Free-range chicken producer Noorsveld Chickens caught our eye with their extra-large, yellow-hued chicken – and a price point that caused a double-take. Liezl Vermeulen finds out if there’s something to crow about.

Free-range chicken has become a status symbol in South Africa. If there’s an industrial chicken in your shopping basket in 2026, it likely isn’t because you haven’t seen a heart-wrenching video of intense factory farming in action. Rather, the current economic climate and the threat of rising inflation can force free-range poultry out of reach, no matter how virtuous your intentions.

In April 2026, Noorsveld Chickens was selling a whole bird for R78/kg in a Western Cape Spar. This was R21 less than a free-range competitor and R1 cheaper than the house-brand chicken on the same shelf (R79 for non-free-range). It seems like Noorsveld is carving out a new section in shops: attainable free-range.

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Fowl Play

“You won’t believe how chickens play,” says Gerrit Dos Santos, owner of Noorsveld Chickens. “They’re like little children, tackling each other and running around.” Berné Botha, the general manager, chimes in that retail clients have occasionally raised concerns about seeing a scratch mark on the chicken’s skin because they don’t understand that free-range chickens play and fight.

Gerrit inherited his farm from his grandmother. Located in the tiny town of Jansenville (an hour outside Robert Sobukwe, previously Graaff-Reinet) in the Karoo Heartland, it had only a few sheep and goats – nothing to make it economically viable. After the bank denied him his ostrich-farm dreams, he bought 300 chickens in 1991 and set out on his new journey. He started by selling chickens to a few homes in town. “The ones with a lot of kids ordered up to 10 chickens a month.”

He tried doing his own little shop so that people could come to him instead of the other way around, but it brought its own set of problems that took him away from his farm too much.

Today, his booming bird business has more than 200 permanent employees (making it the biggest permanent employer in the town), and three of his children have joined the team, which doesn’t come as a surprise once you witness his zeal for chicken farming. Now the farm supplies free-range chicken to most of the major retailers in the Eastern Cape, and in the past two years, they’ve branched out to stock several retailers and restaurants in the Western Cape.

Going Slow to Grow

“People are production driven. We wouldn’t have made it against them; everything was working against us,” explains Gerrit, adding that their location – being far away from the market and producers of feed – was not ideal. “We had to look at an exclusive market and I liked the way free-range farmers were doing things.”

He dives into the nitty-gritty because free-range farming is about much more than simply letting chickens go outside.

“For the time the chickens are there, you try to make them as happy as possible. The happier they are, the better they do.”

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Gerrit makes it clear that his role as a free-range farmer isn’t to badmouth anyone. He does, however, want to put what they do into perspective, and in doing so, industrial chicken farming practices do come up.

Low-level lighting during the day keeps the industrial chicken’s movement to a minimum. This is important because a chicken that is growing abnormally fast (due to antibiotics and animal protein in its diet) would likely die of a heart attack if it lived longer than the 30-33 days, that is the industry standard, simply because its body cannot keep up with the growth. He pauses and makes it clear that free-range farming still isn’t at the speed it would happen without human interference or in the wild. If they were to work at that rate, the price would more than double and production wouldn’t keep up with demand.

Fundamentals of Free Range

Berne mentions that many small farmers may say their animals are free-roaming and call them free-range, but until a farm is independently audited by a third party and gets certified, there is just no guarantee for the consumer.

Because free-range is about much more than simply having access to the outdoors. “There are several things a farmer needs to have in place to make it free-range,” explains Gerrit.

Firstly, the chickens need free-range certified feed. Noorsveld uses Profile Feeds’ food, a mix using exclusively yellow corn and soya, with the addition of some vitamins.

“It’s that yellow corn that gives our chicken the unique yellow colour.”

Importantly, this supplier is also audited by a third party to ensure the feed meets the criteria. This means the chickens don’t receive any antibiotics, making them a healthier choice for human consumption.

The feed contains no animal protein (in industrial farming, this could be a powder made from animal by-products).

Secondly, stocking density (the number of chickens per square meter) can only be 15.

By comparison, industrial chicken farming can have up to 22 chickens. While seven additional chickens may not sound like much, it’s important to remember the volume at which they work. If Noorsveld has 20 000 chickens, an industrial chicken farm can have over 29 000 on the same size of land.

Thirdly, their outside roaming space needs to be twice as big as their indoor space. Plus, they should always have access to the indoor space for shelter.

“That’s the ultimate proof of a free-range chicken,” says Berné, “one that doesn’t go out when it has the chance to do so.” He adds that chickens are temperamental, getting hot and cold quite easily. “We have foggers to cool them down in summer and heaters to warm them up in winter.

