Old Fashioned Pea & Ham Soup

On a cold winters night all you need is a bowl of hot soup to keep you warm! This pea & Ham soup is so nutritious, you won't want for more.

Ps: This soup needs to be made a day in advance, so don't get home from work and try and rustle up this soup, it is cooked in the old fashioned way - patiently and gently. The quickest route is in a pressure cooker.

Old Fashioned Pea & Ham Soup

Ingredients

500 g dried peas

1 Smoked Hock

2 Big Potatoes

4 Celery Sticks

5 Leeks

2 Onions

Butter

Salt and Pepper

How to make it

Soak the peas overnight - drain them and rinse with cold water until the water is clear.

Chop the onions and celery.

Peel the potatoes and chop into little blocks.

Heat your pot and add a lump of butter.

Lightly fry the chopped onions, then the leeks and then the  celery - fry until almost soft.

Add potatoes, drained peas, the whole Hock on the bone, 3 liters of water - salt and black pepper.

Gently boil for about 2 hours until the meat is soft- add more water if needed.

(NOTE: If you are using a pressure cooker, bring to pressure for about 10 minutes. Switch off - and go to work or do your shopping. When you come back open the pressure cooker and everything will be soft and ready - we much prefer that, you really don't have 2 hours to watch a pot!)

When the meat and peas are soft, you are ready to go.

Remove the meat from the pot - let it cool and them remove fatty bits for your dogs.

Chop the rest of the meat off the bone in small chunks and keep separate.

Liquidize the rest of the soup until it becomes a lovely smooth texture.

Re-heat and add more water if you don't like it thick.

Test your seasoning and add more salt and pepper.

Add chopped smoked hock and stir through whilst heating - just heat, do not boil.

Serve with herbed croutons, garlic bread or fresh brown bread.

Garnish with fresh green peas or just croutons.

Tips

• You can buy croutons, or make your own - it is as easy as pie. (Heat oven to 180 degrees. Take sliced bread, white or brown. Slice of crusts, and cube. Put bread in flat oven pan - grind salt over, sprinkle with dried parsley or any dried herb you fancy. Drizzle with olive or cooking oil and bake. Toss every now and then. Keep your eye on the oven - one moment they are white the next moment they are black! Takes about 10 minutes. When the cubes are golden brown - remove and serve with your soup. Can be made in advance, and kept in airtight container.)
• Pea Soup freezes very well. Freeze small containers for another chilly night.
• Smoked Hock we normally find at Seemans’s, or ask your butcher. You can also use the Smoked Pork Steaks.

Grating Pretty

There are many reasons why I love my fiancé… And one of them has to be his impeccable taste when it comes to kitchen appliances. I was spoilt with this stunning Eva Solo Grating Bucket – so pretty there is no need to hide it in your cupboard when guests arrive!

Not only is it fabulous to look at but super practical too. No more veggie juices running all over your kitchen top or bits of grated cheese sticking to everything. It even serves as a bowl for a freshly grated mixed salad!

For more inspiring Danish design, visit http://www.evasolo.com

PS I want EVERYTHING on their site! 

Father's Day Feast

What better way to celebrate our amazing Dads than with a Sunday Roast? The fiancé and I treated our parentals to a three course meal, starting off with Duck Liver Mousse served with sweet and sour cherries (recipe below). We just love kitchen gadgets, and one of our newest additions is a cook’s syringe that we filled with a rosemary and garlic sauce and injected into a Lamb Roast – sublime! Dessert was a yogurt Panna Cotta with citrus jelly, the perfect subtly sweet end to a great meal.

Cheers to our fantastic Fathers!

Best Roast Lamb ever! 

After-lunch Cognac

Duck Liver Mousse with Sweet & Sour Cherries

 Feast!

Yogurt Panna Cotta (before we added the citrus jelly)

Duck Liver Mousse with Sweet & Sour Cherries

Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients

500g Duck Livers (cleaned and trimmed)

6 Tbls Butter

1 Shallot, finely chopped

3 Tbls Sherry

½ tsp Salt

¼ tsp White Pepper

125ml Thick or Double Cream

1 Can pitted Sweet Cherries

250ml White Wine Vinegar

1 Cup Sugar

4 Cloves

1 Cinnamon Stick

5 Black Peppercorns

2 Star Anise

How to make it

Duck Liver Mousse

Sauté shallot in 1Tbls butter over a low heat until soft. Remove from pan and set aside.

