You may have noticed
that no menu appeared last week. Our
entire house was sick. There was not
much cooking of any sort getting done.
We are back on track now. This
week’s installment of the Friday Night Dinner Project is the South African
Dinner. It is actually a vegetarian
menu, but I use chicken broth where it calls for vegetable broth so….not so
vegetarian in our house.
Avocado and Ricotta Spread
This is the starter on
the menu, and unfortunately I did not make it.
Despite having avocado on my grocery list, I forgot to pick it up. I will post an update on this recipe next weekend.
UPDATE: I made the dip. It is very good. I would not have thought to pair avocado with ricotta cheese for a dip but I loved it (so did my husband and my son). I will try to update with a picture once my computer issues are resolved.
UPDATE: I made the dip. It is very good. I would not have thought to pair avocado with ricotta cheese for a dip but I loved it (so did my husband and my son). I will try to update with a picture once my computer issues are resolved.
Curried Butternut and Peanut Soup
Butternut squash,
coconut milk, peanut butter, curry paste….all in one soup? It is heavenly. This soup is so creamy and smooth and
delicious, without being too rich. This
is one that I will make over and over again.
Truly, this soup is amazing.
Roasted Vegetable and Chickpea Potjie
I had never heard of
this dish until I read this recipe.
Bonnie recommends serving it over couscous and that is what we did. It is a vegetarian entrée and a very
delicious one. The amazing blend of
spices – cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon, brown sugar, chili
paste, salt and pepper – makes this a very aromatic dish. We served it over couscous, drizzled with
plain Greek yogurt. The yogurt really
adds something nice to the recipe. We
enjoyed reheated leftovers for several days – my colleagues were all asking me
about it because it smells so good.
Amazing South African Seed Bread
If you have any health
nuts in your circle of friends then send this bread recipe their way. It is full of healthy sounding stuff like
wheat bran, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, flax seeds,
the list goes on. My husband (who is not
a huge fan) calls it bird seed bread. I
actually like this bread with jam or a light white cheese. The only thing I would say is that I find the
molasses flavour quite strong when I follow the recipe exactly, so I usually
substitute honey in for the molasses.
Couscous with Nuts and Seeds
Couscous is so quick
and easy to make, I love it. The crunch
in this recipe is lovely and it is great with the Roasted Vegetable and
Chickpea Potjie.
Lauren’s Brazil Nut Biscotti
I made the
biscotti. I ate the biscotti. Neither of us (my husband + me) drink coffee
so we never eat biscotti. We decided to
try it with hot chocolate. It was pretty
good. Not being biscotti eaters I have
nothing to compare it to, so we are both taking a bunch to work tomorrow for
colleagues to try. I will say that this
is an easy recipe to make and quick (if you don’t count the time you let the
loaf sit in the fridge before slicing it and the slicing time), and it actually
looks quite impressive once done. It
would make a nice gift for the coffee drinker on your list. Or a nice change from the usual cakes and
what not served at coffee hour.
UPDATE:My husband and I both took this to work with us and it turned out to be insanely popular at both of our workplaces. People kept coming back for more and asking for the recipe!
UPDATE:My husband and I both took this to work with us and it turned out to be insanely popular at both of our workplaces. People kept coming back for more and asking for the recipe!
Pavlova with Passionfruit Cream
Well there was no
passionfruit cream due to not being able to find any. I used lemon curd instead (plus I love lemon
and meringue together so…). Seven years
ago we were at a dinner party in South London and I remember how impressed I
was when the hostess brought out a beautiful Raspberry Pavlova for
dessert. It was fabulous and looked
amazing, I always wanted to try making one after that. When we lived in the United Kingdom I did not
buy any electric appliances (because I knew we would eventually be leaving – I only
bought a cheap toaster and a blender) and the idea of making meringue without
an electric mixer seemed ridiculous to me.
So here I am, seven years on, making my first pavlova. It is not going to win any awards for
presentation, but it tastes good. Very
sweet but light at the same time.
Hopefully my next one will look a bit prettier! Here is a link to a different version of pavlova from Bonnie Stern.
That's it for this week's Friday Night Dinner.
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