This week chef Nti shows Neo Musi how to create some healthy meal options without moving completely away from her favourite traditional dishes.The Perfect Ace, Sundays at 12PM.
Chef Nti takes viewers on a journey of discovery as she is welcomed into the kitchens of ordinary South Africans for a shared cooking experience.
Here’s this week’s recipe:
Spicy Cauliflower Soup with Maize Meal Croutons (Starter)
Ingredients
½ cup Ace Super Maize Meal
3 cups milk
1 large Cauliflower broken into florets
1 cup hot chicken stock
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
Oil for frying
Salt and freshly ground Pepper
Freshly chopped coriander
Get it together
For the croutons
Cook the Ace Super Maize Meal according to packet instructions to a medium but pliable consistency.
When cooked, spread the pap with the back of a spoon on a greased baking tin and leave to set.
Meanwhile, in a pot fry the onion and garlic till soft.
Add the spices and cook till they release flavour and aroma.
Add the cauliflower florets, the chicken stock and milk and let this simmer for about 20 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender.
Using a stick blender, puree the cauliflower till smooth.
Adjust seasoning.
Cut the set pap into small bite-size cubes and in a pan heat oil and fry the cubes till golden brown and crispy.
Serve with the piping hot soup and a garnish of coriander.
Phutu Winter Salad (Main)
Ingredients
2 cups phutu pap - cooked
2 medium beetroot, these must be washed well, trimmed and quartered
200g of pumpkin, with skin and seeds removed – also quartered
3 sprigs of thyme
extra virgin olive oil
salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
5 large navel oranges, 4 juiced, 1 finely zested, then peeled and sliced into 1cm rounds
2 tbsp of pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp of red-wine vinegar
1 handful of rocket leaves
100g of Feta cheese
Method
1. Start by preheating the oven to 200C.
2. To make the veggies toss the beetroot and thyme sprigs in a little oil. Season, wrap in foil and roast for one hour or until tender.
3. Open the foil and roast for another 10 minutes to dry out a little.
4. Place pumpkin on a lined baking tray, drizzle with oil, season and roast for 25 minutes. Do this in the last half hour the beetroot is cooking so that they're both ready at about the same time.
5. For the Ace Super Maize Meal Phuthu, Bring the 2 cups of water and salt to boil.
6. Throw in the 3 cups of maize meal in the water, aiming for the middle. You should now see a tower of maize meal resembling an iceberg, its base in the water and top protruding.
7. Do not touch it. Put the lid on the pot, and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the water is absorbed into the maize meal tower.
8. Remove the lid, and with a folk stir until you get fine grains, like phuthu.
9. Add some more water, about half a cup, depending on how moist you want the end product.
10. The water you add should be easily absorbed. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes.
11. To make the dressing: Add the orange juice to a small saucepan and reduce to about 80 milliliters.
12. Pour into a small bowl and add the zest, three tablespoons of oil, the pomegranate molasses and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper and combine.
13. To assemble the salad, arrange the pumpkin on a serving platter, top with the phuthu, beetroot and then orange slices.
14. Scatter over the rocket leaves, finish off by tossing the feta cheesed, and spoon over the dressing and serve. If you can't find rocket, you could use baby beetroot leaves, watercress or your favourite micro herbs.
Orange Muffins (Dessert)
Ingredients
1 cup of Golden Cloud Wheat cake flour
1 cup of ACE SUPER MAIZE MEAL
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
½ cup of castor sugar
pinch of salt
1 grated rind of 1 orange
1 ¼ cup of buttermilk
2 beaten eggs
¼ cup oil or melted butter
For the Butter icing you’ll need
1 cup of icing sugar
125g of butter
3 tablespoons of orange juice
Method
1. You need to start by preheat the oven to 200°C and grease 12 muffin tin or line with paper cups.
2. Mix together cake flour, Ace maize meal, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, castor sugar, salt and orange rind in a large mixing bowl.
3. Blend buttermilk, eggs and oil or butter, add to the dry ingredients. Mix until just blended, the batter will be lumpy and slightly slack.
4. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin hollows, filling them two thirds of the way. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
5. For the butter icing; mix all the ingredients together and beat until smooth.
6. Cover tops of muffins with butter icing or serve plain spread with jam and grated cheese.
Watch The Perfect Ace, Sundays at 12PM.