Chicken and rice never looked this fragrant! You can swap ginger and spices out for a packet of Thai red or yellow curry, if you like. 

Caramelised chicken curry 

Serves 4 

Ingredients

For the sauce

2 Tbsp canola oil
2 onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4cm ginger, peeled and grated
1 Tbsp mild curry powder
2 tsp turmeric
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
2 cups chicken stock
1 can (400ml) coconut milk
2 tsp sugar
3 Tbsp lemon juice
10g coriander, chopped

3 chicken breasts on the bone
Salt and milled pepper
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp brown sugar (honey works well, too)
3 Tbsp canola oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
Rice (or noodles), for serving
Coriander, for serving 

Method 

1. For the sauce, heat oil in a pot and sauté onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and fry for another minute. 
2. Add the spices and fry 30-60 seconds while stirring, until very fragrant, careful not to let it catch. Add stock, coconut milk, sugar and lemon juice. 
3. Simmer sauce over medium heat until thickened to a light stew consistency, about 12-15 minutes. Adjust seasoning and keep warm. 
4. Debone the chicken, keeping skin intact. Pat chicken dry all over, using kitchen paper, and season lightly. (Drying out will ensure a crispy finish.) 
5. Combine soy sauce, vinegar, water and sugar. Set aside. 
6. Heat 3 Tbsp oil in a pan over high heat. Fry sliced onion, stirring regularly, until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and season with salt while warm. Set aside for serving. 
7. In the same pan, add chicken skin-side down and fry until golden, about 4 minutes. Flip and sear until golden on the other side. Remove chicken and set aside. 
8. Reduce heat to medium and add soy sauce mixture to the pan. Simmer and reduce for about 2-3 minutes. Place chicken skin-side down in the sauce and cook for a further 7-10 minutes to caramelise and cook chicken through, spooning sauce over fillets to coat. Remove and rest for 5 minutes before slicing. 
9. Divide rice between 4 bowls, ladle in curry sauce and top with sliced chicken and any leftover pan juices. Serve scattered with crispy onions and coriander. 

Good to know  

Chinese curries have a thick, stew-like consistency and generally use dry spices. Thai curries use fresh aromatics to create wet, hot pastes and add coconut milk, delivering a thinner sauce. We’ve opted for the best of both. 

Total recipe cost*: R131 

Recipe & styling: Liezl Vermeulen 
Photography: Zhann Solomons

Also read: Creamy peri-peri chicken livers

The post Caramelised chicken curry appeared first on MyKitchen.

Indulgent flavours and hearty portions make this combo a steakhouse comfort classic. 

Smoky BBQ pork ribs & cheesy loaded fries

Serves 4 

Ingredients  

2kg raw pork spare ribs
Salt and milled pepper
1 Tbsp butter
1 shallot, diced (or use red onion)
3-4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 Tbsp smoked paprika
½-1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
1 cup BBQ sauce 

For the cheesy loaded fries 

Canola oil, for frying
1kg frozen fries
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
½ cup beer
1½ cups milk
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 cup grated mozzarella
¼ cup grated Grana Padano
Handful chopped parsley + extra to garnish
Salt and milled pepper 

Method  

1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
2. Season pork ribs and place in oven for about 30 minutes.
3. Heat butter on a medium heat, fry shallot and garlic for about 4-5 minutes. Add smoked paprika and chilli flakes, if using. Fry stirring for another minute. 
4. Add BBQ sauce, lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Season. 
5. Lower oven temperature to 180°C. Generously baste the pork ribs with the BBQ sauce, cover with foil and roast another 1½ hours, basting every 30 minutes. 
6. Increase oven temperature again to 200°C. Remove the foil, baste again and roast for another 20 minutes until sticky. 
7. For the cheesy loaded fries, heat oil until shimmering hot.Fry the fries until golden, drain on kitchen towel and season. 
8. Heat butter until melted, add flour and stir to create a smooth slurry. Add beer and stir until incorporated. 
9. Add milk and mustard, whisk until smooth. Cook for about 5-8 minutes. The sauce must simmer for the flour to cook. Once the sauce has simmered for a few minutes, remove from heat then add cheeses and parsley. Stir until melted. Season. 
10. Pour the sauce over the fries and serve with sticky pork ribs.

Recipe & styling: Sjaan van der Ploeg 
Photographs: Zhann Solomons 

Also read: Hot & sour pork broth recipe

The post Smoky BBQ pork ribs & cheesy loaded fries appeared first on MyKitchen.

