Gourmet Mushroom Beef Burger & Blue Cheese Sauce

Signature Dish by iSa

Type: American Dish / French Sauce = Gourmet Burger

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cooking Time: 15 mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 300gr Lean Prime Quality Beef Mince
• 250gr Brown/Button/Portobello Mushrooms
• 1-2 Brown Onions (depending on size)
• Black pepper (freshly ground)
• 1 beaten egg
• 2 Tbsp wheat flour
• 250ml Cream
• 100gr Blue Cheese (Danish or Gorgonzola are fine)
• 3 tbsp red wine
• 4 Burger Rolls
• Rocket
• Fresh Rosemary
• Dijon or English Mustard and French Style Mayonnaise (optional)

Pre-heat a small/normal oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit. We start by making the patties and for that, you take half of the mushrooms and the onion and chop them very finely and them throw them in a bowl with the beef mince, egg, flour and season with salt and pepper. Mix it all very well until the mix looks homogeneous. Then, split the mix in 4 and hand-mould each part into a round patty. Slice the rest of the mushrooms and onions and have them ready. 

Heat up the frying pan and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle some rosemary leaves into the oil and place the patties, leaving space for the rest of the mushrooms and onions to be cooked by their side. Meanwhile, heat the Burger rolls in the oven for about 5-7 minutes. Flip the patties and mushrooms and sprinkle with black pepper. Toss the onion to brown and caramelise.

Take the rolls out of the oven and spread some mayonnaise and Mustard on each half. Then put the Rocket leaves on top of the bottom half of the buns and place the patties on top. Keep the pan on the heat, pour in the wine and allow most of it to evaporate before incorporating the roughly chopped blue cheese, let it melt slightly and then pour in the cream. The cooking of the sauce should take you altogether about 3 minutes. Pour the creamy sauce over the burgers and top with some of the pan-fried mushrooms. Serve with the upper part of the bun on the side topped by the caramelised onions.

Should be delicious, so  E N J O Y !

Love, iSa

Guacamole

Sauces by iSa

Type: Sauce

Prep Time: 10 - 15 mins 

Cooking Time: 0 mins

Servings: 6 - 8 Portions (depending on portion size)

Ingredients:

• 4 Ripe Avocados
• 1/3 Bunch Coriander finely chopped
• 1 Lemon 
• 1 Chili finely chopped or 2 sliced Jalapeños
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cayenne Pepper
• Ingredients for variations: Sour cream or cream, Powdered Lemon Tajin (my dear friend Lucia brings it for us from Mexico), Tomato Brunoise.

How to make Guacamole: Peel the avocados and put in the flesh in a bowl (keep 1 or 2 of the pits on the side). Mash the Avos until arriving at an almost homogeneous puree. Stir in the juice of 1 lemon, the coriander, chili and salt and pepper to taste. Try it and see if needs more seasoning. Serve in a bowl and sprinkle some cayenne pepper on top for a more colorful presentation.

Variations: If you like...

...a more creamy Guacamole, stir in a bit of cream or sour cream.

...to use it for dipping nachos, then stir in some small tomato cubes (brunoise).

...to make use of mexican goodies, sprinkle with some Powdered lemon Tajin instead of the Cayenne pepper.


Enjoy as a dip for nachos or pair with any mexican meal, or Latin American for that matter, we all love it!


Love, iSa

Pico de Gallo

Sauces by iSa

Type: Sauce

Prep time: 15 min

Cooking time: 0 min

Servings: 6 portions (depending on serving size)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Yellow Pepper
• 1/2 Red Pepper 
• 1/2 Green Pepper
• 1/2 Red Onion
• 1 or 2 Hot chilis
• 1/3 bunch of Coriander chopped finely
• The juice of 1 or 2 lemons

How to make Pico de Gallo: Chop all ingredients above finely and place into a bowl with the lemon juice (enough to slightly cover the rest of the ingredients). I just advise, for more tastiness to make it before anything else, so it gets to sit for a while (at least 30 mins) and allow all the flavors to come together. Enjoy with any Mexican meal or with anything you fancy to try it!

