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Warm Winter Bruschetta

July 30, 2014 by TSJC Leave a Comment

photo1 (50)

There are a multitude of bruschetta ideas, I love adapting them based on whatever I have on hand.  Today’s were loaded with summery flavour and colour and make a great light lunch.

Warm Winter Bruschetta
Ingredients

–  finely sliced Parma ham
–  grilled artichoke hearts
–  ricotta cheese
–  pine nuts
–  sundried tomatoes
–  crispy chorizo pieces

 

Start by toasting the bruschetta then top it with all the ingredients, starting with the ricotta and ending with the crispy chorizo pieces.  Mediterranean summer on a plate.

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Filed Under: Healthy Tagged With: LIGHT MEALS, LOW FAT, Pork, Quick

Creamy Broccoli & Bacon Soup

July 7, 2014 by TSJC Leave a Comment

MONDAY 7 JULY - LUNCH POST

This is one of those soups where you just throw everything into a pot, pretty much forget about it and then blend it into creamy perfection.  Whilst it does have the carbs from the potatoes, it is low fat and because of the very quick cooking of the broccoli at the end it is still hugely nutritious.

 

Potato, Leek, Bacon & Broccoli Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients
–  4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
–  250gms French leeks
–  60gms butter
–  600 – 900ml vegetable stock
–  400gms broccoli
–  100gms mature cheddar, grated
–  200gms bacon
–  1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
–  extra milk to dilute soup
In a heavy based pot heat the olive oil, then add the chopped bacon.  Allow the bacon to cook until almost crisp, remove some of the bacon to use as sprinkles at the end, then add the leaks and butter to the remaining bacon in the pan.  Cook the leaks till soft, then add the potatoes and vegetable stock.  Cook this until the potatoes are soft, the smaller your potato cubes, the quicker your soup will cook.  Now add the broccoli, and cook for no more than 5 minutes.  The broccoli will soften quickly and if you over cook it you will lose the lovely green colour it gives.  Add the soup, carefully, in batches to a blender and blend until smooth.  Put the blended soup back into the pot over low heat and add the grated cheese, stir to combine, check seasoning and adjust, if the soup is too thick add a splash of the milk.  Serve soup hot sprinkled with some of the reserved bacon and a little more grated cheese.

 

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Filed Under: Quick Fix, Soup, Starters Tagged With: DIET, EASY, HEALTHY, LOW FAT, Pork

Ginger Honey Teriyaki Pork with Cashews

June 30, 2014 by TSJC Leave a Comment

MONDAY 30 JUNE 2014 - 18H00 DINNER

Calling this preparation is almost like cheating.  Everything happens in one pan and you only need 4 ingredients to flavour your meat and veggies.  The pork fillet is relatively inexpensive and has a low fat content, because of this the little pork medallions want to be cooked quickly till golden and then allowed to slowly cook in the sauce for a few extra minutes to get it tender, juicy and cooked.

 

Ginger Honey Teriyaki Pork & Cashews
Serves 4

Ingredients
–  800gms pork fillet, cut into 1-cm medallions (I work on 200gms per person if you have kids this is too much)
–  2 cm piece of ginger, peeled cut into tiny matchsticks
–  3 cloves garlic crushed
–  1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
–  2 tbsp oil
–  400gms assorted veggies (brocolli; carrots; baby corn; green beans)
–  100gms raw cashew nuts
–  1 tbsp good honey
–  1/2 red pepper cut into fine strips

To start cut the pork fillet place it in a large bowl with the garlic, ginger, oil and teriyaki sauce, do not add the honey at this stage or the meat will burn.  Allow to marinade for up to an hour but no less than 10 minutes.  Remove the fillet medallions from the marinade and pat dry with a paper towel.  Heat some oil in a frying pan till hot then cook the medallions, about 4 minutes a side.  Don’t move them too much, allow them to colour.  Drop the heat and add the veggies, cashew nuts, remaining marinade with ginger and garlic in it, the honey and a few tablespoons of water.

