Vanielje Kitchen » Easter

Saffron Seafood Soup

African Vanielje — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:38:34 +0000

Clean one monkfish, or thick white fish such as cod, by skinning, deboning and rinsing it in fresh water.
Chop into chunky bite-sized pieces.
Add the bones to a stock pot.
Wash and clean 500 g of mussels, debearding them, scrubbing their shells clean and discarding any that don’t close when tapped.
Wash and trim the coral from your scallops. You can add the coral to your stock pot.
Add some lemon zest, some thyme, some parsley, a chunk of celery and half an onion to your stock pot and top up with cold water.
Bring to the boil, skim off the scum and then simmer while you prep the rest of the soup.
Soften a couple of finely diced shallots in a little olive oil, then add some finely chopped garlic and a sprig of thyme.
Put the mussels into the pot and add a dash of dry white wine or some Marsala if you really want a rich taste.
Put a lid on the pot and cook over a medium high heat shaking the pan sporadically until all the mussels have steamed open.
Discard any mussels which have not opened.
Take the mussels out with a slotted spoon leaving the cooking juices in the pan.
Take most of the mussels out of the shells, leaving a few for garnish and reserving the rest.
Add the mussel shells to the stock pot and bring to the boil once again.
Skim off the scum and return to a simmer.
Place your chunks of white fish in the mussel cooking juice, add a good pinch of saffron strands and poach gently for about ten minutes until the fish is opaque. It will have taken on a golden yellow hue from the saffron. Gorgeous.
Take the fish out with a slotted spoon and divide, with your mussels between four bowls. Add a few mussels in their shells to each bowl.
Drain the stock and discard the bones, shells etc.
Skim off any scum and add the stock to your mussel/fish pot.
Bring to the boil and let reduce slightly while you sear the scallops in a hot pan with a smidgen of olive oil. The scallops should be coloured, but cooked until just opaque in the middle. Don’t overcook them or their delicate flavour will be lost.
Season the broth to taste with some Maldon salt and some freshly ground pepper.
Ladle over the mussels and fish, cut the scallops in half if very large and add to the bowls.
Finally chop with some fresh flat leaf parsley, or even a bit of coriander if you want more kick.

This is not really a long recipe, just a step by step. The whole thing should not take more than 20 minutes from fish cleaning to clean bowl.

Enjoy!

Good Friday Saffron Seafood Soup

African Vanielje — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:16:55 +0000

Good Friday in the Christian calendar is a day of mourning and reflection. Light eating and the traditional Friday fish is often the norm. When my mom had her restaurant (for over 20 years) we always worked Easter, and Good Friday was one of the 3 days a year we were closed. Consequently Good Friday became an amalgamation of all our Easter traditions. The egg hunt, the celebration of family, spring and hope all fell on this one day. And when our family gathers there is always food.

This generally means a festive table, laden with culinary offerings, everyone contributing a dish or two and the family feasting, talking, laughing, squabbling and reminiscing begins. It is not unusual to find a child or two (generally mine) sharing her Easter feast with cousins and or several dogs underneath the festive table. The rustling of chocolate egg wrappers and the occasional giggle the only giveaway.

Most years the Easter gathering starts with a late morning egg hunt at my mother’s house. A breakfast/brunch/lunch table is constantly replenished until tired parents finally start carting their over-sugared kids home around 4 or 5 pm. Clean-up then begins and a washing-up and drying production line is formed. My mom has also never had a dishwasher, and as she always used her vast collection of vintage and antique crockery and cutlery it is unlikely it would be used, even if it existed.

I won’t be there this year to help with the washing up Kassie, but if I were, at about washing up time I would be saying ‘you sit down and chat to me while I throw together a quick light supper. ‘

I’m calling it my Good Friday Seafood Saffron Soup because it really is quick and easy to prepare, light and delicious after a day’s feasting, yet full of warm sunshine and the promise of summer, and special enough to take pride of place as an Easter meal.

Some warm garlicky ciabatta would be the perfect accompaniment, as would your company. Maybe next year!

I have posted the recipe straight to the side bar under vkcb (vanielje kitchen cook book) so feel free to check it out, as well as other easter recipes like Hot Cross Buns.

Smyrna Fig and Lemon Peel Hot Cross buns

African Vanielje — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 02:59:19 +0000

These warmly spiced Easter buns are made with a mixture of spices, sundried Smyrna figs and my own organic candied lemon peel, all packed into a simple enriched bread dough. The results are so worth it! So roll up your sleeves and get baking.

