Recipe by Vickie de Beer assisted by Julia Maarseven. Photograph Lindy Kriek

Click here for the recipe in Afrikaans

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Enough for 8 servings

Use real Arborio or risotto rice when making risotto.

• 2.5 l (10 c) chicken stock (make your own: click here for the recipe)
• 60 ml (¼ c) butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 400 g (1 pack) arborio rice
• 125 ml (½ c) dry white wine
• 80 ml (1/3 c) cold butter, cut into cubes
• 125 ml (½ c) finely grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and ground black pepper
• Hand full of parsley, chopped
• Parmesan rolls for serving

1 Heat the stock in a saucepan over low heat so that it can simmer slowly.

2 Melt the butter in a large pan over low heat and simmer the onion for 5 min. until soft, but not brown.

3 Increase the temperature slightly, add the rice and fry until it is warmed up and each grain is covered with butter. Stir with a wooden spoon.

4 Add the wine and stir until it has been evaporated.

5 Add a cup of the hot stock, just enough to cover the rice. Stir so that the rice does not stick to the bottom of  the pan. Allow the extract to be cooked completely  before adding the next cup. The whole process should not exceed 18 minutes. The rice must be creamy, soft on the outside but still firm on the inside.

6 Take off the heat and allow the risotto top rest for 1 min. rest. Stir in  the cold butter quickly and then the parmesan. Flavour to taste.

7 Sprinkle parsley and serve with parma sauce rolls. Serve immediately.

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Makes 1 loaf of bread

Ingredients

• 705 ml (2¾ c + 1 tbsp. + 2 t) basic white bread mixture  (gluten free)
• 10 ml (2 t) salt
• 10 ml (2 t) castor sugar
• 10 ml (2 t) Xanthum gum powder
• 20 g (2 packets) dry yeast
• 350 ml (11/3 c + 1 tbsp. + 1 t) lukewarm water
• 30 ml (2 tbsp.) olive oil

1 Preheat the oven to 200 ° C. Spray an 18 cm x 10 cm bread pan with non stick food spray and sprinkle rice flour over. Shake off the excess flour.

2 Sift the flour, salt, sugar and Xanthum gum powder into a mixing bowl. Stir the yeast through.

3 Mix the water and oil. Add to the flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon into a soft dough forms. Spoon into the pan and slightly smoothen the top.

4 Bake for 45 min to 60 min until golden brown. If the sides are not brown: Remove the bread from the pan, place it on the oven rack and bake for 10 more minutes.

5 Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting it.

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Ingredients:

• 500 g cake flour
• 5 large eggs
• 10 ml olive oil
• 7 ml salt

You can mix the pasta by hand

1 Place the flour on a clean work surface and make a “dam” in the middle. Break the eggs in the dam and add the oil and salt.

2 Mix the flour and eggs a little bit with your fingers. Work from the sides until the eggs are mixed with the flour and a dough forms. Knead until smooth and elastic and shape into a bun.

3 Cover with cling wrap and leave for 30 minutes in the fridge before rolling out the dough.

You can also mix the pasta dough in a food processor

1 Add all the ingredients in and mix for 30 sec until it forms a dough.

2 Turn out on a clean work surface and knead until it is smooth and elastic.

3 Shape in a bun, wrap in cling wrap and leave for 30 minutes in the fridge before rolling out the dough.

Roll it out

1 Divide the dough into 4 smaller balls. Cover the work surface and pasta machine with flour or corn flour.

2 Set the machine on the lowest setting (No. 1) of the rollers. Flatten the dough ball by pressing it with your hands and make sure the rollers catches the dough at one side. Roll through the roller and catch it on the other side with your hands.

3 Fold the dough’s two sides to the middle and repeat the rolling process three times. It gives you an even, broad strip to work with.

4 Set the roller to the second setting and roll the strip through again. Sprinkle the dough with flour so that it does not stick. Repeat until you reach the sixth setting on the machine.

5 Hang the dough over a clean clothing dry rack until slightly wind-dry before cutting it.

Fill the pasta

It’s easy to make ravioli with fresh pasta, you just have to work fast. Choose fillings that are not too runny as it will boil out of the pasta pocket. Get the stuffing and a whipped egg ready before you start rolling.

1 Sprinkle flour over the work surface. Place the long strip of pasta on the surface.

2 Place spoons full of filling in the middle of the strip of pasta, leaving 4-5 cm between each heap. Spread the remaining parts of pasta with the egg.