Keep an eye on the pan and add water as you need it till the veggies are just cooked, add the water a little at a time.  When the vegetables are cooked the liquid left in the pan should be thickened from the honey and teriyaki sauce, there is not a lot of gravy with this dish but because it it salty and sweet a little goes a long way.  Serve with sticky jasmine rice.

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Filed Under: Diet, Dinner, Light Meals Tagged With: Mushrooms, Pork, protein

Left over make over!

May 7, 2014 by TSJC 1 Comment

WEDNESDAY 7 MAY 09H30 - Breakfast post

This is a slightly different take on breakfast.  It was as invention of necessity, I had a small bowl of roasted hubbard squash left over from my Organic Emporium challenge box and there was no way I was letting any of this delicious squash go to waste.

So I heated some butter and olive oil in a pan, added some organic garlic and some finely chopped rosemary from my garden.  I fried the cubes of squash until crispy and starting to caramelise.  Set this aside.  Now fry some rashers of streaky bacon and while they are frying poach an egg.  To assemble the dish place the crispy squash on a plate, top it with a few rocket leaves, then the crispy bacon and the poached egg.  The flavours actually worked really well together.

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Filed Under: Breakfast Tagged With: Bacon, Breakfast, HEALTHY, Pork

Mothers day brunch?

May 5, 2014 by TSJC Leave a Comment

MONDAY 5 MAY 2014 - 13H00 - Lunch post

This quick, easy and simple to prepare meal is a great way to spoil mom on mothers day, or for a brunch or light lunch anytime.  It can feel a little finicky to assemble but if you work patiently it is actually very easy and gives a great dramatic looking result.  There is no real cooking involved, besides blanching the asparagus, and clean up is a breeze.

 

Parma Ham Wrapped Asparagus
Serves 4

Ingredients

–  8 fine slices parma ham, chilled
–  8 tbsp ricotta cheese
– 1 tbsp mascarpone/cream/milk
–  1 avocado
–  16 asparagus spears
– 100gms sundried tomato
– 40g parmesan shavings
– 30gms baby lettuce leaves
– olive oil & white balsamic & lemon juice for dressing

Start by making sure your parma ham slices are nicely chilled it will make them easier to work with.  Do not ask for thicker sliced parma ham, you want a wafer thin melt in the mouth slice of ham, not a steak!  In a pan add some water, salt and a squeeze of lemon juice and bring to the boil.  Add your well rinsed asparagus spears and allow to cook for 1-2 minutes till tender but still firm.  Then drain them and add to a bowl of icey water, leave for two minutes before removing and setting aside to drain.

Chop half the sun dried tomatoes into rough sized small chunks, add these the mascarpone and ricotta cheese to a bowl and stir until well combined.  Add a little of the sun dried tomato oil to the mixture if it is too thick, it will also add great flavour.  Peel your avocado and slice it into thin slices, if the dish is going to need to wait before serving drizzle the slices with lemon juice to prevent them going dark.

Now place a sheet of grease proof paper on a counter.  Take two sheets of parma ham and place them on top of each other but slightly of centre so the edges are single layer of ham.  Now gently spoon 1/4 the cheese and sun dried tomato mixture on the ham, top it with a few slices of avocado and finally 4 of the asparagus spears.

Now using the  grease proof paper slowly begin to roll up the roll, once I has started to roll it will naturally take shape.  If the asparagus moves just gently re-position it, the roll is loose so you can adjust it if it looks a little untidy.  Repeat the process for all four rolls.  Now on individual plates sprinkle a few leaves, some sun dried tomatoes and parmesan shavings before placing one of your parma ham rolls in the centre.  Drizzle with a dressing made from a sweet white balsamic, a few drops of lemon juice and some olive oil.

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Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch Tagged With: Breakfast, HEALTHY, Pork

Pancetta

April 27, 2014 by TSJC Leave a Comment

PANCETTA

Pancetta is the Italian equivalent as our bacon. It is made from the belly of pig that has been salt cured and air dried, unlike bacon is also commonly smoked after curing. The flavour resulting from air drying is much stronger, making pancetta well suited to adding to dishes as a little adds a lot of flavour.