Mix

1 Tablespoon of Instant yeast with
1 cup (250ml) of warm water

until the yeast dissolves, then add

250g strong flour (bread flour)

and mix it in.

Cover it with clingfilm and leave in a warm spot to activate the sponge. THis should take 90 – 120 minutes, and the sponge should have risen and be bubbly and ready to go.

Put

600g of strong white flour into your mixer or a large bowl and add

100g of vanilla caster sugar
a tablespoon of Maldon salt
10 g each of fresh nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and ginger

Mix these in then add

80g of softened butter
1 large egg, beaten
the sponge
180ml of milk

Mix using the dough hook at the lowest speed until your dough becomes soft and pliable. (8-10 minutes).

At this point you can add

250 g combined sultanas, chopped sundried Smyrna figs (or apricots if you prefer) and chopped candied lemon peel.

Knead for another minute or so then turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead for another minute.

Form it into a ball and place it in a bowl covered with clingfilm. Set in a warm place to prove. THe dough should double in size and this could take anywhere from 45 – 75 minutes.

Once the dough is ready knock back slightly and divide the dough into roughly two dozen pieces.

If you like to be really precise you can weigh the dough then weigh each ball to make sure they are equal.

Form each piece into a ball and lay in lines, next to each other but not touching.

The tray should be lined with baking parchment.

Cover with a tea towel and spritz with water from a spray bottle so that the buns don’t dry out.

Leave to prove in a warm place until doubled in size and touching (30-40 mins)

About 20 minutes into the rise turn the oven to its highest heat (about 240*C)

You can also prepare the paste for the cross:

mix1/4 cup(60ml) of plain flour
15ml caster sugar
15ml of water

Put this paste in a piping bag and just before you pop the buns in the oven score a cross on each bun with the back of a butter knife.

Brush each bun with and egg and milk wash, then pipe on the Easter crosses and pop them straight into the hot oven.

Turn the oven down to 180*C as soon as they’re in, and bake for 30 minutes or until golden and hollow sounding.

If you want to glaze them you can brush them with a simple sugar syrup as they come out of the oven.

60g of sugar dissolved in 2 Tablespoons of water, and brought to the boil.

Hot cross buns are great toasted and served with fresh unsalted butter. Mature cheddar cheese is also a good accompaniment.

…one a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns.

African Vanielje — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:52:00 +0000

You may be forgiven for thinking that chocolate is my favourite part of Easter, but you’d be wrong. I love the acid green, I love the spring lamb, I love the Easter hunt and I love Hot Cross Buns.

When I was little my mom used to teach kindergarten. The owner of the kindergarten insisted that the little pickles called all the teachers by their surnames. Anyone who has read my profile knows my name is almost unpronounceable to the layman, but the enterprising 4 year olds in my mother’s care managed to come up with a suitable substitute. Mrs Hotcrossby she became, and stayed throughout her tenure at the school.

Easter never fails to remind me of this story, and it always makes me smile. Just like my mom, hot cross buns are an eagerly awaited treat, warm, spicy and comforting, with hidden treasures tucked inside.

This year I’ve made mine with a mix of nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and ginger, and filled them with precious snippets of sundried smyrna figs and my own organic candied lemon peel.

Toasted with butter or fresh from the oven with a wedge of mature cheddar, whichever way you eat them, give making your own a go! It’s easier than you think. So easy in fact that I am sharing with my neighbours and am considering setting up a production line. I’ll pay my helpers in product, and I’m sure there won’t be any grumbling.

If you are considering setting up your own production line, follow my Smyrna Fig and Lemon Peel Hot Cross Buns recipe, or check out the Vanielje Kitchen Cook Book (vkcb) for other recipes and tips.

Don’t forget to post your Apples & Thyme entries before 20th of the month. What did you do for easter in years past? Or on other family feast days. Chris from Mele Cotte is guest hosting this month so check the rules and regs here, and send your emails to her at melecotte(at)gmail(dot)com.

Also, you only have until the 19th to vote for me and others like Jeanne of Cooksister, or Charlotte’s Web in the South African Blog Awards. Thanks for all your support so far. If you haven’t voted yet, round up every email address you can lay your hands on and click on the SA Blog Awards voting icon in my sidebar.

Happy baking!