Ooh la la meets Africa in these classic French-inspired recipes. Liezl Vermeulen adds a South African touch to some French fancies and one thing is for sure: France has never tasted this bold!

A New Take on Tradition: The Bobotie Pithivier Pie

This iconic dome-shaped pie with spiral scoring and scalloped edges hails from the town with the same name in the Loire Valley.

Serves 4

For the filling:

• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 2 onions
• 4 cloves garlic
• 700g lean beef mince
• Salt and milled pepper
• 4 tsp curry powder
• 1 Tbsp turmeric
• 2 Tbsp Cape Malay curry spice blend
• ¼ cup fruit chutney
• 1 cup beef stock
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ cup raisins
• ¼ cup sultanas
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 packets (400g each) puff pastry, defrosted and kept ice cold
• 1 extra-large egg, whisked
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 Tbsp milk

Method

1. Heat oil in deep pan or pot over medium heat. Sauté onion for 8 minutes until soft and translucent.
2. Add garlic, increase heat and fry for 1 minute or until golden.
3. Increase heat to high and add mince, browning well and breaking up all clumps with a fork.
4. Add spices and cook until mixture is sticky and very fragrant. Add remaining filling ingredients, stir, season and simmer for about 10 minutes or until sauce is sticky.
5. Cool to room temperature.
6. Unroll both sheets of pastry on a floured surface. Cut a 8cm strip off each rectangle and place on the side, overlapping slightly, to make a wider square. Roll out to merge the two pieces, rolling out just enough to merge. Cut a 20cm circle of pastry out of one sheet. Transfer to a baking paper lined tray and refrigerate.
7. Roll the second sheet out slightly thinner and cut out a 27cm circle. Cut out a 2cm hole in the centre. Refrigerate.
8. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
9. Mix the cooled filling with whisked eggs. Shape filling in a 10cm-high dome shape on the small pastry circle, leaving a 2cm border clean all around. Wet the border with a tiny bit of egg.
10. Drape the large pastry circle over the dome shape, keeping the steam hole on top. Press the edges down to secure.
11. Crimp the edges of pastry into a scalloped shape. Chill until firm.
12. Whisk together yolk and milk and brush pastry dome and sides. Score a spiral pattern from the centre down to the scalloped edge. Be careful not to cut all the way through the pastry.
13. Bake for 30-35 minutes until pastry is golden all around. Serve with chutney on the side.

Cook’s Note

Many modern Pithivier pies have layered fillings. We suggest adding roasted butternut rounds, cut about 2cm thick, below the mince filling for a striking butternut-bobotie pie.

Biltong Crêpe Perfection

Traditionally savoury crêpes, also called galettes, were made from buckwheat flour and was something peasants ate in Brittany. Today, we’ve made it fanciful and full of our national treasure.

Makes 6

For the crêpe batter

• 100g cake flour, sifted
• ½ tsp (2.5ml) salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• ¾ cup (180ml) milk
• ⅓ cup (80ml) water
• 25g clarified butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp canola oil works well, too

For the filling

• 230g medium-fat cottage cheese, plain or herbed
• 1 disc (60g) feta
• 1 Tbsp milk
• ⅓ cup (35g) biltong powder + extra for serving
• ½ tsp coriander powder, toasted
• 10g coriander, or use parsley, leaves picked + extra for serving
• Milled pepper
• 125g sliced biltong
• Canola oil, for brushing
• 6 eggs, cooked sunny side-up
• 2 spring onion, sliced

Method

1. Prepare batter in advance. Sieve flour and add salt. Mix together eggs, yolk, milk and water.
2. Add egg mixture to the dry ingredients while stirring continuously. When smooth, add butter or oil. Cover the batter and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Check the consistency of the batter after standing and add a little milk if it is too thick. It should be runny to coat the base of pan easily when swirled.
4. For the filling, blitz together the ingredients to combine. Chop and stir in half of the sliced biltong.
5. Brush a 20cm flat pan with some canola oil. Add a ¼ cup of batter to the pan and immediately start swirling the pan to spread as thin as possible. Fry for about 1-2 minutes on either side or just until lightly starting to brown. Remove and repeat with remaining batter.
6. Spread the cottage cheese filling in the centre of a crêpe, top with egg and some biltong slices. Fold in 3 ends to make a triangle. Repeat with remaining crêpes and filling.
7. Serve sprinkled with coriander and sliced spring onion.

