This delicious soup can be served straight away or refrigerated and re-heated the next day.

1 T (15 ml) butter
3 T (45 ml) olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
8 large carrots, peeled and sliced ± 3mm thick
1 t (5 ml) ground cumin
6 cups (1½ litres) boiling water
4 T (60 ml) Ina Paarman's Vegetable or Chicken Stock Powder
1 bunch of fresh coriander, well washed
Ina Paarman's Lemon & Black Pepper Seasoning to taste

Preheat a heavy base medium/large saucepan. Melt the butter and oil. When the butter starts foaming, add the onions. Stir-fry for 3 minutes until golden. Add the potatoes and carrots and sauté with the onion for about two minutes. Stir in the cumin. Cover with greaseproof paper well pushed down on top of the vegetables. Put a lid on the saucepan and turn the stove to 'low'. Smoor the vegetables like this for 20 minutes.

Add the water and stock powder. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add half the coriander (stems and all) and liquidize the soup until smooth. Taste for seasoning. Serve in soup bowls with a generous pile of coriander on each (pinch out and discard the biggest stems). A swirl of olive oil in the soup adds greatly to the flavour.

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This dish takes time, but not necessarily your attention. I prefer to cook the meat in a slow oven and just forget about it for 3 hours.

COOKING THE MEAT

6 slices of bone-in beef shin ± 1.5 kg
2 onions, roughly chopped
3 cups (750 ml) of water
2 T (30 ml) Ina Paarman's Beef Stock Powder
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed (add later)
1 t (5 ml) Ina Paarman's Potato Spice

Simmer the meat with onions, water and stock powder very slowly on top of the stove or for best results, cook in the oven, in a 'dutch oven' cast iron casserole with a lid, at 160ºC for 3 hours. Add the potatoes and Potato Spice and cook for another ½ hour until the beef is very tender and the potatoes soft.

CARAMELISING THE ONIONS

500 g baby onions, peeled
2 T (30 ml) olive oil
½ cup (125 ml) water
1 T (15 ml) brown sugar
2 T (30 ml) balsamic vinegar
½ t (2,5 ml) Ina Paarman's Green Onion Seasoning

Glaze the onions in the olive oil in a large frypan. Add ½ cup of water. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Lift the lid and add sugar and balsamic vinegar and cook open, while shaking the pan, over high heat to glaze the onions and boil away the liquid. Season with Green Onion seasoning. Leave to stand at room temperature.

PREPARING THE PIE

1 x 200 ml Ina Paarman's Ready to Serve Pepper Sauce
Ina Paarman's Garlic Pepper Seasoning
freshly ground black pepper

Spoon the cooked meat onto a plate and separate it into bite size pieces with two forks. Add the marrow to the meat, discard the bones. Dish everything back into the pot and add the Pepper Sauce and Garlic Pepper Seasoning to taste.

Divide the peppered meat filling between 6-8 individual bowls or into one large pie dish about 32 cm x 22 cm. Leave to cool. Preheat oven to 200ºC.

Place an even layer of onions over the meat. Add a ¼ cup of water to the glaze in the onion pan and bring to the boil while scraping all the browning. Drizzle over the onions. Grind a generous amount of fresh black pepper over the dish. Cover with sour cream pastry. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

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3 cups (350 g) flour
1 t (5 ml) salt
250 g butter
1 cup (250 ml) sour cream
1 egg for glazing pastry

Sift flour and salt together twice and cut in the butter. Use a small knife, a pastry blender or your fingertips. Be very careful if using a food processor - it is inclined to transform the dough into a paste within minutes. The knobs of butter should remain as big as peas - and never become as small as breadcrumbs, or worse, a paste.

Add all the sour cream at once to the flour mixture and cut in with a knife. Once well blended, use one hand to knead the dough until it holds together and forms a ball. Never add extra liquid - just continue kneading lightly - the dough will become manageable and start to adhere. Flatten the dough into a disk shape which will be easier to roll than a ball shape and allow to rest, covered with baking or wax paper, for half an hour or longer - overnight produces excellent results.

Roll out on a floured board and fold into quarters. Turn the dough parcel half a turn so the open side faces towards you.

Roll and fold twice more in the same way. Let the dough rest for another half an hour. Repeat the roll and fold process twice more. The dough is then ready for use, or can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

TO COVER THE PIES WITH PASTRY

Roll the pastry out until about as thick as a R5 coin on a well floured work surface (granite or marble is first prize).

Cut rounds about 2cm bigger than the tops of the dishes to make lids. Cut long 1 cm wide strips to use around the edges.

Beat one egg with a fork. Brush the inside rim of each pie dish with egg and glue a strip of pastry on the inside of the dish, all round. Brush this pastry strip with egg.

