This chunky cut of meat requires low and slow cooking, making it the perfect dish to prepare the day before. Swap it for thick-cut beef shin for an everyday cut.

Chilli and plum hammer roast 

Serves 8-9.

2 (about 1.6kg each) beef shin hammer roasts
Salt and milled pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 stalks celery, finely sliced
1 spring onion, chopped
1 punnet (20g) coriander, stalks and leaves separated
6 cloves garlic, chopped
3cm knob ginger, peeled and sliced
6 whole dried red chillies
1 stick cinnamon
2 star anise
1 cup Chinese rice wine (mirin) or dry sherry
½ cup apple cider vinegar
3 limes, juiced
¼ cup soy sauce
1 cup beef stock
¼ cup brown sugar
6-8 plums, halved 

For serving
Chilli, sliced
Coriander leaves
Spring onion, sliced 

Method

1. Bring meat to room temperature 30 minutes before cooking.
2. Season meat and brown in oil in an ovenproof pot over high heat. Remove and set aside.
3. Reduce heat and sauté celery and white parts of spring onion for 5 minutes.
4. Add coriander stalks (chopped), garlic, ginger, chillies and spices and fry for another 3 minutes.
5. Deglaze pot by adding rice wine, then remaining liquid ingredients and brown sugar.
6. Return meat to pot (ensuring it’s submerged in liquid) and add plums.
7. Cover and roast at 170°C for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 150°C and cook for 3 hours.
8. Switch off oven and leave roast in for an hour or two, or overnight.
9. Reheat pot on the stove, remove meat and reduce sauce, adding some butter to make a glossy gravy.
10. Serve meat and plums on a platter with gravy, garnished with chilli, coriander and spring onion greens.

Flavour check-list 

Salty: stock, soy sauce
Fat: beef shin
Sweet: cinnamon, star anise, rice wine vinegar
Acidity: apple cider vinegar, plums, lime
Heat: chillies 

Recipe & styling: Liezl Vermeulen
Photography: Donna Lewis

Also read: Roast potatoes on cumin-garlic yoghurt with coriander chutney 

The post Chilli & plum hammer roast   appeared first on MyKitchen.

We sat down with self-taught cook, wife, mother of two and social media influencer Mmule Setati (@feed_my_tribe) to find out more about her cooking journey and what it was like to write her first cookbook Feed My Tribe.

How did you get into cooking? Can you share some of your earliest food memories? 

My food journey has been an interesting one. The seed was planted in me when I was 11 years old. I would rush back home after school and watch cooking shows back-to-back till my parents came home.  

My love for food began when I was a little girl watching my grandmother cook and ‘feed her tribe’. Then I got older and was fortunate enough to travel and be exposed to different tastes and flavours. I decided to start documenting all the meals I made, restaurants I’d go to and countries I visited.

 

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I owned and ran a juice business called Frutal Juice for three-and-a-half years before dedicating all my time to feeding my tribe. Food was always my release after a stressful day. I’d make something at home and share it on the internet. The little community I had grew into the ‘tribe’ I have and love today.  

Your Instagram page, @feed_my_tribe, currently has a whopping 51.1k followers. What motivated you to start sharing your recipes on Instagram and TikTok? 

I was motivated by getting more and more messages from friends and family asking to help when they were in the kitchen or hosting, or needed to cook a meal for their families. This motivated me to create a page where all of their needs were met.  

Congrats on publishing your first cookbook, Feed My Tribe. How did that come about and how did you find the recipe development and writing process? 

Thank you. It was a really difficult process. I had just begun the process of liquidating my juice company and was speaking to my life coach about my ‘what next?’. I felt a huge sense of loss over the business and she suggested I turn my passion for food into a business. 

 

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We then strategised and came up with a one-to-five-year plan. First up would be cooking classes, then merchandise, then in five years a cookbook. All of those things manifested (of course, with the hard work and dedication I put in) within two years. 

What can people expect to learn from your book? 

An insight into what making good food looks like. New fresh recipes, sexy salads, meals made for hosting, quick meals for moms that kids will enjoy, delicious date-night meals for you and your partner. All of that in one and a new-age glimpse into how we cook as modern moms. A balanced lifestyle.  

How do you balance the demands of work and family life? 

I don’t know! (laughs). It does get quite intense and I’ll drop a few balls but having a set routine helps. A typical day looks like waking up, praying, doing the school drop-off, gymming, working, picking the kids up from school and attending extramural activities. Then I go home to shoot content to post on social media for a client or random meals, before attending to the kids while cooking with them. Later it’s mommy and daddy time. But I don’t get it right all the time.  