Melt another Tbls butter in the same pan and sear Duck Livers over a high heat, about 90 seconds on each side (they must still be pink on the inside).

Add the Sherry and flambé.

Combine the Duck Livers and Shallot in a food processor and puree until smooth.

Tip mixture into a sieve and gently press the mixture through with the back of a wooden spoon. Scrape the bottom of the sieve and add to the bowl.

Soften 4 Tbls of butter and add to the mix. Season with the salt and pepper, set aside to cool.

Whip the cream until it forms peaks and fold into the liver mixture.

Cover tightly with cling film (to prevent discolouration) and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve with cherries and Melba toast.

Sweet & Sour Cherries

Drain cherries but reserve water and set aside.

Add cherry juice, vinegar and spices to a pan and bring to the boil.

Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Combine Cherries, liquid and spices in a jar and refrigerate until needed (this should preferably be done a week in advance for optimal flavour, but a minimum of 5 hours will do)

Vaal River Team Building with North-West University

Last week we hosted a delightful team building day for the Faculty of Economic & Management Sciences from the University of the North West.

Although the winter weather on the Vaal River didn’t exactly ‘play nice’, we warmed up around wood burning fires sipping on Gluhwein and hot coffee. The morning kicked off with tummy fillers like mini Feta & Spinach Frittatas, Bacon & Cheddar Pitas and Meringues. After settling in, the team participated in a Sushi rolling demonstration, and we have to say that they made sushi like pros!

The rest of the afternoon was filled with Soup, Chicken Curry and Rose Martinis, and the bad weather even cleared up enough for our guests to meander around the property and spend some time by the outside fire. After wrapping up their day with a river cruise, we are sure that all our guests went home with full tummies and loads of new ideas for the kitchen.

Thanks to all of you for a wonderful day - you guys were a great group!

 

 

A LekkerBek Wedding

So where do LekkerBekke host an intimate wedding party where the focus is on superb food and carefully selected wines?

Roots Restaurant at Forum Homini Boutique Hotel in the Cradle of Humankind. 

We were treated to one of the most memorable meals I have ever eaten at Roots a few weeks ago. The menu included Salmon & Apple Tartar, Melon & Cucumber Soup, Smoked Foie Gras, Duck Bobotie and Beetroot Sous Vide Fillet – it was so good that we decided to host our wedding there in 2012.

Roots has won numerous awards over the past few years, including being in the Eat Out Top 10 Restaurants in South Africa for the fourth year running.

We can’t wait to treat our guests (and ourselves J) to an extraordinary culinary experience!

Cheers!

Nothing like planning a wedding with a bottle of bubbly :) 

WOW food!

The Venue

Beer, Braai & Biltong for Dad

There is nothing that South African men love more than Beer, Biltong and Braai! So celebrate the special dad in your life with these gift baskets, perfect for Father’s Day on Sunday 19 June.

Baskets start from R160.00 – R320.00, click here for more info.

SA Soup Day

Joburg is freezing today - very appropriate since it's the first National Soup Day (support a charity by buying and donating a can of soup). This recipe is the perfect winter warmer, delicious and super filling to boot.

Bean, Chippolata and Butternut Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients

250 g Chippolata's (Mini Pork Sausages) 

125 g Lean Bacon

1 Onion, chopped

1 Chilli, chopped (without pips if you like it mild, with pips if you like it hot)

2 Garlic Cloves, chopped

½ Tbls Paprika

1 Tbls Cumin powder

1 tsp Coriander powder

500g Butternut, diced into small pieces

1 can (410g) Kidney Beans

1 can (410g) Chopped Tomatoes

6 Cups Chicken Stock

Croutons or Fresh Bread

Fresh Coriander

Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Dash of Sugar

How to make it

Fry Bacon until crispy in heavy bottomed pot.

Remove, drain on kitchen towel and chop. Keep aside.

Fry Sausages in the same pan - don't make it to hot or your sausages will pop.

Remove, and dice into small pieces. Keep aside.

Fry onion, garlic, chilli, paprika, coriander and cumin in fat of bacon and sausages.

(Add a dash of olive oil or knob of butter if there is not enough fat in the pot.)

