This week chef Nti meets with musician and entrepreneur Skhona Khumalo who wants to start cooking for his band members. 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 what she’s cooking up this week:
Layered pap, spinach & mushroom (Starter)
Serves 6
Preparation and cooking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients: Pap layer
500ml (2 cups) water
3ml (½ teaspoon) salt
250ml (1 cup) ACE Super Maize meal
45 ml (3tablespoons) butter
Filling
45ml (3 tablespoons) sunflower oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 can (410g) All Gold chopped tomatoes (Italian style)
250g spinach, finely chopped
250g button mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
375ml (1 ½ cups) grated white cheddar cheese
Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
To make soft porridge; Bring 1 ½ cups water to the boil, add salt. Mix remaining water with the maize meal to form a paste. Add to the boiling water, add butter. Stir until smooth, cover and cook over gentle heat, stirring frequently to make sure there are no lumps.
In a large frying pan, heat oil and fry onions and garlic until soft. Add tomatoes and cook over medium heat until sauce has thickened. Stir in spinach, cook until wilted.
Stir in mushrooms, season to taste. Cook for a further 10 minutes.
Spoon half the cooked porridge into a greased deep ovenproof dish. Spoon tomato mushroom stew, Spoon remaining porridge over sauce and spread neatly. Sprinkle grated cheese over porridge. Bake in oven until cheese is melted and golden about 25 minutes.
Seafood samp (Main)
Serves 4
Preparation and cooking time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients
400g (2 cups) ACE samp
2 litres (8 cups) water
Salt and pepper to taste
45ml (3 tablespoons) butter
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 large brown mushrooms, sliced
1 green pepper, diced
45ml (3 tablespoons) oil
12 medium prawns, peeled and cleaned
200g calamari rings
200g hake steaks or any firm fleshed fish
12 cherry tomatoes
Instructions
Cook samp in salted boiling water until cooked through and very soft + - 2 hours. (Keep replenishing the water so that it does not burn)
In a large heavy based frying pan or wok, melt butter, add onion and garlic, sauté until transparent. Add mushrooms and green pepper, cook until soft.
In another frying pan heat oil, add prawns, calamari and hake, fry gently until cooked + - 10 minutes.
Add seafood to onion mixture, toss lightly, and add cooked ACE samp and cherry tomatoes, mix in carefully. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon onto a serving platter and top with mussels. Serve warm.
Dark chocolate and jam brownies (Dessert)
Makes 8
Ingredients
80g (3/4 cup) Golden Cloud cake wheat flour
200g (1 cup) sugar
90ml (3/4 cup) cocoa
5ml (1 teaspoon) baking powder
3ml (½ teaspoon) salt
90ml (1/3 cup) All Gold strawberry jam
90ml (1/3 cup) water
75g butter
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 large egg white
90ml (1/3 cup) chocolate chips
Icing sugar (optional)
Method
Preheat oven to 180° C. Grease and line a 20cm square baking pan.
Mix together Golden Cloud flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
Combine strawberry jam, water and butter in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Add mixture to dry ingredients; stir well.
Add egg and egg white; stir until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake in oven for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into squares and dust with icing sugar, if desired.
Will you be trying this out?