“I don’t even have that at home!”

Then, they need to sleep eight hours a night and, during the day, they need continuous access to natural light outside for at least six hours a day.

Gerrit chuckles. “Chickens are scared of the dark. The amount of sound those little chicks make. and the moment you switch the lights on, they all go quiet at once. It’s like flipping off the radio switch.”

Finally, a chicken needs freedom to express natural behaviour. That means going out to forage and play – it’s chickens simply being chickens.

It’s clear Gerrit isn’t just meeting regulations. He feels it’s the right thing to do, and he knows it delivers a better product.

Rule of the Roost

The conversation illustrates that the microbiology behind chicken farming is the biggest threat and the hardest work.

“Chickens sleep and eat in the same place they poop.” Naturally, this means there’s a lot of bacteria that require expert management to keep birds healthy.

Dry conditions prevent breeding of bacteria, and the team reckons the arid Karoo counts greatly in their favour. “This climate of extremes makes for naturally healthier chickens.”

Other steps to keep the livestock healthy include keeping only one age group on a farm, as chickens of different ages could carry different bacteria. And this isn’t a different plot of land across the road; it’s at least 10 kilometres further, as bacteria are airborne. This means the same farm worker can’t even move between two groups without risking infection.

In addition, once the chickens are moved off the farm, the area is disinfected and left empty for a period of 17 days. This downtime means any bacteria will die, as it needs Berné, the one who’s on the road, driving to their stockists and managing any complaints, says people have asked what to do or add to get their chickens this big. “The only reason they can deliver a 2kg-plus bird is because they are healthy.” Because the chickens aren’t fed antibiotics, they aren’t growing at a speed the body and intestines cannot keep up with. They can be comfortably left to live a bit longer.

More Cluck for Your Buck

“A lot of guys take advantage of free-range. Through good farming practices, we try to produce chicken in the most affordable way,” says Gerrit.

Noorsveld chickens are hand-trimmed of excess fat, plus time is taken to hand-pluck feathers (something machines just can’t do with precision).

This means they process at a slower speed, working on 15 chickens per minute instead of 120 like their industrial competitors.

Then there are other small details consumers might miss because it isn’t stated on the packaging label – there’s just too much to mention on one sticker – like the fact that their thighs don’t include the backbone. The backbone can amount to 20-30% of the weight, which is why their price per kilo might be slightly higher, but the consumer is guaranteed more meat. Not to mention there is the fact that a mature bird has better flavour and better bone-to-meat ratio, giving you more meat.

Flying Ahead

“Our current goal is to come in at a price between industrial chicken and free-range chicken.

I want people to be able to try free-range chicken, to be able to eat it at an affordable rate.

That person might not be able to pay R40 per kilo more, but they could manage to pay R10-R15 a kilo more,” explains Berné.

But it’s not just a game of the price is right. Berné and Gerrit take regular road trips together, leaving behind the blue noors succulents in the arid Karoo for small towns and city skylines to talk directly to their stockists and get honest feedback. “Guys don’t tell you about all the small stuff they’re unhappy about, but when you see each other face to face then they give you honest feedback”, says Gerrit. “We’ve always managed to change for the better when we listen to feedback, because we take the punch and we take it seriously.”

Before they think of expanding further into the country, Noorsveld Chickens wants to ensure they have things under control in the Western Cape, where they’ve just started working in the past two years. They aren’t in a rush; they want to make sure their standard is maintained. They want to improve before considering expansion.

“You’re always trying to be better, to keep on improving.”

When asked how they like to eat chicken, Gerrit and Berne say they keep it simple. Gerrit’s favourite is wings, and he says salt, pepper and lemon are all you need. Berné says you just need to focus on getting it cooked while keeping the inside juicy and the skin crisp.

“If you get that right, it really doesn’t matter what you put on it – it will be delicious.” Their keep-it-simple-and-affordable approach rings true, whether on the farm or at the table.

Words: Liezl Vermeulen
Photographs: Supplied
Text Courtesy of: My Kitchen magazine

The post Why Everyone’s Talking About Noorsveld Chickens appeared first on MyKitchen.

We’ve added a biscuit to the top of our s’mores croissant, but you could crumble a few biscuits into the croissant when assembling too.