Love, iSa

Crispy Pork Belly Roast - EuropAsian style

Lazy Lunches by iSa

Type: Pork Mains

Prep Time: 20 min

Cooking Time: 2 Hours

Servings: 3 - 4 Portions (depending on portion size)

Ingredients:

• 1 kg Pork Belly (one piece)
• 3 tsp Five spice
• 2 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Hot English mustard
• 5 tbsp brown/treacle sugar
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• Juice of 1 Orange
• 9 Cloves
• Rosemary Sprigs
• 1/2 onion
• 4 Garlic cloves
• Salt 
• Pepper
• Olive Oil
• 1 Cider
• Sauerkraut
• Veggies of choice: Corn and Sweet Peas
• Potato wedges or mashed potatoes
• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda

How to make a mysterious Pork Belly Marinade: Start by pre-heating the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees celsius). Now, start getting your hands dirty by rubbing the skin side with the bicarbonate of soda, let it stand for about 2 minutes and then rinse it thoroughly. Place the meat cut on an oven tray (meat side down) and cut the skin on the top in diamond or cube shapes. Make sure you don't cut too deep, just enough to score the skin, not only will it look pretty, but it will allow the fat to cook down and the skin to turn crispy. Rub in throughout the meat the salt, pepper, five spice, cayenne pepper, paprika, mustard, soy sauce and sugar. Bathe the meat, trying to keep the skin dry, with the lemon and orange juices, followed by the cider while allowing all the liquids to flow into the oven tray. Chop the garlic and onion roughly and add to the oven tray juices. Next, place the meat in the tray, skin side up again, and stick the aromatic cloves and rosemary sprigs spread out in the incisions, rub the skin with a bit of salt and then pour some olive oil on top of the skin and through the cuts.

Stick it into the oven and let it cook away for approximately 2 hours, checking on it from time to time to make sure the skin doesn't burn and the juices don't dry or burn.

How to get the crackling right: Apart from the bicarbonate trick, keeping the skin dry from marinade and seasoning it with salt and olive oil, try to keep the skin dry form liquids and rather sprinkle it from time to time with a bit more olive oil. If towards the end of the 2 cooking hours the skin is not crispy, then take it out and let it rest outside the juices, while allowing these to keep reducing in the oven. Place a non-stick pan and some oil on the stove on low to medium heat and place the meat on top, skin side down. Be careful! the juices from the meat might roll down to the pan, causing the oil to burst out of the pan and getting you hurt. Please remember you only need to do this for a little while, and inly in the event that the skin doesn't get crispy. I made the mistake to bathe the entire piece of meat (skin included) and I take it that's why my skin didn't crispy up, so now I've included here the method to get crispy chicharrones, from a Colombian recipe to this one, it should work beautifully.

Serve with Hot english mustard and Sauerkraut on the side, as well as Potato wedges or mash. Veggies is a good inclusion as they help you keep it balanced and clean the palate between bites. I chose Corn on the cob, but would also taste very nice with grained corn and Sweet peas, simply boiled.

Enjoy!!

Love, iSa

Bar One Chocolate Cake - Moist, Rich and Decadent Chocolate Cake

Desserts by iSa

Type: Cake, Bake at home

Prep Time: 30 min

Cooking Time: 50 - 60 Min

Servings: 10 Slices (depending on portion size)

Ingredients:

• 400 g Dark or Milk Chocolate (I prefer dark)
• 75 ml water 
• 175 g soft butter
• 250 g light brown sugar
• 4 Large eggs
• 100 g self raising flour
• 50 g cocoa powder
• 150 - 200 g Arequipe, Dulce de leche or "Caramel Treat" (from Nestle)
• 2 Bar One Chocolates chopped (MilkyWay can also be used)
• 6 tbsp milk

How to make the best Chocolate Cake ever: First of all I have to say, I'm not bragging, I have to admit that I based this cake on 2 different recipes that were extremely helpful, as I'm very much an amateur when it comes to baking and don't really know my proportions very well. However, given the bases I proceeded to add my own twists to make it more appealing to our taste buds.

Start by pre-heating your oven to about 160 degrees C, then butter the inside of your Cake tin and lightly dust it with some flour (will prevent your cake from sticking).Chop 300g of the Chocolate and add it to the water, just after it has reached boiling point and as soon as you move it away from the heat. Stir nicely and patiently until melted (make sure you have moved away from the stove, you don't want to burn your chocolate!)

In a separate bowl, beat the sugar and butter until pale and creamy (electric beater allowed). I have to make a pause here and insist, please make sure that the butter is nice and soft, otherwise is going to take you much longer than expected to arrive at the desired state. Add the eggs 1 at a time and beat them into the mixture. 

Note 1: If you notice the mixture is curdling, beat in one or two tablespoons of the flour.

Take the previously melted chocolate (which should now be cool enough) and stir into the mixture (by hand). Sift the flour and the cocoa in and the ingredients together gently. Do not mix with full arm strength, just fold it into an even batter!

