Instead of making your own pasta, use tagliatelle or pappardelle if you like.

Creamy lemon pasta

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the pasta: 

1⅖ cups (250g) plain or OO flour
3 (170g) extra-large eggs

For the creamy lemon sauce: 

2-3 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 cup cream
40g grated Parmesan
Salt and milled pepper
Olive oil, for drizzling
20g parsley, roughly chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped 

Method

1. Place the flour on a working surface and make a deep indent in the middle. Crack eggs into the middle and whisk with a fork to slowly incorporate the flour. 
2. Once a rough dough has formed, bring it together into a ball with your hands. Leave on the counter for 15 minutes to rest; cover with a damp towel. 
3. Knead for another 30 seconds until the dough forms a smooth ball. Wrap in clingwrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. 
4. Use a pasta machine to roll the dough out into a thin, long sheet. Alternatively, portion pasta dough into halves and use a rolling pin to roll each as thin as possible. 
5. Roll dough up into a long log. Slice into 1cm pieces to create pasta strands. Unroll pasta and dust with flour. 
6. For the sauce, add butter and garlic to a deep pan over medium heat. 
7. When golden and sizzling, add lemon zest and juice, stir.
8. Add cream and half the Parmesan, bring to a low simmer and stir until reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. Season. 
9. Add pasta to a pot of salted boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes until tender. Drain and drizzle with olive oil. 
10. Add pasta to the pot with the sauce and cook for another 2 minutes. 
11. Divide pasta between serving plates and scatter with parsley, the remaining Parmesan and chopped chilli.  

Recipe & styling: Sjaan Van Der Ploeg
Photography: Zhann Solomons

Also read: Expert tips to perfect your homemade pasta dough 

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Fire up your appetite for this tasty dish! Stack your perfect burger, drenched in a mouthwatering BBQ basting made extra delicious with Selati Brown Sugar. 

Sticky BBQ basting sauce 

Makes 1½ cups 

Ingredients 

⅔ cup tomato sauce
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
½ cup (100g) Selati Brown Sugar 
1 tsp (5g) salt
1½ tsp (5g) smoked paprika
4 cloves garlic, grated   

For serving 

4 beef patties 
½ cup cheddar, grated
4 seeded burger rolls, halved and toasted
Mayonnaise for spreading
4 slices tomato
Handful lettuce
Cooked chips   

Method 

1. Combine the sauce ingredients in a small pot over medium-high heat. 
2. Bring to a simmer, then cook, stirring until the sugar has dissolved for about 5-7 minutes. (Reducing the sauce increases the salt, but an extra pinch of Selati Sugar and splash of water will balance this out).  
3. Remove from the heat and cool.  
4. For luscious burgers, cook patties on a braai or in a pan over high heat until almost cooked to your liking.  
5. About 2-3 minutes before finishing, use a pastry brush or the back of a spoon to lather BBQ sauce over the surface of the patties.  
6. Fry for 30 seconds before flipping and lathering the other sides with sauce. Once basted, add cheese to the tops of your burgers, and melt slightly.  
7. Carefully remove patties and rest for 5 minutes as the cheese continues to melt.  
8. Spread the bases of your burger rolls with mayonnaise (or a condiment of your liking), top with a burger patty (lathered with more BBQ sauce, if you like), a slice of tomato and some lettuce. Secure the lids on top and serve. 

For more information about Selati Sugar, visit www.selati.co.za. 

Styling: Sjaan van der Ploeg
Photography: Donna Lewis  

The post Sticky BBQ basting sauce with Selati Sugar  appeared first on MyKitchen.

Enjoy as a snack plate or serve as a meal for two with a side of stir-fry veg and egg fried rice. 

Bang bang chicken pops 

Serves 4 (as a snack)

Ingredients

500g deboned chicken thighs
Salt and milled pepper
1 tsp chilli flakes 
1 Tbsp paprika 
1 tsp garlic powder (or use ½ tsp garlic flakes) 
2 Tbsp cake flour 
1 egg, whisked 
2 Tbsp sriracha sauce 
2 cups panko breadcrumbs 
3 cups canola or sunflower oil, for deep-frying  

For bangbang sauce  

½ cup mayonnaise
⅓ cup sweet chilli sauce
3 Tbsp sriracha sauce  

For serving  

Sliced spring onion and chilli
Coriander  

Method

1. Cut chicken thighs into 4 pieces each, creating roughly 3cm chunks then season. 
2. Mix together spices and flour, tossing to combine evenly. Whisk together egg and sriracha, then add to flour mixture and whisk until smooth. 
3. Preheat oil over a medium-high heat until shimmering hot. 
4. Toss chicken in flour mixture, remove chicken, then toss through panko crumbs. 
5. Deep-fry chicken, working in 2-3 batches. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until golden and chicken is cooked through. Drain on paper towel and season.
6. Combine bangbang sauce ingredients. (You can add half the sauce through chicken immediately after frying, tossing to coat if you like.) 
7. Pool sauce onto a plate and pile chicken on top. Sprinkle with spring onion, chilli and coriander.

