS, DATE AND GINGER COOKIES

Makes 9 biggish cookies

 

1 cup dried dates

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup raw oats

1/2 cup self-rising flour

1 large egg

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 teaspoon ginger powder

100 g dried ginger slices, chopped

 

Preheat oven to 170 oC. In small chopper/food processor, chop the dates with the water to a paste. In a mixing bowl, add everything together, form golf-size balls and place on greased baking sheet (with a distance from each other). Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and gently press down on each ball with the bottom of a whisky glass.

Recipe and photo: Alma Pretorius

 

 

Puff pastry pizza with Pilchards

Serves 4

1 roll puff pastry, defrosted, kept in fridge
2 medium onions, chopped
1 cup raw spinach, chopped
1 cup raw green & purple cabbage, shredded
Spices
Grated cheese
1 x 400 g tin Pilchards in tomato sauce, drained, kept whole
Olive oil

Carefully rinse the pilchards (my can had 7) under the tap – keep whole. Preheat oven to 200 oC. Stir-fry the onions with the spinach and cabbage while the oven heats up. On a floured baking sheet, unroll the puff pastry – DON’T ROLL IT OUT WITH ROLLING PIN – just unroll it from the blue plastic. Mine was a bit long, so I placed grated cheddar cheese on the 2 short edges and rolled it over so that it fits on the sheet. Leave a border on the long sides – prick the inside part of the pastry, brush with olive oil. Place the onion-veg mixture on top. Top with the whole Pilchards and then grated cheese. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes.
Recipe and photo: Alma Pretorius

 

 

Oats ‘risotto’ with spinach and cabbage

½ cup quick cooking (Jungle) oats, raw (seriously, any type of oats)

1 cup boiling water

2 tsp beef/veg/chicken stock powder (or other spices)

2 handfuls fresh baby spinach leaves

2 handfuls finely sliced cabbage

 

In small bowl, mix the raw oats, boiling water and stock powder. In pan on stove, stir-fry the spinach and cabbage in bit of oil. Lower the heat of the stove, add in the oats mixture, put lid on and steam ON VERY LOW for a few minutes. (Or you can steam the oat mixture in your microwave for 1-2 minutes on High - add your veggies and steam for another minute.)

Recipe and photo: Alma Pretorius

OATS FLOUR PIZZA CRUST

Makes a 15 cm pizza (double quantities for bigger)

1 cup raw quick cook oats
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup milk
Salt & spices for pizza (oregano / mixed herbs)

Preheat oven to 220 oC. In a processor, blitz the oats till it’s a flour. Add rest of ingredients and mix. On a baking sheet (or wherever you bake your pizza on) drizzle olive oil. Carefully smooth out the mixture to a crust – not too thick, not too thin. Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven, add your pasta sauce and toppings and bake for another 10 minutes.
Recipe and photo: Alma Pretorius

 

 

OATS, CORN AND CHEESE MUFFINS

Makes 6 big muffins

1 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1 cup tinned kernel corn (drained from the liquid)
Salt, pepper
1 tablespoon spices

Preheat oven to 200 oC. Spray 6 muffin pan. Mix all together, spoon into pan and bake for 20 minutes. Lovely snack – perfect for lunchboxes.
Recipe and photo: Alma Pretorius

 

SMASH (INSTANT POTATO FLAKES) GNOCCHI

1 cup SMASH (instant potato flakes) powder

1 cup boiling water

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup milk

1 large egg, beaten

Salt and spices

1 cup All Purpose flour (cake flour)

 

In a bowl, mix the SMASH powder with the boiling water. Let it cool. Mix in all the other ingredients (I used my processor with dough blade) and mix till it forms a ball (or knead for a few minutes).

Divide the dough into 6 – onto a floured surface, roll each piece with your hands out into a long rope – not too thick, not too thin. Cut into 2 cm pieces. Boil pot with water. Drop gnocchi in the water (do it in batches, don’t overcrowd the pot) – and wait for it to pop to the surface! Remove with slotted spoon and cover with your favorite sauce.