Pour this rich Chocolate Cake Batter (yes, you could it off the bowl!) in the Cake Tin and place into the pre-heated oven for between 50 to 60 min. The length of time will depend on how fudgy you want your cake; although it should not be wobbly to the touch, stick in a skewer or knife gently and it should come out slightly wet, but not doughy. Turn off the oven and open the door, but don't take it out immediately, allow it to rest for about 5-10 min and then let it cool outside the oven on a heat resistant surface. 

Allow it to cool for at least 20 or 30 min before even attempting to remove the tin. Then let it cool for at least another 30-60 min prior to slicing into halves. The slicing part has never been easy for me as I tend to go skewed or the cake tends to break on me while attempting to separate the halves and place back together, so please be gentle and don't be discouraged if it doesn't come out perfect. Sandwich the two halves with Arequipe, Dulce de leche, Caramel Treat or some sort of Milk Caramel/Butterscotch spread; although it takes much more preparation and time, I would suggest to make your own Arequipe ahead of time and use it for this an many other treats! Please click here for the recipe.

How to make the Bar One Chocolate Topping and final touches: This is a piece of cake! Just chop the Bar One or MilkyWay chocolates an place in a small pot with the remainder of the dark chocolate and the milk. Melt in medium heat while stirring, as soon as is melted, take away from heat and pour all over your cake. Then decorate with some nuts (if you like them) and here you could get creative, although with such a rich cake I'm thinking, please don't go too wild. I also diluted about two teaspoons of Arequipe in about 1 shot of Amarula, to make a nice sauce and poured it here and there all over the cake, it was easy, it looked nice and it tasted even better! 

You can eat the cake freshly made or to eat over various days, store it in the fridge cover very well with cling wrap and cut out slices as you wish, sticking them 15 to 20 sec in the microwave to warm up the cake and make all of its flavors come to life once again.

Enjoy for a special occasion or a celebration with the best company, a nice coffee or a glass of milk! 

Special Thanks for their helpful recipes to:

Graham at Cookbook.co.za

CII Broadcasting

Love, iSa

Chicken Bredie Curry - Cape Malay Curry

Signature Dish by iSa
Type: Malay, Indian, South African
Prep Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Servings: 2-4 (depending on portion size)
Ingredients:

Picture by smh.com.au

• 4 Chicken thighs
• 3-4 peeled and chopped ripe tomatoes (depending on size)
• 1 green or brown onion
• 1 garlic clove (mid size)
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 finely chopped Cayene chili or 1 tsp Powder Cayenne pepper (this can be adjusted to heat taste)
• 1 tsp Cumin (Jeera) Seeds + 1 tsp Coriander (Dhania) seeds crushed in a mortar
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Curry powder
• 2 heaped tbsp of Apricot Jam
• 2 tbsp BBQ sauce (optional)
• 1 cup chicken stock (or half a chicken stock cube)
• Fresh Coriander
• Chopped Mixed Vegetables (your choice! I usually use a combination of some of these: courgettes, red, green and yellow peppers, red onion, butternut...)
• 2 cups couscous
• 400 ml Water approx.
• 1 tbsp Butter
• Vegetable oil
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Note 1: Please don't be overwhelmed by the amount of ingredients, once you've got all these basic Indian spices you can do plenty of different meals with them. 

Note 2: Fresh tomatoes and onion and can be replaced for this dish with 1 can of tomato & onion mix.

This recipe, as you can see, is a bit of a mix, I basically took in my very basic knowledge of Indian Curry with what I learnt during a leisurely South African Cooking class on Cape Malay Bredie and threw in a few flavor twisters in between. The choice of couscous came because this mix reminded me a bit of North african flavors and simply because my husband loves couscous, I hope you will enjoy it as much as we did!

How to make Chicken Bredie Curry: Heat a heavy bottom pan at low to medium heat. Drizzle with Vegetable oil (about 2 tbsp) and toss in the Cumin and Coriander seeds (stir and fry for 1 min), then the rest of the Curry spices (Chili, Turmeric, Curry) and stir for another min, then add the garlic, ginger and onion. Stir for about 2 min and then keep in medium heat, add the chicken pieces and fry a bit until slightly browned (add more oil if needed). Put in the chicken stock, apricot jam and BBQ sauce, stir and allow to cook for a few minutes , then put in the tomatoes with some water, salt and pepper to taste and allow to cook for at least 30 min (so that the chicken comes out juicy and tender). Finish off with some coriander leaves and serve on top of the couscous in a deep plate. Make sure to be generous with the Curry jus.