3 Roll out a second strip of pasta and cover the bottom strip with it.

4 Start at one point and squeeze the pasta together at the spaces between the heaps of filling. Work out any air bubbles with your fingers.

5 Cut out the ravioli pieces by placing a large enough cookie cutter over each heap of filling. Squeeze the sides tightly with your fingers to seal well.

Play with colour

Colour the pasta with natural food dyes:

• Green: boil 300 g spinach (cut off white stems) quickly in bubbling boiling water. Drain and dip in ice-cold water. Press out all the water from the spinach and press dry with towel paper. Chop until it forms a puree. Leave out 2 of the eggs from the basic recipe and add the spinach puree. Add more flour if it is too soft and sticky.
• Purple: Cook 1 medium beetroot until soft. Process it until it forms a puree. Leave 2 eggs from the basic recipe and add the beetroot puree. Add more flour if it is too soft and sticky.

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• 450 g butter, in cubes, at room temperature
• 210 g castor sugar
• 1 x 385 g can of condensed milk
• 700 g of flour
• 20 ml (4 t) baking powder
• 2.5 ml (½ t) salt

1 Preheat the oven to 160 ° C and spray 3 large baking sheets with non stick food spray.

2 Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Add the condensed milk and beat until smooth.

3 Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt and pour into the butter mixture.

4 Mix well into a dough form.

5 Divide into 3 parts and cover in cling wrap. Leave for 20 minutes. Or until firm in the fridge.

6 Work with 500 g dough at a time and freeze the rest. Leave overnight in the fridge when needed.

7 Roll the dough 5 mm thick on a clean, flour-sprinkled working surface.

8 Use cookie cutter shapes of your choice and put it on the baking sheet.

9 Bake for 10-15 min. Or until light brown.

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Remember the recipe like this:

4-3-2-1: 4c water, 3c flour, 2 eggs and 1t salt and 1t baking powder.

• 4 c (1 l) lukewarm water
• 3 c (375 g) flour, sifted
• 2 eggs
• 1 t (5 ml) salt
• 1 t (5 ml) baking powder
• 125 ml (½ c) oil for the baking

1 Beat the water and eggs with an electric- or hand mixer until light and foamy. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder and add to the egg mixture. Whisk until foamy.

2 Leave the mixture for 30 min. Cover with a teacloth.

3 Grease at least two heated pans with oil. Pour about a ½c dough into each pan and turn the pan to spread the dough over the surface. Rotate the pancake if there are air bubbles on the surface. Bake on the other side to golden brown.

4 Remove the pancake from the pan, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and enjoy it.

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Basic cream soup

The base of cream soup is basically the same as those of puree soups, but usually it is richer and smoother. Most cream soups are compared with a roux (even measurements of butter and flour, thickened. It is important to make sure the flour in the roux is cooked). Delicate ingredients such as asparagus and mushrooms will cook in the stock. Remember to be careful if you want to add salt after you used some concentrated stock cubes. Use homemade stock if possible, or dilute the stock by using 1 l water per stock cube.

Mushroom cream soup as a base

Enough for 4

This cream soup is delicious with an extra scoop cream or crème fraiche. Replace half of the ordinary mushrooms with wild mushrooms such as porcini for a special occasion.

• 30 g (30 ml) butter
• 1 small onion, roughly chopped
• 250 g (1 packet) portobellini or button mushrooms, cut in half
• 5 ml (1 t) salt
• 1 l homemade chicken stock or 1 block chicken stock mixed with 1 l of water
• 250 ml (1 c) of milk
• ¼ onion, peeled
• 2 cloves pressed into the onion
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 peppercorns
• 30 g (30 ml) butter
• 30 g (55 ml) cake flour
• 5 ml (1 t) soy sauce
• Freshly grated nutmeg according to taste

Serving: A hand full of mushrooms – any variety like oyster mushrooms, portobellini or black mushrooms. Slice it into thick slices and saute in a smoking hot pan until soft.

1 Melt the butter in a medium casserole, add the onions and mushrooms and sauté until soft. Add the stock and simmer for about 15 minutes.

2 Heat the milk with a bay leaf and peppercorns in a saucepan. Melt the rest of the butter in another saucepan and add the flour, stir until it forms the paste or roux, remove the bay leaf and peppercorns (or sift it through a sieve). Add the milk gradually to the flour mixture. Stir constantly.

