Sweet-Salty Roasted Nuts
Makes 24-30

There are all kinds of tricky recipes for glazed nuts that involve deep-frying. We've come up with a super-easy way to make them in the oven. The secret is the egg white, which helps the sugar and salt adhere and adds an attractive glazed finish. Serve these as a cocktail, snack or toss into salads.

2 cups assorted unsalted, raw nuts (such as walnuts, pecans, almonds and macadamias)
1 egg white
2 t (10 ml) Ina Paarman's Braai and Grill Seasoning
1½ t (7.5 ml) sugar

Preheat oven to 180ºC. Line a large baking sheet with foil or baking paper and brush with oil. In a large bowl, whisk egg white until foamy. Add nuts, seasoning and sugar, Toss to coat evenly. Spread nuts in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake, stirring once or twice, until nuts are crisp and aromatic, about 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. Stores well in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Can be re-crisped in the oven for 5 minutes.

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Baby Marrow & Salmon Cocktail Rolls
Makes 24-30

These little snacks looks lovely, although they take a little more effort.

6 baby marrows
olive oil
Ina Paarman’s Lemon and Black Pepper Seasoning
1 x 250 g tub of salmon flavoured cream cheese
100 g-200 g peppered salmontrout, Norwegian salmon or mackerel
fresh herbs (e.g. dill, chives, fennel)
toothpicks

Top and tail the marrows. Cut them lengthways into 2-3mm strips. Brush the strips with olive oil on both sides and season.

Grill on a hot ribbed griddle pan or under a hot electric grilling element.Leave to cool. Roll strips around your finger and secure with a toothpick.

Pipe or spoon a little cream cheese into each roll and then stand a piece of flaked salmon in the centre. Add the herb garnish.

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Kingklip on Skewers with Whipped Pepper Sauce
Makes 30 skewers

This sauce will become one of your classic basics – it is also exceptionally good with cold roast beef.

500g kingklip, filleted and skinned
1 T (15 ml) fresh lemon juice
Ina Paarman’s Lemon and Black Pepper Seasoning
Olive oil
30 cherry tomatoes (as small as possible)

Sauce
½ cup (125 ml) whipping or fresh cream
1 x 200ml Ina Paarman’s Pepper Ready to Serve Sauce
½ bunch finely snipped chives
1 t (5 ml) Ina Paarman’s Garlic Pepper Seasoning

Cube the fish into 2cm x 2cm cubes. Toss with the lemon juice, seasoning and a generous amount of olive oil to coat the fish. Do this beforehand and leave in the fridge for at least an hour. Thread 1 piece on a skewer. Grill on a hot cast iron griddle pan until nicely marked on the outside and just cooked inside, skewer a baby plum tomato on each end. Whip the cream until it holds shape. Add the cold pepper sauce, finely chopped chives and seasoning. Mix gently with a spatula until blended. Cover and refrigerate until 1 hour before serving time. Serve the hot kingklip skewers with the sauce at room temperature.

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Peppery Feta Dip with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Serves 12

Everybody loves this!

1 x 225 g tub feta cheese, drained
8 x Ina Paarman’s Sun-dried Tomato Quarters in olive oil vinaigrette, drained
4 T (60 ml) olive oil
1 red chilli, finely sliced, with seeds
1 t (5 ml) freshly ground black pepper
1 x 250 g tub smooth cottage cheese
1 cup (250 ml) plain yoghurt

Place all the ingredients in a processor and process until smooth. Serve at room temperature with fresh pita bread, crostini or crackers.

 Chef's Tip
This recipe can be made a few days in advance and kept in the fridge. Do not freeze.

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Quail's Eggs wrapped in Sausage Meat
Makes 32 halves

These little eggs look lovely halved and served as a snack with drinks.

