Our Editor's April Top Picks

A round up of Chad’s favourites for the month: one simple recipe, a quick entertaining or dinner cheat (like pesto or dip, etc), new foodie product, hot cookbook mini review, seasonal tips.

The aroma of cinnamon, citrus and freshly baked bread stir up childhood memories of devouring out-the-oven hot cross buns lathered with butter and apricot jam (my trick was to sprinkle over grated mature cheddar!).

There’s nothing more disappointing than biting into a stale hot cross bun so to make sure none go to waste, I created this winning recipe:

Hot cross bun ice-cream

Ingredients

2L vanilla ice cream, softened
1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
2-3 hot cross buns, chopped into chunks

Method

Mix ice cream, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl until well combined.
Gently fold through hot cross buns.
Freeze for an hour or until firm.
Serve in sugar cones, on waffles, or scooped into scattered with fresh berries.

Eat with your eyes

I spend most of my time creating recipes and testing them in the kitchen. If not, then I’m immersed in a really good cookbook. My other favourite pass time is watching cooking shows that transport me to new worlds filled with different flavours and cultures.

My current obsession is Somebody Feed Phil, streaming on Netflix. The show’s host, Phil Rosenthal (creator of the hit show Everybody Loves Raymond) has no cheffing background or foodie expertise, so his reactions when trying new food are entirely sincere. His tenderness and appreciation of people and the food they make is palpable – you can’t help but fall in love with the show.

If you’re looking for a food and travel documentary series without pretence, without filter and packed full of laughs, this is the show for you. PS Don’t miss the Cape Town episode in season two!

Hit the Streets

I make it my mission to find new restaurants in my city. I’m hardly ever drawn to the establishments of social media fame. Finding a lesser-known restaurant or hole in the wall that creates delicious food with an even better vibe will always be a winner for me.

This month, the restaurant at the top of my list is Urban Playground in Cape Town, owned by chef Peter Ayub and his wife Debbie, founders of Sense of Taste Chef School. Aside from a restaurant, Urban Playground offers students from the school the opportunity to get the necessary practical experience.

My top picks from urban playground’s menu

The Hot Diggity Dog: an OTT hot dog with all the trimmings.

Thai-style Pork Belly

Open: Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 10pm and is situated in Maitland, Cape Town.
Find them on instagram: @urbanplayground.capetown

On the Grind

One kitchen utensil that I can’t live without is my pestle and mortar. It’s an incredibly versatile tool – I’ve used it to make everything from spice rubs and home-made pestos to salsas and chunky sauces.

I prefer the marble or stone kind as I’ve found that the wooden ones are trickier to clean and tend to stain quite easily. I often create my own flavoured salts by adding herbs and whole spices to flaked salt and grinding until combined.