Deliciously decadent is how we’d describe these recipes, extracted from Marlene van der Westhuizen’s french-inspired cookbook Delectable.
Ingredients and Method
Deliciously decadent is how we’d describe these recipes, extracted from Marlene van der Westhuizen’s french-inspired cookbook Delectable.
ROASTED PEARS WITH ASPARAGUS & GREEN BEANS
A firm favourite during summer lunches as either a starter, or served after the main course. I sometimes add ripe blue cheese, which is excellent with the pears.
Nutritional content per serving: 1975 kJ | 30g Carbohydrate | 5g Protein | 40g Fat | 5g Fibre
Serves 6
Ingredients:
3 firm, ripe pears
100 ml extra-virgin olive oil
20 g castor sugar
600 g young green beans, topped and tailed
30 green asparagus spears
100 g walnuts, roasted and chopped
Dressing: 50 ml walnut oil 10 ml honey 50 ml cream 1 t smooth mustard 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180 Degrees Celsius. Halve the pears, skin on, and cut each half into thirds. Line up the pear slices in a roasting pan, drizzle with 30 ml olive oil and sprinkle the castor sugar over evenly. Bake for 20 minutes until the pears have coloured slightly, but are still crunchy. Meanwhile, pour a little cold water into a shallow frying pan. Add the beans and asparagus, and bring to a gentle boil. Do not cover — this will help to retain the bright green of the vegetables.
Remove from the heat after 5 minutes. Drain and immediately toss 20 ml olive oil through the warm beans and asparagus. Season lightly. In the meantime, make the creamy vinaigrette dressing by shaking together the remaining olive oil, walnut oil, cream, mustard, garlic, and salt and pepper. Allow the beans, asparagus and pears to cool. Add the walnuts and vinaigrette, toss the salad and serve.
Dietician’s note: This recipe is very high in fat, particularly as a starter. To lower the fat content, simply decrease the quantity of the oils and cream used — by using only a third of the suggested amount of oil and cream. You’ll end up with the same delicious flavour.
RED PEPPER, BLACK OLIVE & ANCHOVY COMPOTE
This compote is a great starter. I love to serve it with warm, crusty bread and a glass of sauvignon blanc.
Nutritional content per serving: 905 kJ | 6g Carbohydrate | 4g Protein | 20g Fat | 2g Fibre
Serves 8
Instructions:
4 red peppers
125 ml extra-virgin olive oil
250 g black depipped olives
4 cloves garlic, peeled
10 thyme sprigs, chopped
20 anchovies
8 mint leaves
20 g basil leaves
freshly milled black pepper
Instructions:
Grill the red peppers, turning them regularly, until the skin has blackened. Remove, let cool and skin. Remove the seeds and slice the peppers in thin slices. Try to catch the piquant juices, and never rinse the peppers to get rid of the seeds… that’s a punishable offence!
Heat the olive oil in a casserole, and stir in the peppers and olives. Add the garlic and thyme, and cook gently over a low heat for 10 minutes to infuse the flavours. Add the anchovies, turn up the heat slightly, and stir until the anchovies have melted away. Remove from the heat. Chop the mint and basil leaves, and add. Season with the black pepper, cool to room temperature and serve immediately.
Recommended wine: Harvest Moon Sauvignon Blanc
Dietician’s note: The easiest way to cut the high fat content would be to simply cut down on the amount of oil used. A good replacement for oil in a recipe like this can be pureed aubergine. Use only a small amount of oil for the frying, and for the rest: place a whole aubergine in a hot oven (about 190C) for 40 minutes. It becomes very soft. Remove from the oven, allow to cool and pull the peel off. Blend, and use puree as a base instead of the olive oil.
TOMATO & OLIVE SAUCE
This light, fresh sauce is wonderful with fish. Enough to spoon generously over six portions.
250 g small black olives, pitted 100 ml olive oil 50 ml lemon juice 2 t coriander seeds, lightly crushed handful sage leaves 2 ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and chopped Heat the olives gently in the oil, and then squeeze in the lemon juice.
Remove from the heat and add the coriander and sage. Finally stir in the tomato, and spoon over the cooked fish fillets. Serve immediately
CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES & BABY ONIONS
I know that saying this is an old family recipe is quite cliched, but in this case it actually is. This is the dish my mom made for a heap of guests when my son was christened. It’s an old favourite and intensely heart warming!
Nutritional content per serving: 2452 kJ | 26g Carbohydrate | 33g Protein | 40g Fat | 5g Fibre
Serves 6
Ingredients:
100 ml extra-virgin olive oil
150 ml plain white flour
60 ml paprika sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 free-range chicken, portioned
20 small baby onions, peeled
2 green peppers, grilled, peeled and pitted
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
5 very ripe tomatoes, peeled and pitted
50 ml salted butter 20 small, fresh mushrooms fresh parsley and basmati rice to serve
Instructions:
Heat the olive oil in a flame-proof casserole. Mix the flour, paprika and seasoning gently, and sieve it over the chicken pieces. Brown the chicken, then add the baby onions. Add sliced green peppers and garlic. Slice the tomatoes in strips over a bowl to catch the juices, and add it all to the casserole. Do remember to remove the tomato pips as they’re the culprits that can cause a tomato and chicken casserole to go sour. Add enough water to allow for gentle simmering — about an hour.
While that’s happening, melt the butter in a pan and allow it to brown to make beurre noisette or nut butter. Add the mushrooms, and fry until caramelised. To serve, pour the mushrooms over the dish, and garnish with a handful of freshly picked parsley.Serve the basmati rice on the side.
Dietician’s note: To lessen the fat load, leave out the oil and halve the butter, there is enough fat from the chicken, and plenty moisture from tomatoes, water etc
PEACHES IN A WHITE WINE SYRUP WITH ROQUEFORT
Cooking these peaches is one of the most delightful things to do — a bit like alchemy…
Nutritional content per serving: 1 191 kJ | 58g Carbohydrate | 2g Protein | 1,7g Fat | 2g Fibre
Serves 6
Ingredients:
375 ml dry white wine
250 ml castor sugar
6 rosy-cheeked peaches
5 ml vanilla paste (essence)
6 thin slices of Roquefort cheese
Instructions:
Bring the wine and sugar to a gentle boil in a pot that’s big enough to hold all 6 peaches, ideally in one layer. Add the vanilla paste. Once the sugar has dissolved, place the peaches unpeeled into the pot. (Boiling the peaches with the skin on turns the syrup a lovely pink colour.)
Allow to simmer until they’re soft, then remove and place them in the fridge. Keep boiling the liquid until the consistency is syrupy. Remove the peaches from the fridge just before serving and peel them. The peels should slip off beautifully. Place each peach on a plate with a slice of Roquefort cheese. Spoon a little of the syrup over each peach and slice of cheese.