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Light, Savory, and Irresistible: Smoked Snoek & Chive Gougères

Gougères are a savoury version of choux pastries. We’ve stuffed these cheese puffs with lip-smacking snoek.

Makes 22 sandwiches

For the choux pastry:

• 1 cup (150g) cake flour, sifted
• 1 tsp salt
• 1¼ cup (310ml) boiling water
• ½ cup (125g) butter
• 4-5 extra-large eggs
• 50g Emmental, finely grated

For the filling:

• 1 tub (250g) cream cheese
• 1 Tbsp milk
• 200g smoked snoek, skin and bones removed
• ¼-⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp milled pepper
• 2 tsp wholegrain mustard, optional
• Micro herbs, for serving

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Spray 2-3 baking trays with non-stick spray then dust in flour and shake off the excess.
2. For the pastry, combine flour and salt and set aside.
3. Place water and butter in a pot, cover and bring to a quick simmer to melt butter. Once butter is melted, lift lid and add flour and salt all at once. Mix together with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms. Cook for about 1 minute while stirring. Remove, transfer to a bowl and cool to room temperature.
4. Add eggs one at a time, stirring pastry with a wooden spoon or spatula until incorporated before adding the next addition. The pastry should be smooth and shiny. When you lift a spoonful of pastry up, it should create a long ribbon that doesn’t break off. If it does break, it may need a little more egg.
5. Place pastry in a piping bag. Pipe into 4cm rounds. If you don’t have a piping bag, drop a tablespoon of filling onto prepared tray. Sprinkle with cheese.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a golden, firm shell has formed.
7. Remove and pierce at the bottom with a toothpick. This allows steam to escape and avoids it getting soggy. Return to the oven for 5 minutes to dry out. Leave the cheese puffs to cool.
8. Finely flake snoek. Mix fish with remaining filling ingredients.
9. Pipe filling into puffs or sandwich filling between two puffs just before serving. Garnish with herbs.

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From Provence to Mzansi

The Provencal classic gets a bit of kick! You can bulk up the dish by layering in slices of pepper, too.

Serves 4 as a side

For the sauce:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil blend
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 50g tomato paste
• 2 cans (400g each) mild and spicy chakalaka
• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
• 10g basil
• Salt and milled pepper
• Olive oil
• 2 medium brinjals
• 3-4 large (350g) baby marrow
• 3 Roma tomatoes
• 8 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
• Salt and milled pepper
• Basil leaves, for serving

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Heat oil in a pan and sauté onion for 8-10 minutes until soft and golden.
2. Add garlic, fry for a minute then add tomato paste. Cook until sticky and dark red in colour.
3. Add remaining sauce ingredients and leave to simmer for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat, season and blitz until smooth using a stick blender. Spoon sauce into a 23cm oven-safe dish.
4. Thinly slice the veggies to 3mm thick.
5. Pack vegetables in a circle, starting at the outside of the pan, overlapping edges. Continue packing smaller circles of veg to fill the pan.
6. Bake covered for 10 minutes, then uncover and bake for a further 5-10 minutes until veg is tender.
7. Serve hot out of the oven with extra fresh basil.

A Spiced Take on Pommes Anna

Created in a Parisian café in the 1870s, the thin melt-in-your-mouth layers became a classic for good reason.

Serves 6-8

For the infused butter:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 shallot, halved
• 3 cloves garlic, bruised
• 10g curry leaves
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1.5kg potatoes, peeled
• 1 tsp fine salt
• Black pepper
• Fried curry leaves and salt flakes, for serving

Method

1. Clarify butter.
2. Heat butter in a pan over medium heat. Sauté shallot for 5 minutes. Add garlic, curry leaves and spices, then fry for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
3. Remove and leave butter to infuse for 5 minutes, then strain.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C.
5. Thinly slice potatoes to about 1mm thin. Toss slices in a large bowl with seasoning and warm infused butter.
6. Tightly pack in a lined 25x12cm bread tin with overlapping potato slices, making sure to cover all corners with each layer. Sprinkle with salt after every 4th layer.
7. Once all the potatoes are used, cover with a layer of baking paper and place a weight on top to press down. We used another loaf tin filled with dry beans.
8. Bake for 80-90 minutes until tender and golden. Remove and cool slightly before unmolding.
9. Serve slices with fried curry leaves and salt.

