Spinach for Africa!

We have a tiny veggie patch that is blessed with an abundance of Swiss chard, commonly known as 'spinach' to us South Africans. From a patch of about one square meter in size we grow enough to last us all year long and eat from it at least three times a week!



Here is my very, very spinachy muffin recipe. It's a firm favourite in our house :-)

Adeline's Popeye Spinach Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

2 Cups Cake Flour

10 ml Baking powder

5 ml Salt

Smoked paprika,  approx 4 shakes

Leaves of a few thyme sprigs

2 Eggs

3/4 Cup milk

1/2 Cup Sunflower or Canola oil

1 Cup Feta chopped in small blocks. Use a firm feta that will not melt away, like Simonsberg.

2 Cups of Spinach. Remove stalks, chop and compress in cup

Directions

Mix dry ingredients.

Add feta, spinach and thyme and make sure you coat it with the flour mixture.

Add wet ingredients.

Mix with spoon until combined.

Spoon into muffin tins.

Bake for 25 minutes until golden brown at 175◦C in a thermo fan oven or 180◦C in a normal oven.


Savoury muffins always taste better a few hours after coming out the oven, or sometimes even the following day, so allow for the flavours to mingle and get to know each other!

I like the feta surprise with every bite, so don't make the feta pieces too small, not less than 5 mm pieces will do. On the other hand if the pieces are to big the flavours won't mingle.

Swiss chard is packed with Vitamin A,K and C and is a good source of  iron, potassium, magnesium and  fibre.

So start making your tasty healthy muffins now!

6 Foodie Reasons to Visit Emerald Ireland

I can understand why the Irish are such a jolly lot. You must be a "eejit" not to love Ireland! It's breathtaking natural beauty can leave no man or woman untouched. It's from these beautiful surroundings that some of the world's best farm produce originates, which is one of the reasons I visited there recently.



Being a foodie and a travel-holic I was estatic to visit Ireland. I researched what to eat in every Irish county long before we boarded our flight to the land of leprechauns and fairies. My research went out the window as the number of days and the size of my stomach stopped me from tasting everything I wanted to sample, but here are six of my best foodie moments in Ireland.

1. Smoked salmon at the Burren Smokehouse

I was in foodie heaven while tasting the cold smoked salmon at the Burren Smokehouse in Lisdoonvarna, County Clare.

This is melt-in-your-mouth salmon....literally. It melts away in your mouth, and my taste buds went crazy with excitement.



The Burren Smokehouse is an award winning smoke house that supplied the banquet held for Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Ireland - a feather in anyone's cap! They smoke organic salmon farmed in the waters of the Atlantic coast. According to the owners these farmed fish are kept in similar conditions as there wild counterparts, also swimming up inland streams to lay their eggs. These salmons, just like the wild salmon swim approximately 23 000km in their lifetimes ensuring a salmon with little fat and great taste, because their diets are controlled inside their captive environments. The way salmon tastes is, just like with any other fish, affected with what they eat during their lifetime.

The Burren does both hot smoking and the traditional Irish cold smoking. In the latter process the kiln is heated to only 35degC instead of the normal 80degC -  that way the fish don't coagulate.
Unfortunately due to health and hygiene reasons we were not allowed to see how they smoke the salmon but they did show an interesting video in the visitor centre giving more info on the smoking process.

2. Irish butter

Happy cows makes good butter! In Ireland cows roam freely and eat grass uncontaminated by pesticides and growth hormones. They produce creamy, flavourful milk high in beta carotene - that gives the yellow colour to butter and cheese as opposed to the lighter colour of butter produced by milk from grain-fed cows.

Irish butter taste better than any butter I tasted before. I ate a bit of toast every morning with my generous helping  of butter. The butter should be spread a few millimeters thick so that your teeth leave bite marks on your buttered toast - that's my rule of thumb!