Add as much Parmesan as you can afford – it can never really be too much! For added protein, serve topped with sliced chicken breast. 

Green risotto with cheap-n-cheerful pesto

Serves 4 

Ingredients

300g baby marrow
3 Tbsp (45ml) olive oil blend
Salt and milled pepper
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 sprigs thyme (optional)
1½ cups (300g) Arborio or risotto rice
1½ cups dry white wine
4½ cups hot chicken or vegetable stock
⅓ cup grated Grana Padano (any hard cheese works well, too)
Lemon juice, to taste
½ cup defrosted peas
⅓ cup green pumpkin seed pesto

Method

1.  Slice baby marrow into 3cm chunks.
2.  Heat half the oil over high heat in a medium-large pot. Sauté baby marrow, stirring regularly until lightly browned and tender, about 3 minutes. Season, remove and set aside.
3.  Heat remaining oil over medium-low heat. Sweat the onions gently for 5 minutes, or until translucent and soft, not browned.
4.  Add garlic, thyme and rice, then increase heat to medium-high and fry until rice smells nutty, about 3 minutes. 
5.  Pour in wine and cook, stirring continuously until almost completely reduced – about 4 minutes. Season. 
6.  Add stock ½ cup at a time, stirring well until almost all the liquid has reduced. (Your bubbles will be many and small in the beginning and will gradually become fewer and larger.) 
7.  Once all the liquid has been added and rice is coated in a thick, glossy sauce, add cheese and a squeeze of lemon juice. Adjust seasoning to taste.
8.  Stir through baby marrows, peas and pesto. 

Good idea

Serve with golden brown seared and sliced chicken breast to bulk up the protein in this meal. You can also swap ¼ – ½ of the risotto rice with barley for a higher fibre meal. 

Recipes & styling: Liezl Vermeulen
Photography: Zhann Solomons 

Also read: Farm-style white bread

The post Green risotto with cheap-n-cheerful pesto appeared first on MyKitchen.

This smoky relish works well with pap, eggs or braai meat. 

Breakfast sandwiches with red pepper relish

Makes 2 cups relish/ Serves 4 

Ingredients

For the relish

4 red peppers, charred and skinned
Glug olive or canola oil
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup sugar
2 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp chilli flakes
3 Tbsp chutney
Salt and milled pepper

For the sandwiches

8 thick-cut bread slices
Butter, for spreading
300g mozzarella
30g rocket
8 eggs, fried or poached

Method

1.  Char the peppers over an open gas hob flame, turning regularly using steel tongs to ensure even char, until blackened all over. (You can also grill the peppers on high if you don’t have a gas stove.) 
2.  Remove and place in a large bowl, then cover with clingfilm, allowing pepper to sweat. (This process will loosen skins, making it easy to peel.)
3.  After 15 minutes, uncover and brush away all the black skins off the peppers using your fingers. (You can even rinse the pepper briefly under water to get rid of any tiny black flecks.)
4.  Slice peppers open, discard stem and seeds. Slice into strips.
5.  Heat a glug of oil in a pot over medium heat.
6.  Fry garlic for a minute until golden, but not brown. Add remaining relish ingredients, stir to combine and leave to simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid has reduced to a thick, sticky sauce. Cool and store in the fridge until using, for up to three weeks.
7.  To make sandwiches, butter 8 slices of bread on both sides. Fry in a hot pan until golden. 
8.  Place a handful of grated cheese on 4 of the slices, return to pan and cover to allow the cheese to melt. 
9.  Spoon 1 cup relish on remaining 4 toasted slices, then top with rocket and eggs. Season. 
10.  Sandwich closed with cheesy bread and serve immediately. 

Listen up

When charring your peppers, popping is the sound of success! It’s the liquid in the pepper that builds up steam then pops open fibres when hot enough. Once the popping quiets down, turn slightly to ensure flame makes contact all over the pepper. 

Recipes & styling: Liezl Vermeulen 
Photography: Zhann Solomons 

Also read: Croissant breakfast casserole 

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As you bite into the truffle, you’ll experience a thin crack, smooth filling as well as a zing of berries. For a melt-in-your mouth moment, serve truffles at room temperature. 

