The Avocado Challenge: Ziets' Twisted Ritz

When last did you have avocado other than plain or in guacamole? Well, here is an idea in answer to the challenge from the the ZZ2 farming group.

There is a plethora of recipes for avocado and the challenge here was to come up with something new.

In my mind, that calls for simplicity, otherwise people may not make the dish. Simple ingredients, simple processing, great taste. Those are the basic requirements. Of course, the plating and dishing up of the food is up to the individual cook. If you are just plain hungry, just chuck everything together and dig in.

However, in my view one has more pleasure from a dish than just throwing everything together. “Moerbeikos” is the Afrikaans slang word for food slapped together. A bit derogatory. A dish like this deserves some TLC, I would imagine. Especially if it will be served to your loved ones.

I thought up this version of avocado Ritz as a low fat, almost organic, version of the classic dish. And there is no mayonnaise. Just fresh, wholesome seafood, chourizo, yogurt and salad leaves. Add some real butter, salt and freshly ground pepper, not forgetting the requisite avocado, and you have a delicious tangy starter or main dish. In my house, I earned the nickname of the Hungry Sailor, so ours was a main meal. Copious amounts of the dish.

This one I call Twisted Ritz, in memory of the huge quantities we consumed while working in Nigeria. You can have this dish every day in that part of the world. Which is why I had to engage in a serious exercise regime to keep my weight down.

But that is a different story.


I used shelled prawns, as these are easier to eat. But you may use prawns in the shell for the looks. Makes for messier eating, which I am sure will add to the whole eating experience. Bear in mind that the prawns shrink somewhat during cooking, so make sure you cook enough.

The chourizo may be substituted with any spicy sausage. This is what makes the dish slightly spicy. If the sausage is not spicy enough, add some dried chilli powder or cayenne pepper. Beware of overdosing, though.


I used salad greens from my vertical vegetable garden. If you don't have a garden, just buy some mixed salad greens from your favourite greengrocer or food deli.

The quantities given will make 2 full portions or 4 starters.

Twisted Ritz ingredients

1 small avocado
250 ml plain yogurt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
pinch  of salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup prawns
150 mm length of chourizo, sliced into thin wheels
1 clove fresh garlic, chopped and mashed
dollop of butter for frying
salt
freshly ground pepper
Choice of any or all of the salad leaves below:
Lettuce, assorted
Fennel
Rocket
Spring onions
Grass onions


Process

Peel and dice the avocado. Add all the yogurt, some salt, the lemon juice and some pepper. Whisk until the mixture is nice and smooth. Then put it aside to rest and develop flavour.

Keep your fingers out of it, otherwise there may not be sufficient left over to dish up!

Melt some butter in a frying pan. Fry the mashed garlic until it becomes slightly brown, then add the chourizo. Fry the chourizo until it has a nice brown tinge, then remove from the pan. Add the prawns directly to the juices in the pan and fry them in turn until brown. The prawns will shed water at first and will be cooking rather than frying. No reason to fret, just wait until the water has boiled away and carry on. Prawns taste better after being browned in butter.

The dishing up part is where the cook's personal artistry comes into play. I arranged some of the salad leaves in ramekins, then added a dollop of the avocado mousse before adding the prawns and chourizo.

Garnish with some of the chopped spring onions and serve with a fruity dry white wine.

Voila, a new, healthy avocado dish!

Bon appetit!

This blog post compiled in answer to the ZZ2® Afrikado blogger challenge. Please vote for me at the ZZ2 Afrikado Challenge Facebook page.
Authored by Johan Zietsman

Last updated on 2013-07-29

Cold Weather Bean Stew

It has been a while since my last affray into the kitchen. I have been working on boats since.

I don't own a boat. I am perhaps now learning more, by working  and sailing on other people's boats, than I would have by owning and sailing my own boat. A more diverse experience.

And it is not costing me real money. A little for diesel here, a snack or two there, perhaps a spare or two of something. Definitely my time. A large portion of it.

And the real value is in the learning. Learning about the vagaries of boats, the cost of ownership and each boat's idiosyncrasies. Yes, it is true. Every boat has her own character and whims. You learn it very fast when going sailing.