It's suppose to be healthier than grain-fed cow butter due to the higher vitamin K content that helps prevent osteoporosis  and heart disease.  So eating Irish butter won't kill you, it will only make you fat and life is to short to worry about that - that's authentic Irish logic!

3. Baked goodies and the Glendalough Green Cafè in the Laragh village , County Wicklow

This cafè looks like a tired roadside farm stall from the outside and the two sisters that run it are a bit dour but do yourself a favour and stop here on your way from Dublin to Kilkenny. They do have the best almond berry cake and apple crumble...not to be missed!


If you cannot get to this coffee shop, the home baked delicacies in Ireland are all excellent - apple crumble, fruit scones, rocky roads, very buttery oats flapjacks (loved it!), salted caramel squares and many more will all brighten up your teatime taste buds.

4. Porridge with Bailleys at Garnish guest house in Cork

This smooth, rich oats porridge is definitely something I will try at home.  It's oats porridge with cream, bailleys liqueur and honey - absolutely delicious!

5. Food shopping at the English Market in Cork

The English market in Cork is a foodie must-see. Well Queen Elizabeth probably thought so during her official visit to Ireland in 2011.

It is an old market from the 19th century that shows off Ireland's top produce from strawberries, to cheeses, fish and meats. I really itched to spend time in the kitchen using their produce!

6. Monk fish tails and chips

Don't try and eat fish and chips at any old fish and chips place. On the plane to Ireland My mouth was already watering at the thought, however I was very disappointed when the fish and chips we had at most places were rather tasteless and oily. We could not believe it, so we kept searching for good fish and chips, stopping at various places on our route through in Dublin, Howth and south to Dingle.
We were ready to give up when we stopped at the Dersey island cable car where we saw a roadside stall selling monk fish tails and chips, and thought we'd give it one last try.  And I'm happy to report that we found it - good fish and chips in Ireland. Don't miss it!



I left Ireland convinced that the Irish produce some of the best fresh farm products, but generally lack the kitchen skills to turn what thy produce in the fields into culinary masterpieces. They under-season and in most cases we had to add salt to food we ordered in restaurants. That said, we ate first class meals at places like Cafe Hanz in Cashel and the New park Hotel in Kilkenny, and we were impressed many times by their home bakes. All in all, Ireland has a lot to offer foodies, and I hope to be back for more!

Easter treat

Nothing says Easter like a spicy, light and fluffy homemade hot cross bun. Hot cross buns on Good Friday is an old English tradition from the early 1700s. The cross symbolise the crucifixion of Christ.
During the times of Elizabeth I of England (1592), the sale of hot cross buns and other spiced breads were only allowed during burials, Good Friday and Christmas. Today, thank goodness, we enjoy hot cross buns at any time of the year!

It's an old belief that sharing a hot cross bun with another person ensures friendship for the coming year.  If  you are planning a cruise, take a hot cross bun with to protect against shipwreck or hang it in your kitchen to protect against fires.
The first batch I made while developing this recipe lacked the spicy taste which in my opinion is what makes hot cross buns special. It was also a bit skimpy on the sultanas!
Here is my final, tried and tested hot cross bun recipe to celebrate Easter and ensure your friendships all last long!


Dough
1 tablespoon dried yeast
¼ cup caster sugar
1½ cups warm milk
4 cups of cake flour
½ teaspoon ground all spice
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
60g butter
1 egg
180g sultanas

Flour paste for the cross
½ cup cake flour
2 teaspoons caster sugar
70ml water

Sticky Glaze
1 tablespoon caster sugar
1 teaspoon gelatine granules
1 tablespoon of warm water

Directions:

Dough
1. With a whisk mix the warm milk, yeast and sugar until dissolved. Cover and leave in a warm place for           10 minutes or until the mixture is frothy.
2. Sift the flour and dry ingredients.
3. Cut or grate the butter into small pieces and rub it into the flour until no more butter pieces are visible.
4. Stir in the yeast mixture, sultanas and egg until combined.
5. Cover and leave in a warm place until the dough doubles in size. This normally takes about 45 minutes.
6. Grease a 30cm square cake pan.
7. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead it for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth.
8. Divide the dough into 16 pieces.
9. Roll each piece into a ball and place the balls in the cake pan about 1cm apart.
10. Cover and let it stand for 10 minutes or until they've expanded to fill the open spaces between the buns.
11. Preheat the oven to 200 *C.

