Spice up your lamb cut this holiday season. Shred left overs for sandwiches or wraps.

Ultimate Cape Malay leg of lamb 

Serves 8 

Ingredients

2kg leg of lamb, bone in
10 cloves garlic
2 cups amasi
7 Tbsp Cape Malay spice blend
Salt and milled pepper
3 onions, sliced
500g rainbow carrots, washed
1 whole garlic bulb, halved
Olive oil 
⅓ cup butter 

Method

1. Using a pairing knife, pierce the lamb in the shape of an ‘X’ and press a garlic clove into each opening.
2. Mix together the amasi and spice. Season.
3. Rub the lamb with the amasi marinade, season and allow to marinate for 4-6 hours or ideally overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C.
5. Place the marinated lamb into an ovenproof dish and scatter the onion, carrot and garlic halves around the lamb. Drizzle with olive oil and dot butter around the lamb.
6. Roast uncovered for 30 minutes. Lower heat to 160°C, cover with foil and roast for another 1½ hours or until the meat pulls away from the bone.
7. Serve the lamb with your choice of sides.

Recipe & styling: Lichelle May
Photography by: Zhann Solomons

Also read: Side dishes that might upstage your meaty mains for your festive feast 

The post Ultimate Cape Malay leg of lamb  appeared first on MyKitchen.

Lock in moisture and taste by wrapping, coating and folding extra flavour around chicken and fish – with something sweet at the end to tie it all up. 

Baked coconut fish tacos 

Serves 4 

Ground oats make for a healthier crumbed coating, and adding extra coconut boosts flavour and fibre. 

Ingredients 

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1kg fresh hake fillets
Salt and milled black pepper
2 eggs, whisked
4 multi-seed or white flour tortillas
1 avocado, mashed
1 lemon, juiced
1 jalapeño, sliced
1/4 red cabbage, shredded 
Fresh coriander, for serving  

Method 

1. Blitz oats in a blender to create a coarse flour. 
2. Combine oat flour and coconut in a large bowl.
3. Pat dry hake with kitchen towel, slice into 5cm strips and season well. 
4. Preheat oven to 200°C. 
5. Add egg to a bowl and dip fish strips into egg, then coat in oat flour mixture and set aside. (Repeat process for a thicker crumb). 
6. Place fish strips onto a lined baking tray and bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden. 
7. To make the taco shells, switch off oven and hang the tortillas over wire racks in the oven for 2-3 minutes.
8. Combine avocado and lemon and season well.
9. Fill tacos with avo mixture, jalapeño, red cabbage and fresh coriander. Serve immediately.

Salt-crusted baked whole fish 

Serves 4 

The salt crust locks in moisture and helps to cook the fish slowly and evenly for a fall-apart, flaky fish.  

Ingredients 

1 whole white fish, scaled and guts removed (we used locally caught jacopever, but any sustainable fish works well) 
2 limes or lemons, sliced 
1 lemon, sliced 
3 cloves garlic, sliced 
Handful fresh dill  

For the salt crust  

1 cup cake flour, plus extra for dusting 
1/4 cup coarse salt 
1 lemon, zested 
1 egg white 
Handful fresh thyme 
Handful fresh coriander  

To serve  

Fresh rocket 
Lime or lemon wedges 
Crispy baby potatoes   

Method 

1. Stuff the cavity of the fish with lime, lemon, garlic and dill.
2. For the crust, blitz together flour, salt, zest, egg white and herbs to make a stiff dough. Add more flour if the mixture is too wet and sticky.
3. Preheat oven to 200°C.
4. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 5mm thick.
5. Brush fish lightly with oil and cover fish with dough, making sure to tightly seal edges.
6. Place fish onto a greased baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes.
7. Allow fish to cool slightly before transferring to a serving platter.
8. Take care to break open crust to reveal fish – remind guests not to eat the salt crust. Scatter with fresh rocket and serve with lime or lemon wedges and crispy baby potatoes.

Air fryer chicken lettuce cups 

Serves 4-6 

No air fryer? No problem! Oven bake at 200°C for 18-20 minutes or until golden. 