Perhaps it is the same with cooking. Every cook has his or her own ideas about cooking. Very few people I know stick strictly to recipes. Which is why one gets such a rich variation in the flavours and character of the same dish prepared by different people.

This morning I had a very interesting conversation with a kindred spirit in another, but overlapping dimension. You could think that you have warped into another world, very much like Douglas Adams' galactic hitchhiker.

And it was a simple question that caused the warp. The question was whether I was planning to make dishes from elsewhere in the world. Which really set me thinking about what I am doing. Is it of interest to people halfway around the world living in a different culture? Am I too South African in my approach?

In the end the answer was really simple, in two ways. 

We here in South Africa have the advantage of a culinary environment born of a fusion of Far Eastern and European cooking. Add in the influence from within Africa itself and you are left with a very rich heritage which overlaps with most of the world's cooking.

Then, to top it all, we have the internet which makes the world very small indeed. Nowadays not even language is a barrier any more, since we have automatic on-line translators. Thus I have friends in the cooking field from as far afield as the USA, England, France, Spain, Brazil, India, Japan, China, Greece and Russia, to name but a few.

My biggest problem in preparing a new version of a dish or just the standard version, is in the fresh ingredients. We simply cannot obtain some of the ingredients here.

I would give much to be able to travel to faraway places, buy fresh produce at the market and prepare a dish or two in their local style, adapted to my whims. Perhaps, one day I shall pack up and go cruising in this fashion.

For today, I shall be sticking with a bean stew. Something to make in a single pot, using meat easily obtainable in my neck of the woods. 

Stock in the making

For the record, this can be looked at as a cowboy stew if you live in the USA, or a cassoulet when in France, or a bean 'poi kee' if you live down under amongst the other South African expats.

The meat gets cut into cubes, the sausage into wheels and the smoked pork belly into thick slices.

I am using ostrich meat and dry beans as a test. I have made this dish before using canned beans and it worked a treat, no pun intended. And this one is really good for a cold weather spell on board. Easy to make and it will keep the crew warmed and energetic for a good while.

There is a caveat. As always. I used a flat shape cast iron casserole. Not the right tool for the job. Use a deep pot, as for soup. The beans need a lot of heat, even though not too high. A flat casserole simply does not concentrate the heat sufficiently. 

Other than that, remember to soak and/or pre-boil the dry beans for a long time, preferably overnight, lest you are left with a semi raw dish at dinner time. And if you want to do this on board, use canned beans, they are a lot less hassle on a boat.

This one came out right, the beans a bit too raw when I wanted to dish up, so we had a very late dinner. But the flavour was excellent, just like the first one. Very easy to make, no stock required at all, the process makes its own stock. Ensure that you cook this dish until everything becomes mushy and amorphous, almost like thick soup.

Ingredients

500 g cubed meat. I used ostrich

100g chourizo, sliced into wheels

100g smoked pork bacon, sliced into thickish slices

250g dry broad beans, soaked, preferably overnight

250g  dry sugar beans, soaked, preferably overnight

1 can peeled and chopped tomatoes

3 small fresh tomatoes, chopped

1 hot chilli, finely chopped

2 medium onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped and mashed

small sprig of rosemary

½ cup fresh coriander, chopped

3 sprigs spring onions, coarsely chopped for garnish

some salt

some pepper to taste

1 l water, as required

Process

Fry the meat in turns in a dry pan. Start with the bacon, then the chourizo, then the cubed meat. At the end of this the meat should be all browned, sitting pretty on the sideline cooking in their own juices while you are doing the rest of the frying. In the pot there should be a layer of fat and some scorching.

Now add the onions to the pot and fry them until they get brown. This will be quick, as they will pick up the scorched meat from the bottom. Add the chillies and garlic and fry these for 30 seconds, then add the can of tomatoes and the freshly chopped tomatoes. Turn the heat down and get these to simmer until everything is cooking nicely, then add the beans and some water.