Flour paste
1. Combine flour and sugar in a cup and mix with water to a thick paste. Take care not to use too much water, otherwise it'll be too runny.
2. Fill a piping bag with a plain, round,  small to medium tip.
3. Pipe vertical and horizontal lines on the buns to make crosses.

Bake
1. Bake buns for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Tap on the buns and you'll hear a hollow sound when they're ready.
2. Turn buns topside up onto a wire rack.

Glaze
Stir ingredients till disolved then brush over the hot buns.

Storing
Cool on wire rack and store in an airtight container once cooled completely.

The quantities I used makes 16 hot and fluffy buns

Tips: 
Yeast is a life organism that damage at  temperatures over 46*C and are inactive in temperatures under 19*C. So don't overheat your yeast mixture. The ideal temperature for yeast to develop is 25-27*C.
Cover the yeast mixture and dough with plastic wrap (Glad Wrap). That way it won't dry out. Keep in a draft free place such as a cupboard.
Place the rolled balls in straight rows in the cake pan to make the cross easy by piping long lines over the buns instead of piping each bun individually.
If you do not have a piping bag, use a jiffy bag and cut of the tip or wax paper rolled into a funnel.
The oven temperature for this recipe is for a thermo fan oven, if using a non-fan oven heat oven to 220*C.
Never boil gelatine - doing that prevents it from setting. For a pure vegetarian version that eliminates the use of gelatine, make a sticky apricot glaze by heating apricot jam and add a little bit of water until it reaches a consistency that will be paintable.
The buns taste best after letting them stand for a day, and then serving with real butter.

You only live once - Percy's back!

Remember Percy, chef and owner of Lapa Fo Pizzeria in Emmarentia? Like many foodie Jo'burgers we used to be regulars at Lapa Fo - this legendary pizza joint served what was simply the most scrumptious and tasty pizzas in town. And then, quite suddenly, Lapa Fo vanished - closed down!

Recently my hairdresser Stevan told me about this "fabulous new pizza place called YOLO, across from that expensive bottle store in Melville". (The things you hear at the hair salon...but that's another story!)
The other night we decided to give it a try and I'm happy to report that YOLO is the new king of connoisseur pizzas in Jo'burg.

We were merrily munching away on our meals, glad to have discovered a first class pizza place so close to our home, when a familiar face walked in... it was Percy from Lapa Fo! Well well, talk about a piece of the pizza puzzle falling into place. Yup, Percy owns YOLO, and believe me, the pizzas are as good as ever, maybe even better.

I spent a few minutes chatting to Percy, which was a real treat. I wish I had a video of our conversation. He buzzes with positive energy, and a smile never leaves his expressive face!

Percy telling me about his year of introspection

"I took a year off from the buzz of life," Percy said. "No cell phone!  Washed cars for a living and tried to just enjoy life without the daily time wasters and energy eating niggles such as news of Zuma's Nkandla fire pool and nasty Joburg taxis." He realised in this year that you only live once; he want to enjoy life and savour his "capuccino". After this year of introspection he opened YOLO - You Only Live Once - a place that, once again, serves his deIicious trade mark pizzas.

You can order your  Pizza delivery

What makes the pizzas special is the six varieties of crusts you can choose from. It ranges from black olive and whole wheat to sour dough, and if that is not enough variety for you, you can also choose the base - from a standard napoletana to mushroom pesto, hot chilli tomato and peppadew.

