Cooking is simple (once you have mastered a few basics), but planning meals is not always so easy.
To take the guesswork out of your mornings and week nights, we share below three easy recipes you should cook this week.
Egg and smoked trout bagel
Serves: 4
Ingredients
500ml boiling water
30ml vinegar
4 eggs
4 bagels, toasted
100g smoked trout, thinly sliced
200g baby spinach, blanched
2 dill fronds, chopped
1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
In a small saucepan, pour the 500ml boiling water and vinegar into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Once the water starts boiling, reduce the heat to low. Crack open the eggs one at a time into separate ramekins or egg poaching cups.
Drop the poaching cups into the water. For a firm white and runny yolk, you’ll want to poach for 3-4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon once done to your liking and set aside.
Slice bagels in half and toast.
Layer blanched spinach onto the bagel halves, followed by the smoked trout and poached eggs, and top with chopped dill.
Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the assembled bagel. Season with salt and pepper, and enjoy.
Recipe from The South African Poultry Association.
Beef and mushroom bolognese
Serves: 2
Ingredients
30ml olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 sprigs thyme, woody stalks removed
250g beef mince
250g button mushrooms, sliced
1 can of chopped tomatoes
1 cup beef stock
5ml sugar
5ml smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Freshly cooked pasta (like spaghetti), to serve
Fresh basil leaves, for serving (optional)
Grated parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)
Method
Heat the oil in a medium pot, then add the onion and carrot. Fry over medium-high heat until soft but not brown yet. Add the garlic and fry for another minute.
Add the mince and mushrooms and fry, breaking up lumps with your wooden spoon. Fry until the mixture starts to catch on the bottom - about 10-15 minutes, then add the tomatoes, stock, sugar, and paprika and stir well. Season with salt and pepper, then cover and simmer over low heat for at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 hours), stirring now and then.
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve hot over freshly cooked pasta, scattered with fresh basil and parmesan cheese.
Baked mushroom bowls with Swiss chard mash
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the mash
6 large baking potatoes
6 tbsp butter
125ml full cream milk kept warm
1 medium white onion, diced
1 bunch Swiss chard, roughly chopped
For the mushrooms
500g mixed cultivated mushrooms
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, grated
± 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
½ tsp chilli flakes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Micro herbs or baby greens, for serving
Method
For the mash
Peel potatoes and cut them into large cubes.
Transfer to a pot of cold water and rinse until the water runs clear.
Cover potatoes with clean cold water and season generously with salt.
Bring to a simmer.
Cook until potatoes are completely tender.
Drain in a colander and let steam dry for a minute.
Use a potato ricer, food mill, or hand held masher to mash the potatoes in their pot.
Add the butter and fold in using a spatula.
Pour in the hot milk and fold it into the potatoes.
Season to taste.
While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the Swiss chard.
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion until soft.
Add the Swiss chard and sauté until barely wilted. Season.
Fold the Swiss chard through the mashed potatoes and keep warm.
For the mushrooms
Preheat the oven to 200˚C, fan on.
Place the mushrooms in a large bowl.
Note: It is great to use a mix of mushrooms but keep the sizes similar for cooking.
Keep small portabellinis whole and slice large browns into quarters etc.
Drizzle the mushrooms with melted butter.
Add the lemon juice, garlic, thyme, and chilli. Toss to coat well.
Transfer to a large rimmed baking sheet and spread into a single layer.
Roast for 10-15 minutes or until mushrooms release liquid and are golden brown.
Carefully pour off the excess mushroom liquid to keep them from going soggy.
(You can keep this for a delicious broth or stock or drizzle it over the dish as a sauce)
Serve the roasted mushrooms on a bed of the Swiss chard mash.
Top with some fresh herbs or baby greens and serve!
Recipes from The South African Mushroom Farmers' Association.