The heat can be turned down to a level where the pot is just simmering away happily, not too fast. Pay attention to the water level and ensure that the food does not stick to the bottom and burn. Keep adding water as required to keep a thickish consistency.

Add the meat back towards the end, when the beans all start going mushy. Add the chopped corainder, rosemary and spring onions and stir through.

Allow the dish time to repose. That is 'rest' for those of us not of Spanish persuation. Twenty minutes would be getting there. Overnight is better, but I suppose that this dish would be for dinner tonight, not tomorrow night.

Serve on a bed of rice.

Bon appetit!

Authored by Johan Zietsman

This blog post specifically compiled for the GBYC newsletter.

Last updated on 2013-06-06

The GBYC Paella Cook-Off

My, what tangled webs we weave!

I am not really one for serious competitions. Rather too laid back, I think. Or probably too lazy.

The real reason for a wannabe sea gypsy? Most decidedly. My doctor says my cholesterol levels are where they are because of good eating. I used to think it was due to too much starch and sugar.

However it may be, last Saturday found me competing against the local sailing club Commodore for the best paella. The non-competitor versus the club Commodore. A tangled web indeed!

He decided on a sea food version, complete with all and sundry exotic ingredients. It looked and tasted delicious. The dish was cooked slowly and the fish and calamari parts were done to a T.

My version was definitely more traditional having no sea food whatsoever. Just chicken and a small amount of spicy sausage meat for flavour. Only a little bit of stock, just enough to help the flavours. The cooking process and sequence generates a natural stock.

This one is real cheap to make. And the flavours of this winning dish (wink wink) come from paying attention to the sequence of cooking and what is done or not done.

The paella is very traditional Spanish fare, originating from the Valencia region if I understand correctly. And there is no sea food or fish in the dish. Which is why I chose this route. Tried and tested by time.

Cooking paella over open coals is quite easy. You need a hot pan in the beginning, when you grill the meaty parts.. Later, one needs a cool pan to allow the dish to simmer. Remember, it is a dry-ish dish and will burn easily. After which, of course, you start over.

The rice and tomato added. Lower the heat, now wait.

The rice will absorb fluid ever so slowly in the beginning, then at a rate of knots towards the end, so be wakeful!


And add the ingredients in a sensible sequence, that you do not kill your favourite ingredient by adding it too early.


We used Montsia brand rice from Spain, but any short grain starchy rice will do. Even parboiled long grain rice will work, but may take longer too cook. If you have to use long grain rice or are pressed for time, soak the rice in hot water at the start. then add it later. The rice will swell out and absorb some water, reducing cooking time. A good idea aboard a small boat!

Chourizo is the favourite, but any spicy sausage or meat will do. I have forever steered away from salami, thank you very much. But the German style spicy sausages seem to work. However, this meat is optional in the tradition of Valencia.

Chopped garlic and chillie is OK, but fresh garlic and chillie mashed in salt on your spice chopping board will get the essential oils into the salt and add to the flavour of the dish. And you will not get pieces of garlic stuck in your teeth, like me...

I have written before on the issue of stirring or not and the difference between paella and risotto.

While the ingredients overlap seriously, and the process too, a paella is drier than a risotto and should be stirred less. This one was only stirred a little at the end to prevent burning. The sauce and rice fuse into a sticky mess and then fries a little, which is good. It tastes like heaven and your guests will fight over this. But you need to scrape it off the bottom every now and then, else the dish is ruined.

We used wood from alien trees growing in our region for the fire. They make hot coals for a short period, then the coals die and you have a cool fire. I adjusted the height by putting a brick under the paella pan handles to allow a little air to flow between the pan and the coals. Else the fire dies completely.

As boat food or just something for a camp lunch or, like us, an impromptu al fresco lunch, you will have to go far to beat value for money and the associated companionship of cooking this dish. A small pan of 30 cm (12 inches) will fit on a normal stove in the house, boat galley, or on a camp stove top, or, of course, on any fire. And this 30 cm pan will make food for four to five people, depending on how hungry they are, or the side dishes. You can stretch this to seven people if you add a side dish or two.

