The Courtyard

1. The Courtyard – Clarence

This place is an absolute gem. They are a bakery as well as a restaurant and you can see from the first that they love their food, they treat it well and the results are fantastic!

They have a fantastic menu where I can guarantee you that they only meal you won’t like, is something you are physically allergic to. They bake all their croissants, breads etc. themselves, and they do it properly. Real sourdough bread, fantastic rich, buttery croissants and of course stunning cakes, pies, quiches, rolls, cookies, rusks and tarts!

They are also consistent. They have consistently great food, and fantastic service. You can of course buy a lot of the breads etc. and take them home as well. So it is like going shopping for artisan breads, pates, cakes, tarts and spreads while having a fantastic breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Their prices are also reasonable, and you leave with the feeling of being looked after like a treasured old friend. They also run a guesthouse which is as great as the restaurant. Everything is beautiful and you are visually as pleased as you are gastronomically.

The Courtyard is high on my list of greatness, and gets a 10/10 for everything. Food, décor, service, the works.

Stroganoff

I am absolutely in love with this Stroganoff recipe. We must have had this at least 10 times in the last month. We have had it so many times actually, I am sure we are half Russian by now.

This one uses pork fillet instead of the traditional beef, but you are welcome to use beef, it stays the same and tastes fantastic either way.

This will take you as long as it takes the rice to cook.    20-30 min. And it is a lot healthier than the original version.  The plain yogurt just gives it that hint of sour deliciousness.

This recipe will easily serve 4 people.

Ingredients:

500g pork fillet – cut into thin strips

2 punnets brown mushrooms – sliced roughly

2 heaped tablespoons paprika

½ teaspoon dried garlic

Lots of butter

5 heaped tablespoons of plain yogurt

250ml cream

Salt and pepper to taste

A good glug of brandy

Method:

1. Sprinkle all the paprika on your pork strips and rub it in well
2. Fry the mushrooms and the garlic in the butter until they are well fried and reduced by about 70% – set aside
3. In the same pan, without adding oil/butter, fry your pork strips that you have covered in the paprika, until done
4. Add your mushrooms back, and fry until it is all the same temperature again, and add your salt and pepper
5. Add your brandy and set it alight! (I love this part). Let it burn out by itself
6. Add your yogurt and cream, stir well, and let it simmer until the sauce is as thick as you want it

Voila! Done.

Flambéed Mixed Mushroom Pasta

This pasta dish started with the gift of a bottle of brandy. We aren’t really drinkers, so I started wondering what other uses I can have for the brandy. After reading up about the original recipe of Stroganoff, I decided that I would play around with it a bit and come up with a healthier, vegetarian version.

The first time I flambéed the mushrooms, I almost lost my fringe! But the taste that came out was worth the fright! I also made it on my birthday for lunch when my parents, brother and sister came over. While I was making the dish I could hear everybody laughing and talking behind me (we are a loud family), once I added the brandy and set it alight, all was suddenly very quiet behind me. After a couple of seconds my mom joked:

“Ok Jouré, we won’t be naughty any more…”

So here is it. The dish for those that behave themselves 😉

Ingredients:

Smoked salt – the clumpy ones

½ teaspoon whole coriander

½ teaspoon whole mustard seeds

1 clove fresh garlic – crushed

Butter

Pepper

4 heaped tablespoons of plain yogurt

125ml cream

50-75 ml of Brandy

1 punnet of small brown mushrooms – roughly chopped

1 punnet of mixed wild/exotic mushrooms (Enoki, Oyster, Porcini, etc) – roughly chopped

Method:

1. Dry fry your mustard seeds, coriander and salt for about 1 minute on high heat. Take out of the pan and put it aside
2. Fry your mushrooms and garlic on high heat in the butter. You will see how much they need. Mushrooms usually need quite a bit to make them extra creamy
3. Add you fried spices and pepper
4. Add the brandy and light it up! It will burn for as long as there is alcohol in it. Let it burn out by itself
5. Add the yogurt and cream and let it simmer – it will thicken by itself. It isn’t a very thick sauce but that is what makes it so great. It will cover your pasta and there will be sauce left that you can scoop up with some delicious home made bread

Olive Oil Cake

 

I have wanted to bake the perfect Olive Oil cake for years, and I believe I have at last. This cake is moist, fresh and tastes absolutely fantastic!

I sprinkled it with icing sugar, it is so pretty when you do that, but if like icing as much as my other half, you can make some with a little bit of lemon juice instead of water. To keep the balance of sweet and sour.

This cake is perfect for tea, and also as we have discovered, for breakfast…

 

Ingredients:

Finely grated zest of one large lemon
250ml of extra virgin Olive Oil, warmed (NOT HOT!)
5 large eggs, separated
250ml of caster sugar
5ml vanilla essence
750ml of cake flour
10ml baking powder
250ml full cream milk

Method:

1. Add the lemon rind to the warmed olive oil and let it infuse it
2. In a large bowl, beat the yolks and caster sugar together until it is light in colour
3. Add the vanilla essence and the cooled olive oil with the zest
4. Sift the flour and baking powder together and mix it into the egg mixture. Don’t get a fright if you think it looks wrong. It does look “crumbly”
5. Add the milk, and mix well. You will notice that it is a very thick dough. That is ok!
6. In a separate bowl, whish the egg whites until stiff, and then fold them into the mixture. Folding is important to keep the air in! Otherwise the cake will be too dense.
7. Spray a 23cm cake tin with baking spray, and bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 40 min. after 40 min turn the heat down to 160 degrees Celsius and bake for another 10-15 min. until a knife comes out clean.

If your cake cracks at the top, don’t worry about it. That makes it look as if it came out of your grandmother’s kitchen.

