In Celebration of 

PAM HIRSCHSOHN'S

TREASURY OR RECIPES

Painting was Pam's profession, but food was her passion. "Since we all have to eat and therefore cook," Pam always said, "cookery is the one universal art form accessible to all!"

 Enjoy the second in a two part series.

OUR FAVOURITE CHICKEN CURRY

One of the most important ingredients in a curry dish is, of course, the curry powder: buy a good one available at selected food stores, or go to a spice outlet like the Oriental Plaza – especially if you like your curry hot!

1,5 kg chicken
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
30 ml (2 tbsp) butter
15 ml (1 tbsp) flour
15 ml (1 tbsp) curry powder
pinch each of turmeric, ground ginger, paprika and cayenne pepper
salt to taste
15-30 ml (1 – 2 tbsp) chutney
250 ml (1 cup) chicken stock
thick yoghurt
(Serves 4)

Cut chicken into serving pieces or quarters. In a large saucepan sauté onion and garlic in butter until transparent. Mix together flour, curry powder and spices and coat chicken generously in this mixture. Sauté in saucepan with garlic and onion, until golden. Sprinkle with salt and add chutney.

Add some of the chicken stock, stirring all the time. Pour over remainder of stock and cook gently until chicken is tender. Take off heat and leave to stand for a few minutes to cool before adding the yoghurt, otherwise it may curdle.

Serve the chicken curry with yellow rice and sambals of your choice.

LIZ’S ROAST VENISON WITH ROSEMARY AND QUINCE

We have discovered springbok to be such a tender and finely-textured meat that we enjoy it rare and unmarinated.

1 leg springbok
3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
fresh rosemary

Gravy:
30 ml (2 tbsp) flour
250 ml (1 cup) venison or beef stock
salt and pepper
60 ml (1/4 cup) red wine
30 ml (2 tbsp) brandy
fresh rosemary (optional)
garlic (optional)
quince jelly to taste
125 ml (1/2 cup) cream
Garnish:
sprigs of fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 200-220°C

Using the point of a sharp knife, make small incisions all over the leg of venison. Insert slivers of garlic and rosemary leaves alternately into the incisions. Rub the leg of venison with about 75 g of the butter and place in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with black pepper and cover with overlapping pieces of bacon. Pour over red wine and roast for 1 hour. Peel and core quinces and cut into halves or quarters, depending on size. Put into lemon water to prevent discoloration. 

Remove and reserve the bacon and place the quinces, dotted with remainder of the butter, around the meat. Roast for another 20-30 minutes for rare meat, 45 minutes for medium to well done meat (still slightly pink.) Transfer meat to a heated serving platter and arrange quince halves around it. Cover meat loosely with foil and leave to rest in the warming drawer for 20 minutes.

Gravy: Chop bacon and add to pan juices. Stir in flour to make a smooth paste, then stir in the stock, adding water if necessary. Stir until mixture bubbles, scraping in all the brown bits. Season to taste, adding wine and brandy, more garlic and rosemary if you wish, and quince jelly to taste.

To serve: Strain gravy into a heated gravy boat and add a swirl of cream (1 – 2 tbsp) Whip the rest and put a teaspoonful of cream and a blob of quince jelly on each quince. Salt and garnish with a spring of fresh rosemary.

GRAND MARINIER SOUFFLÉ

I had a dreamy soufflé at the Auberge de Noves, a restaurant in Provence and as they would not part with the recipe, I experimented until I achieved a pretty good imitation.

75 ml (5 tbsp) flour
250 ml (1 cup) cold milk
pinch of salt
90 ml (6 tbsp) Grand Marnier
3 egg yolks
4 egg whites
90 ml (6 tbsp) castor sugar
375 ml (1 ½ cups) cream
2 x 425 g tins or bottle pitted Morello sour cherries (or 2 punnets raspberries)
A little extra Grand Marnier (about 6 tbsp)

Preheat oven to 180ºC (350 F).

Butter 6 ramekins or Acropol cups. Stir flour and about 60 ml of the milk to a smooth paste. Add the rest of the milk, stirring well. Add salt and Grand Marnier, blend again and pour mixture into a saucepan. Over medium heat thicken the milk mixture, whisking well. Remove from heat and add one egg yolk at a time. If the mixture has cooled too much, heat it gently until it is just warm. Strain over the egg whites (to make sure it has no lumps) and, using an under and over movement, fold in gently.

Fill ramekins or cups nearly to the brim. Put into a bain-marie of hot tap water, which comes 2/3 of the way up the sides of the cups. Bake for 6-8 minutes. Remove from the oven and increase oven temperature to 190ºC (375F).

Bring the cream to the boil. Turn out the soufflés onto individual ovenware dishes; surround with cherries or raspberries and sprinkle with sugar, if you wish. Pour boiling cream over the soufflés and return them to the oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven, pour a teaspoon of Grand Marnier over each soufflé and rush them to the table.

By the way, left over soufflés can be used the following day: simply pour over cream, reheat and they’ll puff up very happily.

MYRA’S ROLLED PAVLOVA

An Australian favourite. For the best results, make it the afternoon before your dinner party, to prevent the meringue from becoming tacky.

Pavlova 4 XL egg whites
125 ml (1/2 cup) castor sugar
60 ml (1/4 cup) castor sugar
20 ml (4 tsp) cornflour
ground cinnamon/sugar mixture
Filling
250 – 500 ml (1 – 2 cups) cream
(depending on taste)
15 ml (1 tbsp) icing sugar taste
Kirsch to flavour
Garnish
Toasted flaked almonds
Serves 6
Preheat oven to 190°C

Pavlova: Oil base and sides of a shallow jam roll tin measuring 40cm x 27cm x 2cm. Line it with greaseproof paper, butter well, coat with cornflour and shake off excess.

Beat egg whites, gradually adding 125 ml castor sugar. Mix together 60 ml castor sugar and cornflour and add to egg whites, beating all the time. Smooth the mixture into prepared tin and bake for about 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto a kitchen cloth, which has been sprinkled liberally with cinnamon and sugar. Allow to cool, then peel off the paper.

Filling: Whip cream and flavour to taste with icing sugar and Kirsch. Spread filling evenly over cake with a spatula. Roll as for a Swiss roll.

Garnish if you wish, reserve some of the whipped cream and use to pipe rosettes onto the pavlova. Sprinkle liberally with toasted, flaked almonds.

© Pam Hirschsohn's Treasury Of Recipes, Published by Don Nelson