What is your favourite meal to prepare? 

Anything made with love. I love cooking so it’s hard to pick one. 

 

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What are three ingredients you always have in your fridge? 

Cream, butter and baby spinach.  

Can you share a bit about your current projects? Is there anything else in the pipeline? 

Everyone will just have to follow me at @feed_my_tribe to see! My website is loading soon and more cooking classes are planned. 

The post Mmule Setati on family, food, fame and her new cookbook appeared first on MyKitchen.

Healthy? Tick. Interactive? Tick. Tasty? Tick, tick, tick! Give your meals a family-friendly spin with our shredded chicken, spinach, lettuce, tomato salsa, crispy chickpeas, feta, avocado & corn build-your-own salad boards!

SERVES 6–8  // PREP TIME 30 min // COOK TIME 15 min

INGREDIENTS
For the tomato salsa
4 tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp chopped coriander
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
For the crispy chickpeas
2 tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1½ tsp olive oil
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp paprika
To serve 
4 cups shredded spinach
3 cups corn, heated
5 wheels feta, crumbled
1 store-bought chicken, shredded 
2 avocados, cut into wedges

METHOD
For the tomato salsa
1. Combine all the ingredients.
For the crispy chickpeas
1. Preheat oven to 220°C.
2. Combine all the ingredients and transfer to a baking tray.
3. Bake for 12–15 minutes, until slightly crisp.
4. To serve, toss everything together and season. 

Recipes & styling: Jezza-Rae Larsen
Photography: K-Leigh Siebritz/HM Images

Make the ultimate nutritious bento box with this mini meatballs recipe.

The post Shredded chicken salad board appeared first on MyKitchen.

Families that eat together are healthier together, or so says LANCEWOOD in their recent Quality Time Report on South African families.

These days our lives are so fast-paced and filled with all sorts of distractions that it’s difficult to take a moment to actually be, well, in the moment. From work and traffic to parental responsibilities and social media, there seems to be an endless routine of ‘busy’ – too busy to even enjoy mealtimes anymore.

For decades now, the amount of time families spend together, especially during mealtimes, has been on the decline. That was until the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. Last year, many of us were forced to stomp on the brakes and slow it down. We were confined to our homes in an effort to stay safe and limit infections, and this meant numerous families were spending more time together. 

It was also during this time that local dairy producer LANCEWOOD conducted their Quality Time research study, which aimed to understand how families spend their mealtimes. Needless to say, the results were interesting.

The Details 

The study was conducted between 12 June and 6 July 2020 with 2 100 participants. LANCEWOOD collaborated with four local experts to share further insight on the research findings and assist South Africans with enhancing quality time over meal-times. This included psychologist Dr Ilse de Beer, TV personality and cookbook author Zola Nene, media personality and author Vanessa Raphaely, and former magazine editor and stylist Vicki Sleet.

The Findings

According to LANCEWOOD’s report, 89% of respondents believe that quality time with friends and family is important. Yet it found that while quality time during meals is valued, there are many responsibilities and barriers that prevent families from prioritising it. These barriers include work (62%), household chores (36%), school activities (35%) and traffic (21%) being the main culprits.

However, many of these barriers were reduced or fell away during the nationwide lockdown last year. With many not working, sitting in traffic or going to school, the report found that 59% of participants said they are eating together more and 43% said that they are cooking together more. With the majority of people spending time at home, it meant that supper wasn’t the only mealtime that family members were present. Being at home all day meant that breakfast, lunch and dinner were prepared and enjoyed together as a family. On the other hand, 20% of the study participants reported that their eating behaviour hadn’t changed at all
during lockdown. 

The majority did notice a change though, and Zola reiterates this. ‘There was absolutely a change, and I know this because of the type of interaction I received on my platforms. People have to cook more, and they need help. They’re also looking for creative ways to elevate their meals without breaking the bank,’ she explains.

The Takeaway

With life returning to a semi-normal state, it is understood that many of the challenges we faced when prioritising mealtimes will return. Yet the experts believe it is more important than ever for us to continue spending quality time together. ‘We need that sense of belonging, the sense of being accepted, a place of safety, and experiencing love and interest in one another’s life. If we do not spend quality time together, we lose that feeling of cohesion,’ says Dr de Beer.