Place the pastry lids on top of each pie, relax the pastry so that it rests on the filling - do not stretch. Push the pastry edges firmly together against the edge of the bowl with a fork to seal the pies. Brush the tops with egg. Leave in the fridge until ¾ hour before serving time. Preheat the oven to 220ºC and bake the pies for 35-45 minutes until puffy and golden.

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Make the most of the wonderful winter bulb and root vegetables now at their best!

2 small onions
4 baby turnips
2 medium potatoes
4 medium carrots
2 small sweet potatoes
5-6 baby beetroot
2 t (10 ml) Ina Paarman's Green Onion Seasoning
1 x 250 ml Ina Paarman's Balsamic Vinaigrette
fresh lemon thyme leaves or chopped parsley

Preheat oven to 220ºC.

Cut the onions into wedges and break the 'leaves' apart.Scrub the turnips (no need to peel) and cut each into 6 wedges. Scrub the unpeeled potatoes and cut into 8 wedges. Peel the carrots and cut on the diagonal into 2cm lengths. Peel the sweet potatoes and slice into 1cm thick half rings. Peel the beetroot, leaving a bit of root, and cut each into 6 wedges. Toss all the vegetables (except the beetroot) together in a flat ovenproof dish or pan. Season with Green Onion Seasoning and toss with ¾ of the bottle of Balsamic Vinaigrette. Shake the pan to level the vegetables.

Place the beetroot in a separate small dish, season and coat with the remaining vinaigrette.

Roast the vegetables open at 220ºC for 45 minutes. The vegetables can be done with the pies in the same oven if you have a fan oven. Toss with fresh herbs before serving.

CHEF'S TIP:

I really find that it reduces baking time if one steams the vegetables on the stove or in the microsteamer (keep beetroot separate) for 5-10 minutes until just tender. Toss the hot vegetables with the seasoning and Balsamic Vinaigrette and proceed as above. Bake for 30 minutes.

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Instead of serving a green cooked vegetable - let's serve a green vegetable salad dressed with our Blue Cheese Dressing.

250 g fine green beans, stalk ends trimmed
1 t (5 ml) olive oil
Ina Paarman's Green Onion Seasoning
1 punnet baby spinach, washed and dried
2 ripe avocado pears
½ cup (125 ml) Ina Paarman's Blue Cheese Dressing
50 g blue cheese, crumbled

Toss beans in olive oil and steam them in a microsteamer in the microwave or on top of the stove. Either way 6 minutes should do it. Season to taste with Green Onion Seasoning. Spread out on a plate to cool. Place the baby spinach in a salad bowl. Peel and sliver the avocado and coat with some dressing.

Toss green beans with the spinach. Add avocado slivers, season with a little more Green Onion Seasoning, drizzle with remaining dressing and top with crumbled blue cheese.

CHEF'S TIP:

The green beans can be cooked and cooled well in advance.

VARIATION:

Omit the avocado and top the salad with crispy bacon pieces.

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Now is the perfect time to enjoy citrus fruits, they are fresh and affordable.

4 perfectly ripe oranges
2 T (30 ml) sugar
2 pink grapefruit
3 T (45 ml) sugar

Preheat the oven to 100°C.

Peel two oranges very thinly with a potato peeler. Cut the ribbon strips of peel into thin julienne strips either with scissors or a knife. Blanch the julienne strips for 2-3 minutes in a small saucepan containing 6-7 tablespoons boiling water. Drain in a sieve and refresh under cold running water. Squeeze dry in paper towel. Shake with sugar in a small plastic bag. Dry out on baking paper for 30 minutes.

Cut all the skin and pith from all the oranges and the grapefruits leaving them completely nude. To do this use a very sharp knife, taking care to cut away every scrap of white pith and membrane as this gives the fruit a bitter taste. Divide the fruit into segments, cutting against the fine inner membranes and holding it over a bowl as you do so, to catch the juice. Put the segments and juice in a bowl, sprinkle them with 3 tablespoons of sugar. Put them in a cool place covered with cling film.

CHEF'S TIP:

The strips of orange rind are also delicious if dipped in melted chocolate. It is easier to dip half the strip only.

CITRUS FLAVOURED YOGHURT CREAM

1 cup (250 ml) plain Bulgarian yoghurt
1 cup (250 ml) fresh cream
pinch salt
¼ t (1 ml) ground cinnamon
¼ t (1 ml) ground ginger
2 T (30 ml) castor sugar
2 T (30 ml) orange liqueur or orange juice
2 t (10 ml) grated orange rind
Line a sieve with a double layer of white paper towel. Pour the yoghurt into it and place the sieve over a bowl to drain excess liquid from the yoghurt. Leave for 1 hour or if it is more convenient, overnight in the fridge.

Half whip the cream with the salt and spices. Add the castor sugar and whip until firm. Fold in the liqueur or orange juice, rind and yoghurt. Cover and chill.

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