The cooks at YOLO

We were spoiled for choice with 21 pizza varieties to choose from, but in the end we settled for Pizza a l'OriTolana Port'Alba and Pizza Puttanesca Di Don Salvatore, both on a sun-dried tomato and rosemary crust.

Pizza Puttanesca Di Don Salvatore

The Oritolana was wonderfully fresh - something that makes Percy's pizzas so special - with an abundance of avocado on top of red and green peppers, olives, onions, artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, brinjals, baby marrow and mushroom.

The Puttanesca was packed with flavour and if you love anchovies on your pizza, go for this one. There was just enough anchovies, too many of those and the pizza's too salty. The crust was crispy, light and yummy.
Apart from pizzas YOLO also offer a small variety salads and paninis.
The price for a medium pizza that is a more than a decent helping for one person, vary from R51 - R83, and the specialized crust and base (sauce)  is R5 - R8 extra. They also have a variety of vegetarian pizza options included in the list.
YOLO is awaiting it's liquor licence.

The service is so-so, but the wonderful pizza fare make up for that, and when Percy's in the room, his infectious energy lights up the room.

Make sure you you get a Yolo pizza soon - you only live once!

Hours: daily 10h00 - 22h00
27th street Melville
Tel 0114827016
www.yolopizza.co.za

See my latest post on YOLO

Ten foodie reasons to visit the Seychelles

We recently visited friends in the exotic Seychelles were I discovered Creole cuisine - a mixture of Indian, Chinese, African and French tastes. They make curries that are surprisingly mild; coconut milk feature as expected in most dishes; and mango chutney and basmati rice are standard accompaniments to most dishes. Everything has a distinctive sweet and sour taste.

The food fare is surprisingly varied for such a small island, but here are ten specialities typical of the Seychelles I most enjoyed.

1. Fruit bat curry

Bat curry? Yup, you heard right. On the Air Seychelles flight over a friendly air hostess recommended this strange dish when I asked her about typical Seychelles food. According to her and the equally amiable Seychelles women sitting in the row next to me, fruit bat curry and fish curries are as truly Seychelles as you can get.

Apparently the Seychellois breed fruit bats for this delicacy.

Unfortunately, (or should I rather say fortunately?) we couldn't find any bat curry, as everyone were saving their bats for curries that would be served at the annual Creole Festival that was due to start the week after we left.

2. Fish on the coals at the street market

We visited the Wednesday evening market at the beautiful Beau Vallon beach on Mahé, the main island of the 155 islands that make up the Seychelles. It's a small street market with a selection of local foods and drinks on offer at very reasonable prices for an island that is generally very expensive.

Beau Vallon beach on Mahé

Fruit Stall at the street market

As we wandered among the food stalls we could smell the mouthwatering aromas of barbecued Mackerel and Tuna kebabs. I was disappointed I wasn't hungry enough to have both, so I only tried the Tuna kebab. It was deliciously well done and marinated with tangy Creole sauce, definitely not your average half-raw Michelin star restaurant tuna. The smoky barbecue taste made it the best tuna I have ever tasted. At 25 Rupees, or about R20 per kebab I couldn't complain.

Barbecued Mackerel

Barbecued fish at the street market

3. Palm wine or Calou

The Seychellois make a palm wine from sap collected from a coconut tree. We bought a cup of this potent wine from a seller that looked like he had already tried to much of his own supply. It tasted similar to pineapple beer but with a scarily strong alcohol kick. We all took a sip and decided to pour the rest out as we feared instant and permanent brain damage.

Palm wine sellers

4. Home made juice

At one of the stands selling fresh home made juices I bought a bottle of the most wonderful guava juice I've ever tasted. It was as pure as you can ever imagine fruit juice from a tropical island can be, with none of stuff that gives one that annoying scratchy throat sensation you get from factory-made and preservative-laden juices.

I also tried Soursop juice, made from the Soursop fruit.