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Filed Under: Ingredients Tagged With: Bacon, Cured meat, Pork

Mango Coppa Salad

April 27, 2014 by TSJC Leave a Comment

mango coppa salad

I am a huge fan of Parma ham and melon, I love the sweet fruitiness of the melon against the salty pork flavour. Try my adaptation of the classic Parma Ham & Melon – a Coppa, Mango and Pine Nut Salad.
Coppa is cured pork shoulder or neck, it has an intensely porky flavour and goes really well on it’s own or with other ingredients, it stands up better to the intense tropical fruit flavours of mango.

Ingredients
Serves 4

– 1 large mango
– 80gms finely sliced coppa
– 3 tbsp pine nuts
– small baby leaf salad

Peel and slice the mango. Arrange the mango on your plate, then add the salad greens in the centre of the plate and top with finely cut coppa and a sprinkle of pine nuts. I dress the salad with a black balsamic but even the white balsamic dressing works brilliantly adding a tart sweetness.

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Filed Under: Lunch, Salads Tagged With: Light Lunch, Pork

Salsiccia With Grapes

April 27, 2014 by TSJC Leave a Comment

SALSICCIA WITH GRAPES

Italian sausages cooked with grapes

This dish is simplicity itself but the secret lies in using the best ingredients. Is something I first tried in the hill top town of Perugia in Umbria. When I ordered it, I was unsure what to expect, because it seemed like a strange combination to me, but what I got was a new dinner favorite.

SALSICCIA WITH GRAPES

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS
– 8 salsiccia (Italian fennel pork sausage)
– 300gms seedless grapes
– 2 tbsp olive oil
– 100mls white balsamic vinegar

Start by gently heating the oil and then frying the sausage, thickly sliced, till brown, add the grapes (I prefer them cut in half) and the balsamic. Allow to cook till the sausage are done. Enjoy it with crispy bread or some polenta in the winter.

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Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: EASY, Pork, SAUSAGE, UMBRIAN

Amatriciana

April 27, 2014 by TSJC Leave a Comment

Amatriciana

Bacon and chili pasta!

Pancetta, the Italian version of bacon, has a delicious strong porky flavour. Unlike bacons which is mostly smoked, pancetta is salt cured and air dried giving a different taste

I love amatriciana, because its simplicity is a great way to make the most of the pancetta a flavour.

INGREDIENTS
– 200g pancetta
– 1 large sprig rosemary
– 1 large onion finely chopped
– 1 tbsp olive oil
– 1 370g can whole peeled tomatoes
– 150ml red wine
– pinch of dried chilli flakes
– salt & pepper

Start by gently frying your diced pancetta, in the olive oil with the sprig of rosemary, until it starts to colour. Then add the pinch of chili flakes, and onion and cook till onions have softened. Add the red wine, drained tomatoes and some of the reserved tomato juice from the can. You want to cook the sauce for up to 60-minutes, but within the first 25 minutes it should be ready. If you need to add some more liquid during the cooking you can, but when uou done this is a thick sauce. The longer you cook the sauce the milder and sweeter the tomatoes are. Cook your pasta to the pack instructions and toss together with the sauce, if you find it a bit dry drizzle with some olive oil.

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Filed Under: Dinner, Lunch Tagged With: Bacon, Lycopene, Pasta, Pork

The Secret Jozi Chef & The Cookery

Paul Maciel, started well known Jozi restaurant Pronto in 2004, after 12 years Paul sold Pronto and decided to follow his passion for writing and teaching about food with the launch of his blog The Secret Jozi Chef and his cooking school The Cookery. The Cookery and multipurpose kitchen space in Craighall Park.
The venue hosts fun social classes for students during the week as well as interactive chef's table events. The venue is staffed by a team that loves what they do always ensuring a welcoming space. The Cookery is equipped with state of the art Whirlpool and KitchenAid appliances and plenty of room for larger groups to cook.

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