And a 30 cm pan is really a give-away at the price. Perfect Paella in Cape Town sells some, but you should easily find them elsewhere in the world. I used a 42 cm pan because I was cooking for a hungry horde of sailors and hangers-on...

So here goes.

Ingredients:

2 kg chicken breasts with skin
1½ cup frozen garden peas
200 grams spicy sausage
4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped. Or one can of peeled and chopped tomatoes.
1 red sweet pepper for garnish, sliced into rings, the ends chopped
2 onions, diced
1 kg paella rice
2 dried hot chillies. I used Thai chillies from the garden
4 cloves fresh garlic, chopped and mashed in salt.
2 teaspoons hot smoked paprika
1 small pinch of saffron in a tea (½ cup) of boiling water
2 teaspoons chicken stock in 1 litre boiling water
500ml dry white wine
2 litre hot water  as required
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (coriander). Keep a sprig or two  for garnish as well.
Salt as required
Some olive oil for cooking

Halfway there. Note low, cool coals

Process

Chop the chicken into two bite size pieces. Keep the skin if you can, you need the fat in the dish.
Start with an almost dry pan, quite hot. Add the chourizo and fry it until it sears a little. Add a little olive oil as required. Remove, then add the chicken to the same pan and sauces. Grill and sear the chicken until it goes brown outside. Remove an keep covered with the spicy sausage to cook in its own juices.

Now add the onions and sweet chilli and fry them till the onions are brown. Remove the chilli rings when they are still al dente. When the onions are almost done, add the mashed garlic and chilli and fry for 15 seconds before adding the white wine.

The seared brown stuff from the bottom of the pan will now become the stock. Simmer the white wine to reduce it somewhat, perhaps five minutes. Now add the tomatoes and simmer the dish until the tomatoes are just cooked through, then add all the rice. Mix this lot thoroughly, then add the chicken stock and paprika mix. Stir this until everything has been properly mixed, then add the saffron tea.
Add water as required to ensure the dish does not burn. Reduce heat until the fire is quite low and the dish is only just simmering. When the rice is about halfway done, add back all the meat and mix. Make sure you scrape the seared stuff off the bottom of the pan. Add water as required to keep this lot more or less fluid.

The runner up. Looking good too.

When almost done, add the chopped coriander leaves and the peas. Check for enough salt. Let the dish simmer for another five to ten minutes, then turn the heat off. Garnish with the sweet pepper rings and cover. Allow the dish to rest for a full ten minutes. Then take the lid off, add the sprig of coriander leaves and dish up. Add some sliced lemon for garnish if you really have time...

Bon appetit!






Authored by Johan Zietsman

Last updated on 2013-05-21

Compiled specifically for GBYC newsletter.

Still Feeling Romantic? Valentine's Dinner

The oppressive heat here in the Strand area near Cape Town is brain numbing. It is getting harder to think clearly on identifying some romantic dishes for Valentine's day dinner. You will surprised at how much beer it takes to think up some decent recipes!

Valentine's day was coming up and the missus and I had long discussions on what to eat. A restaurant dinner was outside of our budget, so we were discussing various options for dinner.

We have lots of fresh fruit and I have used these extensively in brandied versions as well as in compotes of various descriptions. So I decided to stay on this course for a while and keep things simple for dessert. Flapjacks with a lime and vanilla caramel and cream. Dessert sorted. What of the starter?

Starter

After some discussion with the missus we decided on a spicy chourizo and prawn salad. Simplicity par excellence. You need some fresh mixed salad leaves, the green stuff, half a cup of freshly steamed garden peas, a dollop of lemon juice and a dollop of mayonnaise.

For the two helpings I used eight prawns and a 100mm (four inch) piece of chourizo, cut into thin wheels. Take the skin off if you want to, it comes off anyway. Chop up and mash two garlic cloves. Fry this in a lightly oiled pan, then add the chourizo. Allow the chourizo to release some of its fat, then add the prawns. Simmer this lot for another five minutes, then dish up.

Dishing up means that you arrange some of the leafy stuff in the bottom of a ramekin, then add the meats. Add some peas over this, then garnish with a dollop of mayonnaise and a few drops of lemon juice. And, if you are into styling, add some more green, leafy stuff to round it off.