Soursop fruit

It had a unique refreshing fruit salad taste that I found delicious. It tasted like a mix of litchi, pineapple, banana and strawberry flavours combined in one sip. It is packed with vitamin C and B and are believed to be cancer preventing as well.

5. Shark ice cream

Shark is the unlikely name of a popular local ice cream found in most of the small, intriguing little grocery shops that dot the island. One of the not-to-be-missed flavours they make is coconut - creamy with real pieces of coconut flesh. It made my own home-made coconut ice cream taste bland in comparison.

The best coconut ice cream

6. Coconut water

Of course we had the obligatory coconut water drink, straight from a fresh, brightly orange coloured coconut. What's an tropical island holiday without it?

Charl , drinking coconut water - from the nature's cup

It's a treat to watch the coconut seller skillfully and with a certain flamboyant flair prepare the coconut. He even jazzed it up with a hibiscus flower. 'For the ladies,' he said when handing them to us with a smile.

It was an interesting taste, not at all what I expected, since it doesn't taste like coconut at all. I found it quite watery with a slight fermented sting on the tongue. There was more of it inside than I imagined - about 300ml in the immature coconut - and is packed with electrolytes, vitamins and antioxidants. The immature flesh inside the coconut is a yucky jelly mass that doesn't look or taste appetising at all. It also felt like a shame to discard the coconut when the drink was finished!

With most things one buys in the Seychelles, a price has to be negotiated beforehand. The price changed from 50 Rupees per coconut to 40 for three on production of my friend Karin's resident card, quite a nice discount!

7. Mature coconut

At home I use desiccated coconut in the dished I prepare. During our Seychelles visit I had coconut flesh straight from a de-husked, mature coconut for the first time ever. The coconut looks like a small, hairy brown wooden ball that is broken into pieces to reveal the white copra or flesh inside. There is a tasty bit of juice inside the coconut that tastes yummy - exactly as I expected coconut water to be.

We polished a coconut between three of us in a few minutes. It's rich and tasty, and again, truly a tropical island sort of thing.

Coconuts

Me, drinking coconut water from a mature coconut

8. Fish in banana leaf

Baked fish in banana leaf is as tropical island as you can get. The fish steak is covered with a Creole sauce made of tomato, onion and spices and then wrapped in a banana leaf before baking. It steams in this leafy "pocket" leaving a tasty, flaky, soft fish as the result.

It is served with basmati rice and a yummy mango chutney made from finely chopped green mangoes.

Fish in Banana leaf

9. Red snapper

The Seychellois live of the sea, and it is truly heart-warming to see their relationship and respect for the sea.

Spear Fisherman looking for the catch of the day

One of the common fishes in Seychelles is Red Snapper. While staying at the pretty island of La Dique I had a baked, whole filleted Red Snapper with a tomato "ragu" or sauce. The fish was fresh and tasted of the sea, and the ragu was the perfect accompaniment.

10. Fruits and jam

The Seychellois love their mangos to be unripened and green. It must be an island thing, since we found it to be the same in Zanzibar when we visited there a few years ago. At the hotel we stayed over in we had a breakfast starter of cut unripe fruit in the morning. I liked it, but sour fruit is not for everyone's palate.

Fruit starter for breakfast 

Not being a sweet tooth I'm not a big jam fan, but I can definitely recommend the local Starfruit and Belimbi jams. Both of these locally produced and rather sour fruits make excellent jams. The Belimbi tree is also called a Cucumber tree, as its fruit look like cucumbers that grow directly from the trunk of the tree.

Jams for breakfast

I wished I could stay longer to explore more of the Seychelles cuisine and try my hand at cooking with the local produce. Perhaps next time...

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Taste of Joburg Festival - Part two

By now we'd tasted samples from three restaurants, and two out of three were winners. Our R100 tasting budget was running out fast, but we still had a few coupons left for a titbit or two.