Recipe and photo: Alma Pretorius

Smoked Haddock Curry Risotto in the Oven

1 cup raw rice (normal / no brand – NOT BASMATI/JASMINE)

1 onion, chopped, raw

4 cups boiling water

1 packet Nice ‘n Spicy curry spices

4 tbsp butter

Black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1-2 frozen Smoked Haddock fillets, cubed

1 big carrot, sliced

3 hard-boiled eggs

 

Preheat oven to 200 oC. Use an oven dish with a lid.

In the oven dish, add all the ingredients EXCEPT THE HARD-BOILED EGGS. Stir well till butter is melted. Put the lid on.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven, stir well, put the lid on and bake for another 20 minutes.

Serve with halved hard-boiled eggs.

Recipe and photo: Alma Pretorius

 

 

JASMINE RICE BALLS

1 cup raw Jasmine rice
2 cups boiling water
Salt
1 egg beaten
1 tablespoon oil
spices

FOR THE JASMINE RICE:
Preheat oven to 200 oC. Mix the rice, water and salt in oven dish, put lid on and bake for 20 min (or till water has evaporated). Let cool without stirring it.

FOR THE RICE BALLS:
Into the cooked Jasmine rice, mix in the egg, oil and spices. It’s really messy, but try and form balls with your hands – place on a plate and refrigerate. Heat your stew or soup, place the balls carefully on top – put lid on and steam for a few minutes.
Recipe and photo: Alma Pretorius

 

GOAT CHEESE AND APRICOT COOKIES

Makes 24, depending on size

6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 cup self-rising flour
1/4 cup white sugar
100 g soft-dried Turkish apricots, cut smaller
63 g goat cheese, ‘squished’ with a fork
1 tablespoon apricot jam
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 170 oC. Mix everything well together (makes sure goat cheese isn’t big chunks), form walnut-size balls and place on greased baking sheet (not too close to each other). Bake for 10 minutes.
Recipe and photo: Alma Pretorius

 

 

APRICOT, CITRUS PEEL & HABANERO COOKIES

Makes 10 big cookies, depending on size

 

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon Bandito’s Habanero sauce

1 large egg

1 cup self-rising flour

1/2 cup white sugar

Pinch salt

100 g dried soft Turkish apricots, cut smaller

50 g dried mixed citrus peel (the chopped ones)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

 

Preheat oven to 180 oC.  Spray baking sheet.  Mix everything together, form balls with your hands and place on sheet – not too close, they do spread.  Bake for 10 minutes.  (If size of balls big and they are puffy out of oven, gently press down on each cookie with a flat-bottom glass.  Let cool on sheet.

Recipe and photo:  Alma Pretorius

 

PANCAKE STACK WITH CABBAGE, ONION AND HADDOCK

Loose bottom cake pan

4 (thick) pancakes (if pancakes too thin, they'll break)

2 cups cabbage, finely chopped

2 smoked haddock fillets, defrosted, flaked

1 onion, finely chopped

Packet mushroom soup powder

Spices

Garlic & chillies

1 cup milk

½ cup boiling water

Grated cheese

Fresh sliced mushrooms

Butter and oil

 

In butter and oil, fry the onion with garlic, spices, chillies and cabbage till soft. Add the haddock and let it heat through. Make a sauce with the mushroom soup powder, milk and water till it’s thick – add the sliced mushrooms. (Or use any other sauce.)

Preheat oven to 180 oC. Spray your loose bottom cake pan. Start with a pancake. Spread on onion-cabbage-haddock mixture, some sauce, grated cheese. Repeat layers. End with a pancake, sauce on top and sprinkled with cheese. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Remove the rim of cake pan and slice. Serve with crisp salad.

Recipe and photo: Alma Pretorius