Two classics become one to create a creamy filling with a crunchy, nutty top.

Pumpkin pecan pie 

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 packet (400g) shortcrust pastry, defrosted 
Flour, for dusting 
1 packet (500g) pumpkin cubes 
2 Tbsp (30g) butter
2 eggs
1 tub (230g) medium fat cream cheese 
1 cup (200g) brown sugar 
Grating of nutmeg 
1 tsp (5ml) ground cinnamon 
¼ cup (60ml) honey 
1 large packet (150g) pecan halves 
Whipped cream, for serving
Honey, for serving (optional)  

Method

1. Roll out pastry on a floured work surface to 4mm thick. Line a 25cm tart tin with pastry, cutting away any excess pastry. (See Cook’s note.) 
2. Use a fork to prick the base of tart, which will allow steam to escape. 
3. Place a sheet of baking paper over pastry, covering completely, then fill to the top with raw rice or baking beads. Chill. 
4. Preheat oven to 200°C.
5. Steam pumpkin on the stove or in the microwave. Cool slightly. 
6. Blitz pumpkin using a stick blender (or use a masher if you like) until smooth. Stir in butter and set aside to cool. 
7. Whisk together remaining ingredients until well combined, then fold in the pumpkin puree. 
8. Blind bake tart shell for 20 minutes. Remove rice or beads and baking paper.
9. Pour pumpkin batter into the par-baked tart shell. 
10. Bake for another 25 minutes.
11. Remove, top with pecan nuts and return to the oven for another 5-8 minutes.
12. Cool for 10 minutes in tin before unmoulding. 
13. Serve tart warm with a dollop of cream and a drizzle of honey, if you like. 

Cooks note 

To extend your pastry, line your tart tin and cut the pastry level with the edges by rolling your rolling pin over the tin or cutting with a sharp knife. Then, using your index- or pinkie finger (depending on tin size) press against each fluted indent to extend it over the tin’s edge. 

By: Liezl Vermeulen 
Photography by: Zhann Solomons

Also read: Sweet potato and pecan hotcakes

The post Pumpkin pecan pie  appeared first on MyKitchen.

Turn your Monday into a mushroom masterpiece! Dive into these delicious meat-free dishes – it’s the perfect way to kick off the week! 

Basil-mushroom rotis with cream cheese 

Serves 2 // Cooking time 10 minutes 

Ingredients 

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 garlic clove, grated
1 punnet exotic mushrooms, chopped
Handful basil
2 rotis, toasted
¼ cup cream cheese 

Method 

1. Heat oil and butter in a pan and fry garlic until golden. Add the mushrooms and fry for 5 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and add the basil to wilt.
3. Spoon mushrooms and cooking juices over rotis, and season with salt and pepper.
4. Serve with the cream cheese on the side.

Cook’s note: Exotic mushrooms are tastier than button mushrooms, but they can be pricey. If exotic mushrooms are out of your price range, add a dash of soy sauce for that umami flavour. 

Recipe & styling: Chiara Turilli
Photography: Samantha Pinto // HMimages.co.za 

Rice noodles, mushrooms and Thai green Curry sauce  

Serves 4 // Cooking time 10 minutes 

Ingredients 

For the sauce 

1 cup coconut milk
Juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp Thai green curry paste
¼ tsp fish sauce  

For the noodles and mushrooms 

100g king oyster mushrooms
2 Tbsp olive oil
Handful Asian salad greens
250g rice noodles, cooked 

Method 

For the sauce 

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a pot, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. 

For the noodles and mushrooms 

1. Prepare the mushrooms by slicing and scoring them. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and fry them until golden.
2. Blanch the greens in boiling water, then place in iced water.
3. To serve, drizzle the noodles with green curry sauce and top with mushrooms and greens.

Recipes & styling: Chiara Turilli
Photography: Andreas Eiselen/ HMimages.co.za 

Meat-free mushroom pie with sesame pastry 

Serves 8 // Cooking time 1 hour 20 minutes 

Ingredients 

For the sesame pastry  

¼ cup black sesame seeds
1 tsp cracked black pepper
400g cake flour
220g butter
½ tsp salt
3 Tbsp cold water
1 egg, beaten 

For the mushroom pie filling  

110g butter
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
¼ cup flour
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 cups milk
½ cup grated mozzarella
¼ cup grated Parmesan
3 Tbsp olive oil
10g thyme
450g mixed mushrooms, chopped  

Method  

For the sesame pastry 

1. In a food processor, pulse the sesame seeds and pepper until ground. Add the flour, butter and salt. Pulse until combined.
2. Add the water, 1 tbsp at a time, until the mixture comes together into a dough.
3. Turn out the dough on to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. Roll into a ball, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge to rest for 1 hour.