3 Bring the milk mixture to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for a minute. Add the mushroom mixture and finally the soy sauce and nutmeg.

4 Puree the soup until smooth in a food processor or with a hand mixer.

5 Form a tower with either of the sauteed mushrooms or sprinkle the sauteed mushrooms over when serving the soup.

Variations

Artichoke-lemon soup with creamy Greek yogurt

It’s always convenient to keep a few cans of artichokes to give this  soup an elegant taste. Use the basic recipe for the mushroom soup.

Replace the mushrooms with 250g canned artichokes (drained). Sautee the onions first end the add the artichokes and stock. Grate the lemon peel into the soup and add a squeeze of lemon juice just before serving. Serve the soup with freshly chopped spring onion and double cream Greek yogurt.

Canned salmon works just as well, just remove the black skins. You will need 2 x 200 g cans of salmon. Use cream instead of milk and add 15 ml (1 e) sherry at the end.

Asparagus and Parmesan cream soup with mascarpone

Use the basic recipe for mushroom soup. Replace the mushrooms with 250 g of fresh asparagus, broken into small pieces. Saute the onion and then add the asparagus with the stock. At the end, stir in 60 ml (¼c) grated Parmesan into the soup and serve warm with a scoop mascarpone in each bowl of soup. Garnish with fresh Parmesan rolls cut with a vegetable peeler.

Cauliflower and blue cheese soup

Use the basic recipe for the mushroom soup. Replace the mushrooms with 250 g cauliflower blossoms (broken by hand into small pieces). Saute the onions and add the cauliflower and the stock. Finally crumble about 50 g of creamy blue cheese, such as Gorgonzola or simonzola into the soup and simmer until melted. Flavour with nutmeg and black pepper. Add some extra blue cheese crumbled over the soup just before serving.

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Serves 6

2 kg of pork ribs

Marinade

• 45 ml (3 tbsp) maizena
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) light brown sugar
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) finely grated ginger
• 10 ml (2 tsp) Chinese five-spices
• 60 ml (¼ c) soy sauce
• 60 ml (¼ c) apricot jam
• 45 ml (3 tbsp) dry sherry
• 6 spring onions, thinly sliced diagonally.

Preheat the oven to 220 ° C.

1 Mix all the ingredients for the marinade and rub the ribs with it.

2 Marinate the ribs for 20-30 minutes.

3 Arrange the ribs in a single layer in a deep roasting pan.

4 Bake for 30-35 minutes or until glossy brown.

5 Sprinkle the chives over the ribs and serve with coleslaw, rice salad and carrot ribbons.

Crunchy coleslaw

Serves 8

Dressing

• 125 ml (½ c) olive or avocado oil
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) soy sauce
• 60 ml (¼ c) white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar
• 125 ml (½ c) caster sugar
• 1 small green cabbage, finely sliced
• 1 small red cabbage, finely sliced
• 6 spring onions, diagonally sliced
• Handful mangetout, finely chopped
• 60 ml (¼ c) sesame seeds, lightly toasted
• 100 g (1 packet) flaked almonds, lightly toasted
• 2 packets 2 minute noodles

1 Dressing: Mix all the ingredients well until the sugar dissolves.

2 Mix the green and red cabbage, spring onions, mangetout, sesame seeds and almonds. Break the noodles over it and mix through.

3 Add the dressing just before lunch.

Sweet chilli rice

Serves 6

Rice

• 15 ml (1 tbsp) of olive or avocado oil
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 5 ml (1 t) salt
• 250 ml (1 c) basmati rice
• 500 ml (2 c) water
• small handful of spring onions, diagonally sliced
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) soy sauce
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) sesame oil
• juice of ½ lemon
• handful chopped coriander
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) sweet chilli sauce

1 Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat and fry the onion for 5 minutes until soft.

2 Add the garlic and salt and cook for another 2 minutes until the onion begins to brown.

3 Mix the rice and pour the water. Bring to a boil. Mix with a fork, cover and reduce the temperature to the lowest setting. Let steam for 20 minutes or until there are tunnels visible on top of the rice and the rice is cooked dry.

4 Mix with the spring onions, soy sauce, sesame oil, lemon juice, coriander and sweet chilli sauce. Serve hot

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