Ingredients 

For the pickled onions 

1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp sugar
2 red onions, sliced  

1 packet (about 500g) chicken breast fillets
Salt and milled black pepper
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2 eggs, whisked
1 lemon
1 cup yoghurt
1 clove garlic, grated
1/4 cucumber, grated
2 butter lettuce heads, leaves separated
Fresh coriander, for serving  

Method 

1. Place vinegar, water and sugar into a pot and bring to the boil.
2. Place onions in a bowl and cover with hot pickling liquid. Cover and set aside for 15 minutes.
3. Cut chicken into 5cm strips and season well.
4. Combine breadcrumbs and sesame seeds in one bowl and eggs in another.
5. Dip chicken strips into egg and then into breadcrumbs to coat evenly. (Repeat process for a thicker crumb).
6. Place batches of strips into an air fryer basket and cook for 7-10 minutes at 200°C on the baking setting. Repeat with the remaining chicken strips.
7. Remove, drizzle with lemon juice and set aside to cool.
8. Combine yoghurt, garlic, cucumber and season well.
9. Fill lettuce leaves with chicken strips, top with yoghurt mixture and pickled onions and garnish with fresh coriander.

Bacon-wrapped beer can chicken 

Serves 4 

Wrapping chicken in bacon prevents it from drying out as it roasts 

Ingredients 

1 whole chicken, giblets removed 
Glug canola oil 
Salt and milled black pepper 
1 packet (200g) streaky bacon 
1 can (500ml) milk stout beer 
1/4 cup melted butter 
1 lime or lemon, zested and juiced 
3 Tbsp maple or golden syrup 
1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme, plus extra for serving  

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Rub chicken with oil and season generously.
3. Lie chicken breast-side up and wrap with bacon in a lattice pattern, taking care to cover completely. Secure bacon using toothpicks.
4. Remove 1/4 of beer from can and insert can into cavity of chicken, standing it upright.
5. Combine butter, lime or lemon zest and juice, maple syrup and thyme to create a glaze.
6. Brush chicken with 1/4 of mixture, taking care to coat it evenly.
7. Roast for 1 hour and 10-15 minutes or until cooked through, basting with butter mixture every 15 minutes. (No power? No problem! Cook the chicken over medium coals in a closed weber braai.)
8. Remove toothpicks, scatter with extra thyme and serve while hot. 

Asian fish cabbage parcels 

SERVES 4 

No bamboo steamer? Simply place parcels in a colander over a tight-fitting pot of simmering water. Cover with a lid and steam it up! 

Ingredients 

1 whole cabbage, leaves separated 
500g hake fillets, cut into thick chunks 
1 Tbsp sesame oil 
2 cloves garlic, grated 
1 tsp grated fresh ginger 
2 Tbsp chopped fresh coriander 
Salt and milled black pepper 
2 carrots, peeled and julienned 
1 red onion, julienned 
Sesame seeds, for serving 
Sweet chilli sauce, for serving  

Method 

1. Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. 
2. Blanch cabbage leaves in water for about 15-20 seconds, until soft and pliable. Set aside to cool completely. 
3. Combine hake, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and coriander and toss. Season well. 
4. Spread one cabbage leaf onto a clean work surface. 
5. Fill with hake mixture, carrot and onion then roll up cabbage leaf to enclose filling completely. Repeat this process with the remaining ingredients. 
6. Fill a bamboo steamer with cabbage parcels and place over a pot of simmering water. 
7. Cover and steam for about 7-10 minutes. 
8. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve hot with sweet chilli sauce on the side.

Leek, potato and Cheddar pastry ring 

SERVES 4 

No bamboo steamer? Simply place parcels in a colander over a tight-fitting pot of simmering water. Cover with a lid and steam it up! 

Ingredients 

1 Tbsp butter 
Glug oil 
2 cloves garlic, sliced 
1 tsp mustard seeds 
1 bay leaf 
1 packet (300g) leeks, thinly sliced 
6 potatoes, peeled and diced 
Salt and milled black pepper 
1 roll puff pastry, defrosted 
1 egg yolk, whisked 
1 1/2 cups grated mature Cheddar 
Fresh herbs of your choice, for serving   

Method 

1. Melt butter in a pan, add oil and fry garlic for 30 seconds. 
2. Add mustard seeds and bay leaf then cook for another minute. 
3. Stir through leeks and potatoes, season, cover and cook for about 10-15 minutes or until tender. Stir occasionally to prevent mixture from sticking.
4. Tip mixture onto a plate and chill in the fridge for 15 minutes. 
5. Preheat oven to 180°C. 
6. Roll pastry out onto a lightly floured surface to make a rectangle of about 50cm in length. Brush edges with egg yolk. 
7. Mix cheese through cooled vegetables and spoon along the length of one half of the pastry. 
8. Fold over pastry to cover filling and crimp edges to seal. 
9. Shape log into a ring and seal two ends together. Place onto a greased and lined baking tray. 
10. Brush pastry ring with remaining egg yolk and score the top. (This allows steam to escape while cooking). 
11. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and cooked through. 
12. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve with a dipping sauce of your choice.

