Baby Pea Soup with Leeks and Lettuce

Makes 6 cups

This bright green soup with the delicate sweetness of fresh peas is excellent made with frozen baby peas (petit pois).

3 T (45 ml) olive or grapeseed oil
4 smallish leeks (with green leaves) well rinsed and finely sliced
2 T (30 ml) flour
4 cups (1 litre) water
2 T (30 ml) Ina Paarman’s Chicken or Vegetable Stock Powder
500 g frozen baby peas
12 butter lettuce outer leaves, finely sliced
2 t (10 ml) Ina Paarman’s Green Onion Seasoning
½ cup (125 ml) cream

Warm a medium/large saucepan, when hot, add the oil and immediately the sliced leeks. Stir-fry until limp and aromatic. Add flour and stir through. Add water and chicken stock powder. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Add peas and lettuce leaves. Simmer with the lid on for 5-7 minutes. Liquidise until smooth. Add Green Onion seasoning. Can be made in advance and reheated. Serve each bowl with a swirl of half whipped cream to garnish.

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Slow Roast Venison Shanks with Port and Figs
Serves 6

Venison is a much leaner and healthier choice than the traditional lamb shanks. The port and figs give the sauce great depth, sweetness and the perception of richness without the fat.

6-8 venison shanks – springbok or blesbuck are good choices
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
4 T (60 ml) lemon juice
4 T (60 ml) canola or olive oil
3 t (15 ml) Ina Paarman’s Rosemary & Olive Seasoning
125 g dried Smyrna figs
1 cup (250 ml) ruby port or muscadel wine
2 onions quartered
2 large carrots roughly sliced
a handful of fresh parsley with stems
3 cups (750 ml) water
1 x 200ml Ina Paarman’s Olive Oil & Rosemary Coat & Cook Sauce
2 t (10 ml) potato or corn flour

2 T (30 ml) water

Marinate the shanks for 30 minutes in a mixture of garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and seasoning. Soak the figs in the port. Set oven at 160°C.
Heat a large saucepan and pour off the marinade from the meat into the pan. Brown the onions and carrots in the marinade. Add the parsley, figs, port and water. Bring to the boil. Add the shanks and bring to a slow simmer, cover with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven.

Slow roast for 2 hours with lid on. Open the saucepan, pour the Rosemary & Olive Coat & Cook Sauce over the meat. Cover again and continue cooking for a further 1 hour. Lift the shanks onto a serving platter with a slotted spoon. Strain the gravy and return it to the saucepan. Discard solids in strainer. Retrieve a few nice bits of fig and carrot for a garnish. Boil the sauce vigorously over high heat until the flavour is intense and well balanced. Thicken with potato or corn flour mixed with 2 T (30 ml) water. Pour some sauce over the meat and the rest into a gravy boat. Top the shanks with the gremolada mixture and serve.

 

 Chef's Tip : Gremolada Topping

½ cup parsley, chopped
grated rind of one lemon
2 crushed cloves of garlic

Mix all ingredients together.

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Brown Mushrooms
Serves 2

4 extra large brown mushrooms
Ina Paarman’s Garlic Pepper Seasoning
1 x 125 g Ina Paarman’s Basil Pesto

Wipe the rounded sides of the mushrooms with a damp cloth. Place into a smallish ovenproof dish, stems pointing up. Season. Cut a very small hole in one of the top corners of the Basil Pesto pack and squeeze a thin ring of pesto into the mushrooms.

Bake for 30 minutes at 160°C or whatever temperature your oven is set for – mushrooms are not temperamental – simply adjust the time.

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Mediterranean Potatoes
Serves 6

1 kg Mediterranean potatoes, unpeeled and cut into halves
3 T (45 ml) olive oil
2 t (10 ml) Ina Paarman’s Green Onion Seasoning
¼ cup (60 ml) chives, finely sliced

Steam the potatoes until done. Toss with olive oil, seasoning and sliced chives.

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Bright Green Broccoli with Cheese Sauce
Serves 6

500g broccoli, neatly trimmed into smallish florets, leave stem pieces quite long and cut in half lengthways
2 T (30 ml) olive oil
Ina Paarman’s Lemon & Black Pepper Seasoning
a grating of fresh nutmeg
1 x 200ml Ina Paarman’s Cheese Ready to Serve Sauce

Steam the broccoli until just tender. Add the oil, seasoning and nutmeg.Toss to blend. Press into small coffee cups and warm in the microwave just before serving. Turn out and pour warmed cheese sauce over.

Kitchen Notes : VARIATION

Press the whole mixture into a small dome-shaped mixing bowl, warm in the microwave just before serving. Turn out and pour warmed cheese sauce over.

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Honeyed Pumpkin
Serves 6-8

Forget about dieting for today – start the battle again tomorrow !

½ cup (125 ml) honey
6 T (90 ml) butter (only the real thing will do!)
1 cinnamon stick
1 T (15 ml) lemon juice
750g flat white pumpkin, sliced and seeded (not peeled)
Ina Paarman’s Lemon & Black Pepper Seasoning to taste

Boil honey, butter, cinnamon stick and lemon juice in a shallow pan to form a thick syrup. Place the sliced pumpkin in the sauce. Season with Lemon & Black Pepper Seasoning.
Cover with a lid and simmer slowly for 15 minutes. Turn the slices and simmer for another 15 minutes.
Remove the lid. If a brown toffee syrup has not yet formed, leave to cook for a few more minutes without the lid. Remove the cinnamon stick and serve hot, with every last drop of sauce from the pan drizzled over the pumpkin.

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Pears in Grenadine Syrup
Serves 6

Grenadine is better known for giving pink gin its traditional flush! It is made from pomegranate syrup and is non-alcoholic. We used it in place of the usual red wine because of the stunning colour and light flavour which really makes the pears shine through.

6 well shaped ripe pears, with stems intact
¾ cup (180 ml) white sugar
2 cups (500 ml) water
thin outer peel from 1 lemon
juice of ½ the lemon
1 cinnamon stick, broken smaller
3 whole cloves
4 T (60 ml) grenadine
2 t (10 ml) corn flour
2 T (30 ml) water

Peel the pears, but keep stems intact. Level the bottoms by removing a thin slice. Bring the sugar, water, lemon peel and juice, cinnamon sticks, cloves and grenadine to the boil in a medium/large saucepan. Lay the pears flat in the syrup, cover the saucepan with a lid and simmer the pears gently for about 20 minutes, roll them now and again to get an even colour all round. When the pears are done, remove them with a slotted spoon and boil the syrup vigourously to concentrate the flavours – taste for a little more lemon.
Mix the corn flour with the 2 T (30 ml) of water to form a paste and add to the syrup to thicken it a little. Strain the syrup over the pears and leave until serving time – can be made the day before. Serve with whipped cream or lemon flavoured ice cream.

Kitchen Notes : VARIATION

Pears in red wine. Use 1 cup (250 ml) red wine and 1 cup (250 ml) water. The other ingredients remain as is and the grenadine is optional.
 

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