Now you can either sprinkle it with icing sugar once it is completely cooled on the wire rack, or put on some lemony icing.

This is a delicious cake! You won’t regret making it.

Chicken Liver Paté

 

This is one of those recipes that always tastes better after a day or two, but it never lasts that long in my fridge. I based this on one of Jamie Oliver’s recipes.
I hope you enjoy it! ♥

Ingredients:
500g butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, pureed
500g chicken livers, cleaned thoroughly!
1 small bunch of fresh thyme. Don’t chop them, they will be easier to remove later
1 glass of brandy (approximately 175ml)
some fresh sage leaves
salt and pepper
olive oil for frying

Method:
1. Clarify about 150g of the butter, throw the white, milky stuff away
2. Fry the garlic and onion in some olive oil until the onion is transparent and set aside
3. In the same pan, add some olive oil and fry the chicken livers and thyme
4. Once the chicken are done to your preference, I like mine a little bit pink inside still, add the brandy
5. Let it simmer until about 1/4 of the brandy evaporated
6. Remove the thyme , and put everything else in a food processor. Don’t forget the onion and garlic!
7. Process it until it is a puree
8. Add the rest of the butter and blend till smooth
9. Add salt and pepper to taste
10. Sieve the puree.
11. Scoop it into your bowl, place some sage leaves on top, and scoop your (hot) clarified butter over it.

It takes about an hour to set. This is a little bit of work, but oh, so worth it! ♥

Avocado Dip

 

I make this dip so regularly I can do it my sleep! It is very quick and very easy. I make this for chips, nachos, veggies and even to use as spread on a toast! It is really healthy and very, very delish! ♥

Ingredients:

1 large ripe avocado
1 tub of low fat cottage cheese
15 ml lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Peel the avocado and remove the pip
2. Add all the ingredients, besides the spices, in a blender and wazz it up
3. Scoop it out into a bowl, and stir in your spices.

Viola! Done! How easy is that? ♥

Mussel Paté

 

This is also fantastic as a spread! It takes about 5 minutes to make. It’s incredibly easy, quick and tasty! Perfect for those moments when you want a dip, spread or paté now. Bon Appetit!

Ingredients:
500g cooked, smoked mussels – drained
1 small chopped onion
1 minced garlic clove
200ml cream cheese

Method:
1. Blitz it all in a processor.

Done! 🙂

Chickpea spread

Here is my super easy, super quick chickpea spread. Another one that just takes five minutes to make! Enjoy ♥

Ingredients:
1 can drained chickpeas (410g)
15ml tahini
juice of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, minced
small bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon chopped mint
125ml peanut oil (you may use any oil you want, I just prefer the peanut oil with this)
250ml cream cheese

Method:
1. Whazz everything, besides the oil and cream cheese, in a blender.
2. Add the oil slowly while stirring.
3. Stir in the cream cheese.

Roasted Garlic Aioli

 

This is one of the most delicious things to make, and always such a treat! It beats any Aioli that you can buy in any shop. And it is really easy! It just takes a little patience 🙂

LEARN TO LOVE GARLIC! ♥

I recently read a book about a woman and her family who moved to Provance to make goat’s cheese. Somewhere in the story they made and ate aioli. It sounded wonderful. I searched high and low for a recipe, found one, made it, with raw garlic like you should, and put it in a nice bottle. A couple of days later we made prawns, so I took the bottle out, and we proceeded to eat it all, it was THAT good. But raw garlic consumed in vast quantities, is not to be recommended. We had garlic reflux for at least 5 days. So, I changed the recipe. The roasted garlic makes it a lot milder, and gives it a fantastic smoky flavor.

“A nickel will get you on the subway, but garlic will get you a seat.” – Old New York proverb

Ingredients:
1 house of garlic, the end chopped off, sprinkled with olive oil, and baked at 180 degrees Celsius for about 15 minutes, or until soft.
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon cold water
1 cup olive oil – or if you prefer: ½ cup olive oil and ½ cup sunflower oil mixed

Method:
In a mortar, and with your pestle, grind the salt and garlic in ONE direction, until it’s a paste.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the garlic paste, mustard and yolks until smooth.
Add the water and lemon juice, whisking all the time. (Here is where an electric mixer comes in handy)
Add the oil, literally drop by drop, while whisking constantly. NEVER STOP WHISKING.
If the mayonnaise separates, you may add an extra yolk.

This will make just over 250ml of aioli, and will keep in your fridge for no more than a week. It’s best to make it when you want it.

Bagna Cauda

♥ This is a warm vegetable dip called Bagna Cauda.
I ate this for the first time at an ex-boyfriend’s house when his mom made it for his 21st. I fell in love with the dish immediately, and over the years have been researching recipes and perfecting my own version of it. It is such a sure way to get people to eat raw vegetables. I even ate raw broccoli! 😉

Be sure to serve it with a warm, fresh bread. Also, since most people don’t like a meal without meat, I sometimes make a steak and cut in into strips for those that want it. ( I can hear the men say AMEN!)

This dish always works best if you keep it in a hot plug in pan thing, and dish it out in small quantitites as you need it.

So here it is, with lots of love ♥

Ingredients
1/2 cup peeled, crushed garlic
1/5 cup olive oil
500g butter
1 tin capers
1 tin anchovy fillets
250ml double cream

Method:
1. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic and the olive oil to form a paste
2. Cook this paste over a low heat
3. Add the butter
4. Add the capers and anchovies – cook until the anchovies start melting
5. Add the cream, bring to almost boil (just bubbling) and serve

*Tip: If you are sensitive to the garlic smell, soak your garlic in whole milk for at least an hour before you use it. This will remove a lot of the garlic smell.