A very quick to assemble warm salad, tangy and very tasty.

Main course

For the main course we decided on something grilled in the skillet, complete with some steamed veggies and mash. A softer option than the regulation braai food for the type of weather that we are having.

Grilled pork fillet, doused in an apple sauce. We have not ever had this before. The fillet was grilled in a ribbed skillet from Le Creuset using a little duck fat for thermal contact. The vegetables were chosen at random because they looked fresh and romantic. They were steamed in a sieve on top of the potatoes as they boiled. The potatoes were cut into thinnish slices for faster cooking.

The apple sauce were made by peeling, de-coring and blitzing two apples. The juice of half a small lime went into the mix, as well as a grating or three of nutmeg and a pinch of salt. To this lot was added half a cup of water and the lot set to simmer for a few minutes. Check that the sauce is runny enough for your taste.

The Hollandaise sauce is the stock standard stuff you get from your favourite recipe book. I added some black mustard seeds for the flavour. This lot was made using one egg yolk, three dessert spoons of cake flour, a small pinch of salt and a few drops of lemon juice. I also added some milk to get the batter into a runny mix.

Making this is becoming my favourite party trick. I do not possess a double cooker, so I hold the pan in one hand high over the burner while stirring the mix frantically with the other hand. The mix must not boil, otherwise you end up with a sticky mess omelet, so I am told. But hold your breath. I have made this twice, both times successfully. So far so good! This sauce came out quite delicious if a bit on the thick side. The mustard seeds bought just that extra flavour to the veggies.

The mash is pretty standard. This one had a dollop of cream to make it richer. It is a Valentine's dinner after all.

Dessert

We have not had flapjacks (crumpets to some) for a while. Here in South Africa you traditionally make a heap of the things, then envelop them in butter and golden syrup before gulping them down hot, before the butter runs all over your hands and on to the table. Good dirty fun to have with your young children.

I proposed that we make only a few, then dish them up in proper style. This means you make a little stack with butter in between, doused with a fruity caramel sauce (another compote?) and a dollop of cream. Perhaps, if you dare me, I shall add a little leaf of mint as garnish. Us yachties also have style, you know...

The ingredients are for two servings, so scale to suit or just follow your favourite recipe. If using a lime, use a small fruit. Else just cut the slices across to have smaller pieces. These make little caramelled slices in the compote.

Ingredients

For the flapjacks

1 cup cake flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

1 dessert spoon butter, melted

1 teaspoon, heaped, baking powder

1 egg

½ to 1 cup milk or water

For the compote

1 small lime or other citrus fruit sliced thinly across the equator. You need about half a cup of sliced fruit.

½ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon butter

½ teaspoon vanilla essence

½ cup water

Some cream and butter (real butter, not margarine or other ersatz stuff) for dishing up.

A sprig or two of mint for garnish

Process

For the flapjacks

Sift all the dry ingredients, then rub in the butter. Mix well, then add the egg and mix thoroughly before adding the milk/water. The batter needs to have the consistency of thick cream. Use a dishing-up spoon to ladle the batter on to a lightly oiled frying pan or skillet. You only need to oil the pan once. I use a non-stick frying pan from Le Creuset, so I don't use oil. Use up all the batter, there should be about eight or more flapjacks.

For the compote

Put the butter, salt sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Make sure everything is mixed. When the water has almost boiled away, add the sliced citrus fruit. Stir the dish to make sure it does not burn. Ensure that all the fruit is covered in caramel and cooking. Cook until the foaming has stopped or when you think you are hungry enough, then remove the compote from the heat. Bear in mind that this stuff is much hotter than boiling water, so leave some time for it to cool down before serving. Add a little water and allow it to soak through if the compote is too sticky and toffee-like.

For dishing up

Stack the flapjacks into stacks of four to five high with a little butter in between and on top. Pour some of the compote over the stack and garnish with a dollop of cream and a sprig of mint.

Voila! Your romantic three course dinner!

Authored by Johan Zietsman

Last updated on 2013-02-15