Add tinned tomatoes and chicken stock.

Add Salt, Pepper and about a tablespoon of sugar.

Add diced butternut and simmer until butternut is cooked, about 20 - 30 minutes.

Add drained kidney beans and diced chippolata's - heat through and check flavour.

Add more salt or pepper if needed.

Serve in hot bowls, topped with croutons, diced bacon and coriander.

Tips

• If you like your soup thicker - add about 1 tablespoon of flour to your pot just after you have fried the onion and spices, stir through and then add the stock and tomatoes - just keep an eye you might need to top up with boiling water if it gets too thick.
• Or you can thicken it the French way - mix equal parts soft butter and flour into paste and stir it into your soup, let it simmer until dissolved, then add sausages and beans. Equal could be 1 tablespoon of each. 
• You can leave out the chilli if you don't like it hot and spicy, or add more if you do.
• You can use Chorizo sausage instead of pork sausages.

The Lindt Experience

South Africa is slowly catching on when it comes to quality chocolate, and Lindt is here to educate us!

It’s no secret that us LekerBekke prefer Lindt above almost any other chocolate brand (especially the 80% Cacao, Chilli and Orange…mmmmm!), so it was only appropriate that we attended a Lind ‘Chocolate Appreciation’ class.

The new studio at The Design Quarter in Fourways is slick and well run. We were met with great coffee and then enjoyed an evening of informative chocolate talk, tastings and even making our own truffles. Lindt is special (we can tell you that just by tasting it) but this class sheds light on the history as well as manufacturing processes of this iconic brand.

We’re not going to give too much away… It’s a really nice evening out, and believe it or not, we couldn’t finish all the chocolate they gave us to taste!

Visit http://www.jhb.chocolatestudio.co.za/courses.php for more info.

Our welcome bunnies.

The Conch machine as designed by Rodolphe Lindt – 

the secret behind the smooth texture of the chocolate. 

Cocoa bean.

Informative talk from our hostess. 

Selection of tasters – from real cocoa butter, 

to milky sweet white chocolate to solid dark.

Making Truffles 

To die for!

Hey Pesto!

We had a bumper crop of Basil this year, and with winter setting in we had to harvest the last of fragrant green leaves… But what to do with so many? Basil Pesto!

Our basil bush.

Harvested.

Pesto!

Simple recipe:

4 cups fresh Basil eaves, packed

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino

1 cup extra virgin Olive Oil

½ - 1 cup Nuts of your choice (we used pine nuts)

4- 5 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a food processor combine the Basil, Nuts and Garlic.

Pulse until all the ingredients are finely chopped and mixed together.

Slowly pour in the Olive Oil while the food processor is still on.

Add the cheese and combine well.

If the mixture looks a bit dry, add some more Olive Oil.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Bottle in a sterilised jar or serve immediately. 

Tips

• You can really get creative with pesto, try different combinations of cheese and nuts, and add some of your favourite spices. Even try different herbs.
• Once you’ve bottled your pesto, top it with olive oil to prevent it from going black.

Wirie’s tales from Portugal

Andre and I recently spent 10 days in Portugal, in the ancient little town of Tavira in the Algarve. A look see around the local restaurants did not excite me, much of a muchness, so to speak. So what does a travelling LekkerBek do? Find the local fresh produce market (Mercado) as soon as possible!

The market turned out to be walking distance from the little house we were renting. It was not a pretty market, like those you would find in France and Italy – it is for the locals by the locals, and not a word of English is understood. Old men sitting in the middle drinking coffee and discussing whatever they discuss, little old ladies bustling around buying a handful of this and a handful of that. Loads of fresh fish - which permeates the whole market with that distinctive fishy odour.

I managed to find really fresh shrimps, gorgeous tomatoes, garlic, fresh shallots, potatoes directly from the earth, the best olives and juicy lemons. The veggies were fresh and lovely, the fruit mostly imported and pricey. All you need is a hot pan, olive oil, dash of butter, lemon, salt and pepper and you have a pan full of shrimp goodness – so fresh you eat the whole shrimp!

Salad on the side, with hot crusty bread, olives to pick on and a bottle of dry Rosé wine and that was our staple diet. Bom! (good)

Fresh market produce

Cataplana

Morning coffee

Local fishing boats

Fresh shrimps