“Eating is spiritual. And eating food with loved ones is truly communion with God. Do your best to eat the food you love with people you love :) it makes it taste better.” ~ Munachi Abii

Smokey Chicken and Avo Quesadilla with Sundried Tomato a Mayo

/in , /by

Serves: 6

we didn’t know what a quesadilla was until about 4 years ago but we like the idea. Lots of cheese on a tortilla wrap with whatever topping you prefer? It sounds like a very good idea to us. Here’s our quesadilla, we hope you like it.

Ingredients:
6 Wraps (store bought)
6 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
100g barbecue sauce
2 Tbls liquid smoke
Salt and pepper
150g guacamole
3 avocados, sliced
Lemon juice

Sun-Dried Tomato Mayo:
100g Sundried tomatoes,sliced
200g mayonnaise
Salt and pepper
1 Tbls White wine vinegar

Method:
Warm up the wraps in the oven or on the stove-top until just heated.
Mix the barbecue and liquid smoke together. Coat the chicken breasts. Season with salt and vinegar.
Grill chicken in the oven for 14-20 minutes at 180 degrees celcius.
Slice avocados and drizzle with lemon juice so it doesn’t brown.
To make mayo: mix all the ingredients together
To serve: slice chicken breast. Spread guacamole onto the wrap. Top with chicken and avocado slices. Season and serve with mayo on the side

Pork and Taco Pizza

/in , /by

Serves: 6
Prep time: 25-30 mins

it’s Taco Tuesday!! … Or pizza Tuesday!! Or both maybe? Serve it any day of the week actually, it’s fantastic. Imagine a big crunch on your pizza (if you guys think it’s ok to add pineapple to pizza then it’s definitely ok to make a pork and taco pizza, just saying).

No-yeast Pizza Crust:
2 cups of flour
1 and a half tsp of baking powder
Half tsp of salt
1/3 cup milk/lukewarm water
2 Tbls olive oil

Toppings:
300g left-overs cooked pork,cubed or shredded
150g pasta sauce
200g cheddar cheese,grated
1 mango,cubed
2 tomatoes,cubed
200g corn chips,slightly crushed
150g guacamole
Handful coriander

Method:
Mix flour,baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Stir in the milk and olive until dough forms. Kneed on a lightly floured surface for 5-7 minutes. Shape into a ball. Cover and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Bake crust at 200 degrees celsius for 8 minutes. Top with your favorite ingredients and bake till golden brown (15 minutes).
Spread pasta on the base of the pre-baked pizza. Top with pork. Sprinkle with crushed chips and cheese. Bake for 15 for 15 minutes till crust is golden brown.
Meanwhile, mix the mango and tomatoes together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
Once pizza is out of the oven,top with mango salsa,drizzled with guacamole and fresh coriander.

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Brie, Basil and Pomegranate Crostini

/in , /by

Serves: 8-10
Prep time: 10-15 mins

this is always a fantastic starter to any meal. We always serve crostinis when we host people, it’s a great distraction for when you’re preparing the main meal. Honestly, pomegranate makes everything better, we know you might be a bit skeptical to try this but trust, you’ll love and then you can thank us later.

Ingredients:
2 Fresh Baguettes, thickly sliced
Olive Oil
400g Brie Cheese, thinly sliced
250g Basil, roughly chopped
250g Pomegranate Rubies
100ml Honey
250g Sour Cream
Black Pepper

Method:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius.
Prepare two baking sheets.
Layer the bread slices flat on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil. Toast in the oven for 7-10 mins or until golden brown and crispy.
Spread sour cream on the crostini, sprinkle with black pepper.
Layer slices of the Brie cheese on the crostini.
Top with basil and pomegranate.
Drizzle with a bit of honey and serve.

 

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CHINESE CHICKEN NOODLE SALAD

/in , /by

250g Egg noodles

200g Grilled chicken breast

100g Sugar peas

 

DRESSING:

1/4 cup Sesame oil

5 Tbls Soy sauce

1/4 cup Chopped pickled ginger

1 Tbls Wasabi

 

Boil the noodles till al denté.