Makes 4

Ingredients

For the meringue

• 2 egg whites
• ½ cup (110g) caster sugar
• 4 plain croissants
• Butter, for brushing
• 1 packet (400g) marshmallows
• 150g milk chocolate
• 1 packet (60g) mini digestive biscuits

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a tray with baking paper.
2. For the meringue, place egg whites in a bowl and whisk to stiff peaks, about 2 minutes.
3. Add sugar 1 Tbsp at a time, whisking well to dissolve sugar between each addition. Continue until all the sugar is incorporated and the meringue is glossy.
4. Slice each croissant in half, keeping it attached on one side.
5. Brush the inside and outside of the croissants with butter.
6. Halve 12 marshmallows and place 6 halves in each croissant.
7. Halve 12 blocks of chocolate and stuff 6 halves in between the marshmallows of each croissant. Close croissants.
8. Cover the entire tray with foil to enclose the croissants.
9. Bake on the middle oven rack for 12 minutes or until the marshmallow is puffed and gooey, and chocolate has melted.
10. Remove foil and spoon a portion of meringue onto the top of each croissant.
11. Bake in the oven on a high oven rack for another 1-2 minutes (or use a blow torch if you like) until the marshmallow is toasted.

Recipes & styling: Sjaan Van Der Ploeg
Photographs: Zhann Solomons

The post S’mores croissants appeared first on MyKitchen.

Poulet à la moutard has the sharpness from mustard balanced by creaminess. This sauce, with the thickness of a gravy, is rich but isn’t heavy as it doesn’t use a starch to thicken it. Instead, mustard and egg are used to create an emulsified sauce.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 8 bone-in chicken thighs
• Salt and milled pepper
• 2 Tbsp olive oil blend
• 2 diced shallots, chopped (or 1 onion works well, too)
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• ⅘ cup (200ml) dry white wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs of thyme
• 1½ cups chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp whole-grain Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 4-6 leeks, cut into 5cm sticks
• ¼ cup cream

For serving:

• Pangrattato (see cook’s note)
• Chopped parsley and thyme leaves
• Mash or rice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
2. Season chicken well. Heat oil in an oven-safe pot over medium-high heat.
3. Brown chicken on both sides, for about 3-4 minutes stock and mustard. Season. a side. Remove and set aside.
4. In the same pan, brown leeks for 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside.
5. Scoop about half of the pan juices or fat out of the pan, so you’re left with about 1 Tbsp fat only. (This is important as you’re making an emulsified sauce, so too much fat can cause it to split.) Turn heat to medium.
6. Add shallot or onion and sauté for 5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook for a minute until golden.
7. Add wine to deglaze the pot, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula to loosen any browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Add bay leaf, thyme and stir in
8. Return chicken to the pot, placing skin-side up. Nestle leeks around chicken.
9. Braise uncovered in the oven for about 23-28 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. (To check if the chicken is done, pierce it with a sharp knife at its thickest point. If liquid running out is clear, the chicken is cooked.)
10. Remove chicken from the pot and place over medium-high heat on the stovetop. Add cream, stirring to combine, and allow to simmer to reduce and thicken to a coating, gravy consistency.
11. Sprinkle with pangrattato (if using) and herbs just before serving. Serve with rice or mash.

Cook’s Note

To make a pangrattato, tear crusty bread into small pieces. Toast in a pan with butter and/or oil until crispy. Mix with chopped herbs (such as parsley, thyme and rosemary) and a grating of Parmesan. We’ve added this for extra flavour, but it is not used in the traditional French recipe.

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

The post Everything You Need to Know About Mustard Chicken appeared first on MyKitchen.

These are a real labour of love. It’s about patience, giving the dough time to rest before the next step. We’ll admit that even ours weren’t perfect, but they did spark immense joy!

Makes 12-16

Ingredients

For the croissant dough

• 10g (1 sachet) yeast
• 1-1½ cups (250-375ml) milk, room temperature
• ½ cup (125ml) water, room temperature
• ¼ cup (55g) sugar
• 50g butter, melted and cooled
• 10g salt
• 500g (3⅓ cups) flour

