Suppers in South Africa(8)

Tonight we had an Ox-tail stew. Started it yesterday to make the meat really soft and juicy.
It's a very rich stew... I bought 4½ kg of ox-tail yesterday, because the the time and effort needed is about the same as when making a smaller quantity.



By request... Here's the recipe for the "Hot Buffalo Chicken Wings":

Cut the wing-tips off
Split the rest of the wing in two pieces.
Prepare freshly ground black pepper and chili flakes.

Heat oil and butter in a cast iron pot. It should get really hot.
Fry the chicken wings for 3-5 minutes, in separate batches if it is a lot of wings!

When they are crispy and golden, put them on a baking tray.

Preheat the oven/grill at maximum heat.

Prepare a tomato sauce with some tabasco or other hot sauce.

Sprinkle/cover over the wings.

Let them grill/bake for 10-12 minutes.

Let your mouth and fingers enjoy them!

Third World Country

Sometimes you really feel it... This country is part of the 3rd world. Last night when I had planned a nice Indian supper, with the whole tutti: poppadoms, a nice lamb curry and creamed Dal, we suddenly had a power outage that lasted for 3+ hours. We fetched some take-away, and the Indian food, half-way cooked, landed up in the fridge.
Today, when I took the food out to finish it, we were out of water!!! I have no idea how long that will last, but we at least had some water in the fridge, so the curry and rice is now on the stove.
We will see what happens...

Suppers in South Africa(7)

Last night we had some guests and I had plans for some typical Swedish food... So, what must it be? I brought some nice stuff from Sweden last week, so it was not difficult!
We started with "sill-macka", after that another sandwich with "Gravad Lax" or "Gravid Lax" as I saw it on a menu board in Cap Town! And then the warm food: and what is more typical than Jansson's Frestelse? With anchovies from Sweden.
All three dishes were a great success... Nothing left! I Just wish that I had bought more anchovies in Sweden. No pictures taken because I was busy preparing and serving the food.

Suppers in South Africa(6)

Last night we had one of my favorites: Hot Buffalo Chicken Wings. It's easy to make and has a lot of flavors. We enjoyed it with a green salad, but in the traditional American way it is served with celery sticks and a blue cheese mayo/yogurt sauce...





Lots of nice bones for the dogs!

Suppers in South Africa(5)

Tonight we had a classic dish. Beef Stroganoff made from Porterhouse Steaks. The sauce with sour cream is really fantastic! Served with rice and a salad. No picture tonight even though the color of the dish was very nice.

Suppers in South Africa(4)

Tonight we had a Braai... A very basic one but very nice.



We have a nice gas-braai that we bought two years ago, and we have used it VERY much! The advantage of a gas-braai is that you don't have a problem with smoke and soot. Many people argue that it is not the same quality, but I think that if it's used right, it gives fantastic results. You can control the temperature very easily, and you don't have the fatty smoke in your hair and clothes!



Some nice lamb chops on the grill...



The starch is "pap" which is made from coarse corn flour. The sauce is "sheba" which is a tomato sauce with some onion and spices. The veggies is Hubbard Pumpkin.



Everything set for a nice supper!

Suppers in South Africa(3)

Tonight we had home-baked pizza. Very rich with a lot of toppings, like mozzarella, bacon, anchovies and oregano from our herb garden. The picture shows 1 of 4 pizzas! The left-overs will be nice for a Saturday brunch...

Suppers in South Africa (2)

6 August

Lemon Chicken with cous-cous

This is one of my favorite dishes. It is a chicken dish that is adapted from a similar dish that I had as a lunch at the Westin Hotel in Boston, USA many years ago.

I use chicken thighs in stead of chicken breast fillets because the thighs are more juicy and have more flavor. Of course, this dish is especially nice if you can harvest the lemons from your own garden as I do!

2-3 chicken thighs per person is usually enough.
2-3 fresh lemons
Cous-Cous
Chicken Spice (Portuguese chicken spice or other)
Cooking oil and butter
Cinnamon
Maizena

I always give the chicken thighs a "bath" first... Who knows what hands have touched them??? Let them drip off, then sear them, skin down first, in a moderately hot pan in a mix of oil and butter. (I use a Russel/Hobb electrical pan). Sprinkle the spices on both side, then put a slice of lemon on each thigh. Turn down the heat from 10/12 to 6/12 and put a lid on the pan. Let it cook on this medium heat for 20-30 minutes.
In the meantime squash 1-2 lemons. Take away the pips. Then mix in about a tablespoon of Maizena.
Prepare the Cous-Cous using the package instructions. I always use an extra nob of butter and add cinnamon.
When the chicken thighs are cooked, put them in a separate preheated bowl. Add the lemon/Maizena mix in the pan to make a nice sauce, add some freshly ground black pepper.

Serve with some steamed vegetables... I love broccoli...

Suppers in South Africa

More than 10 years ago, before visiting South Africa for the first time, I learned from a guy who had been in SA for quite some time "You cannot eat as nice food anywhere in the world as you do in South Africa". With 10+ years of experience, I have to agree!!!
The food prices have gone up during these 10 years, but when I am back in Europe I see that the rate of price increase is about the same as here.

With this blog post I will start a series of post about the suppers we are having, starting with yesterday's menu. The recipes are not 100% accurate, because most of my cooking is done without any recipe. Sometimes there will also be some pictures...

Supper 5 August

Cannelloni with Cabbage Salad

I make the cannelloni with a mince sauce and top it up with a bechamel sauce and grated cheese.
Since we have a herb garden with fresh oregano, it is a natural ingredient in the mince sauce.
I made the mince sauce the day before, and when it has been in the fridge over night it is much firmer and the pasta tubes can easily be filled with a stomping technique.
For 2 packages of Cannelloni tubes I use about - -
1½ kg of lean mince
3 chopped onions
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 cans of tomatoes
3 beef stock cubes
Salt, pepper, chili flakes to tast

To make the mince sauce really nice the minced beef and the onions have to be fried separately.

When everything is in the big pot, let it simmer on low temperature for 90-120 minutes.

The bechamel sauce needed it made from about 1 ltr of milk.

Enjoy!

Back in South Africa

I'm finally back in South Africa after 5 weeks in Sweden.The first week was really warm and nice, but the remaining 4 weeks was almost continuous rain. Absolutely terrible weather!