Besides the distractions, there’s also this notion that mealtimes and food needs to be perfect in order for it to be enjoyed. ‘Sharing images of perfection are becoming the norm. But, remember that the image that is held up through social media is only an edited, highly curated version of what life is,’ says Vanessa. And it certainly doesn’t have to be the perfect family setting that we’re used to seeing in the media. Whether you and your family prefer to dine at the table, sit in front of the TV, eat on the floor, or use your hands, there’s no right or wrong way to enjoy your meals – and the same can be said for the food itself. Oftentimes a quick and easy meal is all that you can manage to muster up after a long day, and that is perfectly okay!

‘Creating a space in your home to eat, and actively clearing your mind to be present, goes a long way in having quality time. Where possible, try and separate your workspace from the area where you eat to help with distinguishing between work time and family time,’ suggests Vicki.

Food should always be a joyous occasion and so much more than simply nourishment. It is a way to celebrate, connect, share, show love and bond with others. So the next time you need to prepare a meal, why not involve the whole family, and turn an everyday moment into a quality mealtime moment. 

By: Taryn Wilson
Photography: Gallo/Getty Images

The post LANCEWOOD’s Quality Time Report proves that eating together is better appeared first on MyKitchen.

There’s no need to go out when you can have a decadent breakfast right at home! This loaded roht French toast is a special treat for the whole family.

SERVES 4 // COOKING TIME 1 hour 40 min

INGREDIENTS
For the roht
3 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
1½ tsp ground cardamom
½ cup melted butter
½ cup warm milk
10 g instant dry yeast
1 egg, beaten
For the fig compote
200 g figs, quartered
2 tbsp orange zest
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp red-wine vinegar
⅓  cup sugar
¼ cup water
For the yoghurt
1 cup double-cream yoghurt
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cardamom
To assemble
4 eggs
⅓  cup milk
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground cardamom

METHOD
For the roht
1. Mix the flour, sugar, bicarb, salt and cardamom.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the butter, milk and yeast together. Add the egg and whisk until fully combined.
3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the yeast mixture. Mix until a sticky dough forms.
4. Knead for 3–4 minutes, and then proof in an oiled bowl for 1 hour, until doubled in size.
5. Preheat oven to 200ºC and line baking trays.
6. Divide the dough into eight and roll into round loaves that are about 7 mm thick. Arrange on trays and set aside for 15 minutes.
7. Bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown.
For the fig compote
1. Add all the ingredients to a pot over medium heat.
2. Bring to the boil for 5 minutes, then lower the heat and simmer for 15–20 minutes, until the figs are soft and the syrup has reduced.
For the yoghurt
1. Mix ingredients together.
To assemble
1. Whisk the ingredients together. Heat some vegetable oil in a pan over low-medium.
2. Soak each piece of roht in the egg mixture for 15–20 seconds. Fry for 1–2 minutes on each side.
3. Dollop with yoghurt and fig compote to serve.

Recipe & styling: Kate Turner
Photography: Samantha Pinto // HMimages.co.za

Leftover fig compote? Use it to top these healthy coconut cakes.

The post Loaded roht French toast with fig compote appeared first on MyKitchen.

We think it’s high time to indulge in some South African classics like you’ve never seen them before, starting with this vetkoek with curried mince.

SERVES 6 // COOKING TIME 1 hour 30 min

INGREDIENTS
For the vetkoek
250 g store-bought bread dough, at room temperature
For the curried mince
½ onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 red chillies, chopped
2 tbsp masala
2 tbsp tomato paste
500 g ostrich mince
Handful coriander, chopped
To serve
6 eggs, fried
Red chillies, chopped
Handful micro herbs

METHOD
For the vetkoek
1. Divide the dough into 6 balls, and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled in size.
2. Deep-fry the vetkoek, one at a time, until puffed up and golden brown, about 2–3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towel.
For the curried mince
1. Heat some oil in a large pan over medium heat and sauté the onions until they start to sweat.
2. Add the green pepper, chilli and spices, and fry for 2 minutes, until fragrant.
3. Add the tomato paste and mince and fry until the meat is browned. Continue frying for 10 minutes, until cooked through.
4. Stir in the fresh coriander and season to taste.
To serve
1. Slice each vetkoek in half and fill generously with curried mince, a fried egg, fresh chopped chilli and micro herbs. Serve hot.

Recipe & styling: Leila-Ann Mokotedi
Photography: Peet Mocke // HMimages.co.za

Apart from enjoying the traditional classics, we also love to mix a bit of local culture with international favourites! This South African chilli con carne will have some familiar ingredients and flavours.

The post Vetkoek with curried mince and fried egg appeared first on MyKitchen.