16 quail’s eggs or 8 hen’s eggs
½ cup (125 ml) fresh white breadcrumbs
500 g good quality pork sausages
1 T (15 ml) finely chopped fresh parsley
1 t (5 ml) mustard powder
1 t (5 ml) Ina Paarman’s Garlic & Herb Seasoning
flour
extra fresh white breadcrumbs
oil for deep frying

Boil the quail’s eggs for 3-4 minutes (or 9 minutes for hen’s eggs). Shell them. Mix the breadcrumbs with sausage meat, parsley, mustard and seasoning. Divide the meat mixture into 16 small meatballs (or 8 for hen’s eggs). Press or roll each one flat on a floured work surface until it is large enough to wrap around the egg completely, and sprinkle it lightly with flour. Wrap one egg at a time in the flattened meat. Wet your hands lightly with cold water and roll the covered eggs between your hands to make a neat, round shape. Make sure that there are no breaks in the layer of meat, or the oil will penetrate during cooking and the meat will not adhere to the egg.

Moisten the eggs with a little water and then roll in breadcrumbs, then between your hands again to make sure the crumbs adhere well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Deep fry in moderately hot oil (180°C in a deep fryer) until golden brown. Do not allow the oil to get too hot, or the meat layer will not cook through. When cool, half each egg lengthways, preferably with an electric knife.

 Chef's Tip
Prepare the day before and refrigerate, deep fry on the day.

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Peppered Fillet on Bruchetta
20 Servings

Fillet is hardly cheap, but it is always tender and every scrap can be used. It needs to be seasoned well, that is the reason why we rub it with a mixture of olive oil, garlic pepper and beef stock powder before cooking.

500 g beef fillet, middle cut, in one piece
2 T (30 ml) olive oil
2 t (10 ml) Ina Paarman’s Garlic Pepper Seasoning
1 T (15 ml) Ina Paarman’s Beef Stock Powder

GARNISH
Whole grain mustard
2 small onions sliced into rings

Rub the steak with oil. Mix the seasoning and stock powder on a big plate. Roll the fillet in the mixture and pat it firmly into the meat.

Roast open on a rack placed over a roasting tin 200°C for about 20 minutes until medium rare. A meat thermometer will register 71ºC. Leave the meat to cool completely. Wrap it in foil and refrigerate overnight or for a few hours. Slice into paper thin slices across the grain – a bread slicer works really well.

Spread a generous dollop of mustard on the bruchetta slices and top with fillet slices. Garnish with onion rings.

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Chicken Livers with Crostini
Serves 6

500 g chicken livers
3 T (45 ml) butter
3 T (45 ml) olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
Ina Paarman’s Garlic Pepper Seasoning to taste
6 thick slices sourdough or Italian casalinga bread

Clean and trim the chicken livers and cut into small pieces. Heat the butter and olive oil in a pan and fry the chopped onion until golden and translucent. Add the seasoning and livers. Sauté over a medium heat for 5 minutes until lightly browned. Meanwhile, toast the bread under the grill to make the crostini. Roughly mix the livers together with a fork into a coarse, lumpy paste. Season and spread thickly on the crostini. Pop the slices into a warm oven for 10 minutes just before serving.

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Cheesy Polenta Tartlets with Pesto and Fresh Tomatoes
Makes 36 tartlets

4 cups (1 litre) water
8 t (40 ml) Ina Paarman’s Chicken Stock Powder
1 heaped cup (180g) coarse yellow polenta (mieliemeal)
3 T (45 ml) butter
½ cup (125 ml) grated pecorino cheese

TOPPING
Ina Paarman’s Basil Pesto
36 fresh basil leaves (smallish ones)
18 baby plum tomatoes, halved

Bring the water to the boil and add the chicken stock powder. Use a wire whisk and whisk the polenta into the stock while adding it in a thin stream.
Cook slowly with the lid on for 20 minutes. Stir in the butter and cheese. Oil 3 mini-muffin pans and fill the hollows with the polenta mixture.
Smooth the tops over neatly with a palate knife or scraper. Leave in the fridge overnight or for a couple of hours to firm.

Remove the tartlets from the pan. Spread the tops with basil pesto. Top with a fresh basil leaf and halved plum tomato.
 

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