Shred the grilled chicken.

Blanch the sugar peas.

Toss all the ingredients together.

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix till well coated.

Garnish with micro herbs.

 

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IMG_6296-05-07-19-08-18

SWEET & SOUR CHINESE POPCORN CHICKEN

/in , /by

500g Chicken breast, cubed

Salt and pepper

300g Buttermilk

500g Seasoned flour- (pinch of salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and ginger powder)

2 Tbls Baking powder

 

SAUCE:

4 Tbls Honey

2 Tbls Soy sauce

1/2 cup Tomato sauce

 

Season the cubed chicken with salt and pepper.

Marinate chicken cubes in buttermilk for an hour or overnight.

Shake off excess buttermilk and toss into the seasoned flour.

Shake off excess flour.

Fry till golden brown. 6-8 minutes.

Mix all the sauce ingredients together.

Toss the chicken into sauce.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional)

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HOT POT CHICKEN

/in , /by

200g Hot pot stock

200g Chicken stock

1 Tbls Sichuan peppercorns

500g Chicken breast, skewered

3 Tbls Chinese spice mix

 

Cut chicken breast into strips. Skewer them.

Marinate chicken with Chinese spices over night.

Bring your chicken stock to the boil and add the hot-pot stock in.

Add extra chillies to stock of preferred **

Leave to simmer and cook your skewered chicken (in batches) in there for 5-7 minutes till completely cooked.

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IMG_5753-24-06-19-08-56

Rooibos Beef Curry served with Roti

/in , , /by

Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 1hr10 mins

we served this at one of our pop up restaurants, it was perfect for the occasion because it was a rainy day. We served the curry with Roti, Tzatziki and salsa, it was amazing. It’s a lovely recipe, we added the Rooibos to replace the artificial stock, we found it was easier to control the seasoning that way (stock tends to have a lot of salt).

Ingredients:
500g Beef Shoulder, cubed
2 Tbs Oil
2 Onions, finely chopped
2 Carrots, peeled and cubed
2 Potatoes, diced
2 Tbs Minced Garlic
2 Green Chilies, finely chopped
2 Tbs Minced Ginger
2 tsp Tumeric
2 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Coriander
2 tsp Chili Powder
1 Tbs Five Spice
Salt and Pepper
425g Canned Tomatoes
2C Strong Rooibos Tea
45ml Curry Paste
150ml Coconut Cream
Roti to serve

Method:
In a large saucepan, brown the meat on both sides. Remove from the heat and set aside. In the same pan, sauté onions until golden brown. Add the garlic and ginger, sauté for 2 mins. Stir in the spices and cook for a further 2 mins. Add the meat back in as well as the vegetables, adjust seasoning.
Stir in the curry paste and add in the tomatoes and the Rooibos tea. Simmer for 45 mins, until the meat is tender.
Just before dine, stir in the coconut cream.
Serve with Roti. Garnish with fresh herbs.

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Rooibos Tea Cake 

/in , , /by

Serves: 8 
Prep time: 35-40 mins 

Always make sure your pan is well greased. Always put baking paper at the base of your Pan and grease the sides with either butter or cooking spray. Let the loaf cool down a bit once it’s done baking before removing it from the pan, when it’s warm it’s a bit delicate and is guaranteed to break. Be patient.