How to make Vegetable Couscous:  Place the two cups of dry couscous in a bowl with a bit of salt. Pour enough boiling water to just about cover the couscous and allow to sit for 5 min. In the meantime heat a sauté pan to medium heat and add a drizzle of Olive Oil and the Butter, toss in the chopped veggies and sautee according to their cooking time, 3-5 min approx (some vegetables may need to be pre-cooked), season with salt and pepper. Stir the couscous with a fork until the grains have aired and separated, then stir in the veggies and serve with the Chicken Bredie Curry or any Curry of your choice on top.

Love, iSa

Ajiaco Santafereño - Colombian Recipe

Colombian Typical Meals

Type: Colombian food (adapted for overseas cooking)

Prep Time: 30 min

Cooking Time: 2.5 - 3 hours

Servings: 7

Ingredients:

Picture by CBU

• 3 Yellow or White Corn on the cob
• 4 Chicken Breasts (bone and skin removed)
• 4 Large Potatoes (white, red and yellow or a combination depending on the ones available)
• 4 thick Spring onions or a full bunch (depending on the thickness)
• 3/4 of a bunch of Coriander 
• 3 cup of chicken stock or 1-2 chicken stock cube (please use the best possible stock at hand)
• 1 Knorr or Maggi Ajiaco Soup packet (only available in Colombia - I buy as much as I can every time I travel to Colombia)
• Single or Double Cream
• Capers (chopped coarsely)
• Avocado
• Salted White Rice

Place the chicken stock and enough water to complete 1 liter of liquid to boil in a large cooking pot and put it on high heat while you prep the potatoes and the corn. Peel the potatoes, cut two of them in half and then chopped coarsely, then thickly grate the other two. Place all the potatoes, once prepared, in the pot. Now peel the leaves and strings out of the corn and cut in 2 or 3 pieces, depending on the portion sizes you prefer, and place in the pot (bear in mind you have to be careful when doing this as you can easily get hurt by a sliding knife. I cut them by placing the cob at the tip of the knife and then pressing the knife down while rolling the cob under, by the time the cob reaches the knife handle it's usually split in 2!). Chop the coriander and the Spring onion finely and proceed to place 3/4 of the total into the pot, the rest you can reserve for adding to the pot shortly before serving. 

Allow the pot to boil for about 30 min, and then place into the pot the chicken breasts whole. Lower the heat to medium and continue to boil, stirring occasionally (every few minutes) until the soup starts to take consistency and the chicken is tender, this should take from 1.5 to 2 hours. Take out the chicken from the boiling soup and it should be so tender that you hardly need to slice it to get slim strips, slice and place back in the pot. Add the remainder of the onion and coriander. At this stage, open the Ajiaco Soup packet (brought from Colombia) and mix into 1 cup of cold water), once dissolved stir into the soup and allow to simmer for about 10 min, stirring frequently. Your Ajiaco style soup is ready!!! Serve on a nice soup dish or bowl with a dollop of cream and a sprinkle of capers, accompanied by a serving of white rice and a nice big slice of ripe Avocado just sprinkled with Salt. Alternatively, place the capers and cream on the table so your guests can help themselves to their liking. 

Note: Please note that this is a Colombian Soup and the original recipe has been heavily adapted so that you can manage to pull it off while living in another country as this soup is originally made with several varieties of potato and a herb called "guasca" which are difficult to find even in neighboring countries. Hence, I buy the packet soup to give the base soup that unmistakable Ajiaco flavor. You'll be able to find these soup packets depending on where you live, if in the US, Spain or Latin American countries, you're almost sure to have a "Colombian" grocery store around; if in South Africa, I don't buy other than for my own use, but could make sure to include some extra ones for you in my next trip! 


Love, iSa

Salmon, Avo and Creme Fraiche Pizza

Quick and Easy Meals by iSa

Type: Contemporary

Servings: 2 (4 Slices per person)

Ingredients:

• 100 gr Smoked Salmon Ribbons
• 1/2 avocado
• Creme Fraiche
• Fresh Chives
• Fresh Italian Seasoning herbs
• 150 gr Grated Mozzarella Cheese
• 3 Tbs Napolitano Sauce
• 1 Quality Pizza Base 
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Cayenne Pepper
• Freshly ground black pepper

I'm not going to pretend that I know how to make the dough for the pizza base, because I don't. I'll leave that to the experts and rather concentrate in layering with some style and taste some top notch ingredients on top of this base for the most heavenly pizza. We have several preferences in toppings and this is one of our favorites, you can't go wrong with this mix, it's just meant to come together!