3-ingredient chocolate covered strawberry yoghurt popsicles 

SERVES 6-8 

Feel free to swap out the white chocolate for dark or milk chocolate. We know everyone has their favourite! 

Ingredients 

4 tubs (175g each) double cream strawberries and cream yoghurt 
1 packet (200g) frozen mixed berries 
4 slabs (80g each) white chocolate 

Method 

1. Blitz together yoghurt and raspberries until smooth.  
2. Divide mixture between 6-8 lolly moulds and freeze for 2-4 hours until half frozen.  
3. Pop in lolly sticks and freeze for a further 6 hours or until solid.  
4. Melt chocolate over a double boiler, cool slightly and pour into a tall glass or jug. 
5. Dip each popsicle into chocolate until it is submerged and then carefully remove. 
6. Allow excess chocolate to drip off. Turn popsicle upright and hold for 30-60 seconds to allow chocolate to set.  
7. Return to freezer and repeat process with remaining popsicles.

Words: Chad January

Photography: Fresh Living Magazine

Also read: Pastry-wrapped camembert with grilled plums

The post Wrap ideas the whole family will enjoy appeared first on MyKitchen.

Can we all agree that the best part of a road trip is the food? All eating rules go out the window and you can be on your worst behaviour, food-wise at least.  

But too much of a good thing is not great and so balance needs to be restored. Here’s a food- and snack guideline to balance out the on-the-go road-trip food.  

Snacks shouldn’t be shared 

Sometimes sharing isn’t caring, especially when travelling with the little ones. Food fights are not cute, so do pack each passenger’s snacks into their own container. 

If you’re looking for some healthy snack inspo, check out our Healthy Snack Hacks for 2023 article and keep all passengers satisfied. 

Leave messy food at home 

Foods that need to be eaten with utensils are a no-no. Can you imagine the fuss and mess of dining in a moving car? It’s not worth the trouble! Rather, pack toasties, homemade mini quiches and easy-to-handle fruits like grapes, berries and bananas. 

Here’s a mouth-watering recipe for a chicken, corn and chive mini quiche  

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs
1 tbsp milk
2 sheets shortcrust pastry
125 g roast chicken, shredded
125 g tin corn, drained
2 tbsp finely chopped chives
¼ cup white Cheddar, grated  

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Grease a 12-hole mini muffin tin.
2. Whisk together the eggs and milk in a jug and season.
3. Gently unroll pastry and cut out 12 discs using a 7 cm round cookie cutter. Press the discs into pan holes. Divide the chicken, corn and chives between pastry cases. Top with the egg mixture and sprinkle over the cheese.
4. Bake for 25 min or until quiches are set, and the pastry is browned lightly.

Coconut flour wraps with chicken, peanuts and rainbow filling

SERVES 4 // COOKING TIME 1 hour 15 min  

INGREDIENTS

For the coconut flour wraps
½ cup coconut flour, sifted
2 tbsp psyllium husk
Pinch salt
¾ cup water
¼ cup milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
 

For the peanut sauce
¼ cup peanut butter
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
 

To assemble
3 chicken breasts, grilled and shredded
2 carrots, grated
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 avocado, sliced
¼ cup peanuts, chopped 

METHOD

For the coconut flour wraps
1. Preheat oven to 160 °C. Line 2 baking sheets.
2. Mix the coconut flour, psyllium husk and salt together. Add the water, milk, oil and bicarb and mix.
3. Begin kneading until a soft dough forms. Set aside to rest for 15 minutes.
4. Divide into four. Roll each piece into a thin circle.
5. Arrange on the prepared sheets and bake for 15–20 minutes, flipping halfway

For the peanut sauce
1. Whisk all the ingredients together

To assemble
1. Spread a thin layer of peanut sauce on to each wrap and fill with chicken, veggies and nuts. 

Recipe: Nicola Naudé
Styling: Kate Turner
Photography: Samantha Pinto // HMimages.co.za 

Stay cool and hydrated. 