For the mushroom pie filling 

1. Heat 1 tsp butter and fry the garlic until golden.
2. Melt 4 Tbsp butter in a pot over low heat. Remove from the heat and mix in flour, mustard, fried garlic, and salt and pepper.
3. Return the pot to the heat. Gradually add the milk, stirring, until the sauce is smooth.
4. Remove from the heat again and add the cheeses. Mix until they melt.
5. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil, another 3 tbsp butter and the thyme in a pan. Add the mushrooms and fry until they are golden. Mix half the mushrooms into the cheese mixture.

To assemble 

1. Preheat oven to 180°C and grease a 23 cm baking tin.
2. Cut the ball of pastry in half. On a floured surface, roll out half to fit the tin. Press it into the tin and blind bake it for 10 minutes.
3. Pour the cheese filling into the pastry case. Top with the remaining mushrooms.
4. Roll out the rest of the pastry and cut into 1 cm strips. Lay out all the horizontal strips on top of the pie first. Fold half of them back on themselves. Working from the middle of the pie out, lay down a vertical strip, then weave it in.
5. Brush the pastry lattice with egg and bake for 40 minutes, until golden.

Recipe & styling: Chiara Turilli
Photography: Andreas Eiselen // HMimages.co.za 

Balsamic mushroom pasta 

Serves 2 // Cooking time 30 minutes 

Ingredients 

Glug of olive oil
½ onion, finely chopped
150g mixed mushrooms
1 cup cream
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
100g spaghetti  

Method  

1. Heat oil in a large pan. Fry the onion until golden. 
2. Add mushrooms and fry until brown. Add cream and balsamic and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Cook the pasta, then mix it with the sauce.

Recipe & styling: Chiara Turilli
Photography: Andreas Eiselen & Kendall-Leigh Nash // HMimages.co.za 

Also read:3 Comforting meat-free meals with chickpeas

The post 4 Tasty mushroom dishes for meat-free Monday  appeared first on MyKitchen.

Turn up the heat in the kitchen with this sizzling brisket pie

Pulled beef brisket pie 

Serves 6-8

Total time 1 hour 30 minutes, plus slow roasting 

Ingredients  

For the brisket  

2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and milled black pepper
1.7kg beef brisket on the bone
2 onions, chopped
4 large cloves garlic
1 Tbsp ground coriander
2 Tbsp smoked paprika
2 cups water
2 cups beef stock
1 cup red wine
2 tubs (500g each) passata or tomato purée
Pinch of sugar
2 tsp cornflour, mixed with a little water to make a smooth paste
1 roll (400g) puff pastry, defrosted
Flour, for dusting
2 bay leaves
2 eggs, whisked

For serving  

A side of vegetables

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. 
2. Heat oil in a large ovenproof pot, season meat and fry in batches for 4-6 minutes until brown all over. Remove and set aside. 
3. Add another glug of oil, fry onions for 5 minutes until soft. 
4. Add garlic and spices to the onions and fry for a minute.
5. 5. Add remaining brisket ingredients, cover tightly with a lid and roast for 3-3.5 hours until tender, turning meat twice during cooking. 
6. Once tender, remove meat from sauce (it should flake easily), place in a bowl and cool slightly before using two forks to shred. 
7. Bring brisket sauce to a simmer and reduce for 5-10 minutes. 
8. Whisk in cornflour paste, stir, and cook for 3 minutes until thickened.
9. Toss 2-3 cups of sauce through shredded meat. 
10. Increase oven heat to 200°C. 
11. Roll pastry out, on a floured surface, to 3-4mm thick. 
12. Spoon meat into an overproof dish and drape pastry over filling, crimping the edges to avoid shrinking. 
13. Brush pastry with egg and cut a slit in the centre for steam to escape. Top with bay leaves and bake for 30 minutes until pastry is crisp and golden. 
14. Serve pie straight from the oven with a side of veggies. 