Preheat the oven at around 300 degrees F. Prepare the Pizza pan by sprinkling it with some Olive oil, then place the Pizza Base on top. Spoon in the Napolitano sauce, you can make it at home by simmering some onions (or shallots), fresh garlic, fresh Basil, Oregano and Tomatoes and seasoning it with some salt, sugar and pepper. Alternatively, you can do what I do when I'm tired and in search for a quick but good substitute, I go to Woolies and seek out the Herb and Tomato Pasta Sauce - good and effortless. Spread around 3 tbs of the sauce onto the base and sprinkle with some chopped fresh italian herbs (Basil, Oregano and Parsley) and some powdered Cayenne pepper, for a bit of a kick. Layer the cheese on top, followed by he chives and stick into the oven. leave for around 8 min and check if its all melted and has started to bubble, then turn on the grill and allow it to brown the top of the pizza for about 5 min, keep an eye on it though because it can quickly turn a nicely golden pizza, into a charcoal. 

Bring out the pizza and cut into 8 slices. After this proceed to place the Salmon ribbons on top of the slices by splitting them as equally as possible in a presentable manner. Then slice the avocado and decorate with one portion for each slice, topping up with a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprinkle of Cayenne Pepper (if you want to make it extra special, you can even top it with some Black caviar). Sprinkle with Parmesan or Pecorino for serving, and enjoy!!!!!!! 

PS - 1. Please Excuse the pic, I better stop taking the pic with my BB!

PS - 2. If you do know how to make the pizza base I'd really appreciate your recipe and tips for it! I'll definitely try it some time.  

Beef and Beetroot Carpaccio with Wasabi Guacamole dip

Signature Dish by iSa
Type: Mexic-asian

Prep Time: 30 min
Cooking Time: None
Servings: 4

Ingredients: 

• 400 gr Beef fillet cut in very thin slices 
• 1/2 avocado 
• 2 lemons 
• Wasabi paste
• Soy Sauce (sushi quality)
• Cooked Beetroot sliced thinly or cut in thin julienne or thick squares
• Salt, freshly ground pepper and olive oil to taste
• Onion Sprouts and Coriander leaves to garnish and compliment flavors

 Yes, this is not your typical carpaccio, and I have indeed never paired the raw meat slices with the typical seasonings, but the dairing mix came out of rare dishes experienced and a need to propose something unique for a special dinner party. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

 The most important thing in this dish is the meat, so make sure you get the best one you can get your hands on, specially from a source that you consider clean and reliable, as you'll be eating it raw. So go to the finest butcher and ask for Beef Fillet cut in thin slices for carpaccio (if he's really a fine butcher, he'll know for sure what you're talking about). What you're aiming for is a very clean piece of fillet (very nicely trimmed of all fat), cut very thinly (yet thick enough so you can still handle the meat without it falling apart in your hands while plating). Please request that they place plastic or wax paper in between each slice, otherwise the pieces will be difficult to separate and you'll end up deeming more than half of it not suitable for carpaccio use. As I was saying, this is the most important part and from there the rest just becomes a piece of cake.

Before serving put the plates you're going to use in the freezer to keep the meat fresh and cool for as long as possible. Prepare everything before you actually start plating:

1. Wasabi Guacamole: 50% guacamole + 50% wasabi. Guacamole = Ripe avocado crashed with fork and mixed with lemon juice + Salt.
2. Beetroot: If you're and Ace with the knife you can probably try and cut it thinly, otherwise, don't make a fool of yourself and cut it in nice chunky squares or in thin stripes (julienne), like I did.
3. Onion Sprouts & Coriander: Should come clean and ready for use, if they're not, make sure they're clean and keep them at hand for use.

OK, So it's time to plate! Bring out the plates from the freezer, place some nice slices of raw beef fillet onto the plate avoiding the edges (at least 1 cm), but trying to cover the rest of the area (no white spaces in between). Use your creativity to position the beetroot on top of the meat as best you can and then sprinkle the whole thing with Olive Oil and Freshly ground pepper. Use your favorite container to place some of the wasabi Guacamole and the soy sauce on top (for dipping) and garnish as you wish with the Onion Sprouts and Coriander leaves. Bear in mind everything is eatable! so try to keep an ideal balance between the garnishes and the main attraction: the meat.

To eat, grab a bit of everything with a fork or chopsticks and dip into the soy sauce and then the Wasabi Guacamole. Pour down with a nice Shiraz or Pinot Noir and Enjoy!!!!!!! :)

Same exact recipe can apply to Salmon, haven't tried it, but if you do, please let me know how it went!

Love, iSa