Menu Ideas from Solomon ~ Week 5th September 2011

 A week of comfort ideas....

A lamb bredie.....

1kg Lamb knuckles
4 onions, sliced
2 cloves of fresh garlic, crushed
salt, pepper
2 sprigs of fresh thyme, chopped
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped
4 carrots, sliced thickly
4 celery fingers, sliced
6 potatoes, peeled and sliced in half
1 tablsp sugar
1 tablsp tomato paste
1 lt of beef stock
500ml good red wine


Brown onion, garlic and knuckles that have been dusted with flour in +-2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the carrots,celery, sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Then add the stock and the wine. Simmer slowly for 1 hour until the flavours come together. Add potatoes and tomato paste and adjust flavouring. Simmer a further half an hour. Serve.

  Roasted Butternut half moons!

1 butternut
5 rosemary twigs
olive oil
5 ginger bread biscuits, crushed
1/2 cup of almond slivers

Cut the butternut/pumpkin in wedges
Put the rosemary on a baking tray, rub the olive oil into the wedges of butternut and lay on top of the rosemary. Bake at 180deg C for 20 mins until cooked
Crush the ginger biscuits and sprinkle together with the almonds over the butternut and bake a further 5 minutes. Serve immediately.
Such a nice side dish for the bredie or a braai!

A fluffy Cheese Omlette

3 organic eggs
cheddar cheese
1 tablsp water
1 tablsp butter

Heat the butter in the pan
Whip the eggs together until creamy and add the water
Pour into the melted butter
Run a palette knife around the edges to loosen . Keep moving the egg around to ensure even cooking.
Add cheese to the one half.
Fold over, cook a further 30 sec.
Pop out onto a serving plate.....nothing better to startyour day with a slice of buttered toast! Yum!! 

Jaffles..........on the fire~

Carameilised Onion and Cheddar Jaffles
You can fill these with anything....from left over savoury mince, plain cheese and tomato, or as I like....
Caramelise some onions with a dash of balsamic and brown sugar until soft and brown.
Fill the bread with a generous helping of cheddar cheese.... you could even try a wheel of camembert with the onion......all ways....an absolute crowd pleaser!

A South African Croque Monsieur
8 slices of white bread...like a large french shape...buttered
For the White Sauce
2 tablsp butter
2 tablsp cake flour
1/2 cup of milk
2 tablesp wholegrain mustard
1 cup of grated gruyere cheese

For the filling.
1 cup of gruyere cheese, grated
some sage leaves (I used only because I have in my garden
some thinly sliced biltong...but you can use black forest ham

Make the white sauce by melting the butter, add flour, mustard and cook out for about 2 mins. Add the milk and incorporate. Then add the gruyere and cook until melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Put the cheese, sage, biltong on 4 slices of bread on the unbuttered sides. Put a big scoop of the cheese sauce in the middle of each. Then place the other slice of bread on top.
Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a pan. Fry the bread on all sides until golden brown and the cheese starts to ooze!!!
You could even top it with a soft fried egg....

Bean Soup
1 onion finely diced
2 leeks chopped
2 potatoes diced (nice large ones)
2 carrots sliced
200g of beef shin (bone in)
3 tablespoons parsley
chopped celery, washed and including the leaves
1 410g tinned tomatoes
2 tins of kidney beans
2 litres of chicken stock
parmessan shavings for the top

Heat oil, fry meat and vegetables for a few minutes until nicely brown.
Add the tinned tomatoes, chicken stock and beans and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 1 1/2 hours.
Taste and adjust flavouring. Serve with parmessan shavings and croutons....(Woolies have excellent flavoured ones!)

Enjoy your week!
Shel

I'm linking to Stonegable's "On the Menu Monday"
 I trust all our American bloggers are having a wonderful Labour Day...