The Corkless Mind

Tag: Donna Hay

  • Fig and Speck Salad with Parmesan Crisps.

    Fig and Speck Salad with Parmesan Crisps.

    West coast and fig salad 067West coast and fig salad 070This recipe is inspired by two amazing women, Donna Hay, and my sister. My sister texted me some food inspiration when I really had none at all, she had a vision of me making something delicious with luscious figs she spotted in store, with that in mind I recalled a recipe from Donna Hay I have been saving, not sure why though. With Figs in peak season, I knew this was the perfect time to make this gorgeous recipe. West coast and fig salad 038West coast and fig salad 028

    I’ve noticed and made a mental note that the figs I see in store are a lot smaller than previous years, and makes me wonder, if at all, there is some sort of correlation between that and the ongoing drought the City of Cape Town is experiencing.West coast and fig salad 075

    Recently I have started a journey of mindful eating and fitness, so whilst I won’t be posting as many indulgent recipes any time soon, I will surely not deprive myself, nor you! I am on the hunt for delicious yet healthy recipes. If you have any ideas on how to spruce up healthy foods with ‘oomph’ please do let me know in the comments section, I would love to hear from you!

    Fig and Speck Salad with Parmesan Crisps.

    Ingredients: 

    • 4-6 Black Figs, or any figs for that matter
    • 4 slices of Speck or prosciutto roughly torn into strips
    • 100g Rocket and Baby Spinach
    • 5 Samphire sprigs
    • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
    • 1/2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    • 100g Grana Padano, or any other Parmesan
    • a little salt and freshly ground black pepper to serve

    Method: 

    Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Grate the Parmesan and spread out evenly on a silpat on lined baking tray. Bake for 5-6 minutes until golden and crisp. Set aside to cool and harden. To assemble, wash the rocket and spinach and place onto a plate. Place the speck, then the figs and samphire, drizzle over the balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Break the Parmesan crisps into shards and add a little salt and pepper. Serve as an entree or snack.

    *side note: if it does happen that you have any leftover Parmesan crisps, you can keep it in an airtight container for a week.*

    Happy eating and happy weekend! x

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  • Egyptian dukkah roasted veg.

    Egyptian dukkah roasted veg.

    The advent of a new year brings in the possibility of change, renewal and hope. I’m not on a diet of any sort nor am I going vegan/vegetarian (and no I am not swooping my day job to become a philosopher) But I’m trying to incorporate more vegetables/plants in my lifestyle. I adore Egyptian dukkah, it has the perfect balance of spice and nuttiness to spruce up any one-pan roast, salad or roast vegetables. 

    I made  Egyptian dukkah roasted cauliflower florets and chickpeas with a creamy avocado and yoghurt dressing, served with crunchy radishes, fragrant mint and sweet pomegranate rubies. The recipe is from Donna Hay.What I love about this dish is that it’s everything but boring, the roasted cauliflower florets, lends a nuttiness to the dish together with the crunchy chickpeas which takes the texture of the dish to another level. The creamy avocado and yoghurt dressing is the perfect addition to the dish, it adds freshness and texture too. 

    The carrots were roasted in the oven drizzled with locally sourced honey, cumin seeds, olive oil and of course the dukkah, next time I’ll add some orange zest and juice to the dish to give it that extra zest. I roasted the rainbow carrots for 20 minutes on 180 degrees C. Sprinkled with more dukkah and made a dressing of two tablespoons of Greek yoghurt, one tablespoon of tahini, one tablespoon of lemon juice, olive oil(about half a tablespoon) and salt to taste. 

    I drizzled this gorgeous dressing over the carrots to serve with a few pomegranate rubies and a few sprigs of mint to garnish. Inspired by the above roasted cauliflower and chickpeas recipe from Donna Hay, I developed the roasted carrot recipe with the same flavours in mind. There are so many other vegetables you could use and make it your own with your own twist. More importantly have fun! 

    Happy feasting! 

    Dominique x

  • Cocoa powder dusted Pavlovas with Blueberry compote. 

    Cocoa powder dusted Pavlovas with Blueberry compote. 

    Pavlovas are without doubt one of my favourite desserts! I’ve always found them quite daunting and intimidating to make, until yesterday I took a leap of faith and tried out a recipe from Donna Hay,that leap of faith and trust in a legend’s recipe truly paid off! I’m slowly getting into the festive season spirit, and what better way to start it off then with a festive pav! I added a little something extra(as always) I had a punnet of Blueberries sitting on my fridge shelf about to go off, to accompany and top the Pavlovas I made a quick blueberry compote using castor sugar to equal parts of water(a few tablespoons until it just about covers the blueberries) 

    Okay, time to let the cat out of the bag…remember that piece of news I’ve been teasing you all about? So, last week with the release of the December issue of the Food&Home Magazine, I was chosen and featured in this issue as their ‘Blogger of the month’! Exciting right?! 🙂 I feel incredibly honoured and so grateful to be chosen by Food&Home Magazine, check out my Instagram feed for the photo of the feature. If you’re in South Africa head out to get your copy of the issue, not only to read the feature, but there are so many gift ideas and amazing recipes for entertaining this festive season! 

    I shot this series of photos this morning and took me a while to shoot and edit thereafter, feeling like a train hit me, down with the common cold. So, to cheer myself up, I experimented with different backgrounds, aperture settings and light exposure, yes these are things that cheer me up! The above photo with blue backdrop, I crinkled up some tissue paper and painted it with water based paint to get that effect. I can never get enough of backdrops and backgrounds, I’ve recently noticed that there are online stores in the United Kingdom and Russia that make and sell backdrops for food photography. There are some incredibly beautiful backdrops at both stores, all of which are rather expensive if you have to include shipping costs too! I would love to make my own backdrops using stone and wood, but have no idea where to start…

    Do you have any backdrops you love or know how to make? Share in the comments section.