Chocolate raspberry truffles

Makes 12 

Ingredients

For the berry compote: 

1 cup (200g) frozen raspberries
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp sugar

For the truffle mixture

300g dark chocolate
2 Tbsp (30g) butter
½ tsp (2.5ml) vanilla essence
⅗ cup (150ml) cream
½ tsp (2.5ml) flaky salt

For the coating

150g dark chocolate
2 tsp (10ml) coconut oil
Handful freeze-dried strawberries + torn raspberries, for garnish (optional)

Method

1. Add compote ingredients to a pot over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring. Reduce for 15 minutes until the mixture has turned from a thin juice into a thickened, jammy consistency. Remove and set aside to cool. 
2. Pour the compote into a resealable plastic bag and lay flat to freeze for 2 hours.
3.  Chop chocolate evenly and finely. Place in a bowl with the butter and vanilla. 
4.  Heat cream until scalding hot. Pour over chocolate and set aside for 5 minutes to melt.
5.  Whisk to bring together into a smooth ganache (if there are chunks remaining, microwave for 10 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until completely melted). Stir through the salt. 
6.  Refrigerate mixture for about 1 hour to thicken into a scoopable consistency.
7.  Once firm, scoop 2 Tbsp of mixture into your hand, then use your thumb to make a hollow ball shape.
8.  Remove compote and spoon ¼ – ½ tsp into the hollow of the chocolate, then gently fold chocolate over to seal. Refrigerate to chill. Repeat with remaining truffles, working in batches, to make 12. 
9.  Once chilled, lightly roll each truffle between your palms to smooth over. Chill all for another 30 minutes.
10.  To coat, melt together chocolate and coconut oil.Arrange a lined baking tray.
11.  Place a truffle on a fork, dip in chocolate and allow excess to drip off. Place on baking paper and remove utensil. Repeat with remaining truffles.
12.  Once hardened, add a drizzle of any leftover chocolate to the tops of each truffle.
13.  Before the drizzle hardens, sprinkle crushed freeze-dried strawberries and torn raspberries over the truffles.

Cook’s tip:

Instead of making a compote from scratch, spoon small blobs of store-bought berry jam into a container and freeze or fill with a frozen raspberry for less mess.  

Recipes & styling: Sjaan van der Ploeg 
Photography: Zhann Solomons 

Also read: Microwave magic: Gooey peanut butter & chocolate cups 

The post Chocolate raspberry truffles appeared first on MyKitchen.

This coffee cheesecake is silky smooth, with an inviting sweet crunch from the crispy phyllo. 

Espresso cheesecake with phyllo crinkle

Serves 10-12 

Ingredients

200g chocolate Romany Creams
⅓ cup + 2 Tbsp (110g) melted butter
3 Tbsp (45ml) boiling water
3 Tbsp (45ml) instant coffee
2 tubs (230g each) medium-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tub (250g) sour cream, at room temperature
½ cup (110g) brown sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp (15ml) flour

For the topping:  

4 sheets phyllo pastry, defrosted
⅓ cup (80ml) melted butter, for brushing
½ cup (125ml) water
½ cup (125ml) sugar

Method

1.  Line the base and sides of a 20cm loose-bottom cake tin. 
2.  Preheat oven to 160ºC.
3.  Blitz biscuits to a fine crumb using a food processor (or crush in a plastic bag using a rolling pin). Stir through melted butter to create a crumb that binds once pressed together. 
4.  Press crumb into the base of the tin, moving up the sides about 2cm. Set aside. 
5.  Combine boiling water and instant coffee, stirring to dissolve. Set aside to cool. 
6.  Whisk together cream cheese and sour cream until smooth.
7.  Whisk through the sugar, followed by the eggs and cooled coffee. Fold through the flour. 
8.  Pour cheesecake mixture onto biscuit crumb base. 
9. Place a deep tray of water at the bottom of the oven.
10. Bake cheesecake in the oven for 10 minutes, then take it out.
11. For the topping, brush both sides of the 4 sheets of phyllo generously with melted butter. 
12. Fold two of the sheets into spiral shapes, creating two large circles of valleys and ridges. Halve the remaining two sheets, then twist and fold each into smaller spirals. 
13. Arrange pastry spirals on the par-baked cake. Bake cake for a further 40 minutes, or until the phyllo is golden and the cheesecake underneath no longer wobbles on the sides. 
14. Dissolve water and sugar in a small pot, then simmer water and sugar together for 3 minutes to thicken slightly. 
15. Remove the cake and brush simple syrup over the phyllo.
16. Cool completely, then refrigerate for 2 hours to chill. Slice and serve. 

Recipes & Styling: Sjaan van der Ploeg 
Photography:Zhann Solomons 

Also read: Golden syrup custard tart

The post Espresso cheesecake with phyllo crinkle appeared first on MyKitchen.