We continued on, wandering among the many stands and looking at the samples on offer.The restaurant that attracted the most attention - especially among females - was Beefcakes...probably because of the beefcakes working there. It's amazing how naked flesh sells anything, even food.

The beefcake hunks

We almost hugged the lady at the Coach House Nougat stand when we walked past it. The luxury Coach House hotel, set high up in the Magoebaskloof mountains near Tzaneen used to be our favourite country hotel getaway but unfortunately the owner passed away a few years ago, and with him went the personalised service and care that made the hotel special. A side business of the hotel was a nougat factory that makes the most amazing macadamia and honey nougat. We thought they'd stopped making nougat, so were delighted to see they are still in business. It's a bit sad that the recognisable, classic branding had changed  from the gold coach and horses to something a little more modern, but the taste is still unmistakably Coach House. I highly recommend their nougat - you'll find it at most Spar and Dischem outlets.

Coach House Nougat 

Fry's new curry offering

Fry's, the popular vegetarian frozen food range also had a stand.  We are big fans of Fry's time-saving and tasty schnitzels and pepper steak pies, and here they were, introducing a new Durban range of curries (Durban, really?), and we tried their new 'mutton' curry (why do manufacturer's insist on imitating meat??) served in a bunny chow. It tasted good - not as good as Fordsburg curry, but quite fine for a quick meal.

Fry's Mutton Curry Bunny Chow

The Taste of Joburg outing was a fun way to spend the day, and it was good to see so many people that love and appreciate good food. 

Yummy Things At The Taste Of  Joburg

However, I still find the prices hard to swallow. Entry cost R80  per person, or R40 if you have a Pick n Pay shopper card.  And then there were the aforementioned per-tasting prices, which were quite steep I thought. I feel the restaurants have an opportunity to advertise here, and that the tasters should cost either very little or be free. It felt like I was paying a lot of money for a branded T-shirt, when they should be paying me instead for wearing the T shirt.

More Yummy Things

Tips for next time

Will I go again? O yes! But for the next Taste of Joburg I will go better prepared. Firstly, I will take a hat and lots of sunblock since the festival is held outdoors. I will allow the whole day to explore - don't think you can taste everything on offer in an hour or two. Importantly, I will book the food preparation workshops in advance - they were all sold out. And lastly, before spending anything I'll take a walk around and look for specials. For instance,I could have subscribed to Pick n Pay's Fresh Living Magazine and received one hundred Rand's worth of vouchers thrown into the deal! 

Taste of Joburg Festival Part One - tasty, but pricey

The Taste of Joburg Festival is a foodie event that has been held here for the past seven years. Exhibitors include local restaurants, wineries, beer makers and food producers. The main purpose of the festival is to introduce Johannesburg restaurants to the public by offering them a sampling from their menus, thus the 'taste' in the name. And if you like what you taste, you follow it up with a meal at the restaurant. You get the idea.

We attended the very first Taste of Joburg Festival years ago at Wanderers. At the time we found it to be crowded and expensive, and more importantly, didn't find a single restaurant that grabbed our attention. But we did see one of those classic Stella Artois advertisement videos that convinced us to taste it - our first time ever - and today it's still our preferred beer. 

So, unimpressed at the time, we gave Taste of Joburg a miss for the next six years. But last Sunday we decided to give the Taste of Joburg another chance.

There were  a good selection of restaurants represented at the festival, varying from hotel restaurants, bistros, tapas bars, Indian, Thai and gourmet burgers. Each restaurant had three taste options - a starter, a main course and a dessert. Each portion is the size of about two to three bites, really small. 

We worked out that at the prices the tasters were going for - anything between R15 and R40 - there were enough tasting choices to set us back just under a R1000! That was way above our budget, so we decided that the tasters that we'd try must be from restaurants we haven't eaten at before, it must be a food combination that was new to us, and it should all fit into oursmall R100 tasting budget. 