The post Pulled beef brisket pie appeared first on MyKitchen.

If you haven’t tried these coconut and lemon whoopie pies, you are missing out! Make them this weekend for whatever occasion!

SERVES 12 // COOK TIME 25 mins

INGREDIENTS
For the cakes
250 g flour
100 g sugar
25 g desiccated coconut
1 tbsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 egg
125 ml milk
80 ml vegetable oil
½ tsp coconut essence
For the lemon curd
60 g sugar
60 g butter, cubed
2 lemons (juice of 2, zest of 1)
2 egg yolks

METHOD
For the cakes
1. Preheat oven to 160°C and line a baking tray.
2. Combine flour, sugar, coconut, baking powder and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk egg, milk, oil and coconut essence.
4. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until a smooth batter forms.
5. Drop about 24 tsp of batter on to the baking tray, 5 cm apart. Bake for 7–9 minutes, until puffy and lightly golden.
6. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.
For the lemon curd
1. Place the sugar, butter, and lemon zest and juice in a pot. Cook over low heat until sugar and butter have melted.
2. Place egg yolks in a clean glass bowl and pour in lemon mixture, stirring continuously to prevent the eggs curdling.
3. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Cook, still stirring, for 12–15 minutes, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.
4. Remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.
5. Sandwich together pairs of  cakes, with a spoonful of lemon curd in the middle. Store extra lemon curd in a jar in the fridge.

Having people over for tea, and don’t want to serve just regular biscuits? Then why not make these delicious hertzoggies filled with coconut and smooth jam?

The post Coconut and lemon whoopie pies appeared first on MyKitchen.

This mixed berry pie recipe is the perfect dessert for someone who loves to bake and wants to satisfy all their guests! You can even make it with your kids!

SERVES 1 // COOK TIME 50-60 mins

INGREDIENTS
For the pastry
2 cups flour
2 tbsp icing sugar
145 g butter, cubed
6 tbsp cold water
1 egg, whisked
For the filling
1 cup each blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries
½ cup brown sugar + extra to top
Zest and juice of 1 lemon

METHOD
1. Mix flour and icing sugar. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until the mixture forms fine crumbs.
2. Add water and mix until a dough forms. Knead lightly to form a ball. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 180°C and set out a pie tin.
4. Roll out the dough to 5 mm thick. Cut out a circle a little bigger than the pie tin. Drape it over the tin and press into the sides and base. Crimp the edges.
5. Roll the remaining dough into a ball and return it to the fridge.
6. Mix all the filling ingredients and spoon into the pie shell.
7. Roll out the remaining dough and cut it into 5 strips.
8. Lay 3 strips across the pie and weave the other 2 strips through them. Trim any excess dough and crimp the edges.
9. Brush the top of the pie with egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 50–60 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

Recipe & Styling: Chiara Turilli
Photography: Andreas Eiselen

Learn how to make the perfect batch of shortcrust pastry, and then use it to create this apple and raspberry tart.

The post Mixed berry pie appeared first on MyKitchen.

Haddock is a delicious, and budget-friendly fish. So if you love good food, and want to save some bucks, this smoked haddock dish has your name on it!

SERVES 6 // COOK TIME 60 mins

INGREDIENTS
400 g ready-made puff pastry
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and finely sliced
50 g butter
50 g flour
450 ml milk
450 g smoked haddock, skin and bones removed, flaked
Salt and black pepper
1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line an ovenproof dish with ⅔ of the pastry, pressing it up against the sides.
2. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion for 5 minutes, until translucent. Remove and set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a pot, then stir in the flour. Remove the pot from the heat and add the milk gradually, stirring to combine. Return to the heat and continue cooking, stirring continuously, until thickened. Stir in the haddock and season. Set aside to cool.
4. Once cool, spoon the mixture into the pastry case. Brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash and cover with the remaining pastry. Crimp the edges with a fork and brush the top with egg wash.
5. Bake for 45 minutes, until the pastry is golden and flaky.

We are so lucky to live in a country where we have beautiful, fresh seafood by the plenty. A traditional paella, like this one, is always a crowd-pleaser at dinner parties or lazy Sunday lunches.

The post Smoked haddock pie appeared first on MyKitchen.