By: Liezl Vermeulen
Photography by: Zhann Solomons

Also read: Chargrilled chicken strips with red pepper hummus

The post Bang bang chicken pops  appeared first on MyKitchen.

These burgers are stacked with two patties, but you can play it safe and save with a single patty. Don’t hold back on the moreish sauce, though!

Stacked burger with blue cheese sauce

Makes 4

Ingredients 

For the blue cheese sauce  

50g blue cheese, crumbled 
½ cup sour cream
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Milled pepper 
½ tsp garlic powder  

For the caramelised onion  

2 onions, thinly sliced 
2 Tbsp olive oil 
1 tsp salt 
3 Tbsp brown sugar 
2 Tbsp butter 
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar 
Salt and milled pepper 
60g rocket 
4 toasted burger buns 
8 beef patties, cooked 
8 pieces streaky bacon, cooked  

Method

1. Combine cheese sauce ingredients and mash using a fork to create a chunky sauce. 
2. Heat oil in a pan over medium-low, add onions and salt then gently caramelise for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
3. Sprinkle sugar over onions — do not stir — and cook for another 5 minutes. 
4. Add butter and balsamic vinegar to onions and stir through. Season then remove from the heat. 
5. To assemble, place rocket on toasted buns, followed by a patty, cheese sauce and some onions. 
6. Repeat layers to create a double burger, if you like. Serve with bacon. 

Blue cheese  

This funky cheese is created through the addition of a blue mould culture (Penicillium roqueforti) that is cast over the curd as it is being processed into wheels. Over the ageing period of 2-3 months, air is introduced into the cheese using metal rods, creating a reaction that causes fats and proteins in the cheese to break down and release the characteristic smell and taste some people love (and some just hate)! The saltiness of blue cheese pairs brilliantly with jammy, sweet ingredients such as caramelised onions or preserved figs. 

By: Sjaan van der Ploeg
Photography by: Zhann Solomons
Text courtesy of MyKitchen magazine

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Cooking pasta should be easy, but a few sneaky missteps can turn your dinner into a fail. Sound familiar? Don’t worry – we’re serving up the most common pasta pitfalls and simple fixes for perfect pasta every time.  

Mistake #1: Not using enough water 

The boiling water level of the pot that you’re cooking the pasta in should always be checked (and checked again). Using too little water can result in unevenly cooked pasta, where half of it is still hard and the other half is a mushy, overcooked mess. Since pasta expands when it cooks, the result will be the same when you use a pot that’s too small for your yummy pasta dish.  

Mistake 2: Not adding pasta water in your sauce 

Do you immediately chuck out the water that the pasta was boiled in after it’s done cooking? It’s essential to reserve a cup (or two) of the pasta water before draining the pasta. The cloudy pasta water is the perfect addition to your sauce, making it thicker while infusing your dish with a burst of flavour!  

Mistake #3: Adding oil for the pasta when cooking 

While it’s important to add seasoning to your pasta, adding olive oil is a no-go when boiling your pasta. Although the oil will prevent the pasta from sticking to the pot, it will also fend off any flavour of the sauce that sticks to your pasta. When you add oil, the pasta becomes slippery – this will prevent the sauce from mixing well with the pasta.  

Mistake #4: Not seasoning the pasta when boiling  

Although making pasta is relatively easy, it’s important to add the necessary salt, herbs and spices to the water before you add the pasta. “When cooking the pasta in salted water, the dough absorbs the salt throughout, rather than having to steal some from the surface sauce or not at all,” says Chef John Underbrink. “Also, the salt acts as a stabiliser in the gelatin of the pasta starches, yielding a much better texture.” 

Mistake #5: Not cooking the pasta in the sauce 

Do you serve your pasta and pasta sauce in two separate dishes? “A chef once told me to cook my fresh pasta 70 percent in the water and 30 percent in the sauce,” Chef John Underbrink says. “This is because cooking the pasta in the sauce allows it to absorb the flavors, as well as coat itself in the sauce much more nicely.” Before your sauce is completely done, add in your almost-ready pasta and cook it in the sauce for another 5 minutes for the flavour to really soak into the pasta.  

Image: Shutterstock 

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