Ingredients: 
500g Vanilla Cake Mix
1C Rooibos Tea, cooled
3 Eggs
1/3C Oil
1 Banana, mashed
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon 
1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 tsp Ground Ginger
125ml Walnuts, chopped
1 tsp Baking Soda

Icing:
250ml Water
4 Rooibos Teabags
1 Cinnamon Stick
4 Cardamon Pods
4 Cloves
2 Star Anise
Icing Sugar
Chopped Walnuts for topping

Method: 
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. 
Grease a cake tin. 
Mix the tea, eggs and oil together, add the wet ingredients to the cake mix, using a spatula. Mix until a smooth batter is formed.
In a separate bowl, mix the banana, spices, nuts and baking soda together. Stir the banana mixture into the batter. Pour batter into prepared baking dish.
Bake for 25 mins or until a testing pin is inserted and comes out clean.
Cool the cake down completely. 
To make icing, boil the teabags in the water with the rest of the ingredients excluding the sugar and nuts. Reduce liquid to about 1/2 cup. 
Using a sieve, remove all the spices from the liquid and cool the liquid down completely. 
Whisk in the icing sugar into the liquid until you reach a desired consistency. Spread over cake and garnish with nuts. 

Ginger Beer Sorbet

/in , /by

Serves: 8-10

If they don’t serve “Gemere” at your wedding, is it even a wedding? Only our grandmother was the designated ginger beer maker, she makes it so well and if you want good ginger beer, make sure it brews for a couple of days. We made the typical ginger beer into a sorbet, it’s an amazing pallet cleanser. 

Ingredients: 
1 1/2 L Water
1C Castor Sugar
2 Tbs Ginger Powder
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar 
Peel of 1 Apple
Peel of 1/2 Lemon
Handful of Pineapple Pieces
1 tsp Instant Dry Yeast

Method:
Pour 500g water into a pot. Add sugar and still until it’s all dissolved.
Add ginger, cream of tartar, Apple and lemon peel as well as pineapple pieces. 
Add the rest of the water and simmer on medium heat for about 12 mins. Then allow to completely cool. Stir in the yeast. Cover and leave to stand overnight.
Strain through a whisk into a container and chill. (At this point, it’s ready to drink.)
To make sorbet, place ginger beer into the freezer container and freeze for about 2 hours. Stir with a for every 30 mins so it doesn’t crystallize.
Once it can hold shape and frozen, you may serve. 

Oven Roasted Fish with Crispy Kale and Shito Mayo

/in , /by

Serves: 4
Prep time: 1hour 10mins 

Catfish is a big deal in Nigeria and it’s normally deep fried whole. With this recipe, feel free to use your favorite and preferred line fish, you can honestly go wild. 

Shito Mayo
Ingredients: 

100ml Palm Oil 
3 Red Onions, finely diced
1 Red Pepper, finely diced
2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
2 Tbs Minced Ginger
6 Jalapeño Peppers, ground
2 Tbs Thyme Leaves, chopped
3 Habenero Peppers, finely diced
1 Tbs Chili Flakes
5 Tbs Tomato Purée 
50ml Chicken Stock
50ml Worcestershire Sauce
80g Dried Ground Shrimp Powder
1 Tbs Ground Black Pepper
1 Tbs Himalayan Salt

Method: 
Heat a heavy-based saucepan, add oil, fry onions over medium heat till translucent for about 2-3 mins. 
Add garlic, ginger, jalapeños, thyme and habeneros and fry for a few mins.
Stir in the purée, stock and Worcestershire sauce until a thick paste forms. Add in the chili flakes, prawn powder and cook for 10 mins. Adjust seasoning.
Cover and cook on low heat for 30 mins. (You can either blend sauce or leave it chunky). 
Pour sauce into a sterilized jar and cool in the fridge.
To make Shito Mayo, mix 1 cup of Shito sauce with 3/4 cup mayonnaise till well blended.

Fish and kale Ingredients: 
4 Whole Fish Fillets (Hake or Yellowtail)
3 Tbs Thai Fish Spice
1 Tbs Ground Black Pepper
1 Tbs Sea Salt 
2 Tbs Palm Oil
1 Lemon, quartered 
300g Kale
Palm oil for deep frying

Method: 
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
Heat oil in deep fryer at 160 degrees celcius.
Season fish with salt and pepper and Thai spice. Drizzle with oil, bake in the oven for 20-25 mins until fish is cooked but not dry. 
Shred kale to desired size, fry till crispy and bright green.
Drain on paper towel.