On top of that we still wanted to go visit the Joburg Art Fair at Sandton in the afternoon, we set off to explore right away.

Lacuna

Our first taster was from Lacuna, a bistro at the new Maslow hotel in Sandton. It was a starter of roasted baby beetroot, ash goat's cheese brûlée and walnut pesto served with micro herbs. Sure, beetroot and goat's cheese is old news but combined with the walnut pesto it was a taste sensation that worked, it was well balanced and refreshing. I didn't quite understand the 'brulee' part of the goat's cheese though. It was delicious enough to make a date to eat at Lacuna in the near future and try more of Chef Dallas Orr's creations. 

Roasted baby beetroot,
ash goat's cheese brûlée and walnut pesto

The Grazing Room

Our next tasting was at The Grazing Room, a tapas bar located at the DW eleven-13 restaurant in Dunkeld West. And it won the day for us! We tasted the prawn risotto balls served with a lemon aioli, a combination that was a tastebud treat. The risotto was black, coloured by squid ink and just the right consistency. It almost melts away in your mouth. 

I'm a big tapas fan. I love the small portions packed with flavour. I struggle to make choices when it comes to restaurant menus, so tapas work for me - I can have a little bit of this and a little bit of that all in one sitting. So the Grazing Room was a winner - In fact I think that this is the restaurant we'll go eat at weekend.

Prawn risotto balls

Vivace

Our taster from Vivace, the restaurant at the Raddison Blu in Sandton was a dessert. Chef Jaques Venter created a Hugenot baked cheese tart with jasmine syrup, micro herbs and a passion fruit gel on the side. According to him Hugenot is a South African award winning cheese and taste like a strong cheddar. 

The tart was surprisingly not too sweet,  I didn't taste any jasmine syrup but the passion fruit gel worked well. 

Hugenot baked cheese tart 

Would we visit Vivace for a meal? Hmm… not sure. The dessert was good, but not outstanding.

Next time: our Taste of Joburg adventure continues!

Shakshouka Twist

For years I've been making a swiss chard, fried egg dish for brunch, only to be told by my sister this week that it is a twist on a Shakshouka.  

A what? You probably ask, that was my reaction too.

A Shakshouka is a dish that originates from Tunisia  It's made with eggs, poached or fried in a sauce of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and spices, served with white bread.

After hearing that I realised with new-found respect that there is nothing new under the sun, food-wise. People have been preparing food with care and love for centuries. The only 'new' is the twist that put into it, your own signature.

Well, here is my Shakshouka-with-a-twist. It is an easy- to-make, satisfying dish that'll keep the hunger pangs away 'till dinner time. 

Try it for brunch this weekend. How can you not, with such a tongue-twister name - no pun intended!

Serves 2 people.

The twister in progress.

The result - yum!

Ingredients

A "glug" of olive oil, just enough to saute the onions

1/2 Brown onion, finely sliced

5 Swiss chard leaves

2 Ripe tomatoes, chopped

Thyme, about 10 sprigs

1 Clove of garlic, crushed

Salt

Black Pepper

2 Eggs ( depending on the number of eggs per person)

Directions

Cut the leafy bits from the swiss chard stalks, and cut the stalks in small pieces

Pour the oil into a non=stick frying pan and saute the onions and chopped swiss chard pieces 'till soft and translucent.

Add the chopped swiss chard leaves, tomatoes, garlic and thyme leaves to the sauteed onions.


Add 4 tablespoons of water.

Cover and simmer on a low heat untill the tomatoes and swiss chard are soft. This takes about 20-30 minutes.

Add salt and pepper to taste and mix everything with a spoon.

Use the spoon make spaces for each egg you have, and break an egg into each space.

Cover and simmer on a low heat, untill egg whites start setting.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the eggs. 

Add grated parmesan over the eggs.

Cover again for a few seconds, untill the parmesan has melted.

Serve immediately on a slice of toast.


It taste best when the yolk of the eggs are still runny.