AFRICA HOUSE
A WELCOMING TABLE
CREAM OF AVOCADO SOUP
3 large avocados
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 litre home made chicken stock
125 ml (½ cup) cream or plain Bulgarian yoghurt
2 teaspoons grated onion
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon grated lemon peel
pine nuts, toasted
red onion slices
(Serves 4)
Halve and remove the stones from the avocados. Mash the flesh (or purée in a blender), reserving half an avocado. Slice the avocado half and sprinkle over lemon juice; reserve for the garnish.
Place the avocado purée in a saucepan, and stir in chicken stock. Heat until the mixture just reaches boiling point. Remove from heat and stir in the cream or yoghurt, onion, pepper and lemon peel. Just before serving, add sliced avocado and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and red onion slices. Serve with foccacia slices.
Cook’s Note: This soup can be made in advance and reheated. Soup must be served in hot plates.
Roasting pine nuts enhances their flavour, dry roast without oil in a non-stick frying pan over a moderate heat, turning often until golden and fragrant.
FOCCACIA
3 cups plain flour
3 pinches salt
5 g dry yeast
2 cups luke warm water
Mix together the flour, salt and yeast and flavouring of your choice (such as chopped olives, fresh chopped herbs, grated cheese etc). Add just enough water. The dough should be wet enough to stir with a wooden spoon, as you should not be able to handle it. Allow to prove in a warm draft free place, covered with a tea cloth, until double in size. Stir with a wooden spoon and tip onto an oiled and flour dusted baking tray. Smooth out to cover the surface of the baking tray and allow to prove again. Bake in a very hot oven at 220°C for approximately 20 minutes or until crisp and hollow sounding when tapped.
Cook’s Note: Flour tends to vary so you need to judge carefully when you add the water.
VENISON FILLET WITH ORANGE SCENTED SWEET POTATOES
1 kg impala fillet, trimmed (optional – try pork fillet)
powdered mustard
sea salt and coarsely milled black pepper
olive oil or grape seed oil
(Serves 4)
Pat venison with powdered mustard, sea salt, black pepper and olive oil. Bring cast iron ridged grilling pan to very high heat, add a little olive oil and pan grill the venison. Keep turning, bearing in mind that the venison will firm as it continues to cook (+- 8 minutes per side). Serve medium rare.
For the sauce:
125 ml (½ cup) red wine
30 ml (2 tablespoons) water
sea salt and milled black pepper
a dash of corn flour to thicken, mixed with a little cold water
Add red wine to the pan juices together with a little water. Season lightly. Bring to the boil, add corn flour and stir with a wooden spoon. Pour a little around each serving of fillet.
CITRUS SCENTED SWEET POTATOES WITH GINGER:
3 sweet potatoes, sliced into rounds
2 large oranges and 2 tablespoons of finely sliced peel (See Cook’s Note)
2 cinnamon sticks
3 cloves
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
sea salt and milled black pepper
(30 ml) 2 tablespoons grape seed oil
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 orange segmented
Place sweet potatoes in overlapping slices in an ovenware dish. Add orange juice, fine peel, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, seasoning, and grape seed oil, and finish with sugar. Cover with light aluminum foil (shiny side in) and bake for about 45 minutes at 180°C.
Remove foil about 10 minutes before end of cooking time. Slip orange segments between the sweet potato rounds and place under the grill to crisp the fine slices of orange or naartjie skin.
Cook’s Note: A versatile dish, you can use oranges, naartjies or clementines. When using naartjies, spoon the pulp over together with the juice.
STEAMED AND GRILLED VEGETABLE PLATTER:
400 g trimmed green beans
250 g mangetouts
300 – 400 g broccoli
12 courgettes
2 cloves garlic, crushed
sea salt
olive oil or grapeseed oil
In a large saucepan of rapidly boiling salted water (use coarse sea salt) add green beans and boil for 6 – 7 minutes. Remove and place in a colander lined with dampened kitchen paper towel. Cover lightly with more paper toweling and run cold water over. Reserve.
Add mange touts to the boiling water and cook for 2 – 3 minutes. Remove and continue as per green beans. Finally add broccoli and cook for 8 – 10 minutes and refresh in the same way.
Scrub courgettes thoroughly, rinse and halve lengthways. Place on a grilling pan or on a baking tray. Sprinkle with sea salt and grape seed or olive oil and grill lightly until just golden brown. Remove and place on a platter together with remaining vegetables arranged in rows. Sprinkle with garlic and dress with a little extra olive oil and seasoning.
STEAMED CHOCOLATE PUDDING WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE
100 g dark chocolate
100 g butter
4 eggs
100 g sugar
100 g self-raising flour
Sauce:
100 g dark chocolate
250 ml cream
Melt 100 g dark chocolate and 100 g butter in a double boiler. Separate 4 eggs and whisk the yolks with 50 g sugar until creamy. Add the chocolate mixture and blend well. Whisk egg whites until they reach soft peak stage, add 50 g sugar and continue beating until stiff. Fold the egg whites into the yolk and chocolate mixture, alternating with 100 g self-raising flour and pour into a lightly greased bowl. Cover with thick aluminium foil, well secured and steam in saucepan of water (half way up) for 1 hour.
To make the sauce: place 100 g dark chocolate and 250 ml cream into a double boiler and melt until smooth. Serve this with the hot pudding.
Cook’s Note: You can prepare this pudding as either a single or 12 individuals, fill little moulds 4 x 4 cm only half way as they rise beautifully.
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