The Corkless Mind

Tag: Festive Fare

  • A Very South African Christmas – A Food24 Recipe Round-up

    A Very South African Christmas – A Food24 Recipe Round-up

    Recently I was tasked with developing summer dessert recipes with a South African twist for Food24. So it is official, I am now a Food24 contributor in recipe development. This enables me to go back to my first passion which is being in the kitchen, playing around and adapting recipes. With a week to go until Christmas, I thought I’d share my recipes I developed and photographed for Food24 with you!

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    19 NOV 028

    I love making and experimenting with meringue. It’s stiff, glossy peaks are reminiscent of a Christmas snowy summit that I can only dream to experience (for now) The brief was to make summer desserts with a South African twist. The pavlova wreath I made, was topped with decadent caramel, flecked with chunky bits of peppermint crisp chocolate and studded with raspberries to create balance and give a bit of tart flavour. This is my ode to the very South African festive dessert – peppermint crisp fridge tart.

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    A Lolly to Make You Jolly! 

    Christmas in the Southern hemisphere is a scorcher, so to keep cool and calm, I made rosè, rooibos (the South African twist) and strawberry Ice lollies.

    21NOV 027

    Creme Soda Gummy Bears 

    I’ve been looking for a gummy bear mold and dropper set for ages! Imagine my elation upon finding an affordable set on Takealot! The South African twist you ask? The legendary green fizzy drink that is our version of creme soda. It only takes 20-30 minutes in total to make and set in the fridge. Such a fantastic idea to make with the kiddos in the school holidays. Here’s the recipe.

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    19 NOV 005

    Tropical Fruit Meringue Roulade 

    Inspired by my mom’s famous swiss roll cakes she used to magically conjure up in the kitchen, I made my own modern twist on the traditional by making a roulade with seasonal summer fruits. You can find the recipe here

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    What will you be making for your festive table this year? Recreating any of my recipes? Let me know and share a photo of your lovely festive fare 🙂

    Wishing you and yours a joyous and safe festive season!

    Happy feasting x

  • Festive fare – Menu inspiration. 

    Festive fare – Menu inspiration. 

    It certainly is beginning to look a lot like Christmas, especially here on Off Beet! These recipes are just some of my favourite menu items that I love to make for special occasions. Because at the end of the day, you should only be making food you love eating. My motto is to keep it simple in the kitchen, no frills kind of cooking. 

    I shot and recreated the recipes a few months ago already in preparation for my Food&Home Magazine feature, which was for the ‘Blogger of the Month feature. Just another week or two till you can get the copy off of shelves. I had a lot of fun shooting the recipes and the excitement was something I really couldn’t contain. I don’t own any sort of Christmas decor, so I had to borrow some festive decor from family. I am still buzzing from the feature and feel that this is only the start of a budding career. 
    The recipe for the Pork Belly, is from one of my favourite cookbooks, Nopi By Yotam Ottolenghi. Recipe for the Garlic and rosemary Duck Fat roasted potatoes is one I have developed. I love this recipe so much, that it would probably be my last meal on Earth. The recipe for the meringue covered tropical Bundt cake was adapted from Nigella Lawson’s Thyme and Lemon Bundt cake recipes rom the cookbook Simply Nigella, both of which is unfortunately not available online but can both be found in the books. The beetroot cured Salmon, fennel and gooseberry salad is a great option for an entrée. 

    For the beetroot cure, in a food processor or NutriBullet blitz two baby beet roots or one beetroot with a little water to make the mixture watery, place the salmon slices(I had 50g of salmon)  in the beetroot mixture with a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar, leave in the fridge to cure and soak up the beautiful beet colour. Assemble salad and place salmon on top of all ingredients, to add a creamy texture I added Ricotta to the salad. 

    For me, Christmas won’t be the same, without crispy crackling pork belly and duck fat roast potatoes. 
    What are your signature dishes for Christmas?