Butter Me Up

To clarify butter, place melted butter in a glass measuring cup or something you can see through. Set aside for 2-3 minutes in order to separate into layers. Scoop off the white foam on top and reserve the clear, yellow butter. Discard the sediment at the bottom of the jug. Now the butter won’t burn in high temperatures.

A Tropical Twist on Palmiers

Inspired by the sweet flavours of the nostalgic Hertzoggie, these pastries get a shiny coating after baking.

Makes 22

• 1 packet (400g) puff pastry
• 3-4 Tbsp (45-60ml) smooth apricot jam + extra for brushing
• 3 Tbsp (45ml) desiccated coconut
• 1 egg, whisked for brushing

For sprinkling:

• 1 Tbsp (15ml) caster sugar
• 1 Tbsp (15ml) desiccated coconut, blitzed finer

Method

1. Roll out puff pastry on a floured surface to about 40cm long at about 3mm thick.
2. Spread jam over pastry and sprinkle 3 Tbsp desiccated coconut.
3. Fold 6cm of pastry over from both the short sides to cover a portion of the filling. Continue to create 3 folds on either side and then bring two sides together. Chill to firm up.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C.
5. Combine sugar and blitzed coconut.
6. Remove cling film and slice pastry into ½cm thick discs using a sharp knife. Place on a lined baking tray, brush with egg and sprinkle lightly with sugar mixture.
7. Bake for 18-23 minutes or until golden.
8. Cool completely on the tray. Brush the tops with some extra jam. Best served on the same day, but can be kept in an airtight cookie tin for up to 2 days.

Reinventing Tradition: The Amagwinya Croquembouche

An easier, delicious take on the conical French wedding stack, the croquembouche. We’ve filled them with cinnamon custard, similar to a milk tart.

Serves 6-8 people

For the amagwinya:

• 4 cups (600g) cake flour, sifted
• 1 tsp (5ml) fine salt
• 1 packet (10g) instant yeast
• 2 tsp (10ml) caster sugar
• 1 cup (250ml) lukewarm water
• 1½ cups (375ml) lukewarm milk
• 3 cups canola oil, for deep-frying

For the filling:

• 4 egg yolks
• 2 cups (500ml) milk
• ½ cup (100g) sugar
• 1 vanilla pod, sliced open; vanilla essence works too
• 2 cinnamon quills
• ⅓ cup (40g) corn flour

For serving:

• 250g white chocolate, for dipping
• Edible flowers and raspberries
• Spun sugar, optional

Method

1. For the dough, stir together yeast, caster sugar, water and milk. Set aside for 5 minutes until little bubbles appear on the surface.
2. Combine flour and salt, mixing to distribute evenly. Pour in the yeast mixture and stir to form a dough.
3. Cover with plastic and set aside in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
4. For the filling, cream the egg yolks and sugar together. Heat the remaining milk, vanilla and cinnamon until steaming hot. Temper the milk into the egg mixture and return to the heat.
5. Stir continuously and cook until a thick custard forms. Add vanilla essence now only, if using this instead of a pod.
6. Discard vanilla and cinnamon and cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface. Cool.
7. Heat oil in a pot for deep-frying until shimmering hot.
8. Rub some extra oil on your palms. Pinch a small ball, about the size of a R5 coin, with cold oil and drop small balls of the dough in the hot oil. Fry for 3-4 minutes, flipping regularly, or until golden brown and cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper.
9. Blitz custard until smooth and place in a piping bag. Pipe filling into doughnuts.
10. Melt white chocolate until the consistency is smooth.
11. Dip the amagwinya bites halfway in chocolate and let excess drip off, careful not to get the custard in the chocolate, and then stack in a cone-shaped tower in glasses or on plates.
12. Decorate with flowers, raspberries and spun sugar.

Learn how to create the iconic spun sugar at home.

Recipe & Styling: Liezl Vermeulen
Photographs: Zhann Solomons
Text Courtesy of: My Kitchen magazine