For the butter block

• 300g butter, room temperature
• 1 egg yolk, whisked
• 2 Tbsp milk

1. Preparation the day before: Add yeast, 1 cup milk, water and sugar to a jug and stir well to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes until bubbles appear on top. Mix in butter.
2. Sieve salt and flour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add milk mixture and mix on medium-low until a dough begins to form.
3. Increase speed to medium and mix for 10 minutes. If the dough looks too dry from the start, add another ¼-½ cup of milk.
4. After 10 minutes, the dough should be smooth and tacky, pulling away from the sides of the bowl. (If it sticks to the bowl too much, add 1 Tbsp flour at a time and mix until it pulls away.)
5. Lightly grease and line a 24x35cm baking tray.
6. Press the dough evenly it into the tray. Cover entire tray with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out. Refrigerate overnight or for 8 hours.
7. For the butter block, cut two 30cm squares of baking paper.
8. Shape soft butter into a 20cm square on one piece of paper, about ½cm thick. Place the second sheet of baking paper on top and press along each side of the butter to create straight edges. Refrigerate along with the dough.
9. Making the pastry: Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Remove dough from the fridge and rollout into a 40x25cm rectangle.
10. Peel the baking paper off the butter block and place it on the bottom half of the dough.
11. Fold the top half of the dough over butter block. Pinch and fold the dough underneath all along the sides to make sure the butter is sealed inside, pushing out any air before pinching. Wrap the dough tightly with cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
12. Remove dough from the fridge and leave out for 15 minutes or until slightly warmed up. (If it is too cold, the butter will break when rolling. Don’t let it get to room temperature or it will melt.)
13. With the pinched side facing you, roll the dough out into a 40cmx20cm rectangle using a rolling pin.
14. For the first fold: Place the long side of the rectangle facing you and measure where the centre of the pastry is, making a small mark. Fold the left and the right sides of the pastry to the centre so the two edges now touch each other. Now fold the right side over and onto the left side to create four folds or layers. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
15. Remove dough, leave out for 15 minutes and then gently roll out to a 40x20cm rectangle.
16. For the second fold: With the long side of the rectangle facing you, fold the left side over halfway, then fold the right side completely over the left side to create three folds or layers. Cover and refrigerate for another 30 minutes.
17. Remove dough and rest it on the work surface for 15 minutes. Roll dough to 20cm long, cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
18. Remove and roll out to a total size of 55x20cm. Trim the edges to make clean, straight lines.
19. Shaping the pastry: With the long side of the rectangle facing you, measure 9cm along the left top side (this will form the base of the triangle). Use a ruler to score a diagonal line from right to left. Then score a straight line from left to right, creating two triangles.
20. Repeat the scoring process with the remaining dough to create 16 triangles. Using a very sharp knife, cut out the triangles.
21. Cut a 1cm line in the middle of each triangle’s shortest side.
22. Place a triangle with the short side facing you. Pull the corners of the triangle base away from each other, then roll upward to create a croissant.
23. Place the croissants on two lined baking trays, placing tips tucked underneath themselves to weigh down.
24. Proof and bake: Place trays in a warm area to proof for 1-1½ hours, or until well puffed and bouncy to the touch.
25. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
26. Whisk together the egg yolk and milk. Lightly brush croissants all over with egg mixture.
27. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until evenly golden and crisp. (They will feel light for their size when baked through.) Cool.
28. Enjoy croissants fresh on the same day.

Cook’s Note

Freeze shaped croissants (prepared up to step 19) in an airtight container. Remove from the freezer and proof for 2 hours, then bake as indicated until golden.

Use this step-by-step picture guide to see how pastry is made

Recipes & Styling: Sjaan Van Der Ploeg
Photographs: Zhann Solomons
Text Courtesy of: My Kitchen magazine

The post The Science Behind Perfect Homemade Croissants appeared first on MyKitchen.

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.

Good Idea

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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

The post Oui Oui, Mzansi! appeared first on MyKitchen.

We used a jumbo muffin tin to make fewer but larger muffins. You can also use a 12-hole cupcake tin and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

Jumbo pizza muffins

Makes 6 

Ingredients  

2 cups (300g) flour
1 Tbsp (15ml) baking powder
1 tsp (5ml) garlic powder
10g basil leaves, chopped
Salt and milled pepper
2 eggs, whisked
1¼ cups milk
¼ cup oil
⅔ cup tightly packed (80g) grated mozzarella
⅔ cup tightly packed (80g) grated Cheddar
50g salami (or bacon), chopped
240g tomato purée
Basil leaves, for topping 

Method  

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. Grease a 6-hole jumbo muffin tin.
2. Add flour, baking powder, seasonings and herbs to a large mixing bowl. 
3. Add eggs, milk and oil. Whisk thoroughly to form a smooth batter. Season. 
4. Set aside a small portion of each cheese as well as a few pieces of salami for topping. Use a wooden spoon to stir the remaining cheeses and salami through the batter. 
5. Fill each muffin hole with batter.
6. Add spoonfuls of tomato purée to each muffin, swirling it with a teaspoon so it is evenly ribboned throughout the muffin, but not completely mixed into the batter.
7. Finish muffins with a sprinkle of leftover cheese and pieces of salami.
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden and springy when pressed (if pressing into the batter creates a dent, cook for another 5 minutes).
9. Remove and cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then serve warm garnished with basil leaves. If storing, cool completely and keep in an airtight container.  

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

Also read: Dealer’s choice pizza

The post Jumbo pizza muffins appeared first on MyKitchen.