Unless you’re doing a winter road trip, being in the car for hours can get stuffy, hot, and uncomfortable really quickly. Besides freezing water the night before and packing it in a cooler, you can freeze homemade iced tea, too. It’s not only refreshing and nice to drink, but is also a healthy option. A fun way to restore the balance *wink, wink* 

The post Packing for a Road Trip 101  appeared first on MyKitchen.

If you’re feeling like something light for dinner tonight, then this Thai-spiced appetiser with spicy pork, roasted nuts and red chillies will be perfect.

SERVES 4 // COOK TIME 15 mins

INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp vegetable oil
400g pork mince
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 cm ginger, peeled and grated
Zest and juice of 2 limes, plus extra to serve
1 tbsp soy sauce
⅔ cup roasted peanuts, plus extra to garnish
2 red chillies, chopped
Salt and pepper
2 baby gem lettuces

METHOD
1. In a wok or large frying pan, heat the oil until sizzling. Add the pork mince and fry until browned all the way through.
2. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a further 5 minutes. Then add the lime zest and juice and soy sauce, and continue cooking until the sauce has thickened. Add the peanuts and 1 chilli and season.
3. Separate the lettuce leaves and fill with spicy mince. Garnish with extra chilli and peanuts, and serve with lime wedges.

If you’re in the mood for a super tasty, but light meal, try out our Asian-style sticky chicken recipe with a side of slaw for a pop of freshness!

The post Spicy pork lettuce wraps appeared first on MyKitchen.

Be Travel to the islands of Zanzibar with this fragrant coconut fish curry! The coconut adds a delicious flavour, while balancing the heat from the spices.

SERVES 4 // COOKING TIME 25 min

INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red chilli, thinly sliced
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp curry powder
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ cup vegetable stock
1 tin (400ml) coconut milk
1 tsp fish sauce
3 hake fillets, cut into chunks
1½ tbsp lemon juice
To serve
½ cup fresh coriander
1½ cups cooked brown rice
2 multi seed wraps, torn in half

METHOD
1. Heat the oil in a deep pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, chilli, ginger and fennel seeds and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the curry powder and turmeric and fry until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Pour in the stock, coconut milk and fish sauce, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes until slightly reduced.
5. Add the fish and simmer until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir through the lemon juice
6. Garnish the coconut fish curry with fresh coriander, and serve with rice and oven baked wraps on the side.

Recipes & styling: Kate Turner
Photography: Andreas Eiselen // HMimages.co.za

Keen to try more island-inspired recipes? Try these spicy fried noodles from Indonesia.

The post Coconut fish curry with rice and baked wraps appeared first on MyKitchen.

Enjoying a healthier, meat-free alternative is way easier and when it’s as delicious, bright and creamy as these spinach wraps with pea falafel and avo mousse.

SERVES 4 // COOKING TIME 1 hour 10 min

INGREDIENTS
For the pea falafel
2 cups peas, steamed
1 cup pearl barley, cooked
¼ cup cake flour
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp cumin
½ onion, peeled and chopped
Vegetable oil, to fry
Lemon wedges, to serve
For the avo mousse
1 avocado
¼ cup cream
For the spinach wraps
3 cups cake flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
¼ cup vegetable oil
100 g spinach
¾ cup milk, warmed

METHOD
For the pea falafel
1. Pulse all the ingredients until combined, but still with a slightly coarse texture. It should hold together when compressed into a ball. Form into balls.
2. Heat the oil and shallow-fry the balls until golden brown.
For the avo mousse
1. Blits together the avocado and cream until smooth and creamy.
For the spinach wraps
1. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the vegetable oil and mix into a crumbly dough.
2. Blend spinach and milk on high until smooth.
3. Stir the spinach mixture into the dough. If the mixture is too dry, add some water.
4. Knead for 5 minutes, until smooth. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Flour a rolling pin and a work surface. Divide dough into 8 golfball- sized balls. Roll out each into a thin circle of about 15 cm.
6. Heat a pan over medium heat. Dry-fry wraps for 1 minute a side.
7. Serve with the pea falafel and avo mousse.

Recipe & styling: Amerae Vercueil
Photography: Andreas Eiselen // HMimages.co.za

Get creative with all the colour veg have to offer and try these meat-free beetroot crêpes with salad lyonnaise.

The post Spinach wraps with pea falafel and avo mousse appeared first on MyKitchen.